USA > Arkansas > Sebastian County > Fort Smith > Fort Smith, Ark. Its history. Its commerce. Its location. Itself > Part 2
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It is the boast of Arkansas that she is free from the extreme heat of the South and the extreme cold of the North. The average rain fall is 54 inches, and the average temperature, 62 degrees, the highest during 1890 being 101 degrees and the lowest 7 degrees.
THE LAWS.
The general system of Arkansas jurisprudence is good, as may be deduced from the fact that the United States has adopted its practice in the Indian Territory courts. Our Legislature
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protects the poor man, although it does not oppress nor put obstacles in the way of the rich. We append the law relative to
HOMESTEAD AND OTHER EXEMPTIONS.
The provisions of the Constitution of the State in the matter of exemption laws are very liberal.
Article IX. of the Constitution provides as follows:
SEC. 2. The personal property of any resident of this State who is married or the head of a family, in specific articles to be selected by such resident, not exceeding in value the sum of five hundred dollars in addi- tion to his or her wearing apparel and that of his or her family, shall be exempt from seizure on attachment, or sale on execution, or other proc- ess from any court on debt by contract.
SEC. 3. The homestead of any resident of this State, who is mar- ried or the head of a family, shall not be subject to the lien of any judg- ment or decree of any court, or sale under execution or other process thereon, except such as may be rendered for the purchase money or for specific liens, laborers' or mechanics' liens for improving the same, or for taxes, or against executors, administrators, guardians, receivers, attorneys for moneys collected by them and other trustees of an express trust for money due from them in their fiduciary capacity.
SEC. 4. The homestead outside of any city, town or village, owned and occupied as a residence, shall consist of not exceeding 160 acres of land with the improvements thereon, to be selected by the owner, pro- vided the same shall not exceed in value the sum of $2,500, and in no event shall the homestead be reduced to less than 80 acres without regard to value.
The Constitution further provides, that if the owner of the home- stead dies, it shall vest in the widow and minor children.
To the resident of the State who is not married, personal property in articles to be selected by such resident not exceeding $250, in addition to wearing apparel, is exempt from seizure or sale under attachment or execution issued out of any court for the collection of any debt by contract. It is, however, provided, also, that no property shall be exempt from execution for debts contracted for the purchase thereof while in the hands of the original purchaser, or from judgments for tort or fraud.
TAXATION.
The sensible man in changing his location will always look into the matter of taxation, and his choice, other things being equal, will be determined in favor of that State where taxation is
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the lightest and best guarded by constitutional limitations. Fort Smith, in this, as well as other advantages offered by her, chal- lenges comparison.
The utmost limit of taxation is two and one-half per cent., and that upon an assessment which does not exceed one third of the true value of the property, so that if the full taxing power under the Constitution of the State were put in force the total tax on true values would only be eighty-three one-hundredths of one per cent. . This taxing power is limited by the Constitution as follows :
For all State purposes, one per cent.
For all county purposes, half of one per cent.
For all city purposes, half of one per cent.
For all special school taxes, half of one per cent.
The latter tax can only be levied in the several school dis- tricts in which a majority of the electors vote for it at the annual school elections held in the month of May, at a time when there is no political election held. At the present time the State tax is only half of one per cent., two-fifths of which is for school pur- poses. It will be noticed that the highest rate that can be reached, outside of cities and towns, is one per cent., and in cities two per cent., outside of the special school tax, which is a volun- tary tax, this, on the assessment as before stated, would amount on the true values outside of the towns to one-third of one per cent., and in cities and towns sixty-seven one-hundredths of one per cent. The taxes for the present year in Fort Smith are one and a quarter per cent., forty-two one-hundredths of one per cent. on · true values.
MECHANICS' LIEN LAWS.
Arkansas is not behind her sister States in protecting the mechanic and laborer, as well as the farmer, by laws which secure to them payment for work and labor performed or material fur- nished, while the Constitution protects the unfortunate debtor against the rapacity of the greedy creditor, saving to him his homestead and a reasonable amount of personal property where- with to protect and care for his family.
There are two ways in which the mechanic, laborer and material man are protected. One is by a law which requires the party to give notice to the builder that he is going to do the work
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or furnish the matertal and the probable cost of such work or material. When this is done the builder is justified in withholding such amount until he is satisfied that such party has been paid, and under the law, becomes surety to the party serving such notice, not, however, exceeding the contract price of the building or improvement, upon which the party has a lien under the law.
"The mechanic, laborer, and material men who have failed to give such notice, have still further protection, in this, that the builder is required to withhold one-third of the contract price for ten days after the completion of said contract, in order that all may have a chance to present their claims for work done or material furnished.
Those who wish to look further into the matter of Arkansas law, are referred to Mansfield's Digest of the Statutes.
SCHOOLS.
There are few, if any, cities of the size of Fort Smith so well provided with school buildings and facilities. It has now five buildings which, together with the grounds, are worth $140,000. In addition to these another will be built in 1891 to cost about $25,000, made necessary by the constant growth of the city. Its advantages do not consist alone in its buildings. The school sys- tem is excellent and the teachers of a high order of talent. There are one superintendent and forty teachers employed at an aggre- gate monthly salary of $2,630. .
In May, 1884, Congress donated to this city the abandoned military reservation, to be sold by the city for the benefit of the public schools. This ground was subdivided into about 1,200 lots, 50x140 feet. Taking the past sales of a part of this property as a criterion, it is reasonable to believe that a permanent school fund of upwards of $750,000 will be raised, the use of this being restricted by an act of the General Assembly for the purpose of preserving it as a permanent endowment fund. Properly guarded, the interest of this fund will be sufficient for many years to come to pay all the expenses of the schools in this city.
. In addition to the public schools there are two convent schools-a Lutheran school, commercial college, and several private schools.
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Fort Smith, Ark.
MORALITY.
The record of the newspapers and courts is a testimonial to the public and private virtue of the citizens of Western Arkansas. Divorces and scandals are proportionately fewer here than in most . of the other States. It is not only against the law to carry con- cealed weapons, but is an offense against the State, punishable by heavy fines and imprisonment to sell a revolver smaller than army size or cartridge fer one. Games of chance for money are forbid- den. The sale of any kind of goods, or having a store open for trade, except those selling eatables, on Sunday, is a misdemeanor.
TEMPERANCE.
With reference to temperance, Arkansas has, in the imagina- tion of many, been synonomous with whiskey. A few solid facts from the records will convince the fair-minded that such an opinion is erroneous. High license and local option is the law in Arkansas. Every two years the question of license or no license, is submitted at a general election. At the election held in 1890, twenty-one counties, containing about 16,000 square miles, gave a majority against license. In the remaining 54 counties, in more than half of the territory embraced in them, no license can be obtained. The vote is by township and wards, and no license can be granted in any township or ward, although in the county in which it is located there be a majority for license, unless that particular township or ward gave a majority for license. The total majority in the State at that election for license was 34,000, in a vote of 33,900 less than was cast for State officers ; 25,000 of that majority was given in 18 counties where the colored voters are in majority or compose a large portion of voters of the county. Again, there have been some seventy special acts passed by the Legislature since 1879 prohibiting the sale of liquors within circles varying from six to twenty miles in diameter, and but five of these acts have ever been repealed, covering but about 72 square miles, while the terrirory covered by the seventy acts is about 3,170 square miles, where prohibition exists by positive enactments of the General Assembly. The above statement of facts makes Arkansas compare favorably with any of the States where prohi- bition is not the law, and with a number where it is.
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Fort Smith, Ark.
CHURCHES.
In the matter of churches Fort Smith is fairly supplied. She has now :
Two Catholic Churches,
Two M. E. Churches, South,
Two Methodist Episcopal Churches,
One African M. E. Church,
Three Baptist Churches,
One Christian Church,
Two Presbyterian Churches,
One Episcopal Church,
One Lutheran Church,
Costing, in the aggregate, with the lots on which they are built, - about $110,000.00.
In addition to the foregoing, the following new church edifices are either under way or will be before January 1st, 1892 :
Catholic Church. $50,000 00
Lutheran Church. 20,000 00
Methodist Episcopal Church 10,000 00
Jewish Synagogue 10,000 00
Cumberland Presbyterian Church 8,000 00
Baptist Mission.
1,000 00
Presbyterian Manse 3,500 00
Methodist Parsonage
3,000 00
Making a grand total of. $105,000 00
Or $7.00 per capita, in this city of 15,000 people, for new church property during the ensuing year. A very large share of this amount is already provided for.
The Y. M. C. A. is represented by a strong organization, having an efficient secretary, large rooms, good library, gymna- sium, baths, etc., etc. Considered from a moral stand-point, the new-comer. to Fort Smith, or any part of Arkansas, need have nothing to fear.
SOCIETY.
For a place of its size Fort Smith is wonderfully cosmopol- itan. Its population is made up not only of citizens from nearly every State in the Union, but from most of the European nations. Among the latter the Germans predominate and are excellent cit- izens. In politics the city is nearly equally divided, being slightly
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Democratic at the present time. Having been a favorite army post for many years, Fort Smith's society has always enjoyed the reputation of being cultured and agreeable.
PUBLIC CONVENIENCES.
Fort Smith has an excellent sewer system extending over the whole city, consisting of twenty-six miles of sewers. The water- works has twenty miles of pipe laid and to be laid by September 1st, 1891. . The pressure is so great that fire-engines are not used. the fire apparatus being hose carriages and hook and ladder trucks. The efficiency of the water system may best be shown by the fact that during the past three years the total loss by fire did not exceed $13,635.00 and that every fire was confined to the building in which it originated. The city is well lighted by gas and electricity and is perhaps alone in the possession of two com- plete telephone systems. In addition to the foregoing it has nine miles of street railway, the different lines of which unite in the business portion and diverge to the various residence sections. At present, horse power is the motive force, although the electric equipment is proposed during 1891.
Fort Smith has one of the handsomest and best equipped opera houses in the Southwest, which is visited annually by many of the best theatrical attractions in the country, en route to and from Texas and other Southern cities.
The business advantages have been heretofore treated of. Summarized, they are :
The largest area of fertile country tributary to Fort Smith, and to her alone.
The fact that she is in the midst of one of the largest and finest coal fields in the United States.
The abundance of materials to manufacture with this coal.
The large and rapidly growing railroad system of which she is the center.
› For location on a navigable river.
Her admirable topographical situation, low taxes, excellent climate and modern improvements.
And, lastly, the fact that building material is cheap and abun- dant. Good lumber can be had at from $9 to $14 per thousand feet.
Good shingles from $2.50 to $3.50 per thousand.
Good brick range from $6 to $9 per thousand.
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Fort Smith, Ark.
Another thing may be considered in this connection. Owing to the mildness of the climate it is not necessary to build the houses so expensively as in the colder latitudes. Houses, in every way suitable to the climate, may be built, counting material at the same price, for two-thirds the cost that houses of the same dimensions could be built for in the Northern States, for the rea- son that much more expensive foundations and other work has to be used in those sections to protect the inmates from the extreme cold.
All around the city stone for sidewalks can be obtained from an inch to five inches thick, in any sized slabs desired. Sidewalks are laid with this stone four feet wide and two inches thick at forty-five cents per square yard.
Excellent building stone can be found in inexhaustible quar- ries even within the city limits and can be delivered in all parts of the city at from $1 to $1.20 per perch.
COAL.
This, perhaps, one of the greatest of civilizers, abounds at the very door of the city. The greater part of Sebastian county, in which Fort Smith is located and Scott county, immediately south, is underlaid with coal, varying from thirty-two inches to seven feet in thickness. The coal in Sebastian county is found and mined within three miles of this city and at various other points in the county. The thickest veins now being mined are at Huntington, Greenwood and Jenny Lind basins, but equally as good basins have been found in other parts of the county not yet reached by the railroads. This coal is of that peculiar character called semi-anthracite. When properly mined it is free from sulphur. It is almost smokeless in burning and burns to an ash nearly as soft as wood ashes. Its analysis shows that it contains eighty per cent. of fixed carbon, thus making it in all respects equal to and in some respects superior to the best steam-producing and domestic coal found in any other section of the country. The following is an average analysis of Sebastian county coal :
Fixed Carbon. 79.853
Ash.
5.999
Water
.915
Sulphur
1.680
Vol. hydro. carbon .. .
11.553
. Specific gravity, 1.327. 100.000
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Fort Smith, Ark.
Good steam coal from these mines can be laid down at Fort Smith at eighty cents per ton. In Scott county, through which the Fort Smith & Southern Railroad is now building, are large fields of excellent gas and coking coal. In addition to this, in the Indian Territory, on the railroad running from Fort Smith, Ark., to Paris, Tex., there are immense fields of gas and coking coal of the finest quality. In these fields there are two veins, each four feet thick, forty-two feet apart, dipping at an angle of 30 degrees. The nearest mine opened into this coal is about twenty-eight miles from the city. The output of coal in Sebastian County alone, during the past three years, has increased from 300 tons per day in 1887 to 3,000 tons per day in 1890, and will, within the next three years, be more than doubled.
WHOLESALING AND JOBBING.
Five years ago but comparatively little jobbing was done in - the city ; so little, in fact, that drummers from Little Rock and Memphis did quite a thriving trade in the city and surrounding country. Now neither of those cities make any effort for trade in this section. There are now in the city four exclusively wholesale groceries, two exclusively wholesale dry goods houses, one whole- sale boot and shoe house, one wholesale clothing house, one exclu- sively wholesale hardware house, two wholesale liquor houses, one wholesale drug house, one wholesale crockery house, having a capital of upwards of a million dollars. In addition to these, there are twelve other establishments, the business of which is largely in the jobbing line. The field for this kind of business is almost limitless, and is constantly growing. The Indian country is rapidly settling up. There are already upwards of four times as many whites as Indians in the Territory, and it will doubtless be opened fully to settlement within five years. The new railroads being built will add very largely to the Territory legitimately belonging to the Fort Smith merchants. This class of business need only be limited by the amount of capital invested in it and the enterprise with which it is pushed. It has more than doubled within the past year and is steadily and rapidly increasing.
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BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF FORT SMITH, ARK.
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DESCRIPTION-Railroad, Foot and Wagon Bridge. It has Thirteen Spans, including the Draw and is 2,380 feet long. 3,800,000 pounds of Steel and Iron were used in its construction. It is the Pegram Patent, and built for the Kansas & Arkansas Valley Railway Company.
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