The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-05-26

| recently. talking with the business men or
| the town, Virginia men OF real Yankee
hustle. strolling along the busy streets,
or walking through the humming iacto-
res, which keep hundreds Of mon busy
and turn loose thousands OF dollars oVcry
| week to DO spent with TIL, thtifty mer-
| chants OF this little town OIL tho Mcher-
| RI.
Tho population Of tho Dmporia Of to-
| day Is varously estimated at from 2,6.o
| t. 5000.
A decade ago there was not a bank In
| fmporla. There are to-day two flourish
Ing banking institutions In tho town. and
the business needs Of that portion OF EN-
roria to the north OF the Meherrin nave
become so urgent that one Of the banks
has established branch IN ,hat quarter
of the town, known as Bellfcld
Tho aggregate of individual deposits IN
the two Institutions Is upwards Of $50, 900:
The Merchants and Farmers Bank haa
on deposit at he close OF business March
Gust Of this year s75,8iS03
The deposits subject to check In the
Bank OF Greenesville on tho afternoon o.
April 9th amounted to $5G6l3T9. and time
certificates Of deposit to $84, S0799
The loans and discounts among tho re.
sources OF tho last named bank on April
9th amounted to s174,o1s.1b. while under tho
same head the Merchants and Farmers
Bank on tile same date. reported $50. ~.
The banks are essentially local institu-
tons The capital stock Is held almost
entirely by Emporia and Greenesville
coUnty people. The presidents and direc-
tors are nearly every one OF them men
Who live In Emporia and make their
MOI ey there or nearby. The capital stock
| Of tho Greenesville Bank, paid in. Is $50. !.
| 0oO, and the Merchants and Farmers
| Bunk Is capitalized Mt $4,000. The dlrec.
| to,ate of the Merchants and Farmers
Includes such we'll known people as w. p.
/ tlo,, f,>ro II
| Hall, w. II. Deal, Z. Z. GOODWIN, G. L.
Vincent. G.. M. Cook. J. u, Baker. w. r.
| Cfto, q. T, FOX and II. Peyton Turner.
Fully as we'll known as enterprising
! men who arc leaders In the development
| OF Emporin are tho directors OF the
| G,ee nesyillo Bank: w. Samuel Goodwin
| (p, esident), b. w. Wyche, r. w. Man
sol. H. Schwartz, John Peart and w. T.
| Tllar.
1 know larger banking rooms in Vir-
glria, but do not recall having eeen
more beautifully finished Interiors than
those OF the two banks in Emporia. Fe:
Epnce and beauty nre combined In way
most pleasing to ones aesthetic sense
and suggestive to the man OF business OF
solidity and stability
ENTERPRISE AND THRIFT.
The general appearance OF Emporia In
dIcates enterprise. thrift and growth.
There is one solid block of brick stores
and offices that are all occupied by busy
tenants was informed that as result
OF the demand for such buildings they
are almost Invariably leased before the
work Of construction Is finished. and rents
are much higher than In the average town
of Emporia'B size.
A remarkable fact in connection with
these and all the buildings In Emporia
Is that the material comes almost entirely
/ fIcm home. The stone which enters into
| the foundations is quarried from nearby.
TIA brtoka oro burned Mt Woods kllnS,
| JUS. beyond the corporate limits, and the
! iup Der Is cut and sawed and dressed right
at the site Of tho building into whose con-
| str'ction 1t Is to enter. There are Few
towns in this or any state when nave
| so nearly all building materials In n raw
| state practically on the ground where
| tley are to be used. To me tho fact
&C. ms significant. US containing. possibly,
| the key to the problem of Emporla's
I pre- sperity.
nmrket at Emporia Is supplied very large
| " from the adjacent country. For In
stance, the chicken which had for din
! ncr Mt the Central Hotel to-day came
| from nearby farm; the peas were grown
| In n patch but few miles out; other
| vegetables came from the same place or
| from one not far away Strawberries or
SUI passing flavor were gathered on
| truck farm near town; the milk and but
ter were brought In by the farmers II
was homespun dinner,
There Is n considerable amount OF cot
ton grown In Greenesville county. ! was
| told that probably every pound OF 1t Is
| soid in Emporia. While there arc no dis
tinctively cotton merchants In the town,
| nearly all tho retail dealers In other lines
arc generally glad to buy tho staple, Tho
| farmer hauls his bale to town, and has
hut to lot tho merchants know he has It
| on the market. His wagon Is soon sur
rounded with bidders, md the high man.
gcts the bale, 1t Is shipped to Norfolk by
| the purchaser.
There are probably forty stores of va
r.cus kinds In Emporia; nobody seems to
know the exact number couldn't see or
| learn that single one of these was
threatened with anything like Bankruptcy
| or course even a well-seasoncd newspa-
prr writer must draw tho line somewhere
in questions, and a pretty safe place to
| draw It is on the near, side of an inter-
! rcgatory designed to elicit Information
I'm direct language concerning mans
| prospeGts Of Immediate insolvency. l3nt
| there are signs about business house
| which arc not to be misread. Those seer
| in and around the Emporia establishments
are all pointed in the direction OF pros
| per!ty.
The town has an excellent electric light
ing system, The arc lights on the, street.
| aIrcnr to be nearly az good as those OF
| Richmond. and the stores and hotels arc
| as well lighted by incandescent lamps o.
| nre such buildings In other towns. Ths
| telephone system Is unusually GOOD, 1udg
| ing by the excellent service given. The
| light company also operates tho telephone
/ system and the ice piaAt, The latter II
! tig ENTERPRISE and profitable one
LACKS WATER SYSTEM.
The town lacks paving and a water
| ,,,.,a,, trh.ro are some good sidewalks,