The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-04-19
HALF RATES MADE
TWENTY THOUSAND EXPECTED TO
COME TO WICHITA.
Starting of the Mckinley Train to be Made
Ingalls, VIII Probably Crate and Start
the Train From Here for st. Louis-An
the Material is Now Gathered-Elabor-
ate Decorations to be Made by a Special
Designer and Artist-An About the
Famous Enterprise.

Syl Dixon Of Argonia was in the city
yesterday again making arrangements
10 open headquarters here 10 make
preparations for the starting of his Nc
kinley decorated train of corn TO St.
Louis.
In a few weeks Mr.. Dixon viii come
TO Wichita and stay here until the start
of the celebrated train that has been
heard Of and talked about in every
nook and corner of the United States.
This will be the biggest enterprise
ever started under political auspices
and for a political boom. II is real
novelty and will be a wonderful adver-
tisement.
Mr.. Dixon has now concluded 10 start
his train eight days before the national
convention ard in this he is wise If
he waited until the last days the value
of the scheme as a boom would be di-
minished as the nearness of the con-
Vention would eclipse i and absorb
public attention. BY leaving eight
days ahead of the convention the train
will have marked Mckinley effect
not only upon the communities through
which il Will PASS but all over The Uni
ted States. Heretofore Men have TAX
en- bands, fiambeau ana glce clubs 10
conventions but this is the first lime a
man has undertaken to carry a train
Of corn highly decorated, a car of ora
tors, a band and glee club all COM
bined.
By next Saturday night Mr.. Dixon
will have all the material collected for
his train of forty cars. He will have
all his orators and all the county sub
scriptions to the train fund. There is
now no question about its success. All
Mr.. Dixon viii have 10 contend with
is how to refuse people who want 10 be
in the deal. Nearly every man in Kan
sas knows good thing when he sees
it and hence the applications for par
ticipation in this unique boom.
While the train is the combined en-
terprise of forty counties it will be a
distinctively Wichita enterprise. Il
will be started from here and Mr.. Dix
on has already made arrangements
with all the railroads to give half rates
for the benefit of excurSionists who de-
sire to come in to see ii start and thou
sands of people vii be here. Negotia-
tions are now on foot to get Senator
ingalls, 10 make a speech first and then
draw back the lever of the engine that
will give it its first start. Dixon is no
less an ingalls, boomer than a McKin-
ley boomer and he wants the eloquent
Kansan to have hand in the affair.
Mr.. Dixon's idea is 10 make the day
great central Kansas event and he be-
iieves from what he has heard while
engaged in his enterprise that fully
10000 people can be induced 10 come
to Wichita.
Mr.. Dixon will spend about $500 on
decorations for the train. There will
be large portrait Of Mckinley on each
side Of every car and there will also be
sketches representing his statesman
ship. There viii be busy men working
at the forge, there will be busy farmers
in the field, there will be smoke coming
out of every chimney, there will be ev-
erything that indicates prosperity and
protection. The name of each county
will be on the car that it represents
with something about it's resources and
history. The national colorS will en-
velope the entire train. He will en-
gage a special designer and artist for
the occasion for he expects this enter
prise to be the most notable shipping
enterprise of his life and he has had
many of them.