The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1885-07-04
Lals CI.arIes.
Editor Lake Charles Iseho

| LlOHS.
, That Lake Charles is destined, and
that at no distant day, to be a large
and important town-the metropolis
; of wide and rich area OF country---is
plain to be seen by every careful OBJ,
server There is probably no town
in the State, nor in the South for that
matter, that has greater natural adj
vantages, and no place in the State
and but few if any in the South, of
its size, that is making more substan-
tial progress than Lake Charles. The
number of buildings completed, un-
der way and under contract, in the
last six months is, for the times, not
only wonderful but phenomenal. Then
the business done here would astonish
any outsider. While it is true times
are dull, the dulness has not been felt
here as in most other places. The
merchants all have large and well
assorted stocks and are all doing we'll.
The magnitude of the grocery trade
in the town would be great surprise
to most places of its size A State
paper says that there are 80 stores in
Houma, Terrebonne parish, and that
the whole number of them do not ag-
gregate sales of 500 per day. Lake
Charles has no such 'times" as that,
and in fact, AS compared with many
other places, both in and out of the
State, there is no dulness in Lake
Charles.
The town is not only rapidly in
crcasing in population by almost con-
slant accessions of good citizens but
the parish is fast filling up with a
most desirable class of immigrants.
There is still room for more, and the
fading men of both the town aud
parish could largely increase this i'm
migration-and thereby rapidly ad-
vance the prosperity of both town and
parish--by the formation of an I'm
migration Society. This society could
be both an Information and Aid So
ciety, as reliable and correct informa-
tion of the section would bring immi-
grafton and would be an aid to those
who desire good healthfnl and cheap
homes in ono of the finest countries
IN the Union.
The lumber business, one of the
important features of the town and
country around, although now de-
pressed, will continue to be one Of
the grand factors in tho material
prosperity of the town, In this con
nection the magnitude of the amounts
of money that could be brought here
from Texas alone for lumber, il the
railroad rates did not virtually amount
to prohibition, is simply beyond com
putation. Texas is dull now and
money is scarce, but there is all over
the State steady, never ceasing de-
mand for lumber. This demand is
kept up by the constant influx of i'm
migration and by the building up of
new towns. The demand
is, of course, greater when times are
good and money plentiful, but there ,
is always u demand for lumbor. The
supply now mainly comes from The
East Texas piDeries and from the
North. Strange as it may seem rates
from Lake Charles are, as were hast {
year, higher than from East Texas,
from Texarkana, than from any rail @
road coming from the North and from a
Plaqnemine, LA, From Plaquemine d
here was competition, and dealers h
IN Denton county bought both lumber
md shingles from Plaquemiue when n
hey could not buy here because of Il
,he railroad rates b
Another feature of the lumber trade a
With Texas is, that the lumber here is I
'aslly superior to the short leaf pine, v
snotty, product Of the Eastern Texas /
,ineries, and is consequently preferred r.
1t anything like living rates, Give d
he State of Texas equal, or, if posssi- a
lie, lower rates for the transportation p
Il lumber, and hundreds Of thousands d
# dollars would annually be sent here il
hat now goes elsewhere, There is al
20 timber from Houston to III Paso, b
nd but little from the Gulf to the In 81
Ian Territory, save the belt Of short L
~ plno ~ ISSUE" AyN"S N's niu'e !
han 500 mlles from Houston and 6ls te
rom IT, worth TO III Paso, ana the g.
lhole Of that Immense area, rich IN al
] else bnt tlmoerrls being settled up al
,ith class OF population entirely rl
iiferent from the "old Texans" q the OF
rawhide dynasty class that uses az
Inber Ihis demand VIII steadily "
iereasc, year by year, and as the on
Vailable supply Tor the whole OF
Gxas, foF Mexico and Tor parts q lhe !,