South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-10-03

-. two and a half per cent
rft,, nropertv tax. and city couhci
,bs+ showed a propensity Tor uaF-
ling the back streets OF the to"n'
.rbeee things came about through
f.+sI reser1bIance OF the river Goo
loosa TO the Hudson. as set toIth
and expourded by Northern toul
isf Okochee felt that New ora
should not be allowed 70 cohs4uel
ifse1f the only alligator IN .he
syrannp. so 70 speak. And tneh .lldS
harmless. but persistent. lnaiN p, 20
10 numerous in the South the MAJ
v-ho IS always clamoring TOT mort
,.o,ron mills. and IS ready 20 take a
5oIIsr'a worth OF stock. provided ne
a, borrow the dOllar-that man
.dded his deadly work 10 the tour
ists innocent praise, and Okochee
Fell
The CooIoosa river winds through
vo,ge ~ small mountains passes
Otrochee. and then blends IT'S wa
tors trippingly. as fan the melllllu
ous Indian syIlables, with the Oha'-
tahoochee.
Okochee rose. as IL were, from the
spnnv seat on tho pOst-offce sloop'
bitched up its suspended, and threw
granite dam two hundred anu
fortv feet long and sixty feet hlsh
across the CoOloosa one mile ABOVE
the town. ThereupOn. dimplln6'
snarrxfisg lake backed up twenty
ines among the little mluntalns.
Thus I'm the great game Of munlcl
nal rivalry did Okochee match thaI
famous drawing card, the Hudson.
1t was conceded that nowhere cou!u
the Palisades be judged superior In
the way of scenery and grandeur
Following the picture card was
Dlaved the ace OF commercial I'm
I,ortance. Fourteen thousand horse
power would this dam furnish COZ
fou. mills. factories and manufactur-
ing plants would rise up as the
Green corn after shower. me
spfndIe and the fly-Wheel and tur-
bine would sing the shrewd glory OF
Okochee. Among the picturesque
heights abote the lake would rise
in beautv the costly villas and the
sp1eudfd summer residences OF cap
itat. The naphtha launch OF the mill
lionaire would spit among the ro-
mantle COyes, the Nerdured hllis
would take formal shapes OF ter
race lawn and park. Money would
be spent like water i'm Okochee
and water would be turned into
money.
The fate OF the good town is
quickly told. capital decided not 10
invest OF all the great things
promised. the scenery alone came 10
fulhInnent The wooded peaks, the
impressive promontories OF solemn
granite. the beautiful green slants
az bank and ravine did all they
could to reconcile Okochee TO the
delinquency OF misery gold. The
sunsets gilded the dreamy draws and
-oves with n rnintinE that should
charm away heart burning. Oko-
chee true to the instinct of its
blood and cline. was lulled by the
SMELL IL climbed out Of the arena.
loosed its suspender. sat down again
on the post office stoop. and took a
chew. II consoled itself by drawing
sarcasms at the city council which
was not 20 blame, causing the faith
ers. as has been said, 20 seek back
streets and figure perspiringly on
the sinking fund and the appropria-
ton for interest due.
The youth Of Okochee-they who
we're TO carry into the rosy future
the burden Of the debt-aCcepted
failure with youths uncalculating
10Y. For. here was sport, aquatic
and nautical. added TO the meagre
round OF Hfe's pleasures. In yacht
ing caps and flowing neCkties they
pervaded the lake 20 it's limits. Girls
wore silk waists embroidered with
anchors II blue and pink. The trous-
ers OF the young men widened at the
bottom. and their hands were proud
lv calloused by oft-pued oar. Fish
crmen were under the spell of n
deep and tolerant joy. Sailboats
and rowboats furrowed the lenient
waves. popcorn and iCe-cream
booths sprang up about the little
wooden pier. Two small excursion
steamboats, were built. and piled the
dclectable waters. OkOchee philo-
sophically gave up the hope of eat
ing turtle soup with a gold spoon,
and settled back. not i'll content. to
it's regular diet of lotus and fried
hominy And out OF this low wreck
Of great expectations rose w J.
pickney Bloom with his "wad" and
his prosperous. CHEEKY smile.
Needless to say J. Pickney was no
product or Georgia soil. He came
ont Of that flushed and capable re-
Eion known as the North" He call
Cd himself a promoter, his enem-
les had spoken of him as a graft
err. Okochce took "a middle course.
tliA ltAA ilAlil w VIC llDN bNAANA Mbl
no worse than "A "Yank."
Far up the lake-eighteen miles
above the town--the eye Of this
cheerful camp follower Of booms
had spied out graft. He purchased
there a precipitous tract OF five
hundred acres at forty-fivc cents per
acre. and this he laid out and sub
divided as the city Of Skyland-the
Queen City OF the Switzerland OF the
South. Streets and avenues were
surveyed: parks designed. corners
OF central squares reserved for the
proposed" opera house. board of
trade. lyceum. market. public
schools. and Exposition Hall" The
price OF lots ranged from five 20 FIVE
hundred dollars. Positively no lot
would be priced higher than nve
hundred dollars.
While the boom was growing in
okoChee. J. Pickneys circulars
maps. and prospectuses were flying
through the mails 10 every part OF
the country, and the S5ylaud Real
Estate Co. Ct. Pickney Bloom) re-
turned 10 each a deed duly placed
on record 20 the best lot al the
price. on hand that day. All this
time the ca tam 0r1rr arvets.haT ,rpor