The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-23
Daily Ea9le
NJ. NJ. MURDOCH. Editor
All. THERE, SOUR GRAPES.

All, 1HEREl SOUR GRAPES.
The Topeka, Lawrence and northeast
ern Kansas daily papers are severely
,riticising Leedy's new board OF rail-
way commissioners. OF course. The
Eagle has been compelled TO that same
line for years because the boards here
tofore have always been from northeast
ern Kansas. Southern and southwest
Kansas have always been ignored. Not
so this time We get now just exactly
what the northeast eighth of the state
has controlled for years. Except as 10
very few individuals and insignificant
institutions the northeast eighth OF
Kansas has been the whole of Kansas
for tllirty-ive years. That northeast
eight. has mad all of the United States
senators and still has them. Emporia
is located or the south line and Fort
Riley on the west line of that dominat-
ing northeast eighth, which is about TO
lose its grip. The state of Kansas be-
ing four hundred miles long and two
hundred miles wide. cuts UP into eight
equal squares of one hundred miles
each The northeast square contains
practically all Of the institutions Of the
state. which institutions are supported
very largely by taX-mOneys collected
from the other seven-eiohths of the
state. That northeast eighth has held,
practically, all of the federal positions
for TIE state since its admission into the
Union. So far as their freight rate in
terests are concerned, the Missouri river
pool, known as the hasing line, takes
care and fully projects their traffic rates |
But having lost control of the board, |
they howl The Lawrence Journal and |
Topeka Capital bewail the new boards |
incOmpetency. particularly critielsing |
LexellinG, tie Wichita member. If !
continuous shipper, does not know |
enough to fiji place on that board |
fairly, wisely and acceptably, then the |
northesst eighth had better secede or
otherwise expel ire other seven-eishths
Of the state. Two years ago Topeka
Influences beat this section of the state,
or rather Wichita. out of a railway
conmissiunersbip. running IN a man
utterly without single claim and, so
far as we know. without any better
quaIifiea ticnS than Governor Lewelling
certainly without experience either as
a railway shipper, manager or writer
But he hailed from Topeka and OF
OF course was all right. One of the
other three men was practically a To-
peka man, the third being from north
ern Kansas also. Both Of the two con-
temporaries named strongly endorses
do SO on political grounds, it must be
because he lives in the charmed square.
We are really sorry for the editors of
the Capital and Journal, but we guess
there is no help for them. They will
have to grin and bear it. One will
have to console itself with the refec-
ton that It's town has the capital, and
two or three other state institutions,
while Lawrence boasts not only a big
state institution, which costs the people
a hundred thousand or SO annually, but
also a federal institution which scatters
no little of Uncle Sans money among
its people. Had the three railroad COM
missioners gone TO the northeast eighth
the Eagle would not even had a new
sensation. Having become used to the
hog proelvitieS of the "old pocket"
however, the new board of commission
erS comes as pleasant surprise to not I
only the Eagle but TO the whole people
Of Southern Kansas.
AS for anything else the Kansas City
Missouri, papers are bowling. We are ,
glad of it. When that Missouri town
bowls it is always certain that Kansas
: getting a show. The Santa Fe hav- {
ing announced that its hope and chance {
in the future is in developing Kansas,
and not in serving Kansas City. taken
In connection with the character and ,
location Of the new board, Kansas
City's howl becomes the most inspiring G
Kind of music.