Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1899-11-02
KANSAS CITY.
THE MID-CONTINENTME-
TROPOLIS.
Its Early History Another City of Phe,
nomenal Growth Its Location And
Climate "A Good Place to
Iiua Tn

Special Correspondence to the Evening Capital
Kansas City's railroads traverse thirty
states and territories. Fourteen roads
own their own terminals. and there are
1880 miles Of switch track in the city.
One hundred and ninety passenger trains
and 337 freight trains arrive and depart
daily from Kansas City. Between 5000
and 5000 men are employed by the rail-
road here and an average ofIIS 900 tons
Of freight is hauled daily.
Kansas City being practically at the
center of this great spider-web of tracks.
has the real control of the business origi-
mated there. and is the gateway through
which must pass all passenger and freight
business for this territory. The advan-
tages afforded by this shipping facility
and passenger convenience can be appre-
ciaied thoroughly only by those who
realize the volume of trade of the South
west section. Having more railroads
than Chicago. and the area covered by
them being more extended, and more
largely and variedly productive than the
area penetrated by the Chicago lines,
Kansas City's future is not in doubt.
If she ever expects to catch up with
Chicago, however, she must, like her,
get water transportation. All great cities
in the worlds history have been built
where they could reach the outside world
by ships and boats. There is no excep-
ton to this rule. either in ancient or mod
ern times. What have the cities of
Glasgow and Manchester done to bring
the ships of the world to them? What
did the state OF New York do at He'll
Gate, and New Orleans with her levees?
What is Russia doing to connect her
seas? Instances without limit can be
cited to show how important water navi-
cation is considered to the successful
commerce of city.
Water navigation is the handmaiden
OF railroad transportation. When we
can navigate the Missouri river the West
ern roads will not have to pay that large
tariff to the Eastern lines in order to get
their consignments to the seaboard. The
Mississippi will not be the dividing line
on the "long haul, but will be the start
ing and ending point. and the Western
roads will dictate tariffs to the Eastern.
The West dictates in politics, and so it
will also in conveyance and transporta-
ton, which is virtually making the price
of food products for the world. Kansas
City. as we have said. is built upon hills.
Coming from the East. we should be
tempted to call them mountains, had we
not seen those towers of Colorado-the
Rockies, these of. Kansas City are, how
ever. only bluffs.
The city has cut her streets through
these bluffs, leaving them 20 to 20 feet
high, to be subsequently lined with resi-
dences and gardens, which, when COM
pleted in its entirety, will make the city
picturesque to degree. This makes the
city drainage perfect, and there is hardly
any necessity to flush the sewers. although
It is done. There was considerable news
paper comment recently, during the long
spell OF dry weather, about the necessity
OF flushing the sewers, and arrangements
had been made by municipal authorities
with the Fire Department to do the work.
A good soaking rain came. however, after
drought of six weeks, and there was no
need of flushing. The public square of
Kansas City is relic of border times,
when towns were built as forts around
an open square for the purpose of de-
tense. 1t is also copied from the Mexican
style of laying off towns.
All that can be done is being done by
Kansas Cityans to make their city a
good place to live in. The days of a
struggling new town, where all are after
the acquisition of dollar, is a thing of
the past. Society here is charming. 1t
is not the "society" which belongs to
the old regime, whose descendents are a
long string of aiistocratic titled relatives
besides their own immediate family, and
no money in the pockets of any of them,
but society OF intelligence and educa-
ton has grown up, and has impressed
its ideas upon the people, so that the
public purse has been made to pay for
the grandest improvements. Kansas City
society stands for something. 1t is wide
awake, active. expanding in policy and
progressive in its men and methods, and
from the time Of its incipient foundation
its motto has been Onward.
Kansas City's society men are its
leading business men. They are wide
awake and progressive, and believe their
city is on another boom. Indeed Kansas
City is always booming. The people
say it came into the world on a boom,
and has continued booming ever since,
but this particular boom that is on Just
now. is to be the best boom Of all. When
her system OF parks. which will encircle
the entire city. is completed, Kansas City
will indeed be very pretty city. Since
she has relegated her smoky factories
and packing houses to the bottoms and
placed her residence streets conveniently
far away upon the hills. there will be
nething TO mar her picturesqueness and
fresh air and the scent of green foliage
will be free. She has every modern con-
venience-electricity, cheap telephones,
steam heat furnished houses and fats for
rent. car service. reaching by transfer
all parts of the town for five cents, stores
displaying the produce and manufactures
Of every country and cline. horse mark
cts. free Libraries, public baths, public
fountains and everything the model city
affords. Kansas City has ;, 500 telephones
in use, more. in proportion to her popu-
lation than any city in the Union. There
are no stores in Baltimore to compare
with the leading stores IN Kansas City,
one of which is the elegant establishment
of Emery, Bird and Tnayer.
(Continued.)