Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1925-03-12
Keep Local Capital At
Home And Build
Frank T. Reynolds, Prominent Geor-
gian and Former Editor Urges Back
ing of Industrial Plants

Georgia right now offers to Geor-
gla people more opportunities to in
vest in local industries which ultimate
ly will grow to great industrial plants
than any state in the union"
This is sentence sermon preached
by Frank T. Reynolds, former news
paper editor, prominent Kiwanis Off
cial, good roads advocate and now
serving as resident manager of the An
sley hotel, Atlanta.
Mr.. Reynolds declared that the
other organizations to bring about in
dustrial expansion in Georgia hand in
hand with acknowledgement is most
timely and one that is bound to bring
direct beneficial results.
"Our state is alive with chances to
build up big fortunes through the es-
Enlistment of industries" he said.
1--WE should not sit down and wait
for some people from other states to
come here and erect these industries.
We have lot of Georgia money that
can be used for this purpose and there
is not town in the state with more
than 1000 population which is not now
able to finance and establish some pay
ing factory on small scale which later
will grow into big worth while plant.
Mr.. Reynolds said we should not
cease encouraging foreign capital to
come here and should assist this by
throwing safeguards around such cap
ital and in cooperating to the fullest
extent with the men who bring this
capital to Georgia.
"We want to get Georgia advertised
to the world as a state which is ready
to welcome foreign capital and protect
it from confiscation, allowing it to
earn a fair and reasonable increment
on the investment" he continued. AT
the same time, however, we want to
show that we have confidence in our
state by promoting and building in
dustrieS and factories OF our own, no
matter how small they may be at the
start"
Mr.. Reynolds said there are humid
reds and hundreds of big industries
in the South which were organized by
local people, began on modest scale
and are today the outstanding factor
les in this part of the South.
1--WE have somewhat Stacked up III
creating industries of Our own altho
| can't recall a single industry of this
kind which began on a firm though
small basis and which was handled
intelligent1y that did not succeed Mr..
REYNOLDS continued. 81 recall the
case of the Crown Cotton mill in Dali
ton. Years ago that mill was organized
by Dalton people and financed by
Dalton capital. Today it IS one of the
best plants of its kind in the country.
In one year that plant paid a dividend
of 90 per cent. When it was organized
l had friend who scraped together
$500 and put it in the plant. Today
his widow possesses $4,000 which &C
crued from that one investment.
Georgia has lots of money which
can be invested in Georgia and paw
greater returns here than if invested
elsewhere.
every day I hear of some friend
who has invested in some factory or
project in North Carolina or Florida.
This money should be kept here. The
investor knows personally the people
who club together with him to estab-
fish an industry. He knows the oper-
atives and he knows where his money
is all the time and what it is doing.
He knows nothing of this in foreign
investments"
Mr.. Reynolds said there are more
than 500 towns in Georgia that should
build at least one new industry this
year.
Chat would give us minimum
of 500 new industries. he went on. III
we were to build 500 new industries
in Georgia between now and next
March you would see a boom in the
state, based on firm foundation which
would start the great ball of prosper
;tv to rolling and it would grow to
such and extent that Georgia would
soon get up there among the leaders
where she belongs.
Mr.. Reynolds said the case of the
Crown Cotton Mill at Dalton has been
duplicated all over Georgia.
an Atlanta, in the smaller cities
and towns there are splendid indus
tries running now which have not lost
a day since they we're established and
WHICH were originally formed by local
me1f." he said. I'VE somehow have
lust Stacked up. We ought to keep
right on adding to these industries or
building new ones. There are at least
1000 kinds of industries which will pay
as we'll in Georgia as in any other
state in the union and which will
have an even chance at the world mar
kets. There are 500 Georgia towns
that need these industries. In these
towns there is idle money now draw.
ing small rates of interest which could
be used for fostering these new indus
tries and which would receive hand
some returns on the investment.
Mr.. REYNOLDS cited the. case OF
Gadsden and Admission, Ala, as two
towns which developed rapidly through
the plan of building small industries
with local capital.
"Gadsden and Admission are centers
of the soil pipe industry" he said: Il
remember when they built the first
plants in those towns. Local men
built the plants and later they doubled
and tripled the capacities and built ad
ditionai plants. Doubling plant now. in
operation is just as good as getting
a new industry and these local men
realized that. AS a result the pipe IN
dustrv developed on such a scale that
combinations were formed with other
nine interests and those two towns
doubled and redoubled in population
and wealth. This is only one ot a
thousand examples that could be clted
of the success of the plan OF using;
local capital to build new industrial
plants. 1 would suggest to the COM
nlunity leaders in all towns IN Georgia
TO look over the situation in their town
pick out list of industries which Can
be successfully operated in each par,
ticular town and then get busy ann
orna,;ze the n1ant It makes no differ