Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-06-04
BOOMING A TOWN.
Fact About the Feverish Excite
ment as It Really Is.
How the Ball Is Started Rolling and
Pushed Ahead at Lightning Speed
The Professional Boomer and the
Conscientious Boomer

Pushed Ahead at Lightning Speed
The Professional Boomer and the
conscientious boomer.
There is perhaps no more amusing
scene to disinterested person than to
stand on the street corner of an interior
town recently struck by boom" and
watch the commotion among the popu-
lace. The first thing that usually at
tracts the strangers attention when he
lands In boom" town, says the
Louisville Courier-Journal, is the firm
hold the boom has upon the hearts and
minds of the people and their very ev-
ident conviction that almost fabulous
wealth is within the reach OF all. Now
and then one runs across an old timer who
shakes his head in knowing way and
says it will all amount to nothing; list
land-swell which will soon go down,"
he laconically expresses it. But as
rule men and boys alike are infected
with the fever, and when tho "old
timer" puts in q word he is called a
"mossback" and ''chock to the wheels
OF progress" which is generally suf-
fcient to knock him out of the ring.
But If this same ''old timer" happens to
be the possessor Of some fine town lots
he develops into the most persistent
boomer Of them all
The most amusing feature is to see
how very busy all the people are. No
time now for social in tercourse; when
erstwhile they could sit around in the
shade of the trees and talk politics to
their hearts content. But, prestol
changel and the whole scene shifted as
If by magic. In the place of long, dull
days that were kind of burden to get
through with, rush of business has
suddenly fallen upon them and night
comes all too soon. No moro will the
county attorney and the town doctor
sit, side by side, on the courthouse
steps and discuss the living issues of the
day while they dexterously carve a
dagger out OF pine board. Seriously,
one cannot help but admire the earnest
ness with which everybody goes into
the booming business. 1t is the all abb
sorbfng topic Of conversation on the
streets, in the hotels, in the stores, at
the table, and, in brief everywhere.
Little knots of men are gathered here
and there in earnest conversation.
Everybody wants to see everybody else
just for minute, and he frantically
pulls him to one side while he hastily
whispers som ething in his ear. No
sooner is he through with one than an
other pulls him up again and the same
performance is repeated. And there it
is from early morning until the going
down OF the sun; and even far into the
night are these busy excited people
constantly feeding their overwrought
minds upon the prospects of immeas-
urable wealth until their brains are in
whirl.
Every town has a leader who goes in
advance OF every enterprise, and takes
the lead in all the exciting street corner
discussions. To him the people have
become so accustomed to depend for
counsel that when information is sought
they turn to him more from force of
habit, doubtlessly, than from want of in
formation on the subject themselves.
Thus appealed to. the leader proves
equal to the occasion, and, girding up
his loins, as it were, briskly enters on
the talk. He tells of the great ad-
vanoement that is going to come in real
estate, the many manufactures that
Will be established within few weeks,
the railroads that are now pushing on
toward the little town, where the whis-
tie Of the locomotive will soon be heard.
All these great advance agents of
wealth and general prosperity are duly
expatiated on and many reasons given
why it can not happen otherwise.
But" says the stranger, ''this is all
TO come yet. Now tell me what you
have as nucleus to draw all these
interests?" This proves sumner for a
minute, but only for a minute, when
the boomer recovers himself and comes
again. We'll, you see, we have got 80
and so, but stock company is being
formed now to build a" and so he drifts
right back into the prospects just ahead,
and that is all the stranger can get out
OF him. And so it is found in all
boom" towns all over the country,
South and West. Men convince them
selves that their town is destined to be-
come a great commercial center, with
out duly considering whether or not it
has the natural advantages to become
So Having convinced themselves that
1t will be, however, they do not trouble
themselves much about the other side
OF the question, but expend their en-
ergies in trying to make other men be-
lieve as they do. 1t is not always
scheme to swindle the unwary, either,
by any means. Many an honest, con-
scientious man, through love of his ma
tive town and an honest desire TO see it
grow into large city, becomes an en-,
thusiastic boomer. OF course, in such
instances, prejudice and self-interest
blind him, but his intentions are honest