Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-07-14
EDITORS WELCOMED
BY WASH|NGT
BY WARD GREENE
(staR Corraspoudent of The Iourna


WASHINGTON, Ca July 1.-Two
hundred newspapermen, of Georgia
arriving here yesterday for the an
nual convention of the Georgia Press
association, have been offered every
thing in Wilkes county but the court
house. And they could have that if
anyone is disposed to tote it away
from here. For such is Wilkes coun-
ty hospitality.
In some places they tender you the
the city. In Washington they have
no keys. Their homes and their
hearts are as big as all outdoors and
they are both wide open to We edi-
tor in Washington for these three
days.
1t was worth motoring over any
distance of dusty roads to receive
the welcome Washington gave the
editors last night and Is still giving
today in huge quantities.
The trip from Atlanta, too, was as
pleasant as the welcome, certainly
every bit as warm. You Could not
fined a better journey for a week
end for the roads are in splendid
condition, thanks to the state high
way department and the counties
along the way. Taking the route via
Decatur, Lithonia, Conyers, Rutledge,
Madison and Union Point, you will
hit not a single bad stretch of roads
and many stretches that have any
thing around Atlanta beat. There is;
for instance, some ten miles of con-
crete highway between Rutledge and
Madison that would make q snail
speed. And the road all the way is
adequately marked with the Route
Twelve signs of the highway de-
partment.
We reached here about five in the
afternoon, just fifteen minutes before
the special Which brought the ma
jority of the editors. More than
two hundred in all. probably the larg-
est delegation that every attended d
press association meeting.
AT Barnett, just outside of Wash
ington, the train was met by com
mittee of welcome, headed by x. A.
Wilheit, president of the chamber of
commerce, and Will Bruner, editor of
the Washington News-Reporter. And
at the depot, was practically the
entire city with so many automobiles
that every editor could have had one
for himself had he so chosen.
For weeks Washington had been
preparing for the convention and
nothing has been left undone to give
the visitors the time of their lives.
Every man woman and child in town
has constituted himself a commit
tee of one to spread the slogan,
"Aint we got fun"
Even the colored folks are doing
their part. In fact, the first man
in the county to offer his automobile
to the entertainment committee was
Tom McMekin, a negro farmer.
Washington, Wilkes county, is the
seat of the oldest aristocracy of
the state. 1t is one of the six orig
inal towns in Georgia which prided
themselves on their blue blood, their
red courage and their white chivalry,
and it has cherished that heritage
jealsously.
There is surely no city in the
country today, where the women are
prettier, the men more courtly and
the spirit of hospitality more gen
erous.
There was a brass band at the
station when the train pulled in, and
1t played the editors into the public
square, where the cars separated to
take them to the homes where they
had been assigned. Some of them,
however, insisted on staying at the
square for there was prize fight
! going on in full blast. yes. sir, a
real prize fight.
1t seems boxing matches are to
| Washington what bull fighting is to
Mexico City, and standing in front
of Nunnally in Atlanta every after
noon at sunset. The fighters are
sometimes black and sometimes
white, and the purse is whatever the
spectators choose to give, and a nov
city in municipal sport perhaps, but
| 1T seems pretty wholesome, for all
that, and certainly it is entertaining.
The nearest picture house was ad-
vertising Bill Hart in a wild west
| thriller. but it couldn't draw the
crowd from the square, where cou-
pie of youthful Jack Johnsons were
enleavoring to knock each other S
necks off
Fitzgerald is a good town. too,
but the strikers and strikebreakers
didn't provide nearly so much car
mage
The convention began officially
last night with a welcome meeting
at the courthouse, presided over by
j. Kelley Simmons, president of the
press association, and Billy Sutlive,
the genial editor of the Savannah
Press. who will step from the vice
presidency to the presidents shoes
at this session.
There was music by the band. a
song by the audience and the invo-
cation by Rev. e. D. Hill, pastor of
the First Methodist church. Col.
Frank H. Colley, of the Washington
! Bar, one of the grandest old men
to Wilkes county in a short, but elo-
quent address,
Robert NJ. Martin, of Hineville, re-
sponded, and there was short
speech on The Spirit of Service
by Royal Daniel. of Quitman. After
that the session adjourned for ev-
erybody to get acquainted.
This morning the editors got down
to business with a session at which
price reductions were discussed by
J. J. Flanders, editor of the Ocilla
Star; advertising Rates." by o. w
Passavant, manager of the Newman
Herald; Foreign Representation"
by Ralph Meeks. of the Calhoun
Times; Home Advertising" by Err
nest Camp, of, the Walton Tribune;
subscriptions" by George D. Ruck-
err, of Alpharetta, Free Press, and
The Ideal Weekly Newspaper" by
Louie L. Morris, of the Hartwell
Sun.
Following the business session at
noon, there was a barbecue at the
| neighboring city of Tignall This
| afternoon there is another business
session. and tonight the women's
clubs of Wilkes county will be hos
tesses at a reception a the Country
! club.
All the familiar figures of press
association conventions are here anC
MANY new ones,