The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-25
Mobiles Progress.
Mohile Revister

 The most notable event in the history l ot Mobile IS me Deginlnhg, Gn yesterday, oI the laying of permanent street pave menl mdy seem strange to outsiders that Mobile snouiu at tnS late day De taking sIcp that is commonplace m otn- CT ciues of her size, but We must beg the critics to consider the peculiar con
 uitions that have been an obstacle In the Way of Aiouiie. | ne era tI street lni- provement in the Soutn began aoout lwenIy-nv years ago ,p ,to ,dat tune the enec,s or the war weIesstiii teit anu street improvement was not 10 DC thpus"l Of, ana, lar as .duulie was cvncernvd, the opening of tne era was not Tor her. Mobile was pdrely commerciaI city, de- pendent upon her rivers and her hdroor TOT trade: and il happened that at the moment of renaissance oi Sou eneih clt- les, she found herself hampettd by the very taing that brought prosperity to otn- CT cities, With the growth O. the woriu commerce came increase in the size oI ships; with the extension Of railroads ca me diversion Jf river trade. Mobiie was | SO to speak, cut of from her old tune me ans of livelihood. For twenty years there was great stagnation, loss of con ndence in the future of the city, ana an actual lessening Of business ac!ivlty. Twenty years ago there was no deep water ana no shipping of conseduence | The wharves-save those for the steam . boats-were allowed to. rot down; the warehouses were empty. and many or | | spot where on yesterday the first .asphait | was laid, was the centre of this desoia- | tion. Not house in that immediate lo- | cality was occupied. save by the rats. I ne l present Southern Hotel, in Front Of which the paving was lad yesterday, was a l rookery. having no assessabie Naiue anu l apparently doomed to ruin.
 l Already however. the work of rescue l had begun, although it's effects were not yet felt. The government had been ap- | pealed to, and the appropriation hao been | made to dig a channel from Mobile 10
 deep water in the bay and thus permn | the deep draft, ocean going vessels to l reach our wharves. New lines or com merce opening into the interior were be- | ing availed of also, and trade was re- viving. It was the darkest hour before | the dawn.
 merce resumed her activity nere Mobile | had lost many years of her busy time and had fallen behind in the race to the | front rank of Southern cities; but she mas made up for the loss since. Her increase | in population during the last decade has been equal to the ratio In other cities' | her commerce has revived: her wharves have been rebuilt and many others auu- l ed: two railroads have been punt py 'i;e ;e l enterprise of her citizens and third IS now bein" surveyed; not only are the | formerly empty buildings occupied but 1 new and elegant structures are gong up
 on every hand. The city has oeen sew | efeu WltH d coIlpieteHSsS ho. s.. where, and a full supply or the purest water has been obtained for the people
 of all quarters; and now the finishing touch is being put on-the streets are to
 be paved and with the best material | laid in the most scientific manner. Tn
 short. Mobile has begun to move, and
 with a speed that shows that this Is to
 be a citv in the van of Southern progress.
 1t Is significant that the most modern
 work attempted in Mobile should begin
 at the very site where few years ago | Mobile offered the most discouraging pros
 pect. The evil of decay has been attack
 ed at it's root. The new Mobile will be | model