The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-03-18
AFTER THE BOOM FAILED.
CURIOUS SITUA TION EXISTING IN
WESTERN KANSAS.
Almost Deserted Towns and Counties
sparsely Populated, Though Prosperous
Once Losses of Investors OfficiaIs
With Little to Do-Lawsuits Avoided.


once - Losses of Investors = Officials
With Little to Do-Lawsuits Avoided.
WICHITA, Kan, March 10. The tide Of tho
western Kansas boom, which rose high IN the
latter sos aud then receded with startling sud
denness. has left remarkable conditions in the
level prairies. 4 recent trip through southwest
Kansas, where the boom tourshed most, taken
IN the interest of conflding Eastern bondholdefs,
revealed a novel situation. one that can scarcely
be rraind by thos' who have not actually visited
that region. Every day the banks Of Wichita
receive inquiries from Eastern clients regarding
investments in western Kansas. II Sedgwick
and Sumner counties can pay their debts why
cannot Sewa rd'" is the way they argue. Tho
situation in western Kansas, as seen in an over
land trip, will tell the story.
Leaving Syracuse by a hack line which runs
daily 10 Richtield, the route bears due south 10
johnson City, the county seat Of Stanton county.
This IL on the Colorado border and next 20 the
south west corner Of this State. The visitor "
johnson City sees seven or eight houses on the
town site where once there was n fiouTiShing town
of ] 200 people. johnson City is a thing OF the
past. Its people have moved away. They have
gone % eastern Colorado, locating beside the
irrigating bitches that take water from the bR
Arkansas River. They have gone 20 the leao
and zinc country Of Joplin, 10 eastern kansas.
Arkansas and Oklahoma. In the town Of John
| son City lives the County Treasurer OF Stanton
county. lie il the only county official in the
| Court House. The County Clerk runs n store on
a neighboring corner and Is also Postmaster. An
| amusing feature 81 the situation Is that while
the County Treasurer and the County Clerk ore
| almost the only persons who hold down the town
site they are not on speaking terms and tn" County
Treasurer receives all his mail at a little Post Office
| called Edwin, four miles away, the Office being
| located in the cellar Of a stOrehouse,
Eastern investors hold, and will continue 10
! hdd. the bonds 81 johnson City. Seventeen
people live there. One Of these is a printer. lie
has a cinch on the county printing and reaps
rich fees by printing a yoluminous tax list which
is paid for by the Eastern investors unlucky
enough to bold land.
Leaving johnson City the hack line runs to
Richfeld, the county seat Of Morton county,
the extreme southwest county and named after
eX Gov. Morton Of New York. Rich6eld once
had 800 people; now il has about fifty In this
county ragged the county seat war between Rich
field and Frisco. Men wore revolvers and car
ried bowie knives for two years on account OF II
and the fate Of empires could scarcely have been
more bitterly contested. IN The way TO Rich
field and twelve miles from johnson City the
road passes the ranch and range Of the County
Attorney Of Stanton county,
lie amt no lawyer" volunteered the drive
on the front seat.
Then how can he try CaseS2'
lie don't Try 'em; there amt no cases to try
This is literally true. lie Is not n lawyer but
q farmer. He never even threatened to be q
lawyer lie took the Office because there seemed
To be nobody else To take IT. Not for years has
there been n criminal case on the docket A
case which required a jury In the District 'ouTt
and which continued several days would bank
rupt the county. hence all litigation is avoided;
The clerk Of the court resides on a ranch ana
has not been in the county seal Tor months. Inc
tounty Superintendent teaches III one Of the few
district schools and be also has not been at the
court house IN months.
What hes been said Of johnson City can he
said Of RichfclG The best building in Rich
field is a stone Court House bondcifo $4,000.
and the bonds are held by an Eastern Trust com
pany. The County Treasurer OF this county cars
al his Office once a month, transacls his business
in half a day ana gu-~ back Ia his ranch. The
County Attorney is Postmnsterand lepuIy touiy
Treasurer and sometimes acts a. Probate Judge.
| lie also deals in flour and feed and is n notary
! public. There has not been a case on the docket
Of Morton county for fourteen months, An en-
bezzlement case came up not long ago and the
defendant was arrested In Colorado, bu, the case
was huShed up and dismissed, much to the county
officers relief, as il was piling' up costs for The
county to pay. The County Clerk Is deputy
| Sheriff.. justice Of the Peace and boss fiddler fer
that part Il the State. lie PLAYS at The dances
up and down the. t"marron where he enliytns
the guests with Money Musk, Devils Dream
Nearly everybody has n ranch, where he has
fenced in n whole township on which the patient
Eastern investor pays the taxes. The ropuln-
ton Is very prosperous ana ought to be- Tor the
frSR" ,R H%i G]o VSr Tas1i' LANDS in col"isdo thryS
wire for their fences. To vary the monoiony
Of raising cattle they raise broom corn, which
sells as high as 500 u ton and is also raised on
land owned by Eastern investors
The description Of johnson CITY and Rich.
field is also 'ru" II Santa Fe in Haskell county,
llysees in Grant county hnd Srtinefeldin Seward
county When. the Rock Island built to Literal
and stopped the leading spirits Of the other towns
moved 10 LIBERAL and n Indy in Massachusetts,
holds S22, 900 Of the Springfield BONDS
and wonders Why the interest is no, paid As
the years go 10y such investors herate Kansas
and cannot Distinguish between the eastern ard
the western parts Of the Stat" ns to debt raging
ability,
OnS may drive for fifty miles and not I've outside
a ca ttla pasture. Roads, farms, water courses
ere all fenced up and used I'm indignant in
weston VII" held q quarter, section by foreclosure
n 10000 acre pasture. lie sought tn" catlleinan
an sad
Il want my land outside that pasture"
Take out yourself was the reply.
What for Damages"
Yes"
"All right. tell me how much your Old short
grHSSed proiuo has hpcn damaged and III pay you
now"
The Eastern man coulGn't tell and he returned
home discouraged. II h" sued, ms case would
b. tired before n jnrv Of calliruan IN hearty syn
pathy with Their fellow. Tor there. were no other
people IN the county and th"N would laugh ~ his
demand, He could not Ntfori ~ fence hs lonely
quarter section. II would cost more than the
board wGS worth. About The only thing hr could
do was 10 suffer IN pn'lrnc" and wait until the
Cattleman Offered hun al out - cents an hcTn
for ms land, though that possibility seemed ' ~
remote In most II the counties not more thHn
25 pI cent Of the In nd Is Owned by the residents.
The remainder and consequently the larger tax
paying pHrt Is Owned IN the oHst. 10 he Sat'SfaN
ton ~ The jewellers on the HlIoining %t"rrtOTy.
III" population of the southwest countries
is small almost beyond belief The countries
are from twenty four to thirty miles square lut
here som" population figures from the census
returns. Last December
fOup'V. POt'u Tnun'v por'r.
Grant ".,,..",.. 49, Morton" ",.,.,,,. 2bs