Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1926-02-04
WINTER VISITOR
EXPRESSES DELIGHT
WITH FITZGERALD
WONDERFUL POSSIBILITIES IN
DEVELOPING LATENT RE-
SOURCES OF THE SOIL UNDER
FAVORABLE CLIMATIC CONDl-
TIONS FOUND HERE.

Prof. VIM. f.. Ashcroft LOT "a
ment of his impression. OF flszgeraio
and its environs as a place OF abode.
Nh Ashcroft is a native OF Indiana,
hut for twenty-five years has nVe9
in northern Ohio. He has ATTAINED
.so,ne prominence as an educator, ana
nc - Student of and writer on soclai
nroblems: and, moreover, ne has peeh
associated with the business Wofio III
an extensive and successful way. III
fo,r,er wears he was resident OF
Cha+tanooga, Tenn, and did teacher-
t,.;nino work there. He is keen oo-
server. and wherever he goes he taxes
. Constructive and critical interest IN
community and economic problems
an5 welfate. He came here IN De-
cember. expecting later to go on 10
Elor;da where he spent the winter TWO
1,aors aoo but he has found Fltzger-
I'D communicable and otherwise
,aoraeable and will remain here Tor
the season.
In reply to the questions asked 6y
the Leader-Enterprise Professor ASH
"What do l think of the climate
here? And Fitzgerald as place IN
which to live? Well, our appraisal OF
climate is a relative matter, depend
mo IN the use we want to make OF II.
Facilities that emphasize climate sell
dom have much of anything else; Ihey
f1rnish places for loafers and spend
ars. hut not for safe and permanent
business and production. The climate
~ FITZGERALD. however, is not such
as appeals to loafers in large mum,
l.
to people who want to produce Va anu
under mild weather conditions; me
locality is we'll south OF the extremes
of winter, and well north OF even
what is called semi-troplcal condl-
tions. The location, therefore, TO my
mind, is ideal from the standpoint OF
comfortable living, and a stabillzeo'
diversified industry.
GAS to what l think of Fitzgerald
and it's locality as a place to i've IN,
INV answer is largely implied In my
answer to the former question.
desirable place in which to live, other
things being equal, is place whefe
weather conditions furnish due com,
fort and small inconvenience, ana
where opportunity for trade and pro-
duction is normally safe and perma-
nent. Fitzgerald is sort OF metrop-
oils. of region that furnishes these
conditions and opportunities IN most
satisfactory way. But these things
are but the basis of desirable oppor-
UNITY as place to live in. There
are moral and cultural phases OF
every community that are always IN
nuired about and investigated by
those who are to locate there; and as
regards these phases, Fitzgerald Is
no mean city. On the moral side, she
shows up well-above the average for
cities of its size; she sustains the OBJ
servance of the Christian Sabbath
with almost puritanical spirit, which
is the subordination of the material
to the higher ideals; her churches are
ample and sufficiently we'll supported
and attended to guarantee the city
moral and spiritual leaven.
"On the cultural side, the schools
of Fitzgerald are well to the front
among those of the state, and the city
and county sustains library which,
by it's size and range Of collection,
ranks high; and it is we'll managed
and supervised.
"These considerations of the city's
moral and cultural phases imply good
government, of course; the excellent
appearance of it's business or up
town district reflects the status OF
its business and industry and the ap-
pearanec of the residence districts re-
fleets the tastes and prosperity of the
citizenship in general. And all this
means that I think we'll of the Fltz-
gerald community as good place IN
which to live.
''You might indulge some adverse
comment upon the ragged appearance
of the city in some quarters, due to
worn-out buildings which should be
torn down; unsightly back yards, lack
of paint of many porch floors
and residences, waste paper and
other refuse on the streets, but
l shall not go into the discus
sion of these things. But there
is a certain morality and religion in
making the city as neat and tidy as
possible and keeping it so. Fitzger-
aid has a historic background and
tradition that is worth much to her,
if capitalized. Barring Atlanta and
Savannah, she is probably the best
known city in Georgia. She may be
advertised on the strength of her
merit. She deserves to be known and
talked about by tourists as neat and
clean as we'll as city of opportunity.
To render her outwardly neat and
clean would not cost much on the
part of individual residents. These
matters might engage the interest and
attention of the Women's Clubs"