Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-02-26
WHY THE CROWDS ON wICH1TA'5
STREETS NEVER GROW LESS.

A well informed and closly observing
gentleman. as well as an analytical rea
sOner. remarked to the writer that he
had been coming to Wichita for ter
years past once or twice year: that he
had seen the little throng of humanity
increase ON Main and Douglas streets
from half dozen, more or less, to the
block Of the then country village, to a
compact mass of humanity covering oul
sixteen feet sidewalks sixteen hours
every day throughout sixteen blocks OF
those same streets. Said he, 1.-The dull
times of summer, fall and winter that
have generally affected the country have
only witnessed the steady increase OF
this ceaseless throng of humanity on
these streets; whilst hard times have had
their bad effect on the population of
other towns and cities, they seem never
to lessen, but to silently protest against
the steady increase of that of Wichita. ]
cannot see what caused it in the first
place, or what continues it, nor can ]
see wha is to sustain it. Just why the
same thing has not occurred in any or
|
l cannot see. They all have the same
| resources
Sue h is the natural result Of reasoning
from general premises. But Wichita
furnishes an instance of special prem
Use to reason from. General premises are
non progressive and excessively conser-
vative. Special premises are the re-
verse, From the general premises of
human reas oning the world did not and
| could never turn on its axis. From the
| special premises of Calico it always did
SO turn. From general premises the
| American desert, embracing the site OF
| this city, could never contain such a
dense population as it is now rapidly
gathering in.
! From the special results seen in the
past dozen years the opposite premise IS
established. From general premises the
oldest and most Sangulne of us who first
saw this eXpanse of unpeOpled prairie
| could never reason to the actual results
of today through the events which have
brought us forty thousand people.
From general premises we cannot easily
reason from the population of today to
four times as many in few years more.
Yet the special premises are abundantly
scattered about us to warrant the ny
pothesis, Far more abundant than they
were in 1878 that we should ever reach
our present status.
Touching briefly upon the subject
call to mind that of Wichita's relation
to transportation. Senator Edmunds,
in his tariff article in the February
Harpers magazine, illustrates the prin-
ciple of transportation as an item of cost
in social economy which the free traders
fail to consider in their anti-tariff argu-
ments. and which is much in favor of
our position as a commercial city. Com
mon carriers thrive most by a full flow
of trade in every direction both ways
over their routes. If, then, you estab-
lish a city IN the midst of country
Astounding in rare food products for both
man and beasts; which in turn is mid
way between the mineral products of the
mountains and the timber of the hills to
the east and southeast; to the coffee. dye
stuffs and general products of the mari
time tropics, the cotton. sugar, rice and
cattle of the country this side, and the
vast grain and stock country north, you
have established the highest condition of
things to produce a great volume of
freight both ways over every line of rail-
way traversing such surrounding terri
tory.
This condition becomes fixed princi-
pie from which flows low rates both ways
in every direction, because the roads ex-
pend no Improbable force in hauling
empty cars. This results from the prin-
ciple that ordinarily merchant will
sell one hundred bushels of potatoes for
less per bushel than he would one, or
carter would haul one hundred loads for
less money if you load him both ways
than if only one way. This simple prin-
ciple constitutes the individually COM
peting or rate point of the railway pools
which the useless interstate commerce
law interfered with.
Wichita, an individual, is able to load
large proportion of all railway cars
going to and from her limits; this pro-
portionately reduces the expense of oper-
atlng the lines running here. since the
losses OF drawing empty cars are re-
duced to q minimum both ways.
In consequence, she gets concessions
prOportlOnately lower than surrounding
cities which cannot so proftably employ
their common carriers.
1t will not be denied that Wichita is
more favorably situated in the geography
of the country than any other growing
and but partially developed city in the
whole country when viewed from the
standpoint of the premises referred to
above. When, therefore, we can con-
slider, additionally, her other advantages,
such as her great car works, packing
house. pillow factory. watch factory, boot
and shoe factory, and many lesser ones;
her immediate prospects for cheap liv-
ing. cheap schooling for children and
varied and stable facilities for educating
our young men and women. we begin to
discern one of the premises for reasoning
out vast aggregation of natural forces
that are calculated TO lead us to great
height OF prosperity. a city of forty
thousand inhabitants, situated in the
midst OF country producing maxi |
mum of food from mini |
mum of area for maximum
of population comes within all
the rules of social and material develop |
ment for holding its supremacy over |
places of less population |
and wealth, which have no special !
natural resources above it. When to |
this, however, is added the fact that |
manufacturing and commercial enter |
prises have been started in ten months |
which are to be running within the |
year that eclipse the acquisitions of any
other city IN so many years of develop |
ment, we have much more progressive
promise. If we seek others to assure |
us we may add that no city ever made
such developments and maintained
such low rate of taxation: that we
have just put 100000 of per cent
bonds on the market, and that $4,000 |
premium has been offered for them.
| might 90 on showing WHY hard |