People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1898-02-03
GOOD WORDS FOR KANSAS.
Franklin Matthews in Harper's Weekly
Defends Kansas and Tells Something
About the Boom.

In the spirit of humorous hyperbole
which made him known from one end
OF the land to the other during the
campaign Of 1896, William Allen
White, editor of the EmpOria Gazette.
closed a speech which he made at the
Commercial Clubs annual dinner. in
Kansas City on December Il, 1897. with
these words:
And God said Let there be light and there
was-kansas."
The bOldneSs Of this figure of speech
may be startling when set out by
Itself, but one should remember that
the public men of Kansas are still! 10
what may be called the oratorical
stage-the stage Of astonishing meta
phOrs. Within two years John ]. In
gals wrote, apparently in sober
earnest:
Other states could be spared witOut irrepar-
able bereavement, but Kansas is indispensa
Die to the joy, the inspiration, and the I'M
provement of the world. . Its arithmetic
is more dazzling and bewilderng than poetry,
and the historian is compelled to be economi.
cal OF truth and parsimonicus in his recital of
facts in order not TO impose too great a strain
upon the capacity of human credulity.
The truth is there is light 10 Kan.
sas, and ii has been shining like
beacon light in the Middle West ever
since the enormous crops of 1897 were
harvested, and it is also true that
Kansas arithmetic has become more
bewildering than poetry since that
time, for the prosperity that those
crops brought to the farmers reads
like fairly tales, and in many cases is
dazzling. One can form correct
opinion of Kansas and its people bet
ter by going to the state, and by
speaking with its farmers, its store
keepers, its business men, its officials,
and its professional men, than in
any other way.
One needs to be in KanSa, only a
few days to learn that the East has
misunderstood the people of the Sun
flower state as much as the people of
that state have misunderstood the
East. The real people of Kansas are
no more repudiatOrs and cranks thar
the real people of the East are shy
locks and fanatics. There is no patent
process of arithmetic whereby the
eastern investor must pay losses and
the western investor must not. And
despite all that has been said To the
contrary, il is easy to show that KAN
saS people, Notwithstanding the fact
that Eillions Of eastern dollars have
been lost and swallowed up forever
through reckless money lending as
much as Though reckless money Dor
rowing, and not only debt payers, but
among the best debt payers in the
country.
Before producing figures to prove
this assertion, a little recapitulatiOn
of recent events is necessary. During
the boom times it became known that
many investors in the East had been
quietly making enormous profits n the
state by lending money at high rates
of interest. The people of the East
shOwered money over the state. 1t
couldn't be kept out.
1t soon became necessary to use part
of the principal to pay the alleged
high interest. The era of swindling
began. Nearly all the loan companies
had guaranteed-thit was an easy
interest and principal.
Companies with capital of $4,000
perhaps 100000 which was paid up
had guarantees for millions out.
Thousands upon thousands Of dollars
which the Kansas farmers paid on
their loans were stolen deliberately,
and hundreds Of lawsuits over such
Cases are yet pending. One company,
according to the report OF the State
bank commissioner in 1895, collected
more than $4,000 from the Kansas
people, aud deliberately stole it all.
Forged satisfactions of mortgages
were made out, aud hundreds of thous-
ands of dollars were borrowed on
them under false pretenses. One com.
pany did 100000 of such business.
Then there were bogus banks. The
Mcpherson County bank Was one of
these. There was no such institution,
and yet hundreds of eastern investors
sent their money to buy its stocks
and bonds without investigating the
matter. The famous Citizens bank
of Wichita, was a veritable quicksand
for eastern money. 1t was supposed
to have capital of 100000, and sur
plus of 100000. 1t all vanished like
-. NV;ob;to,. +o,r, lo..Dl a.