Wichita eagle., 1888-06-17
NO FALSE MODESTY.

Some person with genius for para
dox said not long ago that Wichita i:
the largest city of its size in the world
The seeming contradiction expresses q
striking Wichita characteristic. Leaving
out of consideration the great cities Of
the first rank, whose population runs
into hundreds of thousands, there are nc
small number Of places whose popula.
ton is as great and greater than that OF
Wichita. But no other city containing
a like number of inhabitants attracts
anything like the same attention on cuts
nearly SO great figure in the eyes of the
country.
With the exception of Kansas City,
perhaps, no other city in the west is SO
much spoken of or written about. De
tractors and euIogists have had their
turn, but whether to praise or condemn,
Wichita has been the fruitful
theme of their discourse. The
newspapers of the east from the cross
roads weekly to the greatest Of the met
ropolitan dailies, publish news and opin-
ions from Wichita with the same eager
ness that they show for information from
the greatest of business centers.
The citizen of Wichita habitually COM
pares his city with Minneapolis, st. Paul
and Kansas City and is not disposed to
be abashed even in the presence of the
aggressive Chicagoan. the cultured Bos
tonian or the staid and substantial Phila-
delphian. He is prepared to concede the
leading place in the west to Kansas City,
but declines to concede that such a state
of affairs is destined to continue indefin-
itely. He has seen city of 10000 in
habitants grow from insignificant begin
nings in few months, and looks con-
fidently forward to the addition of an
other zero to the score within a genera
ton.
In one sense the Wichita citizen may
be said to talk Big He certainly is
not accustomed to .''sing small" He
makes the most of his opportunity and
swells up a little when, away from
home. he signs hotel register or an
nounces his place Of residence.
The Wichita resident takes on metro
polltan airs because he is used to seeing
great enterprises begun with confidence
and carried out with success. Ordinary
cities are accustomed to become enthus-
lastlc over a brick block or new resi-
dence. Wichita erects vast enterprises
at enormous expense, lays down miles
Of huge pipe and constructs scores of
miles of horse car and motor lines; her
locaf transit system is on scale
betitting not only the require
ments of the present but the
promises of the future. Sewer
system and street building, all public
improvements, are carried out after the
most ambitious fashion. The very
newspapers are gotten up On grand
scale of enterprise and liberality. There
is nothing little about Wichita, and her
people are not disposed to minimize her
achievements.
Wichita knows that she is destined to
go on and increase nightly. She has
the instinct of strength that grows with
consideration and has her claim allowed,
not only on account of what she is, but
also by reason of what she is sure to be-
come.
Like the japanese beauty at her glass,
Wichita looks out over the smiling
prairies of her glorious domain and
sings:
The sun whose rays
Are all ablaze
With every living glory,
Dos not deny
HIS ~ a tSty-
He scorns o tell story.
He don't exc aim,
81 blush for shame,
So kindly be indulgent,"
But fieice and bold
In fiery gold
He g!ories al effulgent.
] mean 10 rLle the earth
AS he the SLY.
We realy know our worth,
The sun ald 1.