The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1895-11-05


each other on many sanguinary helds
of the Old Dominion, literally soaking
her soil and crimsoning her streams
with blood. Sherman was battling on
Georgia soil for the capture OF Atlanta,
and all around the city, even IN and
about the exposition grounds, are evi
dences of the desperate struggle which
ended in its occupation by General
sherman's army on September 2, 1854,
and from which in the folio wing spring
il started on its famous march to the
sea-"
A series of agreeable surprises are in
store for those who will make the trip
from Washington to Atlanta
for the first time, or who have not
travelled in the South for a period of
ten or fifteen years, for in that time
marvellous progress has been made in
agriculture, manufacture and in the
Improvement of her railroads.
The elegant equipment, speed and
comfort of her railroads, the abundant
evidences afforded of thrift and better
ment in farming methods, of enterprise
and growth in her manufacturing in
dustries, the great number of neat farm
buildings and thrifty villages and
towns, cannot fail to attract the notice
of the most casual observer; and while
he may be prepared to find that the
South has steadily grown in all these
respects, the realization of the extent
of that growth in a few years will
probably come to him as a pleasant
surprise.
That the world may acquire a better
knowledge of these facts and a better
realization of the vast natural resources
of the South and of the inducements it
offers to housekeepers to settle in that
section, and to improve it's trade rela-
tions with other countries, especially
with those of the southern hemisphere,
is the prime object of the exposition at
Atlanta, which is a concrete embodi-
ment of all it's claims to consideration
in these respects, systematically and
conveniently arranged Unsuitable build
ings for the inspection of the thousands
who will make the pilgrimage to the
fair, moved by different mOtives-some
to crafty mere curiosity, some to lnstl
tute comparison with other expOsltions,
some to enjoy the delights of the South
ern climate in the fall season, some to
see the most unique feature, the negro
exhibit, which will show what progress
that race has made in the arts and SCI
ences, under the favorable influences OF
thirty years of enlightenment and free
dom; some to study the mineral re
sources, some the agricultural, some
the manufacturing and some to see the
United States Government exhibit,
which is said to excel that at Chicago;
some to cultivate better trade relations,
and thousands who will be concerned
with the sterner and more important
matter of securing homes in a land
that offers not only an equable climate,
but conditions favorable to success in a
great variety of enterprises.
Already the tide of travel is Atlanta
ward, and every train that rolls into
the Union depot brings a large quota
of visitors to the fair, and the hotels
and boarding houses are rapidly filling
up, and the population of the city and
the attendance at the fair shows a
steady daily increase.
This large influx of visitors is espe
cially noticeable in the lobbies of the
Aragon, the Kimball House and other
hotels, where they congregate In the
early evening, and the buzz of CONVEX
sation is as animated as that of dele
gates to a Presidential convention.
They are also largely in evidence in
places of amusement, especially those
who come from the surrounding rural
districts.
1t is a noticeable fact that nearly ev-
cry visitor b rs a railroad folder which,
in almost every case, bears the mystic
red letters IS. r " transfixed by an ar
row, showing that a majority of them
travelled by the Southern Railway.
That these time tables are carried so
generally and conspicuously by visitors
may, however, be accounted for by the
fact that the Southern runs frequent
local trains from the Union depot in
this city to and within the exposition
grounds, the only road enjoying that
privilege, which seems to be a favorite
route to and from Piedmont Park, and
the folders probably contain the time
table of these local trains.
Atlanta is a beautiful city, and q
wealth, enterprise and public spirit OF
r oit,zops GRO roA acted in her splen