USA > Missouri > Jackson County > The History of Jackson county, Missouri, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, etc., biographical sketches of its citizens, Jackson county in the late warhistory of Missouri, map of Jackson county > Part 75
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553
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY.
RAILWAY EXTENSION.
The extension of railway lines in which Kansas City was interested during the year was thus stated at its close in the report of the Board of Trade :
" The extension of railroads centering at Kansas City was very considerable during the year. Chief among these extensions was that of the Chicago & Alton from Mexico, Missouri, to Kansas City, making another through line to Chicago and St. Louis. This road was nearly completed during the year, and in a few weeks will be opened for business. The next in immediate importance-probably the most important for this place-was the extension of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad from Pueblo, Colorado, to Clifton, New Mexico, from whence it is to be rapidly extended to a connection with the Southern Pacific, of Califor- nia, making a southern trans-continental route, a more valuable and important road than the Union Pacific. This road has also been engaged in building a branch to Leadville, Colorado, which will give railroad facilities to the rich San Juan country. The Central Branch Union Pacific has also extended its line to Beloit, Kansas, which brings to Kansas City the trade of the upper Republican and Solomon Valleys of Kansas. The Kansas Pacific extended its Clay Center Branch to Clyde, and built a branch from Solomon City to Minneapolis, which have the same general effect as the extension of the Central Branch. The Kan- sas City, Burlington & Santa Fe Railroad was further extended from Williams- burg to Burlington, which brings Kansas City an important addition to her trade from the southwestern part of central Kansas."
The pool that had existed since September 15, 1876, was dissolved on the 16th of March of this year, and was followed with the first severe railroad war in which the lines at Kansas City were ever engaged. This fight was apparently sought by the St. Louis lines, as against those leading to Chicago, and was inau- gurated by the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern, on the Ist of April, with a cut of rates to about one third. It raged furiously for a short time, when the pool was re-organized.
It was during this year that Mr. Jay Gould first became interested in lines of road leading to Kansas City, since when his operations have led to many lively manipulations. This came about in this way : Mr. Gould was the chief owner of the Union Pacific, which, by its charter, was required to pro-rate in equal terms with the Kansas Pacific, for California business-a thing it had always refused to do. T. F. Oakes, Esq., who had, for many years, been general freight agent of the Kansas Pacific, had now became its general superintendent, and in that po- sition was able to give the company most efficient aid in its long struggle with the Union Pacific, for its charter rights. Early in the year he got Mr. Chaffee, of Colorado, to introduce into Congress a bill to compel the Union Pacific to respect the rights of the Kansas Pacific, and a large public meeting in Kansas City, held February 8th, gave it a strong indorsement, and memorialized Congress on the sub- ject. Similar action was taken at other places, and resulted in the favorable report- ing of the bill in March, with a good prospect of its becoming a law. Mr. Gould could not defeat the measure by opposing it, and hence, in April, he sent agents to St. Louis, who succeeded in buying a controlling interest in the Kansas Pacific, and then withdrew the opposition of that company. In June the Kansas Pacific and Union Pacific pooled on Colorado business, but the through rates to Califor- nia, which the public interested in the Kansas Pacific had been struggling for, and were led to expect, were not granted.
Notwithstanding the bank suspensions and financial embarrassments of the year, 1878 witnessed much substantial progress in Kansas City, due to the large influx of people and money. The population July ist was estimated by the di- rectory at 50, 126, an increase of 8,340 since the same time in 1877, and it was estimated that 5,000 had come in between July and January. There were 706 new
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HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY.
houses built during the year, at a cost of $1,040,000, many of them elegant busi- ness and residence houses.
THE EVENTS OF 1879.
Early in the year 1879 a proposition was made by some of the old members of the old Chamber of Commerce to revive that organization, but after several meetings and a conference with the Board of Trade, the scheme was abandoned and the Committee of Commerce of the Board of Trade was appointed in its stead. This committee has never been an active one, yet several important en- terprises have been inaugurated and secured by it, among which was the smelting works and barge line of 1880.
One of its first acts was to memorialize Congress on the improvement of the Missouri River. On the 7th of January Messrs. Camp, McDowell and Poe, Government Commissioners to lo ate the court house and post-office, arrived in Kansas City, and, after acquainting themselves with the views of the people and examining the different .it., offered, accepted the corner of Ninth and Walnut streets, January 25th, and it was purchased for $8,500 and the work of constructing the building soon afterward begun.
In May a party of United States engineers, under J. W. Nier, Esq., arrived in Kansas City, and commenced work on the improvement of the river a few miles north of the city, an appropriation of $30,000 for that purpose having been se- cured by Mr. Franklin. About the same time the first term of the United States District Court was begun in Kansas City, Judge Krekel presiding.
In the latter part of the month, Robert Gillham, a young engineer who had recently located in the city, proposed to improve the means of transit between the western and eastern parts of the city by building a tramway down the Bluff on Ninth street. He secured the interest of many of the best men in the city, but the project has met with such unfavorable treatment at the hands of the City Council that it is still one of Kansas City's uncompleted enterprises
In August, the first effort was made to organize a Provident Association in Kansas City. Mr. J. T. Howenstein was the projector of this movement and about forty prominent business men joined it; but for lack of attention it was allowed to expire.
In September, much interest was taken in a proposition to convert the roads of Rosedale and Independence into boulevards, but after a number of public meetings the interest was allowed to die out; yet it will doubtless be done at some future time.
This year was one of great activity in business and individual enterprises of all kinds. Trade was rapidly extended in all directions ; the population increased, according to the directory estimate, to 60,372. Real estate became very active, and transfers increased $1,943,350; beside which there were thirteen additions platted and largely sold, some of which were outside the city limits. And there were about thirteen hundred new houses built, at an estimated cost of about $1,- 500,000.
RAILROAD MATTERS.
The chief feature of this year was the construction of new railroads in the country in which Kansas City was interested, and changes in ownership of other roads. The report of the Board of Trade for the year, thus summarizes the matter :
"The building of new railroads was revived with the beginning of the year, and the roads in which Kansas City is interested were extended or built branches. The Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad built a branch from Baxter Springs to Joplin ; the Kansas City, Lawrence & Southern extended its Independence branch to Greenwood, and is pushing it on to Arkansas City. The main line of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe was extended from Clifton to Las Vegas, New
1
555
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY.
Mexico, its Cottonwood Valley Branch was extended to McPherson, its Eureka branch to Howard, and its Wichita branch to Wellington and Arkansas City. The Kansas Pacific extended its Clay Center branch to Concordia, its Solomon Valley branch to Beloit, and built a branch from Salina to McPherson. It also bought up and rebuilt and put into operation the old Lawrence & Carbondale road, which had been unused for several years. It also bought up the Denver Pacific from Denver to Cheyenne, and the Colorado Central and Boulder Valley, and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The Central Branch Union Pacific, now a part of the Missouri Pacific, extended its Concordia Branch to Cawker City and built a branch to Kirwin and Stockton. The Atchison & Nebraska Railroad was extended from Lincoln to Columbus, and the St. Joe & Denver to a connection with the Union Pacific. Besides the new railroads thus actually built, much more has been laid out for the coming year. The old ill-fated Kansas City & Memphis road has been sold to a party of Boston capitalists, who propose to build about one hundred miles of it the coming year, and extend it afterward as occasion may require. The Burlington & Southeastern Railroad, which now runs from Burlington, Iowa, to Laclede, Missouri, has announced its intention of coming through to Kansas City during the coming year, and has made four sur- veys in search of a suitable route. The Kansas City & Northeastern Company has also surveyed a line from Kansas City to Chillicothe, Mo., and expect to begin the construction during the coming year."
" Besides the enterprises here enumerated, the Missouri Pacific Company extended its line between Holden and Paola to Ottawa, and built the old Fall River Railroad from Paola to Leroy; and the Lexington & Southern from Pleas- ant Hill, on the Missouri Pacific, to Nevada on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas had been projected."
The same report thus states the sales of roads :
"Great changes have taken place during the year in the ownership of the rail- roads at Kansas City. Mr. Jay Gould and associates, who previously held control of the Union & Kansas Pacific and St. Joe & Denver Railroads west of the Mis- souri River and the Wabash road east of the Mississippi, bought early in the year a controlling interest in the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern and consoli- dated it with the Wabash under the name of Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific. This connected the roads except the Union Pacific, and to make connection with it the Pattonsburgh Branch of the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern was extended through to Omaha. Soon afterward the same parties bought the Missouri Pacific and the Central Branch Union Pacific and have since consolidated them, making two divisions, connecting with each other at Kansas City. The same parties also bought an interest in the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad during the year, and latterly have bought the Missouri, Kansas & Texas."
In addition to the sales of roads here mentioned, the Fort Scott Company bought the Springfield & Western Missouri road in June, and has since com- pleted it to a connection with the main line at Fort Scott; and Mr. Gould bought the Kansas City & Eastern Narrow Gauge in November, and in December it was leased to the Missouri Pacific, which he had previously bought, and became a division of that road. Another important addition to Kansas City's railway facil- ities was the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, which in December made a con- tract with the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad for trackage rights over that road from Cameron, Mo., and it began to run its trains to Kansas City on the Ist of January, 1880.
The year 1879 was characterized by another great railroad war, which seemed to be the result of the completion of the Chicago & Alton Railroad to Kansas City. In view of its early completion the pool was dissolved again on the 12th of April, and a promiscuous cutting of rates opened on the 14th. The Alton, however, was not opened for business until the 18th, and did not begin
556
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY.
running passenger trains until May 13. The war arose over the allotment of its share of business to St. Louis, and was inaugurated by the St. Louis roads. On the 7th of June the war was extended to passenger business also, and for the re- mainder of the summer passenger rates between Kansas City and St. Louis, and Kansas City and Chicago were but fifty cents; and freight rates went so low that for a considerable time grain was carried from Kansas City to St. Louis for five cents, and to Chicago for seven cents per bushel, and at one time reached the al- most incredible limit of three cents to St. Louis and five to Chicago. The trouble, however, came to a close in September, and on the 12th of that month a new pool was formed which took in the Alton.
While this fight was pending, in June and July, the contract between the Hannibal & St. Joseph and the Wabash, by which the latter road used the track of the former from Arnold Station to the bridge, and the contract for right of way across the bridge, expired, and the result was a lively individual conflict between the two roads. It was ended, however, in the Wabash building a track of its own, and making a new bridge contract, but the end of the fight was reached only through the courts.
CITY GROWTH.
The growth of the city during the years included in this chapter was rapid, and the following new additions had been added to the city during this and the preceding year :
September 3, 1878-Mastin's Sub-division.
September 3, '78-Park Place Addition.
December 9, '78-Traber's Sub division.
April 19, '79-Hunt's Sub-division.
May 28, '79-Hyde & Foster's Addition.
June 11, '79-Lott's Addition.
November 12, '79-Bovard & Dickson's Sub-division.
June 28, '79-E. S. Brown's Sub-division.
1 July II, '79-Winter's Addition.
July 25, '79-R. Salisbury's Addition.
August 13, '79-Vineyard's Third Sub-division.
August 18, '79-Woodland Place Sub-division.
August 23, '79-Marty's Addition to Woodland.
September 3, '79-Brigham's Addition.
September 9, '79-Craig's Sub-division.
October 2, '79-Wm. C. Arrs' Addition.
557
HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY.
CHAPTER XVI.
THE EVENTS OF 1880 AND 1881.
The Establishment of the Smelting Works-The Barge Company Organized -- The Missouri River Improvement Convention-The Missouri River Improvement Association Formed-Street Improvements-Col. Van Horn's Election to Congress -Railway Construction and Railway Changes-The Great Flood of 1881-The Growth of the City-Statistical Exhibit of the City's History.
One of the earliest events in 1880 was the opening of the American Union and Atlantic and Pacific telegraph offices in Kansas City, which occurred on the 5th of January. The Atlantic and Pacific had, at one time before, had an office in Kansas City, but several years previous this company had been bought out by the Western Union, and was under the control of that company. When this sale took place the office in Kansas City was abolished. The American Union was a new company, organized about two years before by Mr. Jay Gould, and having now completed an extensive system of lines, was put into operation, and the Atlantic & Pacific was again put into operation to fight it.
Besides some cutting in rates little occurred to affect the interests of Kansas City until February 27th, when the Union Pacific Railroad Company, with which the Kansas Pacific had been consolidated in January, and which was now con- trolled by Mr. Gould, took possession of the Western Union Wires along the old Kansas Pacific road. This was done by force, and on the ground that the railroad needed them for its own business, but the real object doubtless was to unite them with the American Union system. This led to litigation which resulted in the restoration of the wires to the Western Union Company, by order of the United States Courts, on the 15th of April. All three of these companies continued to operate in Kansas City until January, 1881, when they were consolidated and all offices abolished except the old Western Union.
THE SMELTING WORKS.
The project of smelting and refining works for the smelting of the ores of Colorado and New Mexico, had been discussed for several years in Kansas City. T. F. Oakes, Esq., was probably the first man to propose it, and that was while he was general freight agent of the Kansas Pacific Railway. Early in the year 1879 the Committee of Commerce of the Board of Trade took up the subject, and tried to organize such an enterprise, but as there was no man available who under- stood the practical part of the business, little was done with it until December, when Col. W. N. Ewing, who had had charge of the Copper Hill Works, in Colorado, came to Kansas City and took an interest in it. During the four months following stock was placed to the amount of fifty thousand dollars, and the company was organized May 12, 1880, with Col. C. F. Morse as President, John Doggett, Vice-President; W. H. Miller, Secretary; and J. M. Coburn, Treasurer. Col. Ewing was engaged as Superintendent, and immediately set about the construction of the works, which were completed and ready for opera- tions by the middle of November. Col. Ewing then went to Colorado to buy ores, where he met with Messrs. Aug. R. Meyers and N. Wetherill, of Leadville, proprietors of two large smelters there. They wanted some place for a refinery where that part of the work could be done more advantageously than it could be in Leadville, and, after a conference with Col. Ewing, they came to Kansas City and submitted a proposition to the company to take an interest in it, and increase
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HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY.
the capacity of the works to double that originally designed. This proposition was accepted, the stock increased to $160,000, and the works have since been doubled in capacity.
THE INDIAN TERRITORY MOVEMENT.
During the year 1879, there had been much discussion throughout the west of a proposition to forcibly invade the Indian Territory, and take possession of a large body of land there, to which the Indian title had been extinguished. This dis- cussion caused the enforcement of the Indians tax upon the numerous herds of cattle held in or driven through the Territory, and caused some herds to be driven out of it. This was quite an injury to cattle men. Early in 1880 this agitation was resumed; a company for the purpose of effecting such invasion and settle- ment had been organized in Wyandotte, December 24, 1879. A meeting called for the purpose of giving this movement a good send off, was held at the Board of Trade Hall, March 4th, though its real object was not publicly disclosed. The meeting was largely attended, and was addressed by Hon. B. J. Franklin, Colonel E. C. Budinot, a Cherokee, and other prominent men, and adopted a memorial to Congress, strongly urging the opening of the Indian Territory. It gave little countenance, however, to the proposed illegal invasion. The agitation continued, however, and before the close of the year a large number of people joined it, and under the lead of a man named Payne, got as far as Caldwell, Kansas, in the direction of the promised land.
NEW PAVEMENTS.
Early in March, Mr. B. F. Camp, patentee of the Camp pavement, came to Kansas City, with a proposition to pave the streets with that pavement. The City Council, after much discussion of the matter, made a contract with him to pave Fifth street, between Bluff street and Broadway, as a test. The work was begun late in the year, and is yet unfinished, but the people are so well pleased with the pavement that it is to be laid on Wyandotte street, between Fifth and Ninth, and probably some others. This is the first permanent pavement laid in Kansas City, though there are many miles of macadam, made of common lime- stone.
THE BARGE LINE.
The year 1880 saw the long discussed project of barge navigation of the Missouri River put upon a sure footing. The agitation of this subject, which had annually presented itself for discussion since 1872, was brought about by a com- bination between the Missouri Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads, which went into effect April 14th, and by which freight from the line of the latter road was taken through to St. Louis at much less cost than the rate from the same places to Kansas City, and thence to St. Louis. This hurt the live stock and grain markets badly for a few days, until other roads leading east from Kansas City were inform- ed of it, and cut rates from Kansas City east. This awakened the people to the nature of the power into whose hands the railroads had fallen, and warned them of the danger. Protection was sought in the utilizing of the river. In the latter part of April a meeting of the Committee of Commerce of the Board of Trade was held, at which this plan was decided upon. The secretary was instructed to pre- pare a memorial to the people of the city on the subject, which was done May 2d, and a subscription to stock in a barge company, to have a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, was at once put into circulation. On the 8th of May a meeting was held at the Board of Trade Hall, for the purpose of fostering the movement; and at this meeting it was decided to call a river improvement con- vention, to consist of representatives from all prominent places along the river,
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HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY.
and for all the section of country to be affected by the improvement of the river. Colonel K. Coates, chairman of the Committee of Commerce, was made chairman of a sub-committee to place the stock of the barge company, and he did a large part of the work personally. Several meetings of the committee were held dur- ing the summer, but it was not until December that the matter was finally con- summated. On the 6th and 7th of that month, meetings of the subscribers to the stock were held, and at the latter a proposition was presented from Capt. Thomas Poe, of St. Louis, who had commended the Babbage fleets in 1878, to put in the boat Peerless, which he owned, as stock in the Kansas City Company. At this time $65,000 had been subscribed in Kansas City. Messrs. Colonel Coates, Wit- ten McDonald and H. J. Latshaw were appointed a committee to visit and nego- tiate with Captain Poe in St. Louis, and they left at once for that city. Within a few days the remainder of the stock was subscribed, and the company was or- ganized, with Colonel Coates as president, Witten McDonald as secretary, and Jos. S. Chick treasurer. Captain Poe was engaged as commander and general manager. Five barges have since been bought, and early in the spring of 1881, the fleet made its first trip between St. Louis and New Orleans, while waiting for the Missouri River to open.
THE RIVER CONVENTION.
As was mentioned above, at one of the meetings in the interest of the barge enterprise, it was proposed to hold a convention at Kansas City to memorialize Congress on the improvement of the Missouri River. This was the first effort ever made for an improvement of that stream on an extended scale. The Com- mittee of Commerce of the Board of Trade caused a memorial on the subject to be prepared, and issued it with a call for the convention for September 21st. The objects sought by this movement cannot be better explained than by the memorial sent to the country, which was as follows :
BOARD OF TRADE, - KANSAS CITY, August 7th, 1880. 5
To the People of the Missouri Valley :
The undersigned, the committee of commerce of the Board of Trade of Kansas City, address you at this time for the purpose of inviting your attention to the importance of improving the Missouri River, and if possible of securing your co-operation in measures looking to that end. The object had in view is to secure congressional appropriations adequate to pay for such improvements of the river as will make it an adequate channel for the commerce of the Missouri Valley country, and the immediate expenditure of such appropriations in the actual work of improvement.
It is true that in the present state of information concerning the Missouri river no estimate can be made of the extent of improvement that will be neces- sary, nor of the aggregate cost of such work when completed, but accurate surveys of the river by competent engineers will soon develop both facts. Such surveys we propose as the first thing to be done, and we feel assured by the gen. eral knowledge of the stream and by the expressed opinions of eminent engineers that the improvement needed and outlays required will be found far within the reasonable capacity of the Government and not exceeding the improvement and outlays bestowed upon other American waters of like or less importance.
As stated above, the object of such improvement is to make the stream an adequate channel for the commerce of the whole Missouri Valley country. It is a well known fact that water transportation of equal perfection with the best other methods costs but a small fraction of the best and cheapest of other meth-
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HISTORY OF KANSAS CITY.
ods. Among the methods now in use it is found that the railroad is the only competitor of water routes, and it is found also that with its greater speed and all other advantages it possesses it is still unequal to water routes, except where the latter are so unimproved as not to admit of the use of the most expeditions and economical craft. The capacities of the Missouri River, in this respect, have been tested, and even in its present wholly unimproved state it has been found far superior to railroads, although the dangers of its navigation are such as to make men hesitate to put their money into the necessary craft. In 1878 four tows of barges loaded with grain were taken from this city to St. Louis. The transportation of this grain, including insurance, cost the shippers five and a half cents per bushel, when the railroads were at that time, charging thirteen cents on wheat and eight cents on other grain. There was a saving therefore of seven and a half cents on the wheat and two and a half on the corn to the shipper; but the most significant fact in connection with these shipments was that it cost the carriers but two and a half cents per bushel including insurance, which ena- bled them to make a little over one hundred per cent. while saving the shippers the amount above stated. With this experience before them, the carriers estima- ted that, with improvement of the river, grain can be carried at a handsome profit to carriers from Kansas City to New Orleans for seven cents per bushel. Now from New Orleans to the European markets it costs but three cents per bushel more than from our Atlantic ports. The rates from Missouri River points to the Atlantic ports are usually about thirty-six cents per bushel on wheat and thirty-three on other grain. Thus it is found that the difference in favor of the river route is, to the seaboard twenty-nine cents per bushel on wheat and twenty- six cents on other grain. Deduct from these the three cents excess which it costs from New Orleans to European markets and we find that the river route will save twenty-six cents per bushel on wheat and twenty-three on other grain. These figures represent the additions that will be made to the present profits of producers, for the price of grain at every railway station in the Missouri Valley are the prices in European markets less carriage, and the reduction in cost of carriage does not affect European prices. A reduction in that item makes a corresponding addition to the profits of the American producer. Nor is this all; the proposed improvement will bring the farm lands of the Missouri Valley as near market, so far as regards cost of carriage, as the farm lands of New York. and Pennsylvania, and it will make them worth more than the lands of those States, in proportion to their great fertility, instead of one-tenth the value as they are now. With such a change in the situation the increased prosperity of the Missouri Valley country is something that cannot be estimated in advance.
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