The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-02-21
BILL Arp LETTER.
Mountain Climbing Is Fun, He Says, to
Walking In Florida Sand.
atlanta Constitution.

atlanta Constitution.
Gainesville is beautiful town, but
it is not ripe. The people do not pull
together. They are not s'discordant,
discovered, belligerent," as Daniel
Webster, said, but they do not har-
monize on public matters. They lack
an unsel6sh, enterprising leader in
whom everybody would have conf
dence. They have been trying for
three years to build waterworks and
can't do it. Towns have character
just like individuals. Take Cedar
town, in Georgia, for instance. Half
a dozen Of her best men determined to
have waterworks and electric lights,
and within twelve months they had
both established and everybody is
proud. These men sold their towns
bonds at par in New York about the
same time that Atlanta sold hers for
95 cents. Both plants cost less than
$5O,OOO. Now Gainesville is a larger
and richer town and has three times
the trade, but her people do not pull
together. Atlanta is the most re-
markable city in the South for her
perfect harmony in public affairs.
Her newspapers quarrel, her preachers
get into bitter controversies, her go
ciety falls into scandal, but her COM
mercial people are unit for Atlanta.
They spend money like water on pub
lie enterprise. They have cheek
enough to invite the world to come to
Atlanta and they dare to rival Chi
cago in an exposition. In the Office
Of the Constellation there is every year
conceived some new venture that will
draw thousands Of people there, and
straightway all the newspapers and
preachers and merchants and manu-
facturers and railroads fall into line
and the movement is a success.
Gainesville is the center Of Florida's 8
best agricultural region. More long
staple dotton is grown in this region
than any other. Larger areas are put
in oabbages, lettuce, and potatoes for
early shipment to Northern markets.
Strawberries are grown in fields IN
stead of patches. They were shipping
while I was there. These early ber-
ries bring so cents quart at home.
It is a lovely surrounding country and
is not at all dependent on oranges for
support. I was the guest while
there of an old friend who was with
me in the last white mans Legislature
in Milledgeville during the dark re-
construction days Of 1866. His locks
are white now, but there is the old
rebel fire in his eye. 1 wonder how
many Georgians are left who remem-
Der Major Teuch-remember him as
co-member of that body? How we
did talk and talk about those perilous
times and about those who are dead.
Dead We could hardly recall half q
dozen who still live. Old Father
Time seems to be cruel and relentless.
I met another old friend at Archer
"a man of God who, for twenty years,
preached at Gainesville and had to
leave there for his health. Rev.
Theodore Smith and his good wife are
known from Chester, S. c., to Cedar
Keys, and they are loved wherever
known. Moving from Cartersville to
Florida saved his life. There is no
doubt about chat. The truth is, if
man should live all his life in Florida
one lung would do him, and he might
have been built that way, especially if
he lived near the gulf coast. I vent
from Archer to Cedar Keys, which
twelve years ago was the proud empo-
rum and trade center of western and
middle Florida. Ocean steamers
come in there and all roads pointed to
Cedar Keys from the Tampa and Lees
burg and Ocala country. It is sad to
bear the history Of ruined town
ruined by the mighty progressive
power of railroads. 1t is the same old
story. ''Ilium fuit." Cedar Keys is
commercially dead, but there are still
a few good people holding the fort.
Fish and oysters are still shipped in
large quantities, and the cedar pencil
factories give employment to hun
dred hands. 1t is still quite a resort
for invalids who testify to its delight
full and curative climate.
I visited some phosphate plants in
this region around Archer, and it
looked like solid business. Great
banks of the lump phosphate are seen
along the railroads, waiting transpor-
tation. The lump phosphate looks
like stained chalk and is full of the
remains of animal life. Mining it
gives employment to thousands Of
people, white and black, but all the
dirty work is done by negroes. They
get their dollar day every Saturday
night and gamble it away Sunday.
They are uncertain, unreliable and
take no thought for the morrow. Ben
Akerman, of Gainesville, is in charge
of large plant and says that some
Saturdays he quits with fifty negro
men and does not know whether he
will have fifty or five when Monday
comes. They go and come like tramps.
He became so disgusted with them last
week that he went up to Cartersville