, 1892-01-27
WHARF 'Ths Daily Leader" MAY be Pound.
CREYENNE,S POSITION


Some Of our esteemed contemporaries
throughout the state are now Inducing in
a good deal of rot in regard to a town
which is to spring up. mushroom like, in
the center Of the state and at once wrest
from Cheyenne its political, business and
social prestige. Some of the papers, in
which the wish is plainly father to the
thought, speak of this matter as though
ii we're already an accomplished fact and
gloat and crow voclterously. We have
time and again and for many years past
heard the wiseacres dwell upon the propo-
sition that the future great town of the
state must necessarily be somewhere near
the geographical center Of Wyoming.
way in which TO maintain the equilibrium
of things. This Future Great" once
established, it was held that business,
population and wealth would be attracted
there as naturally as the needle to the
pole. Cheyenne land somehow the
Future Great was always TO be built at
the expense of Cheyenne) was to inme
diatelv iale and crumble " The
wealth OF the state and several adjoining
states Wa to be poured into the lap Of
this new municipal giant, aud Cheyenne
was thereafter aud forevermore downcd.
All such talk is unmitirated rot. A. a
matter of fact Cheyenne never enjoyed
nor deserved the prestige which is hers
today. Despite setbacks which would not
merely DISCOURAGE but demoIalize any
other community she has s~erenely gone
her way In the face OF dull seasons and
poor business she has steadily grown year
by yesr. Each season has found her
larger and handsomer. Her people are
better housed than any similar number
and condition of people in the United
States. Her residences are a source oil
honest pride to the people collectively and
individually. Every modern invention
which goes to beautify and adorn is
instantly seized upon and utilized. Chey-
enne was the first town in the country to
thoroughly adopt electric lighting. She
has street car lines, telephone service,
municipal improvements beyond any
other city in the West, without a single
exception. Her people are constantly up
aud doing and in the face of natural
obetacles which would elsewhere deter,
have transformed the face of the ard
prairie into an oasis ofumbrageous beauty
upon which the eye Of the tired traveller,
faded by the barren stretches Of Western
Nebraska, rests with never failing delight.
She has two railroads to the cast, one to
the north, one to the south and one to
the west. Her public buildings are the
admiration Of every visitor. Her viaduct
and shop plant (thc latter the largest and
fnest on the Union Pacific system), her
growing manufactures. and above all her
enterprisinG, public spirited people go to
make her a potent factor in the develop
ment of Wyoming which cannot be over
looked by any intelligent competitor.
The great factor which will maintain
Cheyenne in the ascendancy is the publio
spirit of her citizens. A few days ago
the work of collecting a bonus of $780,
900 in money aud property to bestow on a
new public enterprise was completed. In
times such as these this would seem the
limit of ability. Yesterday a paper was
circulated to form a stock company to
establish a business college on a firm,
financial basis and by nightfall 5000 in cash
had been collected. This is tho spirit OF
the community and it is this spirit which
builds and maintains a town. Location
counts for nothing in comparison with it.
A Cheyenne mar may feel himself too
poor to indulge IN some personal luxury
but he is seldom to be found either too
poor or o stingy to contribute to the
limit Of his ability to any enterprise cal
culated to benefit the town.
Omaha Is located at the extreme east
ern border of Nebraska-what tow in
the center or other part Of the state has
been able to wrest its prestige from il?
Look at St. Louis. Kansas City or Den
yer. Take San Francisco. As Gen.
Sherman points out in his memoirs. the
town was made by its name. Every
natural and artificial advantage OF location
and surroundings was in favor of Benicia
aud yet Benicis is little more than a name
while San Francisco is a mighty metropo
lis.
Our contemporaries need not Law the
flattering JUNCTION to their souls that Chey-
enne is not alive aud stirring. She realizes
the importance OF being up and doing.
Now more than ever are her people conf.
dent that within five years she will occupy
a position of overshadowing pre- eminence
in Wyoming, although she will be nom
the less eager in the meantime to extent
the right hand Of fellowship to her sistel
cities of the state and wish them Goo
speed in their prosperous Journey
whether they be located TN the center o
the state or the remote corners.
Gail at The Leader Office and examin
y H. ,.oo,u,aoo Of Idi ,nu;,noc. r;s