The Washington herald., 1909-07-18

ALlauLds J4lN H. mere Is AS pa
like Atlanta, and no tonic like the At
lanue spirit"
These words constitute the slogan
which the business men Of this city have
adopted as a catch phrase 70 place on
their advertising literature. II is the
truth behind fl which makes It effectuai
and pertinent.
To one who looks below the surface
into the causes Of things the beauty Of
Atlanta to-day, its history before Sher-
mans March. and its wonderful recu-
peration after that baptism Of deyasta-
ton are almost inexplicabIe. Atlanta has
no navigable river. Though listed as one
Of the ports or entry Of the United States
II is 600 miles frcm the sea. It was some
thing of a town before the railroad was
thought OF. and literally compelled the
junction OF lines by its Industrial and
commercial Importance
People Are Energetic.
What. then, made Atlanta what 1t is?
The only answer one can give is. the en-
erey. aggressiveness. and determination
Of ils people 20 succeed. In other words.
the Atlanta spirit" Even IN early times
il was peopled b. energetic men, who
struggled for a lead IN business That
spirit then made manifest seems 10 have
come down as a heritage 10 succeeding
generations and 10 have become an alb
scrbing passion in the men Of affairs Of
this town to-day. They not only do not
fail in what they undertake. but they
carry their ends farther and 10 better
success than their rivals in this Land OF
Dixie
Yet there IS a reason which in a meas
ure NAV account even for the Atlanta
spirit The city IS on the crest Of high
ridge, in the very center OF the watershed
between the streams which flow 70 the
Gulf and the Atlantic II IS more than
I.o0O- feet above tidewater. which places it
I'm a different climate from some of the
cities OF the same latitude. In point OF
temperature and climatic influences At
lanta is pretty nearly IN the same envi-
ronment that 1T would be 100 miles farther
rorth. Granted that pure air and tenn
pered heat have a potential influence on
tho destiny OF cities. as upon the lives Of
men. and one mas tho best att2inable phil
lcsophical explanation Of the Atlanta
spirit.
state Capital an Asset.
In talking with the man who has ac-
Quired national fame through Coca-Cola
about this thing, he ruminated a mo-
Eent and said:
well. Atlanta had one asset in the be-
ginning. It was the State capital. and 10
HAT fact, with the energy Of the men who
have directed business and political az
fairs here. ] attribute the greatness Of
it, ~''''
Atlanta is a city of 10000 inhabitants,
and with the parts Of Fulton County i'm
mediately adjacent IL musters probably
I60, 900 people. Outwardly, it is a bustling,
smoky. industrial town a beehive Of ac-
tivity Of every conceivable description.
end has the air OF utility rather than any
gtudied effort toward a merely beautiful
city,
In the downtown district. while many
fine buildings rear their heads far into
the sky. some Of them with fine architec-
tural proportions. the aspect of things is
forbiddng rather than pleasing The at
mosphere is sordld. the once white build
ings are grimy with the smirch Of soft
coal. and on a murky day one instinc-
lively thinks OF Pittsburg. Cincinnati. or
St Louis. and blesses his lucky stars
ington.
But an automobile ride out Atlantas
famous Peachtree street. along the fine
macadam roadway which winds out Of
the city into Fulton County with the
Tneanderings Of the ancient COW path.
ones judgment IS amended. and he IS
soon ready 70 admit without reluctance
that in one city on earth the speculative
builder has not triumphed over the better
sense Of the. people. The houses stand
alone. great stone. brick wood. and con-
crete block structures. with ground about
them-six miles OF them in Peachtree
street alone.
City Is Well Shaded.
Atlanta Is as well shaded as Washing
ton. and the writer was told that there is
no city department having charge Of the
trees. Each landholder plants his own
trees. according TO a city ordinance pre-
scrib.ag their place with reference 10 curb
Lines. and public sentiment and the eter-
raj fitness Of things have led these At
.ntans 10 set the same kinds OF trees on
the same streets. much the same as a
CITY engineer would have done.
The detached house is the rule in At
lauta. Three or four years ago an origi-
nal genius came here, bought up the land
on both sides Of a street for TWO squares.
and put up twenty or more houses in a
solid block Though rents are high In
Atlanta and the biggest burden upon the
worker Of small means. those houses, the
writer was told. have some OF them never
been occupied. and none Of them when a
family could get a detached house The
peonle Of Atlanta have learned the value
OF air and ventilation and sunshine and
shade and flowers and life-like. well
ordered human beings. and they simply
won't have the block house and the
wretched speculative builder need not
apply.
Mavor Maddox told the writer that the
citv government would hesitate long be-
fore granting q permi: to build in that
citv the architectural nOnstrosities which
disfeure many Of the larger cities Of the
country Al least, they would discourage
any such operation by all the influence in
their power.
Land Sells High.
Il is learned that land sells al a high
rrice Tor house sites in Atlanta Some OF
the owners out Peachtree street paid as
high as SIS to the front foot, even for
rnoderate-priced homesteads- In smaller
streets the price IS less. but the conclu-
. Continued on Page 2, Column 4.