Henderson gold leaf., 1911-09-14
OUR TOWN GOVERNMENT.
Room For Improvement-A Call to
Progress-Take Off the Bridal Veil
and Let the Bushes Come.

/
permanent subject oi all physica
experience, and then sell that ego
All trades are based upon the abilir,
OF one to make another one valu
more highly any particular thine
than he himself values it. All corpora
tions have their ego, hence the tow
OF Henderson has her ego. Now tn
Chamber OF Commerce is trying t,
develop the ego of the town in orde
to induce people to buy and locat,
here. That is logical and reason
able. At the same time our towr
government, which is the least pro
gressive institution in our borders
is smothering to death that ego anC
canning it. Ii this is not so, why il
it that our Hustling Henderson ha.
no market house. Why bedeck ths
streets with blody beef, goat and hog
when we might as well make the
town look as apetizing as the EN-
bossed boar OF Thessaly? Why in
vite people to see the town with q
view to locating here and then ask
them to stick their heads in a crocuf
sack until you can get them by al
those beef shacks? You say we are
too small q town and toopoor. Ok.
ford has less population and much
less money, yet Oxford has good
market house and no beef stalls on
the streets. Is Oxford as good q
town as Henderson? No. Has she
as much capital? No. What is the
matter? 1t all falls back on an un.
progressive town government and
unprogressive town officials. Why
even the old, old city OF Jerusalem
two thousand years ago had q sheep
gate and a fish gate. Jerusalem had
market house five hundred years
before she had a knife or a fork.
What OF Hustling Henderson?
When it comes to our efficiency in
fighting fire l feel like little child
crying in the night, little child
whose only language is cry. Or
maybe it is more like Sandy Mills ad-
dressing some benevolent associa-
tiOn.
With few exceptions, in the heart
OF town and where quick notice was
given, our fire department has not
saved any buildings wherein the fire
originated. The policy of the COM
pany is to save the adjoining prop
erty and let the original fire burn if
it has gotten any headway. If l am
wrong say so.
When J. 81. Goodrich's stables
were on fire a stream ofwater twenty
feet high was not developed. l was
there and know. When S. P. Coop
er's garage caught, one had to hold
the hose so close to the flames in
order to get the water on the build
ing that it would burn the flesh. /
was in that battle and lost some of
the epidermic cuticle of my own
hide. | ought to know. When the
negro Masonic hall burned the fire
company could not put out a tele-
phone pole. 1t tried and it failed.
When the bagging factory in town,
not the one out OF town, burned,
they failed to be able to throw water
on top OF Mrs. Aliens one story porch,
even when standing on the railing
Five dollars in private money was
paid man to pour water on top OF
the porch, while the fire company
was playing fiddle winks at the noz-
zle or might as we'll have been play
ing fiddle de winks or "plucking the
grass to see where sits the wind" or
anything as foolish. When the bag
ging factory just out OF town burned
the company could not stand on the
Carolina Buggy Factory's roof and
pour water out of the hose down on
the fire below and the distance across
was only the width of a street. l
was there and saw it. 1t is true that
that factory was out of town, still
our hose connected there and what
is the use of being connected if it fails
in it's purpose? The fire burned un-
til an Allwise God sent a rain. Ali
of these inefficiencies are explained
by excuses. But progress rebels at
excuses. Excuse is the arch germ
that gnaws at the vitals OF progress.
l have been told by the best au-
thorities that it was not intended
that our fire company or it's water
efficiency should be able to put out
such a fire as that OF the first bag
ging factory that burned almost on
our main street, that we could not
expect to get so much protection for
so small an amount OF money. III
we cannot put out that bagging
factory we cannot put out Sam Wat
kins' store. Ii we cannot put out
Sam Watkins store we cannot put
out that block on which his store
stands. II we cannot put out that
block we cannot put out the town.
II the present system of fire protec-
tion cannot put out the town 1t is
inadequate and progress calls for
help.
Somewhere the ashed covered en-
her of destruction lies. To be fann-
ed means desolation. A full blown
flame in one of the business blocks in
Henderson will place our business
section somewhere between Erebus
and the twilight zone of He'll. The
gods of our good luck will then
"Give US high ball." the silvery
heavens will be turned into garden
OF golden rod, the flames will toll
and crackle like burning thorns un-
der pot, stars of the silvery night
will seem as fevered tinder, the milky
way will turn to writhing wreaths of
restless smoke. Then we'll may 45O3
heroes sit upon the battlements OF
Hustling Henderson, and fiddle to
the tune OF
There amt no nothing yet no more
And nothing amt no use to me,
In vain pace the lonely shore
Since have saw the last OF thee. y
Pheobus, rising early from his ori-
entail draperies, will brew a tear and
chill at such a sight. For property
will have returned unto the God who
gave it and the mourners will 60
about the streets. Visionary did
you say? Grant it. While slumber-
ing Henderson sleeps dreams and
visions are apropos and timely. But
only last Thursday night, surely you