Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-09-18
o. A q w. r. r.
To the Editor of the Eagle

To the Editor of the Eagle.
A great poet has said. "There is q tide in
the affairs of men which taken at its food
leads on 10 fortune" The same is true Of
cities. Wichita, from small beginnings and
under adverse circumstances and surround
ings for years. has developed into city of
some $1,000 inhabitants, thereby creating
astonishment in the minds of old croakers
and casting the shadow of gloom on the
hearts Of its enemies, while it challenges the
admiration of all who behold it and COM
mands the respect of everybody, friend or
foe. No one will say that this growth has
been effected by any but legitimate means
and that it is the combined result of the
brains, energy and capital Of the business
men of all classes in the city. BY united
and pcrsevering effort, then, the citizens of
Wichita have produced and at present main
tain flood tide of prosperity unequaled by
that which has characterized any other city
or town in The state. Having achieved So
much and placed herself in conspicuous,
if not commanding, position, as to becoming
the metropolis of the state, she cannot now
complacently fold her arms and hug the de-
lusive phantom of hope and say that
her future greatness is assured.
She occupies at this moment aI
critical position. All eyes are turned upon
her and steady gaze is directed thither-
ward to see if those who have labored SO
much for her interests heretofore will now
have the wisdom, tine prudence and the
courage to carry out what for long years
they have cherished, nourished, upheld and
sustained as the proudest and fondcst as
piration of their lives, that she should be-
csme the entrepot of the great southwest
and metropolis of Kansas. Too large for
country town, which is in the main sustained |
by the country Immediately adjacent to it, |
and too small for commanding commercial |
center, Wichita must stretch out her arms |
to the great world in every direction by and |
through the agency of railroads, and these
roads, in order to benefit her and those who
trade with her, must be Of q character to
bring her in direct communication with the
trade centers east Of her. We already have
such connections with St. Louis and Kansas
City, but these are not sufficient to suit our
purposes or the demands of our people.
Wemust have more and greater facilities for
reaching the trade centers of the east, and at
cheaper rates than We can at present COM
mand. The Wichita, Abilene and Omaha
road is just such line as Wichita now
needs to give her that connection
northeast which will push her forward
one stride more toward the good of her
ambition. So soon as freights can be laid
down in Wichita direct from ST. Louis and
Chicago the toll upon our immense trade by
and through Kansas City will at once be re-
moved and the latter place be compelled, if
she desires any trade from this section of the
country at all, to treat us as business men
who have the same rights and privileges in
making bargains as have the business men
OF Kansas City, and not as parties having no
rights which they and the roads centering
there are bound to respect. We respect
our own and the rights of others, and claim
Tor ourselves the especial right and privi-
egc to assist in building railroads or in get
ing outlets and inlets for trade in every d.
'ection whatever, and desire by this course
o avoid the tribute which we have hereto
ore paid. The question, then is, will our
people united as one man heretofore in every
rch enterprise come out again on the side i,
legitimate and progressive movements and
hus keep rolling on and upwards the tide !
n our affairs which now taken at its flood,
Vill lead us to fortune. We have said not h
ng about the Wichita and Northwestern,
ne of the proposed lines southeast to Fl
mith, but as much may be sal d in favor of +
lther as has been said of the w. A. & O.
With these three roads built and in success n
Il operation, Wichita will be a railroad = y,
enter, and in less than five years after their f.
ompletion, will become a city of over So rs
10 inhabitants-the great heart beat of G.
hose trade in every department of life, a,
i'll send its currents in every possible d. W
'ction through avenues that will ramify m
le whole country, north, south, east and N y
est. l.. N