The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-09-01
PROGRESS OF A YEAR.
THE BLUFF CITY MARCHING
GRANDLY ONWARD.
New erprises, Public and Private,
Which Have Been Es-
tablished.
TIE FLATTERING STORY TOLD
BY TRUTHFUL FIGURES.
Millions Spent in improvements,
and Yet Other Millions Watt
ing for Investment.

hC WV 80 $500 NSeAh'
this morning of the growth of the
city during the past year will be read
with the keenest interest at home
and abroad. At no time in its his
tory has the future of Memphis
seemed half 80 bright. Never was it
more prosperous. In every branch
of trade there is not only confidence,
but the activity which comes of it.
The array Of facts and figures with
which our columns TEEN today are
reassuring, not alone because
they tell of the business
and of the resources Of the
city, ''but because they show Il
healthy, steady growth in every de-
partment, an increase over the past
year greater than the advance then
shown over the previous year.
Looked at from this standpoint, that
of comparison with former years, to-
days resume is more than encourag-
ing; it is fattering. 1t proves that
the struggles of Memphis are over.
She has obtained a foothold which
cannot be shaken. No longer op-
pressed by a debt beyond her
strength, the incubus of oppressive
taxation is over. Her bonds have
risen practically to par, and
not only is the interest paid,
but the bonds themselves are being
called in and Cancelled. Having en-
tered into a contract which gives
the city its lights free, Kidding the
treasury of drain OF $l5, 900 year,
the City Council at once be-
gan to formulate plans which
cannot fail of accomplishment, to
build water works at cost of 81 900,
600 to furnish supply of clear, pure
water. 1t is significant fact that
the capital needed for the enterprise
9 has been assured, the plant alone to
be responsible for the debt. The
lines of the old street car company
have been vastly improved and a new
one established with tracks
covering fourteen miles of
streets, making .every portion
Of the city easily accessible.
The sewer system has been per
fected and the paving of streets has
been steadily continued. Over three
miles have been added to the system
and the county is doing its share by
the building of pixies, radiating in
every direction from the city, and by
DEMONSTRATION of iron bridges over
some Of the more difficult streams.
The increased attendance Of chill
dren at the public schools has
made the construction Of four
new buildings and repairs and
additions to those already in use,
necessary for their accommodation.
A new electric light company with
ample capital has put in perma
nent plant, and though the old con-
Germ is constantly increasing its bust
ness, the new has more orders than
it can fill. The Baltimore and Ohio
Telegraph Company has crossed the
river, and become an active bidder
for business against the Western
Union, since the beginning of the
year. More than a million dollars
has been expended in building in
the city proper, and in the suburbs
hundreds Of handsome cottages have
sprung up. The movement in real
estate has been equally active, the
Registers office showing sales to the
amount Of million and a quarter.
In the way of manufactures,
Memphis more than holds her own
and rapid strides in that direction
may be expected upon the com
pletion of the Kansas City railroad
to the coal and iron fields of Ala
bama, which will be reached early
next summer. The building of this
line to the city made it grain mar
ket; its extension to Birmingham
will fix its future as a manufacturing
point. With force of 1000 men the
Missouri Pacific, with its 1000 miles
of road, is pushing its way steadily
toward us, and its engines will steam
into the city before the end of the
winter, and a bridge across the river
is one Of dreams of the Oldest inhab-
liant which is soon to be realized.