The Leavenworth weekly times. [volume] (Leavenworth, Kan.) 1870-1880, 1877-03-15
0Meeklp Gimes
THURSDAY, MARCH IS, 1877.
THE NARROW GAUGE


Leavenworth is waking up TO the impof-
lance OF pushing forward our mario" gauge
Rad into Tue interior of the state, but very
lev Of opr citizens fully realize the Intensi-
r. Of feeling that exists upon. this subject
amoog the people of those sections that are
sill without railroad facilities. Our Wis
tors from Cowley county, who addressed
the Eoard Of Trade Friday evening, fairly
EXPRESSED the feelings Of the people OF the
Southwest upon this question when they
said their barns were all bursting-full OF
wheat, that their crops were almost bur
den u them, and their grain almost worth
less because OF the want of facilities Tor get
ting it to market. They have made up their
minds that they mas, have 3 raIlroad-this
ypucb Is settled. but whether the outlet
p!!all be LeaYenwoTth or some other point,
i still an open question. They prefer to
come 10 this point-they desire that the
Trade Of their section shall contribute 10
the building Up Of city upon kansas soil
and II Leavenworth vii! reach out her
hands toward them they will meet her
Iaore than half way. But an outlet IN
some direction they must have, and
# Lesyenworth does not move IN
the matter Immediately her oppor-
tunity viii be lost, and some other town will
carry off the prize. And the northwest rs
equally anxious for railroad facilities. a
member Of the Legislature from one OF the
north Sestern counties remarked few days
ago, that sine law to enable Us to vote aid
u narrow gauge railroads Is OF vastly more
importance TO us than all the grssshopper
legislation that has been proposed. Why"
said he, what do we care Tor grasshoppers,
when we already have more grain than we
know what to 30 with; all the bins and
cribs that we are able to build are already
full, and If We shouldn't raise another grain
Of anything for three years, we couldn't eat
Up what we already have on hand. What
sse are going to raj e this year doesn't con-
czru IL nall az much a. what We are to do
.ith what We raised last year. Just show
rs a way 10 get 10 market-e1tend your
narrow gauge railroad into our county, so
that we can have chance to send our sur
plus wheat and corn to Leaven worth and
tind a market for il, and we'll take care of
the gra-shopPer question ourselves. We
know how 10 raise more corn than ever was
dreamed Of in Egypt, and what We want to
know now il what 10 do with it,"
There viii undoubtedly commerce in the
West, within the next few months new
era of railroad building. ali work of this
kind came 10 dead stand about five years
ago-iEdeed, for ten years there has not
been much OF it-bUt in the meantime the
country ha, been steadily developing. All
those great fertile districts OF western Kan
sss, from the Nebraska line on the north TO
the Indian territory on the south, which
ten years ago were unbroken prairies, in
hab!ted only by bulaloes and Indians, are
now filed up with industrious settlers; the
whole country has been brought under cul-
tivation, and thirty p0pulous counties now
lie west Of what was considered the boundary
line of civilization only decade ago.. The
people OF these counties must have some
way to get to market with the surplus pro-
ducts Of their farma. The narrow gauge
railroad furnishes at once the most praCti
cable and desirable means by which 10
reach the necessary end, and the marrow
gauge road is therefore the point TO which
they are turning their attention. Lssven-
worth has tried The narrow gauge, has DEM
oHstrated lis ability TO meet the demands of
the country, has 4 line already running
.iity miles, and hence the people OF the
West when looking for a narrow gauge
road, naturally look toward Leayenworth.
This is the most feasible point, and is more
over, the point the people desire TO reach.
Their sympathies and feelings are all with
US, and they desire to have their business
relations with us also. A new railroad
system, upon the narrow gauge, adapted TO
the demands Of the country, is TO be inau- |
garated in Kansas, and the great question
Tor Us to consider now is, shall Leaven- |
worth be the centre OF that system?