# The New International Encyclopædia/Kansas

Edition of 1905. See also Kansas on Wikipedia; and the disclaimer.
​KANSAS. (Named after the Kansas Indians, called by themselves Kanze, a word said to refer to the wind; popularly known as the ‘Sunflower State’). One of the North Central States of the United States. It lies exactly in the centre of the country, between 94° 37′ and 102° west longitude; its north and south boundaries are formed, respectively, by the 40th and the 37th parallels. The State is bounded on the north by Nebraska, on the east by Missouri, on the south by Indian Territory and Oklahoma, and on the west by Colorado. It has the form of a parallelogram with straight sides, except at the northeastern corner, which is cut off by the Missouri River. Its dimensions are 408 miles from east to west, and 208 miles from north to south; its area is 82,080 square miles, giving it the tenth rank in size among the States of the Union.
Topography. Kansas lies within the Great Plains, which stretch in a broad belt from the Missouri River to the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. Its surface rises gradually from an altitude of 750 feet in the extreme eastern part to about 4000 feet on the western boundary. The average altitude is about 2000 feet, the contour line for that height crossing the State a little to the west of the centre. The highest point is in the extreme west—4440 feet. There are no eminences rising more than 500 feet above the general level. However, the surface cannot be called flat; it is on the whole a gently rolling prairie, diversified in some places with low hills. Erosion has changed the contour considerably, many of the rivers flowing through wide valleys of their own making. The broad bottom-lands of the Missouri in the northeastern comer are lined with bluffs 200 feet high, and similar but smaller bluffs are found along many other streams, especially in the northern half of the State; in some places these bluffs form even cañon-like gorges. In the southwestern corner, south of the Arkansas River, is a stretch of shifting sand-dunes about 100 miles long and several miles wide.
As is indicated by the general land slope, practically all the rivers of Kansas, except the small secondary tributaries, flow eastward; and, owing to the regular decline in elevation, the drainage is so perfect that there are no marshy tracts and no lakes of any size in the State. The two principal drainage systems are those of the Kansas River in the north and the Arkansas in the south, the former joining the Missouri on the northeastern boundary, the latter turning southeastward and leaving the State through the southern boundary. The principal tributary systems of the Kansas are those of its two headstreams, the Republican River, which enters the State from Nebraska, and the Smoky Hill River, which, with its two chief affluents, the Solomon and the Saline, drains the whole northwestern quarter of the State. The tributaries of the Arkansas within the State are mostly small streams, but the southeastern corner is drained by the large Neosho River and its main affluent, the Verdigris, which flow southward and enter the Arkansas in Indian Territory.
The forested area of Kansas, like that of the other States in the Great Plains, is ​inconsiderable. The only wooded portions of any extent are in the extreme eastern part, although most of the river courses have narrow fringes of trees. The most common species of trees are oak, elm, cottonwood, hickory, honey-locust, willow, white ash, sycamore, and box-elder. Practically the whole area of the State consisted originally of grassy prairies, which in the east are well adapted for agriculture, and in the west form good grazing lands.
* COPYRIGHT, 1891 AND 1903, BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.
AREA AND POPULATION OF KANSAS BY COUNTIES.
Population. :
| County | Map Index. | County Seat. | Area in square miles. | 1890. | 1900. |
| Allen | G 4 | Iola | 504 | 13,509 | 19,507 |
| Anderson | G 3 | Garnett | 576 | 14,203 | 13,938 |
| Atchison | G 2 | Atchison | 415 | 26,758 | 28,606 |
| Barber | D 4 | Medicine Lodge | 1,134 | 7,973 | 6,594 |
| Barton | D 3 | Greatbend | 890 | 13,172 | 13,784 |
| Bourbon | H 4 | Fort Scott | 637 | 28,575 | 24,712 |
| Brown | G 2 | Hiawatha | 576 | 20,319 | 22,369 |
| Butler | F 4 | Eldorado | 1,428 | 24,055 | 23,363 |
| Chase | F 3 | Cottonwood Falls | 750 | 8,233 | 8,246 |
| Chautauqua | F 4 | Sedan | 651 | 12,297 | 11,804 |
| Cherokee | H 4 | Columbus | 576 | 27,770 | 42,694 |
| Cheyenne | A 2 | Saint Francis | 1,620 | 4,401 | 2,640 |
| Clark | B 4 | Ashland | 975 | 2,357 | 1,701 |
| Clay | E 2 | Clay Center | 651 | 16,146 | 15,833 |
| Cloud | E 2 | Concordia | 711 | 19,295 | 18,071 |
| Coffey | G 3 | Burlington | 648 | 15,856 | 16,643 |
| Comanche | C 4 | Coldwater | 795 | 2,549 | 1,619 |
| Cowley | F 4 | Winfield | 1,108 | 34,478 | 30,156 |
| Crawford | H 4 | Girard | 592 | 30,286 | 38,809 |
| Decatur | B 2 | Oberlin | 900 | 8,414 | 9,234 |
| Dickinson | E 3 | Abilene | 842 | 22,273 | 21,816 |
| Doniphan | G 2 | Troy | 363 | 13,535 | 15,079 |
| Douglas | G 3 | Lawrence | 461 | 23,961 | 25,096 |
| Edwards | C 4 | Kinsley | 600 | 3,600 | 3,682 |
| Elk | F 4 | Howard | 645 | 12,216 | 11,443 |
| Ellis | C 3 | Hays | 895 | 7,942 | 8,626 |
| Ellsworth | D 3 | Ellsworth | 720 | 9,272 | 9,626 |
| Finney | A 3 | Garden City | 1,280 | 3,350 | 3,469 |
| Ford | B 4 | Dodge City | 1,060 | 5,308 | 5,497 |
| Franklin | G 3 | Ottawa | 576 | 20,279 | 21,354 |
| Geary | F 3 | Junction City | 398 | 10,423 | 10,744 |
| Gove | B 3 | Gove | 1,080 | 2,994 | 2,441 |
| Graham | B 2 | Hill City | 950 | 5,029 | 5,073 |
| Grant | A 4 | Ulysses | 576 | 1,308 | 422 |
| Gray | B 4 | Cimarron | 852 | 2,415 | 1,264 |
| Greeley | A 3 | Tribune | 780 | 1,264 | 493 |
| Greenwood | F 4 | Eureka | 1,155 | 16,309 | 16,196 |
| Hamilton | A 4 | Syracuse | 933 | 2,027 | 1,426 |
| Harper | D 4 | Anthony | 810 | 13,266 | 10,310 |
| Harvey | E 3 | Newton | 540 | 17,601 | 17,591 |
| Haskell | B 4 | Santa Fe | 576 | 1,077 | 457 |
| Hodgeman | B 3 | Jetmore | 864 | 2,395 | 2,032 |
| Jackson | G 2 | Holton | 658 | 14,626 | 17,117 |
| Jefferson | G 2 | Oscaloosa | 560 | 16,620 | 17,533 |
| Jewell | D 2 | Mankato | 900 | 19,349 | 19,420 |
| Johnson | H 3 | Olathe | 480 | 17,385 | 18,104 |
| Kearny | A 3 | Lakin | 848 | 1,571 | 1,107 |
| Kingman | D 4 | Kingman | 864 | 11,823 | 10,663 |
| Kiowa | C 4 | Greensburg | 720 | 2,873 | 2,365 |
| Labette | G 4 | Oswego | 649 | 27,583 | 27,387 |
| Lane | B 3 | Dighton | 720 | 2,060 | 1,563 |
| Leavenworth | C 2 | Leavenworth | 447 | 38,485 | 40,910 |
| Lincoln | D 2 | Lincoln | 713 | 9,709 | 9,886 |
| Linn | H 3 | Mound City | 637 | 17,215 | 16,689 |
| Logan | A 3 | Russell Springs | 1,072 | 3,384 | 1,962 |
| Lyon | F 3 | Emporia | 858 | 23,196 | 25,074 |
| McPherson | E 3 | McPherson | 900 | 21,614 | 21,421 |
| Marion | E 3 | Marion | 954 | 20,539 | 20,676 |
| Marshall | F 2 | Marysville | 900 | 33,912 | 24,355 |
| Meade | B 4 | Meade | 975 | 2,542 | 1,581 |
| Miami | H 3 | Paola | 598 | 19,614 | 21,641 |
| Mitchell | F 2 | Beloit | 715 | 15,037 | 14,647 |
| Montgomery | G 4 | Independence | 643 | 23,104 | 29,039 |
| Morris | F 3 | Council Grove | 676 | 11,381 | 11,967 |
| Morton | B 1 | Richfield | 729 | 724 | 304 |
| Nemaha | F 2 | Seneca | 720 | 19,249 | 20,376 |
| Neosho | G 4 | Eric | 576 | 18,561 | 19,254 |
| Ness | B 3 | Ness City | 1,080 | 4,914 | 4,535 |
| Norton | C 2 | Norton | 900 | 10,617 | 11,325 |
| Osage | G 3 | Lyndon | 720 | 25,062 | 23,659 |
| Osborne | D 2 | Osborne | 895 | 12,083 | 11,844 |
| Ottawa | E 2 | Minneapolis | 712 | 12,581 | 11,182 |
| Pawnee | C 3 | Larned | 744 | 5,204 | 5,084 |
| Phillips | C 2 | Phillipsburg | 900 | 13,661 | 14,442 |
| Pottawatomie | F 2 | Westmoreland | 840 | 17,722 | 18,470 |
| Pratt | D 4 | Pratt | 720 | 8,118 | 7,085 |
| Rawlins | A 2 | Atwood | 1,080 | 6,756 | 5,241 |
| Reno | D 4 | Hutchinson | 1,246 | 27,079 | 29,027 |
| Republic | E 2 | Belleville | 710 | 19,002 | 18,248 |
| Rice | D 3 | Lyons | 710 | 14,451 | 14,745 |
| Riley | F 2 | Manhattan | 104 | 13,183 | 13,828 |
| Rooks | C 2 | Stockton | 900 | 8,018 | 7,960 |
| Rush | C 3 | Lacrosse | 720 | 5,201 | 6,134 |
| Russell | D 3 | Russell | 890 | 7,333 | 8,489 |
| Saline | E 3 | Salina | 712 | 17,442 | 17,076 |
| Scott | B 3 | Scott | 720 | 1,262 | 1,098 |
| Sedgwick | E 4 | Wichita | 992 | 43,626 | 44,037 |
| Seward | A 4 | Liberal | 648 | 1,503 | 822 |
| Shawnee | G 3 | Topeka | 548 | 49,172 | 53,727 |
| Sheridan | B 2 | Hoxie | 900 | 3,733 | 3,819 |
| Sherman | A 2 | Goodland | 1,080 | 5,261 | 3,341 |
| Smith | D 2 | Smith Center | 900 | 15,613 | 16,384 |
| Stafford | D 3 | Saint John | 792 | 8,520 | 9,829 |
| Stanton | A 4 | Johnson | 672 | 1,031 | 327 |
| Stevens | A 4 | Hugoton | 728 | 1,418 | 620 |
| Sumner | E 4 | Wellington | 1,178 | 30,271 | 25,631 |
| Thomas | A 2 | Colby | 1,076 | 5,538 | 4,112 |
| Trego | C 3 | Wakeeney | 900 | 2,535 | 2,722 |
| Wabaunsee | F 3 | Alma | 793 | 11,720 | 12,813 |
| Wallace | A 3 | Sharon Springs | 900 | 2,468 | 1,178 |
| Washington | E 2 | Washington | 900 | 22,894 | 21,963 |
| Wichita | A 3 | Leoti | 720 | 1,827 | 1,197 |
| Wilson | G 4 | Fredonia | 576 | 15,286 | 15,621 |
| Woodson | G 4 | Yates Center | 496 | 9,021 | 10,022 |
| Wyandotte | H 2 | Kansas City | 153 | 54,407 | 73,227 |
​ Climate and Soil. The climate of Kansas is in general very pleasant; the air is clear and dry, and sunny days by far predominate. The winters are as a rule mild and dry, though severe cold waves sometimes occur. In summer the temperature is often very high during the day, but the nights are invariably cool. The mean annual temperature ranges from 52° in the north to 58° in the south. The mean rainfall for the whole State is 26.42 inches, but it ranges from 40 inches in the east to 15 in the west. The line indicating a mean rainfall of 20 inches, the least precipitation with which agriculture can subsist without irrigation, crosses the State about one-third of its length from the western boundary, and in dry years is shifted as far east as the centre. This shows that in the western half, or at least in the western third of the State, agriculture cannot depend on a sufficient rainfall, and, in fact, disastrous droughts have several times occurred in this region. One favorable circumstance, however, lies in the fact that most of the rain falls in the early summer, when the crops are most in need of it. The prevailing winds are from the northwest. Barometric conditions, however, are unstable, and the State is subject to frequent tornadoes, and to hail and thunder storms of great severity. In summer great injury to crops is sometimes wrought by the hot winds which sweep across the fields, scorching everything that has life.
With proper irrigation of the western lands there is very little soil in Kansas unfit for agriculture. Glacial drift covers considerable portions with a rich soil, which, however, is seldom more than two feet thick. In the northeast are extensive deposits of loess, in some places 100 feet thick, and thinning gradually westward. This is a fine brown marl mingled with clay, and is of great fertility. The rich bottom-lands of the numerous rivers occupy a large area, and beyond these the prairies are everywhere covered with a layer of humus, sand mixed with vegetable mold, from two to three and in some places even ten feet thick. This humus is extremely fertile, especially in the eastern half of the State, where it is rich and black, gradually becoming lighter and browner toward the west.
For Flora and Fauna, see these headings in the article United States.
Geology and Mineral Resources. The surface geology of Kansas is simple, since the strata lie undisturbed and nearly horizontal. Hence the outcroppings of the comparatively thin strata of the main systems form broad belts, over 100 miles wide; there are, roughly, only three of these belts, which cross the State from north to south, dividing it approximately into three equal parts, though the central belt is somewhat narrower than the other two. The eastern belt, consisting of the Carboniferous system, begins in the extreme east with narrow outcroppings of the lower coal measures, the oldest strata in the State, but consisting for the greater part of the upper coal measures. This system is composed of numerous layers of sandstone, limestone, shales, clay, slate, etc., with interbedded seams of coal. To the west of the coal measures and overlying them appears a narrow belt of Permian sandstones, limestones, and conglomerates interlaid with red and green clays. Then follows the second or central belt, consisting in the northern half of Cretaceous rocks, largely of the Dakota and Niobrara groups, and in the southern half of the Jura-Trias system. Finally, the western third of the State is covered by the Neocene or upper Tertiary system. With the exception of the Jura-Trias region in the south central part, the strata are fossiliferous and have yielded many interesting fossils.
Though Kansas is primarily an agricultural State and devoid of mountains, yet its mineral deposits are of great value. Deposits of bituminous coal are found in at least five seams of workable thickness in the eastern portion, and probably underlie more than half of the State. The natural gas which occurs in the southeastern part is utilized largely for fuel and smelting purposes. Lead and zinc ores occur in intimate association in the limestone of the Lower Carboniferous in the southeast, where the strata have been tilted. The ores are chiefly galena and blende. In the Permian and partly in the uppermost Carboniferous strata running north and south through the centre of the State are extensive deposits of rock salt and gypsum. The latter cover a belt many miles wide and are found in massive beds fifteen feet thick, interlaid with shale and limestone. Large deposits of chalk appear in the Niobrara formation of the Cretaceous series, and clay is found in almost inexhaustible quantities in numerous localities. Equally inexhaustible are the building-stones, which are among the most important of the natural resources of Kansas. In the east central region are wide belts of limestone of various shades somewhat loosely textured and easily wrought, while excellent sandstones are yielded by the Dakota group of the Cretaceous formation and by a large portion of the Tertiary series in the west.
Mining. The mining industry of Kansas is centred mainly in the southeast corner of the State. For many years lead has been mined at Galena. In 1900 the output of the Galena field was estimated at 5059 tons, a smaller amount than that of former years. Zinc, also mined in that part of the State, is largely smelted; much ore coming also to the smelting-works from the Joplin District of Missouri. The yield of zinc in 1900 amounted to 57,276 short tons. Of late years the most valuable mineral produced in this section of the State has been coal. Kansas ranks third among the States west of the Mississippi River in the annual value of its coal output. With the exception of the three years 1893-95, the yield increased steadily from 55,000 tons in 1880 to 4,467,870 in 1900. Over half the product is obtained in Crawford County, and the greater part of the remainder in Cherokee County. In a number of counties a little farther west and north, especially Allen County, natural gas is obtained, the output having fluctuated in value from about $200,000 to over $500,000, the latter value being attained in 1889. In 1900 the value ​was estimated at $363,367. Some petroleum is also obtained in this region. Salt is mined in the central portion of the State, the yield in 1900 being 2,233,000 barrels, and giving the State third rank. Stone quarried in 1900, principally limestone, was valued at $424,639. The production of cement and gypsum is also worthy of note.
Agriculture and Stock-Raising. Kansas is preëminently an agricultural State. The greatest obstacle to the industry is in the western part of the State, and is attributable to the lack of rainfall. Several elaborate irrigation schemes—canals—have been tried in this section; but they have been ill-conceived, since the surface supply of water and the flow in the streams are erratic. The results therefore have been generally disappointing. A greater degree of success seems to be promised through the utilization of ground waters by the use of windmills and the building of small storage reservoirs.
In the middle and eastern sections the rainfall is sufficient, and almost the entire area is included in farms. The total farm land in the State is 79.7 per cent. of its surface, of which 60.1 per cent. is improved (1900). The greatest absolute increase of farm land was made in the decade 1870-80, and of improved land in the following decade. During the last two decades of the nineteenth century the average size of farms increased from 154.6 acres to 240.7 acres. The most prominent cause of this increase was probably the desertion of numerous farms in the western part of the State, groups of which became united as single holdings in the hands of the former mortgagees. From 1880 to 1900 there was a very remarkable increase in the number of rented farms, the percentage of which increased from 16.3 per cent. in 1880 to 35.2 per cent. in 1900, the tenants on shares being more than twice as numerous as the cash tenants.
Kansas has risen with great rapidity to the front ranks of the agricultural States. In 1900 only one State—Iowa—had a larger acreage in crops. In the census decade 1880-90 the acreage increased 83.1 per cent., and in that following 24.6 per cent. In the last census year the rank in acreage of corn was third, wheat fourth, and hay third. There were in that year 5.6 acres of corn to each inhabitant. The figures given in the table for 1900 are not representative of a normal year, since the late spring of 1899 resulted in less land being devoted to wheat and oats, and more to barley than there would otherwise have been. The increased interest in wheat cultivation during the last decade of the century is the most significant recent development in the agriculture of the State. There was a noteworthy increase in the production of flax and a decrease in the production of rye in the same decade. Potatoes and other vegetables are raised in large quantities. The State also raises a great abundance of orchard fruits. The number of apple-trees almost doubled in the decade 1890-1900, amounting in the latter year to 11,848,000, or 60.6 per cent. of the total number of fruit-trees in the State, being exceeded in number in only four States. Kansas ranks second in the production of broom-corn (34,383 acres), and is important in the production of castor-beans. It has over half the total acreage of Kafir corn grown in the United States, the acreage in 1900 being 154,706 acres. Kafir corn is proving a very valuable crop, since it can endure a much greater drought than can Indian corn. Broom-corn is grown most extensively in the central part of the State, and castor-beans are raised in the southwest corner.
The following table includes the most important farm crops in acres, according to the censuses of 1890 and 1900:
1890 :
| Corn | 8,266,018 | 7,314,765 |
| Wheat | 3,803,818 | 1,582,635 |
| Oats | 900,353 | 1,463,526 |
| Barley | 119,158 | 7,201 |
| Rye | 80,964 | 199,146 |
| Flax | 192,167 | 114,069 |
| Hay | 4,337,342 | 3,723,452 |
| Potatoes | 85,318 | 112,734 |
Stock-Raising. The raising of such enormous crops of corn and other stock feed has resulted in the development of a large stock-raising industry. In general the greatest development was that between 1880 and 1890, although the following decade witnessed a very remarkable gain in the number of neat cattle other than dairy cows. The value of this variety of farm stock is half that of all domestic animals. Extensive areas of prairie land in the western part of the State are used for grazing. The decrease in the number of dairy cows shown in the table below was only apparent, being attributable to the stricter construction placed upon the term ‘dairy cows’ in the latter years. The sum of $5,936,662 was realized in 1900 from the sale of dairy products, and products of equal value were consumed on the farms. There was an actual decline during the last decade of the century in the number both of sheep and swine.
The following comparative table includes the most important varieties of farm animals returned by the censuses of 1890 and 1900:
Swine :
| 1900 | 676,456 | 3,814,622 | 979,695 | 122,491 | 179,907 | 3,594,859 |
| 1890 | 741,786 | 2,446,247 | 930,305 | 95,937 | 401,192 | 4,022,933 |
Manufactures. Compared with agriculture, manufacturing is of very minor importance. In 1900 only 35,200 people were engaged in the industries, or 2.4 per cent. of the population. This was an increase, however, in the number of people engaged of 24.1 per cent. in the decade from 1890 to 1900. The total value of the products, including custom work and repairing, amounted in 1900 to $172,129,000. The table appended covers the seven most important industries for the years 1890-1900. It will be seen that the industries are concerned with the transformation of the raw products of the farm into manufactured products. Slaughtering and meat-packing is alone nearly twice as important as the other six industries combined, estimated by the value of the products. The large slaughtering interests of Kansas City—the second largest of any city in the world, amounting to $73,205,000 in 1900—are located on the Kansas side of the State boundary line, and are therefore accredited to the State. Elsewhere in Kansas this industry ​is not extensive. The increase in the value of these products during the decade 1890-1900 was 73.2 per cent. The utilization of the waste products gives rise to the allied industries of soap and candle manufacturing. Flour and grist milling is next in importance. Despite the discrimination of rates in favor of long hauls, and other obstacles which hamper its development, it is acquiring large proportions. In 1900 24 per cent. of the wheat crop of the State was ground by the State mills. The production of cheese, butter, and condensed milk by the factory process is of but recent origin in Kansas, but the increase from 1890 to 1900 was very significant. The importance of car and general shop construction and repairs is also due to the State's large agricultural interests, inasmuch as the extensive railroad mileage and facilities are required to handle the farm products. The zinc-smelting industry has been almost wholly the development of the last decade. This is the result of the abundance of fuel—coal, gas, and oil—obtained in the same locality as the zinc ores.
Comparative Summary of Seven Leading Industries
Value of  products, including   custom work and  repairing :
| Total for selected industries for State | 1900 | 867 | 18,465 | $119,485,746 |
| | 1890 | 575 | 11,612 | 70,653,921 |
| Increase, 1890 to 1900 | ...... | 292 | 6,853 | 48,831,825 |
| Per cent. of increase | ...... | 50.8 | 59.0 | 69.1 |
| Per cent. of total of all industries in State | 1900 | 11.1 | 52.5 | 69.4 |
| | 1890 | 12.9 | 41.1 | 64.1 |
| Slaughtering: | | | | |
| Total | 1900 | 14 | 8,117 | 77,411,883 |
| | 1890 | 18 | 5,018 | 44,696,077 |
| Slaughtering and meat-packing, | 1900 | 11 | 8,068 | 76,829,139 |
| wholes | 1890 | 15 | 5,008 | 44,592,671 |
| Slaughtering, wholesale, | 1900 | 3 | 49 | 582,744 |
| not including meat packing | 1890 | 3 | 10 | 103,406 |
| Soap and candles | 1900 | 7 | 177 | 1,083,337 |
| | 1890 | 9 | 39 | 253,219 |
| Flouring and grist mill products | 1900 | 533 | 1,451 | 21,926,768 |
| | 1890 | 348 | 1,623 | 17,420,475 |
| Cheese, butter, and condensed milk, | 1900 | 171 | 395 | 3,652,530 |
| factory product | 1890 | 101 | 271 | 919,787 |
| Cars and general shop construction and | 1900 | 37 | 5,592 | 6,816,816 |
| repairs by steam railroad companies | 1890 | 26 | 2,819 | 3,644,038 |
| Zinc, smelting and refining | 1900 | 11 | 1,487 | 5,790,144 |
| | 1890 | 4 | 341 | 963,500 |
| Foundry and machine-shop products | 1900 | 94 | 1,246 | 2,804,268 |
| | 1890 | 69 | 1,501 | 2,756,825 |
Transportation. The highly favorable situation of Kansas with reference to the transcontinental traffic, in consequence of which a number of the most important lines of the country traverse its limits, has given it a large railroad mileage, being exceeded by only four other States. The period of greatest development was from 1880 to 1890, during which time the mileage increased from 3400 to 8892 miles. In 1900 the mileage in operation was reported at 8714 miles. The mileage is much the greater in the eastern half of the State, where there are a number of north and south lines as well as east and west lines. In the western half of the State there are no trans-State north and south lines. Formerly the State suffered greatly from the lack of railroad connection with the Gulf ports, but this has recently been supplied. Among the important lines are the Union Pacific; Missouri Pacific; Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé; Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific; the Missouri, Kansas and Texas; and the Saint Louis and San Francisco.
Banking. The wave of speculation which swept over the West from 1885 to 1891 greatly affected the banking business of Kansas. Heavy loans on overvalued real estate figured largely in the assets of the State banks, unrestricted in their activity by any control. When the panic of 1893 came, with a general foreclosure of mortgages, dozens of banks suspended. From 447 in 1892 the number of State and private banks decreased to 364 in 1898. The first comprehensive banking law was passed in 1891, and the office of Bank Commissioner was created. Due to the efforts of this official, an entirely new banking law was passed in 1897, which is in force now. This law contains stringent provisions as to the investments, overdrafts, liability of shareholders and directors, and cash reserve. Quarterly reports to the commissioners are required. The amount of loans to one firm is limited, and additions to the surplus are obligatory. These stringent regulations have put the State banks upon a solid foundation, and they share the confidence of the people equally with the national banks. The number of private banks is constantly declining, the reports showing 162 in 1892 and 41 in 1902. Incorporation of savings banks is authorized by the law, but very few exist in the State, and they are unimportant.
The condition of the various banks in 1902 is shown in the following table:
Private banks :
| Number of banks | 129 | 413 | 41 |
| Capital | $9,116,000 | $6,825,000 | $532,000 |
| Surplus | 1,674,000 | 1,559,000 | 132,000 |
| Cash, etc. | 4,195,000 | 2,875,000 | 261,000 |
| Deposits | 37,379,000 | 34,202,000 | 3,391,000 |
| Loans | 33,180,000 | 28,218,000 | 2,479,000 |
Government. The Constitution was ratified by the people in October, 1859, and went into ​operation in January, 1861. An amendment may be proposed in either House, and must receive a two-thirds vote of all the members elected to each, and then be submitted to the electors of the State and be approved by a majority of the electors voting. Not more than three propositions to amend can be submitted at the same election, and they must be voted upon separately. If demanded by two-thirds of the members elected to each House, the question of calling a constitutional convention must be voted on by the people at the next general election, and if approved by a majority of the electors voting, the Legislature shall provide for the convening of such a convention. A residence of six months in the State and thirty days in the township or ward is required for the exercise of the ballot. Legislative.—The Constitution places a maximum limit of 125 to the number of Representatives, and of 40 to the number of Senators. The former are elected for two and the latter for four years. Each county has at least one Representative. Members of both Houses receive $3 per day of actual service at the sessions of the Legislature, and mileage in addition; but the per diem receipts cannot exceed $150 for a regular session, or $90 for a special session. The Governor's veto may be overcome by a two-thirds vote of the members elected to each House. A bill becomes a law if not returned within three days, the Legislature meets on the second Tuesday of January of odd years. The House impeaches and the Senate acts as the court for the trial of impeachments. Executive.—A Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Attorney-General, and Superintendent of Public Instruction are elected for terms of two years. The Lieutenant-Governor, president of the Senate pro tempore, and Speaker of the House, are in line of succession to the Governorship in case of vacancy. The Governor may call extraordinary sessions of the Legislature, and he exercises the usual pardoning power. Judicial.—The Supreme Court consists of seven elected justices, who serve for terms of six years and are privileged to sit separately in two divisions. A district judge is elected for a term of four years in each of five judicial districts, and a clerk of the district court is elected for two years in each county. A judge of probate court is elected in each county every two years. Not less than two justices of the peace are elected in each township for terms of two years. The capital of the State is Topeka. Local Government.—Counties cannot be created or modified so as to have less than 432 square miles, and the county-seat cannot be changed without the consent of a majority of the electors. Such county officers as the Legislature shall provide for hold office two years, except the county commissioners, whose term of office is three years. The township officers, except justices of the peace, hold office one year. Township elections are held on the first Tuesday of April. Kansas has eight Representatives in the Lower House of Congress.
Finance. From 1861 to 1871 a large public debt was created, due to the extraordinary war expenses and also to the difficulty of collecting taxes. In 1865 the debt was $517,000, and in 1870, $1,403,000. In the latter year a movement for reduction of expenditures and increase of taxation began, and the financial condition was improved. Since 1880 the policy of the State has been to purchase its bonds for the various permanent funds and so reduce its net indebtedness. In 1890 the total bonded debt was $803,000, out of which only $256,000 was held by private parties, the rest being represented in the various State funds. In 1900 there were no bonds held against the State. In 1873 for the first time there was a balance in the Treasury. Even in the last decade of the nineteenth century (1897-1900) the disbursements often overran the receipts. The budget is considerable and is growing. The warrants against the State Treasury are stamped and form a 7 per cent. interest-bearing floating debt, but due to the good credit of the State circulate at par.
At the end of the fiscal year 1901 the debt of the State was $632,000, all of which was held by the school fund. The receipts of the Treasury were $3,693,945, of which almost 50 per cent. was derived from a general property tax, 5¼ mills, and 40 per cent. represented the income of the various school and university funds, derived from interest on bonds, sale and rent of public lands, etc. The disbursements were $3,627,000, of which 50 per cent. was for general purposes, and 50 per cent. for school purposes.
Population. The population by decades is as follows: 1860, 107,206; 1870, 364,399; 1880, 996,096; 1890, 1,427,096; 1900, 1,470,495. In the last decade of the century the State fell from 19 to 22 in rank. The gain in that decade amounted to only 2 per cent., as compared with 20.7 per cent. for the United States. The State contributed largely to the settlement of the adjoining Territory of Oklahoma and also to the Indian Territory, and this is not a little responsible for the smallness of the increase. The largest absolute gain was made in the decade 1870-80. In 1880-90 there was also a heavy gain—the result of the enormous ‘boom’ which visited the trans-Missouri region in the latter half of the decade, in consequence of which there was a great influx of population and capital for investment. Kansas being centrally situated and one of the last of the Mississippi Valley States to be settled, the population is more representative of every part of the country than of most of the other Western States, this condition being especially accentuated in the early period of settlement, owing to the slavery struggle—both the North and the South having attempted to secure control of the field. Kansas contrasts with the other Mississippi Valley States farther north also in the smallness of the foreign-born population, which amounted in 1900 to only 126,685. Owing to its aridity, the western third of the State is very sparsely inhabited. For the whole of the State there is an average of 18 inhabitants to the square mile. There are no large centres of population, and the percentage of urban population is consequently small. In 1900 the 25 places which exceeded 4000 in population contained 19.2 of the total population. However, the increase made in the last decade of the century was wholly urban. Cities.—The following was the population of the largest cities for the year 1900: Kansas City, Kan., 51,418; Topeka, 33,608; Wichita, 24,671; Leavenworth, 20,735: Atchison, 15,722.
Religion. The Methodists are the largest religious body in the State, having more than twice the membership of any other Protestant denomination. Among the large number of other sects represented, the most important are the ​Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, Lutherans, Congregationalists, and Friends.
Charitable and Penal Institutions. The following are the charitable and penal institutions supported by the State, the number of inmates for each as returned for May, 1900, being given in parenthesis: Insane Asylum, Topeka (860); Insane Asylum, Osawatomie (1030); Blind Asylum, Kansas City, Kan. (85); Imbecile School, Winfield (204); Deaf and Dumb School, Olathe (250); Soldiers' Orphans' Home, Atchison (134); Soldiers' Home, Leavenworth (2740 in 1901); Penitentiary, Lansing (988); Industrial Reformatory, Hutchinson (220); Industrial School (girls), Beloit (116); Reform School (boys), Topeka (180). For several years the parole system has been in operation at the State Industrial Reformatory. The Governor, under the exercise of his pardoning power, has applied the parole system to the State penitentiary, although there has been no law explicitly authorizing it. There are 14 private institutions in the State engaged wholly or partly in charitable work, receiving aid in the way of appropriations. In each of the fiscal years 1900-01 the Legislature made an appropriation of $700 to each of them. Some of these institutions receive and care for indigent persons without charge. Others make a charge for all who enter.
Education. In 1900 the illiterate population 10 years of age and over amounted to only 2.3 per cent. of the population, there being but two States which had a better record. This result was attained notwithstanding the fact that the State's compulsory attendance law has been a dead letter. Since the population is largely rural, Kansas has had to contend with the problem of rural education in an exaggerated form. The low value of the taxable property in many of the school districts often results in a short school term of only three or four months, and not infrequently in inefficient teachers. Unusual interest, however, is manifested in education, and the poorest districts are likely to levy the heaviest school rates. In 1900 the population between the ages of 5 and 21 was 508,854, and the school enrollment for the same year was 389,582 and the average attendance 261,783.
In 1900 there were 118 city high schools with courses complete enough to prepare pupils for the State University, and a number of others with courses which fell a little short of this requirement. In that year there were 3765 male and 7748 female teachers. The average monthly salary received by the male teachers was $42.04, and by the female teachers $35.20. A marked improvement in the efficiency of teachers in general is now in progress. There is a State normal school at Emporia, and there are a number of private normal schools whose graduates are entitled to a three-year State certificate upon passing an examination in the professional courses. Graduates of the normal courses of certain State collegiate institutions receive a three-year State certificate without examination. Graduates of the following approved institutions who have completed the required work in pedagogy for the teacher's diploma at the State University are entitled to a State certificate, which leads to a life certificate: Fairmount College, Wichita; Macpherson College, Macpherson; Baker University, Baldwin; Ottawa University, Ottawa; Friends' University, Wichita; Bethany College, Lindsborg; Southwest Kansas College, Winfield; Salina Wesleyan University, Salina; College of Emporia, Emporia; Lane University, Lecompton. The University of Kansas (q.v.)—the State University—is located at Lawrence. Another important and successful institution is the well-known State Agricultural College at Manhattan. The young farmer student is here taught to become familiar with all the practical problems of farming, and scientific experiments and investigations are continuously carried on with the idea of improving all kinds of agricultural and stock-raising methods. There are besides the above a number of other institutions which assume the name of college or university. The inspection of the higher institutions of the State by the State board and the granting of certificate privileges to those approved have resulted in an enlargement of the equipment and a raising of the standard of those institutions.
In 1900 the total amount received for educational purposes in Kansas was $5,277,702, of which $3,897,873 was received from district taxes through the county treasurer, and $421,133 was received from State and county school funds. The total amount paid out during the year was $4,622,363, $3,173,062 being paid for teachers' wages and supervision.
History. Among the Indian tribes who lived within the present boundaries of Kansas were the Shawnees, the Osages, the Omahas, and, of later arrivals, the Kickapoos and the Illinois. In 1541 a small force of Spaniards and Indians under Coronado traversed the region from southwest to northeast; but no results followed this expedition. The country remained unexplored till 1719, when it was visited by Frenchmen from Louisiana. In 1803 the greater portion of what is now Kansas passed into the possession of the United States as a part of the Louisiana Purchase; the southwestern section of the State was ceded by Texas to the Federal Government in 1850. The region was explored by Lewis and Clark in 1804, Lieutenant Pike in 1806-07, and Lieutenant Long in 1819. Fort Leavenworth was erected in 1827, and four years later the Baptists founded a mission to the Shawnees near the Missouri River. Emigrant trains on the way to California crossed the region as early as 1844; and the army of General Kearney, intended for the invasion of Mexico, set out from Fort Leavenworth in 1846. In 1854 the population was estimated at 700. The region formed a part of the Territory of Missouri till 1821, remaining unorganized from that year till 1854. When it was proposed to organize the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska (see Kansas-Nebraska Bill), the supporters of slavery incorporated in the act of organization a declaration repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and leaving the question of slavery to be decided by the inhabitants of the Territory in framing their Constitution. The act, passed in May, 1854, thus removed the barrier to the extension of slavery which had been created by Congress thirty-four years previously, and to the maintenance of which, during all that period, both the northern and southern portions of the Union had held themselves to be ‘forever’ bound. The plea by which it was sought to justify this act was that the compromise of 1850, which had been adopted by Congress as a final settlement of all the differences respecting slavery which then existed, ​operated as a virtual repeal of the Missouri restriction.
Before the bill had passed through Congress, immigrants from Missouri and Arkansas and from the Northern States entered Kansas, and the struggle for its possession began. On June 10th a pro-slavery meeting declared slavery existent in the Territory. In September immigrants from Missouri and Arkansas founded Leavenworth and Atchison, while colonists from New England sent out by the Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Society settled before the end of that year at Lawrence, Topeka, Osawatomie, and other towns. On October 7th, A. H. Reeder, appointed Federal Governor of the Territory, arrived in Kansas. In the same month a force of Missourians made an unsuccessful attempt to drive the anti-slavery men from Lawrence. On November 29, 1854, at an election held for the choice of a Territorial delegate to Congress, armed bodies of men from Missouri took possession of the polls and cast 1700 votes out of a total of 2843. On March 30, 1855, an attempt was made to elect a Territorial Legislature, and again the Missourians appeared in large numbers and elected pro-slavery delegates from every district. The number of pro-slavery votes was 5427 out of a total of 6218, though it was well known that the number of legal voters in the Territory was less than 3000. Governor Reeder set aside the returns from six of the districts and ordered new elections, which resulted in the choice of free State delegates. The first Territorial Legislature assembled at Pawnee, July 2, 1855. The Pro-Slavery Party had a majority in this body, and expelled the members who had been chosen at the second election ordered by the Governor. The statutes of Missouri were adopted in the main. Acts were passed making it a capital offense to assist slaves in escaping either to or from the Territory, and felony to circulate anti-slavery publications, or to deny the right to hold slaves; also requiring all voters to swear to support the Fugitive Slave Law. In July, Governor Reeder broke off all relations with the Legislature, and became an active partisan of the Free State Party. He was succeeded, on July 31st, by Wilson Shannon, who in turn gave way to John W. Geary in September, 1856. The Free State men, meanwhile, refusing to acknowledge the legality of the Territorial Government, initiated a movement for establishing a State Government without an enabling act on the part of Congress. A convention of Free State men met at Topeka, October 23, 1855, and adopted a State Constitution prohibiting slavery after July 4, 1857, but excluding negroes from the State. An election was held December 15th, and the Constitution was accepted. The Pro-Slavery Party, however, abstained from participation. An election for State officers and a Legislature under this Constitution was held January 15, 1856, and Charles S. Robinson was chosen Governor. It was the object of the Free State Party to avoid armed hostilities with the pro-slavery Government of the Territory, so as not to come into conflict with the United States authorities. The attempt, however, of the Territorial sheriff to seize a prisoner at Lawrence resulted in his being shot. The leaders of the Free State men were thereupon indicted for treason, and imprisoned, and on May 21st a mob of pro-slavery men sacked the town of Lawrence. The massacre of five men on Pottawatomie Creek by John Brown and his sons, on May 23, 1856, marked the beginning of civil war, which continued through the month of June till the United States troops suppressed the combatants. On July 4, 1856, the Free State Legislature met at Topeka, but was dispersed by the Federal forces. A second attempt on the part of the Legislature to convene at Topeka, January 6, 1857, led to the arrest of its members. Governor Robert J. Walker, who had replaced Governor Geary in March, 1857, succeeded in making terms with the Free State men, who abandoned the Topeka Constitution and agreed to take part in the election for a Territorial Legislature in October, 1857. The Free State Party triumphed at the polls; but the Pro-Slavery Party had in the meanwhile summoned a convention which, on November 7, 1857, adopted the Lecompton Constitution (q.v.), guaranteeing the possession of all slave property already in Kansas, and submitted to the electors (December 21st) that clause only which legalized slavery for all times. The provision was accepted by the Pro-Slavery Party, the Free State men declining to vote; but when the Lecompton Constitution as a whole was submitted to the people, January 4, 1858, it was decisively rejected and defeated indirectly, for the second time, on August 2d, at an election ordered by Congress on the so-called English Bill, a compromise measure. Immigration from the North, in the meanwhile, had made the Free State men overwhelmingly preponderant. In the same election in which the Lecompton Constitution was rejected for the first time, they succeeded in capturing the Territorial Government. On July 5, 1859, a constitutional convention met at Wyandotte, and adopted a constitution prohibiting slavery (July 27th). This was ratified October 4th by a vote of 10,421 to 5530. On November 8th, delegates to Congress and members of the Territorial Legislature were chosen, and on January 29, 1861, Kansas was admitted into the Union.
In the Civil War Kansas sent into the field a larger number of soldiers, in proportion to its population, than any other State. The eastern part of the State lay exposed to the incursions of Confederates from Missouri. On August 23, 1863, Quantrell's guerrillas raided the town of Lawrence and killed a large number of the inhabitants. The cessation of war was followed immediately by a great influx of immigrants, who swept steadily westward, unchecked by the repeated assaults of the hostile Indian tribes. Railway development began in 1868, and by 1872 there were more than 2000 miles of railway track in operation. The settlers coveted the broad tracts of land included within the Indian reservations, and the process of extinguishing Indian titles was actively prosecuted. Between 1878 and 1880 widespread excitement and dissatisfaction among the negroes of the South led to the migration of 40,000 of their number to Kansas. Prohibition became an important question in politics after 1880; the movement encountered great opposition in the beginning, but by 1890 the principle was well established in the State, though in the large cities the anti-liquor laws were not zealously enforced. The influence of the Farmers' Alliance (q.v.) after 1888 brought the State into conflict with the railway ​companies, and led to the passing of anti-trust laws in 1889 and 1897.
In politics, Kansas belongs to the Republicans, who have failed to carry it in three elections only since the Civil War: in 1882, when the Democrats elected their candidate for Governor on an anti-prohibition platform, and in 1892 and 1896, when the People's Party and Democrats, in fusion, elected their State and National tickets. In the winter of 1893 the Republicans and the Populists were so evenly matched in the matter of State Representatives that each party proceeded to organize an independent Legislature. The dispute was determined by the intervention of the militia and the courts. The following is a list of the Governors of Kansas and the parties to which they belonged:
TERRITORIAL :
| Andrew H. Reeder | | 1854-55 |
| Wilson Shannon | | 1855-56 |
| John W. Geary | | 1856-57 |
| Robert J. Walker | | 1857-58 |
| James W. Denver | | 1858 |
| Samuel Merlary | | 1858-60 |
| Frederick P. Stanton | | 1860-61 |
| STATE |||
| Charles Robinson | Republican | 1861-63 |
| Thomas Carney | “ | 1863-65 |
| Samuel J. Crawford | “ | 1865-69 |
| James M. Harvey | “ | 1869-73 |
| Thomas A. Osborn | “ | 1873-77 |
| George T. Anthony | “ | 1877-79 |
| John P. St. John | “ | 1879-83 |
| George W. Glick | Democrat | 1883-85 |
| John A. Martin | Republican | 1885-89 |
| Lyman U. Humphrey | “ | 1889-93 |
| Lorenzo D. Leweling | Populist-Democrat | 1893-95 |
| Edmund N. Morrill | Republican | 1895-97 |
| John W. Leedy | Populist-Democrat | 1897-99 |
| William E. Stanley | Republican | 1899-1903 |
| W. J. Bailey | “ | 1903— |
Bibliography. Hutchinson, Resources and Development of Kansas (Topeka, 1871); Kansas Board of Agriculture, Kansas: A Brief Account of Its Geographical Position, Dimensions, Topography (Topeka, 1885); Hodder, The Government of the People of the State of Kansas (Philadelphia, 1895); Haworth, Annual Bulletin on the Mineral Resources of Kansas (Lawrence, 1897-1900); Goss, History of the Birds of Kansas (Topeka, 1891); Robinson, Kansas: Its Interior and Exterior Life (10th ed., Lawrence, Kan., 1899). In addition to the general works dealing with the history of the slavery question from 1850 to 1860, consult: Hale, Kansas and Nebraska (Boston, 1854); Brewerton, The War in Kansas (New York, 1856); Gibson, Geary and Kansas (Philadelphia, 1857); Robinson, Kansas (Boston, 1857); Holloway, History of Kansas (Lafayette, Ind., 1868); Wilder, Annals of Kansas (Topeka, 1875); Tuttle, A Centennial History of the State of Kansas (Lawrence, Kan., 1876); Andreas, History of Kansas (Chicago, 1883); Thayer, A History of the Kansas Crusade (New York, 1889); Kansas Historical Society Transactions (Topeka, 1890 et seq.); Robinson, The Kansas Conflict (New York, 1892); Ewing, The Struggle for Freedom in Kansas (New York, 1894).