Bisbee daily review., 1912-01-04
6iSeEE, THE PAST AND THE FUTURE.

At the outset of a new year it is opportune and fitting to cast a glance in retrospect. to examine the presen. and to make plans for the future. This Bisbee can do with satisfaction. Looking down upon the past few years there is seen a hard and arduous trail that has been traversed and overcome. In the present, conditions are seen to be pleasing and encouraging and look ing on and upward the sun shines brightly and cheerfully upon the high CT peaks that are now close at hand.
 The history of the past four years is filled with days and incidents that were trying in the extreme to Bisbee and her people. The journey through those years has been one out of the valley of the shadow. In all of the southwest there is not to be found city that has been so tried in the cru cible as has Bisbee, tested by hard ship, by flood and by fire. and among all of the cities in the land there is none that has made greater progress under such adverse circumstances.
 The panic of 1907 found Bisbee ir the hey day of prosperity. Copper was selling at unheard of prices, wages were higher than ever before, there was period of imitation on which equalled or exceeded that to be found anywhere else in the nation at the time Practically everyone who had any money was speculating in copper mine stocks. There had been a stead. fly and long continued upvard mar ket, all had paper profits some Of which seemed to the individual enor nous. Then came the panic and the slump in copper prices followed by the decline in the quotations of stocks. Speculative values melted away like snow .n a midsummer sun. Those who had believed themselves in affluence found themselves. poor. penniless and in debt. Such was the condition that faced Bisbee in 1908. fer merchants found their shelves laden with goods for which there was no market aud b'Hs coming in. that hat 70 be met. Bat this was not all. When matters seemed a. their worst, when it ap- reared that the clouds could not low CT more darkly came the disastrous fire of 1908. Floods came upon fire, fire again upon flood and still again floods succeeded fire. But all of these evils, all of these trials could not break the Bisbee spirit. With mer chants practicing every possible econ omy. with wages down and the roll of enployes in the mines at minimum Bisbee struggled on, never discour aged. never quite disheartened, ever upward and always onward
 The floods taught their lesson, and from the fires came other lessons and cisbee set about devising ways and means to prevent a repetition of those disasters that would have broker the spi-it of another community she improved her fire pro lection. with better equipment, witi Letter water facilities. with moro c,hcient department. She began an carried to successful completion sys tem that carries of the flood waters she improved her streets and he' roadg. Never in her history were s' many and so great improvements un dertaken at one time. Bisoee perse vered in the face or all difficulties ant Bisbee achieved.
 The year 1912 opens with a bright ness that has bong been missing. Tn c,ouds are riven. Copper is coming U ,.s ovn again, at the mines good mel are being put to work as fast as the. can be obtained Since October eac ,av day has been better than the lasi each month the business men or tn o,,v have found trade increasing. bill