The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-09-10
WICHITA, THE SOUTHWESTERN
METROPOLIS

A few weeks ago Mr.. a. w. Moore,
proprietor and managing editor of the
Centenary, published at Florence, S. c.,
made ten days tour of Kansas, spend
ing a considerable portion of the time in
! Wichita. In long communication to
his paper descriptive of what he saw and
the impressions made upon him while in
the state we find the following very
pleasant reference to this city and Sec
ton. Addressing Mrs. Moore, whom he
left in charge of his paper during his alb
sence, he says:
Revelation after revelation has been
made to me in Kansas. Madame, did
you know that Wichita is very near the
exact center of the United States, and
that Kansas is the central state of the
Union, and that the United States is "the
hub of the world?
Did you know, Madame, that Kansas,
admitted into the Union even within our
memory-about the time we were mar
ried, land we are not very aged, are we9
has now population, according to the
last United States census, of 1.427, ,096;
more than Maine, New Hampshire and
Vermont tcombined-more than the white
population of South Carolina, Florida
and Georgia combined?
Did you know, Madame, that 100,000
veteran soldiers settled in Kansas, and
100. 900 veterans, who had fought four
years for an idea, whether that idea be
right or wrong, mean a vast deal in the
make up of the characteristics of a
people?
Three principal crops are grown in
eleven counties tributary to Wichita:
Bushels
Wheat. 1907, ,365
Corn. % Ui0, ,SH3
Oats. II 395, ,472
75,482, $50
Wichita occupies a central position
among these eleven counties and is con-
nected by railway lines with all the
county seats and shipping stations with
in this territory.
Within 100 miles radius Of Wichita the
production In single year was as fol-
lows:
2, ,263 4gS
Corn. ,16OOSl
i5i,73,G23
This is more corn than was raised in
Wisconsin, Michigan, Dakota, California
and Oregon combined.
More than New York, Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and
New England combined.
Wichita Is located in the center of the
grain growing district, having direct
rail connection with every county seat,
which is the market center of each
county. and every other town of i'm
portance. With railroads diverging in
ten different directions to every point in
this territory, and among these the
Frisco and Santa Fe, it makes it possible
for the growers of grain to quickly move
their crops TO this city for cleaning,
storage and reshipment to eastern,
western and southern markets.
A constantly increasing volume of
this trade is being turned through rail-
road communication to Memphis, Tenn,
and thence distributed to the cismissis-
sippi states and TO Galveston, Texas, for
the South American countries.
There are sc. 900 voters in the district
of which Wichita is the center; not one
of whom was born in il.
1t is composed of brainy, pushing,
enterprising population. No wonder the
IN formal resolution, the Centenary,
and cordially commended 1t TO the pat |
ronage of the people.
But / must stop, or you'll think that |
Wichita has bewitched me.
1t IS already putting on metropolitan |
airs. and in less than twenty years more |
will be a vertiable metropolis, for the |
men conducting 1t have foresight and |
force. and having laid the foundation |
deep and secure, will go on building.
l noticed one thing about Wichita. |
both Democrats and Republicans were /
for the city.
hope TO see Wichita agsin-should /
not De able 10 do so, l now enjoin il
upon the next editor of the Centenary to
visit it in after years and witness the
ample fulfillment OF my prediction that
Wichita will be indeed the metropolis Of
the southwest.
Reluctantly leaving Wichita on the
early morning FRISCO train, ! en-
loyed the ride through a pc
laresque, fertile country, clothed
N green, and radiant with whole
meadows of sunfiowers. here and there
. t4pical Kansas fsrm house pesping |