The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1922-11-24

eAAetk gklEtlltA1k9 tNlEuVQI tEVuAlbpeN
of forty acres OF land sold 70 Boar
Fleming by John W. Barnes. For
years Fairmont was onl n. small
country town and then the river
was crossed and great rivalry
sprang up. This r:S5lry continued
until by a lucky chance the Balti-
more & Ohio Railroad, instead OF
leaving out Fairmont as originally
planned, bridged the YiVer at
Johnstown and came in IN tho
west bank Of the river. Palatine no
longer threatened to outshine Fair
mont N spite Of Its advantages In
its natural location. Fairmont is
the incorporation OF four punicI-
palities. Fairmont, Palate, E<St
Fairmont and Belleview. he said.
Two OF the most prominent men in
the state came from old Falrmont,
Francis H. Pierpont, who was not
the first governor Of West Virginia
as commonly thought but the gov
ernor Of the restored government
of Virginia, the part OF Virginia
which did not secede but which Is
now known as West Virginia, and
James Otis Watson. the first to
conceive the vast possibilities of
the bituminous coal regions.
Today Fairmont has many physI.
cal advantages, he continued 1t is
situated on the only navlgable riv.
er in the world which flows direct.
ly north. There are three railroad
systems and any place in the cen.
trail part OF the state can be reach.
ed by trolley. The altitude Of Fair.
mont is S5S feet. The population is
something over $4,000. Fairmont
ranks sixth in the state in popula.
ton and also in wealth. The Fair.
mont Building and Loan Associa.
ton has done more than any one
other thing to insure the present
status OF the city, he commended.
AS to pablic buildings, the court.
house Is considered the most beau.
tiful one In the state, but Fair.
mont Is sadly in need Of office
buildings, ne said.
With the exception Of the Wat.
son Building and the Professional
Building, the offices are not only
lacking In modern equipment but
are badly kept and poorly janitor
ed. AS to amusement, that is where
Fairmont is far below the other
cities in the state, he continued.
But two new moving 'picture
houses are being erected and that
defect is soon to be remedied, he
added. No one has seemed to have
the vision to provide parks and
the commercializing of Ravine
Park Is to be greatly deplored.
Some OF the largest and most i'm
portant industries In the United
States are located here in Fairmort
and q better site could not be
chosen anywhere. Fairmont can
boast Of some Of the PROTEST
homes with the ugliest front and
back yards In the state. A cam.
paign instituted by the Woman's
Club for tho Improvement OF the
grounds Of the homes was suggest.
ed. AS to the spiritual side Of life
in the city, there are twenty-four
church organizations which are
functioning WI, as brought out by
the fact that one Of the smallest
churches in the community has
Just erected one of the handsomest
buildings in the city. The schools
in the city give instruction to 1920
children and employ ISL teachers.
The school property is appraised
at 100000. There are many clubs
in Fairmont. both Of women and
men, and they all have as their
principal interest civic affairs, he
said.
Regarding Falrmont as It isn't,
he pointed out that there a:e
seven essentials which Fairmo1t
lacks and the necessity Of which
cannot be advocated too strongly:
% filtration plant. (2)
garbage incinerator, CD a san;-
tary sewer system, C4) a building
code, (5) some new apartment
houses. (6) a Memorial OF SONS
sort for the soldiers and sailors
who died in the war, and "a
the adjustment OF unnecessary
drives and the adoption Of TIC
new system Of Community
! chest The principal arguments
for the adoption of this system
are that It saves time, money, eff
fort and annoyance. It insures
justice, prevents duplication, and
spreads the burden. Therefore Il
cannot be advocated too strongly.
Fairmont can and will become a
model city for the citizens are
willing and eager to do their part,
he concluded.
The last part Of the program
was given to the high school stu
dents, who presented n two act
play depicting Fairmont in 1912.
The first scene was in a police
court, where an italian woman
was brought to be prosecuted for
L. N.IH