Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-05-15
WHY AMERICUS MUST HAVE
MORE INDUSTRIES.

CLOSING portion of paper presented
to Board of Trade on "Stock-Taking
in Americus.')
Here we have a total pull upon the
purses of the few hundred white men
Of the community every year, for
the maintenance of the government,
local public institutions, and sin
gle form of amusement of approx
mately 100000 The proper main
tenance of the institutions we now
have will necessitate greater calls
upon the citizens for their actual work.
ing operation every year, exclusive
of the present appropriations out Of
the public treasury Looking at these
figures, and also remembering the
drains for home betterments. and SIDE
walks and other Improvements COM
ing directly out of individual purses,
one can the more readily appreciate
why it is so difficult to secure money
for industrial and other commemorate
purposes on a general appeal to the
public. The Americas public, one is
constra ned to believe, has lad its
hands full, has been strained, perhaps,
to the limit
One conclusion that is forced by
these facts-for they are facts-is that
Americas today has all of the public
institutions of any class that it needs,
or is apt to need for some years TO
come. Every citizen, it appears to me,
should discourage the starting of any
more secret societies, the establishing
of any more churches, the formation
of any more associations of any kind
that are to draw upon the purses of
the community for support. The city
absolutely has all of these it needs,
all that city of its white population
requires, all that it can possibly stas-
ger under for some years, for ten years
at least, to come.
Another conclusion that is reached
in studying these facts and the gen
eral local situation, is that no encour-
agement can be properly extended to
retail merchants or professional men,
or workingmen, to locate here until
there are more avenues of employ
ment open to the last named, and Al
greater trade open to the former
Americas unquestionably has as many
retail merchants as the size and trade
of the community justify To bring
more here simply means the sapping
Of the vitality of those a,ready here,
4 weakening instead of q strengthen
ing of the city. Americas also has
as many lawyers, doctors, dentists
and specialists of different kinds as
4 city of this size can poss bly, sup
port There is no use in seeking to
bring more of the non-producing
classes here to live upon one another,
IS it were, to draw upon the limited
resources of the community without
adding to them
And finally, and far beyond all 9TH
9rs in Importance, the fact is driven
nome to all by this census, by a can
lid review of the local conditions as
! whole, that Americas cannot hope
20 grow, cannot hope to show any
greater increase between 1910 and
500 than it has between 1900 and
1910, unless there is an increase in
he ways open here for men to earn
l livelihood The well-payed side
walks, the beautiful Y. NJ. C. A. build
ng, the fine Carnegie Library, the
churches, the well-managed
hospital, the attractive Country Club,
he modern High School structure,
hese are all admirable, they are all
Necessary usder goth cen -ury condi-
Ions of life. but they dc not giAe
mplayment, rev do not directly de-
'elop the growth of the city. They
re wealth consumers, not wealth pro-
lucers. They add to the pleasures
md advantages of life here to those
-lready in possession Of an income
rom some source, they make Americas
far more pleasant, far more desir-
lble place to live in than it would be
Without them-but they do not add
o its working capital, they do not
i'd to its growing powers, and by