The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-06-06


Posters-How His Great Rex Parade
Fell Through to His Disgust and to he
Sorrow OF the Citizens Of the Place.
Harvey, author Of Coins Financial
School, now almost as famous as his
book, according to the New York Sun,
which has been looking up his history
Il lived and thrived in Wichita during the
boom. 1t says he learned many boom
tricks in the Peerless Princess which he
took with him to Pueblo, later.
Harvey was not well known in this
city during the boom period. In all
likelihood he belonged to the army of
curb-stone real estate agents who had
neither office, home nor name, and who
became SO numerous during the boom
that the city levied a heavy tax on
them.
While no one could be found yester-
day to verify the New York Suns
story it does not take much Of an ina
ginatlon to see Harvey on the curbs of
| Wichita manipulating the option and
trnsferring the corner lot and imbid-
ing the boom trick that ne afterward
turned TO account in Pueblo.
The Sun says that after the boom
went NcH IL
for Pueblo, with other pereginating
boomers from Wichita.
| The edSy-going residents of Pueblo
did not know what to make of the me-
| thodS introduced by the new arrivals,
but they were not slow to believe all
the wonderful things said of the glor-
| ious possibilities of the place, and final
~ they pitched in with zeal TO assist
| the real estate boomers.
| The first public appearance Of Harvey
was in connection with two experienced
| boom writers who had obtained per-
| mission ohave their stuff printed in
the only morning newspaper of the
town. Harvey wanted to circulate the
| paper throughout the length and
breadth of the land so that investors
might known that Pueblo was the
only proper place in which to purchase
real estate. Harvey wanted a fund of
| money subscribed to defray the eX-
penses of the two boom writers, whom
he proposed to send into the eastern
| states with pastors, bull board litera-
| ture, and ready-made interviews for I'M
| suspecting newspapers to publish, and
! by these several means to advertise the
| merits of the great future metropolis
| of the Rocky noun tain district. He Sc
cured a fund OF $4,000 for this purpose
| and the missionaries started off. a
| brass band and a street parade signaled
| their departure. They stucl: thousands
| Of blue plasterS bearing the word 'Pue-
! bio" upon tire freight cars, hotel regis
| ters, sidewalks, and even upon vehicles
| standing in the streets. They pasted big
! sheets upon bare walls distributed
| boom editions of the local paper, and
occasionally managed to be interview
/ ed. They We're heard of in several east
! ern cities. but it was not observed that
| influeX Of strangers seeking Pueblo real
estate was materially augmented by the
| missionary scheme.
Meanwhile Harvey had secured pos
| session of a great tract Of adobe up
| lands several miles east of the city,
worthless as grazing or farming land.
but valuable as a basis for boom real
estate purposes. The land was mark
etable at about IS per acre when he
made his first payment upon it. He
had the ground plotted, and beautiful
charts Were printed showing how def
ghtful it would be as suburban proper
ty when improved. He let contracts for
landscape gardening, had boulevard
built leading from the city to the land,
and several natural aliki sinks he had
designated as pretty lakes. He made
start upon the boulevard by having the
board of county commissioners plow up
and grade a road to his property, and,
the spring rains being unusually heavy.
his lakes bore a resemblance of mois-
ture. Next he built a hotel TO occupy
the center of his suburban residence
quarter This edifice was constructed
of brick and stone, with wide Verandas
and beautiful bagles and turrets.
Harvey succeeded in selling a great
number of lots at $50 apiece to eastern
buyers through mail correspondence.
The buyers may have reasoned that !
it was not much money to risk, even II
the profits should be long time in
coming. But when the boom was up
nothing remained but the beautiful
hotel. which stands today out among
the bleak and barren hills just as far
ais ever from town. while the wide YER
andaS are occupied only by an occa-
ional jack rabbit seeking shelter from
a storm. Not a single house was ever
built there by purchasers of lots, and
one by one the individual holdings We're |
sold for taxes and purchased by east |
er-n investment companies that do bust |
ness by whole sale in tax titles without |
investigating the merits OF their pur- |
chaSeS.
During the boom Harvey interested /
the Pueblo citizens in another project |
He argued that the Madri-GTas festvi- |
ties in New Orleanh and the Nieled |
Prophets parade in St. Louis brought |
annually thousands Of dollarSs into /
those cities from visitors, and that We're /
Pueblo TO inaugurate the same plan the !
CITY would he beautifully advertised |
follow. Mass meetings were held to |
consider the subject, and there Har- |
vey made his first attempt at public de- |
batting. The Pueblo citizens contribut- |
ed quite literally, leaving 70 Harvey |
and his returned missionary boom writ |
ers all the details of the affair. Excur- |
sion trains were planned 20 run from |
Chicago, St. Louis. Denver and San |
Francisco: beautiful Telegraph posters |
were printed; magnificent floats were |
suggested, and the citizens declared a |
holiday week for the event.
Somehow the eastern people were not !
hungry for Mardi-Gras festivals, and |
the excursions from without the state |
failed to materilize. Harvey found in /
Denver a king Rex" and a Queen |,
Rex" who appeared with a retinue Of |
servants late one evening in great mys- |
terry at the principal hotel of that city. |
What does all this foolishness |
mean?' was asked. But Harvey said: |
Mystery is desirable. my boy; keep !
your eyes on US
For two days King Rex" and Queen |
Rex lived Ike real monarchs in Den |
yer. their expensive retinu eof servants |
eating rapidly into the subscription |
furAi furnished by the people Of Pue- |
bio Then the special train came 70 |
Pueblo with TIE ruler OF the carnival |
and people who had received free
passes. Arriving in the city. a street |
parade was formed. but the floats failed |
TO rr1aterilize. and all that appeared was
a string OF delivery wagons OF local |
merchants. The night pageant proved |
a still greater failure. King Rex" now |
seriously indispOsei by his several days |
- ,>s1-alr, bod IN ~ hold steady Trn- |