Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-10-11
GROWTH. [ Of St, LOUIS IS
Changes Made In City's Century
of Existence.


st. Louisans are rejoicing at present
over the completion of the first century
OF their city's Incorporated existence
Naturally the thing that gives them
the greatest joy is the comparison OF
the growth Of the Missouri metropolis
from Il little settlement to the splen.
did position Of fourth among American
cities st. Louis now ranks after New
York. Chicago and Philadelphia.
st. Louis has always been noted TO,
Its civic pride. But as in 1909 st
Louis had less than 200 houses it is not
easy to understand now how its lead.
ing citizens could meet on the corners
of its only two thoroughfares and dis.
cuss it then as one of the most impor.
tant towns i'll the country. This some
of them certainly did. They left the
record OF their prophecies to be read
now, when in the last ten years about
half million more people have come
into the United States across the At.
lantic than the total number of "the
American people" in the year after St
Louis was first incorporated.
Had Good Opinions Of Themselves.
With not quite 7,25o,00o people in the
United States and not quite a thou
sand Of them in st. Louis a hundred
years ago, they were certainly the
most important people in the world
then. Even then the world suspected
it. 1t was almost convinced that they
could take care Of themselves" and
build up their country. There is no
doubt of it left when. with over S0,OOO,-
GOO people in the United States. st.
Louis in one year Of its twentieth cen
tury growth has spent over S2O,OOO,OOO
for new buildings. This is several mil
lions in cash more than the total
amount of cash in the United States
in 1909.
In the st. Louis Of 1909 the visitor
by walking up one street and down an.
other could see every house in the
town in less than an hour. 1t would
be a strange world to return to, but
some might still be charmed with it.
There was no roar and no rattle in il
or in a thousand miles of it. There
might have been so many as half a
dozen coaches or family carriages of
the kind George Washington used to
ride in, but they were used only on
state occasions. The two wheeled
charette, or French cart, drawn by a
single Canadian pony, satisfied the
speed mania in business during the
week and Sufficed for most peoples
pleasure on holidays. The very first
of the first colonial families of the
town used one Of these same carts
while it was in process of arriving 1t
had acquired carriage in 1909 with
out becoming ashamed of the cart or
of the neighbors who still sat in 1t,
with the blouse Of the driver worn over
his trousers-if he wore trousers In
1909.
Wore Breeehes, Not Trousers.
In that year gentlemen of the best
breeding and family Still thought trou.
sers undignifed. They wore breeches,
not pants" The breeches still had
silver buckles at the knees, and the
shoes had silver buckles. There were
still old school gentlemen Of great
dignity who wore their dress swords
when they promenaded in public. Gen
tlemen of the Jeffersonian school fol-
lowed the "Jacobin" fashion of wear
ing trousers with legs long enough to
fall over their shoe tops, and the fash
ion was gaining fast. 1t was supposed
in some mysterious way to stand for
liberty. fraternity and equality. and
some Federalist gentlemen of the old
school held out in their knee breeches
against it as long as possible on that
account. But they were not too naughty
20 stop on the corner and beg the lat
est news from some one who had be
come prominent by getting letter
three weeks old from Philadelphia or
New York. The man who knew the
latest national politics was a promi-
nent man even if it had been a month
coming by mail from Philadelphia.
They thought two weeks long enough
to wait for mall but if they had to
wait a month they enjoyed the news
all the more when it came.
Not Much Excitement Then.
With no paved streets, no water
works. no street lights, no steam whis-
ties, no monographs, no living picture
shows and nothing modern to excite 1t
during the day, the town snuffed out
It's tallow candles soon after dark and
vent to sleep. 1t seldom grew as
much excited about anything whatever
MS it now does every day on Broad
way during the baseball season when
the score is being bulletined. The
greatest business excitement was seen
when some one caught the noise of
songs and shouting as a feet Of keel
boats and canoes returned from the
Missouri or the Arkansas after six
months or more of trading. The rush
for the river front then might have
suggested the modern interest in a
baseball score, but there was nothing