The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-11-29
A TRIP 70 KANSAS.
I'm IN a Boom---Kansas City.

for and will not be comto,tcd because we had
never counted its value until 1t slipped our
grasp forever We looked from the windows
nj ST James Hotel that dark and stormy morn
ing watching the muddy rivulets OF water me-
anderinr over the streets and thought how
much more resigned to the inevitable we
micht have been had no tantallzlngIy boautl-
fnl dream of the cloudlcJS sky OF yesterday
Aitted before our vision. We listened most
discontentelly to the soft dash OF the ram on
the panes and wondered how poets could una
any music in such discords. for every drop
seemed to add certainty to our gloomy c0hVlc-
ton that 1t would he impossible to 20 down
town unless we were willing to face reirOu
ton in the shape of dragged skirts, camp
shoes and possibly a serious cold we remcL-
bered and there was bitterness in the memory
that no woman has ever possessed the sublime
cIft of managing her multitudous draperies
with grace or her umbrella with ease and with
this thought came the distressing reflection
that Il traveller without the useful aid Of
his pilgrims stick must of neccssity look over
city with superficial eyes.
Our good fairy came to us in the shape of a
roony, substantial carriage under the charge
of genllemany driver who answered our
manifold questions with aiiability, and gave
rs uaasked Il great zeal of valuable informa-
ton. As if in answer to our tervcnt wish, the
ram drops, which with the exception ofan occa.
sional ourburst of pettish fury had grown toI
-, LorI ia haI hllH
us no more and for the next four hours We
rode up and down the steep asccnts and de
scents of many streets looking with eager in
terest over the business houses the public edi
fees, and the homes Of the yourg and wonder
fully energetic city which has redeemed its
dwelling place from the Businesses Of the
hills" and built for itself strange throne on
the border line between two great states
"S,yen cities claimed the Homer dead
Through which the living Homer begged his
bread"
Kansas City is somewhat in the predlcamentl
Of the famous poet IN regard to rival claims
though it is hardly probable that she will soon
sink into his condition OF pitiabe want, or that
her sister owners will be forced in the near future
to struggle for her sepucher. Kansas City
Kansas on the plains, and Kansas City, Mis-
souri,. on the heights, arc two distinct cXistenCes
one life; two marked indIviduahtios, oRc wed
ded life, and alas unlike the ideal union, some
what marred by conflicting interests by indi-
vidual efforts and needless jealousics. Kansas
City has a personality all her own, not Dor
rowed not copied from anywhere else. Proud
" she has arrogatcd to herselfthc title of"IhcI
New Chicago" and though the clam is an eX-
travagant one, it is true that a portion Of the
mantle of the queen of the American CONT
nent has fallen upon her shoulders. She
hates stagnaion. Life IS ever throbbing
through her streets reminding you Of Chica-
COS great thOrough fares-Statc, Madison and
Washington
She has redeemed her foothold from rugged
hills and steep ravinCs. She has cut down the
stubborn clay. She has forced the torbiddlngI
morass out Of existence and lifted ITS low bed tot
thedgnity Of respectable soil in proper position
for the substantial foundation of II street orl
home residence. All nature was against her
all nature said to her, "Your abiding place
shall not be here ;"but she only answered, 81 ntH
stay" That answer decided her destiny and
set her feet firmly upon the path that leads
toward victory You feel more wildly per
haps than you ever felt before what glorious
thing 1t Is to struggle for and conquer, as you
look up to those formidable walls and columns
of clay looming thirty, forty and eighty feet
above your head-cold, defiant, naughty in
their marble hardness, and remember that
Kansas City has wrcsted almost every foot of
her territory from the grasp of such foe
The plucky men who have rocked this city
in the cradle Of her infant poverty watched
der steps and moulded her character through
an unpromising childhood and who now re
joice as she enters upon the upward, glowing
path az radiant youth are more than wiling
10 complete the good work they began in the
long ago By the liberal use oftlme and money
Poor men who believe that God has given
the at least one right of which they can new
er he deprived, the sacred right by the toll of
their hands given to the service of another in
return for fair and honorable moneyed com.
pensation, to provide for their birdings a hap
py nome nest secure from want ilnd in Kansas
City an abundant and fruitful field for their
efforts. Thus capital and labor in blessed ac
cord 60 out nan in had to fill up the deep val
ieys and level down the high hills, making
both the glorious gateway through which shall
Row the mighty business current of the West
The grading which is such an imperative and
essential feature in the growth of the city is
not only laborious but also very expensive.
The preparation of the lot on which the new
post office will soon lift its stately head cost
$4,000, and the grounds for private residence
located very near this lot amounted TO $1,000
Necessarily this has greatly increased the value
Of property and he who expects TO either pur
chase or rent n home In Knnsas Citu rnnat