The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1886-06-17
Our Georges Letter.
4 HOP, SKIP AND JUMP THROUGH GEORGIA
AND FLORIDA. ATLANTA, GA.


AND FLORIDA. ATLANTA, GA.
With true Southern hospitality, the first thing
my friend asked was if / would not like to
take something" and being State of Maine
man. | naturally replied that l would, and
when called on to mention what | would take,
| at once replied, that if it made no difference
to him, | would take a bath. as l had the dust
and dirt of some sixteen or eighteen counties
on me, and felt As if it had been blown in by 4
sand blast, besides some generous contributions
from the engine and | thought if they could
| turn the hose on me for a time, that should
feel more at home as it We're.
The next morning it occurred to Winslow
that might be little lonesome and homesick,
and naturally he tried to think of some place
he could take me to. where | would be remind
ed of home and my native State. SO we me-
andercd through several streets, and finally
entered a not very imposing looking building,
yet there was about it something that made me
feel at home. | am moi a tropical fruit. and |
melt at a very low temperature. and this par
ticular morning the clerk of the weather had
turned the steam on little too strong for my
comfort, and | was longing for yard or two
of good old Belfast east wind, when suddenly
became aware that | had struck section of it.
On opening a door | found myself in an ice
factory where it was colder than the Presi-
dents greeting to an Office seeker. This max
ing lce with a steam engtAc seems like para
doX, that is, if paradox is what think it is,
a sort of a croSs-eycd fact We all know how
ice is made in Maine in winter, but if YOU re-
vcrsed the thing and made it in July or August,
it would need a little explanation i'll order to
make one understand it. There are several
methods of making ice artfcially and this
was not the latest, nor believe the best vet it
seemed TO be doing quite an ice business not
with>tanding. Imagine an immense, dark room,
some thirty feet high. in which are rows of
Gas pipe, an inch and a half in diameter sus-
pended from a flooring near the top of the
room, to the floor below, the rows being about
three feet apart and the pipes in the rows two
feet from each other, and this pipe continuous
throughout the entire room. Through this
pipe, by means of an engine outside. ammonia
and something else, Il did not crawl through
the pipe to see what,) is forced, reducing the
temperature to below freezing. Upon these
pipes, spray of water is thrown from another
line of pipes at the top of the room, and the
water running down the pipes congea>. in
other words transforms the upright gas pipes
into huge iricle>. This process is continued for
about ten days, when the ice has formed around
the pipes, till the spaces between them are solid
full. with ai>lcs between the rows lust wide
ON I'll far ia h.,
is then shut of, and gang of darkies saw the
ice out. by cutting down by the pipes, and then
saving the ice pillars in lengths suitable to
deliver The waste water is returned TO be
used again, a. is also the ammonia. \ great
many tons are made at each freezing and the
ice is clear and hard. | understand that a
method has !iI!-t been invented, by which ice
can he made to retail for l.50 per ton. If
this i. the case. | think Maine can soon dis
pen>e with her cold winters, and manufacture
her ice by artificial means in the summer, for if
We cannot compete with manufactured ice |
cannot see what earthly use we can put our
long cold Wintersto. As long As there is money
iii them, we will put up with them, but when
they cease to be paving institution, / shall
advocate boycotting them-but possibly they
would freeze Us OUT if We struck. We have
never locked horns with dame nature vet. and
cannot tell just what She would do.
This city of Atlanta is without doubt the
most enterprising and go-ahead place in the
South. At the beginning of the war the popll-
lation was about 1900. At the close of the
war three-luartcr> of the buildings had been
destroyed, but to-day she claims 0.000 inlabi-
tants, and think her claim is good. Atlanta
presents modern appearance and resembles
very much Northern city. and Whcm a do.
runs between mans legs and up,ets him. he
gets UP and makes just the same remark that
III would in Boston.
Before came here | had heard Atlanta
mentioned as the Gate City. and | did not I'M
der>tand the meaning of the term exactly. but
! had not been here day before | found out
all about it, without even asking question.
'Gha grounds about every residence are fenced,
and ihcrc me generally Two gates. opening on
paths or walks, leading 10 Ine 'front.' and side
entrances. Nobody yet has seen fence that
stood up straight. Ii either pitched in or out.
Just enough 50 that a cate never will shut of its
own accord; and nobody ever lived that did
shut gate. The gates in Atlanta all open out
and they are invariably wide open, reaching
nearly across the sidewalk where the streets
are narrow and half across them on the broad
avenues. In going from where we roomed to
where we took our meals. Il distance of three
or Tour blocks. tWo-thlrds of the gates would
be holding on the fence with one hand. and
reaching out across the walk trying to bar our
passage, and we would rive them a slam and
baI to MI
catch and come back again and set themselves
Tor The next pas>er. | am not rccitng a fable
or a fairy tale, but telling the literal truth. |
cannot understand what the Atlanta bows are
made Of. If this custom attempted to get a
foOthold in a Northern city some fine dark
night the boys would turn out en- masse. and
there would be no gates 10 be aar in the morn
ing. In the first place a fence is not needed at
all, and III the next place if you have one, eth
er have the gate swing in, or take it off alto
@ethcr. Gate City. | should say so, and every
one of them wide open too.
Atlanta is a great railroad centre, eight roads
terminatin" in the city. There is Il union de-
pot i'll the heart of the city into which most of
the trains run, though believe the East Ten
nessee road is shut out. This depot by the way
Is great nuisance to street travel. The depot
and tracks occupy two blocks and divide the
city, as two of the principal business streets
cross the tracks at right angles. There is not
minute i'll the day scarcely when the train Is
not coming i'll or going out, or a locomotive is
not switching cars, or making up trains. right
here where all the business of the city is being
done, and the people are running, and pushing,
and lodging to get across the tracks without
being killed. | noticed that an undertaken had
established headquarters right here. | should
think that it would be an excellent stand for
his line of goods. An effort is being made. and
will i'll time be successful without doubt to
have the tracks lowered some four feet. and
then bridged. the streets passing over the
tracks ut a sufficient height to allow the trains
to run under them, and then build city mar
ket over the track between the streets. This
would utilize for business purposes Il valuable
part of the city. besides doing away with a bic
nuisance.
Atlanta is a great manufacturing city, and an
especially prominent one in the South. We
rather like TO think of a Southern town as lean
my against a corner on the shady side of the
street, picking her teeth and letting other
places do the work, but here where there is
anything to do, Atlanta wants to take Il hand.
over 10000 hands are employed in manufacture
ing interests, not counting in the Atlanta Base
Ball Club, nor the gang who play billiards at
the kimball House, although these might strict
~ come under the head of laborcrs. There are
three cotton factories established here, all
claiming to do Il prosperous business. This
cotton is a wonderful plant take it in all its va
rlouS uses. Before the war, only the cotton it.
self was used, the seeds being useless and hard
TO get rid of. Now, besides all the pure cotton
fabrics that are made, it is almost impossible to
manufacture pure silk or all wool goods with
| out putting some cotton in them. And with
the seed, there is no end to its uses. There is