Wichita eagle., 1888-04-15
AN OUTSIDE OPINION.
Wichita the Greatest City West of the
Missouri River.

From the Cairo Daily Argus
BELLE PLANE, April 6, 1888.
In letter written to your paper a lit
tie over year ago, about Kansas in gen.
eral and its wonderful city Wichita, l
made the statement that In less than one
year Wichita would be the largest city
in the state You will remember that
you took some exceptions TO my predic-
ton. 1t is to verify my statement of a
year ago now write, and this will prob
ably be the last shall have to say on the
subject.
The year is gone; what are the results:
Wichita has today population OF A. ,O0O,
leading the largest city in the state by
fully 10000. | said In one year she would
| establish packing houses. factories, etc..
and attack Kansas City's trade in the
rear. In two months Jacob & Sons
| will have finished the finest pack
| ing house west of the Mississippi
river, covering twenty acres OF ground,
one of the buildings being nine stories
| high and using 5000. 600 brick In It's con-
struction. The Burton car works are
now about completed, being the largest
Car plant outside of the Pullman
works in the United States. 1t would
| require pages TO speak of the wonderful
| things accomplished In the last year IN
| this magic city. Its watch factory now
| building, wire nail factory and nun
! dred other enterprises just started and
some completed. No day seems to pass
without some addition TO its industries
and enterprises, of either large or small
degree. After building $500 houses in
| the last year, at a cost OF S6,000,O 900,
| there is still a cry for more, and eligible
| dwelling and business houses are IN Just
as great demand as they ever were.
| The time came when spectators could
not buy a lot in the morning and sell 1t
in the afternoon at double its cost, so
these fellows began 10 cry 'busted
| BOOM" The fact was real estate values
had caught up with improvements. and
had to take rest until improvements
and increased population justified another
mark up. That time has now come on
| first class inside property. The additions
viii have to wait while yet, except IN
| the north epd, where they are now ripe
for another advance.
! When it is remembered that Kansas
made her first failure of crops IN 1887 for
/ ten years. is it not wonderful that she
held up i'll the steady march of progress:
There is still one thing lacking to make
Wichita the greatest city west of the
Missouri river. and that want | think
will soon be supplied; her bright busl-
ness men, ever on the alert, viii see ii
ere long if they have not already. The
movement once started aud it is a go.
l refer to railroad matters. Wichita
now has railroads; she needs yet one or
two of the great trunk lines like the B.
& O. or the Pennsylvania Central, or
others that might be mentioned, to push
out an arm to this great center of trade.
This done and she is at once established
as the great produce and jobbing center
of the west. | could give abundant
reason for this, but space will not per-
NIT. Suffice it to say, that | have said
it for the present. and further that 1t viii
be done inside of two years. The time
has already come when no man of means
coming west to invest or to 90 into
business can afford to overlook Wichita
am not resident Of Wichita. as you
well know, but write these things be
cause they are facts as | see them.
/ Yours, ETC., HAWTHORN.