The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-06-26
Voice Of the People
THE Gate City does not assume
responsibility for views expressed by
correspondents

1.-THE Gate City does not assume
responsibility for views expressed by
correspondents.l
keokuk improvements.
To the Editor of The Gate City:
The address of A. w. O'Harra of
Carthage, to the Keokuk retailers in
which he stated the trouble was
Keokuk men were too contented to
wait for someone to build the inter
urbans," etc.. should awaken the
people of Keokuk to realization for
the eleventh time that nothing comes
to any community unless il moves for
1t. The railroad men of the country
are humane and are willing to be
shown, and by constant keeping up
the fight for that which we are after,
it will eventually come to good. But
the question arises, what effort has
the retailers or the power company
ever made to electrify the Wabash
or the T., p. and w, railway, or the
North road. And even then II we
have fallen down, should we not re-
sumo our efforts? We have a direct
route east from Keokuk, but no one
uses the Wabash. There ia a mighty
good reason. You will ask what it Is.
Poor time, inferior accommodations.
bad connection, and everything else
which makes trip out of Keokuk
disagreeable instead Of agreeable. The
same applies to the other roads which
should and could be electrified The
electricity is here and hundreds of
thousands Of horse power going to
waste twenty-four hours every day.
The people in the territory tributory
to Keokuk should be routed east out
of Keokuk. II merchant was solicit
ing passenger business he certainly
would go after this business.
Have you ever stopped to think
what a great road the Wabash rail-
way might be in, around and about
keOkuk if some effort was made to
develop 1t along proper lines. Think
what a ten strike 1t would have been
If the Wabash railway had gotten
control of the K. and w. railway to
Shenandoah, and from there over its
own line to Omaha, the second largest
packing center in America, the lar
gest butter market in the world, the
second largest grain center in Amer
lea, etc. There connecting with the
Union Pacific railway to the coast.
Think OF it. line from Omaha to
the east, direct to New York City
and Washington via Keokuk. And
yet these railroad officials sleep on.
There is the Rock Island. An expert
hired by the bond holders who advised
routing all freight and business for
Chicago to Eldon, down the Rock
Island to Keokuk, thence east over
some route to Peoria. and thence on
their own line to Chicago. And also
avoiding the congested freight yards
in Chicago, instead of via Davenport,
and making an unnecessary haul of
100 miles. But the railroad man is
asleep. 1t will perhaps come some
day, If made plain to the officials.
Nauvoo will continue to be asleep,
until there is some modern outlet,
some way to overcome the Chinese
wall which surrounds 1t
A ferry making several trips daily
to and from Keokuk will help some.
Perhaps they are contented to remain
in their shell" Think what a good
town it would be If there was ingress
and egress by an electric line or con-
veyance of some kind.
Hancock county, beautiful, rich,
pienty Of money, and d5sirous Of
spending it, but no way to break int3
Keokuk. They can't walk on the
water to cross Lake Cooper. The
railroad service is abominable and as
a result farmers and people from
there must of necessity go to Burling-
ton and Quincy to shop. Keokuk's
trade dragged to towns fifty miles
away, which is anxious to come If
ten miles to shop. but no way to get
to town from Carthage, and surround
ing towns and country.
Labor for a year and get the
Wabash electrified Abandon all street
fair schemes to get this. Promise the
Wabash a thousand cars of freight in
the next few years to get this; prom
Use them passenger business to Chi
cago and New York to get this.
Work like everything to get this, and
build up your retail trade which is
knocking to enter your city. But ii
you sit and say I'VE can't"-good,
you can't.
Burlington and Quincy, and Gear
and Doebuck" and other catalog and
mail order houses in Chicago will be
satisfied-delighted. Take it up with
the higher up railroad officials and
give them reason for carrying out
your wish. Promise and give them
something in business, and see what
the results will be. It's up to you,
Mr.. Retailer The Garden of Eden Is
across the river. but no way for the
people to cross the river Mississippi.
They can't walk on the water.
The destiny of KeokuK is not in
the hands of outsiders, but in the
hands of the people of Keokuk-men,
homen and children. Shall the words
of Mr. O'Harra produce results or
shall we continue in the same old
way.
l was also struck by this little clip
ping in The Gate City: THE only
way to make city is to improve it.
All improvements cost something, but
no city was ever built that did not
improve"
If you want to see some first class
paving in some live towns, go to Fort
Dodge, Iowa City, Waterloo, Iowa
Falls, Mason City and scores of
towns Where the business and resi-
dence streets are practically all paved
and where they fight for paving, in