Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-27
SETTLE THE sURRoUNDINGs.

murmur against any city, as some are do
ing, TO the effect that the city is outgrowing
the country, and therefore cannot long re-
main success. And yet the country ought
to grow in population and rural industries
as rapidly as the city grows, in order that
1t may figure as an aid to the city. How is
this desirable condition of affairs to be
brought about7 A good country will natur-
ally settle up of itself after time, but that
kind OF thing moves slowly, therefore, it is
to the interest of the city people to push II
all they can. In former articles we have
shown that her surrounding trucking iu-
terests were worth to the city of Mobile,
Ala, at least 100000 annually, but that
thing didn't come all of itself. Twenty
years ago those trucking interests were not
worth so much as $40, 600 to that city, but the
city people, seeing what there might be in
it to themselves, went to work encouraging
the industry, and now they are reaping
their reward.
AS yet our young and flourishing Texas
cities have not given much thought to the
surrounding country lying beyond their
town additions to the cities. THESE town
additions may be all well enough in their
way. but they are not enough. We must
fill up all the country round about, to sup
ply us with rural products, thus cutting off
the need of sending cur money away to dis
tant regions for necessary supplies. Moth
ing so helps a region Of country as keeping
most of its money at home.
On several occasions heretofore we have
handled this same subject, and our excuse
for recurring TO it again to-day may be
found in a recent issue Of the Tampa (F1a.)
Tribune. So far as relates to rural sur
roundings the city of Tampa has long been
about in the same boat as Is carrying many
of our Texas cities. Tho surrounding
country is thinly settled, with no particular
indications of fresh growth. But now
comes the paper referred to stating that a
Mr.. S. A. Jones tells the editor of new ar
rangement being made by himself looking
to an influx of rural population about
Tampa He is Offering large body of land
near town, entirely free, to a German col
ony that will take it and embark in the
business Of growing fruits and vegetables.
The Tribune adds.
He will also probably furnish them with
free transportation over here and will aid
and encourage them in every possible way.
He says this plan has been worked success
fully in the West and he wants to give il
4 trial here. The location of the land has
not yet been decided on, but it will be To-
Gated somewhere on Tampa bay. Mr..
Jones thus adds another laurel to his
wreath as the great boomer of Tampa and
South Florida.
How would something like that do for
Fort WORTH We may not have the indi-
viduals willing to exactly pattern after Mr..
S. A. Jones of Tampa, Fla, but we GER
tainly have close around US plenty of good
lands as yet unoccupied. No doubt con-
siderable tracts of these lands might be
cheaply bought. We often raise among
ourselves considerable sums of money TO
be employed in advertising ourF immediate
region. This is all frst-rate so far as it
goes; but is not it rather possible that
we might decidedly and permanently inter-
est people at distance more than we have
heretofore been doing, through all our ad-
vertising, by substituting now and then for
our usual gift of advertising pamphlets and
circulars, a few thousand dollars worth of
good Tarrant county lands'
The lands could be given away under GER
tain stipulations, Of course, hence the gift
would DE sure to bring in telling returns to
the city. II the people didn't stay upon the
lands and improve them according to con-
tract they would fall back to the donors to
be given to other parties willing to come up
to agreement. If they remained all right
the city would have their influence as in
terested citizens, and their patronage.
While we cannot lay claim to understand
ing much about such things, our crude way
of thinking leads US to feel that the gift of
homesteads In Tarranu county, to colonies
OF desirable people, would rebound substan-
italy to the good Of Fort Worth and prove,
at the same time, about the best method of
advertising our rural possibilities that
could be resorted to. Each colony SO es-
tablished would be standing advertise
ment making itself seen, and each colonist
would be an agent to read to everybody
whose attention could be secured.
a people to be entirely prosperous must
produce something: that is, something Of
value must be originated by them. We
have no mines to work with tnis object in
view, neither have we great forests of
timber to convert into materials started out
upon commerce from an original source.
Manufacturing is good so far as it goes, but
manufacturing from materials shipped in
from distance is not production-it is
simply changing into some other form
material already started upon the tide of
commerce. We must start something upon
that tide ourselves, and since our soil offers
US the only extensive source from which
that something can be obtained, the sooner
we get people digging into it for that some
thing, on large scale, the better it viii be
for Us, undoubtedly. 1t Is thing of too
much importance to justify much holding
back on the first cost of setting the ball in
motion. A fair start is the only thing
needed-after that the ball will roll of itself,
getting larger the further it rolls.