Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-29
WAKE UP.
What an Admirer from the East Sees
in Fort Worth and Her Future.
The Largest Territory in the United states to
Draw From-Let Not Others Capture
the Prize.

Editor Gazette.
| Pardon an Eastern man visiting your
| great state, and who has fallen in love
| with Fort Worth and her people, if tell
| you some things which may not be
agreeable to you and your people which,
| nevertheless, are true and important. II
| is this: think have discovered in your
people disposition to depend upon their
| location and the immense territory in
front of them to build a great city with
out any, or, at least, but little, effort on
their part.
Let me tell you, my new made friends,
| you are mistaken. Great as are your
prospects some one can capture them. l
admit that you have the largest territory
in the United States to draw from; that
you have no competition to the North
west short of Denver, 800 miles; that you
have no competition next short of Los
Angeles, 400 miles; but of what avail Is
that, if you do not grow? If you remain
where you are, an overgroWD
village of 40, 900 people, (when you
should have 200 ,000), without hotel ac
contradictions without wholesale houses,
or buildings to put them in; in fact,
without the power and capacity to ac-
! comm date country OF one-fourth the
| size or development of the one demand
ing of Fort Worth more facilities for
! business. To-day it is impossible TO get
in Fort Worth any kind of work done in
any reasonable time, or 70 get supply
of any kind, demanded by the country
west of you. No greater stocks Of
goods can be put in, for there is no place
NJ ,l,,.E,
can come in, for there are no houses to
put them in and no hotels TO board in
that are not overrunniug full.
Your people seem to me TO be initiating
ST. Joseph, Mo-. who one day a number
of years ago commanded the situation on
the Missouri river. They rested and laid
out additions and sweled up greatly on
vacant lots. Kansas city borrowed money
and built bridge, borrowed money in
New York and Boston and built blocks
and houses, and has grown rich and
great, paying and per cent. for money
to build stores and houses with. Denver
has done the same, nearly all the great
blocks being erected there being done
with foreign money. Chicago also is no
exception TO the rule.
After the great fire suppose Chicago
had rested with her vacant lots; where
would be her million people to-day? But
they did not rest! Money was borrowed
in Boston. New York and in Europe,
particularly IN Scotland, and in few
years a great city stood upon her vacant
lots!
You are at the food tide, and there is
tide in the affairs of cities as well as of
men which, If taken at the food, leads
on to fortune. Your people have the
situation to-day, but let me warn
you, there is only one way
now for you to keep it:
That is to build, build. Put up stone
and brick. Yesl Llano county marble,
Texas red sand stone, Texas granite.
Make room for the business then 1t will
come, and come faster than you can get
ready for it.
Then you can have your park of 600
acres, for you will have crowded city Of
half million who will need It.
If, on the other hand, you build
Spring Palaces to get people to come and
look, and they come and nothing is pre-
pared for them they will simply come and
and go away again! Do you wait for
others to come here and build city for
you? Do you? Do you know of any city
ever built in that way from the time OF
Babylon and Thebes down to Kansas City
and Denver? No, you do not! For
heaven 3 sake, please wake up and grasp
the situation. I feel about this matter;
in fact, am on this question
AN ANXIOUS MAN.