The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-11-10
Period of Misery for Wichita
Which Now Seems
a Drama.
In the Light of the lrIumphS
and Progress of
Today,

million dollars. and that there is building
in the city at this moment homes at a
cost Of sl73. 900, calls to mind the rigors of
the struggle Wichita made to reach the
present stage.
The first issue of the Eagle in 1872 con-
tended that Wichita must make q city
because Of the fertile and extensive terri
tory which surrounded it. a territory then
unpopulSted, but including southern, west
err Kansas ana Oklahoma. Twelve
Years later southern Kansas had become
settled and a population in Oklahoma
had become possibility. On this popula-
ton in Kansas and the anticipation Of one
IN Oklahoma in 1886 Wichita had a ire
mcnoous growth in population. but curl
oUsly its building growth was not Of that
year 50 much as it was Of the years i'm
meiiately following. The years lSss and
1883 were the great building years in
Wichita The Eighty real estate boom.
usually regarded as of long duration. was
IN fact brief It had reached its heighth
IN the spring of 1851 The whole fever
did not endure more than eighteen
months. it was furious only for a year.
Wichita did not at once collapse as many
- AAciA- a 4ol1t DDDuldltOu LOT
which homes and business blocks were
building. Those attracted by realty spec
ulation We're leaving slowly. but this was
not apparent to Wichita fer they were
replaced by hundreds who were coming
10 Wichita to settle, to go into business
10 found homes. It is remarkable how
many prominent people there are in
Wichita TO-DAY who came IN after the
boom that is in 1888 and 1889 and 1890
Wichita did not grow remarkably after
the boom but it did not lose population
because Of this movement The people
who came in after the boom found a very
lively town, and they could not detect
the absence of the boom. True. property
values in outlying districts were falling
rapidly but not so rapidly as tradition
hes it. The man who had bought in 1885
could have in 1859 sold out al q profit
Business houses were going up and hun
areds of homes and money was plentiful
That part of the real estate contingent
which had not left was buoyed up with
the hope that values would come again.
that the bottom had been reached"
Tlany a man who pulled out when the
boom was at its height. put all his money
back in Wichita real estate in 1890 and
saw it dwiHdle away in the succeeding
years. the bottom not yet reached.
Wichita at the moment of the boom was
too busy to enjoy itself Succeeding the
boom there was enjoyment Of frution
Then came the heyday of social organiza-
tiOns literary clubs and great industrial
endeaXors- The effort was based on an
anticipation which was in fact. an assur-
ance that Wichita had only tenn
porariIy paused in her growth. Garfield
University Its student-life. its societies.
entertainments. Paramount, the Wichita
University were elements, not of the boom
but TIE period after. Many of the mer-
camille establishments prominent today, |
had their origin not in the boom, but af- /
ter Kew life. new men and new women. |
suddenly came together. made the city
a delightful one. full of great enterprise /
and towering hope. The packing houses. (
the car works and other projects were the /
children of this era
Wichita was a money spender and lib /
crafty with unity of action characterized /
the city's power OF initiative. So siren (
uous was the aspiration, so sure the hope
that in 1893 when the country at large
was caught in a squeeze Wichita stood
up fairly well under it, still talking
boomish. still certain Of success. When .
hundreds of men scrambled to the bank T.
widows all over the country Wichita
her banks carrying terrifying loads of
deprecated paper. stood up under the
fire and weathered the gale. TO be struck .
down the following year. The Woodman /
and the Savings bank had gone before
and in a time when che town was vigor-
Gus. In 1894 Wichita had become poor. f
Notwithstanding new people had been +
corning in AT along. Oklahoma alone had .
taken 5o5 away from this city many
had drifted away to Texas, then booming.
values had deprecated into practical
nulity. Debts had eaten UP much. ex-
travagance and an easy way Of living
had their part Garfield University did
not open its doors; Wichita university be-
came finally discouraged and faded
out. Fairmount feebly struggled on. The
social organize tons of the city disbanded.
Th. literary clubs vanished The packing
houses closed down Burton car works
was discontinued. Every day the Eagle
chron.cled the departure of some enter
prise for some other point. until from
town pride it refused longer 10 do 81. Il
ives rot acknowledged then for poicy's
drojs OF vacant houses. great pretentious
affairs that doomed above suntiower
patches. Hundreds of fences were torn up
by neichoors and burned for fuel In
Some Instances Notwithstanding was torn
from houses and burned. Houses by the
score were occupied rent free. 10 keep the
insurance alive. In some instances own
ers left town and houses and real estate
and never returned and probably never
wiz Paint became an entirely absent
element. \ piece of yellcw pine as large
rs YOUR hand was 2 rarity. new paiing
on q fence was So glazing in its isolation
that it attracted the notice of any one
whose heart was bleeding Tor Wichita.
and hundreds of hearts were bleeding.
Down 1T derots men could De seen loading
on fiat cars sections of houses being sent
10 oklahoma fowrs. And at last the
transfer men were taking household goods
t. the depot ana bringing none away.
The Wichita National Bank and the
S7ate National Bank. two great bull
varlzs went down. The day the Wichl-
Ia National went under. Wichita practic- Z
ally iid nothins. The men gathered I'm
oHcas and stores and looked at one an
3ther and said nothing.
During the dismal year nobody dared
nopc TIE Eagle would pronounce again
rs corvi1tion that Wichita was all right
md be- delured with abusive letters from
.he east and pity il vas true. from pee
Die in This city There was "a deal or
quiet resignation among the cld-liu.e war
-fore. a mutual agreement that This Would
make a good county seat town. that it
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