Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-11-21
AGITATION AND OKLAHOMA.
The Jobbing Trade of Wichita and What
Should be Done.
To the Editor of the Eagle.

about by the people. This agitation
what we need.
Agitation makes religion tolerant, pol
itics honest and business enterprise.
Let us agitate.
Agitation in the time of Webster pre-
vented his becoming president.
Agitation freed the negro, and enfrar
chised him.
Agitation made Kansas and Iowa pre-
hibition states, and is threatening t
make more states of the same kind.
Let us agitate.
Let all talk.
Let every man give his opinion, an
let every opinion be weighed, and tn
result will be for our general good.
Agitation produced the Springer bill
Agitation viii pass the bill, and brinl
glorious results to Wichita.
Oklahoma, SO far as Wichita is con
cerned, is not an end, but it is the mean
to an end. Oklahoma is the cause, job
Wichita the final end, and whilst Okla
homa hastens the end and Is to be sup
ported, yet we must not lose sight of th'
end, i. g., jobbing houses.
Let us in earnest get down to oul
knitting" on this wholesals trade and
give it the same deliberate thought thai
has characterized Wichita in railroads
colleges, packing houses, and other in
dustries.
We have never thoughtfully studied
the jobbing interest one hour, in con
nection with the result on anything ex.
cept the jobber, but the beneficial effec,
on the jobber is a narrow view of the
matter. That the jobber may grow rich
is good, but if his growing rich does not
tend to enrich Wichita, it is matter in
which the writer has no Interest other
than the pleasure one man should have
in the prosperity of another, but the
prosperity of the jobber cannot be with
held from the community in which he
resides but defuses itself throughout
his town, the county and state.
Separate and apart from the welfare
of the ''jobber" every citizen of Wichita,
every property owner, and every
well-wisher of Wichita, has as
selfish an interest in the es-
Enlistment of the iobbing
interest as anyone had in the railroads
for which we voted bonds, or the pack
ing houses for which we worked and
donated money, land and mortgages.
Our bond votings and donations were
not matters of pride and of pure good
will to the recipients of our bounty, but
it was a square business contract, which
Invested of meaningless words, was lit
orally as follows: Construct your rail-
road, locate your packing house, enhance
the value of our lands, stimulate our
business, increase our population and
we will vote you bonds Or pay you a
The writer hereof has always believed
that one-half million dollars invested in
the jobbing interest would be of more
value to Wichita than the same amount
of money in packing houses, for the
reason that packing houses are followers
of trade rather than creators Of it. The
jobbing interest attracts trade and is the
great factor in the settlement of the
freight question, because the
settlement of its freight becomes basis
to regulate all other freight by.
The jobbing interest is an advertise
ment in the southwest compared to
which all other advertising schemes are
of a second thought-for the
reason that it advertises without seeming
so to do, and people are attracted with
out thought of anything except their
own selfshness.
The writer of this is opposed to any
bonus or subsidy to any jobbing interest.
First, because we have jobbers who have
by years of hard labor built up trade,
and to subsidise others will be unfair and
unjust. Second, TO commence to give
donations to mercantile men is field in
which we can never get over, and
work which if ever engaged in will never
cease; but there is method to be
adopted which will be fair to the present
jobber and help to the new jobber, i. e.,
assist in subscribing and paying up the
capital stock Of all jobbers, and if the
'old jobbers" don't desire any assistance
we will have more money for the new
ones. We should subscribe one-third or
one-half of the capital of at least six new
jobbers by January I, 1889, if we intend
70 profit by the opening of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma is our fortune or our dis
aster as we see fit to make it. Kansas
City, Missouri, grew rich from the set
.lement of Kansas, but it was because it
pushed its ''jobbing interests" wherever
railroads penetrated and civilization
clustered. 1t acted on the maxim that
wherever there was buyer there should
be seller, and if Wichita goes to work.
gets itself in position as a seller, and
hunts the buyer the buyer will soon hunt
is.
The writer hereof does not believe
hat Wichita is strong enough in any
branch of trade to maintain an equal
with Kansas City. Missouri, if
Oklahoma is opened this year, but we
AN be made strong enough if we will go
% work.
As soon as the Oklahoma meeting is
out of the way we should have a general
meeting of the board of trade, and if the
board don't stake hold of this in earnest
We should >try the method of an
appeal direct to the citizens of the
,itv. What we want, and what
We must have is, first, to strengthen the
present jobber, if he needs it: second,