The Washington herald., 1908-05-31
VIRGINIA CITY is GROWING
Petersburg Animated by Business
Men Who Do Things.
HarbOr Improvement Nears Compile
tiOn, and Power Plant About
Ready for Operation.
Special 70 The Washington Herald.

Special to The Washington Herald
Petersburg, Va, May 30-The fame Of
Petersburgs business organization has
been so noisy that The Washington
Herald representative determined to find
out something OF what it was doing, or,
more properly, hId what it had done. 1t
is a striking organization. and is more
striking example of what cooperation
among business men in a community can
bring about.
The list Of directors contains the names
OF men wis have been identified with the
social and business life in this commu-
nifty for many years.
The president is a young man, Mr.
Charles Hall Davis. quick. full of en-
thusiasm begotten Of experience and self
consciousness Of power. and infused with
intense love Of his city. He is man Of
big force, president OF a bank, q lawyer
of ability. and. withal, a gentleman of
that peculiar Southern flavor.
The vice president is Mr.. Augustus
Wright, Interested in banks, trust COM
panies. dominating influence in several.
anG the proprietor, together with his
sons, of an enormous wholesale shoe busi-
ness
The secretary, Mr.. Edward X Quarles.
is a bundle Of enthusiasm. upon which
is superimposed poise and good judgment.
In addition 10 these men. the following
! is the directory: Robert Cabaniss. Edward
Eigenbruen: T. F. Heath, second vice
president; NJ. c. jackson. Bartlett Roper.
II. s. Seward, and ]. A Weddel, a board
of directors that is capable of handling
any financial institution, or railroad, for
that matter anywhere.
Is it any wonder that Petersburg should
have been rebaptized with spirit of pro-
gressive industry? Of course. such men
could bring results even out OF adverse
conditions, but Petersburg is wonderfully
well situated. and its financial condition
is peculiar unto itself. In its entire his
tory il has never, since banks were or
ganized in the town. been in position of its
banks not meeting all demands In cur
rency. Do you know of any other city or
town in the United States Of which this
can be said?
There is an air of genial good fellow
ship pervading the whole city. If you
have ever conceived of Petersburg as a
ramshackle, ragged old village, correct
your vision.
The residential section, out Sycamore
street, contains homes with beautiful
yards. well-kept hedges of lilac and old
box in evidence which, somehow, 20 the
writer always adds a touch of refinement
At the head of navigation on the Ap-
pomattox River, where the trunk lines Of
three great railway systems meet, the
smoke rises from the chimneys of large
manufacturing plants, wholesale houses
are shipping goods. building projects and
plans for various.other improvements are
being executed. the faces of the business
men are bright and nobody lacks food
and clothing-this IS Petersburg.
War times knew this town as the
Cockade City; to-day Petersburg is called
The Metropolis of Southside Virginia 1t
is pre-eminently a manufacturing center,
and its extensive enterprises for the man
ufacture Of tobacco. trunks and bags,
meal. cotton, and lumber, and for the
handling OF peanuts, are contributing
largely toward the support of its popu-
lation. The wisdom and energy CT men
who have brought the city TO a position
where 1t now manufactures more trunks
and bags than any city in the world,
where its product of one form of manu-
factured tobacco is 100000 pounds annu-'
ally. where S3OOO.OO0 worth of peanuts are
handled every year. are the wisdom and
energy that are responsible to-day for
the even tenor Of Peterburg's way to-
ward greater development
Some evidences Of the substantial ma
ture OF the business enterprises upon
which the Industrial situation depends
are that in the midst of the recent finan-
cial disturbances bank was opened in
the city, other forward moves in indus
trial activity were made. and building
projects of various sorts are more numer-
GUS in Petersburg to-day than at any
time for many years. Enormous Quanti-
ties of leaf tobacco are sold upon the
warehouse floors of the city, necessi-
tating the payment by the banks Of the