Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-08-24

bring back as 1t were the touch OF the
vanished hand" once more to Its pleas
ures and profits.
Fut the conditions that now prevailed
we're all at variance with the happy-go-
Iuckv periods before the war. II was too
far TO the kitchen when the wife ana
mother must do the cooking II was 100
far TO the spring when help was scarce
and weary feet must save time and steps
IT, common sense of the situation was
Concentration. convenience and economy.
The we'll on the back porch, ana the
stove room adjoining were equally as sen
sfhle as the nearby barn and laoor-saVlns
farm machinery, SO --
when a new building was erected
the first effort was toward warmth IN
winter, as well as ventilation IN sum
mer. The capacious ehreplaces were an
right with a back yard full OF little
sarI,i.s 70 hiring In a half a cord OF
FOOD each day and thus keep their otn-
erwise idle hands from the usual mis-
chief which, Satan always nnds to. do
The great 2O-foot square cnampe.
couII notsbe made comfortable In MID
v,tnter.' unless the supply OF fuel was
constant and :iinrsuifttipg.
Heaters and stoves begun. to appear
and the open fireplace with CROWNS
logs and fat Igfitwood fagots became
too much, OF a luxury ana TOO sfed S. al
exnense for the. average householo'
even on the plantation: when labor
was scarce and always to be paio Tor
in cash or its. equivalent, although WOOD
ONLY a few days ago I: stood on the
hack piazza of one% Of our southern
ante-bellum homes where the halls were
1sifeet wide. the ceilings from IL 10 IA
feet high and the rooms. 1S In NUMBER,
were none less than 20 feet square;
ana looked across the magnificent
80. ~ native oaks to a great strag-
cling harm and the delapidated outouilI-
inps which still remain TO show what
bad been there, In time past, and no"
useless the most Of II was to the ten
ant family now occupying a SzO'VOO
Iouse tyyo-thirds OF the space not avail
able for any purpose whatever TO them.
and I said to myself: Such Is llie:
The whirIigigs of time had not only
impoverished the former owner out ha9 !,
removed the property from every ChiIu
and xrandchild Of it's once proud pos
s9ssor-and now, all of this former
magnifcence barely paid the taxes anu
a low interest on the purchase money
when sold under pressure.
Scarce a mile away was neat nome
costing less than $4,000 with all the
modern .conveniences Or gas ana water
seven or eight rooms, a pretty weh-
kent lawn in front, and everything
ship-shape from cellar to garnet, ana
the contrast was marked as well as
nainful. in comparing the well-nigh USE
less old. home with the modern dwell
ing. which met all the requirements
of its well-to-do occupant, at one-tenrh
of the cost Of the former building.
When $4,000 are now put into modern
southern home II means luxury, with con-
venieaces. beauty with utility, ana every
appurtenance that taste may suggest, or
wealth can supply, in our southern land.
The before-the-war plantation home Is
not opliy aansuited to practical purposes,
but painful reminder of the days that
will come again no more.
Nor are these charges in country homes
peculiar alone to the war devastated
south. .,-,
| In far-away New England the same
conditions prevail. The costly buildings OF
I 60 or 30 years ago in country places have
been left behind, while their owners have
either removed to nearby bustling cities
or located In the far-distant west, for va
rious reasons. a..
Perhaps in the days ahead Of US, the
tide may set in toward the restoration Of
the now unpopular and oftentime tenant
less buildings OF a quarter OF a century
ago.. just as rich Americans are restor-
ing ducaI palaces In England by reason
/ OF titled marriages, to be paid for in re-
stored magnifcence. Unfortunately for
/ American homes, the restoration must
await the revival OF peculiar interest or a
fad in fashion.