The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1889-02-14
BOOMING TOWNS.
HOW THEY OUT WEST.
An Interesting Article on the Subjec,
From a Former Virginian.

A former Virginian, now a citizen
of Kansas City, Mo-, writes an inter
esting letter to the Baltimore Manu-
faetuycrs' Record on the subject OF
booming Western towns, and throws
out some valuable suggestions for the
people of this section to act upon.
Read this letter and digest its truths
and act upon its very sensible and
valuable hints:
"Having seen this and other West
ern towns grow from nothing into
great and prosperous cities, lam moved
to write, asking you to point out how
these results were accomplished. In
this day and time, the best natural To-
cation in the world for town would
remain overlooked and unimproved,
unless its advantages were made known,
and on the other hand, towns with ap-
parently few natural advantages have
been rushed into prominence purely and
solely by being energetlcally advertised.
Take Kansas City for instance. A few
years ago, the city of St. Joseph,
short distance up the Missouri river,
was considered the metropolis of the
Missouri Valley by SO safe a lead that
the aspirations OF Kansas City were
laughed to scorn. But Kansas City
got hold of a few men like Morrison
Munford, or the Times, who believ-
ed in advertising and who preached
advertising and who practised what
they preached, until Kansas City left
St. Joseph "clean out Of sight, - 1t
was advertising that made the State of
Kansas what it is,and that has built up
Wichita, Arkansas City and dozen
other towns. Indeed, there is scarce
village of thousand inhabitants that
has not spent money during the past
year advertising its advantages. The
consequence is that every train brings
brains and muscle and money to Kan
sas while, | may say, every train takes
brains and muscle and money out Of
Virginia.. lfall the Nirginians in Kan
sas and Western Missouri could be
packed up and sent home Tomorrow,
there would be boom in the old State
that would resound from ocean to
ocean, ave, that would make itself felt
in every land where people read. And
why? Because those Westernized Vlr-
ginians, as soon as they got back to
! their native hills and valleys, would at
once begin to do what they had seen
done SO well and wisely here.
Missouri is a better State than Kan
sas, but for years and years the Missou-
rians belonged to the class who 'don't
believe that advertising pays" while
the kansans believed it was the one
thing needful. The consequence was
that the very "alkali deserts Of West
ern Kansas were being settled up,
while Intimately better lands IN Mlssou-
ri went a begging. A year or two ago,
however, a few towns in Missouri,
Springfield for instance, began to in
vest in printers ink, and the results
were such as to stir up the old fogies all
over the western sections of the State.
Amongst others who were brought
thither were a number of Kansans, and
no sooner were they the owners of all
the good land they could buy than they
began to show the natives how to ad-
vertise, and it is notable fact the
towns in Missouri, outside of Kansas
City, that have grown most rapidly
during the last twelve months are towns
that the KansanS came in and founded
less than two years ago.
The people of this city have spent
more money advertising the town
during the past ten years than has been
spent on any other ten towns in the
Union put together. But every dollar
of it has come back to them increased
an hundred fold. In the first place the
town grew, then millions on millions
of dollars worth of real estate was sold
and the money staid here, and is still
staying here, and millions of it every
year are going into buildings tina,
would adorn New York. When the
period of speculation ended an era o.
house building began, and now Kan
sas City is advertising for manufactu-
ring plants, and she is getting them,
too, in the east and west bottoms and
the ''Valley of the Blue
Now the why and wherefore of this
letter is to show to the people of Vir.
ginia, my fellow countrymen, how tc
take advantage OF the existing oppor-
tunity. Even out here we hear of the
vigorous advertising that Alabama S
progressive towns have done for sever.
al years, and of Rome, Ga, and Dal
las, Texas, and much attention has beer
attracted to these places even in thi:
section, but see very little about wha
Virginia towns are doing to make
known their advantages. Roanoke is
the only one that is heard of as grow
ing rapidly.
Strange as it may seem, nevertheless:
it is what would probably happen if to
morrow it should become known here
in Kansas City that a halfa dozen nev
towns, or old towns rejuvenated, show