Wichita eagle., 1889-12-08
ANOTHER VICTORY FOB WICHITA.
A Leading Wholesale Man Tells About One OF
the Latest Defeats for Kansas City
Houses Worked Out In
Short Time.

One of the leading gentlemen OF the city
interested in the wholesale business yes
terday stated that he had noticed the turn
of the wheel on one thing connected with
the wholesale interests of the city with a
a great deal of pleasure. Some months
ago, in fact soon after the Wichita upris-
ing on freight rates before the railroad
commissioners, and the victory won Ger
tain leading firm in q certain line neing
tackled by Kansas City houses put up the
price to Wichita houses so that only very
limited territory could be handled by
Wichita houses. He had thought for
momont that this was the new and might
be a most effective way the Kansas City
houses would have in hampering and ma
terially injuring the wholesale interests OF
Wichita, The fact was that one house, as
stated made the arrangement as suggested
and demanded by the Kansas City houses
That firm had been doing more business in
its line in the Wichita territory than all
others put together and hence the serious
manner in which he had regarded it when
the fact was first presented to him.
The result as seen today is the pleasing
feature For few weeks it was not funny
at all. By itself it would not make
pleasant thing to contemplate and
figure in public or even pri-
vate. But the result may be
of some interest to the friends Of the city
as we'll as to those directly concerned in
the wholesale interests. The competing
houses of the one concern throwing itself
on the Kansas City fellows, come right
into the Wichita houses and out into the
territory naturally controlled by Wichita
wholesale interests and commenced to DO
business. The Kansas City fellows were
not able to get them TO sign up and they
come in just as fast as electricity ana lass
freight could bring them and the result Is
they have got the trade now and the Kan
sas City admirer is not only getting left
but has got left already. Just SO many
cars come to the wholesale houses just as
regular with the increase expected as they
formerly did, or would have done, had the
one firm failed to go into the agreement
with Kansas City. So there is no injury
to Wichita wholesale interests, simply
other eastern houses get the trade OF
Wichita wholesale houses.
The gentleman said he had learned from
undoubted authority that some OF the
Kansas City fellows had tried many other
lines of trade in a similar way but had
been unable to get another company
to change their price list to give
them an advantage. They had been
matching the one making the break and
it did not seem to be healthy financial ex-
ercise and was most too expensive to in
dulge in simply because Missouri town
wanted them to try it. The one house
making the trial loosing SO much is al
ready figuring on some way to let go Of
their Kansas City friends gracefully and
get back the volume Of trade lost in south
ern Kansas, the territory and northern
Texas.
So in conclusion the gentleman observed
that the last scheme of Kansas City houses
which had frightened to some extent at
fist had failed early in the race, much
earlier than he had ever expected, and its
failure was a defeat for Kansas City and
another very comfortable victory for
Wichita