The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-10-25
COUNTY ROADS

ing the iobbing centre Of North Texas,
which we have all desired and styen for
her to lie, and encomra Sed and being
comIGss3l by our railroads. Having ac-
conplished this purpose and made the ac-
complishmont secure, it now behOoves
Dallas to speedily make provision for alc-
till trade. The county of Dallas alone,
outside Of the city of Dallas, has II 900 in
habitants and the counties adjoining are
more or less populous, so that We may
safely estimate that the retail trade
of from 5000 to 4GOt) people outside
the city can be obtained if proper steps are
taken. What are those proper steps, There
can be but one answer ard thai is to pc
vide good country roads, turnpikes say,
and good bridges across the streams, II
We had but four number one roads lead ne
to the four cardinal points of the com BASS
ii C bcnfcial results would be so great in a
little while in the increase of tho retail
trade that il would induce the people to at
once build more. These roads, of course
should lead to the county lines, and they
should be constructed in such q manner
that the farmer with his terms coLld trave!
them without let or hindrance, in all
sorts Of weather the entire year round,
1t is not our purpose to enter
into anything like an estimate of the cost of
such roads as we would like to see built we
only want to call the attention of the people
Of Dallas, her business men, wholesale and
retail, to the Importance Of having frst-class
county roads and bridges, irst-clas, in all
particulars. We have an abundance OF
stone and gravel in this county, and it is
such as will answer for Macadam purposes,
and the question OF cost, as compared to
the benefits to accrue, should cut no figure
IN the cnse, further than that tho work
ought to be done as chesply as possible
in accordance with correct business princi-
PIES The farmers of this county
in the main and the farmers of contiguous
counties living within reach of our city,
would bring all their produce here for sale
il they had good roads to travel on in
+ cforence to going anywhere else because
the good roads would be great induce
melt, in the first place; because they know
they can get better prices for their produce
ere than anywhere else, in tho second
place and because they know they could
ouy Il cir supplies and necessities more
cheaply here than anywhere else within
their reach in the third place. Selling their
produce here, they would spend the bulk
of their money here with the
retail merchants, and thus every season
put large sums of money into the general
circulation of the city Galveston and
Houston can boast Of being jobbing cities
and point to their Wholesale houses with
pride, but their retail houses amount to
but little more than grocers' shops aud dry
goods shops. These cities, however, haze
but sparsely settled country about them
from which to draw n retail trade, and they
cannot help themselves in this respect, but
Dallas is not so situated. When city has
grown to the proportions of Dallas and has
become established as Dallas has, us n job
ing centre, the business acluisi-
tions it makes are generally
OF men with large means, who come them
Z ives to do II jobbing business in whatovtr
lines they may select, and it soon con IS to
he that men with large capital crowd out
those with smaller means, heEce il is that
Dallgsnccds to build up a good retail trade
She has tho requisite territory and ru~d'
population, and If she sleeps on this great
inttres,, is negligent Of this great du,y, she
can blame no one bat herself for it. Our
people have been liberal and entcrprising
in giving Of their means to secure rail
roads that Dallas might become n
great Wholesale city and do the
trade of the whole of north
Texas, and having succeeded in grOat meas
ure in this, and having | ,rsc,cd arrange
ments for entire success in the near future,
We trust that the same liborallty and en-
terprss may prevail for tho development OF
the retail business ofthe city. We X now Of
two gentlemen in the city who will give
{ 800 each toward building county roadsand
We DOUBT not the neScsc Try amount could
be raised in very short time. Tho cotton
congresses Inc grain elevators, the flour
ing NILS every wholesale and retail house
in the city, the hotels, boarding hous.s-
we cannot think OF business, an interest
or an industry in all Dallas that
ought not in justice to itself donate liher-
ally to build county roads. The people In
the country ought 10 contribute themselves
by furnishing in due proportion the use OF
their teams and wagons when the roads
come to la built, and by furnishing any
stone, gravel, or other material they NAV
have on their lands for tho construction Of
the roads. Wa want manufactures here,
and We can conceive OF nothing that will
moro eonduce to tho development Of this
class OF enterprise than good roads, for then
the producer can bring ON his wagons to
their very doors, thus saving them trans
porta,ion, the material he has which they
will require. We know that two or three
years ago money was contributed by
the citizens o.th.s city with which to build
country road, and the work was put into
the hands OF most competent gentleman,
while the money was iudiciously cN-
pended. There was not enough of it, how.
ever. There was not enough to more than
construct II f,w bridges, and the advantages