The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-05-31
SiIer City's Progress.
(Editorial correspondence.l


to attend the commencement exercises of
Siler City Institute--a larger crowd, sup
pose, than have attended any college com
mencement this year. The people of this
whole section were deeply interested in
education, they are proud OF their splendid
school, and they make commencement oc-
caslons notable by coming with all their
families. Another pen will give the de
tails OF the commencement exercises.
Enough for me to say that they were
fully up to the high mark OF the Institute,
the Rotations showing perfect training
and high talent. There is-there must of
necessity be-some sameness IN all school
/ Blessings, but there wasn't a dull minute
here and the programme showed an APP
probation of the fact that "the people
must be amused" There was humor and
brightness as well as instruction The en-
rollment of the school during the past year
was 1852. There are five members of the
faculty, each well qualified for the courses
which they control. The principals-Prof
| w. b. Owen, Jr., and Mr.. A. G.. Kesley-
are two among the brightest and most sue
| cessful young educators in the State. They
know how to manage, how to teach, and
how to stimulate youthful ambition. Two
graduates of the Baptist Female Univer-
sity, Miss Eulalia Jordan, in Music, and
Miss Grace Reitzel, in primary instruc-
| ton, are numbered among the popular
and efficient teachers. Miss Edna Nc
| Pherson teaches art and the art display
shows that teacher and pupils have talent
of high order.
The little town of Siler City, which is
situated in the western part of Chatham
county, and surrounded by one of the
! finest agricultural sections in the central
| portion of North Carolina, though it has
not been on BOOM" has made more
rapid progress within the past two years
than any small town in the State It's
growth has been steady and continuous,
and though now, but fifteen years old, it
/ does a volume of business that would do
credit to a town twice its size and age.
Within the past two years more than
| thirty new dwellings have been erected
/ within its corporate limits. and a number
! of them are structures that would be an
honor to any city in the State Within
this same period five nice brick stores
have taken place Of the old wooden ones
| that had grown too small for the increas-
| ing business of some of the merchants of
| tn village a nice bank building has been
erected and bank established that is
doing a capital business The cotton mill
of the Hadley- Peoples Manufacturing
Company, which manufactures yarns that
are acknowledged by mill men to be the
finest grade spun in the State has in
creased its capacity, and added the most
4 4
equipped mill; the Siler City Bending
Company, plant for the making of spokes
and rims, has recently been organized and
will begin work within the next thirty
days; a telephone system has been Install
| ed in the town, and n line built to Pitts
boro. and arrangements are now on foot
to build another line. to Greensboro. SO
| that telephone connection with the prin-
cipal towns and cities of the State will
be established; the roller mill is putting in
a lot of new machinery and preparing to
double its capacity, which will make it
one of the best roller mills in the State,
and many other minor industrial improve
ments have been made.
Siler City claims TO be the greatest
chicken market in the State, and of
course the reputation she has as a rabbit
market is well nigh worldwide One firm
alone bought s25, 900 worth of chickens
eggs and rabbits last year, and when you
consider the fact that four firms here do
no other business than deal in these ar
ticles you get an idea Of what this in
dustry is to the people OF this section.
Besides selling more general merchan-
disc than any station on the Atlantic and
VI g
| Greensboro to Fayetteville, it is the great
est distributing point for farm nipple
ments and improved agricultural machin-
cry of any small town in the State. Last
year Dorset Company, one firm here
handling this line of goods, sold thirty
binders, forty wheat drills and numerous
corn planters, harrows, moving machines,
etc, to the farmers of the surrounding
Ecountry and others firms here, who handle
similar articles, did an excellent business.
In all the mutations of politics, Siler
City has always kept the rudder true.
Even in the days when Populism had full
say, this section Of Chatham was true and
loyal in its allegiance to Democracy, West
ern Chatham never did bow the knee to
Baal." 1t stood true while other por-
tons OF the country were moved from the
ancient mornings. This steadfastness is in
dicative of the sterling character of this
people. They are not easily moved. They
make up their minds after all the evil
dence is in, and once they have taken
position, theys stand as solid as the rock
Of Gibralter. They are solid folks. You
can go away and stay ten years, and when
you come back, you see them going for
ward in the same progressively consera-
tive lines-always going forward steadily,
but without any falling back due to hur
rying. The people hereabouts live at
home and board at the same place. They
make their own meat and bread, they ship
much to other markets, their farms show
that they know how to farm intelligently
and proitably and in thriftiness and those
other virtues that make happy and use
full citizenship they abound
There is one thing have noticed here
and in the other schools | have visited
this year. 1t is that in nearly every con-
test for prizes and medals. competed for
by boys and girls, in. nearly every in
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