The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-02-17

d. . no d ~
lngton except US being the one chosen
Iby some OF the commercial leaders OF
the South to come here and organize
the needed wairlwind campaign for
raising the endowment fund required
to embcdy and give force to the plr-
pose which lies back Of the Southern
Commercial Congress.
my arrival In Washington Is there
fore significant Of settled conviction
among the men Of the South that this
effort unparalleled in the. commercial
History Of the United States. will be
q success for the men Who believe in
the wisdom and tine power Of this
movement are not idle dreamers or
fancl!ul sentlmentalists. but men vino
lido things successfully.
"S!nce reached Washington on
Tuesday, the whole campaign OF Of
fort In relation to the endowment. mas
been planned ont and is now In MO.
tlon. Ny judgment Is that the entire
fun dwIl be raised In short time.
because the plan has back OF 1t al
absolutely right Idea raised upon =
safe commercial investment, that
must appeal to the financial common
sense OF the commercial leaders Of
| the south. 5,E.
Its Meaning to Washington.
~ caa well understand the extreme
interest with which the men OF WASH.
ington. large proportion OF then
from Southern States. are watchlGg
this movement and aiding 1t as far rs
they can. It's success means the pt".
mnnent Identification Of one OF the
largest parcels Of ground In tie basi.
ness center OF the city. but beyond this
1t means the concentrating mere OF n
great trade and industrial movement
that cannot be otherwise than helpful
to Washington business enterprises.
It means more than that; 1t means a
permanent monument TO the Initiative
and enterprise oil. the southern States
as n whole. II means still more than
that-lt means the placing Of 81 ,OoO.'
600 Of Southern money in the city OF
Washington, In recognition Of tine fact
that Washington is the capital Of the
Nation, and the very heart Of the MI.
tons organized ondeavors.
"The purpose to erect q Southern
hall Of fame and home OF commercial
endeavor,' Is perfectly natural out
growth Of conditions that. largely IN.
noticed by the rest Of the country.
hive been at work in the Southern
States. There are In the South over
1000 commercial bodies. each in Its
place working for local development.
and each succeeding. more or less.
For some years past. 1t has been real
lied By these commercial bodies that
the measuring OF effort against results
showed a pltiful disproport!on. There
has seemed to be a pail hanging over
advertising enleayor and endeavor b.
truthful printed circulars. Some cit.
les and towns have spent thousands
OF dollars on advertising campaigns.
whose results were simply Residual
ASH" It is natural that ashes should
not satisfy these groups Of men who
have been working so unselfislly for
community growth. II Is only within
the past year that there has come n
clenr understanding Of what is the
arcn.hinirancc. 1t Gun be best summed
up in ono word-ignorance.
| .... WI "AkaSN lSiIot aiISC.
"The rest of the country. and the
world. for that matter, is still large.
| ly Ignorant, except statistically, OF the
real South. 1t Is impossible for any
local commercial body to lift such Al
incumbds. There is appalling ignor.
ance as to health conditions. People
will venture down into Virginia with
tlmdlty. and rs for the Gulf region. a
cool many Northern people could not
be hired 10 spend n summer there. The
fact OF the matter Is that nealtn cou.
1ltolns In the extreme portions OF tue
South are. on the average. fine; ami
since the Spanish war and the under.
standing OF the functions Of stegomyla
fasclata, theer Is no danger whatso.
ever from yellow fever, nor is there
even danger Of malaria, providing
houses are screened. The harmful
mosquito itself Is positively rare In
many portions Of the South. nave
Just come from one OF the suburbs OF
Montgomery, and there were few err
mosquitoes there than In the outskirts
OF New York City. Then. too. because
the great coastal plain is compara-
lively low lying. people think that
wafer must be poor. The softest wa
tor TO pc found anywhere in the world !
is easily tapped ut almost any point
In the South not nplcrlaid by rocks.
The ar!eSian systems now installed Ia
many Southern cities provide the ell.