The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-10-02
NO BETTER TOWN IN THE STATE


The town of Washington, the metropolis
of the Tar, is at once one OF the most
progressive and most modest towns IN
North Carolina. Three quarters of CEN
tury ago it was a small town and, to dis
tinguish it from the capital of the Re-
public, people fell into the habit OF cali
ing it Little Washington" and a re-
porter of the News and Observer who
never had the good fortune to visit Wash
ington.~ N. c., inadvertently placed the
word "little" before Washington in writ
ing about the terminus of the Raleigh
and Pamlico Railroad. 1t was regarded
by the editor as the objectionable SIN
and the reporter was summoned into the
sanctum sanctorum and asked why he
had called the prosperous town OF Wash
ington, with a population of 5000 and
growing every day, 'Little?" Here Is his
explanation: 81 have never been to
Washington and I voted for the bonds to
build the Raleigh and Pamlico railroad
mainly to get chance to visit it. 1
have heard that, though somewhat smaller
than the town of the same name In the
District of Columbia. it is large in enter
prise. public spirit and everything else ex-
cept blowing its own horn. No town is
up-to-date unless it tells on the house
tops of its own achievements. Washing
ton, N. c., has not been as forward IN tell
ing of it's progress as some other towns
not half so progressive. / thought If 1
called it Little Washington" it would put
he people on their mettle and they would
take steps to more thoroughly make
known the advantages of their live and
rapidly growing city. The editorial in
the Washington Gazette Messenger shows
my surmise was correct. Instead, there
fore, of doing the town wrong I have
really done 1T a great service. Faithful
are the wounds of friend.'''
How could the editor-in-chief, grieved
as much as the Gazette Messenger that
his native town had been dubbed little, I"
say anything in the face of that explana-
ton?
The editorial in the Gazette Messenger,
which called forth the above, is as fol-
lows:
I'VE MUST PROTEST.
while the Gazette Messenger has al
ways been an ardent admirer of its Raj
eigh contemporary, the News and OBJ
server, and especially of its editor, the
Hon. Josephus Daniels, we can not re-
frain from expressing our disapproval of
the manner the paper frequently refers
to our city, or allows it's reporters or cor
respondents to do so. by designating our
city as Little Washington, to distinguish
ii from Washington, d. C. Another thing
that makes these references still more
surprising TO our citizens, is that Mr.
Daniels, the editor of the News and OBJ
server, is native of this town and since
he has been citizen of Raleigh, he has
repeatedly visited the place of his birth,
and must have been aware Of the fact
that there is not a town in eastern Caro-
lima that has made more rapid strides in
wealth and growth than this city.
while we believe these references in
the News and Observer are not intention
al our citizens say they are calculated to
do harm, and to make wrong impression
abroad as to the size and Importance of
the town; and if there is a town in the
State that can appropriately be designat-
ed as Little Washington, it is a small
village on one of the railroads, near Will
mington. This being true, it might be
interesting for us to embrace this OPP
portunity 70 contrast the Washington of
twenty years ago, and the growth it has
reached up to this time.
Twenty years ago the entire limits of
the town were included within one mile
square, and within this inclosure was To-
Gated at least from one hundred to one
hundred and fifty vacant town lots, and
the number of streets running the full
length of the town was five, with Water
street extending about half this distance
The number of cross streets running en-
tirely across the town were nine. Now
the corporate limits are at least two miles
square. the streets running from one end
of the CITY to the other have increased
from FIVE to nine, and those crossing the
town from nine to sixteen
"Nor is this all. OF the large number
of vacant lots there are not many remain.
ins unoccupied, and those that are would
have been built upon long ago had they
not been the property OF those VINO nave