The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1878-10-18
POPULAR RESORTS.

POPULAR RESORTS.
Every city, every town, every cross
roads has its places of resort. Every
community recognizes public resort as
one of its necessities and as one of the
means of enjoyment and instruction for
its members.
After our days or weeks work is over
we of Emporia like to go somewhere to
read, talk see and hear-to amuse our
selves and mix with our fellows. Obser
walton and experience lead us TO say
that our available places of gen
eral resort are: in the evening, the bill
lizard and pool rooms and restaurants :;
on Sunday afternoon, the depot, the
shady side of Commercial street and the
post office. Our saloons not long since,
for the want of more inviting places,
were popular evening resorts. They are
now closed, but unless new, popular,
better, more inviting and less expensive
resorts anticipate them, there will doubt
less be change, and that before spring,
too. We may expect grand openings and
benefits that will present a means a
which will contract ones volume
ofcurrency in the interest of bad cause,
as readily as other grand openings asso-
ciated with ribbons, not confined to blue
alone, are reputed to reduce family's
supply of the circulating medium, in
the interest of an innocent cause.
Thanks be to our Santa Fee raiload
company, on Sunday afternoon we can
go down to the depot to the capacious
platforms erected by the management
There we meet our friends as by APP
pointment; sit down on the express
truck or on trunk and talk with the
boys; go in and occupy the seats in the
waiting room; step over to the hotels,
near by, drink their water, use their easy
chairs, and read their papers The train
comes along and we rush up, jostle the
news-boys, watch the excitement at the
express car, gaze in mute establishment
at the brilliancy of the palace car con-
ductor's uniform and the brightness of
that of his colleague, the porter. All this
and more, too, we take in and enjoy free
gratis and not at the hands of a charit-
bic institution either. Not much. AT
the signal of the locomotive bell, as the
train moves off, we all form ranks, quad
ripple file, and march up the street. DC
casionally two or more of us drop out to
appropriate vacant store box, con-
veniently placed by our thoughtful and
kindly disposed merchants, but the rank
and file march on to their destination--the
place of resort, to-wit the postofiice and its
corner, provided by the government for
the dear people who do, and who do not,
get letters.
Other towns belive in providing places
of resort, not depending upon the bust
ness interests of individuals and corpor
ations; not alone in tearing down in
ferior ones, but in putting up better
ones also.
Other towns have public parks and
reading rooms. Theoretically we have.
Practically we have not. Other posses
sors throw theirs open, make them places
of recreation and profit and use them to
their full capacity. We don't, but why
don't we?
Emporia has at least one beautiful lit
tie park, but who knows it. 1t isn't open
TO the people and nobody thinks of go
ing there. We had good public library,
containing the best of standard works,
fiction and periodical literature We
have most of it yet, but nobody seems to
know of it, think of it or care about it.
We set out TO place no blame unless up
on the patronage which should have sus-
tanned such an institution.
A few years ago the Librarian was dis
charged, the books stored away and the
room closed. Practically so, we mean, as
the room is never open in the evening,
nor on Sunday-undert the circumstances
we can't expect it to be-and what other
times do most Of us have to enjoy the adj
vantages Of public library and reading
room. We notice that the new dress of
THE News covers an old and standing
notice that must have read we'll to intel
ligent people of the east, who have look
ed to Kansas and Emporia for the future
home and society of themselves and
families-but that item had long since
lost its significance to us. To the same
effect speaks nice looking sign, which
graces the Emporia bank building. 1t
reads, "Emporia Library Rooms" but
not even a small boy stands at the foot
of the steps, which don't lead there, to
say Removed over yonder somewhere"
Everybody should know where an in
stitution of this kind is Facilities for
finding it should be as good as those for
finding the places where one may get a
drink of whisky, and bottle thrown in.
Ye temperance people should be practi-
cal. Adopt some of the attractions of
the adversaries and add to them. You
would cope with them, and you have so
undertaken, go in, and go one or two
better-to make use of expressive par
lance.
Has the blue ribbon faded and been
laid away with old time badges, some
of which used to say, for instance, "Tild-
en- and Re form ~ Will some one please to
hurrah and wake US up. Somebody work
ed hard last spring, made deal of noise,
overturned some of our main places of
resort-salOons. What have they built
in their steads Nothing. They began,
destroyed and stopped. Three scenes
gloriously enacted. Do 20 not suppose
somebody is buildings A vacuum was
created, but it is not they who made it
who are filling it. The vacuum will not
long be. Shall there be good or bad
places of resortp
There is no reason why Emporia
should not have, at once, place of re-
sort that would be pleasant and popular,
and be open at all ,seasonable times for
recreation, amusement and instruction,
unless it is because Of the continued
apathy of her people.
we make suggestion: Put in doz.
en- or more plain seats under the trees
in the park-eYen If the merchants have
40 h.. - 4. n