The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-10-20
So Says J. c. Paradice Who Believes
the Census Figures viii
Show Falling
Off.
TIME TO GET BUSY
If keokuk People viii GET roeeth.
er and Pull Together the City
Can be Made
to Grow.

to Grow.
10 the Editor OF The Gate CITY.
Inc government census Of 1904
gave Keokuk population of 14.so4.
Whiie the census for 1910 has not
oeen published by the bureau at Wash
lngton. 1t is generally conceded that
heokuk will fall below the 1900 mark.
Inc milk is split" and it is useless
to be retrospective.
Looking forward, there is an omit.
mistic feeling among "stand-pattersv
OF the municipality, who believe the
great water power. project under way
VIII instil new life, and be the i'm.
petus of big city. There is another
element in the community skeptical
OF anything better than gradual
growth of the city, during the con.
struction of the dam, or after the
work is finished, and power dissent
mated over 200 miles Of continguous
territory.
Whether the Dam-optimist or Dam.
pessimist is right. time alone win
tell. No human eye can penetrate
the future and picture, actually. this
commonwealth generation hence.
Then, why not eliminate the water
power question, and build for the pres
ent, leaving the future to posterity
This, seems, to me, is the proper
spirit.
keokuk is peculiarly located-al-
most isolated-on a peninsular. 1t is
not endowed with fertile soil to slim
ulate wealth and growth: is cut off
from rich, contiguous territory by two
rivers; is difficult OF ingress and
esress; Handicapped with bad country
roads, toll bridges, and miles of trav-
Ell, making the city self-dependent-
with limited exceptions-its job
bing and manufacturing interests-the
personnel Of which look to outside
territory for their bread and butter"
There are few places in the United
States similarly situated, and none of
these are fast-growing.
How, then. best build for the pres
ent9
This is vexatious question. sug-
gestions avail little United action
and loyalty are necessary. "a divid-
ed house" cannot endure. Crash OBJ
portunity. John ]. ingalls, told the
whole story when he wrote:
Master of human destinies am I,
Fame, love and fortune on my foot
steps wait,
Cities and fields I walk: I penetrate
Deserts and seas remote, and passing
Howell and mart and palace-soon or
late
l knock unbidden once at every gate,
If sleeping, wake-if feasting. rise
before
turn AWAIT is the hour of fate.
And those who follow me reach every
state
Mortals desire, and conquer every foe
Save death but those who doubt or
hesitate,
Condemned to failure. penury and
woe,
Seek me in vain and uselessly implore, 1
l answer not, and return no more
Aye, grasp opportunity That's the
spirit Bury personal interests. Make I
environments attractive. Work good /
roads into the city: this will bring
the country trade Build factories:
They are the biggest incentive to I
growth Of cities known to modern
civilization. Construct interurban I
railroads: Nothing is quicked to en-
nance the retail trade Of place than /
these. And, II possible. give free
ingress and egress to the city, over
the Mississippi river These are OPP
portunities knocking, knocking, at
the city's gate" Let them in: then
watch Keokuk grow ,0o0 year. She
will do the climbing although now in
hobble skirts-and without the aid Of
water power
Only a few years ago. Waterloo,
Iowa, was little more than half the
population Of Keokuk. Recently, the
census bureau at Washington an
nounced Waterloo az having one-third
more people than Keokuk ever had.
How did Waterloo accomplish this
growth? BY pulling together, and
battling on to same lines suggested
above. Waterloo did not wait for
big river dam to be built: did not in.
fict prohibitive conditions upon new
,omers:' did not discourage "home
people with high taxes and extra In
But Waterloo did thig:
Encouraged factories, and got them;
and with the factories came people to
I'LL them. Built interurban railroads
10 bring in contiguous trade and it
came; constructed good roads and
bridges. and the farmers came with
their product-sold IT, and bought
Waterloo goods with tke ,onuav Andt