Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 15, 1905)
r ftvf 'WMr mm s dsasuu -., r V ' I 'hfi I ' life til r Jl aWs 1 sV -T-. B- -rr .' ' - t- - '. J M K A. y - I IV .-m WPl? JV , ; V i- jmaJ Vt fern - f;fc U wfp ti aw, 0o A m n Is i J ," Jl-r I rnnnonnnn n'nnnnnnnnnnns V" ' V - -jr- 11 Ziiy Attorney , -TleJ OWN at Granit Otty. in he outhwn part of Dl Ui Mat, the am quest km which Is Rotating I the papulation la thr matter of mean and I way of tnarwportation from thir city to Prtnceton, li thia Kim statr. The Interest in tMi one question la acute in Granite City. For the last few day the principal occupation of the main element of the town ha bn in read- ins and studying railroad time tables, map, folder, and other Uferature that may tell one how to no from one city to the other, when to go, and how much It will rott. Granite City haa suddenly becnrm- the great reading town of southern niinoi T"he railroad officials declare that never in tlnnr experience haa there beon so ac'tive a demand for time tables from a small town aa there is from Granite City St the prenent time. Every kind of a table that will tell how to get to Princeton Is eagerly snapped up by the Interested populace. There can be no doubt of It Granite City wants to go to Princeton. 'Ute reason. Is easily explained. Princeton Excess of m;u-riageable females. 445. Granite City Excess of marriageable males. 6,000. Why They Study the Time Tables. These are the figisres that do away with any mystery as to the reason for Granite City's hankering for closer ac quaintance wlrti lYInceton. Princeton Is long on that desira ble element in s town's populating unmarried young women. Granite City Is decidedly short on it and decidedly long on men who have no aiHiuBes and who mill t unable to secure U same unless from thec and more favored towns. It Is a plain case of omajid and supply, so Granite City far down In the bottom of the state, casts lotiRing eyes at Princeton in the north and la more than willing to be "made sc-quai-nted." Hitherto, In fact up to within a week ago. Granite City was scurcely cognisant of the existence of such a pUce as Princeton in this slate. If It did know of It, then It was tneredy aa a matter of tiwarsay. and for no rea-wn was Gran Its City Interested In the olhtr town. Granite City suffered dearth of marriageable women from the data of Its concep tion, but It suffered In riience. Granite City knew at what value marriageable women are appraised and knew of no town In the stale of Illinois which had a surplus of fair daughters. ' .' But then came the newspaper's story of conditions as they arc In Princeton, sod the world knew that in Princeton 20 per oenisf the young women "will have to look for husbands somewhere else than In their old home town. Granite City la jart of the world. Perhaps there' was n plat-e in this sphere where the story c4 Prhwetxm was grasped and read with such avidity as at this same Granite City. A town In the same stale where rhutre was an actual surplus of marriageable women! A town rnVwre th girls, at least one in every five, knew that their huwbands would have to come from out of town! It seemed too food to be true, thought Granite City. Chance tor Excursion Trains. The first man who got Ut Sunday's paper and read the story was the station master. lie quK-ily got the day opera tor to relieve turn aod Just as quietly hit the trail for tts north via the first truhi. He Md the paper, but the operator found it. The latter promptly proceeded to gtt the night man to reiieve him and followed his chief Princeton ward. His aiK-ceaaor was more bonevolent toward his fellow men and woke the town to read Its Sunday paper before breakfast. Thence on the excitement over the discovery has run high and railroad officials are seriousry considering the ques tion ol putting on excuTHion trains between Granite City and Princeton. Such excursions, the men of Granite City loudly aver, would be liberally patronized. And this, when all the circumstances are considered, most reasonable. Granite City Is emphatically a new town. It is imbued with the hustling, moving spirit which comes to all towns at their birth, and H Is growing. It lies Jiirt a few mikw up the river from the city of Bt. Louis, where the Pike was held this year. This, however, is not the fault of Granite City. It could not help the proximity of St. Louis when it began to grow up. St. Louis was and Is there; the citisens of Granite City are quite willing to confess this, so In no way should It be l.isd up on the wrong side of the ledger when the prospective visitor to Granite City begins to sum up its good and bad points. It is also well to remem ber that Granite City is on the eastern side of the river; one does oot have to go to St. Louis to get there from the east Rapid Increase In' Men's Numbers. I At Granite City there are sundry foundries, mills, glucose refineries, and manufactories. These Industries are what have made Granite City. They cams because they saw that the town Is located far above the high water mark, so the Miasukiippi when it gets swelled cannot creep up and carry the buildings away downstream. They cume because It was fated that Granite City was o grow, and at the prearnt time they give employment to soma 7.000 men. The greiat majority of thee T.0 have come within the last four y eirs. Pur the must part (hey are men with trades, goo workers, engineers, foundryinen, nii.lmtu, and ths nil- i Jorlty of them are young and unmarried. They were unmar ried when they came to make their homes In Granite City, and because of the scarcity of plrle there have been unable to change their condition since their arrival. The mills of the town pay good wages. Lots hi Granite CSty are oomppratlvely cheap. The young men of the town saved their money like Industrious cltisew and bought lots. They proposed to pick out and marry some good looking girl of the town and build homes upon the lots they bought. But the foundation fell from under their plan with a sudden ness that was Jarring when It was discovered that the ratio of girls In the town was as one is to three and a half. No Girls for the Homes. No girls to marry! If there could be any situation more dubious, more Inconvenient for a growing town, it is hard to imagine it. Homes are the corner stones of every new com munity and to make homes it is a well known fact that women are necessary. Consequently home building In Gran ite City languished. There was choke crop of romances while the town's original supply of girls lasted. The girls had their pick of the chivalry of the town. If one suitor did not suit them it was only necessary to tell him so, and a doxen other gallant souls sprang manfully forward to fill the breach. But before the first two summers had gone by every eligible girl in Granite City was either engaged or married, and such part of the male population as was not among the fortunate bridegrooms or fiances sat down to view with solemn visage the prospect of a glrlless Iowtv. The outlook was dreary. There were no girls upon whom a fellow might call when the desire for congenial company moved him. no girls to stroll with along the streets of town, none to wait for and escort home from the Baptist church. Down at the square the fathers of the town had bullded a band stand where upon the summer nights the population gathered to hear the hand play. Generally these nights in a small town are the occasions for the boys and girls to flock to the square arm in arm and on a secluded seat where there is only the moon to watch talk the sweet nothings that lead to love and marriage. J J Flirtations Few and Far Between. But in Granite City the situation is different. There were boys there in plenty. Hundnds of th-m dressed in their best clothes promenaded gayly down the streets to the square. But the girls who should have been with them were miss ing. The few that were In the town were the private prop erty of some inf uuiuti d ymiifg men, and these young men guarded them with the enre of a man guarding the treasure he values far and away beyond life. There were no flirtations on the benches in the square, for it was not wise to flirt with s fellow's tflrl in Granite City. According to the latest estimates there are 7.000 men and only a trifle over J.inin women in the town. This means that there are about E.ooo young men who are worrying about where their future helpmeets are to come from. Five thou sand young men, all earning good wages, many of them rich, some handsome, are awaiting to ark as many girls to share their Joys and sorrows, but there are no girls to ask. How the Girls May Get There. " Send ue girls!" is the cry of Granite City, and there is prof .aund respect and sinoerity behind the cry. For the bene fit of any parties who may by ctianoe be interested It may be stalled that Granite City Is L75 miles from Chicago and that the fare is about 17.33. Several railroads run there, so a train may he had nearly any time. " Yes, there's no doubt that we need a considerable influx of the fair bx ,God bless 'em," says Mayor Jud1. " I'm mar ried myself, sn 1 can't be accused of speaking for myself, but we certainly do need mrrre girls m this town. Granite City, because of ks location and other things, is going to grow, to Ixwim, to he a nu-tmpoHs, In bbe near future. Bigger than St. Louis? Now. here, young man. don't you get funny. This Is g4ng to be a rel live town when it grows up. " Hut we must admit that we need a bigger percentage of femininity sprinakd around in our population than ws have now. There are 5.i young, good looking, unmarried enthuaiasttc citizens in this town, all of them firmly flaed in the idea of making Jhls their future home. But. of course, such plans call for a wife, and as the thing stands now I don't we how they're going to be supplied unless other towns come to our help. There ought to be a brotherly spirit on the part of such towns as are better supplied than we are in the matter of girls to prompt them to come to our aid. and I've no doubt that with the published story of our predica ment help will come. And we'll be glad to see the girls, if they do come. Let 'em all come, we'll take care of 'em. We've discovered that marriageable young women are some thlnej which no young municipality should be without." Wide Chance for Feminine Influence. A meeting with some of the prominent young men of the town should serve to convince any majdsn fair that she can S - . c ... .. . A sssl . "1 , . ' j u s riii sw Li in sv ..jf - . f t i X'MVs -rm s ' s TO, find a man to smt her choice there. Of course there is not the culture of Boston, nor the mode of dress of Paris In Gran He City, but then it Is new and has been left entirely unsub jected to feminine hands. A few hundred pretty girls In the town would work wonders to this end. The material to work on Is there. There Is the bright and shining young legal light. W. J. Dolan, who is city attorney. Dolan is possibly the " catch " of the town. It does not need more than one glance at his picture to prove that he Is good looking. Besides his good looks, he has a position as the leading lawyer and considera ble wealth to recommend him In a matrimonial race. He hi young and ambitious. His friends see for him a great future and predict something more than a place in the state legisla ture in the end. It may be repeated that he is single. Cornelius Wetxei, the chief of police, is another public Granite City man who has so far not found the opportunity for entering the state of matrimony. Mr. Wetxel is one of the founders of the town. As a policeman toe has earned the en viable distinction of once being discharged for doing bis duty tn opposition to a faulty superior, and in personality. It must be told, is much better looking than his picture makes him appear. These are only two of many examples. Girls Will Meet a Warm Welcome. B. J. MorelanVl, a superintendent In the steel company' mill, while disclaiming any personal motives In the assertion, declares that Granite City needs a ( large increase in the female part of the population. ( "It is absolutely imperative to any town's growth and ultimate success as a good municipality that the ratio of sexes be much more even than it is here now." said Mr. More land. " Most of the men In our mills are good, hardworking men, the kind of men who. when they come into a town, se cure steady positions and proceed to build their homes there. But here they find this task hard, for no man ever made a complete success at home building without a wife. " So here there are now several thousand young men, good young men, too, who want to get married and can't do it Tou see the situation? Their work or their business is here, the girls are not. If they go to some other town where girls ere more plentiful they won't have thlr work or business. If they stay here they won't have the girls. It's a case of choosing between two evils, but we are livtnw in hope. Some town where the girls are plentiful will hear of us and help us out. Of course by us, I mean the other young men of the town. Me? No, I'm not married. But I've bought a ticket to Princeton." And there are other young men who will'follow in the footsteps of the superintendent. By ail evidences they will follow in suoh numbers that the Granite City-Princeton Sun day express may soon oe a fixture on the two roads on whfrh it Is necessary to ride in going from one place to the other. sA CluiPch- -wfere there are no qbis ror the boS, io see harre r ssssss s. . JUf W . -m I iSSBSSSSBSS "I -