The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-05-02
OUR SPLENDID ENTERPRISE
NEEDS IMPETUS.

Stagnation is more dangerous IMAM at
nal disease, for it is breeder of all kinds
of diseases. 1t is the pool in which dis
case and death have their birth. When
actual and positive disease attacks a com
munity science is at once under arms tor
its destruction, but we pay no heed to the
causes of an epidemic until we have to
contend with the thing itself. The relig-
ion of Christ suffers more from stagnation
or the Indifference of it's advocates and
professors than from all the subtle falla-
cies of its enemies.
When any great enterprise is accom-
plished by any community that requires
the utmost strain Of their eXertions, the
danger is that a reaction of rest from the
strain will lapse into inactivity and indif-
ference that amounts to stagnation. We
are so apt to felicitate ourselves upon such
an accomplishment that we leave the en-
terprise to work out its own salvation.
We f.,6et that we have only attained the
coign Of vantage over our neighbors in
the facilities we offer the public by our
accomplished work, and we leave that
public to find out these advantages as best
they can and avail of them if it seems best
to them to do 50. Nothing is ever accom-
plshed by such line of policy. We may
have strained our resources to their ut
most tension to finish the work, but there
is yet greater and more persistent strain
demanded upon our personal and com
bined efforts to have our work fully APP
preciated, and used.
1t perhaps has been plain to the reader
that our remarks have a local application
and that we refer to the great work that
the citizens of Austin have accomplished
by building a dam across the Colorado
river and locking up the water of this
stream so that it may be used at com
mand and harnessed to do the work for
which it was intended. We have built the
dam and are ready to send its power
through scores of mills, but we must not
lay upon our oars and rejoice merely in
the pleasures the waters of the vast lake
give us. The dam was not built alone in
order that the waters of the Colorado
should be gathered into a beautiful lax
fit only for the light barge to skim over
its surface, or only to supply the citizens
Of Austin with water and lights. While
the latter purposes were the main mo-
tives, and necessarily having a vast sur
plus of water it becomes us to use the
power of that accumulated surplus to
start spindles into motion and supply al
motor to all kinds of machinery that will
locate works along the banks of the Col
orado river. In other words, it require
more persistent and concerted and wei
directed action to benefit ourselves by hir
ing out this extra power that we do no
need so that the profits arts
ing from it may reduce the pric
OF water and lights to the people who have
made sacrifices to do the work, than il
did to build the dam
The world of competition is before lis.
other States with inferior advantages
have the start of us in inviting the loca-
ton of manufacturing industries into their
midst, and many such locations have been
made, the locatOrs being unaware of the
fact that they could locate their factories
IN the very center of the greatest cotton
helds of the world and be furnished with
greater and cheaper power by the
great dam at Austin 1t is not our fault
that other States have had the start of
us in this enterprise, but il will he orr
tault II any other factories are ignorantly
located elsewhere. We were not prepared
at the time these locations were made to
offer New England factories coming South
me advantages that we can now offer
them, but now we are prepared. Wei
nave the power that we can let to manu-
factories at rate that will induce them
to come here. This is matter solely of
business, the sentiment connected with
the scenery of our interior lake has MOTH
ing to do with it. That belongs to an
other branch of invitation, but we re-
peat, we have the power and we can con-
vince New England manufacturers seek
ing Southern location that Austin is
not only the center of the great cotton belt
of the South, but that Austin can offer the
oest ana cheapest power to move their
machinery of any other locality in the
South. We are now ready for this and
we can not afford, considering the tax
we are paying to maintain this water
power, to postpone any longer the employ
ment of intelligent agents to enter into
the competition for the location of these
factories with our sister States of Tho |
South We are wasting money every
day we postpone these efforts and we are
in danger of stagnation that will breed
indifference and endanger the manufac-
turing branch of our magnificent enter
prise.
Adam and Eve have kept up that same
row that began in the first garden of |