FRENCH LICK AS IT WAS,
IS AND SHOULD BE IN PART

Springs Valley Herald, July 27, 1911

In the spring of 1882 the title to the French Lick Springs property passed from the heirs of Dr. William A. Bowles. At that time an old-time hotel, with accommodations for one hundred people constituted the leading layout of money.
One outside house, standing yet, adjoining the bank was all that there was to show where the town now stands.
There was but one street, or rather one road and it was where Indiana Avenue is now. The railroad was built in from Orleans in 1886. The owners of the Springs property built frame hotel accommodations, but the area outside of the Springs people's ground was not offered to outsiders for sale until in the early nineties. The policy up to that time had been to prevent outside hotel accommodations.
The purpose here is to show how French Lick was a short time back, within the life of most of us; how it is now as we see and know it, and the causes that deserve the credit for the great change.
The first outside hotel was the Claxtan Hotel. At that time the Springs property was owned in part by Louisville gentlemen. Some new buildings had gone up on Springs ground and they were struggling for development. Later the Louisville people acquired entire control and they began a policy of more liberality by platting ground and selling lots. This led to a nucleus for a town. Business men, professional men, and the best of all laboring men (the best and most valued class of citizens on the continent) began to seek employment and homes. The Springs company at that time sold lots at a very moderate figure, as low as $200 for front lots, that the owners today would not sell for $100 a front foot without improvements.
The increased valuation of the land and the possibility of the citizens to succeed here, are coincident with and due to the great expenditure of money by the present French Lick Springs Hotel Company and due to the success of said enterprise. These facts are incontrovertible; every man knows it whether he comes out and says so or not.
The success of the business of every resident of the town depends upon the success of the Springs property as a business proposition. The character of the improvement there stands the very highest test for beauty, efficiency and durability and it borders upon Indiana Avenue, a street controlled by the property owners of French Lick, whose properties have been increased a hundred fold by the up-to-date efforts of the Springs Company. A street that every citizen and every guest goes over in going to and from the railway station. The condition of this street is a monumental disgrace to the stupidity, selfishness, carelessness and ingratitude of the citizens, the property owners and the taxpayers of French Lick.
The taxable property of the town as shown in 1910 is over seven hundred thousand dollars, created and nourished by the Springs improvements (for Pluto without accommodations would make us no money).
One-half of one per cent, for ten years will build and equip Indiana Avenue with street crossing connections in best modern brick pavement. It will cover the cost of the sewer all ready proposed and in addition it will build College Street from Indiana Avenue to the bank and the crossing at College and Maple so as to fix permanently the water connections. It will also build 50 feet into the mouth of Wells Avenue and the crossing at Maple, Main and Indiana Avenue, and will improve the north end of Wells Hotel yard that should be in Main Street. This would enable our handling water connections at street crossings. In short it would stop outlay with the heart of town and enable the town to take care of the outside streets instead of being everlastingly spending the money in the heart of town where everybody must and do travel, and at the end of ten years when it is all paid for it will be practically as good and bright as when built, with little or no repairing to do, and we all the time having the pleasure of using it.
This improvement would not increase out taxes. The amount of taxable property is increasing, the increase will take care of the sinking fund, the interest and taxation within the town for the requirements will lessen every year if the character of improvement done be made the best that can be made considerately.
Mr. Taggart is going to have a road to the depot. He helped pay for every piece of street work in front of your door, if you have any. He is going to have a road whether we help build it or not and you are not going to blame him, if you are in your right mind. We had better help build that road, we ought to be delighted to do it.
Every man on the payroll at the Springs, whether for a month or a year if he owns property in French Lick ought to hustle to get on the "honor roll" for this improvement. You should make it known where you stand. Appreciation is a great word; let us all show whether it is in our vocabularies and make-ups or not. Don't let anybody scare you with figures, get the facts, you are entitled to the facts.
5 per cent on $700,000 is $35,000 and ten years to pay would be one-tenth of 5 per cent, or one half cent each year and you will get more than that out of it every year, have it as you are paying, without at any time feeling it a burden. It will be a profitable and wise investment from start to finish. Every taxpayer in town ought to insist on helping do this.