[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 23 (Monday, February 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2150-S2151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    LANETT'S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the recent 100 
year birthday of Lanett, AL, a small textile city located on the bluffs 
of the Chattahoochee River in Chambers County. Lanett--named for Mr. 
Lafayette Lanier, an early councilman and president of West Point 
Manufacturing Co., and Mr. Theodore Bennett, a Bostonian who served as 
the selling agent for West Point Manufacturing Co.--is a town rich with 
history.
  On December 7, 1865, the Alabama Legislature convened in general 
assembly and passed the act of incorporation for the town of Bluffton, 
AL. Twenty-eight years later, a new charter was sought. Bluffton had 
grown, and the citizens of the town deemed it appropriate to change the 
town's name. On February 1, 1895, a charter for the newly named town of 
Lanett was approved by the State legislature.
  The new charter provided means by which the town clerk could assess 
taxes and sell property of delinquent taxpayers after a proper 
notification. Police were given jurisdiction over areas 1 mile beyond 
the town boundaries. Road and street work, which previously was 
demanded of every male over the age of 18, could now be exempted upon 
payment of a $3-a-year street tax.
  The city of Lanett struggled in its infancy for financial survival. 
Early records show the city had to borrow money at 8 percent interest 
in order to pay its bills. Happily, in the year of 1902, the treasurer 
reported for the first time that income exceeded the town's debts and 
that there was even a balance on hand at year's end.
  Other problems beset the first few years of Lanett. The smallpox 
epidemic of 1903 had a grave impact on the city. Dr. S.H. Newman was 
paid $10 a year by the city to treat the patients. After a long bout 
with this disease, a fumigation and vaccination program was begun.
  The city of Lanett has come a long way over the past 100 years. 
Today, it is a healthy city of over 9,000 residents. It owns and 
operates its own electrical, natural gas, water, an sewage treatment 
systems. It has a street department and collects its own garbage. 
Furthermore, it has one of the most modern police, fire and emergency 
medical service departments in the State. As you can see, Mr. 
President, Lanett has a lot going for it.
  The centennial celebration committee has chosen as its theme, 
``Remembering the past as we prepare for the future.'' Mr. President, I 
believe that 
 [[Page S2151]] Lanett, AL, is evidence that small town America is 
alive and well.


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