The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1872-06-07

On last Monday night in saloon or dance
house. on the west side of the river, fracas
occurred in which man was shot through the
fiesby part of the thigh. We have heard sew
eral versions of the affair. therefore viii give
none Of them. The names OF the parties ana
their homes or business We know nothing Of.
The wounded man We understand VIII proba-
bly recover. In this connection and right now
we desire q few words with our authorizes
and citizens. and they are these: During the
coming season Wichita desires law and order,
with their consequent peace and security, ana
not bloodshed and a name that Will cause
thrill of horror whenever mentioned and which
will efiectually deter the most desirable class
of people from coming among US. Right speed
ily will the latter follow ifthe former are not
maintained. Under the statutes regulating
the government Of cities of the second class the
powers of the mayor and council are ample
and sufficient for every emergency in the pro-
lection oflife and property and for the punish
ment Of the lawless to the fullest extent. ms
is not the only point in the great southwest
where energy, faith ana enterprise may surely
found city, and one summer Of misrule, riot
and high-handed crime would surely deprive us
of our vantage ground and ruin the present
bright prospects of Wichita. We opine that
the moral sentiment of this people is strong,
well defined and at present largely in the as
tendency, and that it demands protection at
the hands of the men to whom they have en-
trusted their powers. Upon the other hand
we have every reason to believe that our may
or, city cOuncilmen and other officers are hon.
est, right minded men with the best interests
of the city at heart; but houses Of ilLfame,
whisky and revolvers cannot go together only
through bloodshed and trouble. And who
desires troublef The keepers of these houses
and their poor, fallen, unhappy inmates, surely
do not desire trouble: gamblers do not; saloon
keepers do not; Texas traders and their droy-
ers do not; neither d-the people OF Wichita.
If these propositions be conceded there is moth
ing left for our authorities to do but to see to
it that no trouble occurs, and the only way to
prevent that is to see to it that no deadly weap-
ons are carried. Give us police force strong
enough to enforce the order against carrying
arms and there will be no trouble, all will feel
safe. everything will move along peacably and
the name of our town will not be heraidcd in
the associate press dispatches throughout the
land as sink to be stunned and denounced by
respectable people and by capitalists who have
money to invest. Drunkenness and brawls may
be atoned for by money in the police court,
but reyolyers and knives in the hands of men
excited overwomen or whisky are followed by
death; often, too, with the wall ola hcart-bro-
ken mother, wife or child. Many Texas boy
who came up to Kansas with his herds and
boon companions would have returned to his
far-off home and friends in the lone star state,
but for the revolver and bowie knife. The
Texas boys are as quiet and peaceable as any
class of citizens. but like many other men are
dangerous when armed and maddened with
whisky or the wiles Of woman. Broken
heads and smashed noses received in a row get
well again, and the fact is not published and
enlarged upon, but ball sent crashing through
the heart or brain of fellow being robs some
parent, wife or child, and sends woe into some
home. Then, in the name of our people in the
name of cattle dealers and drovers' homes in
Texas. as also i'm the name of that other class
who love life as dearly and who may yet be-
come the stay of some home, we ask the au-
thorities of Wichita to see that no deadly weap-
the law gives them the power to control and
enforce police regulations. Then there will be
no threats Of vigilanters and retaliations that
might in one short night wipe out half of the
city