The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1891-08-13
A TOWN-BUILDER.
BUT YOU NEED NOT TRY TO
BUILD TOWN OUT OF
NOTHING.

by Jacob KuSe
In 1888, while oa my journey
through ihe Sew South, | got on tht
ears Johnson CITY, and tall, gray
eyed, long haired msn came along
and asked me If the seat alongside
Of me was engaged. | replied no,
and said | wished be would take il,
as | felt little lonesome, being s
stranger 10 strange country. He
not only took the seat, 5ut Ia q kind
ly manner put his arm around me,
and, pattlng me on the shoulder, said
| that he was we'll acquainted with the
country We were passing through,
AID was glad 10 haye an opportunity
OF making it pleasant to & stranger
He then asked me what business /
followed, a nd | replied, my business
is to find out things that other people
| don't know and charge them for it,"
lie replied, "then you can't make
any money elf me, as | am a town
builder and understand it thorough
Ily. | have built several towns In
Kansas, Iowa and Missouria, and
now am going to build city up
here" AT Cranberry" said !.
"Oh no." be replied, "Cranberry is
only about 200 feet above tide
water, while | am going to build my
city 4,5O0 feet above the ocean. My
main street will be 500 feet wide, the
side streets 100 feet wide aud the
cross avenues 50 feet wide. | am
going to set apart 500 acres as res
ervoir, with city pressure Of 100
pounds TO the square inch, and q
park of 800 acres, with 25 acres sur
rounding each school and church,
"And how will you get the people up
there2' | asked. "By advertising,
advertising and advertising from
Bangoc, Me, t. Kamchatka." "And
how will they make their money to
live on when they do get there2" !
asked. Opening his biz gray eyes
until they glstencd like electric
lights, lie replied, 'Oh, sir, they
will bring their money with Them
And the conductor cried out "Cran-
berry, all change cars" and | got ou.
aud went to the hotel, while my
gray >eyed town-bulluier got on to a
Mexican mustang and went up to-
ward his city 4 so feet above the
sea.
And now, while | think Of thst
trip form Johnson to Cranberry in
the mountains, and remember how
strange his project seemed to me,
and how surprised | was when
found that he proposed 20 hulll q
town without providing employment
for the people who were to occupy it,
[ see how fresh | was in the theory
Of BODYBUILDING, for since that time
| hayc noticed many other towns
builders who have been working on
| the same theory that was so earnest
Ny set forth by the gray eyed town
builder as .he engine snorted and
tugged the train 1000 feet above the
! sea.
thiDk that it would be a very un-
fortunate thing for any locality to
have one of these theoretical towns
builders 60 there and boom the town
without providing means of profita
tie employment for the people who
are to live there. The idea of build
Jog a town and getting the people to
take the money they are to live On
with them is a fallacy, aud the idea
of building q town and then building
| "OtkS Oh employ hSuI - puL iilIle
better. Give me 500 acres of ground
AID sufficient money TO build l0(
ton furnace and put the metal inc
tirplate, and I will give you q daily
cash sale of $4,000. And with s
daily export of $4,000 OF good:
taken from her hills, can build uF
town 10000 inha oitants, the aver
age income of whom would be 81 81
per day.
Blast furnaces built with a view oI
selling the metal Will do town bu'
little good if they do not prove s
curse to it. for The wages paid blast
furnace hands is very low, and scar
cely enough to barely live on. 1t is
the works that pay the hig best wages
that are tie best to boom town
But tear that | may Gisplease some
Of the town-builders who are hoild
Ing 4,5O0 feet above the sea, 50 | viii
! say no more.