The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-04-19
MONTGOMERY, THE GREAT E
By C. CROSYENO DA IVES

such commission and in connection
 with which extreme wisdom and fore slsnt would be required. Nov that montgomery is comparatively small and us iand values not extreme. the op- portunity exists to replan some of the
 details of the city that. as the years
 go by and our population increases will became more and more exacting upon commerce and convenience. The second great point to bear in
 mind in connection with Montgomery
 Is this: That, being the Capital City,
 1t must always in some of its clements
 be a show city and the more success fully 1t retains or expands beautiful
 and impressive ideas of decoration and
 arrangement, the more truly does 1t establish its right to be looked up to
 and regarded favorably by those who are naturally drawn by curiosity and
 by business to the executive centre of the State.
 Every candid thinker will realize that very little consideration has been given to this essential point in the development of the city. It's streets
 are in many cases of magnificent width.
 but the prospective of these streets is
 damaged by miscellaneous pole angles, pole heights and here and there solid structure over the sidewalk. The
 magnificent perspective of Dexter Av- | enue is thus marred and too few peo- pie realize its possible beauty, holding within it's beautiful converging lines
 leading to the simple, classic glory of | the Capitol.
 Alabama is particularly rich in his- | toric material that is not recognized publicly at all. When I make the as-. sertion that in public thoroughfares
 there is only one statue in the whole State of Alabama. that of Admiral Semmes in Mobile, 1t must be forced ' upon the thought of Alabamians and
 Montgomerians that such a paucity of statuary is altogether unworthy of a State so rich in history.
 Let us look for a moment at a few | facts regarding Montgomery. It fell | to the writer's lot recently to prepare
 list of places for teachers to visit
 while in the Capital City of that which | is to be one of the greatest States of | the Union. From a local historical point of view. could only urge them | to visit the Capitol grounds, the Capitol
 and the Jefferson Davis Home on Lee
 Street.
 | Now what are certain great facts re-
 garding this region? Within nine | miles of here, as I understand Ala
 bama history, the surrender was made by weatherford to General Jackson | of all Indian control of this region, an i event that may be possibly regarded
 as the most important event in the his tory of Alabama; for upon that surren- der has depended the entire develop ment of the state to this day and upon that surrender depends the future development of this state. How great
 that development is to be no man can l foresse:. Thus. we see that in the mat ter of Indian control, which was the
 first control of this region, there came
 finally an historical event that can and
 should be recorded in a public way. | As I understand it, three miles from l Montgomery, De Soto rested week or
 so from his journey. Upon that jour
 ney depended the claim of Spain in its | aggressive years. While Spain made l but little use of this expected EI Dorado nevertheless Spain's claim to | this territory was conceded and subse- l quently recognized by fights and by 1 treaties. We therefore can speak of l Alabama soil as once lying beneath
 the flag of Spain with De Soto as the
 one prominent person of the period. l Then came the dispute between | France and Spain, ultimately leading
 to the driving out of the Spaniards by
 the French. Tn connection with that
 third historical period in our history.
 the name of Bienville stands supreme. Thus over this land on which Mont
 gomery rests, capital of a state hiding
 within its bosom a wealth of mineral beside which the wealth of the golden
 sands of California and Alaska pale into insignificance, the flurs-de-lys | of France also waved in conquering | triumph.
 The flag of the Union by right of
 successful combat was recognized in
 this territory of Alabama, just as much
 as within the states that bordered on
 the Atlantic. It was in this period that Jackson's
 successful conflict with the aboriginal
 owners was brought to an end, leading
 to the picturesque surrender first re-
 ferred to above For many years the
 flag of the United States waved over
 Alabama's hills. to be succeeded at last
 by the stars and bars, the never to-be-