Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-04-14
THE WICHITA OF TO-DAY.
A City Whose Magnitude and influence are no
Only Assured, but Acknowledged by
Rish Authorities

There is no town or city in this whole
country that has in its day been so thor
oughly, so vigorously, so wantonly and so
outrageously abused i'll every way imagin-
able, as has been Wichita. The calumny
heaped upen her was born OF enmity, an
enmity born of fear or malice. The innu-
merable and inconceivably ridiculous
faisehoods set af1oat concerning Wichita
had their origin in places and were from
sources actuated by moro or less of the
sentiment above indicated. These accusa-
lions and innuendoes were circulated with
such persistence and frequence that they
gained a degree of credence, wholly I'M
accountable. The most malicious utter
copied and widely circulated by the highly
reputable journals of the country. The
general tenor, the ultimate purpose, Of
these calumnies, was to create the impress
sion, that Wichita was not, and never
could be, city of more than local import
ance, much less become the center of
power in the uncontrolled territory, to
which she now holds the key. These were
the methods adopted by those whose wish
was father to the thought" The results
were not so entirely satisfactory
as had been hoped by the originators and
projectors of this line of policy. While
possibly this gnoulish envy may have
have been satiated to a certain degree, the
result of the sentiment precipitated by
them fell not upon Wichita alone but it
acted as a boomerang upon the origina-
tors, who had hoped to derive only unal-
loyed pleasure and profit from such con-
dition as they expected to bring to Wich-
tia. The recoil was too severe for the
frail assailants to withstand and any effect
which may have been produced upon her by
the tactics mentioned is worse than dupli-
Gated in the present condition of those who
led in the volume and venom of abuse.
Wichita was and is today the leading
spirit, the embodiment, the realization of
the highest type of the new western civili-
cation, push, enterprise and progress. She
lead the way. Others simply followed
Wichita's example on a scale commensur-
ate with their relative capacity. As
Wichita is in her zenith, so are they, and
whatever fancy Wichita's fortune pos
sessed, the same was decreed to the wes-
tern cities or towns, of which she is the
personification. There is food for refec-
ton here and it might be recommended,
as diet for those whose motto presuma-
bly, is, Others may build up, but we tear
down"
There is a certain retributive justice
about such experiences. Wichita has, Of
her own individual resources, her strength
Of character and her determination al
ready outgrown and will forever live down
any aspirations of past or future origin,
while in the light of recent and future
events her mentors will only appear in the
pitiable attitude of false prophets lament
ing over the distress which had reacted
upon them, being of their own creation.
For the past few months, more par
ticularly than in any previous
stage of Wichita's career as
city, has the general public and the
fair minded press of the country been
awakened to full realization of the indis-
putable fact that Wichita is indeed des-
tined to become city of great magnitude,
influence, wealth and power, such as she
and her admirers have always claimed.
And while these impressions have been
becoming rooted in the minds of the peo-
pie throughout this whole country, the
by unwholesome methods haYe been for
ever eradicated. The erroneous and ma
lignant stories once set af1oat and once
believed can never again be forced upon
an enlightened public.
When such authorities as The Leading
Journal of ivilization-Harper's Weekly
do their own volition, give such recogni-
ton to the genuine merits and true worth
of any city as that journal did to Wichita,
and to follow it up with renewed emphasis
all of her former assertions, together with
reiterations and additions in answer to the
unjust aspersions cast upon Wichita by
an aggregation Of combined ignorance and
imprudence, then is the time for pigmies
to be quiet and cease exposing
themselves and their own weakness to
the world at large by assailing city
which obtains such recognition. Not only
is Wichita today receiving the recognition
due her by the leading journals of the
country, but many prominent newspaper
of the state of Kansas. have within the
past few months, began to realize what is
apparent to all who see Wichita and study
her position and her resources.
The strongest argument, the most recent
one, anu Tue one w HUI - ing anu
will continue to carry the most weight of
any factor, in molding Wichita's des-
tiny is the deserved recognition
accorded her as indisputedly
the metropolis of the southwest, by
a body of representative Kansans, who in
an official capacity accorded her rights, to
which she is richly entitled and with the
distributing rates thus connected. she will
promptly take her proper position amongst
the commercial and business centers of the
country.
With such recognition and her rapidly
general business pulse. Wich-
tia has even now attained an eminence
where she is above and beyond the reach
of any and all such petty efforts as may
be made by misguided enemies who may
seek TO tear down her reputation.
There she stands to-day Look at her.
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