The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-08-22

the ball q shove.
What of Scranton's Future
At this moment of business rein
vigoration it may not be amiss to take
brief and hasty note Of some of the
reasons for believing that the next few
years hold in store for Scranton uneX-
pected growth, progress and prosperity.
In the first place, bear in mind that
the first resource which called this live
city into eXistence-its invaluable an
thracite depOsits-yet remains, appre-
ciated in value as it diminishes in
quantity and forming u staple product
which must for years bring money and
business to our very doors. There are
things which the American public can
get along without; but coal is not one
of them. This treasure Of nature, dug,
stored and shipped by Scranton busi-
ness genius controlling Scranton labor,
is not yet to be classed as a vanished
support; years of usefulness and profit
lie before this premier industry and
before the industries that depend upon
it.
Then, too, the culm problem, so long
deemed insoluble, is daily achieving
practical and successful settlement in
the utilization of this still almost ill
imitable waste product as an industrial
fuel. Let it not be forgotten, in calcu-
lating this factor in Scranton's future,
that the march of applied e lectricity,
signalized locally in the extraordinary
recent growth of systems Of trolley car
propulsion, is only just beginning, and
ii was started in Scranton of all places
upon a scale of greatest magnitude, be-
cause here of all places in the anthra-
cite region, power is cheapest and the
number Of available passengers great
est. The physical law OF gravitation
applies strikingly in the world of busi-
ness. The larger bodies attract the
smaller; each new avenue of transport
tation centering in the metropolis of
Northeastern Pennsylvania, while it
may quicken the pulses of suburban
trade, will surely drain the bulk of the
benefits into our city; and add i'm
mensely both to its population and to its
commerce. What is true of electricity
as applied to rapid transit will soon be
true of electricity in other applications.
With our culm banks offering bound
less inducements, it needs only the re e
turn of business confidence to release
many enterprises from locations now
rendered Objectionable to sites in this
vicinity, where cheap fuel and conven-
lent transportation comprise magnets
of irresistible power.
Confidence begets confidence. The
strongfaith in Scranton's future which
is beng manifested, even during a sea-
son of panic, by Scranton investors
who are preparing to endow our city
with palatial hotels, magnificent office
buildings and vast number of beauti-
full private dwellings will not be lost
upon the outside world. The public
spirit which is equipping Scranton
with new bridges, new parks, new
statues commemorating the achieve
ments of distinguished men, new pub
lie societies, and new institutions of
learning will not be overlooked by
residents of other cities desirous of bet
tering themselves. The aggressiveness
which wins for our musicians medals
and fame in international song compe-
titions; for our marksmen supremacy
at the most prominent rifle ranges; for
our militia regiment primacy among
all the organizations of citizen soldiery
in the United States; and-even If it
be said by one of them-for our news
papers honorable rating among the in.
land journals of the country will not
fail to impress those anxious to "get in
the swim.n
These things are but a few of the
many reasons that occur to mind in
support of the proposition that Scran-
ton is nearing period of new and sub
- i II 4, 81
cities corresponds closely to the growth
of their individual inhabitants. There
is period of mastication and then q
period of digestion and assimilation,
In an earlier day Scranton bit off SC
large quantity of business obligations
that it won for her, among envious
rivals, the nameof the "city Of mort