When a person undertakes to point out sections of Buffalo that will be
most affected by cheap electric power he is confronted with a difficult
task. It is certain that the entire manufacturing district will at once
respond to the vivifying influence of the electric currents, and that
new industrial sections will be opened up at many points. Manufactories
will be enlarged, hundreds of new ones will be started, as hundreds of
manufacturers from the outside will crowd in to take advantage of the
splendid opportunities open to all. Fortunately, we have a great deal of
room in which factories may grow and spread, and as the railroads tap a
very large portion of the city, there need be no fear of restricted
shipping facilities. Although Buffalo has a population of nearly
300,000, its population per acre is only 10.23. St. Louis is 11.51;
Cleveland, 16.41; Cincinnati, 18.56; San Francisco, 30.22; Brooklyn,
47.62; New York, 58.87.
These figures are full of suggestion. There is room in Buffalo. And
beyond the city line there are thousands of broad acres ready to be used
for factories or homes.
There has been a steady, legitimate increase in values in all parts of
the city and surrounding country. Particularly in the northern part of
the city, to the north of the park, among lands lying in the direction
from which the electric currents will flow, there has been a strong
movement, and it is probably true that this foreshadows a growth in
values that will be startling to many.
Far-seeing men forecast the future by picturing a city that will grow
towards the seat of the electric current, followed always by the
railroads in the path of progress, until Tonawanda is reached and
absorbed; and stretching further still, will finally reach the great
cataract itself. Is this too much to expect of a city that holds within
its exclusive grasp the two great economies--cheap power, cheap
freights! It is well to keep these two things steadily in mind.
But as the city grows in length it will grow in breadth. It will widen
out on all sides, and all parts of the city will share in the general
prosperity.