The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-11-05

ton movement to secure more farmers is being promoted.
 The heaviest crops are corn, wheat, po- tatoes, hay cotton and fruit. The roads are good and nearly all of the products are marketed in Gadsden. One of the finest fruit farms in the state is located at Mint Springs, two miles from Gadsden. It is owned by the Elliott Fruit company, with headquarters at Gadsden. It yields heavy crops each year of peaches and tomatoes and shows how productive, with little cultivation, the land can be made.
 Much live stock Is raised in and around
 Gadsden It has been said that no other
 southern city of equal size has an many
 horses as the Queen City. A great deal
 of pride has been manifested in the
 many fine horses owned by Gadsden peo- pe Cattle is also an important product | It might be said that Gadsden has the
 Shetland pony craze. Many ladies have | turnouts drawn by from two to four of the little steeds. W. M. Meeks has | large herd of Shetland ponies on the Dixie stock farm near Gadsden, and many are shipped each year to other cities all over
 
 | the United States.
 {, The mineral and agricultural resources of Etowah county have combined to bring | Gadsden to the front rank of southern | cities.
 | Not a House Vacant A fact that is true in possibly no other southern city of 10000 population Is that
 in Gadsden not one habitable dwelling Is
 vacant. The Commercial and Industrial association of Gadsden, corresponding to l the Commercial club of Birmingham, Is | encouraging the construction of as many ] new houses as Is possible and 1t Is said | by Its officers that 1000 new dwellings are
 needed at once.
 | An incident occurred in the office of l the Gadsden Real Estate company last week which well illustrates the demand | for houses. A man called in the office and inquired if he could secure house. He said he would take anything from three to ten rooms, but must have house at once.
 /. He was told that the company had no houses for rent and did not think there was vacant habitable structure in Gads- den. After few more inquiries the man left the office. According to the real estate men they answer similar inquiries daily Many houses are being built, but
 practically all of them have been en- gagged in advance.
 Municipal Improvements. f In keeping with the wonderful advance | that has been made in other lines, gigan- tic municipal Improvements have been l planned for Gadsden.
 | It has been voted to issue improvement bond amounting to s15O,0O0. As soon as | the litigation now in the courts is ended | the work on the improvements will be
 started. The sewer mains will be ex- tended the streets graded, sidewalks /, paved, and if the city is successful in the | legal battle now being waged, a fine water works system will be constructed. l The contract of the city with the water works company expires next year, and | the present mayor and aldermen favor
 municipal ownership from that time. | It was for this reason that they endorsed l the bond issue.
 | The bonds would have been fioated and
 the work been under way by now but for , the intervention of R. A. Mitchell and associates who claim to have a valid
 franchise for the operation of water
 works
 l It seems that Mitchell and his asso-
 ciates were granted franchise by the