The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-04-25

~ state line into Colo
" T. Ward RADIO by the COVER
nor Of that state
and his staff
The people Of Sharon Springs are pre-
pairing for his entertainment on a scale
BETTING the day and the demands that
are made upon the president 5 time
Nothing elaborate VIII be attempted,
nor can it be expected from a town with
only 400 souls. Arrangements have been
made for tent seating 1000 people
where religious services viii De nelu
The town has three respectable churcn-
es. but their seating capacity is entire
ly inadequate for the crowd that viii as
semble to worship with the president on
Sunday morning. So the tent was the
only way out of the dllimma. Dr. QUAIL,
of Kansas City, has been asked to de-
liver the address. The presidents
spiritual welfare. as well as the vel
fare of the Kansas politicians who Will
assemble on that day for the purpose
of getting the ear of the president for
their favOrite candidate Will be pretty
well taken care Of The Kansas poll
ticians. particularly. need to look to-
ward Missouri at the present time. The
old soldiers and children viii escort the
president to and from the place of wor-
ship and no brass band demonstrations
viii be attempted or allowed.
Every old soldier in Wallace county
IS made a member of the reception COM
mittee. in addition to q large number
of citizens of the town and county h
A Clark who was chairman of the re-
ception committee and entertained
President Grant at his home in Wallace
on the occasion Of his visit to Wallace
in 1874. is a member Of the committee.
Grant was on a tour of the country
then as Roosevelt is now, and like all
sensible men. stopped in Wallace coun-
ty. The people Of Sharon Springs nope
to make 1t as pleasant for Roosevelt IN
1903 as Wallace made it pleasant Tor
Grant in 1874. Another distinguished
member Of the committee is f. T. hel-
loug of Kansas City, who was COL
Iector Of internal revenue of the west
.ern district of Missouri during Presl-
dent McKinley's first term. Mr. Kellogg
trains with the Kerns crowd In Missouri
politics and he was displaced By Pres
ident Roosevelt for one of Filley's SYM
pathizers. Yet. Mr.. Kellogg IS a per-
sonal friend of the president ana VIII
assist in his entertainment. MI Ael-
1ogg has recently invested in Waliace
county real estate and viii soon pc
come resident of the county
In the afternoon the president Will pc
taken horseback riding. Every thing
will be made as comfortable for MN
during his STAY as possible. and the
peonle feel that it is worth all the Ell
fort that they may expend for the pres
dents welfare to receive from him one
OF those expansive smiles showing his
strong white teeth
The fact that the president will sun
dav in Sharon Springs has brought d
flood of inquiries about the town, us
early history and the character OF tne
people which so to make up its lnna plI-
ants The history of the early sellle-
ment and organiza ton of wallace coun-
tx affords many interesting stories by
She old timers. particularly during the
county seat war" between Wallace ana
sharon Springs. Like all western coun-
ties the question of organization ana
the selection of county seat afforded
considerable excitement and not httle
Wallace and Logan were originally
one county with the county seat az
Sheridan. a thriving town Of over 2'oOo
neople At that time it was the ter
minus OF the Kansas Pacific railway.
After the railroad pushed on to point
near Fort Wallace. the town OF sheridan
folded it's tent like the Arab and stole
silently away. At any rate, there is no
evidence at the present time of the ex-
isfence of a town at this particular
Doint Wallace county gained what
Sheridan lost and BY an act OF the reg
islature in 1868 Wallace county was de-
tached from Logan. and the county seat
established at Pond Creek. point two
miles west of the present town of Wal
lace. This organization was subse-
quently allowed to die, and Wallace
county was attached to Trego county
for judicial purposes.
In 1885. when the tide of immigration
again turned westward the remnants
of the old organization were gathered
together a. Wallace, new set of OIL
GERS were appointed by the old board of
county commissioners. and Wallace
county was once more a full hedged
county with the county seat at Wallace,
instead OF Pond Creek. The people of
Wallace and the east side of the county
recognized the validity of the new or
eanizatiOn while those at Sharon
Springs and the western part of the
county continued to pay tribute to Ire
go county. The county seat war was
on in dead earnest.
In 1887 Ericsson & Ferlin, two promo
ters from Salina, came out and paid
Sll 900 for the Sharon Springs townsite.
They bought a half section of land on
the west side of the old townsite. plat
ted Il and moved Main street two blocks
west. There was very little at Sharon
Springs at that time but there was
enough for town row, and the fight
started instanter. The new street final
Iv won through the efforts of Ericsson &
Perrin. although some of the old timers
hung to the old street and refused to be
pacifed. An action was brought in the
supreme court by the taxpayers of the
vest side backed by the Union Pacific
railway company, and the so-called or
nanizatiOn was dissolved In 1888. Prior
to 1883 the Union Pacific Railway COM
pany did not pay taxes upon it's land
where selections had not been made and
the patent from the government had
not issued. but the legislature Of 1887
passed a law taxing all lands except
Government land In their eagerness tc
collect this tax the Wallace Organiza-
ton bumped up against the railway