The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-09-28
AUGUSTA DEFENDED.
A Town Of Human Beings Like Others
What More Can BE Said?

To THE EDITOR OF THE SuN-Sir: But
for the slanderous statements about
Augusta in particular, and Georgia and
the South In general, made by Edwin
w. walker, an alleged ~Southerner, in
THE SUN Of September 10, the writer
would not ask your indulgence again
TO say n few words In behalf of our
city and State. 1t is very evident that
Mr.. Walker knew a maniacal murderer
who shot his paramour while she was
at work in the cotton mill and was
hanged for the offence. He was hanged
for II crime not nearly so hideous as
committed by one Hans Schmidt of
New York, who has never ever got
close enough to the electric chair to
get singed. Many people here thought
he was crazy. but the courts and a
sanity commission decided he wasn't,
and he went to the gallows for his crime.
Can you make objection to our treat
ment of this "gunman"?
The grossest misstatements In Mr..
Walkers article are in reference to
our mill district, which is not ideal by
any means, yet one which Is better than
many cotton mill districts and Is con-
sttntly getting better. Cotton mill OPP
c~ratives are not Classed as skilled labor
and the wages are comparatively low.
However. taking men, women and chill
dren above IA years of age. in Augusta,
the average mill wage Is S1.1O per day.
Husband, wife and sons and daughters
In a single family often work and the
income from their labors Is a goodly
sum.
The Board of Education spent $685.
600 eight years ago In constructing in
the heart OF the mill district a mag
nihcent school building, the largest
grammar school in the South, and the
attendance opening day this fall was
i.Oi2. The ladies' OF the First Baptist
Church have "A large mission In the
mill district where nursing babies and
other little children are kept free OF
charge for the mothers who work in
the mills. Free night schools are pro-
vidcd for boys and girls who have to
work IN the day. A movement is now
on foot to establish a branch Of the
Young Mems christian Association In
the mill district. n a branch of the
Young Women's Christian Association
is sure to follow
Mr.. Walker says that Georgia thinks
too much OF Mary phagan dead and too
little Of her alive. We feel that though
abe is but "A poor little mill girl she de-
serves the greatest protection that our
Government and our civilization can
throw around her.
As to mill girls being induced to
enter the red light district by methods
almost Identical with those employed by
New York white %slavers, nothing is
more absurd or more far away from the
truth. That a portion OF the habitu6s OF
the red light district are products Of the
mill district rs true here AZ IN every
other place where there are mills. 1t
is no worse here than els where. Au-
susta handles the problem of fallen
women 10y ~scgrcgat,ug them, instead Of
letting them scatter all over the city.
and this Is a problem which has bafiied
the most thoughtful minds Of all ages.
| nav lived In Augusta ten years
and have never heard Of "A person being
murdered for money, though | have
been In the vicinity Of Hicks Hall many
times myself and have sent reporters
Ia that section where Mr.. Walker as
serts men will steal. beat or kill for
hire. There are no ROfranos in Au-
gusta, no men OF the type that have
politicians who stand iu their way
~"croakcd. How many men did those
witnesses tell the District Attorney lio-
franc had murdered Have the muir
derers Of the big poultry dealer on the
East side ever been apprehended2
while statistics show. a. Mr.. Walker
says. that IN 1912 there were Pa muir
drrs in Greater New York aud 80 in
Nllst'lislt 'Ht.s sun ~ hh no ~ Ahi
enough. lie ought also to rave said
that the homicide rate among negroes.
as compared with whites I'm the South.
was 81, To !. while in New York all
the homic.dcs are among CauCasians.
\ newspaper stated a few months ago
that thirty people disappeared IN Greater
New York every day and were never
heard from again. | do not know that
this is true. ami neither am ! writing
4 quasi philippe. So to speak. about
your city, the greatest of all the cities
of the world In Georgia we do not
have ideal conditions existing ~ all
things. else we would be ready for the
millennium. and Mr.. Walker could Join
those six generations Of Southern an
ccs.ors." We are all struggling along
20 make our communities rs decent as
possible and to leave a heritage 81 which
our descendants Will not bee too much
ashamed THOMAS j. HAMILTON.
ArLhSrN. Ca, September %.