The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1879-08-07
"A CITIZEN OF U1HITA."
lie GIVES THE WORLD HIS ESTIMATE
OF THE Town, THE COUNTY, THE
STATE AND TIE People.

"A CITIZEN OF X14HITA."
liz GIVES THE WORLD HIS ESTIMATE
OF THE Town, THE COUNTY, THE
STATE AND THE PEOPLE.
Monday mornings mail brought the
editor of the EAGLE some dozen letters
each containing slip cut from as many
djfierept eastern papers. The one from
the Chicago TRIBUNE is headed "A Let
ter from a Kansas Farmer Denying the
Glorious Pictures of that State" dated
Wichita and signed A. W. Grisman.
Within an hour followed number Of
indignant citizens all fourishing copies
of the same offensive missive, and de-
handing the Identification of the au-
thor.
A. w. Grisman is unknown to us and
we are glad it is so, as it leaves us free
to give an unbiased and unprejudiced
opinion of him. As to his lies. they
call for no answer. The people of Wich-
ita and of Sedgwick county are as true,
pure and good as the world affords. And
not only do ten thousand tongues de-
nouace the outrageous misrepresenta-
tions and vile reflections, but statistics
piled up and up and compiled into vol
umes and the volumes into stacks, refIte
every line and word he has written.
As to the writer of the letter, we shall
dispose of him in the fewest words. OIL
all the frauds enumerated he is the most
unmitigated. For lightning lying, acri-
monious, boiled-down perfidy, cOndens-
ed deception, hOllow-hearted hypocrisy
A. w. Grisman is commended to the
Father of hell as the champion of the
world. An Ananias from parturition,
thing whose soul was severed with his
umbilical, the contents of his skull but
the reflex impress Of a prenatal fright
given by a forked-tOngued snake, this
dead-beat of boots and breeches de-
frauds his fraternity, checks where he
has no funds, libels his trusting credit
ors, defames the town that has given
him bread, associates prostitutes with
our wives and daughters and seeks to
ruin, by damnable calumny, the people
with whom, he admits, he has lived for
three years. Enough.
Out upon him!
The following is copy of the letter
published in the Chicago Tribune and
transmitted us by a prominent gentle
man living at the capital Of the State:
WICHITA. July %, 1879.
| To the Editor Of the Louisville Courier7Jow1at:
am induced to write to you that
may answer many letters inquiring
about this country, and take this meth
cd to answer all frankly and truly. In
the first place, there is ring that has
| advertised this State and pulled it up on
paper in order to deceive and swindle all
the farmers they can. This State is
fraud on a grand scale. 1t is a failure
in every particular in farming. The far
mers have drought, hot winds, heavy
hail, grasshOppers and chinch-bugs.
There is no certainty of a crop until you
have il gathered. Ii is impossible TO
grow tame grass here for stock. We
have just gone through one drought Of
about eight months without rain. Ii
has rained for the past two or three
weeks, but too late. The grass will burn
! to-day Wheat is a failure here. In
many places there is not enough to live
on. The people are destitute and there
is no money. The women are half
clothed and the men are bare-footcd on
the streets. There has not been a year
that large portion Of the wheat and
corn was not lost. | have seen it and
know il to be true. You see the adver-
tiscments are IL false as hell. There is
not more than 10 per cent. of the land
worth any thing. will admit that we
have some good crops, but they are few.
You are made to believe Kansas is the
III Dorado of the world. The produc-
ton is great i'm rascality, and prostitu-
ton is legal here, and business men tip
their hats to the soiled doves on the
streets. Our hotels are open to them.
and they take their places at the tables
as il suits their fancy. Taxes are very
heavy, and the farmers cannot pay them
and live. There is class of roughs and
unprinciplcd men that rule this country.
them legalizcd, sell them, and skip out.
Ii this country were to be sold to-day,
and every thing that is in il. it would
not pay their debts.
claim to be one of the best farmers
in Illinois. and have lived and farmcd on
the prairie for thirty years. and be-
licyc | know what il is. have taken
/. three years to test this country, and !
advise all men who think of coming here
Ia stay where they are. and if they come
let them come and travel with farmers
and see for themselves. cooking their
meals with grass, cornstalks, and straw.
ii they can get it, You'll have seen farms
advertised for sale as being finely i'm
proved, with orchards and barns. This
is false. There is not one farm in the
State as well improved as are the ordi-
nary farms you have in Kentucky, and
when man comes here and sees he has
been bitten he falls in and tries to sell
out and beat some one from the East.
. There is one other point wish to no
ticc. The people vote bonds for every
thing and try to encourage immigration
; West to pay the taxes. The average of
, wheat the State over will not be more
f than five bushels per acre. and corn the
same. Fruit Is but a trial, and il may
he supposed to fail. Peaches are sun
burnt. and and are not fit for use, and
some fruit trees will not produce any
thing. All of the fine fruit we get here
comes from the East. The premium
awarded to Kansas on apples was on APP
pies grown i'm eastern States. and were
selected by fruit man in Columbus,
Kansas. whose name can give.
All just such frauds have gone to the
press and been scattered all over the
country to induce men to go West where
no man can live comfortably. There is
no State in the Union that has SO much
poor land as Kansas. Men come here,
look over the country, and TO them 1t
seems 10 be rich, when it is very poor.
| was raised near Louisville, and know
how this country is. have lived here
over three years am wish to deceive no
man. as | am a farmer and feel II my
duty to state what believe to be facts,
for the benefit of the people.
! a. W. GRiSMAN.
FRENCH MONARCHS.
4 4,