Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1888-08-31
Communicated
sour Business Men Leaving Us.

Mr.. EDITOR An article in your
paper of yesterday under the above
title is calculated to give very
wrong impression Of Annapolis and
to injure it in the opinion of ont
siders, and | beg leave to protest re-
specially against the accuracy both
of its assertion and conclusions.
Upon the simple fact that one OF
the oldest citizens of our town has
closed. on account of advancing
years, to go out of business, that
his son and partner. who never liked
the business, has preferred to 60 into
another, which he does like and for
which he is eminently suited, you
build the conclusion that lone by
one our business men are leaving US,
to seek other fields of labor;
that business prospects were never
known to be more discouraglng;
that many of our business men do
not make enough to pay their rent,
which is impossible to make even
the smallest collections. If all
this can be true, our case is bad IN
deed. There is an old saying that
ssrats desert a sinking ship" and if
our business men are leaving in such
quantities as you imply and for such
reasons as you assert, all the rest OF
us and the old town too must be
bound for .sDaUy Jones locker" sure
enough. (meaning no disrespect to
our business men by the ratty COM
parison.) But, Mr.. Editor, look
around this town and tell US whether
you do not see more netC men, who
have gone into business during the
past few years than old men Tor
young men) who have gone out of
it? Rub your glasses and inform us
whether you do not see new stores,
or improved stores, all up and down
Main street, West street. Market
Space, State Circle and elsewhere.
Go up on the dome of the State
House and note the new dwelling
houses that dot the landscape IN all
directions. Ask our builders wheth-
er Mey think the town is dead and
their only occupation to prepare Its
coffin. 1t is very lively corpse
they will tell you They say there
is regular boom of prosperity IN
Annapolis such as has not been
known for many years. Look at
the improved surroundings of the
town, at the new railroads, the new
bridges, the new she'll roads, the City
Circle, the Electric lights, the Coun-
ty Fair, Bay Ridge. We had for
gotten that you conclude the article
referred TO by saying 'smany of our
business men and merchants attrib-
ute this state of affairs (meaning
the sinking hulk and the rats and
all thaO to the close proximity of
Bay Ridge to our city, which, they
claim, has drained the city to the
tune of from $1,000 to 900 per
week. Continuing you say cit is
well known fact from twelve to tif-
teen hundred people have gone to
Bay Ridge daily from this city by
rail to say nothing of those who have
gone by private conveyance. |
rise merely to remark, that if this
were true then during the seventy
odd days that Bay Ridge has been
open this summer our railroads must
have sold from 81, 900 to 105,00
tickets to Bay Ridge, whereas it has
in fact sold about IL, 900, making an
average of about 10 day. Some
what difference Moreover. | VEN
ture the assertion, and it can be
proved, that so far from drawing
money from Annapolis, Bay Ridge
pays over two thousand dollars
month to some sixty employees who
live in Annapolis aud in its lmmed.
iati vicinity, and who spend that
money right in this town. The very
money that is paid for that average of
10 railroad fares every day isspent,
most of it here, in salaries to en-
ployees of the railroad, and far more
than the amount spent by our people
at Bay Ridge comes back In wages
paid as above stated and in meats,
crabs and provisions bought here
Knowing your readiness to open
your columns TO fair discussion, |
have presumed to trespass on your
space in this hurried way, for | am
sure that you will agree with me in
thinking that nothing is so injurious
to a town, both as affecting its own
people aud outsiders, as the belief
that it is going down hill. Let a pa
tient once believe he is going to die,
anu he is more than half dead al
ready, physicians tell us. Faith in
its future is characteristic of every
Western town; don't help us to lose
n