The National tribune., 1907-01-17

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New Orleans. Upon this trade the early
settlers and thert descendants grew
wealthy. Thenfthe rich valleys west Ut
them, the Scidto and the Miamis. be-
came rivals for agricultural pre-emi-
nence. and SURPASSED that Of the Mus
kingum On the richness Of their prod
ucts. Stin GAINESVILLE grew, not with a
boom, but steafiilysand healthfully. It
was naturally a Strategic point for COM
merce. 1t waS subsequently the head
of navigation On the Muskingum be-
cause the boats Gould. in high water.
go few miles above the town, yet the
river below was favigable the whole
season round. The great National road
which was plannedto reach from Ral-
timore to st. Loufs ran from Cumber-
land, Md. thru Wheeling and Zanes-
vile to Columbus and Indianapolis. 1t
was completed to the latter place when
the return of the Democrats to power
stopt all internal Improvements. When
the canal-building era began GAINESVILLE
was one OF the places reckoned with in
Ohio's magnificent system of canals, a
! system, by the way, which she is now
thinking of again bringing into USE A
very important canal was dug from
GAINESVILLE to Cleveland, giving COM
munication with the Great Lake sys-
tenn ~Fs H'-a
Then the railway era set in, and tho
among the earlier railroads built was
the Cincinnati, Wilmington e. Zanes-
vile. the construction Of these greatly
injured GAINESVILLE by taking away her
Importance as shipping port. 1t was
no longer necessary to send produce
to GAINESVILLE to find a market by the
way Of the river, and much of her
country became tributary to Pittsburg.
Cleveland and Cincinnati. This did not,
however, catch the sturdy people with
out resources. They had discovered
that they had abundance of coal, iron
ore and excellent glass sand. They be-
gan the manufacture of iron, and de-
veloped surprisingly in the quality and
quantity of their product. They also
went to making window glass, and
found that they had excellent clay
which they first made available for the
manufacture of fire brick. In time the
developments of the great iron and
steel factories elsewhere robbed therl
of their prominence in that branch of
Industry, and other cities took away
their lead in window glass, but they
still led in some specialties of iron and
steel manufacture and in the making
OF specialties in glassware, such as fruit
jars.
ZaneSville POtteries.
lie HioSl cTeultdDle ueVelOpmenI ana
one which shows this readiness OF
adaptation, of which 1 have spoken, is
in the pottery business. There is an
abundance of excellent fire clay around
GAINESVILLE, and the manufacture of fire.
brick and tile began at an early date.
1t has constantly developed as the
cheapness of superior coal and later of
natural gas furnished fuel to give
GAINESVILLE distinctive lead among her
frxyr,
ural gas fields within 18 or 20 miles of
the city on either side, and the manag-
ers of these are using them wisely fur
nishing gas at reasonable rate, but
avoiding the senseless waste which so
rapidly exhausted other gas fields. From
the cruder forms Of clay working the
GAINESVILLE people steadily progressed to
better. and at last ,ventured into COM
petition with the finest .,keEansic ware
made in the world. They have six es-
'tablisfiments. with an aggregate capital
OF about $1,000.000, which give en-
ployment to more-than 1000 skilled
workers, who earn on an average nearly
$500 year and produce wares the
value Of TWhicts fhea census estfiha ates at
$1,144,o00 annually! To such high
degree of artistic excellence have these
wares been raised that they find a
ready sale at high prices all over the
world. One of these. the s. A. Weller
Pottery Factory makes vases urns and
ornamental pottery of all kinds that is
not surpassed anywhere in the world
in artistic design: in7 Establishment and
in thoroly fine workmanship It's Lou
welsa, Eocean, Airelian and Sicardo
wares are held in high esteem by con-
noisseurs everywhere. These embrace
pedestals. umbrella stands, !,
etc. The factory now covers over 300,-
900 feet of floor space. Another fac
tory makes encaustic tile, which has1
an extensive sale and high repute. -
A Thrifty Plsse,, .o- ,sn y
Everything about Zapesyille, .bearsl
evidence the order, thrift and pro-
gressiveness of its people. 1t is a cit, |
of employers and workingmen, all liy- !
ing inhisarmony, mutually helpful and /
mutually regardful. Without excep-
tion the houses are comfortable, taste
full and well kept Most OF the houses,
even of the poorest class are surround
ed by pleasant grounds, all showing
care and taste. Singularly nearly all of
the houses are rooted with Vermont
slate, which gives them a durable, yet
with their many colors a very attrac-
tive appearance. The streets are paved
with vitrified brick, set on edge, and
are regular and fairly clean. Regard
for the common people is shown by
the many excellent school houses and
a number of fine parks on the breezy
hilltops around the valley. These are