The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-05-01
MANUFACTURING.

The city's development along manufac-
 turing lines shows ss factories Of various
 kinds with employees numbering S54s. and
 pay roll of s35 .s45 per week. Chief l among her industrial products turned out | by the various manufacturing concerns ] are; Finished goods of cotton consuming l a goodly portion of homegrown raw ma- ] terial, both In fine and coarse texture; re- | fined cotton seed oil produced by four l large factories together with the various i by-produets resultant: and among the . ! woodworking establishments may be men, toned coffin factory with a large out l put, manufacturing all grades box fae- 1 tory and sundry other manufacturing | plants of like production; a chair factory
 and also a large wagon factory for the | especial production of the newly patent 1 ed elght-wheel wagon. Mention should I also be made of the three immense fer ! tilizer factories situated at this point Foundations of all the prosperity and growth of Meridian are represented in two very important products drawn from tbe territory tributary to this city. or course the production of cotton, Its man.
 ufacture and the by-products resulting therefrem are naturally suggested. The development of the long leaf pine lndus- try has largely contributed to the pros- 1 perty of Meridian It seems that nature l\bys a sequence has joined with the en- I(terprise of man to present here unusual l opportunities for the development Of
 wood working industries. Ever and anon
 a new railroad Is constructed. and while there cannot be for years any dearth of
 timber yet each new artery opens up an- other field Of raw material covering wide areas of long leaf pine together with 1 many of the hard woods It Is doubtful If | any section of the south present to the
 wood-worker as attractive opportunities ,Pa,, ,,fh sites. finishings and furniture as does
 Meridian with it's railroads and It's un- touched forests of timber. It Is pointed to
 with pride that at the late world fair at St Louis the prize for inside intshings was awarded 10 Mississippi curly pine. Of one thing am sure, after seeing a
 number of buildings in Meridian, notably
 the Elks' hall, which is finished in curly pine, there can be nothing more desir- able. coupling art with utility, than this same pine.
 Pro Bono Publco. The Evening Star Is the afternoon eight
 page newspaper, which takes the Asso- ciated Press. It has a clean-face, make up and is ably edited.
 l The Dispatch Publishing company has secured charter and Is making arrange ments for complete equipment to pub
 fish a morning daily here with full As-
 sociated Press report. The first issue Is scheduled to appear May 20.
 | The telephone service here Is one of | the very best Miss Electricity In Mer- l dian Is prompt in her responses to calls,
 and gentle-mannered and winning
 voiced as those delightful folk old Ulysses
 had to steer around, or stuff cotton in l his ears.
 The Matty-Hersee hospital Is an inst-
 tuition in which Meridian takes great | pride It is ably managed and has en- l dowed free wards at the disposal of those 1 in need of such sheltering arms. 1 The city boasts of a hrst-class musi- | cal organization in the Second Regiment | band. Once week outdoor concerts
 ars given by this celebrated band, and ! almost the entire populace gather to en- Joy the delightful music dispensed ons l these occasions.
 Commercial Organization.
 A most potent and active agency In | promoting the upbuilding of the city, en- | corraglng every forward movement coni- ! merctal, industrial and civic, uniting indi- | vidunl units of enterprise into compact | anu effective force for the common good, | Is the Board of Trade and Cotton Ex- | change, composed of the representative | and influential elements in the civic eco | nomy, that take cognizance of whatever pertains to the welfare of the community l in every material and civil relation. Its I membership embraces the best opponents | of the commercial, industrial and profess | sional slte of the city, while It's officers | and committees are zealous and alert in | the work assigned them of building al- | ways for a greater and better Meridian. | A few years ago this body absorbed tho | Young Mems Business league and took
 over the functions of that organization. l thus extending the sphere of its endeay- | OTIS beyond the purely commercial to in- | clude whatever pertaned to the cty's | advancement along all lines of betterment | and growth. The board owns the building | occupied by 1t and furnishes to its mem- l bership quotations from all the principal | markets of the United States and Europe, | It's facilities in this respect equallng those
 of the larger cities.
 Educational.
 The propaganda of certain patriotic cit- izens of these United States has con- | tnualy pointed to the illiteracy of the | south as a general proposition. Now while | on broad facts taking both races there are many things lacking, yet from a | close observation of numbers of communl- ties. extending over several southern states, I feel called on to declare that
 educational facilities for the education of the white children in well ordered com munities are up to the highest standard.
 I do not believe that anywhere the pub lie schools of Birmingham. Selma and Meridian, with which l am intimately fa- 4 | miliar. can be exceled in the matter of buildings, appointments. standards of | training and capabilities of teachers any,
 where in the wide world This is broad
 assertion but l am prepared to prove
 that 1t is literally true. Here in Meridian
 they have eight splendidly equipped pub- lie school buildings, attended by 2400 white children, TOO colored, with corps of teachers numbering ffty-eight white, nf- | teen colored and all supervised by one capable superintendent. The entire att
 tendance on schools of every class includ- ing private schools and secular colleges. | shows a total enrolment of 5f20 pupils
 LauderdaIe County.
 While cotton Is the chief product of
 this county, yet truck farming at no dis l tant day will become one of the main
 stays of this section. The soil is of a | sandy loam underlaid with a clay sub- ] soil and with reasonable fertilization pro- l duces good crops. The hills about here | have produced fine peaches as the | celebrated peach orchards of Georgia. | Most all of the small fruits can be profit l ably grown here and the cultivation of | berries for shipping purposes is steadily l growing in importance.
 | Meridian is about eighteen miles from l the Alabama line. and just over this line | the cultivation of beans. peas and onions l on an extensive scale has already proven I