The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1914-08-22
STATEMENT OF FACTS sY THE
BOARD OF MANAGEMENT OF
THE WESTERN COLLEGE.
Submitted by Or. J. H. Garnett,
President.

The Board of Managers of the West
ern College and Industrial Institution
located at Macon, Missouri, desires to
make the following statement of facts
to its friends, concerning its purchase
and ownership of the property located
at 33rd street and Jackson avenue,
Kansas City, Mo.
For the past twenty years the col
lege has been located at Macon, Mo-,
and during its existence there, we are
proud to say, has accomplished a
great work of education for the am
bilious youth of our race. As a re-
suit we have men and women in many
useful walks of life, and some mis-
sionaries in the foreign field It has
been the wish of the managers of the
institution for a number of years to
locate our college at some place where
we could be in close touch with a
larger Negro population than it is pos
sible for us to reach at Macon, Mo-,
and also to locate our school where
INDECENT students might find oppor-
tunities of support while endeavoring
to educate themselves.
/ Kansas City appealed to us especial
ly as being the center of the territory
from which we draw much of our sup
port, also because of the 10000 Ne
groes located in and adjacent 10 Kan
sas City. We have investigated sew
eral locations in and about Kansas
City, and finally the location at 33rd
and Jackson was suggested to us by
those who posed as our friends, and
negotiations we're entered into which
led up to our purchase of this property
at the sum of $4,000. It is tract
of ten acres of land situated at the
southwest corner of 33rd street and
Jackson avenue, and has located upon
it big stone residence building which
can be used for our purpose and other
buildings which can be utilized.
We desire to say that this property
had never been proposed to us by sny-
one prior to the beginning of the ne
gotiations which were consummated
in our purchase of this property, and
we purchased same without any sug-
gestions that there would be any op-
position to our location in this dis
trict. The property is located. as can
be demonstrated, by investigation, in
an unimproved territory. At the time
we purchased this property, there was
not a sidewalk or improved street
south of 31st and east of Indiana ave-
nue., with the exception of one side
walk. Within about three blocks of
Dc L.
colored public school and a settlement
of fifty to seventy Negro families. I'm
mediately surrounding the location are
few unpretentious homes occupied
by white people, but none of them SO
expensive that we cannot find ready
purchasers for them at their actual
worth, among our people.
After looking the situation over we
were impressed that this was a place
, where we could locate with as little
opposition from the white people as
any place in Kansas City. Without ar
guing the right or wrong of the mat
ter, We are conscious of course that
it would be difficult for us to locate
anywhere without arousing some op-
position from the white people. But,
we are confronted with the all-impor-
tant fact to us, that we are here and
we are entitled to at least an oppor-
tunity to make the best of our condi-
ion and We ask from the white people
their cooperation in securing for US
the opportunity of doing what we can
for the elevation and betterment Of
| our race.
| When it became known that this
property was to be used as a site for
the Western College, a Negro school,
considerable opposition was manifest
ed in the neighborhood by residents
and landowners owning land adjacent
to our location. An effort was made
to have the Park Board condemn the
property for park purposes. This Pc
tition was rejected by the Park Board
and matters were left to stand in
statu quo. When it became manifest
that We would not be able to occupy
this property without opposition, we
at once assured those opposing us
that it was not our disposition to
intrude ourselves upon any commun-
ity where we were not wanted, as we
realized that our greatest asset was
the friendship of the white people, and
We were willing to allow our plans
to be defeated to suit their desires il
the same could be done without abso-
lutte ruin to ourselves.
We expressed our willingness to
postpone our plans of locating here,
and offered to sell the property at
exactly what II cost us. That offer
has been made all along and stands
good today, but no substantial attempt
has been made on the part of anyone
to purchase our ground.
We submit to the sense OF fairness
of the white people, that it is not right
to ask us to sacrifice the money that
we have now invested in this prop
erty. We are not able to hold the
property in its present unproductive
condition, and unless it is disposed of
at once, we will be compelled, for
our own protection, to take posses.
sion of the property and use it for
the purpose we had intended.
Before we do this, we desire to place
before the white people of Kansas
City, who we believe will look will
favor upon our efforts to help our
: selves and benefit our race, state
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