The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-01-22
JEFF |. DAVIS
IN PENSACOLA
AFTER 10 YEARS
WELL KNOWN NEWSPAPER MAN
SEES MANY CHANGES SINCE HE
KNEW CITY A DECADE AND A
HALF AGO.

JEFF L. Davis, former Pensacola
newspaper man. but for many years
past a newspaper maker in Florida,
Alabama, and Georgia, is again in Pen
sacola after an absence of Is years.
Needless to say, Mr.. Davis sees few
things that look at all familiar. "The
custom house and the opera house are
about all I can recognize" he said to
Journal representative. Pensacola
has grown and improved" he con-
tinued. 'The Plaza which, when l was
here, used to be nothing but a garbage
dump, is now one of the most beautiful
places 1 have ever seen. And every
thing looks equally as good. This
street paving is not only a great i'm
provement, but it looks like exception
ally fine paving. The San Carlos hotel
is beauty and these Palafox and Gar
cen street parkways are going to make
Pensacola noted for her beauty. When
left here there wasn't a show window
or PalafoX street and the best building
Ia the city was the cid Merchants
MOTEL. Pensacola has certainly under
gone a transformation and after seeing
II can easily imagine how Rip Van
Wrinkle felt when he returned to his
home village after his twenty-year
Sleep"
Mr.. Davis came to Pensacola origin
ally nearly IS years ago and for two
years Was editor of the old Pensacola
Times, later establishing the Pensacola
Star He was a contemporary and CO.
worker in the Pensa cola newspaper
field with John w. Burge, r. F. Smith,
Ed Crawford, John O'Connor, Willis NJ.
Ball. w. NJ. Loftin, Ed Gerkins, Chas.
H. Bliss, Jack Bernie, c. j. Bell, and
the present editor of TIE Journal
The politics of Pensacola was siren
uous in those days. On one side was
the Tammany organiza tion in which
w. D. Chipley, John Holland, w. H.
knowles, Geo. T. Morgan, Pat McHugh,
Ed Wallace, j. Ed. O'Brien and other
we'll known citizens were prominent
figures, while in the other, known as
The Mullet crowd, were such men as
5. r. Mallory, Sierra Leonard, Dennis
Burns. D. G. Brent, DR.. w. E. Ander-
son, John B. Jones, Hugh Hatton,
Thornton Whiting, Mayor w. E. An
5erson, Emmett Wolfe and other
prominent characters.
Those were great days and jeff
element. Some of the editorial Clashes
between Mr.. Davis, who was then edit
ing the Times, and John O'Connor, who
was editor of the News, are remem
bered to this day.
One of Jeff's proud boasts was that
he had never seen snow and never ex-
pected to, but he admitted yesterday
that he had since then seen a light
snow in Georgia though he never wants
TO see any more of it. He has changed
little since the old days in Pensacola.
His hair is perhaps a little more gray.
but otherwise he is the same jeff. He
recently established the Perry Banner,
ever in Taylor county. When asked
Yesterday what he had done with the
paper he replied: Il LETT it. I'm tired
Of running a country newspaper"
1t is quite likely that Mr.. Davis will
spend a day or two visiting his old
friend, Capt. George Washington Chill
derson, now foreman of Hub Aliens
Milton Gazette. Capt Childerson was
foreman of the old Times composing
room when Mr.. Davis edited that paper.