Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-12-27
WHAT PUBLIC SPIRIT Is WORTH.

The geographical position and natural
advantages a city enjoys do much to infiu-
ence its growth, but populous places are
often built without any such aids. The
energy and public spirit of community
are elements worth counting in fixing its
| future. Hearty co-operationsanda deter
/ mined purpose will accomplish almost any
desired result. We have had our atten-
ton directed to this subject by an incident
that occurred recently in q thriving city of
Northern Ohio, which so forcibly demon
strates the good few public spirited citi
zens can do that we think it worthy of re-
cital in this connection.
A company of men engaged in manufac-
turing n very popular safe in the city o
Cincinnati finding it necessary TO greatly
increase their facilities for manufacturing,
determined for the benefit of their employ
ees to move their works to some smaller
city, provided satisfactory arrangements
could be made. In pursuance of this plan
they visited Canton, growing manufac-
turing city. to see what inducement could
there be found. On making known
to its citizens the object in view, they
were at once informed that any reasonable
inducements they might want would be
offered
The manufacturers proposed on their part
to build extensive, substantial shops and en-
ploy some three hundred men permanent-
~ in their enterprise. The citizens Of
Canton on their part offered them the
ground for their shops and the loan of
some fifty thousand dollars for five years
at eight per cent. The latter proposition
was promptly accepted, and now in the
midst of winter, by the aid of furnaces for
heating the mortar, large brick shop,
three stories high, and several hundred
feet long is being rapidly built.
The men who were public spirited
enough to offer these manufacturers these
inducements have been equally liberal to
other similar enterprises, and the result is
that Canton, with fewer natural advanta-
ges than Knoxville, surrounded within q
radius of fifty miles by Akron, Mansfield,
Alliance and Salem, all equally enterprise
ing communities, is rapidly growing
manufacturing city. The enterprise and
cooperation of her citizens more than
counterbalances her lack of natural advan-
tages. In all such matters her people for
get politics and unite heartily to advance
the material interests of the city. In coal
in iron in wood and in shipping facilities
Knoxville possesses greater advantages
than Canton. What we need is the public
spirit and sagacity of her property holders,
who see, in every new laboring man that
comes, in every new shop that is built in
their city, an increase in the value of their
own property more than enough to repay
them for the risk they run in giving to
sucIl enter pIlScS tItulJ anu CO-OpeTdJlOn
Does not this incident afford food for re-
Election for our business men and real es-
tate holders? What better work can they
do for themselves and for the city than to
aid in building up such establishments in
our midst? 1t is our only hope, and we
can afford to work together tremendously
and energetically in this direction. The
great aid such establishments give to city
are to be secured only through effort. We
can not sit by and eXpect our city to grow
without some energy on our part. VIII
we make these efforts as other cities are
doing, or will we let golden opportunities
nass . ... H.r 70 1911.