The Cordele dispatch. (Cordele, Ga.) 19??-1971, 1917-04-22
BOOSTING NOW
HAS A true Ring
BY w. p. Fleming.


some pieces that l wrote for the press
ARE than fifteen years ago about Cor
dele and this section of Georgia. Up
on reviewing these articles, l confess
to some comfort in the conscious as
surance that l was then an ardently
sincere and strictly orthodox booster
The 1900 census had just been pub
lished, and it afforded much data for
such a booster Cordele and this sec
ton Of Georgia had, by census eyi.
dcuce made very wonderful strides
OF development within he preceding
decade There was plenty of material
OF ccm3uetible aHd gaseous sort 10"
pyrotechnic display, and the mater al
was literally used. We plead guilty,
ard beg the mercy of the court. !,
Great times, those were. Our offense
YVES mitigated in measure, by the
peculiar circumstances under which t
was committed. Opportunity, that is
said 20 knock but once at every mans
door, was battering doors down then,
so that most of us let her pass as a
common street walker. The fault was
not hers that we so meagerly priced
her favor. tbout all fellow needed
70 DO then. if only he had realized it,
was to buy everything in sight that
he GOULD; sit down on it, and boost.
Motifs were growing for him like
Jonah's gourd vine. A man deserved
no credit then for keeping even," as
he may now. The best service he
could render himself then in mate
rial way, was of the Miltonic type;
standing ard waiting. Most Of US sat.
Then we stood; sold our holdings,
bought them back, waited another
while, and repeated the performance
of cashing in. Did l say "cashing
in?" Beg pardon. The conversion of
assets consisted then, for the most
part, in swapping equities. We were
short on cash. At such times as We
could use a few dollars, we induced
q friend to assume an obligation we
were carrying and pay us the requisite
amount for the privilege. Any friend
would do a thing like that, who knew
ne had quick profit in the deal.
Elysian days! The "soughing
pines" to which we made frequent
poeric reference. They were already
gone. The second growth, of which we
have a little here and there, never
have souGhod much, unless in fancy.
The times are also gone when we
drank water rdmped from Seven
Springs at Cum Creek and Dragged
rediculously on the chemical analysis
of it. The time has gone too, when
most Cordelians felt constrained to
strain their we'll water Of inhabitants
before drinking it. l did that in those
Flvsiar t7avs. No longer do the elite
Of our society living in proximity to-
the Big Ditch have the exhilaration
of cooning it on a two-by-eight from
windows of their dwellings to more
or less dry land, while meantime the
remnant of the load of wood Jim Bull
loch had delivered the day before was
floating gracefully on wave crests out
the front gate. I, who am only mid
ding elite, have thus seen my fondest
hopes of breakfast fade away in those
Elysian days. And thither went our
hen coops like ships that pass in the
night"
Now and then you have heard
Cordelan of those days, with far
away, reminiscing look in his dreamy
ewes, sigh, spit, and say that if he
only knew where to find another place
nm Gods green earth like Cordele was
them If he only knew, he'd sell out
at auction and go thither before break
fast Well, I'm not challenging the
fastness of his schedule; for the sale
would probably require only few
fleeting moments. But l do challenge
NJ wisdom in longing for the flesh
nots of former degenerate days and of
other over-advertised places. For the
observation and experiences of these
wears have served to strengthen my
conviction that Cordele and this sec
tion of Georgia must surely be the
hest favored land of all the earth, and
that our splendid Anglo-Saxon people
must be chosen in point of essential
virtues. And that encomium has the
seasoning of all these years. Let him
who will, cast his lot among a mon
>srel crowd. God spare our children
krom admiration Of their blood. Let
him who will, answer the Siren song
of the glorious west!" California Der
rSry patches don't appeal to the wise
tiller of loamy Crisp county soil. Mere
climate doesn't satisfy his appetite
He has no objection to fine scenery
Natures rock-hewn gluches and Pc
lions piled on Ossas are very produc
tive of thrills, but less productive OF
a corn and potatoes. Crisp county