Chapter 2

In April 1904 the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce sent letters to most of the manufacturers of the city, asking for a statement of the capital invested, the number of wage earners, the total wages paid, the value of raw material used and the product; also the percentage of increase in each item since June, 1900, when the U. S. Census was taken. The returns show an average increase of 53 1-4 per cent. in capital, 52 1-3 per cent. in wage earners, 55 per cent. in wages paid, 56.7 per cent. in raw material used and 62 per cent. in the value of the product. Applying these percentages of increase to the Census figures of 1900, gives the following for April, 1904 in contrast with 1890 and 1900:

Wage Total Raw Value Capital. Earners. Wages. Material. Product.

1890. $9,508,962 7,957 $3,206,285 $5,914,571 $13,074,037 1900. 16,045,156 9,356 3,103,989 8,563,524 16,707,027 1904. 25,309,937 15,267 5,079,385 14,185,935 28,985,476

Atlanta's principal manufacturing establishments are in cotton, iron, machinery, lumber, sheet metal, terra cotta, brick, fertilizer, wagons, carriages, furniture, candy and crackers, cigars, coffins, chemicals, printing, lithographing, electrotyping, stamping, paper and paper bags, flour and meal, paints, varnish, cottonseed oil and cake, ice, harness, belts, hosiery, underwear, neckwear, woolen goods, gins, engines, sash, doors and blinds, mantels, iron beds, spring beds, trunks, desks, tables, pickles, condiments, baking powder, bread and cakes, clothing, overalls, millinery, suspenders, picture-frames and moulding.

In money value, cotton goods and fertilizers lead the list. There are three large cotton factories, and Atlanta is headquarters for the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Company, the largest producer of fertilizers in the South. It is also the headquarters of several large sawmill companies.

Atlanta Banks.

The clearings and deposits of the associated banks of Atlanta are reported as follows by Mr. Darwin G. Jones, manager of the Atlanta Clearing House Association:

CLEARINGS BY YEARS.

1894 $56,589,228.04 1895 65,318,254.71 1896 69,026,033.17 1897 72,005,161.52 1898 71,964,809.03 1899 83,058,397.11 1900 96,375,251.22 1901 111,755,849.98 1902 131,200,457.25 1903 144,992,037.59

These reports show that business has doubled in seven years.

Deposits December 1st Each Year.

The deposits of the Clearing House banks of Atlanta at the end of the week nearest December 1st of each year, are reported by Manager Jones as follows:

1893 $3,977,930.98 1894 4,779,640.99 1895 6,672,006.87 1896 5,957,634.51 1897 6,385,336.51 1898 6,756,991.36 1899 7,764,990.85 1900 9,011,902.85 1901 11,080,127.68 1902 12,935,639.60 1903 13,080,098.35

Government Receipts in the Southeast.

One of the facts indicating the greatness of the territory, of which Atlanta is the center, is the Government receipts in the Southeast.

The receipts of the Federal Government through internal revenue, customs, duties and Presidential Post offices is stated as follows, in the latest official reports:

Alabama $ 1,039,341.83 Florida 3,139,624.55 Georgia 1,812,239.10 Tennessee 2,942,593.17 North Carolina 4,933,641.99 South Carolina 1,063,063.17 -------------- Total $14,930,503.81

Growth of Postal Business.

The growth of business is strikingly shown by the postal receipts for the year ending June 30th, 1890, 1894 and 1903:

1890 $159,262.61 1894 201,649.92 1903 477,047.45

Comparison with other cities, by various barometers of trade and industry, indicates that Atlanta does more business than any city of 100,000 population in the United States. As a newspaper center it is phenomenal. The receipts from second-class mail matter at Atlanta were $55,658.83 during the year ending June 30, 1903. This shows that on newspapers and periodicals Atlanta pays the Government more than Brooklyn, Baltimore, Buffalo, Washington, Omaha, New Orleans, Louisville, or Indianapolis.

The receipts of the Atlanta Post-office for the year ending June 30, 1903, were $477,047.45, an increase of fourteen and four-fifths per cent. over the receipts of the preceding year.

Insurance.

Atlanta is the third insurance center of the United States, and easily first in the South.

The receipts of premiums reported to agencies here are estimated at $8,000,000, about equally divided between fire and life insurance.

Atlanta is the headquarters of the Southeastern Tariff Association. There are no burdensome insurance laws in this State and taxes are reasonable.

Cotton.

Atlanta is the center of large cotton operations, and receives about 115,000 bales annually. There are several large warehouses and compresses. The 12 lines of railroads give ample facilities for collecting the crop from adjoining territory and forwarding it overland to eastern mills or to the coast for export. Both of the Round Bale Companies are represented in this city.

Transportation.

Atlanta is the railroad center of the Southeast. Twelve radiating lines furnish ample facilities for distribution of manufactures and merchandise from this point. Five of these lines belong to the Southern Railway. Here is a list of the lines:

Southern to Washington. Southern to Knoxville. Georgia Railroad to Augusta. Southern to Birmingham. Southern to Fort Valley. Southern to Brunswick. [2]Seaboard Air Line to Birmingham. Seaboard Air Line to Portsmouth. Western & Atlantic to Chattanooga. Atlanta & West Point to Montgomery. Central of Georgia Railway to Savannah. Louisville & Nashville to Knoxville.

The connections of these make many more routes over which there are through trains, as for example, to Columbus and Albany.

The Southern Railway, Central of Georgia Railway, and Atlanta and West Point Railway have let the contract for a union passenger station at the corner of Mitchell and Madison streets, and will spend about a million dollars on the structure. Altogether they will spend two millions on the station and terminal facilities connected with it.

Atlanta's hotel accommodations are superior to those of almost any other city in the South. The Piedmont is a fire-proof building of the best class, with steel frame. The Kimball, the Aragon, the Majestic, and the Marion have long enjoyed an enviable reputation with the traveling public. There are numerous smaller hotels and any number of boarding-houses. Atlanta is the stop-over point for the Florida winter travel, both going and coming, and is rapidly becoming a summer resort by reason of its elevation, bracing atmosphere, and cool climate.

The Radius of Distribution.

Atlanta's advantages as a distributing point are shown by the central location with reference to Southeastern towns. There are seventy-nine towns of exceeding 4,000 population in Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. The average distances of these towns by States from Atlanta, Savannah and Nashville are as follows:

ATLANTA SAVANNAH NASHVILLE Alabama 195 miles 419 miles 269 miles North Carolina 400 miles 352 miles 629 miles South Carolina 239 miles 193 miles 526 miles Georgia 147 miles 233 miles 386 miles Mississippi 423 miles 606 miles 440 miles --------- --------- --------- 1,404 miles 1,803 miles 2,250 miles

Average distance of towns in five States 280.8 miles 360.6 miles 450 miles

Street Railways.

Atlanta has a fine system of street railways, with one hundred and forty-two miles of track radiating from the heart of the city to the residence portion and thence to the suburbs. In some directions they reach out for eight miles, as in the case of College Park, Decatur and the Chattahoochee River.

The service is excellent, and there are one hundred miles of tracks within the city limits. The uniform fare is five cents, but there are transfers from incoming lines to any part of the city. Almost any spot on a car line, within the city limits, can be reached from any other point inside the city for one fare.

There is ample service to all the parks and resorts, and an electric line to Marietta is nearly completed.

Light and Power.

Atlanta is well supplied with gas at a low figure--$1.00 per thousand cubic feet. It is so economical that gas stoves are very largely used for cooking purposes and not a few for heating.

The Georgia Railway and Electric Company has two large plants for the generation of electric current for light and power. The city is well illuminated by arc lights and electricity is largely used by business offices and residences.

The same company has a steam-heating plant, and pipes have been laid in the principal streets for this service.

Great Power Plant.

The Atlanta Water and Electric Power Company has erected on a massive masonry dam across the Chattahoochee River, at Bull Sluice shoals, fifteen miles from Atlanta, and in a few months the plant will be completed and equipped to deliver 11,000 horse-power of electric current in the city. The total investment will be $2,000,000. The power plant will give a tremendous stimulus to manufacturing.

As the steam and electric powers already in existence furnish 45,000 horse-power, which is in constant use, the addition of 11,000 horse-power will increase the manufacturing industries of Atlanta by twenty-five per cent. This is considered a very moderate estimate; for within the three and three-fourths years following the census of June, 1900, the product of Atlanta factories increased from $16,721,000 to $27,417,000, and the number of wage earners from 9,368 to more than 14,000.

Rapid Growth of Business

The business of Atlanta is growing four times as fast as its population, although the population grows twice as fast as that of the country. The rate of increase in population for the United States has been two per cent. per annum during the past decade. In Atlanta, it has been approximately four per cent. During the year 1903, the business of Atlanta increased fifteen per cent. as measured by postal receipts. Since the Exposition of 1895, bank clearings have more than doubled and bank deposits have nearly trebled.

Chamber of Commerce.

During the thirty years of their existence the Chamber of Commerce, and its predecessor, the Board of Trade, have been active in protecting and promoting the interests of Atlanta. Meetings in the public interest have usually been called at the Chamber of Commerce, and it was there that the first meeting to organize the Cotton States and International Exposition was held. All important questions affecting business have been discussed there and a score or so of standing committees have been constituted by the Chamber to look after the interests of Atlanta. The Chamber of Commerce is the open forum for the discussion of all matters which affect the general welfare of the community, and in this way the organization has exerted a powerful influence.

The present officers are:

Robert F. Maddox, President; Samuel D. Jones, Vice-President; Walter G. Cooper, Secretary, and Joseph T. Orme, Treasurer.

Daily Newspapers.

Atlanta has three daily newspapers. The Constitution, a morning paper, acquired national reputation under the management of Henry W. Grady, and has continued under the management of Clark Howell to hold a leading position among the newspapers of America.

The Atlanta Journal is a large afternoon paper which acquired national reputation under the management of Hoke Smith, and has continued to grow under the management of James R. Gray.

The third daily newspaper is the Atlanta News, a penny afternoon paper organized during the summer of 1902. It appeared August 4th and rapidly acquired a large circulation. A bright future is predicted. Editors, John Temple Graves and Charles Daniel; Business Manager, Chas. Daniel.

Educational Facilities.

Atlanta has an imposing array of educational institutions, extending from the public school system to the great polytechnic institute known as the Georgia Institute of Technology. There is a variety of technical schools, including law, medicine, dentistry, handicrafts, business colleges, industrial schools and divinity schools.

There are sixteen white and six colored Grammar schools, a Girls' High School, a Boys' High School, and a night school. The total expenditure for these institutions during the year 1903 was $184,286.20. The cost per pupil was $16.75, and the number of pupils 11,000.

There is the usual organization of Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, principal and teachers, under a Board of Education.

The teachers meet in normal class once a week, and many of them spend their vacations at summer schools of the great universities. There is a fine esprit de corps, and excellent work is done.

Atlanta's great educational institution is the Georgia Institute of Technology, supported by the State of Georgia, with an additional annual appropriation from the city. It has about 500 students, and the work is the best of its kind in the South. There are machine shops in wood and in the metals, a blacksmith shop, a textile school, and department of electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. In addition there is excellent work in mathematics, chemistry, and the other scientific schools, with a good education in English.

Graduates of this institution have been distinguished for the thoroughness and the practical value of their education, which has enabled them to go from the shops and recitation-rooms directly into manufacturing and engineering pursuits.

A number of them hold very high and responsible positions in the management of great enterprises, and almost without exception, the graduates hold good positions in productive industry.

There are 600 students attending the medical colleges of Atlanta.

The Atlanta College of Physicians and Surgeons is one of the best equipped in the country, and its course is very thorough. It has a very large attendance from all parts of the Southern States, and some from beyond that territory.

The Eclectic College of Medicine and Surgery is also well attended.

The Dental College holds a position of eminence among institutions of that kind.

The members of the Medical and Dental professions of the city rank high.

There are several excellent institutions for the education of girls, notably the Agnes Scott Institute, the Southern Female College and the Washington Seminary.

The Southern Military College is an excellent institution for boys, and Hunter's School for boys has a fine reputation.

In the institutions of higher education there are about 5,000 students, nearly equally divided between whites and blacks.

The people of Atlanta have raised $250,000 which has been tendered the Synods of the Southern Presbyterian Church, to secure the location of a $1,000,000 University in the city or its immediate suburbs. Commissioners from the Synods of the Southern States met in Atlanta in December, 1903, and voted to accept the tender.

Of the amount subscribed, $150,000 comes from Presbyterians and $100,000 from the public, including all classes and almost all religious denominations. Of the $100,000 contributed by the public, about $25,000 came from working men and salaried employees of business houses. In some cases even domestic servants contributed. In all there are about 3,000 subscribers for amounts ranging from 10 cents to $25,000. At a great mass meeting held in the Grand Opera House, Monday evening, March 30th, $50,000 was raised.

The Carnegie Library.

The Carnegie Library of Atlanta was organized May 6th, 1899, and received all of the property and books of the Young Men's Library, which had been a subscription library, and had 15,000 books and property worth $40,000, when the city received a gift of $100,000 from Mr. Andrew Carnegie for a building. Mr. Carnegie subsequently added $25,000 to the original gift for the building, and $20,000 for stock and furniture. Total cost of the Library equipped was $145,000. The lot, which was a gift of the Young Men's Library Association, cost $35,000. For the year 1904 the City of Atlanta has appropriated $10,100 for the maintenance of the Library.

There are in the Library 26,105 volumes classified and catalogued after the most approved methods. There are 13,420 registered borrowers, and the circulation for 1903 was 111,558 volumes for home use, about 400 volumes daily being issued.

The State Library has a large collection of law books, and a rare collection of colonial history of this and other Southern States.

Institutions for Negro Education.

Atlanta has some of the largest institutions for negro education in the country. They are: Atlanta University, Clark University, Gammon Theological Seminary, the Atlanta Baptist College, Morris Brown College, and Spelman Seminary.

The Spelman Seminary has a fine training school for nurses, and industrial training for women.

Clark University has industrial training for men.

Theatres.

Atlanta has two fine theatres--the Grand and the Bijou.

The Atlanta Lecture Association is one of the best in the United States, and regularly brings the best talent of the country to the Atlanta platform. Its membership is about 1,000. The Baptist Tabernacle has a lyceum course.

Residential Advantages.

It is hard to enumerate the advantages of life in Atlanta. They are so many that it is impossible to catalogue them all in brief space. The climate is the best enjoyed by any city in the country, the spirit of the people makes anyone welcome who is worthy of a welcome anywhere, and the opportunities for business, education, culture, enjoyment and social pleasure unsurpassed. The institutions for the preservation of order, sanitation and public comfort are excellent. The fraternities are numerously represented, and fraternity life is a feature of the city's many attractions.

Visitors from a distance are always charmed with the residence streets of Atlanta. The homes are made attractive by grassy lawns, which beautify the scene and avoid the heat of those cities where solid blocks of flats rise directly from the sidewalk.

There are many beautiful suburbs which are easily and quickly reached by the car lines, and these are constantly extending. Atlanta has a fine market, supplied at all times with fish, game and vegetables, and an abundance of fresh meats. The shops and stores are up-to-date, and conducted in metropolitan style.

The Climate.

Atlanta is on the crest of the ridge dividing the watershed of the Atlantic Ocean from that of the Gulf of Mexico, and its elevation of 1,052 feet gives a bracing atmosphere. The mean annual temperature, based on all available records, is 60.8 degrees. The highest annual mean was 64.0 in 1871, preceded by the lowest, 56.9, in 1868. The mean temperature of the winter months is 44.1, of the spring months, 60.5, of the summer, 77.0, and of the autumn, 61.5. The highest monthly mean was 82.2, in July, 1875, the lowest, 34.4, in February, 1895. The warmest winter month was December, 1889, with a mean of 57.2; the coolest summer month was June, 1866, mean, 68.9. The highest temperature on record is 100, which occurred on July 19, 1887, and is the only instance of its kind. The lowest temperature on record is -8.5, on February 13, 1899. The temperature has registered at zero, or below, but on three other dates in the last twenty-six years, viz.:-- -1, January 6, 1884; -2, January 11, 1886, and zero February 8, 1895.

Summer nights are cool and the low percentage of humidity makes the days comfortable. The average date of first killing frost is November 4th, and of the last in spring, March 29th, leaving an average growing season of 219 days.

Monthly Mean Temperature.

The average monthly temperature for each month, as shown by the record of many years, is given below:

January 42.6 July 78.6 February 45.7 August 76.9 March 51.7 September 71.7 April 60.9 October 61.5 May 69.0 November 51.4 June 75.6 December 44.1

Annual average 60.8

Rainfall by Months.

The normal precipitation by months by the Weather Bureau:

January, 5.10 inches; February, 5.23; March, 5.65; April, 4.23; May, 3.38; June, 4.04; July, 4.22; August, 4.58; September, 3.51; October, 2.36; November, 3.49; December, 4.29.

The annual average rainfall is 50.08.

Parks.

Atlanta has several fine parks and places of resort.

The L. P. Grant Park, on the edge of the city near a battle-field of 1864, is a sylvan retreat of rare beauty, with a Zoo and Cyclorama added to the attractions of nature. It is the resort of picnic parties from the surrounding towns for many miles.

Piedmont Park, the site of fairs and expositions, is in the suburbs, half a mile beyond the city limits, on one of the battle-grounds of the Civil War. It has a lake and a picturesque site, with a number of large buildings.

Lakewood, as its name suggests, affords opportunity for aquatic sports. The same is true of East Lake, where there is elaborate provision for bathing. Ponce de Leon Springs, within the city limits, and the Chattahoochee River, eight miles out, are places of resort.

The Kirkwood Land Company has in preparation one of the most beautiful residence parks in America, and Atkins Park will be another place of loveliness.

To all these parks and places of resort there is an excellent street-car service. The exposition grounds at Piedmont Park also have connection with the city by the Southern Railway.

Department of the Gulf.

In 1903 the Department of the Gulf, U. S. Army, was re-established and headquarters located at Atlanta, and the following officers are in command: Brigadier-General Thomas H. Berry, commanding; Major Millard F. Waltz, Adjutant General; Major Lewis E. Goodier, Judge-Advocate; Lieut.-Colonel Samuel R. Jones, Chief Quartermaster; Lieut.-Colonel Henry B. Osgood, Chief Commissary; Lieut.-Colonel Edwin F. Gardiner, Chief Surgeon; Major Elijah W. Halford, Chief Paymaster; Captain Manly B. Curry, Paymaster; Lieut. H. H. Sheen, A. D. C.; Lieut. A. M. Ferguson, A. D. C.

Fort McPherson.

An Army post is always an attraction because of the parades and the music, and its disbursements add materially to a city's income. Fort McPherson, four miles out on the Central of Georgia Railway and two car lines, is one of the best-constructed posts in the United States and much visited by citizens.