The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-11
A ROAD THAT MUST BE BUILT.

III l HC <1QNOIAiSCl Ot iuSN %Mohd1y there was printed short clipping from The Alexander City outlook ad- vising Montgomery if she really means what she is reaching out for. to ''get a hustle on railroad proposi- tion tapping the rich section of coun- try north and northeast of her" Then there is longer article copied from The Coosa Argus, published at Rock ford, both of which the business men of Montgomery and all others inter- ested in the city's growth and progress should read and digest, for they are significant.
 The Argus article calls attention to all ancient history. All the older citi- zens of Montgomery remember that not great many years ago Court Square and adjoining streets were crowded with wagons from Coosa. Tallapoosa. 1 and even from Clay and Randolph l counties, especially in the fall and early winter. As The Argus says. speaking especially of Coosa, her peo- pie looked to Montgomery as their home market, and patronized her as such. They brought their cotton. 1 fowls. eggs and other home and farm products and sold them here and car ! ried back much of their value in goods purchased in Montgomery. Nearly all the dry goods and groceries consumed in Coosa was purchased in Montgom cry" says The Argus and our old cit izens know it. and know how valuable that wagon trade was to our mer- chants, and how it helped business.
 Now all this is changed. The rail- road from Opelika to Roanoke, and the road from Columbus to Birmingham traverse some of the best country In Alabama. The route now in course of construction from LaGrange, via Roanoke to Talladega, will cut through another rich and desirable portion of hitherto railroadless territory. These | roads supply a home market or ship ping facilities for many thousands of l industrious farmers whose trade is worth millions. They can now send their produce to Birmingham, Colum-
 
 home, merchants can buy their goods from the same markets. It Is a going and coming business for country and | city.
 Our city is losing most of that de- sirable trade and will lose 1t all un- less we "get a hustle" on us and go | after it. The Argus suggests the build | yxv- ford, to tap those cross roads that are built or building. That would be well, but what would be still better, in our judgment, would be a line from We tumpka, or from Montgomery direct, traversing portions of Coosa, Tallapoo- sa and Clay counties to Anniston or to some other point on the road now connecting Atlanta and Birmingham. But whatever route the road may fol- low the main point is to penetrate and traverse a rich section of country and tap the cross lines. Of all the lines contemplated or spoken of from this city we know of none which promises better returns. More than that, some such enterprise is matter of such vital importance to this city that we may fairly hold that the laws of self preservation demand it. Such road would not only be a boon to the peo- pie of the regions thus supplied but would be one of Montgomery's most valuable feeders. Delay is dangerous, for if a road is not built from this city northward it is only a question of time, and not long time, when capi- tai will run line Southward from An inston or some point East of that city which will suck up all the trade of a vast and rich section and carry 1t away from us. Does Montgomery not realize this?