The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-11-26
FINANCIAL RESULT OF THE FAIR.

ST. Louis has had no speculative boom incident to
Its Worlds Fair; there has been a large and sub
stantial financial gain. There has been no abnor-
mahty, no financial ENHANCEMENT, no tying up of
capital. The current Of St Louis finances has suf-
fered no disturbance. 1t is free and unimpeded to-
day and shows no influences or effects Of the Fair
except those which are distinctly beneficial. The
productive action Of the Fair upon the st. Louis
commercial and financial spheres has been Of the
sort from which there can be no reaction.
st. Louis has had no unnatural development, as
did Chicago, for instance; no development incon-
sistent with strict conservatism. If there has been
any criticism which could be made upon this city's
course, it has been that it was too conservative.
The city records show, as Mr.. Breckenridge Jones
points out. that there were fewer brick buildings
erected in 1903 than in any year from 1890 to 1896,
and that the cost Of those erected in 1903 was
scarcely more than in the years Immediately pre-.
ceding. There has been no spasmodic increase in
the value Of real estate, as the tax assessments am
ply prove; only the normal increase.
On the other hand, new capital has been invested
in the city during the year to the extent Of nineteen
millions for mercantile and manufacturing purposes.
Thirteen millions went into manufacturing plants.
The manufacturing interests of the city report a
largely increased product. General business has
suoNuS II SleduS anu Iu0Theu Improvement.
st. Louis, indeed, may confidently expect the
coming year to exceed the prosperity Of the present.
Its capital, so far from being tied up in building or
unusual Improvements, was never freer. Two prime
reasons why there has not been an era of over
building-in addition to that afforded by the ex-
ample Of Chicago ten years ago-are the generally
conservative character of st. Louisans, accentuated
by q general understanding among financial men
that they would not encourage such an era; and the
fact that the construction of Worlds Fair buildings
has so advanced the price Of material and labor that
individuals have largely concluded to postpone their
improvements until the end Of the Fair.
st. Louis has held itself in a position to make
the most of the benefits which would accrue to bust
ness and finance as q result Of the Fair, and to take
advantage Of its new future as the gateway city of
the great Southwest. A Worlds Fair 'boom"-no.
The great advanced prosperity Of st. Louis is just
now developing. Instead of q relapse, we are to
begin a greater era.
Life and power are but ~dawning. The signs of
the day are a new power Of wealth and resource
and a new spirit Of the people. Behind the city's
develop!nental processes in all lines is a new and
immense field Of energy which is but half appre-
ciated even by those whose activities lie in touch
with 1.-THE new Southwest and the new indus
trialism Of the South.
Few people appreciate the extent Of the growth
and settlement, rapid but solid, Of the West and
Southwest. and the development Of the Mississippi
Valley and the South which is the Southeast.
Nearly half the railway building in the United
States during the past year was done in territory
Immediately tributary to this city. The vast activity
of that territory affects st. Louis directly. 1t does
its business with and through st. Louis. This ter
ritory enjoys 4 rate of development equaled by no
other region in the world 1t is the world-center of
deyelopmental activity; and to and from it st. Louis
is the point of entrance and exit. Emigration
southwestward is the trend Of American life;
the rapid growth ec the Southwest is the greatest