The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1875-11-26

No sister of this
union oI.sStates did so much to help
us in our early struggles against our
enemies over the border. That
Kansas came into the Union free
State is due largely to the timely
and staunch support which Was
rendered by the grand cid COM
monweaIth whose soil was earliest |
by patriot blood, and /
" hich mas always been foremost IN |
freedoms cause. We can never
forget nor repay our debt. But il
we were in any danger of forget |
ting the past, we have within our |
State q constant reminder thst We
owe our wonderful growth and |
prosperity 10 Massachusetts, as GER
tainly as we do our first triumphs.
Let me speak through your columns
briefly, first concerning this pros
perity and then OF that Boston en-
terprise which has been 10 a great
degree the cause of it, the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.
The war gave check to emigra-
ton in Kansas as in all other States,
but in 1870 we had a population of
364. pa. In 1874 we had a popula-
1ion of $50, 367, an increase of near
Iy DC per cent. in the four years,
We have now more than 60O,000.
The number of acres nnder Guilt
walton in 1873 was 3,O3l 1851. In
1874 IL was 3,669, 100, showing an in
crease of q per cent. in a single
wear. These figures are taken from
| the last report Of the State Board
of A.ricustut The current year,
Notwithstanding Inc universal de-
preston in business and the eXaS-
1erated reports of devastation 10
our State, is duite up to the aver
age in the matter of increase both
| in population and acreage. With
the exception of few counties the
whole State has had an exception"
ally prosperous season. There Is
room enough yet for any or all Of
the New Englanders who may have
1t i'm mind to $50 West Kansas,
il must be remembered, is equal in
size 10 eleven such States as Massa-
chusetts. After the towns, with
their 5000 to 10000 each, and the
villages are taken out of the whole
sos, 900, the half million of peope
that are left hardly make a begin
ming of settling our vast territory.
We who are here wonder why SO
many shrewd Yankees will stay
| where thew have to work so hard
| for so little return, and do not come
to this fertile land, especially when
they can get good farm for a
small amount Of money aud on
such easy terms.
l have spoken of our growth as a
State, and have intimated that the
railroad is largely the cause of it.
Kansas is only one of many proofs
of the saying of ali eminent political
economist, that railroads create
States" We have q perfect net
work of roads over our eastern
counties, aud these counties are the
most thickly settled. But we have
two roads, and only two, crossing
the whole length of the State, the
Kansas Pacific and the Atchison,
Topeka and Santa Fe. They are
hurried miles apart. The former
runs through the nnrtherly part Of
Kansas to Denver, the latter from
} the northwest corner, southwark
and westward 10 Pueblo in Col
orado. l shall speak now only OF
the latter, as / suppose your readers
, will naturally be more interested in
. its affairs since, as have said, it is
: almost wholly Boston enterprise
Boston capital built it and Boston
men manage it. The President OF
the company Thomas Nickerson,
5 ESQ, was and is one of the most
successful ship managers of your
famous port, aud is managing this
ship of the prairie with consum.
mate skill. The Vice President
! Francis II. Peabody, Esq, is one Of
your most successful bankers. The
; Directors are, nearly all of them
men well known III your city, and
. eminent for their enterprise and
!, success. We are glad that an in
stitntion OF so much magnitude and
such vital importance TO our State
is under the control of auch men
They have q splendid piece o.
property here. Their land grant i!
almost the last one made by Con.
gresa, and without Boosting i
may be said to be the best. They
= have nearly three million acres O
,, the most fertile land i'll this State
: which as a whole, leads all othel
States in productiveness, (see Uni
ted States Agricultural Reports.
Their road is completed and il
: earning enough to pay the interes
: on its bonds. The net earnings O
August were 100000 and those o
= September and October so far sur
" pass the estimates. Even IL tht
, dreadful "grasshopper" year the ne
ireceipts of the road were S6l6,S50
:, and the Teturas so far render
quite certain that they will exceed
S750,0O0 this year. The Compan,
= has, besides what it leases, $40 mile
= of road, having extended over tn
= western line of Kansas to Granada
- Colorado, aud the purpose is t.
= push through to Pueblo this fall
q Tins lhc traffic of Southern Colo
= radD aud of New Mexico will b
10 secured 10 this road. This exten
:, ton which is now being built will
be of incalcvlable value TO the Com
pany and also to the State, givin!
: us ready market for our produc
. among the mining regions of Col
orado, and bringing US coal of bet
= ter quality and at lower prices
= 1t seems TO US here that the futur
y of this road is one of very grea
- promise. We ara confident tina
no railroad enterprise in the Yves
=, has brighter prospects; and W
areglad that Boston men are Il
, be the reapers of this rich harvest
:, They deserve success; they hav,
, earned 1t by honorable dealin.
|" and honest work. Both the Leg
= islature OF Kanaas and the Goa
:: gress of the United States can anC
= do testify that the Company ha
q kept the spirit and the letter of al
- its engagements.
II But while the Company ha
K made a profitable investment 70
Y itself. it has done a work of in
4 calculable benefit for Kapaas.
i has brought us people by tn
e thousand, ane has caused farms an,
a villages TO multiply. The section
a of the State which it passes through
i the valleys Of TIE Cottonwood
e and Arkansas rivers-js wonder
d fully attractive TO settlers. Whilt
l. the average of the increase in tn
is State in population was 46 per cent
l. along the line of the Atchison, To
: peka and Santa Fe Railroad the In
i crease was more than Ga per cent.
C And while the average increase il