Wichita eagle., 1890-02-11
WICHITA, THE WESTERN WONDER.
Brief Review Of the Brightest Of the
Gayest Of Fair Kansas Stars.
!. Thaxter in American Banker.


of right entitled, from the fact that it i.
the chief wholesale and manufacturing
city in the State of Kansas. Wichita i:
located on the east bank of the Arkansa:
River, in the midst of what may truth
fully be said to be the very fairest por
tion of the state, if not of the great
southwest, of which it is tho Metropolis
tits the county seat of Sedgwick county,
which contains 1.00S square miles of the
richest farming land In Kansas, fifty pei
cent of which is bottom land spread out
in the valleys along the Arkansas River,
to an average width of six or seven miles.
Organized in 1870, the city's growth was
even more phenomenal during the years
1Ss4-1S87 than was the growth of Kan
sas City in the same length of time.
Out of boom of 1SS4-7 came the things
that will make it the metropolis Of the
state for all time to come, for it Sc
cured to buildings and public improve
ments that gave il the prominence that
it now has. Among the more impor-
tant public buildings that attract the eye
of the visitor, and which would be an
ornament and credit to city of much
greater pretentions than Wichita claims
to be, are the Young Mems Christian As
sociation building, which will cost when
completed upwards of SO, 600; the Board
of Trade building, fine five story struc-
ture; the Zimmerly building, from the
top of which we obtain a fine view Of
the city, and the new government build
x-t,icb xx-in c1 IN 00n Tho
Hotel Carey, six stories in height, the
John Bright university, the Garfield uni
versity, the Sedgwick county court
house and numerous other edifices, all of
which are built of fine brick and stone,
imposing in design. substantial in con-
struction, and ornate in architectural
beauty.
As a manufacturing center, Wich-
ita stands pre-eminately at the
head of all other towns in
the state. having an invested
capital of over $5,000,000, repre-
sented by a dozen large and numerous
smaller factories, employing from 4, 600
to 5000 men the year around, besides
which it has the largest stock yards and
packing house plants in the state ouside
of thote at Kansas City, Kan. The num-
Der OF hogs and cattle sold and slaugh-
tered in Wichita from December 1, 1888,
to December 1, 1889, the first year of the
packing house industry in the city, was
1864 hogs and Al ,496 head of cattle
disposed of during the same time, the
results thus reached comparing more
than favorably with the first years busi-
ness of some of the now chief packing
centers of the United States, as st. Louis.
Omaha and Chicago, all being over
twelve years reaching the 100, 900 mark,
and Kansas City, which was five years
in reaching the mark attained by Wich-
ita in one.
Ten lines of railroad radiate in every
direction from the city to aid in distribu-
ton of the products of its packing
houses, its manufactures and its whole
sale mercantile establishments, and even
if the real estate boomer does not find as
ready a market for his numerous addi-
tions as he might desire, we have OBJ
this, the town that is reported dull by its
real estate men is not always as dull as
they would make it out to be.
wichita" in the language of the
special correspondent of the st. Louis
Post-Dispatch, ''may not be st. Louis,
or a Chicago, (and we will also add a
Kansas City,, but she will be a Wichita"
thus emphasizing the individuality of
the men who are making the future of
the city, and the average citizen of
knows of no other than his be-
loved Wichita. Herein lies their
strength, for they are united in every
effort to advance its interests, and one
has but to visit the rooms of the board
of trade and make the acquaintance of
any one of its energetic officers, to be
convinced of this fact. In
the line of public improvements such as
water works, street railroads, gas and
electric lights, sewers, fire department,
and other necessary organizations of
similar nature in a large city, Wichita is
well provided will ali of them and as a
place of residence we know of no better
city IN the state, for with its numerous
private schools in addition to its COM
pleue system of public schools, together
with its handsome and commodious
church edifices, it has all the attractions
that make such place desirable one
in which to live.
In conversation with the secretary Of
the board of trade as to what the city
had done in the way of inducing manu-
factures, promoting packing houses,
building public edifices, and encouraging
the growth of the city, we ascertained
that the bankers had come to the front
in manner that is unusual in men who
are conservative by instinct; for over
twenty five per cent of nearly all sub
for this class of enterprises
was donated or furnished by the local
The amount of the subscrip-
tons of this sort during the past five
years is simply astounding, as an esti-
mate made readily shows the sum total
to have been in excess of 81, 500, 900, over
a quarter of a million annually. In re-
sponse to a question of ours asking why
it was that the citizens We're so exceed
ngly liberal towards financial enter
priSes, the reply was. ''we did it for the
purpose of making this desirable point,
so that the farmers of this and adjacent
counties could come In here and always
have market.
The population of the city at the pres
ent time is not far from thirty-five thou
sand people, although forty thousand is
the number claimed by the city itself. a
brief resume of its banking and tinar-
cial interests will not be un-
reading in this con-
nection. Wichita has five National and
three state banks, with a combined cap
ltal and surplus amounting TO s., 500,0 900,
while its deposits are as much more.
making a good showing for a city of
this size. In addition 10 the banking
capital there half dozen or more strong
loan and investment companies with
capital of at least one million dollars so
that 1t will be readily seen that there is
no lack of capital for all legitimate enter
prises that need the fostering care and
of capital IN order that