The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-04-22
People Of Excelsior Springs Believe in
Substantial improvements.
Small Town in Missouri Ahead Of Man.
kato in One Respect.
Barber Company Is Laying Asphalt on
Many Ihoroughtares.
And Is Adding to Appearance OF the
Place Materially.
Especial Correspondence

Excelsior Springs, Mo-, April 10
Excelsior Springs is thirty miles east
of Kansas City and has population of
about three thousand. The main line
of the Wabash railroad is some ten miles
from the Springs but all through ST.
Louis trains are connected with by a
"stub" train. The Milwaukee main line
is about a mile and half from the
springs and it also has ''stub" connec-
ton. There is nothing here from which
to build a town except the curative
waters, and for rheumatism, stomach
trouble and kidney ailments they have
no superiors and few equals in this coun-
try. Excelsior Springs is not as well
known in Minnesota as West Baden or
Hot Springs, Ark, but the waters are,
to my mind, superior to either of these
for the cure of ailments mentioned.
While the season has not fairly opened,
vet the hotels and most of the boarding
houses are filled, and the present prom
Uses to be the busiest ever.
Since our visit here two years ago the
city has grown astonishingly in popu-
lation, while the municipal improve
ments that have been made are many
and permanent. Last summer over two
hundred neat and attractive cottages
were built and more than fifty are now
in process of erection, with indications
that the season will be nearly as active
in building operations as was last. All
of these cottages are occupied and l am
informed that residences cannot be built
as rapidly as the demand calls for them.
The business portion of the Springs has
grown correspondingly and the result
is that many tasty brick blocks have
been put up and are occupied with
various lines of trade.
What strikes the stranger most pleas
antly is the large amount of asphalt
streets that were put in last season and
which are now being put in. Over mile
and half of asphalt was laid last sea-
son and a mile or more will be put in
this summer. The Barber people have
the contract and they have large plant
in operation now. The main business
street was macadamized about eight
years ago and this has given away to the
more modern and much more desirable
asphalt. The price charged for laying
asphalt on the macadam street was $l.85
per square yard, while on other streets
the city is paying $2.l5. The sand used
has to be largely transported from Kan
sas City, which necessarily involves a
heavy expense when it is known that
nine parts of sand is used to one part of
asphalt If, therefore, the Barber COM
pany can freight sand thirty miles and
put street in for $2.l5 it would seem
that in Mankato, where sand and stone
are SO plentiful and so cheaply handled,
we ought to get a considerably better
figure if our city would put down
enough paving to make it an object for
the company to put in q large plant
such as they have here. had long
talk with the mayor of the city and he
informed me that at the outset a con-
siderable opposition developed among the
taxpayers against the asphalt, but now
that so much has been put down people
are clamoring for more. "The fact is"
said the mayor, residence property will
not rent for half on unpaved streets that
1t will where asphalt has been Laid" The
business streets have all been paved
within two years. One visiting Excel
sior Springs two years ago and coming
here now would hardly recognize the
place. Following the paving we find i'm
proved sidewalks in many sections, while
the amount of paint that has hDen used
has greatly beautifed the hames. Pri-
vate lawns have also cauoAt the gen.
eral improvement epidemic and every
thing about the place has been trans
formed as if by magic. The streets,
stores and residences are lighted by gas
and electricity, and really metropoli-
tin air is now observable where a genu-
inc Missouri suuntry town, with muddy,
dirty streets, unkept lawns, shabby look
ing houses and pauperized look
ing business blocks existed twenty
months ago.
may be pardoned for expressing the
conviction that if Mankato, with its
exceptional natural advantages, its fine
business blocks, its beautiful homes and
its well-kept lawns, would only in
augurate a system of paving and then
pave, that it would double the value of
Svery dollars worth of property abut-
ting such paving. If we could asphalt
Front and jackson streets this year, /
am firmly of the opinion that property
owners on Second and that portion of
Third not now improved would be impa-
tent to secure a like improvement. 1t
makes no difference how many hand
some buildings we may erect or how
much expense, we may incur in putting
UP tasty homes, there is nothing that
will so quickly attract strangers and
leave lasting impression upon them
as well paved streets. When our
are put in order the rest