The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1896-09-10
WHAT Is WRONG ]?
CONDITIONS IN KANSAS AS 4
RESULT OF POPULISM.
SOLID FOOD FOR THINKERS.
Practical illustration of What Crankisn
Will Do a state-A Kansas Ed
itor's Opinion of the
Situation.
hats the matter with Kansas 5?
Emporia, Kas Gazette. ]

What's the matter With Kansas
Today the Kansas Department Of
Agriculture sent out statement which
indicates that Kansas has gained less
than 1900 people in the past year.
There are about 125, 900 families in the
state, and there were about 10000 ba-
bies born in Kansas, and yet so many
people have left the state that the nat
ural increase is cut down to less than
1000 net.
This has been going on for eight
years. If there had been high brick
wall around the state eight years ago
and not soul admitted or permitted
to leave, Kansas would be half mil
lion souls better off than she is today.
And yet the nation has increased in
population. In five years 100000
people have been added to the national
population, yet instead Of gaining a
share of this SAY 5,000-Kansas has
apparently been a plague spot, and in
the very garden of the world has lost
population by the ten thousands every
year.
Not only has she lost population, but
she has lost wealth. Every moneyed
man in the state who could get out
without great loss has gone. Every
month in every community some one
sees some one who has a little money
pick up and leave the state. This has
been going on for eight years. Money
is being drained out for eight years.
Money is being drained out all the
time. In towns where ten years ago
there were three or four or half adozen
money lending concerns, stimulating
industry by furnishing capital, there is
none now, or one or two that are look
ing after the interest and principal al
ready outstanding.
No one brings any money into Kan
sas any more. What community knows
over one or two men who have moved
in with more than $4,000 in the past
three years? And, what community
cannot count half a score of men in
that time who have left, taking all the
money they could scrape together?
Yet the nation has grown rich.
Other states have grown rich in popu-
lation and wealth-other neighboring
states. Missouri has gained, while
Kansas has been losing half a million.
Nebraska has gained in wealth and in
population while Kansas has gone
down hill. Colorado has gained in
every way, while Kansas has lost in
every way since 1888.
@What is the matter with Kansas?
There is no substantial city in the
state. Every big town save one has
lost in population. Yet Kansas City,
Omaha, Lincoln, St. Louis, Denver,
Colorado Springs, Sedalia, Des Moines,
the cities of the Dakotas, st. Paul and
Ntinneapolis-al cities and towns in
the west have steadily grown.
Take the government Blue Book and
you will see that Kansas is virtually off
the map. Two or three little scabby
consular places in yellow fever stricken
communities that do not aggregate
$4,000 year, is all the recognition
Kansas has,
Nebraska draws about 500, 900; little
North Dakota draws $4,000; Okla
homa doubles Kansas; Missouri leaves
her thousand miles behind; Colorado
is almost seven times greater than Kan
sas the whole west is ahead of Kansas.
Take it by any standard you please,
Kansas is not in it.
Go east and you hear them laugh at
Kansas; go west and they sheer at her;
go south and they cuss" her; go north
and they have forgotten her. Go into
any crowd of intelligent people gath
cred anywhere on the globe and you
will find the Kansas man on the defen-
sive. The newspapers and magazine
papers once devoted to praise Of the
state, to boastful facts and startling
figures concerning her resources, now
are filed with cartoons, jibes and PEI
ferlan speeches. Kansas just isn't in
the civilized world. She has traded
places with Arkansas and Timbuctoo.
Oh, this is state to be proud Of!
We are people to hold up our heads.
What we need here is less money, less
capital, fewer white shirts and brains,
fewer men with business judgm emit, and
more of these fellows who boast that
they are "iust ordinary old clod hop
pers, but that they know more in
minute about finance than John Sher-
man." we need more men who are
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