The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1910-09-08
CHARACTERISTIC
CRITICISMS
TRUTH IS MADE PALATABLE
Many Things Come In the Range
of the Fire of the Popular
Writer and Get Hit.

In the modern game of town build
ing factories and railroads are the biz
prizes, and they can only be secured
by the proper kind of work. Unit
! factories come the town is merely {
place where the plain people are per
mitted to pay street car company fol
ride in exchange for view of few
patent medicine signs plastered on the
side of cars. Start factories in a town
and it is soon on itse way to big popn.
lation figures. 1t is also an undenia-
BILE fact that factories build cities,
Raising a bonus for new enterprises
evidently requires both enthusiasm and
skill, surely it is no work for an anna
teur. But Johnson City has men with
hands and head, and the feat should
be comparatively easy. But strange
to relate, we know it TO be fact our
town has had the opportunity, and
maybe more than once, to secure a
much needed factory.
Our newspapers discussed the mat
ter at length, giving facts and figures
enough to convince all who read that
the town needed such an industry, q
bonus pledged, and the factory is Sc
cured. Some one wrote a call for a
massmeeting of business men and citi-
zens. Things were whooped up right
in order to elicit interest. The outcome
was very few citizens of any calibre
attended. 1t was ll-hands-round-for-
a-big-town without enough hands to
90 around, see? What help is the
town giving few men that have been
brave enough to start in the dairy bust
ness? Mr.. Private Citizen has never
been divorced from his lady love, Miss
Jersey Cow.
What inducement is offered packing
houses to locate here? Mr.. Private
Citizen is also allowed the privilege of
sinking his neighbor-that stands for
progress and greater johnson City
out of the town with his hog pen and
dfay loads of swill hauled through the
streets to keep us from getting "swelln
and keep up the smell. Seemingly
Johnson City is still waiting for the
outside world to discover her virtue
and what nature has done for her
through the windows of passing trains.
Has every citizen his shoulder to the
wheel of push and progress? Let's
see. johnson City was once the abid-
ing place of machine shop of GER
tain railroad which maintained good
size payroll. With business thus sus-
tanned the town remained content and
expected greatertbings.
Bat alas, there came time and also
a man presto change, the shops were
located in another town. Instead of
n massmeeting Of indignant, deter
mined citizens to talk things over and
form committees on hunt for new
shops and factories they meelIly turned
the other cheek, and tell you it took
"chee!;p to do that, butt it was done,
for why we can not say. A prominent
pastor proceeded to invite those who
would follow the shops to his church
and gave them each Bible wherein
they could read, Glove thy neighbor
as thyselfu Ha ha! Why not adorn
the spot the shop once stood upon or
thereabout with good working fac
tory?
Wake up and go after them, Mr..
City Dad and Citizen, cease to allow
that bright and brainy Commercial
Club to think and act for you. What
our city needs is get-together-club,
with Mr.. Pull stationed at the front
door with horseshoe over it, and Mr..
Push ut the back with big stick to
be used in knocking out 'knocl<ers'
our fown surely needs other industries
to d vide ! roats- with The Watauga
Electric and Traction Company, which
at this time seems to gracefully accept
the G. G. & o. as feeder.
The Soldiers Home furnishes amuse-
ment for the excursion crowds that by
chance or otherwise the g. G. & Q.
dump in the town and
much to the chagrin of
those on the excursion Train have been
held over the schedule time for depar-
ture in order to give the visitors a
chance to patronize the street car and
see the ball game in which some OF
The street car stockholders are particu
larly interested. Quite considerate.
It is true the merchants, hotel keepers
and others, in fact the whole town are
rlad to see the crowds and are bene-
fited thereby; but the street car COM
pany gets their money first, the rest OF
MS oct their kindest smile. We need
the street cars, they spell progress and
we are not mad because we do not
happen to stand in with certain rail
road corporation, neither do we accuse
anyone of having allied and kindred
interests with that certain railroad,
but rather funny condolences happen
If our town had another
streer railway maybe the Southern and