Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1898-12-07
Kansas want. a Slice or Missouri

The arrival of the United States
government engineers, who are now
at work dredging the mouth of the
Kaw river, has done much to revive
interest in the controversy over the
location of the dividing line between
Kansas and Missouri.
For more than two generations
residents of Kansas have advanced
the assertion. that there are two state
lines between Missouri and Kansas,
and that there is a strip Of land west
OF the Missouri survey and not in
cluded in the Kansas survey, which
belongs to neither state. This strip
OF land, which is the bone OF conten-
tion, is more than q mile in width at
the northern extremity, near part
OF the Missouri river front at Kansas
City, and it runs to point at the
southeast corner of the state Of Kan
sas. To be more explicit, it is huge
triangle, bounded on the north by the
Missouri river water front, extending
from point near the foot of Broad
way to the present state line near
Armour's packing house. The east
ern side Of the triangle in question is
the state line, which was surveyed in
1923. This lire was meridian which
passed directly through the mouth of
the Kaw river. Many old settlers are
positive that the mouth Of the Kaw
when the survey was made was near
where the Hannibal bridge now
stands.
In 1854 the state of Kansas was
surveyed, and the western boundry
OF Missouri was necessarily made the
eastern boundary of Kansas. The
argument advanced by the residents
OF Kansas 10 at4i tne mSL.h of the
kaw rivor changed between the years
1923 and 1854, and that according to
the act creating the state of Missouri
the true western boundary of that
state is a meridian passing through
the point where the mouth of the
river was located at the time the
original survey was made.
This question has been raised for
many years, but no definite steps
have ever been taken to re-establish
the state line. There is now q move
ment on foot to bring the matter be
fore congress during the coming
session.
1t has been stated that concerted
effort will be made by the Kansas
delegation in congress to pass a bill
ceding the triangular strip of land to
the state Of Kansas.
A careful examination of the laws
designating tho boundary lines of the
states OF Kansas and Missouri, dis
closes the fact that a mistake has
been made, and according to the laws
creating the state OF Kansas, the
common Interpretation is strong
argument in favor of the right Of
Kansas to claim the disputed terri
tory. At any event the question in
wolves point in law, and it remains
for congress to interpret the statutes.
The Missouri law says;
THAT the state of Missouri shall
consist OF all the territory included
within the following boundaries, to-
wit:
beginning at the middle of the
Mississippi river, on the parallel Of
SO degrees north latitude; thence
west along that parallel OF latitude
to the st. Frances river; thence up
and following the course Of that river
in the middle OF the main channel
thereof to the parallel Of latitude 36
degrees and 30 minutes; thence west
along the same to point where said
parallel is intercepted by meridian
line passing through the mouth of the
Kansas river where the same empties
into the Missouri river; thence from
the point aforesaid north along the
said meridian line.to the intersection
OF the parallel Of latitude which pass
es through the rapids of the river
Des Moines, making the said line to
correspond with the Indian boundary
line; thence east from point Of inter-
section last aforesaid along said par
aliel OF latitude to the channel Of the
main fork of said river Des Moines;
thence down and along the middle of
the main channel of the river Des
Moines TO the mouth of the same
where it empties into the Mississippi
river in the middle of the main chan
mel thereof to the place of beginning"
From the language of this law it is
positively known that it was intended
that the western boundary of the
state of Missouri should be a meri-
dian line passing through the point
where the mouth of the Kansas river
was at that time. Those who are ad-
vocating the changing of the state
limo aav that uharavar tho x.slll. "a