The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-10-16
NEWS OF CENTRAL CITY.
THE PUBLIC BUILDING NOT YET
 LOCATED.
Architect of Government Eas Com. pleted His Work and Departed. MT. Werner, Presbyterian
 Missionary. in Selma.
Advertiser Bureau,


 many of which he pronounced unfit for government building.
 The lot on Alabama Street, across Church Street from Mrs. McKinnon's lot, was not considered because it was not large enough, only S0xlS0 feet being offered for sale, while the government wants 160x165 feet Eugene Robbinss lot, corner of Alabama and Lauderdals Streets, was also fifteen feet too short on the Alabama side. but Mrs. McKinnon, in order to make Mir. Robbins's lot large enough signed a paper to the effect that she would deed. for a certain sum- fif- teen feet of her lot for governmental purposes.
 The committee. appointed by the Cham Der of Commerce held a very satisfactory meeting with Mir Nealy at the Hotel Albert yesterday afternoon at o'clock, and he assured the gentlemen composing the committee that the government rec ognized the fact that the building was for the accommodation of the public, and 1t would be his pleasure to locate the lot where a majority of the people having business with the postoffice desired 1t located. At the same time he gave it out that the government would not Be bestcd in the purchase of the lot. if he could help it. Of course his language was couched automatically, but those who had property that they desired to unload on the government left fully understand ing that np exorbitant prices were goi lg to be paid for a site for the postoffice building.
 The Chamber of Commerce Committee held a confe; ence with Mir Robbins this morning and then had another talk with Mir. Nealy before he left.
 MT .Nealy was seen by your correspond ent just before he left for Washington and tried to get some information out of him as to what he was going to 3o about selecting the site. He was very cautious.
 q have looked at a great many lots since I nave been hsre." said MT. Nealy,
 including the three that were offered to the government at the time the bid were asked for. Two of those lots l haze examined and they will not be considered in selecting the site for the government building. The Melvin lot is thrown out because it does not come up to the re- quire aents of the law by having streets on two sides of 1t. The lot on Alabaraa and Church Streets has not the frontage on one street that the law requires I ha 'e examined a great many lots on both sides of Broad Street and haze critically looked at nine lots, from which I sha make my recommendation to the depart ment for site for the building. No, 1 ca mot tell you where the lots are. The rule of .he department do not allow me to talk My report is kept secret and no one will know which lot has been decided upon until the information is given out from the department at Wash ington. shall send on my report at once and 1t is expected that the lot decided upon will be made public in about two weeks. as 1t generally takes that long. Sometimes 1t becomes necessary for | the government to condemn property for | public purposes when too high a value is placed upon 1t. I have had to resort to this plan three times this summer, but hardly think that will be necessary in Selma. There are too many available | lots to select from to have to resort to l condemnatory tactics here. I am in thor | ough sympathy with the ideas of the com l mittee from your Chamber of Commerce, and it shall be my aim to put the public building in as convenient a position as possible, but in suiting the convenience of the public I shall also have an eye to looking after the interest of the govern mept, being the agent of both people and the department that I represent in this instance"
 Rev. s. P. Werner in Selma.
 Rev. s. P. Werner. who has spent sev- eral years in the Congo country as a missionary of the Presbyterian Church, who succeeded the lamented Samuel Lapsley of Selma, whose body now lies at the mouth of that great river is in the city today. MT. Werner will return to Africa in short while and until he ielaves is delivering a series of stereop- ticon lectures on the great Congo Basin. He will, in these lectures, deal largely he side of life in the dark continent.
 The attention of the world has been more and more directed of late to the tremendous commercial opening in the undeveloped portions of Africa. Mir Yer ners idea is that the African converts and liberated slaves should be given civ ilized occupations as fast as possible to keep them from lapsing into barbarism He was recently elected a member of the American Association for the Advance ment of Science, and of the National Anthropological Association. considered great honors by those so fortunate as to gain admittance to these great associa- tione of scientific men.
 Mr. Verners scientific reputation rests largely upon his researches on the clas- sifcation of the indigenous Africans. Con- trary to the previous method MT. Werner propounded the anatomical structure rath- CT than the language ana etnnoloRy Of the different tribes as the basis of scien- tiflc classification. His study of the Af- rican pigmies near whom he lived. has been regarded as a very important con tribution to the facts bearing on the hypothesis of evolution.
 MT. Verner's labors are more in the d- rection of the collection of pertinent facts than of the induction of hypotheses. 9th CT interesting scientific phenomena in Af- rica. to which he has called prominent at tention, are the existence of vast num- bers of yellow and copper colored tribes without any admixture of foreign blood for many centuries. in the most remote regions of the continent. He also brought an immense collection of ethnoIogicaI specimens, which were deposited with the | Smithsonian Institute in Washington
 He brought hack with him from Africa | two African princes, who have been at- | tending the Colored Theological Institute at Tuscaloosa. preparing themselves to | go back to the Dark Continent as mis- l sionarles. One of these princes. Kasongo | was killed while attending the Baptist | casion of the speaking of Booker T. | Washington in Shiloh Church, when so many negroes were crushed to death MT | Werner hopes to be able to take the body | of this prince back to Africa with him | when he goes.
 His lectures are illustrated with the | finest stereopticon views in this country. l His machine, including the views, cost | over $500. Most of the slides are made from bona fide photographs taken on the