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' i I. -- - -.. . " i : 1 Commercial ; - ; J ' - J ... Drs. Moored & Long:. DENTISTS. E. Church St., Union City Telephone 144. ; Drs. Moores & Long:, ; ! DENTISTS. i E. Church St., Union City ; i Telephone 144. ; Colon -City Commercial, MUbllthel 1890. cgouuted September 1, 1S97. Wett Teonetiea Courier, tMtlUbd ls7. i UNION CITY, TENN, FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1907. VOL. 17, NO. 19 Give Your Street and Number with your order. This saves much time. We make a special effort to get OUSP your order out on time and every minute saved means a great deal during the day. vyJv We can still handle a few more orders, so let us have them. RED CROSS DRUG STORE Phone 100. GOOD GROCERIES are essential to good living. We can always give you good groceries and at very reasonable prices. The Best Butter Obtainable, Splendid Tea and Coffee, a line of canned goods that for excellence and variety cannot be equaled. W. L. WHITE Two Wagons TOMATO INDUSTRY What We Saw and Heard in Gibson County. Editor Commercial: We arrived in Humboldt for early breakfast, and after our meal we took a short stroll, and it seemed that everyone was resting on their arms. Ed Stone suggested that we secure a rig and sro out "in the country where we could take items from those at work in the tomato fields. The first stop we made was at Mr. Hopper's place. He had two acres in tomatoes, including about 7,000 plants. He has a nice pack ing shed at one end of his patch. He and his wife and four children were at work like lightning almost, some packing, some nailing up and some making crates. Said he would get 200 crates that day, and that would make 1,500 crates from the two acres of tomatoes this season. A colored man was gathering the tomatoes. He had a sled about 25 inches wide with his boxes on it and a eentle horse to draw it. He would take two rows up one side of the sled and two down the other side and could gather the tomatoes faster than they could pack them He told us that the 1,500 crates would sell on an average at about 70 cents per crate, his crop being later than some. We stopped next with Mr. Steele. He had only two acres on his place, cropped by a colored man. He was making his last picking, realizing over $200 per acre. Pretty good rent for land, is it not? We next stopped at a colored man's farm. He owned GO acres which he had bought and paid for in the last three or four years with tomatoes und cabbage. On our trip we saw ;. cabbage patch, containing five acres, which had been sold and brought $1,500 on the platform. It now contained a fioe crop of slock peas. Our next move was back to Hum boldt. They told us we had not seen anything, and for as to be about the packing sheds of the L. & N. and M. &0. Railroads about 3 to 5 p. m. and we would see "one" Two Phones 66 and 462 32 wagon load of tomatoes come in. Between 3 and 7 p. m. there were from 20 to 25 cars f tomatoes in four-basket crates delivered on the platform for shipment that night, and each car would hold about 1,000 crates. There were 25 or 30 hands at work on each platform until late at night. At 10.30 p. m. they were still at work icing and loading cars. What does all this mean 'i W ell, it means a whole lot when you con sider that over five hundred thou sand dollars is dropped in a town of four or five thousand population in the space of one short month and this for tomatoes only. They grow lots of berries and cabbages and corn and hay. All of this can be done here if the farmers want it, and if they dont want it they will never &et it. Union Uity and vicinity can duplicate every move that Humboldt makes if she will. She has the soil and the railroads, but she will' have to chop up these big wheat farms and get more small farmers into the country before she can make any headway at this work. I cannot close without say ing a good word for the farmers of Gibson county. They will take great pleasure in giving you any information you may ask for. Some other things I would like to speak of concerning" what we saw and heard, but will not thrs time. Any information 1 can give on this subject will be cheerfully given. If the editor will .give us space in his paper we will answer any ques tions in our knowledge concerning this matter. Respectfully, , Alfalfa. Use Dahnke-Walker Milling1 Co. flour, a home product, and guaran teed. The world needs more builders, fewer destroyers; more workers, fewer drones; more hoe wielders, fewer cud-cnewers; more homes, fewer palaces and hovels; more do ers, fewer advice dispensers; more singers, fewer croakers; more men, fewer "gentlemen;" more women, fewer ladies;" more thinkers.fewer writers; more is-nows and will-bes. fewer has-beens. Savannah Cou rier. . Get the pay cash habit, it's best. Dahkke's Cafe. A DAYJMENT Editors Commercial Gentle men: 1 see an article in your is sue of this date signed "A Tax payer," which states the writer and several other taxpayers cannot understand why the city does not run a day current on its wires and furnish motive power for fans and machinery. I take pleasure in answering this inquiry, and am sure the City Council would be clad to have the taxpayers mani fest enough interest in such mat ters to keep well informed and to determine what to advise in such cases as they arise. " About 1890 a franchise was granted to George Dahnke and his associates to erect and maintain an electric power plant, and they were given as an inducement to do the work the exclusive privilege for five years from the passage of the ordinance to maintain such a plant. Since that privilege has expired the matter of the city maintaining a day current has frequently been before the City Council, but after some investiga tion was dropped until some future time, in each case. In March last Superintendent W ade was asked by the Council to canvass the town and report at the next regular meeting of the board in detail what it would cost the city to run a day current, and what income might be expected to be derived from it. I quote from his report then made as follows "To start a day circuit would r,e quire an expenditure of as much as 81,200 for meters, transformers and wiring at the oatset. The coal consumption of the water and light plant would be increased at least $1, 200 per annum. Other additional expenses would also be incurred, such as an increase of the lineman's salary, etc., probably to the extent of $250 per yes? The wear and depreciation on ma chinery and danger to property and life can only be estimated at double what it is now. After a thorough canvass of the town try ing to ascertain the wants of the people, I. can secure promises of but twenty-five horse -power of load in motors, and of this number the customers da not expect in any case to run more than two hours per day, if that much. . "From this source I estimate an income of not more than $000 per annum, if that much. The city now has lights in one hundred and eighty buildings, including resi dences and offices, and I estimate that fans might be placed in seventy-five of these houses. From these two sources the only income the city would receive of, conse quence from the day current would have to come. Allowing the city reasonable compensation for the current furnished from these sources of revenue, I estimate there would be a loss to the city in running a day current for at least the first year These esti mates cannot be guaranteed, as : he people do not know and are not willing to say what they would do or want along this line. In fact I have received very little' encouragement from the people or business men of the town in my effort to start a day circuit." . From this report "Taxpayer" and others can understand the sit uation as Superintendent Wade WATSON 6c found it end reported it to the City Council. It was decided at the meeting that received the re port to defer the matter until the outlook was more favorable for maintaining a day current without an actual loss to the city. In con nection with the cost and income of such a day current should be considered the fact that the sub scribers to the present power plant own their own fans, ninety in ;ymber, at a cost of about $20 a piece - $1,800. If these people should use the city current they would have to buy new fans, as the city uses what is known as an alternating current of 104 volts, while the Dahnke power plant uses a direct current of 220-volt power, and fans suitable for one cannot be used by the other, but the fans for either cost about the same. At the time the matter was de f erred the City Council was in clined to take the matter up again before the present year was out and see if there was a more pro nounced feeling to use such a day current, and if the outlook was more favorable for abetter income from it, should it be installed. Since that time, however, the mat ter of road-building has been agi tated and the city has contracted a private debt of 10,500 for the building of three miles of streets. It wa9 expected by close economy that this money could be repaid in two years by increasing the tax rate 40 cents. It was not known at that time, however, that in building the new streets the water mains and pipes would necessarily be damaged to the extent of at least $300 per mile, and this of course increases the amount of the street debt now being contracted. Nor was it understood then by the City Council that the heating plant at the public school building was so defective that it woulct be necessary during the year to make an outlay of about $1,200 to pre pare the school building so the children and teachers could spend the coming winter there without suffering seriously from the cold weather and endangering their health in consequence. Such has proved to be the facts, however, and the outlays indicated have been contracted and the sums must be paid. These debts, in addition to what was in sight on March 1, the present year, makes it clear to my mind that the city will not be justifiable in contracting additional debts now for anything whatever unless the prospects are good that the money can be refunded within a short time. If "Taxpayer" wants to know what the City Council thinks of a given proposition very badly he can always find out by inquiring of some member of the board, or by attending the meetings of the board, which occur twice a month. I am glad, as I always am, to furnish all the information I pos sess to any citizen ou any subject connected with the city govern ment, and I am sure it is the wish of the entire board to legislate the best they can for the interests of the city, having in view the re sources of the city and keeping it able to pay its debts without mak ing the tax rate too burdensome. Jno. T. Walkek, Mayor. Union City, July 20. The pav-as-you-Efo place Dahnke's. KIMZEY, PROPRIETORS. uimoer ana Building Material Can furnish for, everything you want to build from a chicken-coop to a beautiful res idence. Our lines complete and our yards convenient. Telephone 37. Yards on First Street, south of Presbyterian Church. UNION CITY, TENN. Union City Training School. jrj This school is noted for Its thorough work and its high class of jjL patronage. Those interested in sending their sons and daughters. Jj to school to prepare thern for a useful life or to prepare them for W university work, will make L mistake in patronizing this school C. LOCAL HISTORY JACKSONVILLE AND ITS SETTLEMENT. The author, thinking that the younger people now living in Dis trict Number One, would be inter ested in knowing something about the persons living in the vicinity of Jacksonville at the time of its inception. - In the year 1842, Dr. L. N. Al len, a son-in-law of Benjamin Tot ton, constructed two large houses of hewed poplar logs (that was about November 12 in the year above mentioned) and designing to to make a town of some proportion gave it the name of Carlock. But Dr. Allen did not succed in his enterprise and sold out to Willis A. Nailling. But before selling to Nailling it was a great place for holding political meetings. In the year 1844 there was a grand Dem ocratic rally and Judge Fitzgerald and Andrew Jackson were selected for oratord of the day. Jackson did not attend, saying that he was so afflicted that it would be impos sible for him to be present. How ever, the meeting was quite a success. - ' Some time after this Willis A.' Nailling built a large building on the opposite side of the road, or street, as you call it, and converted it into a store house and got a man from Philadelphia by the name of Long to briDg a stock of goods, the first dry goods ever sold in Jacksonville. After that there were several firms brought goods to the village and I think succeeded in their enterprise. 1 don't know that I remember all tb.8 persons engaged in business. There were Pierce fe-Holman, Ben Taylor, Felix McGaugh, Landrum & Bro., Andrew Knox and Dick Marshall, all engaged in the dry goods busi ness, and John Wilkins, Charley MOSS $3; M. MATHIS, Principal Gray '.and-Domingus engaged in the grocery and saloon business. John Morgan,1 the father of the late Jim Morgan, ran a tailoring establishment, William Buckner a buggy factory, and a man by the name of Cargill ran a blacksmith shop. There were three physi cians, Dr. Hill, Dr. Debow and Dr. Medaris, who are all dead. There are a great many incidents that would be interesting to some people that might be mentioned in this article, but it would be too voluminous for a newspaper. Some of them may appear hereafter if so desired.' However, I will men tion that Domingus got killed in a melee. with a man by the name of Huzza, who was prosecuted and acquitted. UNION CITY. Union City was incorporated in 1850, Thomas Hay being elected mayor and John Cullom city mar shal. We don't remember the names of the councilmen. I think Dr. Eli Bynum, Joe Morehead and William Askins were three of the number. Prior to that time Dr. John Hnrrison was elected first constable and the writer the first magistrate. Notwithstanding the three saloons there was very little lawlessness enacted at that timei Whisky was sellipg at 18 cents per gallon. ; ... Don't let the baby suffer from ec- zenia, sores or any itching of the skin. Dean's Ointment gives instant relief, cures quickly. Perfectly safe for chil dren. All druggists sell It. To Mammoth Cave. '; Obion County Excursion to Mammoth Cave August 14 on regular L. & N. train from Mc Kenzie at 4:45 p. m. for $7.40 the round trip. This amount includes the railroad fare, also board at Cave Hotel and long-route trip tbroag the cave. Tickets good re turning within ten days. Write L, & N. Agent. 9V 9 ( .7 ., 1