The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-24
WHAT MAY RE- DONE.

The natural gas towns and cities of Indiana
have added enormously to their prosperity
and growth within the past few months. To
one who has kept but an imperfect record in
mind of the new enterprises and factories that
have been announced from day to day as
locating in the State, the aggregate as it now
stands would be quite startling, and revela-
ton of the wonderful advantages and posi-
bilities of natural gas. We shall not attempt
to enumerate the towns which have been thus
benefited; but we desire to call attention to
the fact that all of these towns and cities have
worked with will and with perfect unanimi-
ty on the part OF their citizens to attract these
industries to themselves. Special advantages
of all kinds have been offered, and every pos
sible and practicable inducement made to Sc.
cure them. There has been no division of
sentiment; there has been no talk of driving
anybody out, or of 'killng" any com panies,
or destroying any capital. No has been
denounced, with constancy as vindictive as
the spirit was malicious, as robbers and
'tscoundrels;" exultant threats have
been made that, having our feet upon
the neck of anybody, we propose to keep them
down. In all we have read in our news dis.
patches and in State exchanges we have failed
to observe any evidence of these things but,
instead, hearty and willing cooperation on
the part of everybody and generous emula-
ton with each other in the offer of tempting
inducements to capital and enterprise. No
town or city has indicated a disposition to
harsh restrictions regulations, refusing to
give even a candid and courteous considera-
ton to questions that would affect the proper
protection of capital but, on the contrary,
the effort has been to assure men of means
that they would be generously treated and
exposed to no possible unfriendly conditions.
Our country cousins have been wise in all
this, and they have reaped the bountiful
reward of generous and sagacious spirit The
city of Kokomo has standing fund for the
purpose of buying land or affording bonus
for any bona fde industry that will locate
within its corporate limits.
Now, the proposition of the Journal is, that
the people of Indianapolis shall quit fighting
any body and everybody, and 60 earnestly and
generously to work to invite capital and at
tract manufactures and population. By
means of the Gas Trust movement, competition
and low prices and bountiful supply as regards
fuel have been made certain; it will be Grim
inal folly If an iota of that benefit shall now
be sacrificed to blind policy of exclusion, a
palpable fight for time, to prevent the intro
duction of the new fuel in any appreciable
quantities by one company before another
gets ready to give the 'tgo" Shall the city
be held in leash day month longer,
now that the substantial result has been Sc
cured of gas at the lowest ratef Shall our
existing manufacturers and large fuelcon-
sumers be compelled to uselessly spend hun
dreds and thousands of dollars because of an
unnecessary an1 preiudiced delay over ques-
ticns that cannot possibly affect the price of
gas or the security of the city or consumers
Shall the city be kept longer out of the race
for the Location of new manufactures, the
most of which would come to Indianapolis
because Of its manifest advantages, if they