New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-05-18
NEW ORLEANS.
cent City-What She Needs to Make
Her the Great COmme fciaI Metropolis
of the lsuif.

The Past, Present and Future OF the Hres~
ceat Cjty-What She Needs to rIake
Her the Great Commercial Metropolis
of The l;uif.
CCorle .ponieace o; :he st. Louis Times:
! have visited! and hastily studied mos. Of
the great cities OF North America. the
CITY OF Mexico. those of the Pacific slope.
| those OF the Lakes, exclusive OF Chicago.
! and the Cana'ias remain for future vista
| ton. hay. r-i the essential peculiar.-
| tie. in nature and civIl!Z alton possessed by
| each OF those ! have seen. But few days
ago ] made MY second visit 20 New Or
leans, and though my stay was short /
sought to realiz-. in sentiment and hope.
the present and future OF the commercial
metropolis of the Gulf of Mexico.
| Forty-sesen years before Pierre L:gueste
Laclede landed where st. Louis now stands.
| or in III, New Orleans was founded by
the French. whose rude forms of archtec.
| ture and elements OF imported civilization
still finger i'll the city she now IS.
| Before the Invention OF the railway. or IL
| least before its use had attained to the sd.
| premacy it now holds, New Orleans vas
| looked upoa as the future commercial ne
| trOpolis OF SOrth Ame' lea. After consider
| il. the geography of the Mississippi valley
| and noting The tendency of ali It's uhvi "a be
| waters 10 tiow to ana by New Orleans for
| eigu aud home writer's made no hesitation
in declaring /: city destined to wonder.
| fui future Of commerce and greatness.
| SAID an English writer. as recently as
| 1910. When speaking of New Orleans:
/" The city is ia the most favorable situa.
| ton toI the prosecution .: IL. trade OF one
| of the most important parts of the North
| American Cnl)n, being near the mouth OF
| the great outlet to the valley o. the M.ss.s-
| sipp. l. is already TIE emporium of the
| vast veg ion which IS drained by that river.
the Missouri, the Red river. and their tribu.
| taries. and in future years, when sett.'.
| menta shall have extended through that
| fertile region. New Orleans may become
| the g,ea.es. commercial city OF the West.
There is no place in Europe or America
which has equal natura! facilities Of in.
| ternai II avi gatlUn.
! Size was looked upon az destined TO be.
come the legitimate successor OF Constant.
| ncpl-. OF touice and Genoa. as the CON.
! merciai power Of the world moved west.
| ward With the grand malch of the human
race. A kindred Climate. similarity Of wa.
ters and navi.able advantages. together
| with superior resources surrounding Oh
many sides. all consplling to make Ler
| greater than her predecessors of the trans.
Atlantic waters. But TIE parallel between
the city o: the Adriatc and tie Mediter.
| raneaE, and that of the Gulf Of Mexico,
does not belong alone to she Typographical
character o! tie country surrounding each.
for it is alike observable in the origin and
growth OF their respective civilizations.
The serf labor of the Afric aus belonging to
and around the one. had its parallel in the
| self labor Of the Levantes IN and around
| the Others. and the new civilIz atom won by
the city OF the AGriatic drought the
outlaws Of the K.nan empire fleeing
from the yandai h,ries 0: At:ila. had
their parallel in the CARPET baggers
t!eeln. from the army of Graut to the city
! = 81 Nj t,,l =
the commercial supremacy OF the world.
may we not h. tina: better times wilt
succeed the latter, and the city Of the Cali
| rise to be t. the new world what the city of
the AGratic was 10 the old! The days
have passed by when the fair daughters OF
| Themi>toc.es and LeoLidas were bought
ard sold in the sham les Of Smyrna: so.
TOO. have the days passed when negro slaves
were bought and sold in the markets OF
New Orleans. Thus situated, with national
parallels and historical precedents found
belonging to the Gutenly citiea Of other
tines, may we not justly assume that the
fair honor won and lost by the commercial:
metropolis of the Adriatic may. through
t1e lapse Of time, be mere than gained by
tn, rising metropolis OF the Mexican Gulf.
and TIE merchant princes Of New O:iean.
r!va. those Ct Venice. when sae Hds the
commercial mistress of Europe! Is no:
such Il conclusion just is not such rtsu.:
inevi;able' Yes: yes YES: NJ re than
rival. more than superior. vii! the HE.
tropci:s Of the Cult OF Mexico be :" the
METROPOLIS Of the Air;atic when she "sa, g
ia state, t.ron.d Oh her hInired islas''
Crowd al! the commercial spispdor Of
Venice and Genoa with nlerclan t1lieh ruiin.
the world. and their TAR women risin: III
the richest and mos: II flied society IL at
the earth could produce. Then add 10 these
achievements and these yehaeMents tne
more modern culture and wealth and :isn.
ION OF Paris. Crowd al these INFO one he.
trupois OF commerce. of fashion and fans"
arl the one whole vii. out feebly compare
with the future growth. retirement and
splel. dor of New Orleans.
II 1873 the exports of New Orleans
amounted &c SSS,210,22i for the same year
,he exports OF New York amounted; 20
$50 oa9.7!l. showing that at that time the
metropolis Of the Gult was almost the
equal an exporting eiry.rt tie :uetropo.
lis Ut North America. I'll, alone is I. y1o.G
OF PROMISE to her future.
Blu. sad enough i! is that today New Or
leans stands prostrate upon the TIRES hold,
OF the gulf. not SO hrnored ant. hopeful as
in former days. Msruie. the crisis she is
LOW in, and the trarsi ion through which size
IS passing. have discouraged her merchants.
paralyzed her commerce and caused l.er
capita: ISIS 70 doubt the future. Yet there
is for her future full OF promise and
achievement. But tia: future is beyond
the present eli i: beyond tn" transition
through W .ich she is now passing. II can
only be realized VIII. Il the commerce e
North America. when the commerce o.
1 the world Is rrorgan:zed and conducted il
harmony with the pro,i-i, Of nature.
and when lie" social. po.i:ica! and
intellectual orier supplants the pres.
ent. When considering what are some Of
the changes and Improvements necessary 20
her future progress nd greatness. one of
the first things tor the people to do is to
provide good food for themselves and
strangers to eat. A: pre- sent her market.
and hotel tables afford nothing Il. to eat.
sake what grows in "a vegetable line ami in
the way Of fish aid other products of the
water. He: markets do no: afford any beet
III 20 eat. uoI are the pork anu mutton any
better. Her people do no: us. tie hes.
quality OF flour, anu can Only boast OF GOO!
liquors and tobacco. including cigars
As t" she water supplied to the city Cor
domestic use. 1t is IntClerab!e. j. IS re!t..-r
clean. palatab.e nor healthy. Yankee en-
t'rprl-e would have long since provided
soMethiI- better.
] There Is no excuse :or wan. .: GOO;
food and water i'll New Orleans. for bOtl:
can hc supplied almost as cAeanly as tie
present unfit articles can.
Another matter Of im:nC,siatc cor. ;!cra.
ton tor tAe p 'ope of New Orlea,.. is the
elevation Of the city. This Is \ necessity
that cannot be neglected. A system o.
gradlrga. OF vast scale. without any re.
ference 10 expense. must be in ,ugurattd
and the entire city raised at least eight
| feet II NAV he that this PROPOSITION will