The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1895-11-30
A LOYAL BOY.
He Praises Cape Girar.
deau City.
The solid Rock Ribbed Old Demo
cratic Gtbralter is Falling Into
Line With the Loyal States.


cratic Gtbralter is Falling Into
Line With the Loyal States.
TERRE HAUTE, IND. Nov. 25.-EDI-
TOR DEMocRAT.-Although it has
been twelve years since the under
signed gave up his citizenship in I'm
perial Missouri and assumed the
same in the splendid state of Indiana,
it has not lessened his regard for
Missouri in general and good old
Cape county in particular. Cape
Girardeau county was where l first
saw the light and where my first
twenty-one years were spent. Could
I otherwise than have lasting inter-
est in her welfare?
In the twelve years OF my residence
l have been taunted with such re-
marks as 'the land of the James
boys and train robbers - ''the solid
rock-ribbed old Democratic Gibral-
ter, ''the rose between the thorns,
Illinois, Iowa and Kansas" but my
confidence was never shaken and
to-day she has no train robbers to
contend with and when it comes to
politics she is certainly as well off as
her neighbors both east and west of
her.
Right now the eyes of a big part of
the commercial world are turned Mis-
souriwards. In former years emf
grants have avoided Missouri as
though 'twere pestilenee and Iowa,
Kansas, Texas and even the Indian
Territory filed up, but the wounder-
full soil, the immense timber tracts, the
pleasant climate were all overlooked
in the effort to steer clear of Missouri.
| am convinced that if Indiana had
the immense natural resources pos
sessed by Missouri her population
would increase forty per cent in ten
years.
The time of awakening is / belieye
at hand. Southeast Missouri, Ae
equal in all respects, and superior in
many to other and more thickly set
tied portions of the State will recvive
the bulk of the emigration destined to
come within the States borders within
the decade. Already the problem of
capitalists is how to connect railroads
already built to connect with this
wonderful but yet almost entirely un-
undeveloPed region. That there will
be direct line from Chicago to Cape
Girardeau and through Southeast
Missouri into Arkansas seems to be
natural conclusion. A railroad
bridge may be constructed there and
will be when the country gets fully de-
veloped. Then will come the oppor-
tunity for Cape Girardeau whether to
be a station, to see all the valuable
products of Missouri, Arkansas and
Texas go whizzing through, and that
only, or whether she shall have car
shops, railroad shops, factories of
various kinds for working up the
raw material which Is so plentiful,
most at her doors. 1t is not only
within the bounds of reason, but there
is reasonable hope that the
Cape may have all these If she will
only bester herself in time and go
after them. With uimproved railroad
facilities which an eastern outlet would
give, the Cape could compete with
larger cities on account of her com
manding presence on the Mississippi,
the most important city between st.
Louis and New Orleans. Far enough
from ST. Couis to be Independent of
that city and resourceful enough to be
aigranl city herelf for her own superb
or advantages, who has a right to say
that there's not glorious future be-
fore her. When Cleveland, o., was
a building village Cincinnati was one
of the most important cities of the
Union, and is yet to-day, although
her rival on the lake tCleveland) has
passed her in population and wealth.
Mattoen, ILL.,, is a town of 5000
people. 1t has the car shops of the
G. C. C. & st Louis or "Big Four"
railroad employing four hundred peo-
pie. She has other Enterprises which
bring money to the place and in cir
culation. There is more than twice
the business done that is done at the
Cape. Very trnly,
CHvs. F. HAUPT.