THE DAILY NEBBASKAN
iP
Paved!
WHY
Opportunity khocks but once at the door of a community as it does
at the door of an individual. The successful man is the one who recog
nizes the knock and siezes the opportunity. - In the same manner the
community that would lead in growth and prosperity must sieze the op
portunity for expansion and development when it is presented.
At this election "opportunity" knocks on the door of every polling
place with an invitation to every . voter to make Lancaster County the
most attractive place for settlement and home building, general growth
and prosperity that can be found in the mid-western country.
Think of the "opportunity" that you lost when you "hesitated,"
"feared," lacked the courage to "strain a point" and buy that lot or land
when it was offered to you ten-twenty-thirty years ago. Too much
"conservatism" made you short-sighted and opportunity passed on to your
more progressive and courageous neighbor who had more faith in the
growth and permanency of the community of his birth or adoption.
A community like an individual must "look ahead" and plan its
growth and development if it would keep in the lead. It is your fore
sight that makes money and not your hindsight of regrets. It was men
with "foresight," with a vision of the future who, looking ahead, could
see the present beautiful and prosperous Nebraska, who endured the hard
ships of pioneer days to reap the harvest of plenty and prosperity in their
declining years. It was the man without foresight, the halting, falter
ing, timid man who remained behind content to eke out a mere existence
by hanging on and standing still in communities already developed.
The pioneers have begun their part courageously, splendidly, and everyone honors them
for it. But the work they have done must be continued. They plowed the soil, planted trees
and orchards, built homes, built railroads, towns and villages, laid out and set aside the section
lines with plenty of land for roads.
And the time is now here to build the roads permanent paved roads and who is the
man who dares to cry "halt" or stop in the face of the record of progress that has been and is
being made? Will this community falter now? No, the same courage that has made Lancas
ter County, and for that matter all Nebraska, so prosperous as to be the envy of all her sister
states will put paved roads to the county line in all directions.
The cost-it's small. The $800,000.00 of bonds for Lancaster County means an increased tax of between 20
and 3o cents per year for the man who owns $1,000.00 worth of property The man who has $5,000.00 worth of
property will pay five times as much as the man with only $1,000.00. Isn't it worth that much to any man to have
permanent paved roads to the county line in eight directions? Of course it is. It is worth it in cold dollars.
But that's not all. It is worth more in added pleasures and comforts. You will be much nearer your neigh
bor, nearer your school, church and village, less than half the distance in TIME from them than you are now. It
means more sociability, more friendships; more of the things that make life worth living.
Like the drummer boy, let's "beat a charge" go ahead, vote tne bonds and keep jLancaster County in the
front rank of progress, an example for the rest of the state to follow.
FRANK D. EAGER
Note: Mr. Eager was born on a homestead in Rock Creek precinct in 1872, has liTed all his life in Lancaster County and is a Univ.of Neb. alumnus of the class
of 1893. Editor.