The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-21
W|CHITAL OCAL LAWS
Council Has Passed 1850
Ordinances.
SINCE THE YEAR 1871
Greatest Number 216 Passed
in 1890.

! Judge 3. L. Keenan,, who has been at
city ordinances, has gathered some in
| teresting data concerning the history of
| Wichita's local Iaw-making. The total
number Of ordinances passed by the city
council is 1850, of which the greatest
| number passed in any one year was in
1890 In this year 216 were passed, equal
to all the ordinances passed in the first
nine years of the city's existence. The
number passed by years, Judge keenan,
finds, is as follows: 1871, forty-six; 1872,
forty-one; 1873, twenty-five; 1874, twenty;
1875. fifteen; 1876, thirty; 1877, seventeen;
1878, twenty-five; 1879, thirteen; 1880, four
teen; 1881, fourteen; 1882, thirteen; 1888,
| thirty-one; 1884, seventeen; 1885, thirty;
1886, forty-six; 1884, one hundred and sew
en-; 1888. one hundred and twelve; 1889, one
hundred and sixty-seven; 1890, two hun
bred and sixteen; 1891, one hundred and
sixteen; 1892, fifty-three; 1898, ffty-six;
1894, two hundred and eighty-five; 1895,
sixty-two; 1896. fifty-fve; 1891, sixty-seven;
1898. one hundred and five; 1899, one hun
dred and eight.
It will be noticed that the greatest va
ration occurs in the number Of ordi-
nances passed by the council from year
to year. In the first year Of the city's
existence forty-siX ordinances were pass
ed. Of that number three admits Greif-
fenstein's and Englishs addition, four
Mead's addition and thirteen Hilton's ad-
dition, while twenty-four requires city
work to be let by sealed proposals to tn
lowests bidder All the others have d.
appeared, have been repealed. amended
or re-enacted In these forty-six ordi-
nances may be found the germ of much
later legislation by succeeding city ad-
ministrations. In the forms then enacted
they have disappeared. 1t would only in
terest lawyer, and one with a sDecula-
tive turn of mind, to trace vagrancy from
18 to 1,641; to do likewise with gambling,
disorderly houses, licenses and assaults.
However there is one ordinance In this
list around which clusters things of his
toric interest Its number is sixteen, and
it provides a right of way through the
CITY for Texas cattle. What does this
mean?
1t means that there was once a strug-
gle to hold the cattle trade from the
southwest at this point. Wichita did
many things to convince the cattlemen
of her friendship. Wichita spent humid
reds of dollars making the trail the best
for cattle through this place. And ordi-
nance sixteen is but a part of this scheme
to encourage the cattle trade. The long
horned Texas cattle might, without let
or hindrance be driven through the
streets of this city. This is but sug-
gestion that there is a chapter Of I'M
written history around ordinance No. 16
As mere matter of figure, the number
Of ordinances by years offers some curl
Gus peculiarities. The greatest number
was. reached in 1890 PIG; 10 and 80 tie for
the minimum. each IS. The ordinances
passed the first nine years of the city's
history exactly equal the number passed
in 1890, 2l6 OF the 216 ordinances passed
in 1880. none are Of any great value ex-
cept No S15, which establishes the city
limits. OF those which remain they are
of little real value. Open air fires are
prohibited. but the ordinance is misun-
derstood or ignored. The Postal Tele-
grauh franchise protecting streams
from pollution, stringing banners
across the streets and the opening of two
or three streets, and you have all that is
left Of PIG ordinances.