The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1879-08-28
KAN,,sAs.
THE LANDS OF rHH ArcMsox. TOPEKA
SANTA FE RAuRoAD

IHE LANDS Of I14G6 AISktlSON. OPEkA
4 SANTA FE RAILROAD.
ToPKKA, August 5. 1879.
10 fzs Editor Of fa@ Chicago Journal:
Ny attention has been called to let
ter from your correspondent, J.. II.
Wright. at Emporia, Kansas, dated July
l4th. in which he makes direct charge
against this company (the Atchison, To-
peka A Santa Fey Of deception and fraud
in securing of immigrants to its lands.
His description of Lyon county is fair,
and all he says regarding it | believe to
be true. / also agree with him in the
statement that no man with a family
should come here for the purpose of
farming with less than 81 600 capital (al-
though the cost of starting in the herd
law counties to the west is considerably
less than in Lyon-as there the item of
fencing is saved) and that it is folly for
families or even young men without
means to come here-but when your
correspondent goes out of his way to
assert that it is owing mainly TO false
statements made by The Atchison, Tope-
ka & Santa Railroad Company that the
great tide of emigration has rushed past
Emporia. and that many of these poor
people have been deluded into seeking
homes on the frontier, without adequate
means to support themselves the first
year, he certainly takes special pains TO
injure his OWE reputation as fair and
accurate correspondent.
This company has never advised any
one to come to this State without suffi-
cient means for a start. and q years
support, supplemented by energy and
industry and we have always discour-
aged those without means, or young
men seeking employment, as the follow
ing extracts from our circular viii tcsti-
fy:
I'VE cannot advise any married man
with family to come here with less than
$500 to 81 900 to make start on farm,
or any single man with less than $500 to
$500, and then it will require plenty of
grit, hard work and rigid economy to
get through the first year or two.
''To young men seeking clerkships in
offices and stores, we say: You cannot
do better here than in the East, is as |
well. For every vacancy that occurs
there are many applicants
This agrees almost identically with |
the advice given by Mr.. Wright and II
it is false statement, then his must be |
also.
The report of the State Board of Ag-
ricuture for 1873 will, however, best |
prove whether this company made a |
mistake in encouraging emigration west
Of Emporia, or whether settlers made q |
mistake in going. There are twenty
three organized counties on the line of
this road. eleven in the eastern and |
twelve in the western belt of the State. |
The average age Of the eastern counties |
since organized is twenty and a quarter |
wears: Of the central, seven and three
quarters years. Lyon county was or
ganiZed twenty years ago, and ranks |
sixteenth in the value of all creps raised
by counties on this line. The value of
all crops in the eleven eastern counties
in 1873 was $3.50, 400; in the twelve
central counties, So, 034 ,74s. Nine coun-
ties to the west of Lyon exceed it in
value of crops produced, and three of
them, less than eight years old, more
than double it. Five of the counties in
the central belt exceed 100000 each
in value of crops raised in 1878. While
bat two counties in the eastern belt ex-
ceed that amount. such facts as these.
taken from so reliable source. are a
complete refutation of the assertion of
your correspondent that emigrants are
being deceived.
Ii is possible. however. for settlers to
get too tar west in this State for gencr-
al farming: but so long As there are free
homesteads in the western counties EN-
igrants are going there; and all the pro-
tests of this railroad company against it
have been without effect. We have
been as much censured by the settlers in
the western part of the State tor dis
couraging emigration there. and refns-
we have been by property-holders in
Eastern Kansas for attracting 80 much
to our central counties. The
western counties that have in the past
four years given us the finest wheat crop
both in quality and yield, have this year
an almost entire failure in wheat. Many
of the settlers have come in but lately.
and with but very limited means. These
must necessarially suffer hardship in
getting start on their homesteads, and
while we admire their determination
and pluck 10 secure farm, we do not
indorse their wisdom in attempting it.
the history of these people to-
day is the history of the pioneers of the
Western frontier in the past fifty years.
Since. through the injudicious asser-
ton of one of your correspondents. a
false charge has been made against this
ask, as matter OF justice,
that the contradiction of it be also per-
Initted to appear in your columns.
Yours truly, "A. $. JOHNSON.
Land Commissioner A. I. Il 5. +. II. Il.