The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-02-20
1t Pays to Make Good Streets.

rays 10 MAKO SiOOu StreetH.
The warm weather is coming, and with it
the gulf breeze will fan the land and dry up
the mud holes, and all our agitation in favor
of paving our streets will end in words as all
agitation has ended in the past. But this
should not deter us from advancing the rea-
sons for paving our streets.
Our city does not stand alone in this matter.
All over the Union other cities of larger popu-
lation and greater wealth have exactly this
same agitation on hand. We clip the follow
ing argument from the St. Louis Globe-Demo-
crat:
'The first thing which visitor to strange
city notices, be he laborer, capitalist or men,
Der of the great middle class, is the condition
of the streets. If he finds them suitably laid
out, paved, lighted and kept scrupulously
city to live in. People here seem to take
plain that they are thrifty, intelligent and en-
terprising. No community of Stevens ever
made these streets. 1t costs money to keep
streets in this admirable shape, and it must be
that great deal of money is made here. En-
terprise is very apparent
But if he finds the mud ankle-deep, in case
it is winter, or dust as bad in summer, the
crosswalks impossible, the streets either the
native soil or WORKOUT macadam, not man
or team at work making things better, and
universal indifference to the disgrace, he says /:
"rhis is no place for me. want to 60 where
there is some public spirit. This may be a
solid town, but there is no 'go-aheaditive-
a. Ia ,>a,r1a nd
apparently, would not care if they should be
shake the dust Tor mud) from off my feet,
and 90 elsewhere" St. Louis has had too
many illustrations already of just that kind OF
thing. 1t is easy to say that investors, of what
ever degree. do not care for the looks of the
city. They do care. 1t is altogether better
for city to have the first impressions of new
corners favorable rather than adverse to it.
Had the picture been drawn for San Antonio
instead of st. Louis, it could not have fitted
more exactly.
In St. Louis they have quarrel as to the
methods by which these improvements shall
be paid for. Here there is no diversity of
opinion and the charter requirements are
plain.
Our citizens are very prone TO regard all
taxation as public robbery, and the fact that
a large proportion of the taxpayers APP
parently see very little city government for
their money is the excuse for this feeling. All
city governments are expensive, and the more
expensive the more you will get for your
money. Our citizens must give up the idea
that they are lot of farmers, keeping cows
and pigs and dogs, and looking over into the
street as they would into a lane, and philos
sophicay contending that the bad roads will
not last always and are only seasonable.
We have finally reached that point in our
history when we must make up our minds to
have city and to pay for it.
But while it costs to make a city-when ii
is a city-it makes its owners rich, and keeps
them rich. Should we Judge our city by its
present appearances we should conclude that
the assessors valuation Of eight or nine mil
lions tremendous joke. The idea of cor
poration, with eight millions of assessed
property, and at least twelve millions of &C
tual wealth, houndering through mud in win
ter and suffering the inconvenience Of clouds
of dust in summer.
But this valuation is due to the fact that ii
is city. The same property beyond the city
limits would not be worth one hundredth
part of its present estimated worth, and by
changing our mud streets into we'll paved
streets-our squares into pleasant breathing
spots, the wealth of our city could be in
creased to more than repay the outlay.