The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-02-11
SAVANNAH STILL IN THE LEAD.
MIR. LEE ROY MYERS COMPARES 1T
WITH OTHER CITIES.

! Cleanest of the LOt-AU the Cities
Are Prosperous, But They Have No
Odds on Savannah in That Respect.
Iron Is Making birmingham Rich.
While New Orleans Is Preparing to
Spend Big Money for Public Inn
| DrOvcments.
Mr.. Lee Roy Myers has just returned
| from a trip which included New Orleans,
| Mobile. Birmingham, Nashville and Az
lanta. Being a thorough going sayan-
nathan, Mr.. Myers naturally took mental
note of the conditions which he found in
| these cities in comparison with Savannah,
and his conclusions are decidedly in favor
of Savannah.
Savannah is by all odds the cleanest
and best paved Of any of the cities which
have visited recently said Mr. Myers.
/ THESE are all typical Southern cities and
therefore the comparison is a fair one
Coming from Savannah where our princi-
pal streets are asphalted and kept in a
state of repair and cleanliness the con-
| trast was a very striking one. In New
Orleans and Mobile for instance il was
no uncommon thing to find deep Iuts and
! holes in the streets such as would at once
J cause a protest here Atlanta's pave
meuts are not in the pink of condition
and the amount of paper and ether waste
/ to be seen on the streets of all of these
cities was very noticeable"
"Of course, 1 am prejudiced in favor of
| Savannah" said Mr.. Myers but. so far
as the general appearance and attractive
ness, both from a commercial and resi-
| dental standpoint, of these several cities,
! my preference is decidedly in favor of Sa-
! Vannah. The arrangement and condition
| of cur streets is much superior to any,
| and our houses seem to have a more in
! wiling appearance. IL is true there is more
noise and hustle in the streets of some
! of these cities than in those of Savan-
! nan, but this is largely due to the fact
! thai practically all of our heavy business
| is done at the TWO ends of the city and
! does not show upon the main streets at
| all, saving us from the noise and confu-
| sion, as well as the large amount of lii
! ter and waste, which results from this
! traffic"
| There is considerable business activity
| IN all the cities which l visited. This is
! especially noticeable in Birmingham be
| cause of the very prosperous condition of
the iron trade, all of her mills working
at their full capacity with orders ahead
| for their products. Birmingham is I'M
| doubtedly destined TO become the great
| iron and steel center of the South. There
| are number of suburban villages around
| birmingham, where this business is chief
ly carried on. At Ensey, eight miles out,
| visited a very large steel plant which
| has just been put in. Both New Orleans
and Mobile appear to be in a prosperous
| way commercially. Both cities are pay
| ing special attention to the fruit trade
| New Orleans already does a large fruit
! importing business, and Mobile is rapidly
| forging to the front in the same line.
AT New Orleans l visited the race
| course, where they have 100 days racing
! in the year, which is proving a great at
! traction to the sporting elemen,. Although
| the weather was bad there were about
| LOCO people at the race course the day I
was there. There were ninelean book
| makers on the grounds, each of whom
pays $lO) a day for the privilege. The
! manager of the race course informed me
| that the enterprise had proven so success
| full that his opponents had been consider
| ing establishing a rival race course at
| some other point in the South and that in
casting about for a site they had agreed
! upon Savannah as the most suitable lOca-
| ton for the business.
lone thing which l took note Of" said
| Mr.. Myers, was that in three of the cities
which l visited, New Orleans, Birming-
| ham and Nashville, gambling appeared to
| be carried on publicly. AT least clubs ana
! other PAGES We're pointed out where il
was generally known that gambling was
! carried on. A good deal has been said in
| the past about gambling in Savannah, but
| If there are any gambling houses here l
ana unaware of their location. New Or
| leans is stiN suffering from her political
mis- takes of the past bat the fact that
! she is preparing to spend SliO00,000 for
public improvements, chiefly sewerage and
street paving, is an indication of the pres
emit spirit of the town. She win follow
| Savannah's example AMI use asphalt latge-
| ly in street paving
As an instance of the great advances
in the prices of all iron products, Mr.. NY
ers had pointed out to him in Nashville
q large four-story brick building in course
of erection by a hardware firm at a cost
| of 1925 000. This sum- it was stated, had
| been paid the hardware firm by a large
n0i manufacturing concern for the can
| collation. OF an order for 125,000 kegs Of
| nails, the factory paying a bonus of 81
key for the privilege of not filing the
order. In Atlanta the latest fad with the
people was a $1,000, 600 cotton mill Every
| body was in favor of it, of course, and
| The Constitution had about three columns
of interviews with business men, all in
| dorsing the scheme. "Thot is pretty much
all talk" said Mr.. Myers to friend, re-
| ferring to the interviews. Il know il is"
| replied his friend. but we will keep on
talking until we get it,"
Mr.. Myers thought that with a little
/ more OF THIS kind OF spirit here Savan-
! nah might get few big cotton mills and
some other things in the manufacturing
line. 81 believe one or two big cotton
mills would pay here" sold he, but | do
not think il would he wise to attempt to
make the city simply a cotton manufac-
| turing centeS For a commercial and res
! idential city diversity of industries is
preferable. With our bugaboo in the way
of the idle cotton mill removed, we ought
to be able to accomplish something in this
| line"
Speaking, of the recent sale of the Savan-
nah cotton mill by the Southern Bank TO
| Mr.. n. f. Tilton of New Hampshire. Mr..
| Myers said that the demand for these
goods had been so great during the last
| few years that had the mill been kept
steadily in operation by the bank during
these years, instead of being shut down,
that II would have paid for itself by this
| time.