The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-01-04

There will be few New Years edl-
tions throughout the west this year.
There are several reasons for this:
A New Years edition has for its OBJ
iect an exhaustive report of the
growth and prosperity of a city during
the twelve months preceding. When
there has been no growth there is no
occasion for a New Years edition
and there you are.
The FREE PRESS, however, feels
that the above condition refers in no
way to Mankato, hence this anniver-
sary number. In presenting it to our
patrons we do so under the assurance
that there is demand for such a
summary, for in every community
there are croakers who Will insist
upon placing things in their darkest
aspect. Some have gone so far as to
allege, with considerable vehemence,
that there has been practically no
building in Mankato this year, and
that the Security flats, the Patterson
Payne and the government building
and perhaps half dozen dwellings,
constitute the sum total OF the in
vestments for the last year.
1t is with no little satisfaction that
the FREE PRESS today shows how lit
tie is generally known about what
has been-going on around US. Large,
handsome new blocks ornament the
business streets, while new roofs are
seen in every quarter of the city.
This has been progressing steadily for
year past until today, the last OF
'94, we are able to give to the public an
approximate amount of money that
has been invested in newbuildings and
improvements. In the list, as was
done last year, both public and pri-
vate improvements have been approx
mated, for certainly the public monies
are still private funds under another
name There are hundreds of small
additions and alterations costing less
than 800 each which have been
omitted in detail but carefully ap-
proXimated in the total.
The private improvements during
'94 were S277, 900; the public improve
ments amounted to S2S, 769, and the
minor additions and betterments will
add S., 900 more to the list, making a
grand total of $4,000, being but lit
/ tie less than last year.
The showing is remarkable. Here
was the dullest year since the panic
of '73-many tinanciers pronouncing
it even worse than that uncertain
time. The country was lurid with
the flame of the strikers torch, while
a renegade Democratic congress sat
with hands behind them in the mar
BILE halls of Washington and threat
ened every moment to spring free
trade measure upon the country and
make grave situation more serious,
while capital was gradually with
drawn from the market and the people
left TO shift for themselves.
lne situation was the most SerlOuS
In the west, the heart of the fictitious
values. Many of the cities of the
Mississippi valley which had their
foundations on watered stocks be-
came unable to meet the enormous
interest on their matured bonds, and
it was foreclosure" everywhere.
Mankato had no fictitious trust
companies; she had no falsely-bonded
street car lines, and she had no east
ern capitalists who had been induced
to invest their money on false pre-
lenses. She had her own money with
which to pay her own debts, and there
were no outside interests to consult
before the thing was done.