The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1879-02-27

lawyers of the Senate by the writer o
this, which legal gentlemen announce,
that in their judgment there was n
doubt rs to the efficacy Of the bill nor o
of its entire OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES it
provisions were sound and ample ant
abundantly guarded at all points. Al
opposition being withdrawn the bin be
came law and Harvey county was du
ly declared a municipality sole, witt
Newton as the county seat.
BY this mandate of the highest pow
er known to the State, Sedgwick count!
lost fourteen townships of territory, o.
over quarter of q million of acres o
taxable land, two cities(0 Of question:
BILE value at that time, and virtually
thirty-three miles of railroad, worth fol
taxable purposes, over one quarter Of ,
million dollars annually-in all rount
million of property. Harvey county
gained, in addition to what Sedgwicl
county lost, county seat, and an indie
pendent organization. But that is moi
all she gained. The railroad, which sh,
is now trying to make Sedgwick pay for
made Newton junction of two impor
tant lines of railway, gave her the ter
minus of division with its round
house, officials and buildings, and hun
drcds of employees. What would have
proved only mere "whistling station
had the road been built from Peabody
as at first projected, became an impor
tant commercial center second only to
W chita herself.
Time went on and all parties in inter.
est were satisfied or gracefully submit.
ted to the inevitable, until ScdgwicL
called on Harvey to make good her par
of the compact, when, not that she ex.
pected to free herself of her RESPONSE.
b lily, but more to gain time, her Off.
Gals raised the cavil that mistake
had been made in the title of the bill,
which rendered it unconstitutional and
them from further responsible.
ty or obligation in the matter. To the
appeals of Sedgwick's officials, the only
answer was that Wichita had grown
faster and greater than Newton, that
Sedgwick had the most taxable proper.
ty. that personal promises and mere
moral obligations counted for naught
and if Sedgwick county wanted her
rights she must ask them of the cour Is.
This she promptly did. and with what
result is well known. The SuprcmeCourt
said in effect that while Scdgwick county
was morally in the right, the law W as
lame and the only chance for redress
would be through an appeal to the L. g
stature. Thrice has she done this. bui
by pleading the baby act, by abject rer-
sonal appeals, by retaining dcmagoguc
hirelings, and by outrageous and I'M
falsehoods has she succeeded in
that body from righting the
great wrong which Sedgwick yet suffers
from the rccreancy of the officials of a
that she virtually made.
The appeals made by the bummers OF
Harvey county are only more humiliat-
ne than the eflrontcry and outrageous
character of their lies. For hours. at
nj times, day and night, week in and
week out, irresponsible parties without
property or the expectation of ever be-
ng taxed this side of pcrdition, stand
around the corridors of the legislative
and of the hotels. for the mere
matter of their grub il may be, at most
for pittance of money. telling men,
bers that the inhabitants of the town
ships cut of into Harvey county voted
against the bonds! tina,
and Sedgwick City were OPP
posed to the railroad! that Wichita
would never have grown beyond vii
Iage but for Newton's and Scdgwick's
help. that Wichita forced the organiza-
ton upon them, and in spite of their
protest, but for which fact Newton
would have been Weather to-day than
she is and that Sedgwick would have
been the county seat! that Scdgwick
has always refused to turn over
TO Harvey her portion of the stock
that Sedgwick sold her stock years ago
to The railroad company for the consid-
Grafton of one dollar IA matter testified
10 by a Newton man before one of the
and numberless other base
css and ridiculous falsehoods too nu-
nervous to mention.
Briefly these are the reasons Mr.. Times
md Mr.. News that the editor of the
EAGLE is ncglecting his private affairs
and spending his time with Commits
,ioner Steele and other officers and influ-
entail gentlemen, in trying to assist our
able delegation, Messrs. Sluss. Greiflen-
stein and Tucker. in the matters TO which
rou alude and about which You rant
md scold 50 fnr;ously. And YOU are
iere and further notified that we shall
remain at Topeka not only the balance
If this session. but will promptly he on
,and at every session in the future. I'M
ess the rights of our county are fairly
md cqmtably acknowledged and add
listed.