The daily tribune., 1905-12-12
The Street Railway !

n
sue Of your paper an article sap-
peared from the pen of A. n. Dam
forth, in the form Of interrogstor-
ies, touching she construction Of
an electric street railway in this
portion of the Arkansas valley!
Too many questions are submitted
in this article to answer in this
contribution in detail. I wish to \
briefly. reply to the more salient
interrogatories therein.
II An opportunity has been grant |
ed to one of our representative
citizens to build a line from Flor
ence to Canon City and the camps,
this project failed. Another op-
Portunity is now offered us to
build an electric street car line in
to our city. Should this opportun-
ity be cast asideY 1t seems to me |
that there is but one rational ans
wsr to this question, tc-wit, that
this line should be built, and that
Florence should assist in the con-
'struction thereof. /
1t is not right that the merchant
or any other class of our citizens
should seek to stiAe the project.
/ have no notion that the majority,
or even respectable minority of
our merchants will oppose the con-
struction OF this road, neither do I
assume that any other class of our
citizens will offer any opposition
to the building of this line. But
Mr.. Danforth's article would seem
to indicate that its construction is
against the interest of both the |
merchant and all other classes of
our city because we will not have
the building of the same, and that
this line if built at all should be
built from Florence out rather |
than from Canon into our city and |
the adjoining vicinity. Urging as
an argument in line with his con-
ltention that our merchants will
be ruined by coming into oompe-
tition with Canon City merchants,
and our fair city suburban to
Canon.
l believe the broadcast free trade |
between adjoining towns and CON-
munities. and that it is marrow to
seek to. place q Chinese wall Of
exclusion around our city. I be-
lieve that the merchant class Of
Florence is as capable of compel
ing with the. merchant GLASS Of
Canon City, or any other place as
as in the state, and that they are
not going to be ruined if brought
into close touch with the merchant
GLASS of Canon City, or any other
pace. find as active and intel.
ligent a class of merchants in Flor
ence as any that l have ment in
the state, and do not think for an
instant that they OF. any of them
are going into bankruptcy if
brought more closely in touch
With the Canon City merchant BY
means OF an electric street railway.
Something like one million dol
! ars will be added TO our taxable
property il this line is built. A
large part Of this SUN will 90
brought in by the road, the BAL
ance by additional settlement 30;
cause Of the same. 1 am inclined
u the notion that ons million dol
lars added 20 onr taxable property
il no moan thing. even though our
neighboring city should take the
initiative in bringing this, about.
With rapid transit in this portion
OF the valley, a large influx Of peo-
pie will settle and improve this
valley, 30 that within a decade
Florence and Canon City will be
united, each will be suburban to
the other. This will be no mean
thing to our merchant class OF
Florence. Those OF our merchant
GLASS, or in fact any other class,
who cannot and will aot come into
cloaa comnetifion Nth THAR fal.