Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1899-11-03
KANSAS CITY.
THE MID-CoNTINENT ME-
TROPOLIS.
It's Early History Another City of Phe
nomenal Growth Its Location And
Climate "A Good Place to
live Tn.

Live In.
Special Correspondence to the Evening Capital
OF the 100 miles of street car service
in the two Kansas Cities. the Metropoli-
tan Street Railway Company operate ! 50.
Almost a monopoly. but unlike other
monopolies. most liberal in its policy. II
has 81 transfer points. which, contrasted
with other cities (St. Louis. for instance. J
is very much in favor Of popularizing
street Car service in Kansas City.
The car lines are electric and cable
and the cars are the most modern, COM
Portable and safe, and the service polite
and careful. The company carries be-
tween forty and forty.hve million passen-
gers every year, and issues between fifty
and seventy-6ve thousand transfers every
day. You can get a nine-mile car ride
in Kansas City for five cents. Gas is
still an important factor in lighting the
streets of Kansas City. and gas lamps
are to be seen everywhere.
The capacity of the gas works is for a
city of SOC, 900. There are 725 miles OF
main and the annual consumption is
700. .ooo, 900 feet. The cost Of gas is
81 per 700. The gas company pays
per cent. OF its gross receipts to the
city. There are 1900 gas stoves and
ranges in use in Kansas City. Several
leading electric systems OF the world are
represented in Kansas City by active
working plants, among which are the
Edison, the Sperry, the Fort Wayne,
| and the Thompson Houston system.
Kansas City was the first city in the
world to recognize the value of the pat
ents Of Prof. Elihu Thompson by install.
ing plant of apparatus OF the Thomp'
son-Houston system, which has since
been most largely introduced and gener.
ally recognized as the standard in arc
| lighting. Electricity is used for many
| purposes besides those of arc and incan.
descent lighting in Kansas City. 1t runs
elevators, printing presses, stationary
machinery of all kinds, besides being
largely and increasingly employed in
traction work. In Kansas City may also
be witnessed such novel uses as welding,
soldering. horse currying and clipping.
hair crimpling, cooking and searchlighi
applications OF this important force.
Electricity is also here used quite ex-
tensively in dentistry and surgery and
from the various plants may be procured
currents of all kinds, alternating or con-
tinuous, in any voltage and any quan.
tity required. Kansas City has numer-
Gus large and handsome banks, beside
trust companies, savings institutions and
loan associations. Kansas City, Mo-,
with Kansas City, Kansas, is larger
community than Milwaukee, and is the
sixteenth city in population in the Union
1t is the ninth city in bank clearings
The exchange of money is the barometer
Of trade. In 1893 Kansas City's bank
clearings amounted to $3.50, ,ooo. 900. =
What clearer proof is there that Kansas
City has more than her normal share ol
business. Her bank clearings and sale:
are almost identical in amount. The
capital of national and state banks here
is 81, 500. 900; deposits. $3o. 200 900.
Kansas City owns her own water plant
Would that Annapolis did, The water
works is now the city's property, and a
| z
paying investment. The receipts fol
1897 were $4,000. There are three
reservoirs with 86. .ooo. 900 gallons capac
ity, and with pumping capacity of 81 I.
ooo. 900 gallons in twenty-four hours
The direct pressure system is used Like
all other cities who take their water from
the Missouri river, the Kansas City con
sumers, if they want clear water, have
to do their own fltering, Club life is an
important factor in Kansas City society
Society everywhere as here could not de
without the clubs, for the clubs are the
spirit and elixir of society. One find.
few Thorough society" men here who
are not club men. and society and clut
life are more or less synonymous. Ge
into one and you have fair opportunity
of getting into the other.
There are between IS and 80 clubs ir
| Kansas City. many of which have com
modious and handsome quarters, and
club life here is found in every FORM
the athletic and sporting clubs to the
bicycle and gun clubs. The gun club:
of Kansas City holds some of the world s
records for both trap shooting and target
practice. Kansas City has o3 churches,
the Roman Catholic church having the
largest number of edi6ces-Io. the Pres
byterian next,-I3. 1t is a thoroughly
metropolitan city in all things. and yet j,
has inhabitants who pay no rent. These
are not cave dweIlers, as they are in
London and New York, dwelling under
the arches of great bridges and in foun-
| dations, but squatters in tents and log
houses along the river bank and on va
cant lots, seemingly no mans property.
With all the police vigilence. with all the
grand free schools and manual training
schools, lot which we shall speak later, ]
i, seems to be impossible not to have in
this vicinity. these disciples of Diogenes.
At the head and front of all that is pro-
gressiye and enterprising. with its indom-
table workers who have her commercial
interests at heart. Kansas City revels in
the fact of "the only Kansas City," so
far as America is concerned anyway.
E. A. G..