Wichita eagle., 1888-02-12
wIcH1rA's FUTURE.
AS Portrayed by Her Past and Present,
is Brilliant.

If eighteen years ago, or in March,
1870, when Dutch Bill''-now the Hon.
William Grieffenstien-and d. S. Mum
ger laid out the town of Wichita, and
later each busted himself in donating
lots to whoever would haul his house
from off the property of the other and
locate in the donors addition to the
town, had encouraged those same house
owners to believe that in the next ten
years there would be city of ASP peo-
pie, they would have been ridiculed.
Or had Hon. j. R. Mead, when he first
began to trade with the Indians at this
point in 1868, predicted that within a
single decade there would be, only a few
miles from the spot where the Indians
then held their annual councils, mag
nificent city of 10000 people, he would
have been regarded as visionary to the
worst degree.
Probably there will be no one more
astonished than the heads Of the
postoffice department when they are in
formed, in answer to certain in
quiries bearing upon Wichita's flu
ture needs in a new postofice,
that in the past ten years it has grown
from 300 to more than as many thous.
ands. The government desires this in
formation to base its calculations for the
succeeding ten years, and although the
figures denote remarkable state of
facts, they should be carefully weighed,
as the next years of Wichita's growth
give every promise of even a more
healthy increase in every respect than
has been shown even in the last half of
the ten years just past.
In spite of the maledictions and adj
verse criticisms of persons whose ex-
pressions concerning Wichita were made,
not from honest convictions, but from
personal reasons, this city has continued
to attract population, capital, business
and industries.
Few people who have seen the devel-
opment of Wichita during the past
year stop to compare her present with
only year ago. Last winter some peo-
pie heitated to invest in property here,
for the reason that they could not see, as
clearly as they would wish, what there
was to justify such real estate activity.
The realizations Of the past year have
| been sufficient to more than convince
the most skeptical that Wicbita's
future as great financial, educa-
tional, commercial, manufacturing and
railroad center is established beyond a
doubt and that the irrevocable precedent
of large cities at proper distances to sup
ply the absolute demands of rapidly
developing and unexcelled territory will
be repeated in Wichita's case just as
surely as it has been at Chicago, at St.
Paul'and Minneapolis. at Kansas City,
at Omaha or at Denver.
Every day strengthens the assurance
that Wichita will continue to grow with
steady and rapid strides and in an in
credible short time more than verify the
most brilliant future predicted for her
by her warmest admirer.
To casual observer the business &C
tivity which is assured Wichita during
the present and succeeding years is not
apparent.
To begin with, the manufacturing and
commercial establishments already doing
business in this city are rapidly enlarg-
ing, and will during the year 1888 have
larger pay rolls than in 1887, which, of
course, was by far the greatest yet known
to them.
Their pay rolls will be reinforced by
the numerous large industries now near
ing completion, and whose combined pay
rolls will almost if not quite double the
amount paid out in wages at present
Among these are the following and many
others. The Burton Car Works whose
business at the beginning, they are now
assured, will tax them to their full ca
pacity, which is 1000 hands. The
watch factory with 400 hands will be in
full operation. The packing houses of
Dold & Son, with 500 or more employees,
the stock yards with small army, in
Guiding the commission men, etc., who
naturally will begin business in1earnest
with the advent Of the packing business.
These and many other large industries,
which are as yet uncompleted, are of a
general character in one particular that
| is, they all dispose of their products in
other markets, bringing additional money
to swell the volume of circulating me-
dunn in this city instead of depending
wholly upon local market.
This money will be spent here in
wages. for raw material and as profits.
The effect of such amounts as these in.
dustries will add to the money in circrl.
lation here can not be appreciated until
it actually begins to circulate. There
are many good towns and cities of the
eastern and central states, whose leading
and in fact, the sole industries, are nc
larger than any one of those referred to-
here in Wichita, and which serve as the
basis of good towns, containing from 3 Don
to 10000 people.
which grew as did their leading indus
tries. But here in Wichita we have the
advantage of all of these combined.