Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1892-03-15
FORT .WoRTH'S NEEDS.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS AND
A GOOD UNION DEPOT.
what We Are Losing for Lack of the
Former-A Fair Instance OF
Many Others.

A representative business man Of Fort
Worth sought GAZETTE reporter yester-
day and said TO him:
81 want you to stop writing up the .polit-
ical preferences Of this or that politician
long enough to do a little work for Fort
Worth"
well" said The GAZETTE man, putting
a good point to his pencil, this is Fort
Worth paper, has preached Fort Worth for
more years than you have been IN the city,
and if you have anything to say Tor the
benefit of the commun ity, you may be sure
it will find place in the columns OF IHE
GAZETTE What is itl'
1T is this: met a stranger few days
ago who had come to Fort Worth 70 look
over the town, and he told me some things
that made me think harder than am in
e1he habit of thinking. Now VIII use MS
sown Ian guage as far ASH can, Said he: 1
came to Fort Worth and was driven from
the depot up to the business part of town
through an amending row of shanties. Up
town couldn't get room, but went from
one hotel TO another, and at last got place
sleep and to eat-that was all. was so
indignant that I was going away the next
morning to Dallas, where hotel accommo-
dations might be had, but met some ac-
sauaiutances who took me home with them.
They drove me over the city, and soon
saw that my first opinion was an erroneous
one. You have city here, and not a col
lection Of shanties.'
lsThat." said the gentleman who was
talking to the reporter, ''as l say, set me TO
thinking. 1t is true, as this man told me,
that the way from the depot to the business
part of the city is through the Acre and
lSf gives visitor very disagreeable i'm
pfession of the city. Then our hotel room
is so inadequate that accommodations are
not TO be had, and the visitor leaves the
next morning. full of discomfort and dis
Aaust. He has seen nothing of the city but
that part of it lying between the depot and
Fourth street He is resentful. He goes
away and talks about Fort Worth as he has
seen it. and other travellers, listening to his
tale are kept from coming here, and prob
| ably from investing here.
'sNow, sir''-and he SAID this with the
| emphasis of an awful objurgation-''we
| need hotels here in Fort Worth We>need
room 10 accommodate our visitors, so that
they will stay here, look over our city, see
lsour fine business houses, our Ymanufacto-
! ries, our suburbs, everything that we have,
/ and go away feeling that Fort Worth IS a
city. and not, as most of them see, a col
| lection of cheap shanties along the road
| from the Union depot to the uptown ho-
\ tells"
ANOTHER NEED.
"That's good" spoke up gentleman who
| had Joined the takers during the progress
I'D this conversation. Good hotels and
\ enough of them are our chief need, but
| there is another nearly as important. That
| is Union depot. Did you or anybody ever
| see a city of Fort Worth's size, with as
many railroads, doing as much railroad
business. with such a villainous trap for a
| depot as that we have? During trip west
! last summer l staid day at Cheyenne,
| Wyoming. There is a town of 1000 or 5000
people. with two railroads. The Union
| Pacific has a magnificent depot, built of red
] and gray stone, 20 feet Tonga building
| that would be noticeable in Denver. The
! Burlington has brick depot, not so stylish
/ as the Union Pacific, but as large. II
would hold the Union idepots at Fort Worth,
| Dallas and Houston and not be at al
crowded for room. While we are crying
4,fsF more hotels to entertain our visitors
4 why shouldn't we have Union depot to re-
ceive them inl''
AS nobody appeared able to answer this
question the assembly dispersed.