The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-08-17
ONLY ONE WICHITA.
A Brief Story of a Kansas Village That
Grew to a Great City in Day.

In the Salt Lake Herald of recent date
we find the following very clever and
tolerably accurate description of Wichita
and how it achieved its growth and
commanding position in so marveIouslv
short time. The editor of the Herald
does not say that he speaks from per-
sonal observation, but if he does not Gf
he visited the city at any time within
the period covered by his brief resume of
the city he came and remained incog) he
certainly procured his information from
some one who knows. But here is
what the Herald says in its editori al
columns:
"Only three or four years ago all eyes
were turned in the direction Of Wichita.
aud good many feet were also turned
IN that direction. 1t was the best adver-
Il ed town in America, One could not
take up newspaper which had nothing
to say about Wichita. The man of affairs,
no matter in what part of the country he
resided, was sure to receive by mail
Wichita literature two or three times a
month. There was a boom on, and
while everybody knew what that meant
everybody did not have the courage to
resist the seductive advertisements.
People by the thousands rushed to the
town, and millions of money were car
rled in. Immense buildings were erected
for business purposes; block after block |
of brick, stone and iron went up |
as if by magic: miles of costly |
pavement were laid, farms and |
prairie land were divided into
town lots and sold at high figures. many
thousands of these lots being purchased
by parties in distant states who had
caught the infection from reading the
newspapers. In truth, Wichita was the
marvel of the day Almost in a day it
had been transformed from an insignif-
cant village on Kansas prairie into
great city, full Of life and business ac-
tivity.
During all of this rapid growth in the
city the men at the helm were planning
to hold and sustain the city when the ex-
cltement should subside and everything
assume nOmal condition for solid, sub
StantIal business. Many promises had
been made, some of which sounded all
but visionary, but the promises have
have been fulfilled and predictions veri-
he'd. All OF boom that existed finally
and the air was left as calm
md serene as if there had never
)een furry in real estate. The
Doom was speedily put aside, and the {
people went right along as though there
lad never been any excitement and wild
peculatiOn, the few months of boom be- !
ng regarded as a tritiing incident. and Il
hat incident relating to individuals |
ather than to the community. Such l
as were demanded were J.
Undertaken and proceeded with. There Il
las been and is much building, but not u i
more than the community, in its normal u
rOwth, demands. In other words. there l
) no boom building; there is no building u
t importance that would not have been .
ndertaken if the spoken of furry had e.
OF taken place. "
''All the ground that they cover, all the o.
rogress that they make, will be held: u
here will be no backward movement for u
ne reason that there will be no advance
AIKEN in recllessness and not justified by o.
ne situation. a