Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-04-13
Up. ALIENS ADMINISTRATIONS.

VI d City VI ltS slZc, It's Tdplu STo" I'LL
and extensive public improvements,
coupled with the further fact that it has
been situated upon so-called border OF
civilization, and that its first great life
impulses were drawn largely from ele-
ments counted lawless, Wichita has had a
remarkable municipal history, especially
so as law abiding and as being wholly
free from jobs, steals, crookedness, extrav-
aSance or even reckless or unwise eXpendl-
ture, upon the part of her public officials
For years not one cent of taxes was levied
for city purposes, the revenues being
drawn from licenses, permits and fines,
wholly by executive officers, yet never was
the charge seriously made that the city had
been or was being swindled
In looking back over our municipal
history, and with al that can
be said in behalf of the
administrations of its different mayors,
from Allen the elder to Allen the younger,
including those of Hope, Harris, Kohn,
Greiffenstein and Aldrich, the EAGLE
| takes pleasure in going on record with the
declaration that for ability cleanness,
upon the one hand, and for enterprise and
improvements of permanent character
upon the other, the administration of
Joseph 2. Allen is and must remain a
marked one. As for the economy of his
adninistrayio ion. expenses could only have
been retrenched by cutting off or curtail-
ing expenditures for things which the city
demanded, through its representatives, the
city council. The city engineer item alone
seems large in comparison, it being $1,000
as against the police force $4,000, the
fire department $4,000, and all
other salaries $1,000. The whole
expense for the past year, including
hydrant rental, electric, gas and vapor
lights ali foots up s13l ,623. So, or about
S375 per capita However, in the expend-
iture of all this great sum of eleven thous-
and dollars per month no whisper or sus-
picion Of crookedness has been heard, no
complaint of lavishness or recklessness.
In his ambition to conduct the affairs of
the city in a way that criticism would
prove impossible he has had the hearty
second of the city council and the watch
full eye of City Attorney Dyer, than whom
few more careful, painstaking lawyers
can be found in this city or elsewhere.
Among the more notable enterprises
which have been set on foot under Mr..
Aliens administration is the new sewer
system which embraces sixty-four miles
of sewerage, a good portion of which is
| completed in apparently a substantial
and satisfactory manner. The con-
tract price of this work is
about two hundred and sixty-four
thousand dollars. Beside the Topeka ave-
nue. main sewer and latterals nearly five
miles in length has been principally built
under Mr. Aliens administration. The
amount OF curbing and gutterlng, street
grading, bridging and so forth surpassed
the like work of any other administration.
One of the fire department houses was
built by him, in fact the present fire de-
partment together with much of the best
apparatus, horses, etc, were all secured
since his induction into office.
As was stated in his farewell address to
the city council night before last, he took
the chief eXecutiveship Of the city at a
most trying time, at time when an I'M
usual and unwonted prosperity, which had
largely inflated mems notions, was falling
back to the solid and normal, so that his
continued struggle for the first year was
to heed off and mold down.
While strict prohibitionist and a
straight-out Republican Mayor Allen was
elected as neither, but simply as business
man of Wichita, Why he refused to be-
come candidate for reelection remains
with himself. 1t might be thought that it
was because of the curtailment of the
power of the mayoralty by the late police
commission law But for whatever rea-
son it was personal to himself and not the
desire of the people. However, in COM
mending his good work and ever honest
endeavors and in bidding him an Off
cial goodbye the EAGLE but reflects the
sentiments of thousands of our people and
the majority of the business community,
both Republican and Democrat, il saying:
We'll done, thou good and faithful ser
want -