Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1893-09-16
HOT WINDS.
They Cause Intense Suffering to
Waiting Boomers.
NEWSPAPER MEN TAKE ACTION.
Hoke Smith Requested to Improve on His
Botch Way of Opening Lands-PeO-
pie Dying From Exhaus-
tion.

ARKANSAS CITY, Kan, Sept 14.-One
of the celebrated Kansas hot winds,
which fortunately are not very numer-
GUS, struck this country yesterday. As
a consequence the suffering at the reg
istration booths was intensified ten
fold.
There have been several thousand
people in line ever since the booth
opened and the heat, dust and ex-
haustion have FRUSTRATED many. Out
on the prairie where there was no
shade, little water and where the air
was thick with dust the suffering
amounted to agony. The clerks at
the booth struggled with their busi-
ness through the prostrating heat man
fully, but it is painfully apparent to
them that their efforts IRE not count
ing for much as against the thousands
pressing forward to be registered.
Lieut.. Caldwell, commanding the
troops here, telegraphed the war de-
partment through his superior officers
that the force ut work registering was
inadequate and that there was great
suffering at the booths.
The protests against the present con-
duct of registration and the injustice
to the homeseekers in compelling them
to stand for days in the sun and dust
almost without hope of finally getting
registered aroused the newspaper cor
respondents here to the necessity of
putting the matter squarely before the
secretary of the interior and they sent
him the following telegram:
ARKANSAS CITY. Kan Sept IL
To Hon. Hoke Smith. Secretary OF the Interior,
Washington, ID. C.:
In the name OF the papers we represent we
respectfully request that you take immediate
steps to alleviate the suffering OF the home.
seekers who IRE seeking registration ut Booth
No O. near this CITY, The booth is situated on
dusty road. four miles away from water and
SHELTER and the weather is extremely hot and
hot winds are blowing gale The suffering is
great A large number OF homeseekers have
been stricken down ind some have died
Registration Is progressing SO slowly that
thousands OF men are compelled to stand In
line for days, exposed TO the sun, dust and
thirst Can you not cause the booth 10 be re.
moved 10 this city and put on larger force OF
clerks or abandon registration ct once! For
the uOnur anu WtliuIc VI tuc
we beg you TO take immediate action Human
ity demands It.
Reports coming from the booth every
hour or SO tell of u new case of pros.
ration and occasionally death. The
names of those dying are very hard to
get, on account of the tremendous
crowds of people who, suffering them
selves, are too much occupied in their
own affairs to inquire,
The deaths occur over the line in
Oklahoma and SO no information can
be obtained ut the coroners Office.
The body of a colored man was picked
up this morning by the soldiers near
the railroad track at the end of the
line in which the booth is situated. He
had evidently died during the night
and the cause of his death could not be
ascertained.
Three sections of the Santa Fe of ten
cars each came in about noon. Every
car was completely full, even the plat
forms being crowded. A string of
wagons has been coming in all day
long and, at fair estimate. 5000 peo-
pie have joined the already immense
crowd here. Everything possible is
being done to provide them with camp
ing grounds and to care for them.