Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-01-12
: THE NEW COURT.

| EDITOR EAGLE:-Will you allow me a
word in reply toa communication in this
mornings EAGLE in regard to the new
that article labors under a misapprehen-
| sion of the facts. | take it that he writes
in the interest of what he thinks is for
the prosperity of Wichita. In this de-
sire l fully agree with him, but l do not
agree with him in the assumption that
sufficient court facilities will be an injury
to the city. Rather / insist that suffi-
cient court facilities will be great bene-
fit to the city. The writer of the COM
munication referred to, assumes that the
necessities for new court has grown
out Of our recent real estate boom
and that its purpose is to hasten the fore
closure of mortgages resulting from this
boom" The fact is that the necessities
for new court would have been almost
as great as they now are if we had never
had boom. 1t can be
easily ascertained by anyone who will
take the trouble to inquire that the fore
closure of mortgages constitutes very
small per cent of the great volume of
business now in our courts. The neceS-
sity for greater court facilities than we
now have is no temporary necessity. 1t
is result of our growth as city. The
necessity for another court arises from
the same fact that made new court
house and Jail a necessity-simply be-
cause we as a city of forty thousand,
need more and greater facilities to trans
act the increasing volume of business,
than we needed when onr population
was not one-ffth as great as it now Is.
| think it may De truthfully said that
there is not III the whole United States a
city of the size and commercial import
ance of Wichita with as inadequate court
facilities. Suppose a citizen of Wichita
goes east to induce capital to come here,
and says to All eastern capitalist that
Wichita IS the leading commercial and
manufacturing city of the state of Kan
sas, and the capitalist asks him about the
courts, and is informed that we have but
a single court for the whole county of
Sedgwick, and that the court business of
city and county, both civil and criminal,
must be done by this one court. The
capitalist would say to him that the fact
that the city has but one court does not
indicate that it is a city of any import
ance. Towns and cities Of from three to
five thousand inhabitants have the same
court facilities that Wichita has. Our
citizen then must reply: Eyes. but the
court at Wichita is four years behind
with its business. And the capitalist
asks why other courts are not provided.
The Wichita man must say: Swell, our
people are in debt, and we do not
want to allow our mortgages to be fore
closed"
The result would be that the
capitalist would decline to allow any of
his money to be placed where his rights
could have no protection from the
courts. This is simply business propo-
sltion. If there was any sympathy in it
my sympathy would be with the men
who are in debt but the reasonable
view to take of the matter is that when
ever it is known in the east what our
court facilities are we will find it very
difficult indeed to obtain eastern money,
and without it men who are now in
debt must suffer the most. 1t is ques-
ton whether we need judiciary at all.
If we do then we must have a sufficient
one. If we are not going to have a suf
ficient one we may as well give UP the
court we have and allow men to settle
their own affairs in their own way. 1t !
is question whether we shall be gov
erned by law, or drift away in the direc- |
ton of anarchy. G..