Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-04-01
TEE NEW WEST.
The Great Central State and Her Grsa,
Metropolis.

he replied that. like the rest OF Crete. il
had more rock than plain. Then" said
Plato, there is some hope that its citi-
zens may be virtuous.s
BY this the great Greek meant to i'm
ply that country with fertile soil and
great natural advantages usually is the
site OF more vice and wickednesS than
domains less favored by nature. That
there is much truth in this general state
J ment goes without contradiction. The
truth OF the proposition, however, NAV
, be due to conditions and circumstances
made possible by rich lands and fertile
soil rather than directly attributed to
them.
A country that develops as by magic;
country whose incoming hosts drive
the buffalo from his pastures that they
may build cities; country where in q
few years cities with their tens of thou
sands rise from the plains as though
during the night some propitious genu
had placed them there: country where
exists such indescribable growth and de-
velopment, and progress and prosperity
there of course vice also exists. In
city or country where the increase of
population Is forty or fifty per cent each
year, there Is of course more each wear
there Is OF course more lawlessnesS than
where the growth is limited to a few
dozens of strangers in the same period.
While it may be true that there is
more crime and lawlessnesS in western
cities than in those of the east, it is
also true that there prevails in the west
a certain rule of conduct, or moral
sense OF honor, that is not to be found
III the east, and the violator of this
| sense of honor or right, whether the
violation consists of libel, horse-stealing
or more helnous ofTenses, is not unfre-
| quently called upon to explain at the
nozzle OF smoking siX-shooter, or be-
fore the summary bar of the uncere-
monious Judge Lynch. And this, not
so much because of the uncertain or
dliatory remedy by due process of law,
| as because Of the reproach and dlsrepute
or such offenders against right, honor
| and good citizenship.
IL Is mistaken idea to suppose that
the immense territory west of the Mis-
! sissippi is chiefly noted for being the
home of coyotes, cyclones, cowboys
and Indians. 1t is true, all of these are
to be found within the country named,
but are not peculiar to it; and in the
same domain are 10 be found intelli-
and enterprise, not surpassed, if equaled,
anywhere in the east.
One can form nothing like a correct
idea OF the extent and magniicence of
our country from hearsay or even from
study. To appreciate this in its full
grandeur and greatness. one must travel
travel east and west, north and south
from the Atlantic to the Pacific and
from the lakes to the gulf. All. then in
deed one can realize what q precious
gem fell from the crown of England in !
1916. England dreamed not of the value |
thereof. A single gem in one short CEN
fury outsnines the royal diadem of |
which it is part. Like the flame of oil !
which throws a shadow when shined |
upon by the flame of the Bude-light, so |
all the gems that England yet retains |
throw dark and spectral shade in the !
transcendant brilliancy of that one gem |
now EMBODIED and protected by the Stars |
and Stripes.
What length. what breadth, what |
limits, what dimensions, what prosper
ity and what possibilities for our cOun-
try! A quarter of a century ago the
United States meant that section of the
country east of the Mississippi, together
with a few colonies of cowboys, Indians
and butfalOeS, and the ''Creat American
Desert with its breeds of coyotes and
cyclones, was not SO much as named in
the inventory of our domain. But times
have changed. There has been a trans
formation great as that in the fairy tales
of our boyhood. The heavens have
smiled upon the brrren plains, and the
deserts blossom like gardens. Cities
spring up as if a genii during the night
had placed them there
Time was when New England and
the east was aii now it is narrow
strip of rocky and barren country along
the Atlantic coast. Between the Mis-
sissippi and the Pacific lies mighty
empire with mountains of coal and iron
and gold and plains and valleys, rich
and fertile as Utopian lands. Here is to
be found everything that goes to consti-
tute mighty nation. great in power, In
wealth, in culture, in science and in art
Here are found the parks and canyons
and groves, built by nature. in all their !
Alhambrian splendor: valleys of Tenn I
pean loneliness, and rolling plain pros !
pect, beautiful as the Bavarian hills. {
Here, too, is the Yellowstone park, the
Temple of Isis, the Garden of the Gods ,
and what not.
Do you marvel that men love to dwell [
in such land: Marvel not; for in thess I
vast and fertile lands, on these broad
fields of undeveloped strength. and amid '
these scenes of untold beauty, the glory
Of our nations mighty future must vet J
be wrought out and her destiny fulfilled. t
Kansas Is the central state in the t
American Union, and the balance of
power and domain lies west of the Mis- g
sissippi Think of a state in the geo
graphical center of our Union, twice as / 5
large as Pennsylvania. and containing L
y, oi3, 52O acres. What an empirel a
And east Of ii and west of it and north a
Of 1t and south of it-what q country. t
Stand on this geographical center of our
Mon, and on the sixth principal C
meridian which passes through this EN- g
pre-, and what prospect, what h
splendid future, Her domain reaches Y
,ut in distances sublime. If you look [
forth, all is ours to the lakes. If you h
ook south, the stars and stripes reach o
o the gulf. And east and west our be t
ongings are washed by both oceans. q
The progress In the development Of b
his great western empire Is 80 rapid. 50 o
marvellous, that 1t sounds more ike "A
omance or ike the Arabian tales than a
ober truth. That deserts should bloom {;
Ike gardens of the east, and mighty p
ltIes spring up IN their midst in few i
hort 'years-all this takes the credulity d
f readers somewhat too far. The king 2
{ Siam rejected the testimony of the y
butch ambassador that in his country 81
Eater was sometimes frozen into a solid U
mass, for il was entirely contrary to his 81
wn experience. So incredible and so
ya~ -, & -