San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-02-09
SAN ANTONIO.
What it Wants and Wants it
Very Bad,
Some Plain, Unyarnshed Facts From our
Mr.. Clifford, and the Obstacles He Finds
on the Subject OF Advertising.


For the past two months, as many cit
liens will testify, | have been wrestling
with our supposed enterprising citizens
and positive old mOssbacks on the sub
jebt of judicious advertising in behalf OF
San Antonio and surrounding country,
with the hope and expectation of secur-
ing some sort of concentrated action by
all parties interested in creating sort
of boom in presenting our numerous adj
vantages to the 10000 invaIids OF this
union, who have to change their climate
every year, and the thousands Of sight
seers, pleasure-seekers and prospective
immigrants, who are on the look out for
cheap lands ana new homes and to show
the consistency Of some mems nrgu-
ments, and that they can see themselves
as others see them, shall quote several
of them as follows:
Mr.. Curtis Davis, manager Of the Men
ger Hotel, who frankly admits that the
financial difference between his hotel
being empty or full of people Is S5Ul lO7s
per month. or $500 to $1,000 profit, says:
"Oh, advertising don't do any good, We
run Il good hotel, and II the people want
to come, let them come, we will treat
them the best we know how and al
most in the same breath he brightens
up like country boy Ut COrn-husk-
ing, thinking he has struck II brilliant
idea to choke of an advertising scheme
and saws, you newspaper men have
ruined the town this winter by your
little items advertising dengue and
smallpox" TO this gentleman. | would
ask if large editions, setting forth our
advantages of climate, circulated among
the cry people We want. can't do any
good, how can little local item in our
own local papers, only for our own PEP
pie, do any harm?
:. rhe Maverick boys say, on. well,
advertising don't bring Immigrants,
never sold an acre Of land to man who
had not beena resident of the county for
five wears" And in the same argument
Mr.. George Maverick let the cat out Of
the bag by saying, you newspaper men
take people away from our town. Only
a short time ago one OF your letters from
Dallas took one Of my tenants. He read
your letter about Dallas being on a
boom, and the next day he turned over
the keys, saying he was going to Dallas,
that San Antonio was no good TO
the Maverick family | would say, go to
each Of your tenants, now paying yOu
monthly rents, ask them where they are
from and when they located in Sau An
tonic, and | will wager that 70 per cent.
of them are new corners, having located
in this city within the past five years.
Mr.. A, a friend o. Colonel BraCken-
ridge and the water-wOrks. says: Yes,
our town needs advertising: we want
the town full of people, but you see you
are lighting the water-wOThs and abus-
ing Colonel Breckenridge"
MIR. B., who is an enemy of Colonel
Breckenridge, and strongly opposed to
the monopoly ideas of the water
works, says: Certainly we ought 10
advertise our town, and our town ought
TO be full of people, but you see the
water-wOrks question is not settled; we
must choke oil Colonel Breckenridge, or
he will want us TO pay for the air we
breathe"
Mr.. c, alive business man, says: Ies,
we must advertise if We want to boom
our city, but we must own the water
works first, pave our city, beautify our
plazas, flush cur cutters and establish
sewerage
Mr.. ID, also live business man, says:
"Ies; | am in favor of advertising San
Antonio; but first, we must have hotel
accommodation, SO that incoming inva-
lids can gel something near home COM
forts. Our hotels are good enough for
business-GOmmercial hOtel-but not fit
for invalids."
Mr.. Z, a smart-Aleck sort of man. so
chOck full of brillianCy that it hangs out
on his ears and nose, so that you could
knock il off with a club, says: Don't
have to advertise to bring people. Ev.
erybOdy knows where San Antonio is,
and If they want to come here they are
going to come, whether a newspaper
asks them to or not. We have got peo-
pie enough; don't want any more. The
railways make the money out of immi-
grants, let them do the advertising"
have the ideas and answers from at
least 100 of our good people, but the
above is sufficient for starter on this
subject, and TO A, B, C. and u, would
say that the question between our peO-
pie, Mr.. Breckenridge and his water
works has nothing to do with advertis-
ing our city in the interest of immigra-
tion. Even Mr.. Breckenridge should he
in the front rank, (but he isn'D in
spending money to bring in new people.
More people means more consumers
and paving of our streets, construction
Of sewers, beautifying Of plaZas, and
building of connections hotels will all
come in their turn in the near future,
and there is nothing that will bring
them quicker than q liberal, generous
system OF live newspaper advertising.
filling our town full of strangers who
will see these starving necessities, and
point them out 10 us until we become
thoroughly ashamed of ourselves, and
then they will be taken up and pushed
through to completion on short notice.
Fill our city full or people for two con-
seeutive seasons and see how quick some
of them will take the advantage of our
needs of hotel accommodation and build
us not one. but half dozen, and If neces-
sary fifty Of them, and there is no rsa-
son why we should not have fifty: as
our climate Is far ahead in every pRrtiC-
ular to that of Jacksonville, Florida,
which handled $4,000 people in 1854, and
to handle halfthis number in San AntO-
MO would require hundred hotels. As
for the railroads they have in the past
and will in the future do more than their
share. II the people of San Antonio
will make up pool of $1,000 to spend in
advertising our advantages, | dare say
Mr.. HOxie. of the Gould system. would
gladly add as much more. The plain
facts are, San Antonio wants about S25,-
600 spent in printers ink this year, and
it should be inaugurated at once and
kept mp this coming summer and winter
nd 49, ,,11 e l.