The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1908-05-20
-C|TY'S RESOURCES
ANDRAP I'D GROWTH

i
allied in a commercial way, that the
cause of culture and education are lost
| sight Of for the time being, and the
| great interests of mind, heart and
character are sacrificed to the spirit
of commercialism. Not so with Hat.
tiesburg. While she has made mar
velous strides in commercial life, she
has never for moment neglected her
schools. Her people have at all times
felt keen interest and have taken
no usual pride in her public schools.
The city government has always been
generous in fostering them.
Hattiesburg has seven public school
buildings, six for white children and
one for colored. OF the six for white
children, five are handsome brick
structures aggregating thirty-nine
rooms, all heated by steam, hot water
or hot air, and furnished with modern
school apparatus. There are two
frame buildings, one for the whites,
one for the colored, both furnished
in keeping with their respective de-
| mands.
During the session of 1907-0S there
were enrolled in the white public
schools 1,514 pupils. These pupils en-
joy the advantages of graded gram
mar school of eight grades and a grad
ed high school, embracing a years
course. The high school course artic-
! ulates with the freshman class of the
State University and parallel schools.
The high school has library of one
thousand volumes of choice literature
and reference books.
The schools are in the hands of a
board of five trustees, selected by the
board of mayor and aldermen. As an
instance of the city's generosity as to
schools and matters of education, we
have an appropriation OF $1,000 made
at the beginning of 1907 for the pur-
pose of beautifying the city's school
grounds.
In addition to the city's splendid sys-
tenn of public schools we have
Catholic convent for training the ad-
herents of this faith. Also we have
situated on a commanding elevation
/ ing the Southern suburbs of our city
South Mississippi College, an institu-
tion maintaining the usual college
courses and presided over by a fac
ulty of sixteen officers and teachers.
It's splendid equipment was fitted out
at cost of 100000. There are recl-
tation rooms for over five hundred
students and boarding accommoda-
tions for over three hundred. The
buildings are supplied with electric
lights, artesian water, steam heat,
baths of all kinds and sewerage. 1t
has a library of thousands of standard
works. During the present session it
has enrolled over 500 students. The
Hattiesburg Business. College, with
three officers and teachers are here
kept busy with one hundred students
for the past session. In Hattiesburg
child every advantage from the lowest
any father or mother can give his
primary grade to complete college
course.
In seeking to answer the question
What is HattiesburgT we could not
do better than to look at her banking
institutions. Banks may be likened to
the damming of stream; bycollecting
the numberless little riMs of capital
which would minister in very feeble
way to human needs vast force is
created which performs valuable SER
vice to commerce, and indicates the
tide and volume of production and ex-l
change. Let us trace the history OF
the banking interests in Hattiesburg.
In 1895 we find the Bank Of Com
merce with surplus and profits ofl
$4,000 doing the banking business
OF the then insignificant village Of Hat |
tiesburg. In 1899 this bank became |
national bank and today ranks as |
one OF the strongest institutions of the |
kind In the state. They have recently |
removed to their new quarters on Main
street, perfect palatial in its proper.
tions and exquisite 6uish They have
an equipment costing nearly 100000.
which would reflect credit on the great
banks Of the r,,oro ,,,<,+-o.<.ssx.- -.