Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1886-12-24
REFLECTIONS FOR wICHITA'S DOUBT
ING THONASES.


And who can blame these doubters! Are
they not made of flesh a..d blood1 Is there
a man amongst us, however sanguine he may
have been in expression, who ever expected
| what we see here today.
lie we seek an answer to each of these quer
ries. let US ask why it was that our best bust
ness lots changed from the hands of the
original owners at from s25 to 1925 per front
foot with an exultant chuckle, only to pass
from the hands of that purchaser to third
buyer for double tie money before the deal
was cold. Let US ask why a sol should buy
out his fathers farm near the city at the
| then fabulous price of about $50 per acre
and why that father should be buying lots
of 25x140 feet out Of that farm today al
| $500 each Why so many of the old stewards
Of Wichita have bnrried their talent made
from their first sales of property beneath
their grave doubts; whilst the far-sighted
newcomers have repeatedly invested theirs
in eur realty, and made not ten, but often a
thousand fold Why an uneducated African
from the south arrived here year ago with
SEVENTH five cents, and took few of our then
worthless lots from white man and brother
for his more valuable months labor; and
why that darkey wears today very bland
and ivory-showing ten thousand dollar smile.
whilst the white man and brother wears on
his visage the perpetual mirage Of an elong-
ated pickle jar every time the thing is men
toned to him.
All these things have happened because we
occupy the natural site, and possess the la
tent and developing conditions for a great
commercial center. We original first set
tiers came here to live by conquering the
conditions On the surface of hostile wilder
ness. In doing this we established standards
in harmony with our conditions from incip
iency to the completion of our task. Our
values for farm lands ranged from 50 per
raw acre farthest from a town to $40 per
improved acre on the verge of a vii
lage. Town lots were of
nominal value for actual occupancy.
Every business man knew each Of his Gus
toners generally; he could control their
trade regardless of any thought of CONNER
measure.
But the immigration from the older states
came along with the increased development
of rapid means of communication. They
had not only very different ideas from us as
to values, but they had more capital and
higher standards from which to judge than
we could have. They possessed superior con-
ditions over us everyway.
The men who have made these changes,
who have astonished us more than they have
our jealous neighors, are shrewd observers
who are Educated by practice in spying out
the land. They weht to St. Paul, to Omaha,
Kansas City and Denver to view the field
not of speculation but Of a certain and mar
velous investment At each Of these places
they find price and conditions we'll devel-
oped. They next travel over the best cities
of Kansas. They find in Wichita a thriving
town; the natural days travel from
any rival city it occupies the very center Of
a rich food producing county not more than
developed; they find her people en-
terprising and intelligent with a steady
influx of new blood; they find Wichita
days travel in every direction from any
natural site for rival, and above all, they
find the greatest railways Of the West using
her as bone of contention-one of them
the others mapping out gigantic plans to
partalle of her greatness by building to her
gates They find her making not 1.-THE of
the efforts for greatness that her neighbors
do. She does not lay plans to injure them
she Is not frantic with rage and jealousy.
Her Oldest citizens consider her valuable
lands already too high for safety. Such are
the signs by which the professional observer
and calculating capitalist knows a coming
city. They say at once, Here is a place
which has very ear-mar1s of grand destiny"
And they put in their thousands Of dollars
with a nonchaance that amazes us. But
they know what they are doing as certainly
rs professional hog-buyer knows 400
FOUNDER Berkshire from hazel-splitting
razor back that he's not enough grease to fry
his meat in. Our doubters say we can have
10 city with out factories. The rich invest |
ors say you will have factories when you get
4 large population whose numerous wants
must be supplied. Our grumblers say We
cannot build our own railroads Our |
intelligent, and rapidly growing
population answer: we will build an airline |
from Wichita to New Orleans via FIT Smith, |
and Shreveport within five years, and have |
bonded cars bringing the products of the
West Indies, South America and all Europe
10 our merchants direct. From our bonded
warehouses we will distribute not only the
products of other countries, but we will
bring from New England. New York and
in ships through the Florida
canal with only one handling at New
Orleans. those goods that now come through
several carriers before we get them. The
distance from New York to New Orleans is
to be shortened by the Florida canal over
l 900, and it is about 800 miles to New
Orleans from Wichita.
VIZ. T. HUTCHINS.
MEDICINE LODGE ITEMS.
To the Editor OF the Eaglo.
Business is lively
I