OMAHA—Metropolis of the West
By E. V. Parrish, Manager Bureau of
Publicity, Omaha Commercial
Club.
Situated in the very heart of the
great corn, wheat and alfalfa belts
of the United States, and surrounded
by millions of acres of the most fer
tile lands known, with railroads af
fording facilities for easy ingress and
egress, with the finest climate in the
world, and with all other things that
go to make up a good business city
and an enviable home city, Omaha,
the metropolis of the great state of
Nebraska, and of the entire Missouri
valley territory, is a city which can
and will in the near future be one of
the greatest cities in the United
States.
Omaha combines all the things
which go to make a great city—un
The fourth primary grain market
of the world.
The largest range market for feed
ing sheep in the world.
The largest creamery butter pro
ducing center in the world.
And it has the largest bank clear
ings, per capita, of any city in the
United States, with the exception of
Chicago and New York.
Omaha boasts the largest refinery
of fine ores in the world, the annual
output being thirty million dollars,
while as a manufacturing center it
takes rank with the leaders in this
respect.
Though thirty-second in population,
Omaha is sixteenth in bank clear
ings, a . emarkable showing consider
ing the cities for which it makes the
pace. The total clearings for Omaha
banks in 1914 were $887,580,782, or a
as the clearing house for this rich
territory.
Today, ten trunk lines of railroads
center in the city, three on the west
and seven on the east. Eight thou
sand miles of railroads are operated
in Nebraska and twelve thousand in
Iowa with Omaha as the focal point.
Practically all of the freight, passen
20,000 miles is organized with respect
to the interchange movement that
passes through Omaha.
Fourth Primary Grain Market.
Due to the large outputs of corn
and wheat, which are cleared through
Omaha, the city takes rank as the
fourth primary grain market in the
world. In 1914, 66,983,800 bushels of
were shipped into Omaha. Omaha’s
corn, wheat, oats, rye and barley
were shipped into Omaha. Omaha’s
record on individual grain is second
Not in the least of Omaha’s im
provements by any means is the sys
tem of parks and boulevards. Four
teen parks with a total acreage of
1,000 acres and twenty-six miles of
boulevards and park drives compose
the present system which, when com
pleted, will be the mark for more pre
tentious cities to follow.
A City of Comfortable Homes.
Omaha is a residence city—a city
of comfortable homes. No slums
serve as a blot on the city. From one
to the other tke home of the working
man is neat and substantial; the home
of the clerk, artisan and small trades
man is modern, though unpretentious,
while the homes of the more success
ful in worldly ways are imposing and
handsome.
Omaha has no so-called tenements;
it has a small proportion of flats and
Douglas County Court House.
usual facilities and opportunities for
business, which in turn make possible
a gr-at home city, the acme of ambi
tion of all public minded citizens.
Omaha is located near the geo
graphical center of the United States,
and not far from the center of popula
tion—some 200 miles—with the lat
ter center slowly but surely making
its way westward, and it will be but
a comparatively few years until Oma
ha will be the very heart of the popu
lation of the United States.
Omaha is today a city of intense
commercial activity and beautiful
homes and with all the appurtenances
which are necessary to make life
worth while.
Omaha Is Great For Its Size.
Located on the Missouri river, mid
way between the Kansas and South
Dakota lines, Omaha has an area of
24.5 square miles and a population of
124,096 according to the 1910 census.
Conservative estimates place Omaha’s
presvnt population at 205,000, due to
natural increases and consolidation
of suburbs, showing a remarkable
growth, which, if not so substantial,
might be classed as spectacular.
Though thirt>-second in population,
Omaha is:
The largest live stock and packing
center in the world.
per capita of $5,074, nearly twice as
much as Denver, Memphis, St. Paul,
Louisville, Seattle, Portland and Mil
waukee, cities twice and thtice as
large in population.
Omaha Is a Banking Center.
The annual deposits of Omaha’s
banks vary from $45,000,000 to $60,
000,000, of which practically two-fifths
are sent here for safe-keeping. On
virtually $45,000,000, Omaha does an
annual business of nearly $1,000,000,
000. Western financiers show their
confidence in Omaha and its banks
by sending immense sums for safe
keeping, a tribute to the aggressive,
yet safe methods of the men who
have made Omaha a center.
Omaha’s annual manufacturing and
■ jobbing business amounts to $35,000,
' 000, these figures including the out
put of its packing plants located in
South Omaha.
Clearing of Big Territory.
As a live stock market Omaha
draws from twenty-six states, but
shipments from Nebraska, Colorado,
Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah and
South Dakota dominate. Kansas, Mis
souri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin,
Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and even
Pennsylvania contribute their con
signments and as industries develop
! in the states, so will Omaha develop
in corn, fifth in oats, fifth in barley
and fourth in wheat. The receipts
for 1914 were more than 30,000,000
bushels of corn, 18,925,200 bushels of
wheat, 16,950,700 bushels of oats and
518,800 of barley.
But All Is Not Business in Omaha.
Business only makes possible that
home life which all good citizens
seek. In Omaha they find everything
necessary to enjoy the fruits of their
labors.
Omaha has a public' school system
deemed one of the best in the land.
Thirty-four ward school buildings, [
ranging in cost from $50,000 to $100,- j
000 and a central high school sitting
proudly on Capitol Hill and overlook
ing the very heart of the city, costing
$1,500,000, compose the system which
teaches and directs 22,000 school chil
dren in the ways of good government.
A teaching force of 526 instructors is
necessary to develop the future citi-;
zens of Omaha.
Omahs.’s public buildings and ele- j
mosanary institutions represent gi
gantic cash outlays. Omaha is with
out exception, the best hospitaled cit
in the west. Eleven hospitals with
property valued at $1,700,000 are
available for the sick and needy. Dur
ing 1914 more than 12,000 patients
were cared for.
apartment houses, but the vast acre
age of the city makes possible sub
stantial homes with spacious lawns
for every one. This is one of the rea
sons why Omaha is third lowest of
the cities of the United States in mor
tality.
All in all, Omaha stands out as a
beacon light to the investor; as a ha
ven of rest for the homeseeker.
OMAHA—THE BEACON LIGHT OF
PROSPERITY TO THE WORLD,
Where to Go—What to See—How to
Get There.
The visitor to Omaha has an oppor
tunity to study the greatest commer
cial city in the world—the city, which
in times of business depression has
stood out as a beacon light of pros
perity to the world—the city, which
destroyed in a night, rebuilt itself in
a day.
Omaha’s business men invite you to
study this city and the method’s by
which they have developed it. Oma
ha’s citizens invite you to inspect
their homes, schools, churches, parks,
and boulevards and municipal insti
tutions. You will then realize why
Omaha is the best city of its size in
the world.
Omaha is the ideal American city,