The morning news., 1892-02-01
BROOKS ooUNrY's BUSINESS.
Times Not CPpressively Rard-The
News Of QuiJmRn.

AltneS NOT CppresStVely Aard-The
News Of QuiJman.
QUIrMAS. GA. Jan. 3l.-A correspondents
OF an Atlanta paper in writing up Quitman
and Brooks county few days ago made
the statement that there was less evidence
Of hard times In Brooks than In almost any
county in Georgia.
This. In large measure, is true. While,
OF course, the farmers are not 50 flush as
they would be If cotton had ruled at and
10 instead Of and . cents, still Brooks
county farmers are long ways from being
broke. This, in part, is owing TO the fact
that Brooks is wonderfully fertile county,
but, IN the main, it is due the system
This system Is to always make
the farm self-supportng, to raise
an abundance Of supplies meat, corn
and the other ct ceterss, aud TO make cotton
secondary and surplus crop. With many
farmers IN this county cotton is strictly a
surplus crop. The cost OF making aud gath
ering 1t Is paid with home-raised products,
and even store accounts ore thus balanced
of. IL is a very common occurrence for a
farmer to bring to town a few thousand
pounds of meat, deposit it with his mer-
chant, get credit for it, and let this meat
pay his store account for the ensuing twelve
months. This Is the secret OF Brooks
countys success. She is not the slave 10
King Cotton as is the case with so many of
her sisters. There are to-day several thou
sani bales Of cotton held by
Brooks county farmers for further
Developments in the market This cotton
Is their surplus crop. They have plenty to
eat at home; their store accounts paid with
other products. and necessity does not COM
pei them to sell whether OF no. or course
all. Brooks county farmers are not in 80 foIt
unate condition as aoove mentioned, bat
good many are, and they owe 1t to them
selves as much as to their county, more 30,
in fact. The writer has in mind several
farmers of the county. who began life with
virtually nothing, and who are now, for
this section, rich.
Brooks is grand county, and she owes it
as much to her class of farmers as to her
natural advantages
1t is probable that Quitman will, In the
near future, agltate the question of water
works. At a depth Of 800 or 400 feet from
the surface, flowing directly under the cen
ter OF the town, Is a sdbterrAnean sLream
containing pure water in inexhaustible
quantities. This stream was tapped by the
artesian we'll dug number of years ago,
the water rising to within twenty-five or
thirty feet of the surface. 1t is proposed to
put in a steam pump that will bring this
water up into a cistern and then connect
the clstern with system Of water works
A committee OF council is now in corre-
spondence with several firms on the subject.
A mayor and aldermen for Quitman are
to be elected next March. This will be the
first election under the new ordinances,
which prescribe that the mayor and alder
men shall serve for two yea 8. Heretofore
these officials have been elected In January
and have served for but one year.
Rev. J. F. Eden of Hawkinsville has ao-
cepted call to the Baptist church at this
place. He will preach his first sermon here
on the first Sunday in February. Rev. b. d.
Ragsdale, who was pastor here for two
years. goes TO Decatur. He will have charge
OF the Baptist churches at that place and at
Lithonia.
To return to the farmers, quite number
OF them in this county are going to make a
trial with tobacco this year. There will
probably be as much as 100 acres planted in
the county. Itisa a new business with them,
and they will simply experiment this year.
If successful, Brooks will come to the front
next year as a tobacco growing county.