The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-08-04
AND NOW UNFoRrUNATE WICHITA

Through a number Of disastrous
years, now, the goodpeople Of Wichita
have struggled against discouraging
odds, struggled to keep alive all Of her
various interests, to animate the de
spondency by promises of return Of
better times. and above all, and with
a wonderful spirit Of hope and Of
unity, to keep the city's head above the
waves of food of maturing obliga-
tons, onerous improvement-taxes,
Observation-Disclosures and value
shrinkages. which, in stranding a num-
Der Of her most wealthy and enterpris-
ing citizens, threatened to engulf all.
In spite of adverse Determinations
and in the absence of state support or
of outside sympathy of any character,
the city has survived, survived not as
a county-seat town, but survived as the
prospective great center of South Kan
sas and Oklahoma, until the dawn of
better times was almost in sight
Among the many things which her
people have had to struggle for and to
contend with. was the raising Of the
necessary revenues to keep up the
city's metropolitan features, in the
lines of water and light and sewer and
street supplies and services, its public
school, ETC., together with the problem
Of attracting and holding that class Of
outside patronage so absolutely essen
tial in both building up and maintain
ing such a center Of population as
Wichita hoped to be. All through the
administrations Of Martin, and of
Humphrey, and of a portion Of Lew
elling's, there were upheavals and dis
fractions over periodical attempts to
force the city to conform to the STAN
dard of prohibition upheld and en-
forced in little local towns and in coun-
try villages. Wichita, unlike other
jobbing towns Of the state, being To-
Gated SO far away from the Missouri
border, it proved not only impossible
TO so enforce that law, but it was seen
and understood, by the more compre-
hensive, that its successful enforce
ment would, In combining and circum-
scrTbing the affairs Of a city to those
Of country town, leave us not only
utterly unable to maintain the city
features, enterprises and facilities re-
ferred to and which we had secured,
but leave both the city and its indi-
yidual property holders hopelessly. In
debt
In view of all these facts and cir
cumstances, and still hoping that the
thought, the struggles, and the hopes
of twenty years might not be turned
to bitter ashes, with unsatisfactory re-
suits to the city and to the Republican
party Of the county, the periodical pro-
hibition upheavals Of the past and
their results were laid before the
business administration" which the
people Of the state so recently boosted
to the world they had elected In the
person Of e. N. Morrill,, the banker
and business man, with the coupled
assurance and request that if the police
commissionership was put into the
hands of high-minded and pure citi-
zens Of unquestioned probity and bus
mess honor that there would not only
be no more liquors sold than form
erly, but that in keeping the traffic
under close police surveillance there
would be less drunkenness and dis
order and that instead Of throwing
away thousands Of dollars Of the peo-
pies money in futile prosecutions, all
disastrous dissentions and the harm
full and distracting conflicts which had
reached churches and homes and
courts and business houses, would be
avoided.
1t is unnecessary for the Eagle to
tell this people what happened, or what
have been the results Of such policy
and government for the past i've
months. The city treasury shows, the
county treasury explains, and the
minimlzed court expenses afiirms
There is nothing to explain or excuse.
But now something is going to hap
pen. 1t will happen tomorrow. The
policy and government Of Wichita is
to be reversed and we are 10 be
plunged back into the old dlscourag-
ing struggle and expense. morrill,
lives in Topeka and not in Wichita.
He has interests in Topeka None
here. Every day since his appoint