Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-11-03

. BY FREDERIC J. HAsKIN

!. TBIroIrFRoI-E \ NJ oct 21.-This little city
n in common with practically every other CITY,
and village in the southwest presents an
unusual interesting spectacle from the business
social points of 1t has great asset IN the
climate, which runs largely to sunshine ana II Is con
nually faced by the problem of Keeping that asset
from turning into a liability.
The climate as is we'll known. very favorable TO
the treatment of most forms of tuberculosis. As a
result thousands of healh-seekers come here
Some them have money, and some of them have not
The moneyed element represents one OF the greate11
elements prosperity of city like Albuquerqe
The moneyess members of the notwithstanding army are
many ways the biggest local problem In fact, the
leading question in town like this is how to get the
ns2lth-seeker without getting the second;
or, rather. is impossible, how to get few
INDECENT possible, and what to do with them
they arrive No real mas been made in
answering the second . question
adequate scale, and there seems to be no answer in
sight.
There Is considerable local controversy to the
proportion of the community's prosperity for
which health-seeker is responsible. High attitudes
breed optimism. there enthusiasts who claim
that he is not an Indispensable asset to tnat we'll
known official General Prosperity. They probably
wrong More of the retail merchants, who the real
barometers of local conditions in any community,
admit they would have to do business a differ
emit scale plan if it not for the people Of
means who live here account of the climate
This is city of 100000 the largest in two
One merchant estimates that there $500 remit
people" in town-individuals supported wholly
part by remitances from their families their
investments in the east large number of these
good circumstances better. Many of them
wealthy. Obviously, the money they bring in and
spend monthly big factor in local business. Taking
care of supplying their needs is bound
a leading industry. Just Ell Paso San Antonio
point the thousands of soldiers who paid
off there every weeks, Pittsburg indicates
without undue modesty her million -dolar-a-day pay
roll these southwestern figure the number of
health-seekers local asset.
Their presence brings about number of indirect
results not duplicated by any class of out
siders" other section of the country. remark
able cosmopoltapism of society of them. There
are towns 5000 this state that have the
atmosphere cities times their size in the
You can people frcm every state in the union in
them. You will find professional men, artists and
writer's scientists, big business" IN them who
would ordinarily consider living in a town of such
small and isolation. Some of these
we'll known that merely to mention their business
would be almost equivalent to telling their
Their presence keeps the southwest very in
events, because they people who the
INSIDE dope" everything art politics They
desirable citizens much for themselves for
accordingly conducting national advertising
campaigns attract them Unfortunately, the picture
its other side.
The figures this other side are sick who are
attracted by advertising, reputa-
climate, and who arrive the with
out any support, wholly inadequate.
much to say that this latter class forms
problem entirely beyond the of local
to cope with. They problem for charity, public
or private, immense scale, the southwest is
too sparsely settled region handle general
of prosperity is fairly high here; there
poverty -strcken DEVELOPMENT On the
other hand the number of men who would be
very rich by eastern standards is small a man
who had worked in a sawmlll twenty years could
count them, the fingers of hand. is from
purses of the very rich that private charities
any magnitude have be recruited.
As result of this state of things, the sick