Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1872-06-17
TOWARD SUNSET.
IL.
Omaha and Whereabouts.
FIRST IMPRESSION s.

WestWaru- bound traveller Is not sucn as 10 Ia
vorably impress him with that pretentious city
He arrives there about O'Clock in the morning
and is kept until 11-30 te fore be is able to get
away This is a little to- long to be held loains
about an uninteresting temporary wooden shed
OF depot, and not quite long enough, after he
has secured his accommodations in the Pullman
| car and rechecked his baggage, to afford an OPP
| portunity to drive or walk through the town
Then the annoyances of the transfer across the
bridge have not had the effect to sweeten his
| temper, to begin with. In the first place. sup
posing he has come from Chicago by the North
western train which is the first TO arrive at the
bridge, he is delayed IL ere until the trains by
| the two other roads from Chicago aud one from
| ST Louis have arrived. They may be on time,
which is from ten to thirty minutes after the
Northwestern train gets in, or they may be a
couple OF hours behind time. Finally, the pas
sengers by all the trains are dumped into the
bob.tail transfer train, which takes them across
the bridge at an expense OF fifty cents extra on
each through ticket. Thus some three and
half hours time Is spent at or between Council
Bluffs and Omaha. II all trains are on time
you spend II lounging about the depot in the
latter place, which Is bad enough if any are
behind, You spend IL In the outskirts of the for
mer, which is worse. At best, the ordinary
traveller before he gets away is likely to fee,
pretty sour at having been put to 50 much in
convenience which might have been avoided
were the railway barons so inclined.
GROWTH, IMPROVEMENTS, &c.
Nevertheless, if one gets into Omaha on time,
ana mas reasonable luck in securing sleeping
accommodations for the long trip before him and
in getting his baggage re-checked and his hand
baggage safely slowed away, he may, If so dis
posed, see and learn good deal of the city and
its surroundings, by keeping q sharp watch O..
his watch and making good use Of the lime
Although Omaha has not grown ls.eIy I'm anv.
thing like the ratio predicted by her partial
! friends OF her oyes-sanguine real estate opera
| tors, yet found many and ked evidences OF
improvement since nv last visit there three
years ago. The first object that strikes the eye
Of the visitor not only in the city but in APP
preaching it from the east is the magnificent
new school building which crowns the highest
hill in the near vicinity. Itstands on the site Of
| the old capitol building and is a structure not
only worthy the beautiful and commanding
situation it occupies, but in the highest degree
creditable to the good taste and iberality of the
| community which erected it. As it may be seen
| from nearly every point of view within the range
l Of vision in the broad valley of the Missouri
| river, so from its doors and windows NAV be
enjoyed one OF the most pleasing views Of stream
wooded hill-sides and rolling prairie land to be
| seen anywhere in the country. In both situation
| and architectural effect this building fairly
| realizes the ideal frcntispiece in one of the
4 school books which used to vex my younger
| days, where the genius or Education, clad In
scanty robes, sat pointing youth clothed with
| a short shirt and no trousers to the Temple of
knowledge perched on the high and steep Hill
| Of Science. II only needed group Of statuary
| representing these figures in the foreground to
literally reproduce the picture. There is also q
very fine hotel approaching completion, which g
cleverly disposed citizen informed me was to be
| called the "Grand Centrsi," because, as he
added with q pardonable show of pride, il was
to be very grand in size sad adornment. and wa
situated in the center not only of the city bat OF
the continent The premises being satisfscto-
| rily established, il must be conceded that the
| name, although trife Aigh sounding is happy
| one.
A HINT FOR WASHINGTON.
| And this enterprise, let me add in aggressive
| way, furnishes lessen which should not be lost
on the people of Washington. Realizing the
fact that their to En was suffering in public es.
timation dor want of good hotel accommodation
the citizens of Omaha formed a company, in
! which everybody interested in the welfare OF
the city took stock in such amount as they could
II
ing hotel which shall be credit instead of a
disgrace to the city, and which shall be the
means of drawing strangers to it instead of dri-
wing them away. Whether the stock will he
profitable or not, they have not stopped to ask
| If the direct venture be a losing one, they are
satisfied the investment will be a good one, in
the better name and increased business il will
insure for their city; and in this they can hard
ly be mistaken. The people of Washington
could raise and spend million dollars prodta-
bly, In the same way, even though every dollar
OF the original capital be sunk. Nothing doe;
so much to fix the status of any city in the mind
of the public as the character of her hotels
This is peculiarly true of Washington. When
ever you hear astrsnger express an unfavorablt
opinion Of the national capital, you will find
on discussing the question with him, that hi.
impressions are all based on his hotel expert
ence. To this rule there is hardly an excep-
ton.
| THE PRoBA BILE FUTURE.
| Aside from the public enterprises above re
ferred to, there are o Their evidences of growth
and prosperity in Omaha, and there lie also con
siderable business activity on the streets Blu
on the whole, the promise of three or four yearr
ago has not been kept. This shortcoming il
probably due to two or three causes. In the
first place, too much was undoubtedly expected
OF the flush times which accompanied the build
ing OF the Union Pacific railroad, when Omahs
was the base Of all the supplies needed west
ward This state of affairs no longer exists
Roads are now completed; trains thunder acros.
the continent from seaside to seaside without
material obstruction or delay; and the expe-
rience OF Omaha has been that of many another
aspiring town on through routes Of trade and
travel. She has become mere way station, 70
buy what she needs and sell what she has 70
spare, instead of holding to any considerable ex-
tent the traffic of other cities and distant sec
lions tributary to her, as she fondly hoped 70
do Other cities, old and new, may gain some-
what, and doubtless viii, from the
opening Of conmunication across the
continent, but the, places to be bene-
flied most and most permanently thereby
are San Francisco, Chicago and New York
The wealth and trade enjoyed BY other points
must come mostly fron the advantages Of local
I situation. Then, again, the unsettled Question
as to whether the eastern termin us Of the u. ,.
| 4. r. shall be on the east or ON the west banh
Of the Missouri river has undoubtedly had much
Il n With 0alavinu ho Oro~fh 49, n-->a-