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OMAHA:
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ITIES of Importance are not.
merely incidents of chance
or the creations of an auto
crat. They, are theloglcal
result -of location and en-
Ms
Tlronment The metropolitan Omaha
of today Is but the natural evolution
of the Omaha of yesterday. That yes
terday's Omaha was a crude, roughly
hewn frontier river town, but from
the very day back in the 'GO's, when
the St Nicholas hotel, ugly and glar
ing with Its shiny log walls; Came into
existence as the first house built in the
"settlement," the .destiny of future
achievement In city building was ft cer-
1' talnty. There had to be, in the very
along the Nebraska shore of the Mis
souri river. It might have been Belle
vue or Florence instead of Omaha, and
' the advantage of location would hare
still been preserved, but It so hap
pened that the early settlers of Omaha
were endowed with the "get-what-you-go-after"
spirit to. such extent that
they outdistanced Other aspiring buds.
So there is ft reason for Omaha's
existence, and ft reason for Omaha's
greatness as ft commercial. Industrial
and financial center. If you would ac
Quaint yourself in further detail take
ft map of the United States and study
the strategic location of Omaha. Note
the vast territory for which Omaha is
the natural supply point. Note the
rich western half of the peerless agrl
cultural state of Iowa, which is
Omaha's next door neighbor. Ponder
a moment over what this means and
you will understand clearly, if you do
not already understand, why Omaha is
the City of Fulfillment. Omaha's
trading territory extends over an em
plre that is but now being developed,
and in the great west and northwest
of the United States, a region of un
tbld" wealth of 'mine ftnf'farm, of or
chard - and - range; the future -of" this
olty.- is ,iecure. As this wonderful
cons try develops., .Omaha, must, grow
'because it la the' natural market; town
Wniw bu ions sine p.rra.
nt pUca In th. hearu of th pMpl. of
Breater Oraaba, Counoll BluKs and oon
Usuou. territory. "Ooins to Manawa," 1.
phraa. whioh oairlea with It pleaaaat
Uoclationa. Thla rendfivou of rest and
fecreation tund along In thl. .ctlon ol
Ue oounu-y aa tha bt exainpl, 0f a pop
liar sumniar park, wher, ths ranter.al and
rtatnr eoraforis of the nmwj ie pro.
ldel on a acalo that oIIowh of no critlo
Wni. Tha brat U nona tuo ood for Manawa
airona and tlia best of patrons ara nona
too good for Munaw-a.
SltU4ted advanateoualy among Jrers and
it tha alda of an inviting and cooling body
If water, within aaay rearli of tbous.ntla
C pleaaura aeakers, the place haa earned
in enviable rcpuiation among the pleaaure
feaorta of the middle weal. Veur by year
thla recreation ground haa added to iu
tllnntele of those eeeking a plaoe where the
beet of outdoor enju) meuta may be had
Ita beat roonimendatloua are the worda of
I)..... wt... 1 ....
v"" uiiuiy or tueir summer
oiuna. iitora, too. love to baak beneath
the boughs of Uamawa's Uafy shade, dip
In the waters of th. la, or go for a rids
on tha lake in launch, sail boat or row
ko,L '
Manawa has grown to beoon. something
of an adjunct la Omaha's country cluha.
It haa become quIU th. thing for dele-
gallons from th. Field club, Omaha
r Country, alub, Happy HoUow and ether
1 L .7. Zl 77 - i -1. r . "l !, .
juauawa lor a oars or an enlng-e out-
; ti.g.,meal.tlble ax. th. charas of Manawa
t o even KebrajaUaVl lustrvpoUa wlU 1U
Yiews that Show SummertimeFleas tares at BeligMM Lake Maiiawa r j
A -tf- "Vfvl? 3 3 ' . ' v' . :tA ,U , .itifLT , . . .yrV . I
' &r " fv 41
B mjl t n : t ' "P ''-rVliJhi -'rrfi'i going to the korsall - ' -T- - " t.-"-"'-' I i
r Juanawa. The bent ra.mit.. ' ' . -',-V. ;i 1 r - - . . a an iem raa-rrfnrai i r IT -VttPI&r - .' ' V . ' ,
t Oiuabft and Council Bluffs are faiuiliar V&k r' TV t. Yh' ; ' 1 ' t F:? j 1 'i H, , Wh( , ? ?f&? Sl 7- j -A,
aabltue. of this happy habitat of the L -y'i w- 'V J i '. f j U V M ' VjvV ' 'i 1 1 ' i A A 1 f. J ; 'VV- ' ' '- V""! f 7 f
...ted .a,.on. When , he aun bMt. down i,'"'-. -. S.jJ 1111 I A iJ'4'r V J ri J J. T ' -k
during the., hot day. and wllta th. chil- m"ny .P f f , t ... !'. ' tSvfV ilVT -;.VVf V V t V lAt"- ' V V f V "
dren of men a th, city, a cooling no. to A " Mature of.Omaha's NinrtM , j t' 1 ' ii ' WtiV'lrf' W J-M I " . , kAC.S. ( V"r' . A V A'.'-1 A
Jiauiwa brings .urceaa. from tn. ,narvt- this piece of pleasure. L hj . fiff i,jL i - " . f '" , . "' f j ' 1-t ' " A j. , .: - .. i. ' XVA
las effect, of dog daya Thta season bathing parties have bc VV ;W "f r " ' HnW .a-;, Mf' f Jt. .. . ' . ..-1--- - - - ' -li ' 'j V',"1
This seasoo at Uauawa aseaeda all pre- the markad (aaturM of Manawa. XeT', ,SS " " lV V l - V VT'-S 'V-0. '' - F- ' V j-J V " f !
vloua saaaoo from point of attendance, Th beach has been frequented as never If - i 1 a t, M 'af L'-, A " f'S' 11
attractions and general Interest Notably before and tha new effects la bathing IV, V" fl ' i ' AJi 4 ' , i ti V 1 i t'll " . , '.T '
amoug many social evente of th. eeaaon sulu has added a touch of piquancy to 1 3 . lCT - i ' A . ,V f L v . j f W .ii' ' ' - - 2
w as VIWIIIU 1'sai t,aBB U 1 UllVftlal aalin Bill U. I , Si ftnunSi hWimminS' V ri I SI BiPaaAfin P4 Bt fl m f ' aT JB . I - 'W. -ier 1 ' t,. A V J " i '
lio organitatlona of Umalka aod Council taken on a new life. Th. beat authorlt a. t'-vS"" f " ' . fii f ' V " '. i . . t il. " I .'tl et nave gained
CITY OF PROGRESS AND
PANORAMIC VIEW OF TUB BUSINES9 SECTION OP OMAHA EAST OF
for all of the most rapidly growing of
any section in the United. States.
Bond Between City and State.
State and city are linked by common
bond, and the highest tribute that can
be paid to the agricultural worth of
the Omaha territory is statement of
the fact that the farm implement Job
bing trade of Omaha for the year 1909
aggregated . 112,000,000, Think of
the significance of such ft vast outlay
in tools for farming. Think of the
crop output that must come from ft
district that has use for such an array
of implements. Many other elements
besides agriculture that enter into
Omaha's triumph as a City, yet Agri
culture is the cornerstone, and It
should be remembered that no coun
try as a whole ever flourished where
agriculture languished, and no coun
try ever languished where agriculture
flourished.
The entire Jobbing trade of Omaha
for 1909 totalled $115,133,000, and
rita An t In A nt t rtr a riortnt-A ttiaf whan
the figures for 1910 are cast up next
January a substantial Increase over
last year will be shown.
Omaha sold nearly $5,000,000
worth of automobiles last year
$4,500,000, to be exact, and the trade
thus far In 1910 shows a strong uplift
over last year. Grocery sales for 1909
amounted to the enormous sum of
$13,600,000, which fact bears witness
that Omaha provides food for a wide
circle of good eaters. Dry goods trade
to the extent of $6,000,000 last year
compares favorably with the same
trade in many a larger city and proves
that Omaha is rapidly gaining as a dry
goods supply point. In fact, there has
Within recent years been a remarkable
growth in Omaha's dry goods trade
the Improvement in that line being
more marked, perhaps, than in almost
any other, with the posstbte exception
of automobiles. There was ft time
when the western retailer quite con
tent to. buy his : grocery. , stock In
Omaha', felt that bin, 'dry goods must
a-
on outdoor exercise ara lu.t now lndora-
lug aquatic sports tor American Ufa,
which U wont to 1va an exoeaa of attea-
tion to bualneea A swim at Manawa la
rooonunended by the bast, ca peopat as a '
,ur. pnac for" many summertime Ilia
This lnduls.no. gives one a new leaaa on'
Ufex. makee life teem more roseate an
sharpens tha Interest of tha Individual for
th. mart serious affairs of Ufa "Th.
Wa,r " " Unw Th
over there Invites you to romp within
cooHug boaom.
lb, .ail boat feature of Manawa la a
H;' ' , , i f ( j If ' .,' 'V-:- - --..: i.i J i 1 .11 i
. r . t 1 u - ' ')...w,t.i ... ' P t. -,.V' '..iiJJ...i,J- V - . 4 I ! . W .' I ." if - t ' i .1 I i ' 1
P l .j ',- I,,, I,, 'ii lLUSSlMUlMMlMIlllSSMBMSmiBnSMSMIftTllISaillS3S -T ' ? rS 1 " l ' ' if i 1
THE ITCE:
come from New York, Chicago or St.
Louis. But along came the Omaha
dry goods Jobbers with stocks so im
mense, with prices so favorable
comparison, and with massive build
ings to house these stocks buildings
that would do credit to Chicago or any
other city of the giant class. Mr. Re
taller, seeing all of this, is rapidly
coming Into the habit of marking
Omaha down as the eastern terminus
of his dry goods buying tour.
The story of Omaha's supremacy as
a packing center and live stock mart
is ft matter of world-wide circulation.
The vast packing houses . and stock
yards have built up the city of South
Omaha, which, although a separate
municipality, divided from Omaha by
an imaginary boundary line, Is in real
ity, so far all practical purposes go,
a part of Omaha proper. Official fig.
urea show that 5,458,125 head of live
stock were received in South Omaha
last year. Of these over 2,000,000
were hogs. In a numerical sense cat
tle came next, with 1,124,618 head.
Naturally, being the center of the
richest agricultural region in the
world, Omaha Is a first-class grain
market. "Corn crib of the nation" is
a nickname that has often been ap
plied to Omaha, and facts render that
appellation most timely, for last year
there came to the Omaha markets
22,059,400 bushels of corn. Next In
the line of grain came wheat, with a
showing of 10,077,600 bushels for the
year.
Omaha is especially Inviting as ft
home city, because of the many pretty
building sites that abound on every
side. Omaha, In fact, is a city of wide
areas and charming landscapes, and
the man of modest means may obtain
as fine a view for bis home as though
he had Millions, for nature made these
beauty spots, and man Is the bene
flclsryi In many cities all of the
pretty places are hand-made. In
Omaha, the condition la. exactly
versed. Of course, the handiwork of;
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LI41XNXNO TO TmLJLJlP
terri.d ' feature ef thl. place. Th. Council
lis niff. .,. .. hl.
,, cf ,lor, wno hve meMurd ,n,r
prow.aa with aonas of the best skabs of
fMAITA, "WTTDNTfDAT, 'ATTOTTRT, .1910.
8IXTEENTH STREET AS PHOTOGRAPHED FROM THE TOP OF THE CITY
man Is in evidence, but nature
wrought the greater part of the beau
tifying. Getting back to the commercial side
of Omaha, when the figures have been
made along all of the different lines of
activity, comes as a climax to conclu
sions, the tank clearing statistics. The
banks are the arteries of'commeroe,
because, in a figurative sense, they
carry the very life blood of trade.
Omaha banks are among the strong
ones of the nation. Within the last
year one Omaha savings bank became
a national institution and has Just
moved into a magnificent sixteen-story
home of its own, while another Omaha
bank within the Same period has pur
chased and is remodeling for its own
use a million-dollar building, formerly
known as the New York Life one of
the most ornate and substantial struc
tures to be found in any western city.
Figures recently published in the daily
newspapers told the story of how the
bank clearings for the . first seven
months of 1910 make the beet show
ing ever recorded in Omaha's financial
history, and with several months' of
1910 yet to come. Indications make
safe the prophecy that 1910, taken in
the aggregate, will eclipse all other
years so far as total bank clearings are
concerned. The total clearings for the
whole of 1909 were $735,225,568. For
the year 1898 the clearings totalled
$297,443,370, making a gain of 247
per cent in ten years. The year of
1909 showed an increase. of $133,000,
000 in total clearances over 1808. . It
Is estimated that bank clearings re
veal about 70 per cent of business ao
tually transacted, consequently; ac
cording to this estimate and it is
held good by accepted financial authorities-
Omaha last' year reached
the billion mark, for there is official
and if this figure represents 70 per
cent of 'the whole "Volume It is a nrat
ter of easy calculation to see where
the 'billion mark has been reached. -
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th. country. Many p ww to enjoy th.
n v.... .. .., . th.tr own
.all boata and launches at the lake fur
the suminer. Regattas ar. glv.n durtug
k ". k ' . w. ... ..... .. .
ENLIGHTENED
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Omaha is really three cities moulded
into one, for so far as all practical pur
poses are concerned Omaha, South
Omaha and Council Bluffs are one
great city. While these are separate
municipalities, they are linked by a
common bond of interests, and in go
ing from one to the other the traveler
has no way of knowing when he
crossed the boundary line, except that
in going to Council Bluffs he is re
minded by. the Missouri river that be
Is entering another city, so classed for
governmental purposes, in another
state. Then, besides South Omaha
and Council Bluffs, there are Benson,
Florence, Dundee, Bellevue, Crook
City and Ralston, each a promising
suburb--really a part of Omaha, but
each maintaining Its own system of
government, and therefore being
counted separately in census enumera
tion. If all of these were added to
Omaha's census rating a surprisingly
large showing would result, but under
existing conditions each of the eight
municipalities stands alone in census
figures.
Another distinguishing feature of
Omaha is the fact that there is less of
city riff-raff, less of the slum element,
less of all thkt goes to make up unde
sirable citizenship than in any other
American city of equal size. In' Ne
braska the percentage of illiteracy Is
less than in any other state of the
union, and this happy status is re
flected in the quality of the inhabi
tants who comprise the Nebraska
metropolis. Obviously, when Omaha
can produce official figures attesting
the fact that Omaha bank clearings are
in many instances of greater volume
than the clearings in cities twice as
large, the percentage of producers
must be remarkably large, and the
percentage of undesirables correspond
ingly small., . ,
Omaha Is yet but an infant as to
age, when the years of its existence are
matched up alongside of other cities
of equal commercial importance. 'The
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th. season. Motor boats ply th. la, and
tieunion i.,mrh. .r. oravlded for those
croaalnf over to the beach on the south
ehora, Borne the best sailors of tha
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NATIONAL BANK BUILDING.
organization of Omaha as a municipal
ity dates from the spring of 1857, at
which time the first roster of city offi
cers were elected. This roster follows:
Mayor, Jesse Lowe; recorder, H. C.
Anderson; assessor, Lyman Richard
son; city marshal, J. A. Miller; board
of aldermen, A. D. Jones, T. G. Good
will, O. C. Bovey, H. H." Visscher,
Thomas. Davis, , William U. Wyman,
William N. Byers, C. II. Downs and
Thomas O'Connor.
The first meeting of the city council
was held on the afternoon of March t",
1857.' It was a crude municipality
and required much of the time of the
officers and aldermen, because obsta
cles were numerous and resources
were limited. At one time back in the
late '60s the city government wsb
without funds and a system of city
scrip was used. But those hardy pio
neers, ever guided by that "get-what-you-go-after"
spirit, kept- faithfully
pegging away, working for the inter
ests of Omaha as faithfully, as though
the municipality were a private busi
ness enterprise of their own. : '
Nebraska was a territory back In
those days, and It frequently became
necessary for the city government to
send representatives to the national
capital to appeal to the powers there
for action. .
Many occasions arose where the ter
ritorial pioneers felt It necessary to
call upon the "great father" in Wash
ington for action in favor of the future
Nebraska metropolis. For example, on
March '30, 1859; in the midst of. a
money stringency that would have dis
couraged a less resolute lot, Dr.
George L. Miller was elected to pro
ceed to Washington for the purpose of
asking congress to reimburse Omaha
as a municipality, for money expended
on the first Nebraska capltol building.
Incidentally, while on the trip, the city
council -instructed Dr.- Miller-to.ftlse-
ask that the surveyor general's office'
be located in Omaha; that Omaha
should! be mide!-i:illltary . "depofjof
tne,r pioflclency on Uake
Manawa.
Then there ar. th. bungalows on th.
orth shore. Some of these summer real-
dances are pretty and pretentious affairs.
with, all the comforts of ths city horns and
the advantages of th.' lake side. House
pat. lea are given and life Is ons long "sum-
mr dream" for those who live In this
manner on the banks of Manawa's refresh-
Ing lake.
Tha autumn. ... txature of Manawa this
eeaaon .1. not tha laast of the plea.ures.
Bvery day and .v.nlng Omahans motor,
over to'Manawa for a few hours reat a
smack, bear tha concert band and nJngl.
EFFORT
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the Utah war; that an appropriation
be made for the removal of snags from
the Missouri river; that the city ol
Omaha should be made a port of en
try; that the Omaha postofflce should
be made a distributing office and, by
way of conclusion, Just as Dr, Miller
was starting on hla mission, the olty
fathers slapped him On the shouldef
and, by. way of parting injunction,
said: "Also, while you are there, yon
might get through any other measures
you may think of that may be tor the
welfare of the city of Omaha." Thus
there Is found In history ample evi
dence of that "get-what-you-go-after"
spirit Sometimes the pioneers fell
short of their aim, but even ao, they
were persistent, and by keeping ever
lastingly at it they brought to Omaha
many institutions and many things of
various kinds, all of which formed ft
nucleus around which the Omaha of
today has grown up.
Those pioneers who Initiated the
et-what-'OU-go-after" -spirit have, ft
majority of them at least, passed away
into the great beyond. A . few still
linger their work done, they are
merely awaiting the summons. But,
In the place of those who have gone
and those who are on the verge of go
ing, there has come forward a younger
generation and Instilled Into this
newer generation even . more deeply
than In the older ones,' is the idea that
Omaha must get what it goes after.
Therein lies the secret of the metro
politan supremacy of Omaha, 1910. (
Gradually, wt with a rush and ft
boom presaging early decay, but with
a steady, safe and sane .growth, the
manufacturing scope of Omaha Is en
larging and each year sees additions
to- the ranks of the dinner bucket
brigade. As the vast and as yet some-
Acknowledgment ' ' '
.Th ht1ftnn hird'a-eva. view of the
city "shown bn the front-page is from
a photograph copyrighted ,hy Lnver-
V. .. . . ..... I t (
with th. hosts In this haven of summertime
enjoytnent. ,
The bend concerts this season exceed
ven former seasons of Manawa musical
excellence. Surrounding the band, beneath
the grove, are many eeats where people
have a atrlklng ohjeot leeron of the old
adage that " Mualo hath charms to soothe,"
to. The concerts are glyen afternoons
and evenings and there Is no charge for
seats. Th. music embraces the latest of
the best selections snd ma'ny of the atan-
ri numbers dear to th. hearts of Amerl-
For th. children there sr. many pl.as-
"res offered that appeal to th. youthful
Imagination and. fany. Holler coaster,
miniature railway, merry-go-round and
other devices of pleasure ars a'vallahle.
There Is plenty of shade and aceommoda-
tions for family plcnlo parties,
Only to those who have never visited
Manawa, If they should be any, need It
bs suggested that Manawa Is maintained la
a manner that countenance, nothing that
might not-ha approved of by those wha
appreciate th. beat of summer outdoog
enjoyment,
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