The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-10-03
ANNIsTON

AnniStOn, October 2.-(Speclal-) -)-Arter
 having served four terms of two years
 each as mayor of Anniston, Dr. J. L.. Wixle, the pioneer druggist and one of the best known citizens of Anniston. ,, formally surrendered the keys of his off,
 fee to Dd. L. L. Scarborough Monday
 evening and retired to private life. He
 states that he will take long rest and
 devote sometime to travel before be-
 coming actively connected in business
 again.
 During the eight years of the Wikle ad-
 ministration Anniston has grown and de-
 veloped almost marvelously. At his first
 inauguration the white way had not
 been dreamed of; there were seven miles
 less of sewer in the city than there are
 now; there were no motor trucks In the
 fire department and there were b miles
 less of macadamized streets than there
 are al present.
 When Dr. Wikle first took the oath of office as mayor of Anniston he found that the city had a floating indebtedness of
 $46, ,S2S. .92, there was no money In the treasury and credit was practically im- possible. To increase the financial diff ficu1ty the date of tax collections was changed from April 1 to December l., thus making it necessary to finance the
 city six months without capital, which
 was at that time about $55,O0O, bringing
 the total amount of money to be raised
 over S100,0 ,000.
 Dr. ]Wikle then did what many another
 man would not or could not have done. To a great extent he financed the city with his own money, repeatedly lending his personal indorsement to the city s
 notes in order to secure money. Things have changed since that time. The city $ finances are so safe that every bank in the city is anxious to open an &C., count with it, and had it not been for falling off of 33 per cent in police court fines due to the prohibition laws and their enforcement the city would have been run at a profit of nearly $3OO( for the past fiscal year. As it is it came out about even.
 The splendid financial condition. com bined with the knowledge that the tax 1 rate would be kept as low as possible. in- | duced a number of enterprises to locate here. Some of the large industries that | have been established during Dr. Wilkes | four terms of office are the Lynchburg ! Foundry company. the Standard Foundry | company the Alabama Pipe and Foun-
 dry company. the Anniston Knitting Mills, the Ornamental Foundry company | the Anniston Ordnance company, the An niston Steel company, the Woodstock Cor poration and others.
 ! The high price of feed is prompting g
 number of farmers to kill their hogs lit 1 tie earlier this year than usual and ths prevailing cool weather is helping then market to an advantage.
 | Pork was quoted wholesale today iron l 161Rc to 17kc, but several farmers re 1 tailed their supply at a lower price thar the wholesale quotation.
 Local interest has been given to thu 1 campaign for funds being made by tho 1 democratic national committee through
 the appointment of an auxiliary financ. 1 committee consisting of eight wei
 known Annistonians. Those on thi. committee are: T. F. Kilby W. H l Weatherly. Frank Leigh. w. c. Tuns l tall, O. NJ Reynolds. c. H. Young, pr
 R. L. Hughes and H. M. Ayers. Work has been started on the cree 1 tion of an all-steel building three l new furnaces that are to be installed by the Anniston Steel company to sup plement the three already installed | two of which are in operation In thu 1 old foundry building on West Tentl 1 street.
 The new building will he S4x168 feet l It will be placed on the highest ground within the enclosure of the old cal works property and will make fin' ! showing to passing trains when com pleted. The contract calls for the com
 pletlon Of the building before the enc
 of November.
 Local spot cotton reached a new higi : figure today when it sold for 16h cents ! Farmers are taking more pains witt i cotton this year to see that it is kep ! clean and properly ginned and man, ! have found it advantageous to sel < cotton and seed separately against tn,
 practice of selling cotton fin seed"