The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-06-04
Ardmore Says Factories Are Wanted;
If Ardmore Really Means This; Then
The Opportunity Is At Hand Waiting
Editor Of The Ardmoreite:

Editor Of The Ardmoreite:
am in a reminiscent mood this
morning. | have been thinking Of
opportunities that have come ana
gone; opportunities both to towns
communities and individuals; and Il
occurred to me that a few instances
that have come within my personal
observation, with proper applica
ton to present conditions in our own
city, might possibly be Of interest tC
some OF your readers.
When l was youth, living on tine
farm in Grayson county, Texas, about
the year-oh, never mind the year
the NJ. X. & T. railroad was being
extended from Parsons, Kansas. to
Texas At that time Sherman was
the terminus Of the Houston & Texas
Central railroad and of the Texas
Pacific line from Texarkana TO Paris
and Borham. Sherman was a good
country town. 1t was as good q
town then as Dallas. The NJ. X.
T. people came to Sherman with the
proposition that they would build
their line of road to Sherman, max
ing it the terminus for 100000. The
citizens Of Sherman, after due and
deliberate consideration, decided that
they could not raise the money, And
besides" they said, there is nc other
place for the road to go" II had to
go to Sherman. Sherman was the
terminus Of the II. & T. c. and of
the Z. & p. The country from Sher-
man north to Red river was virgin
forest, and Of course the road must
go to Sherman. But it did not. 1t
crossed Red river, built about four
miles ou, cleared away the brush
and laid out a townsite and built the
city Of Denison. II Sherman had
taken advantage of that opportunity
it would have put her away ahead
of Dallas. Fort Worth was almost
unknown at tha: time, and sherman
today would have been the city Of
north Texas.
In the early SOS ! lived in Gaines
vile. Mr.. Theodore Airheart, a for.
mer citizen Of Gainesville, then a
resident Of Denver, Colorado, came
to Gainesville with a proposition to
build smeter. He told us there
was a large area of rich mining coun-
try there and no smelter TO smelt the
ore A company was formed, $780,
600 capital was raised, and MIR. Air
heart went back to Denver to put in
the smclter. A few months alter he
returned to Gainesville, a meeting of
the stockholders was called, and
Mr.. Airheart made his report He
told us the smelter was complete,
equipped with modern machinery, and
ready to go, but that it was neces-
sary to have money upon which TO
operate, and that 100000 was neces-
sary for this purpose that the smelter
was the market for the miners; mat
whenever miner came from the
mountains with his budget of ore
the smelter must be in a position 10
buy it, Our bunch of TEXAS farmers
and cowmen couldn't understand why
this requirement was necessary. They
possibly had the idea that when a
miner brought in his ore it was like
taking corn to mill in their boyhood,
where the miller would take out the
toll, grind the corn and return the
meal; SO they got cold feet and de-
cided to sell, and did sell the plant
at loss of II per cent. The pur-
chasers Of the plant made an indie
pendent fortune of 1t. 1t was the
only snelter in large area OF rich
mining county and Mr.. Airheart had
told us the truth.
have been In Ardmore, well. say
thirty years. During all this time
We have wanted factories something