Souvenir Program 141st anniversary J' MAY 20 1775 ^; defensf: ^-■ CHAPLO qrpT 1775 — 1916 # CHARLOTTE, N. C, MAY 18-19-20, 1916 DEDICATED TO THE SIGNERS OF THE cTMECKLENBURG DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE THEIR ANCESTORS AND TO THE CITY OF CHARLOTTE THEIR BIRTHPLACE AND HOME THE KOHINOOKd fT^ HE original drawing of the Mecklenburg Decla- ration of Independence was burned many years ago with the dwelling of John McKnitt Alexan- der, the Secretary of the Convention, but sev- eral copies were extant at the time and were read and attested by many who were active in this epoch of American history. In honor of the event the State of North Carolina has. enacted the 20th day of May as a legal holiday, which is observed with befitting cere- monies every year. Such historians and jurists as Martin, Jones, Foote, Hawkes, Wheeler, Gaston and Wm. A. Graham have established the authenticity not only by indirect testimony, but by the strongest of human evidence — the affidavitsof men who were pres- ent and participated in the memorable meeting. A great lawyer has said that a destroyed deed could be put upon record with testimony not half as strong as that adduced in the proofs of the authenticity of this document. George W. Pendleton, of Ohio, and ex- Senator Bayard of Delaware, made addresses of great research and power at some of our 20th of May cele- brations, and David B. Hill, of New York, after scan- ning all the pages of authentic records, declared that the Mecklenburg Declaration was the Kohinoor of gems in America's crown. The granite and bronze will perpetuate the name of each signer, while pilgrims year after year will repair to this shrine and render homage of admiration to the memory of those patriots who first accentuated the spirit of freedom in the New World. 1775 1916 141st anniversary Mecklenburg Declaration OF Independence CHARLOTTE, N. G. MAY 18-19-20, 1916 III g-n cTWECKLENBURG MONUMENT r#-|-. HE Mecklenburg Monument I i Association was incorporated ^^ in the City of Charlotte on ^S£ ' the 20th day of May, 1890, as the title indicates, for the erection of a monument to commemorate the names of the Signers of the Mecl COURT HOUSE Queen's Museum, al.so in honor of Queen Charlotte, hoping thus to please the King. Afterward, when they had determined to stand for their rights against King George, they changed the name of their college to Liberty Hall. In 1775 Charlotte was a village of about twenty houses. In the middle of the square, where the two stage roads crossed, stood the courthouse shown above. It was a log building, raised high above the ground on wood blocks. Two flights of steps led up from the outside, one on either side of the building. In this courthouse, on the 19th of May, 1775, the General Com L mittee chosen by the people of Mecklenburg to look after their rights, was called together by Colonel Thomas Polk to talk over the sad state of the colony. Many of the men of Mecklenburg had been with the Regulators at the battle of Alamance. Since that time, for four long, weary years, matters had been growing steadily worse in the colony. There was no law in North Carolina. All her courts were closed. The Assembly which made the laws was forbidden to meet by the gov- ernor. The brave men of Mecklenburg felt that they could no longer suffer their rights to be thus trampled on. Something must be done, and done at once. So on this 19th of May not only was the little courthouse filled to overflowing, but a vast crowd filled the open square around it. Here were gathered people from all parts of the county. Old and young were there, and men of every calling. Here were the colonial magistrate, in broadcloth coat and knee-breeches ; the farmer in homespun made by his thrifty wife or mother; the hunter in buckskin leggins and moccasins; the minis- ter in sombre black Even the women were here, some of them with their babies in their arms. Never before had the people of Mecklenburg been so aroused. Papers were read, telling of the wrongs that were being done to the people of the colony, and speeches were made by several of the Presbyterian preachers present. As if to add fuel to the flames, a man on horse-back dashed up, and read in a loud voice from a handbill which he carried. It was a story of bloodshed and death from the distant colony of Massachu- setts, telling how the farmers of Lexington, just one month before, had been cruelly shot down by British soldiers, and how eighty-eight of them were killed in the fight which followed. The story flew from lip to liji. The fire in their hearts leaped higher and higher. Indig- nation ran riot. Then with one voice the people shouted, "Let us be independent! IjCt us declare our independence, and defend it with our lives and fortunes!" But the rule of England was not to be lightly thrown off. Every point must be talked over. So these earnest men, without food or sleep, sat in the courthouse all night long, and discussed the matter. Their excitement grew greater as the night wore on. The next morn- ing the people gathered again in the square — men, women, and children. They could not wait quietly at home for news from the Convention. This was to them a matter of life and death. "I. Resolved, That whosoever directly, or indirectly, abets, or in any way, form, or manner countenances the invasion of our rights, as attempted by the Parliament of Great Britain, is an enemy to this country, to America, and to the rights of men. "II. Resolved, That we, the citizens of Mecklenburg County, do hereby dissolve the political bonds which have connected us with the mother country, and absolve ourselves from all allegiance to the British Crown, abjuring all political connection with a nation that has wanton- ly trampled on our rights and liberties and inhumanly shed innocent blood of Americans at Lexington and Concord. "III. Resolved, That we do hereby declare ourselves a free and independent people ; that we are, and of right ought to be, a sovereign and self-governing people under the pov^^er of God and the General Congress ; the maintenance of which independence we solemnly pledge to each other our mutual co-operation, our lives, our fortunes, and our most sacred honor. At noon, five resolutions drawn up by Dr. Ephraim Brevard, were read to the Convention and adopted. These resolves declared the people of Mecklenburg to be free and independent, no longer ruled by the British Crown. To the cause of independence they pledged "their lives, their fortunes, and their most sacred honor." Colonel Thomas Polk then read the "resolves" from the court- house steps to the excited crowd. "Three cheers!" shouted some one in the crowd. Three rousing ji cheers rang out from the vast throng. Hats were thrown up. The people were wild with delight at having thrown off the yoke of sub- ': jection to Great Britain. ■ On the day on which the committee met, the first intelligence of the action at Lexington, in Massachusetts, on the 19th of April, was i;! received in Charlotte; this intelligence produced the most decisive i; efi'ect. A large concourse of people had assembled to witness the >: proceedings of the committee. The speakers addressed their dis- ; I courses to them as well as to the committee, and those who were not jlj convinced by their reasoning were influenced by their feelings, and all cried out : "Let us be independent ! Let us declare our independence ! and defend it with our lives and fortunes !" ji: A committee was appointed to draw up resolutions. This com- ji mittee was composed of the men who had planned the whole proceed- i ings, and who had already prepared the resolutions which it was jlj intended should be submitted to the general committee. Dr. Ephraim 1|) Brevard had drawn up the resolutions some time before and now ;{! reported them to the committee, with amendments, as follows: "IV. Resolved, That we hereby ordain and adopt as rules of conduct all and each of our former laws, and that the Crown of Great Britain cannot be considered hereafter as holding any rights, privi- leges, or immunities among us. "V. Resolved, That all officers, both civil and military, in this county be entitled to exercise the same powers and authorities as heretofore; that every member of this delegation shall henceforth be a civil officer and exercise the powers of a justice of the peace, issue process, hear and determine controversies according to law, preserve peace, union and harmony in the county, and use every exertion to spread the love of liberty and country until a more general and better organized system of government be established. "VI. Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted by express to the President of the Continental Congress, assembled in Philadelphia, and be laid before that body." These resolutions were unanimously adopted and subscribed to by the delegates. James Jack, to be the bearer of the resolutions to the President of Congress and directed to deliver copies of them to the delegates in Congress from North Carolina. The President returned a polite answer to the address which accompanied the resolutions, in which he highly approved of the measures adopted by the delegates of Mecklen- burg, but deemed the subject of the resolutions premature to be laid before Congress. Messrs. Caswell, Hooper and Hewes (the North Carolina members) forwarded a joint letter, in which they compli- mented the people of Mecklenburg for their zeal in the common cause, and recommended to them the strict observance of good order; that the time would soon come when the whole continent would follow their example. On the day that the resolutions were adopted by the delegates in Charlotte, they were read aloud to the people who had assembled in town, and proclaimed amidst the shouts and huzzas, as expressing the feeling and determination of all present. When Captain Jack reached Salisbury, on his way to Phila- delphia, the general coui't was sitting and Mr. Kennon, an attorney- at-law, who had assisted in the proceedings of the delegates at Char- lotte, was there in Salisbury. At the request of the judges, Mr. Ken- non read the resolutions aloud in open court, to a large concourse of people; they were listened to with attention and approved by all present. The delegates at Charlotte, being empowered to adopt such measures as in their opinion would best promote the common cause, established a variety of regulations for managing the concerns of the county. Courts of justice were held under the direction of the dele- gates. For some months these courts were held at Charlotte; but for the convenience of the people (for at that time Cabarrus formed liart of Mecklenburg) , two other places were selected, and the courts were held at each in rotation. The delegates appointed a committee of tlieir body who were called "a committee of safety," and they were empowered to e.xamine all persons brought before them charged with being inimical to the common cause, and to send militia into the neighboring counties to arrest suspected persons. In the exercise of this power, the committee sent into Lincoln and Rowan counties and had a number of persons arrested and brought before them. These who manifested penitence for their Toryism, and took an oath to sup- port the cause of liberty and of the country, were discharged. Others were sent under guard into South Carolina for safe keeping. Th' meeting of the delegates at Charlotte and the proceedings which grew out of the meeting, produced the zeal and unanimity for which the people of Mecklenburg were distinguished during the whole of the Revolutionary war. They became united as a band of brothers whose confidence in each other and the cause which they were sworn to sup- port, was never shaken, in the worst of times. Never was there such a great day in North Carolina, and never did the people of any of the American colonies do a braver deed. Thus, on the 20th of May, 177.5, was the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence made. CHARLOTTE FIRE DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVE NORTH CAROLINIANS HON. LEE S. OVERMAN HON. JOSEPHUS DANIELS cs (?*•*» **»^ •• pj*«W <*»v M HON. F. M. SIMMONS HON. E. Y. WEE THE SOUTH BACK YONDER^ I ¥ I ER VAST potentialities, grand history, salubrious climate, and * * ' just laws, are challenging the attention of the world, and the bravery of her men and the beauty of her women are known to the nations of earth. Washington Irving tells us, that "So charming was the plain of Granad, under the Moors, so refreshing its fountains and so luxuriant its gardens, watered by the windings of the Zeneil, so opulent its valleys where grew in profusion the orange and pomegranate, where grapes hung in rich clusters about the peasant's cottage, and where the groves were musical with the songs of the nightingale, so great THE COTTO^ IN ITS INFANC\ the prosperity and happiness, where all had once been but a barren waste, that the inhabitants imagined that Heaven was situated in that part of the sky which overhung the plain." This is a perfect picture of the South, if we will add hereto, "education and the smokestack," as she has become, since she stag- gered — "Out from the valley of death and tears. Hardly the survivors have sprung to their feet. When the nations are thrilled by the clarion words Coming up from the South. Excelsior. Forward." She is the most American part of America. The current of her citizenship is unpolluted by foreign "isms" and if the time ever comes, predicted by Lord McCaulay, when our institutions will be strained to the breaking point, then may the Republic rely upon that spirit of the South that wrote Alamance, and Moore's Creek, and Cowpens, and Kings Mountain, and Guilford Court House on the scroll of fame. The flag of the Republic can never droop, come what may, so long as the Southern manhood survives, for. the Stars and Bars bequeathed Southern valor forever to the defense of the Stars and Stripes. Behold the South of today! Have we not "the mason's chisel chirping all over the land"? Do not new enterprises of all kinds start in crowds, "like larks rise and darken the air in winter time"? Can we not see, "in our banks, piles of glittering gold, amiable as Hesperian fruit; heaps of silver, shimmering lil^e the sheen of the sun-kissed hillocks on the Jungfrau's brow, and stacks of bills, which seem to whisper a symphony as they rustle"? Now this is not hyper- bole — this is not exaggeration. Ten years ago it was still a question open to discussion as to whether the South could successfully compete with New England in the manufacture of cotton goods. This question has been forever settled; conditions have been reversed, and it is now a question whether New England can compete with the South. CHARLOTE PARK SCENERY cAS WE WERE THEN VT I ORTH and South Carolina, up to the year 1729, constituted i^ 1 one colony, called Carolina. The first settlement was made in 1663, at Edenton at the mouth of Chowan river, and was called the Albemarle Colony. Those who live over our South- ern border who have carped at certain patriotic claims of Mecklenburg", should remember that this Albemarle settlement of Carolina had set up its government and was in legislative session two years before Charleston was even started by William Sayle in 1670. Both colonies, however, were ever afire with the spirit of liberty, and both rejected, by rebellion, the "Fundamental Constitu- tions," or "Grand Model" of John Locke, because they breathed an aristocratic and monarchial spirit despised by the colonists. Virginia had her "Pocahontas and Partick Henry" ; Massachusetts her "Ply- mouth Rock and Pilgrim Fathers"; Con- necticut, her "Charter Oak", but it was on the shores of the Old North State tha' Virginia Dare first saw the light, the first white child born in America, and forever by her side, through the haze of our time, we see the grand figure of Sir Walter Ral- eigh, whose name is worn as a crown by Ralaigh, the Capital of North Carolina. History shows how the colonies be- came the Republic— the Republic the greatest power on earth. That the South is the most favored section of the Repub- lic and we confidentially assert that North Carolina is the best part of the South. Her history is illumi- nous with heroic deeds. She has climate to sell. Every vegetable or agricultural product to be found in the temperate zone grows luxu- riantly in her soil. Her wheat is unexcelled and takes rank with the best, and no State in the Union can surpass or even compare with her numerous valuable and beautiful minerals that are found in the bosom of her hills and mountains. SOME CHARLOTTE HISTORY HARLOTTE was chartered by the Colonial Legislature in the year 1772. It is therefore one of the old towns of the South, and has a history. Its first inhabitants were of Scotch-Irish descent. Charlotte, the capital of Mecklen- burg County, got its name from Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg, wife of George III. Its first great event was the meet- ing of representative men of Mecklen- burg and adjoining counties, and the adoption of the Mecklenburg Declara- tion of Independence of the British Crown, May 20th, 1775. The meeting was held in the Court House which stood on Independence Square, the spot being now marked by an iron plate with a suitable inscription. The same plate also commemorates a battle fought in the streets of the town, between a troop led by Lord Cornwallis himself and the Mecklenburg Militia in September or Cctober, 1780, of which event Lord Cornwallis wrote to the Earl of Dart- mouth saying that he got into a veri- table "hornet's nest," a name which has clung to the town to this day, the hornet's nest having become emblematic of this section. (Ither plates mark Cornwallis' Headquarters, commemorate a visit of Washington during his first Presidency and indicate the spot on which Jefferson Davis was stand- ing when he received the news of Abraham Lincoln's death. In Charlotte also was located the first educational institution in this portion of the South, chartered by the Legislature as the Queen's Museum, in 1771, and generally known as Queen's College. Charlotte of today is known as the "Queen City of the Carolinas," and is the center of the manufacturing development of the great WILLIAM ALLISON OWENS Elected 1861; Re Piedmont section of the Carolinas. Her growth has kept pace with this development. Her population in 1890, about 12,000; in 1900, 23,800; now (estimated) 50,000. With a fertile soil, agriculture of an improved and varied char- acter, a genial climate with an average temperature of 59° and an elevation of 743 feet above tide water, the traveler for pleasure, the seeker for health, and the man of business will find Charlotte worthy of examination when casting about for a change. There is a book called, "Walks About London," but a man wishing to see Char- lotte, her splendid reaches of bitulithic and tarvia paved streets inviting him, would prefer a run about the city and her environs in one of her six hundred auto- mobiles. Continuing his ride, for him, history would roll back the curtains of the years, as he gazed upon the plate which marks the place where Cornwallis quar- tered and planned to crush the hornets, the Mecklenburg militia, that stung him so badly along East Avenue that he called Charlotte the "Hornet's Nest"; anon, our sightseer would feel his blood jump as he looked upon the spot where Jefferson Davis, President of the Southern Confederacy, stood when he received the shocking news that President Lincoln has been assassi- nated, and presently he would come to the memorial of George Wash- ington's visit to Charlotte, May 25, 1791. A breath of fresh air and a spin of a few miles, and our visitor seeing Charlotte might behold the monument which marks the birth- place of Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States, the spot then being in Mecklenburg, now in Union County; and later, he might visit the scene where James Knox Polk, eleventh President of the United States, first saw the light — President Polk, who through Taylor and Scott planted "Old Glory" in triumph on the battlements of the Capital of the Montezumas and "whipped Mexico before break- fast." On returning to the city, our visitor would behold the great dome of Mecklenburg's splendid Court House, which marks the spot where once stood Queen's Museum, or Queen's College, the Genesis of higher prliieation in this section of the South. oTs ghtseer could gaze upon the building whe.. the PresKlent of the Confederacy had his headquarters; after the drama at Appo- 1 tox the President and his cabinet were hurned southward and r the 20th day of April, 1865_eleven days after the sun-end r o?the army of Northern Virginia-the Confederate cabmet had is headquarters in the building now occupied by the Charlotte Dady Observer, and President Davis' private room was the office where Hon. J P Caldwell, former editor of the Observer, wrote those editorials whose wisdom, political acumen and conservatism had long since made this distinguished citizen known throughout the land. Strange is it not, of two great wars, one had its inspiration and beginning in Charlotte; the other, the dissolution of the Confederate cabinet, substantially its ending and grave? Cherished memories of the past constitute the moral force of nations. A great man once said, "A land without memories is a land with- out liberty." Veneration for the deed of their ancestors is kept ever present in the hearts of the citizens of Charlotte and the Queen City of the Carolinas holds to it as her crown jewel, the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. As the Branden- ! burg Gate with its car of victory stands at the entrance at the city of Berlin as an inspiration to the future genera tions so the citizens of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have placed the great iron tablet on Independence Square and have erecteu Zt monument in honor of the Signers of the Mecklenburg Declaia- tion of Independence. The citizens of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County have nevei claimed that they were braver than other colonies, but they assert and establish beyond sane controversies the greater truth, that is to say. the patriots of Mecklenburg were the first to put into tormal declara- tion the colossal and nation-building ideas of separation from the Mother Country. It, was Patrick Henry's immortal ^'P^ech 'n the Virginia Assembly that fired the American hearts, and the blaze he kindled which had been smoldering under tyrannic aggression in old Mecklenburg burst forth here on the 20th day of May, 1775. CORNWALLIS' HEADQUARTERS GUEST OF HONORo -tf^^l THE OFFICIAL PROGRAM THURSDAY, MAY EIGHTEENTH 9:00 A. M. BAND CONCERTS Kannapolis Band North Tryon and Fifth Streets Greater Charlotte Band South Tryon and Fourth Streets Metropolitan Shows Royal Italian Band West Trade Street 10:00 A. M. LAKEWOOD OPENS— NATURE'S PA RK— WELL-STOCK ED ZOO OF WILD ANIMALS— BOATING— DANCING AND NUMEROUS OTHER ATTRACTIONS METROPOLITAN SHOWS OPEN WITH THREE FREE ACTS AND FIFTEEN HIGH-CLASS SHOWS ATHLETIC SPORTS— FIELD, TRACK AND BASEBALL. ASHEVILLE SCHOOL AND HORNER MILITARY SCHOOL, AT HORNER FIELD 3:00 P. M. BAND CONCERTS Greater Charlotte Band East Trade and College Streets Kannapolis Band West Trade and Church Streets 4:00 P. M. LEAGUE BASEBALL: GREENSBORO VS. CHARLOTTE AT WEARN FIELD 9:00 P. M. PAYNE'S SPECTACULAR FIREWORKS AT WILMORE, SOUTH TRYON ST. FRIDAY, MAY NINETEENTH 9:00 A. M. BAND CONCERTS Kannapolis Band North Tryon and Fifth Streets Greater Charlotte Band South Tryon and Fourth Streets Metropolitan Shows Royal Italian Band West Trade Street 9:30 A. M. ARRIVAL OF GOVERNOR CRAIG, OF NORTH CAROLINA, AND GOVERNOR MANNING, OF SOUTH CAROLINA, WITH THEIR STAFFS— SOUTH ERN DEPOT— FIRING GOVERNOR'S SALUTE OF 17 GUNS 10:00 A. M. LAKEV/OOD OPENS— NATURE'S PARK— WELL STOCKED ZOO OF WILD ANIMALS, BOATING. DANCING AND NUMEROUS OTHER ATTRACTIONS 2:00 P. M. ARRIVAL OF STATE TROOPS 3:00 P. M. BAND CONCERTS Greater Charlotte Band East Trade and College Streets Kannapolis Band West Trade and Church Streets FRIDAY'S PROGRAM -CONTINUED 3:30 TO 4:30 P. M. Concert by United States Marine Band At Grand Stand 4:00 P. M. LEAGUE BASEBALL: GREENSBORO VS. CHARLOTTE AT WEARN FIELD 5:30 P. M. REVIEWING OF TROOPS BY GOVERNOR CRAIG AT GRAND STAND 8:30 P. M. ADDRESS ON MECKLENBURG DECLARATION OF INDEPENDfcNCE BY DR. ARCHIBALD HENDERSON, OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA. AT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ROOMS 9:00 P. M. PAYNE'S SPECTACULAR FIREWORKS AT WILMORE, SOUTH TRYON ST. MILITARY BALL AT AUDITORIUM (Music by United States Marine Band) SATURDAY, MAY TWENTIETH 9:00 A. M. FORMATION OF PARADE. SOUTH TRYON AND ADJOINING STREETS 10:00 A. M. LAKEWOOD OPENS— NATURE'S PARK— WELL-STOCKED ZOO OF WILD ANIMALS. BOATING, DANCING AND NUMEROUS OTHER ATTRACTIONS PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON AND PARTY ARRIVES AT SOUTHERN STATION — FIRING OF PRESIDENT'S SALUTE OF 21 GUNS (Procession led by United States Marine Band) 10:30 A. M. PRESIDENT WELCOMED BY MAYOR T. L. KIRKPATRICK AND CENTRAL COMMITTEE Reception to President Wilson and Party by Governors of North Carolina. South Carolina and Virginia, and Staffs, at Reviewing Stand 11:00 A. M. REVIEWING OF TROOPS AND INDUSTRIAL PARADE BY PRESIDENT WILSON. GOVERNORS CRAIG. MANNING AND STEWART, AND MAYOR KIRKPATRICK AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS 2:00 P. M. LUNCHEON TO PRESIDENT WILSON AND DISTINGUISHED GUESTS AT MANUFACTURERS' CLUB 3:00 P. M. SHAM BATTLE, Dl LWORTH-M YE RS PARK 3:30 TO 4:30 P. M. Concert by United States Marine Band At Grand Stand Some Public Buildings HARLOTTE'S public and semi- public buildings are in keeping with the size and progress of the place. The City Hall, lo- cated on North Tryon Street, houses the entire city government, and is ade- quate for at least several years to come. Among other buildings which are daily in use by the public, and which attract more than usual attention from the visitor, and are sources of pride to the resident, might be mentioned the Southern Manufacturers' Club. It is said that this is the most nearly per- fectly-appointed club house in the Southern States ; and Presidents of the Nation have expressed deep admiration for the appointments and arrange- ments. The Charlotte Y. M. C. A. build- ing is one of the most complete to be found in the country. Built by Char- lotte men, this building houses many young men, who are given the best environment to be obtained, and where they are kept apart from the contami- nating influences so often found in city life. The Y. W. C. A. building is one of the most complete to be found in the South. This building is beautifully situated on East Avenue in the fourth block from the square, and was also built by public subscription ; and stands as a monument to the teaching of higher ideals of man's duty. The Masonic Temple is located on South Tryon Street and is one twenty-three of the finest structures in the state and is in keeping with the spirit of progress which has dominated Charlotte in the past. This build- ing is the home of all Masonic bodies in the city. The City Hall is adequate for demand and is used by all depart- ments of the city government and in addition one large hall is turned over to the use of the Confederate veterans. Charlotte has outgrown her post- office and there is now in process of construction by the Government a new and more commodious one- quarter-million-dollar building. Charlotte's large Auditorium has a seating capacity of five thousand, is adequate to take care of a large number of conventions which are at- tracted to the city, and in addition ta this there are a number of store rooms and office rooms. One suite of these rooms is set apart for the use of the Associated Charities, which looks after the poor and needy of the city, thus reducing begging to a minimum. CHARLOTTE CITY SCHOOLS — JIARLOTTE has many features, but none more important than 1 its schools. From the clays of the signing of the Mecklenburg ^ Declaration of Independence— May 20, 1775— the people of t his community have sought and obtained an education. They have realized that their children must be better educated than their parents, and have continuously provided therefor. Within the uast few years a total of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars has been expended for new school buildings within this city, and several sec- tions which were not provided for as well as could be desired were put on a parity with the more favored parts of Charlotte, so that at this time people living in any part of the city have a high-grade school within easy distance of their homes. The Central High School and seven grammar schools take care of the white children, and three schools are provided for the colored children. During the present year the enrollment in the Charlotte schools is 6,981. Of these 4,770 are white, and 2,211 colored. The children are taught by a competent corps of instructors, totaling 153. The High School prepares boys for the Freshman class at the University of North Carolina, and girls for the Sophomore and Junior classes of the college for women. Prof. H. W. Walker, State Super- visor of High Schools, has credited the Charlotte High School with more Carnegie units than any other City High School in North Caro- lina In the present Freshman class at the University of North Caro- lina a Charlotte High School boy takes third rank in the same class. At Trinity College, a Charlotte High School boy has been recently made instructor in mathematics at Trinity Park High School. This same record continues through Wake Forest, the State Agricultural and Mechanical College for the boys, and through all the colleges for women in the state and section. The cooking department of the Charlotte High School is splendidly equipped, and the State High School inspector recently declared it to be the best he had seen in a High School. Cooking and sewing are taught by demonstration, and a commercial department, giving courses in bookkeeping, stenography and typewriting, has been added, and the High School has one of the best equipped manual training departments in the State. The city school authorities endorse the doctrine of a sound mind apiri' M^'i in a sound body, and therefore encourage athletics. Football and baseball teams for the boys, and basketball for the girls, are under the supervision of a member of the faculty. The grammar school course in the Charlotte school covers seven years, and the High School course covers four years, making eleven years of high-grade training at the cost of the city. In the grammar schools, especial emphasis i.^ laid upon the thorough teach- ing of the essentials — reading, writing and arithmetic ; and proper attention is given drawing, music, and other courses. The city makes an appropriation annually to send one-third of the teaching force to the various summer schools, enabling the teachers to keep themselves well informed and fully abreast of the times. A continuation school for grades IV to X is taught during the summer for a period of two months. This enables pupils who have fallen beb.ind on one or two subjects on account of sickness or for other reasons, to make up the work and save a year. No charge is made for tuition. It is the aim of the superintendent and teachers of the city schools to make the public schools so good that the most wealthy a'' well as the poorest citizen will feel that his child is not getting the best unless he is sending him to the city schools. In addition to Charlotte's well equipped city schools she has special advantages in tlie institutions fiu- the higher education of our boys and girls. In the southeastern suliurbs of Charlotte is located two of the institutions of higher education. An examination will con- vince the most critical of the special fitness of Queen's College for those who are seeking educational advantages for their girls where the best possible management and the best corps of instructors are to he secured. Girls of the most ambitious Darents have attended this institution and have left with every accomplishment needed or desired. There was a time when higher education was expensive and was considered a luxury on account of having to send the boy away from home for college training and college education. Located right here in our midst is Horner's Military School, where the li')y can attend a high-class college and still remain under the home roof and home surroundings. This institution is located in a beautiful suburb .of Charlotte and is especially equip];ed for the educational advancement of the boy. ^ ^^^ji 1 ^^^^K^^^3 ^ --^^hH^^h -■"^^^^^^^^Bi d z , i^SB^M».^BBBh <* 1- o ■RH^HhHI^^IH^h DC < I T 8 1 i j > DC < h -1 2 o: Ul z DC O I oc , ^nrsnnf Vl^^^^l oc < m HI 1 ' jijipmHi^iif^ii twenty-eight Financial Institutions r ^ \ HARLOTTE'S nine banks are i J^Ll '^'^0'^" wherever Charlotte peo- [8SII pie transact business — not as '^-^~?~ paragons of the financial world, but as safe and sound and conservative business institutions, where the needs of tlieir customers are looked after care- fully, and all courtesies consistent with sound banking are shown the public at large. The capital of the combined banks of Charlotte totals $2,250,00, with assets of over $14,000,000; and at the last call of the Comptroller of the Cur- rency, made for December 31, 1915, the deposits of the nine banks were shown to be $8,075,996.28, while the loans totaled $9,946,071.22. The surplus and profit accounts of the banks of this city on that date were $2,143,497.60. During the financial stringency in 1907, the Charlotte institutions did not at any time fail to make payments of all accounts, and had the distinction of be- ing the only city between Richmond and Atlanta where this condition prevailed. The banking of Charlotte is character- ized by progressive conservatism, which is one of the basic principles of all busi- ness of this city. The picture shown here represent? one of Charlotte's modern fireproof sky- scrapers. This building is owned by the Commercial National Bank. It is this building together with the Realty Building owned by the Independence Trust Company as shown on another page in this program, that gives South Tryon Street and West Trade Street the appearance of Wall Street. p0i ml ini III \ lllllUl llllli mwu i^ i CO^^l\iERCI lATIOr.AL BANK BUILDING REALTY BUILDING TRANSPORTATION HARLOTTE is the most favored city in the Carolinas from transportation viewpoint. At this time there are four lines of railway, each SSS=== separate and distinct in ownership and operation. More than sixty passenger trains arrive and leave Charlotte within the day, and many people reside here for the reason that it is so easy to reach any and all sec- tions of the Southeast from here. What is true of the passenger service is also true of the freight service. Fast through freight service is maintained by two of the lines entering Charlotte, from the North and East, and from the South and West. This makes Charlotte an ideal distributing cen- ter. Prompt service, both passenger and freight, marks the operation of the railway lines serving this section, and this is one of the advantages Charlotte is offering, especially to traveling salesmen and manu- facturers. In keeping with the growth and to meet the demands of the progressive citizenship, the Seaboard and Norfolk-Southern Railroads have plans ready for the erection of a new and more commodious passenger station. It is understood that the plans of each one of these roads require an expenditure of one hundred thousand dollars. The Southern Railroad will spend about sixty-five thousand dollars in remodeling a new passenger station. This one fact emphasizes a rapid growth of the city and shows a willingness on the part of the railroads to meet the demands of the progressive citizenship in a growing city. ! ==?==^~;=;=?=g=========:?======^^ ' I^HH^^^^^^^^^^H aHy^^^py!^ - ^ ^: ''^^^^1 lPa,flHRl^ 'iHH '^f^^^^B iPif^^*w#iii iHlffl^^B ^j B wi^Bi mBmm^BwPb ^I^^BB ^MMBMJM H^BH z o H 1- Hi i ipii^ IHK O 1 ^^R z a. :J ' .^BBBh ? i 1 3 2 ^j ' : ''H^ o 2 § J) > ^ I ,' '''^^n 1- s %!> ^HB ' ^SHs^^huS 1 j^. ' ^ ^^i^^P §5 f^^^ral'^^'^' '' SkI 3 ~£^ilK^^/ i«^s < I o w ' .^'^^^^^^-'.y / ''''^l^HliiB %; '" " 'niw |\ fl L?==?g=?:=r=rr?T?T???r????:^^r^^ — ^-r~~4)' w cTVlANUFACTURING HARLOTTE has one hundred and forty-five manufacturing plants, in addition to its cotton mills, of diversified products. Its cotton mills have an annual payroll of $1,820,000. Of the eig-ht hundred cotton mills situated in the South, four hun- dred are situated within a radius of one hundred miles of Charlotte, representing an investment of $300,000,000, giving employment to one hundred and fifty thousand operatives, with an annual payroll of $275,000,000. Charlotte is the center of the textile industry of the United States. There are several reasons for this. One is the pres- ence of the cheap and satisfactory power, and another is, sk'lled labor is at a price that the manufacturer can secure it. Another is the presence of raw material and excellent transportation facilities to the markets of the world. While Charlotte's chief manufacturing indus- try is cotton, there are a wide diversity of enterprises in this field, from piping which went into the construction of the subway through which speed the electric trains under the streets of New York to the handsome casket in which a multi-millionaire was buried recently. This is a long cry, but Charlotte supplied both. Only recently Char- lotte shipped to Petersburg an entire train load of agricultural imple- ments to be used by the Imperial Department of Agriculture of Russia. Mention might be made that it was due to the transportation advantages of Charlotte that brought to Charlote the Ford Automobile Assembling Plant. This plant assembles and turns out complete thirty automobiles every work day of eight hours, giving employment to a great many of our young men and pays good salaries. The man- agement, to meet the demands, are looking about with a view to doubling the size and capacity of the present plant. This is one of the many industries that have recently been added to Charlotte. This, together with the rubber tire manufacturing plant, makes this the distributing center for automob'les of this section of the country. Charlotte is the only town in the South where a cotton mill can be built from start to finish and furnish its own raw products from surrounding communities with which to operate on. CHARLOTTE'S HEALTH T IS STATED upon apparently good authority that the death rate of Charlotte is the lowest in the United States save one. There are no conditions about Charlotte which induce ill- ^^=^ health. The sanitation of Charlotte adds to the health- fulness of the place to a wonderful degree. It is well-nigh impossible for illness to prevail where cleanliness abounds, and it is the pride and boast of the citizens of this city and her administration that it is most difficult to locate anywhere a city that presents a neater appearance. The Health Department of the city maintains a close watch over the people and every care is taken to prevent contamination. The milk and water supply is carefully guarded to see by this means that no ill- ness comes upon the citizens. With the most equable climate in the United States, it is but natural that Charlotte's health should be noticeable and proverbial. CHARLOTTE'S WATER SUPPLY The source and supply of water for a city is one of the most important features of community life, and in this particular Char- lotte is especially fortunate. At a cost of $786,000, the city has a water supply system which affords a capacity of ten million gallons daily, with a reservoir capacity of eighty million gallons. When the fact that the daily consumption of water in Charlotte is about two million gallons is considered, it is seen that the water in the reservoir will sujiply the city for six weeks in case of droughts, which are known to give cities so much trouble. The entire City of Charlotte is piped for fire protection, as well as for use in business and the home, and throughout the city the pressure is all that could be desired. Since the pipe line to the Catawba River, eleven miles distance, was laid, thirty-nine thousand dollars was spent in extending the city mains to reach sections which up to that time had not been properly cared for. Wholesome water in abund- ance is to be found in Charlotte by those seeking a business or home location. It is one of the city's chief assets. The water is furnished to the citizens at a minimum rate of fifty cents per month for ordinary consumption and domestic purposes and a special low rate for the large consumer for manufacturing purposes.