The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1911-06-09

that chamber to sing the praises OF
Bowie and surrounding country. Its
office is always open, and in charge of
a bright young woman, who lives from
her earnings as n public stenographer.
The country around Bowie produces
but little. yet the town looks prosper
Gus, and is growing rapidly, all OF
which Is being done with the money
brought in from beyond the state.
Wichita Falls is the county seat Of
! Wichita county, and in a country pro-
ducing very little The late census
gives the city population of $500
1t has miles of paved streets; hotels
costing up to 100000; city hall that
cost $4,000; street railway and other
public utility enterprises; fine school
and church buildings; and everything
usually found in cities of $4,000 people
1t has business blocks costing up to
100000 each, and the streets are
parked and lighted as well as any
city in the country regardless of size
| The fire department apparatus is
mounted upon auto trucks, and every.
thing in ard around the city is strictly
first class.
Wichita's Commercial Club.
If the country is producing nothing,
ii might be asked with reason what
is the cause of such city growth and
such apparent progress. The answer
will have to be found in the work of
the Wichita Falls Chamber of Com
merce. This organization is the whole
thing so far as the growth of the city
is concerned. 1t controls the politics
and business affairs of the city. 1t
is housed in elegant quarters, built by
public taxation. Ii has an income of
$4,000 per year, all spent in publicity.
With this sum of money the people of
east are told of beautiful Wichita lake
| formerly water-hole from which
cattle could drink they are told of
the vast coal fields of the city (but
many miles away; they are told of
cheap gas FURNISHED by it's boosters) (;
of cheap railway tariffs passengers 3
cents per mile, and freight accord
ingly) and many other things, some
of which are true and some not so
true, but it works just the same when
every man, woman and child in the
city are working together to accom-
plish the same end, that of making
their town grow and prosper.
The same may be said of other
towns in Texas and Oklahoma. Enid,
Kingfisher Ell Reno and Chickasha are
towns in western Oklahoma where
very little of value has been produced
| thncn
are growing rapidly and are very pros
porous. Farm lands around them are
selling as high as lands here, though
nothing in the way of crop has been
harvested there for two years, and no
promise Of one this year.
It Sold the Land.
The sale of land throughout all the
southwest is made possible in the
same manner. In the early eighties
the Swinson brothers of New York
purchased 100000 acres of land in
western Texas at SO cents per acre,
and started the Spur" cattle ranch
finally the country got so dry it would
no longer grow grass and the land was
prepared" for sale-a railroad was
|
the ranch, distance of ten miles, and
the town of Spur was built at the
terminus of this road. The first thing
built was a 100000 hotel and an ex.
perienced hotel man installed to man.
age it, which he is now doing at a
loss of 81 900 per month to it's owners
but the 1000 acres of the old Spur
ranch is in the meantime being sold
at SIS to $40 per acre and it is nearly
all sold.
These facts bring a lesson to us
and few questions are at once raised
which when correctly answered should
prove of much value to us. If land TWEEN
ty-five miles from a town can be sold
for SIS per acre, and land nearer town
up to $40 in a country where it re-
quires two quarter sections to support
cow, what should be the value OF
land around Norfolk where one acre
of land will support three cows? II
these people can build good progress
i've towns in a country that produces
nothing, what is to hinder Norfolk
located in the best country on earth
from being made the best city on the
map, and within very few years?
Great Chance in Norfolk.
From the viewpoint of the conserv
alive investor, Norfolk and northeast
Nebraska offers better investments tt
the man with money to invest thar
any other city or part of the country
Real estate in Norfolk is selling be
low its true value, just as much as
property in these cities of the south
west is selling above its value
Farm values in all parts of northwest
Nebraska are such that no part of the
country can offer better investments.
a., High prices for land and city prop
erty in the arid belt of the southwes
are secured by the united efforts o
, all the people, working to accomplish
the same end, and If the people of tn,
, Norfolk district will work together al
well as do the people of western Okla
: homa and Texas, it will not be lon,
: until values in land and Norfolk rea
!. estate will reach a much higher leve
than now prevails.
:, No honest Nebraskan would approx
= OF the methods employed by the boost
: ers of other places, yet their worl