The mirror., 1920-01-22
WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA
By Charles aubrey Eaten, in Leslie's Weekly

you want to see America, visit WlncheS-
ter, Virginia. This beautiful little city of
six or seven thousand inhabitants lies in the
very heart of the Shenandoah Valley in
northern Virginia. On every side, stretch
ing away to the blue hills, are wonderful
apple orchards. This is the great industry of
the region. But the town itself throbs with
enterprises, engaged in the production of
activities centering about various industrial
woolens, material for the apple industry, and
other materials.
As one wanders about the streets of this
prosperous and contented American COM
munity, it is hard to realize that one is at
the center of great and stirring events in our
national history. Of course Washington
had his headquarters here. No self-respecting
town which was in existence during the Re-
volutionary period and was located in the
battle region, would admit for moment
that Washington did not make it head
quarters frequently in his campaign. But
Winchester, understand, can produce tthe
evidence that Washington was really there
In this respect it differs from some other
communities, which remind one of the sign
Dickens describes, used by dealer in anti
que furniture in London shop. Upon a
chair, rickety and unsafe, placed upon the
sidewalk in front of the store the proprietor
had fixed this announcement: George
Washington once distinctly refused to sit in
this chair"
Coming down the years to the Civil
War, Winchester stands monument to that
terrible struggle for the establishment of free
dom as the foundational principle of our
national life. During the four years of
struggle the city changed hands an unbe-
ievable number of times You can see the
house which Stonewall Jackson used for his
home, and another house which was his Of
fetal headquarters. Not far distant is the
building occupied by General. Sheridan as
his headquarters. During all the years of the
war, the citizens of Winchester remained
practically unmolested by the armies occupy
ing it. When the Federals were there they
were received with courtesy and they treated
the citizens with the consideration due fel-
low-Americans. When the Confederates
were in control, of course, they were well
come. 1t was only after the devastation of
the Shenandoah Valley by General Sheridan
that the inhabitants learned to look upon the
coming of armies with anxiety and fear.
1t is not in this unique historical value
that one finds his chief interest today during
visit to Winchester. Rather one is brought
face to face with the real America here, for
which, under various names by different
methods, we are battling throughout the
land today.
In November, 1907, the General Edu-
cation Board of New York made census of
Winchester. According to this census, at
that time the city had some 6,469 inhabi-
tants. Roughly speaking, there are probab-
ly 1000 people in the town today. AT the
time of the General Education Boards CEN
sus, SO per cent of the population were white,
II per cent colored. Of the white popula-
ton, IL per cent were born in Winchester,
25 per cent in Frederick County and 16 per
per cent in other parts of Virginia; II per
cent were born elsewhere in the United
States. Of the entire population, only II
people, or per cent, are foreign-born. That
is to say, SO per cent of the white population
of this Virginia town is American by birth,
and 81 per cent is Virginian.
Of the Negro population, the same is
true. IS per cent were born in Winchester
IL per cent in Frederick County, of which
Winchester is the county seat; % per cent in
Virginia and II per cent elsewhere in the
United States. Of the entire Negro popu-
lation, only one person was born outside of
the United States.
This amazing racial homogeneity gives
to the city solidarity of thought and ideal
of which dwellers in the great polyglot cities
of the North can only dream.
Winchester has no rich and no poor.
Everybody who is physically fit works.
Ninety per cent of the white men, and nine
ty-four per cent of the colored male popula-
ton are engaged in bread-winning oocupa-