The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-12-23
IMPRESSIONS Of
THE STATE
CAPITAL
Allan H. Roberts, of St. Pet
ersburg, Writes Inter
estingly of ITALIA
hassee. -

Allan II. Roberts, .formerly,,s editor
OF the st. Petersburg Independent,
but who recently went to Tallahassee
to accept position in the state
house, writes interestingly of Flor
ida's capital in letter to the indie
pendent He gives hts Impressions
OF the capital in the following we'll
drawn picture:
Imagine one. of the finest places
in the world absolutely different in
every detail to st. Petersburg, but
on the whole fit sister for the Only
Spot, and you have Tallahassee. The
country is series OF high hills and
deep valleys, with good farming land
built on top of a substratum of red
clay. There is no problem of street
paving and grading here. The clay
sub-surface has been left bare by the
winds and rains of centuries past, and
furnishes the best kind of hard sur
face. short of vitrified brick. AS for
grading. it would cost millions to re-
duce Tallahassee to grade, and the
people here have never attempted it.
The roads have washed out from few
inches to eight or ten feet below the
surface by the natural processes of
nature. and that is all the grading
Tallahassee knows about, and it is
enough in the main. Before you come
to the Capital City you want to take
a correspondence course in Alpine
climbing, for you will need it. Also
bring flying machine to help you
out of any holes you may fall into.
All that Is lacking to make Tallahas-
see the prettiest spot of its kind any
where is the orange groves of st. Pc
tersburg, and the waters Of grand old.
Tampa Bay.
Across The Sea.
Speaking of the water, reminds
me that instead Of being on the east
shore of the Gulf of Mexico, am
now on the north shore, which, liter
ally, puts me across the sea" from
st. Petersburg. Ask man here
when the mail leaves for the south
and he will stare at you; trains here
run east and west. We are within
sixteen miles Of the Georgia line, and
about two hundred from either the
eastern or western boundaries of our
own state, and as far pretty nearly
from the extreme southern confines of
Florida, which will give you some
thing OF an idea Of the size of the
state, that you can never appreciate
1t until You travel from one end to
the other. The weather is cool but
very pleasant
THE people of Tallahassee are the
true Southern stock, and most of
them have lived here all their lives,
for which reason everybody is kin
to everybody else. The exception to
this rule is the state officials who are
elected to live here, and many of
these like the place so well they stay
here after. they are elected to go
back home, or retire voluntarily,
Courtesy, honor, integrity, all that
the Southerner means, predominates
In Tallahassee. 1t is the site of the
state, county and federal governments
In a way, the Office of the United
States Suryeyor-General for Florida
being located in the government
building here. The capital building of
the state, recently remodeled, is of
course the chief interest of Tallahas-
see-to me of course-and another
fine building, or rather series of build
ings, is the old Florida State College,
now the state college for women and
girls. One sees very few new build
ings Of any description, nearly all
being Of the Colonial style prevalent
throughout the south before the war,
and type very rare in the newly
settled and rapidly growing South
Florida"