The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-08-10
A BOOM CITY.


boomers boom. The paragraph referred to
says that in Wichita, Kan, there are 1900
vacant houses, and that good, ten-room
houses are renting for as low as dollar a
month
Only three or four years ago all eyes
were turned in the direction Of Wichita,
and good many feet were also turned in
that direction. 1t was the best-advertised
town in America. One could not take up a
newspaper which had nothing to say about
Wichita. The man of affairs, no matter
in what part of the country he resided, was
certain TO receive by mail Wichita ltera-
lure two or three times a month. There
was boom on, and while everybody knew
what that meant everybody did not have
the courage to resist the seductive adyer-
tisements. People by the thousand
rushed to the town, and millions
of money Were carried in. I'm
nense buildings were erected for
business purposes; block after block of
brick, stone and iron went up as if by
magic; miles of costly pavement were laid,
the paved streets and sidewalks running
through corn patches and hay fields long
distances into the country; farms and
worthless prairie land were divided into
town lots and sold at ridiculously high
figures, many thousands Of these worthless
lots being purchased by parties in distant
states who had caught the infection from
reading the paid matter in the newspapers.
In truth, Wichita was the marvel of the
day. Almost in day it had been trans
formed from an insignificant village on
wa ,,,40 - f..ll
and business activity. All at once the men
who had erected the miles of magnificent
stores, who had paid for the costly street
and sidewalk pavements and for
the narrow sections of corn fields
which were designated town lots,
began to look about and then
they asked themselves where were
Wichita s resources! Upon what could she
rely for the trade and commerce necessary
to maintain q city of such proportions?
Whence was the money to come to employ
all the people and make possible existence
in Wichita. How were they to get interest
on the cash they had investeda The
longer they looked and the more of these
pertinent questions they asked, the wiser
they became as to their previous unwisdom;
the more they realized that if they were
not boomers they were the victims of boom
ers; that Wichita was simply boom town,
without resources iustifying any such in
flux Of people and money as had taken
place. 1t wasn't long after the serious
thinking began before collapse set in.
and the decline has been quite as rapid and
natural as the rise was sudden and unnat-
ural. When flash advertising could attract
no moro suckers and the money
from the outside ceased to pour in
there was nothing else. for Wichita to do
but settle to her level and this she has
been industriously Doing for couple of
years. She hasn't quite got there yet. be-
cause the houses not needed number more
than 1900, and all the surplus will have
to be vacant before the level will be
reached.
The story of Wichita is the story of every
other boom town, only the Kansas village
was doomed little more wildly than
other places, if we except Los Angeles. the
rise and fall of which was SO sudden as to
be almost ludicrous
a year or two ago an effort was but forth
by professionals to boom Salt Lake as
Wichita had been doomed, and last fall and
winter some thought the efforts were
about TO be crowned with success. while
others feared That such would be the case
IHE HERALD was not at all apprehensive. |
1t felt 40 alarm, and repeatedly told the |
people, boomers and others, that what had |
been done in Wichita, Los Angeles and |
elsewhere, could not be repeated here |
We knew the community; we knew tho |
people were wise, conservative and not
easily led into taking leave of their senses
We knew, Furthermore, that the great |
majority OF the inhabitants were property |
owners, and that they were not likely to be |
influenced by the speculative mania. We
also knew that the many were here to stav.
that they were not enticed by Doom litera. |
ture, and would not be DISCOURAGED and |
take their departure if dozen booms were
to collapse. Our promises have been fnl-
filled and our predictions verified. All of
a boom that existed soon wants he'd, and the
air was left as calm and serene as if there
had never been hurry in real estate The
boom was speedily put aside, and the peo
pie went right along as though there had
never been any excitement and wild suecu-
latiop, the few months of boom being re-
garded as trifiing incident, and that Incl
dent relating to individuals rather than tn
the community. Such improvements as
were demanded were undertaken and pro.
ceeded with. There has been and
is much building, but not more than the
community, in its normal growth, demands.
In other words there is no boom building:
there is no building OF Importance that
would not have been undertaken if last
winters furry had not taken place.
Because we have escaped a Wichita boom
which THE HERALD knew was impossible
in this safe going, conservative community.
we will also avoid the experience of boom
collapse, which is as bad in its effects on a
town as a Kansas cyclone. All the ground /
that we cover, al the progress that we
make, will be held. there will be no back
ward movement for the reason that there
viii be no advance taken in recklessness
and not justified by the situation.
Those who prefer booms must go else
where and find them, for booms cannot
exist in this city, whose population is made
ur SO largely of people who are not given