1898 RARE PRIVATE MAILING CARD CHARLES HENRY BLISS BOY W/CART PENSACOLA FLORIDA For Sale

Neat original antique postcardpiece of PENSACOLA FLORIDA historySTREET SCENE, image of black boy with ox pulled cartnice decorative backwith images of battleshipsimage of a postcardCHARLES HENRY BLISS, PENSACOLA, FLORIDAPRIVATE MAILING CARD 1898
in about mint conditionCharles Henry BlisswasMayor of Pensacolafrom1905to1907. He was also a publisher of aquarterly magazinecalled at various timesBliss\' Magazine,The Bliss Magazine, andBliss\' Quarterly.
In December1895,Bliss and his second wife moved to Pensacola. Bliss worked as a reporter and newspaper editor, also publishing theBliss magazines. He later was engaged in the concrete business, as well as in the design and manufacture of metalliclaunches.Wrote a book about Pensacola around 1904 entitled: \"Pensacola harbor, beautiful views and pertinent facts regarding the deep water city of the Gulf of Mexico, Pensacola navy yards, Pensacola shipping and Pensacola fortifications\"
Mayoral tenure

Bliss was electedMayor of Pensacolain1905, and was re-elected to a second term shortly before his death in1907.

Although Bliss was elected in 1905 on the \"White Democratic\" ticket (a faction of the Democratic party which advocatedwhite supremacy), he notably took a stand in vetoing Pensacola\'s 1905\"Jim Crow\"ordinance, which provided for segregation on Pensacola\'sstreetcars, calling the ordinance unconstitutional. The veto was overridden by a unanimous vote of the City Council.

According to a political ad which Bliss ran in thePensacola Journalon May 1, 1907, he accomplished much during his mayoral administration. Bliss claimed to have done much to beautify and improve the City\'s streets, parks, and other public works:

• He has mounted the first cannons, planted the first palm trees, and done more to beautify the parks of the city than all former administrations, and would have done much more had thecouncilsustained him.
• He has built the only shell roads that Pensacola has.
• He has hardened as many miles of streets as all the former administrations put together.
• He has built all the cement curbs and gutters in the city.
• He has doubled the miles of ditches for draining the streets and ponds and marshes.
• He has cleaned up the city as it has never been cleaned before.

Bliss also claimed to have fought corruption and mismanagement while promoting transparency:

• He is the only man who has persistently fought the extortions and unlawful dealings of the Pensacola Water Company and carried it to a successful ending.
• He has faithfully kept his promises to the people, and as mayor has stood up for their rights against all opposition.
• He abolished the practice of his predecessor of signing, or allowing others to sign, the mayor’s name to the city checks with a rubber stamp.
• He established a rigid system of accounting in all city departments so that citizens may know where every cent of their money goes.
• He is the first mayor in years to require the city treasurer to keep a set of books that the city may have an official record of its finances by the treasurer.
• He has made “grafting” impossible in all departments under his control.
• He has given his personal attention to all public works and has insisted upon all work being performed honestly and faithfully.

Bliss died around 3 a.m. in the morning ofJuly 24,1907, just more than two months after winning a second term as mayor. He had long suffered from a heart condition brought on by an earlier bout of pneumonia. ThePensacola Journalreported his death that morning: THANKS FOR LOOKING!
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