[1] For the thirty years 1877-1906 the mean rainfall for ten-year
periods was: at Dodge, 22.8 in., 18.4 in. and 22.7 in.; and at
Lawrence, 35.1 in., 39.2 in. and 36.7 in. for the first, second and
third periods respectively.
[2] All subsequent figures in this paragraph for manufactures in 1900
are given for establishments under the "factory system" only, so as
to be comparable with statistics for 1905, which do not include minor
establishments.
[3] According to the state census Kansas had in 1905 a total
population of 1,544,968; nearly 28% lived in cities of 2500 or more
inhabitants; 13 cities had more than 10,000 inhabitants: Kansas City
(67,614). Topeka (37,641), Wichita (31,110), Leavenworth (20,934),
Atchison (18,159), Pittsburg (15,012), Coffeyville (13,196), Fort
Scott (12,248), Parsons (11,720), Lawrence (11,708), Hutchinson
(11,215), Independence (11,206), and Iola (10,287). Other cities of
above 5000 inhabitants each were: Chanute (9704), Emporia (8974),
Winfield (7845), Salina (7829), Ottawa (7727), Arkansas City (7634),
Newton (6601), Galena (6449), Argentine (6053), Junction City (5264)
and Cherryvale (5089).
[4] The English Bill was not a bribe to the degree that it has
usually been considered to be, inasmuch as it "reduced the grant of
land demanded by the Lecompton Ordinance from 23,500,000 acres to
3,500,000 acres, and offered only the normal cession to new states."
But this grant of 3,500,000 acres was conditioned on the acceptance
of the Lecompton Constitution, and Congress made no promise of any
grant if that Constitution were not adopted. The bill was introduced
by William Hayden English (1822-1896), a Democratic representative in
Congress in 1853-1861 (see Frank H. Hodder, "Some Aspects of the
English Bill for the Admission of Kansas," in _Annual Report of the
American Historical Association_ for the Year 1906, i. 201-210).
[5] Terms of actual service in Kansas, not period of commissions. The
appointment was for four years. Reeder was removed, all the others
resigned.
[6] Secretaries of the Territory who served as governors in the
interims of gubernatorial terms or when the governor was absent from
the Territory. In the case of H. S. Walsh several dates cannot be
fixed with exactness.
KANSAS CITY, a city and the county-seat of Wyandotte county, Kansas,
U.S.A., on the W. bank of the Missouri River, at the mouth of the
Kansas, altitude about 800 ft. It is separated from its greater
neighbour, Kansas City, Missouri, only by the state line, and is the
largest city in the state. Pop. (1890), 38,315; (1900), 51,418, of whom
6,377 were foreign-born and 6509 were negroes; (1910 census) 82,331. It
is served by the Union Pacific, the Missouri Pacific, the Chicago, Rock
Island & Pacific, and the Chicago Great Western railways, and by
electric lines connecting with Leavenworth and with Kansas City,
Missouri. There are several bridges across the Kansas river. The city
covers the low, level bottom-land at the junction of the two rivers, and
spreads over the surrounding highlands to the W., the principal
residential district. Its plan is regular. The first effective steps
toward a city park and boulevard system were taken in 1907, when a board
of park commissioners, consisting of three members, was appointed by the
mayor. The city has been divided into the South Park District and the
North Park District, and at the close of 1908 there were 10 m. of
boulevards and parks aggregating 160 acres. A massive steel and concrete
toll viaduct, about 1(3/4) m. in length, extends from the bluffs of
Kansas City, Kan., across the Kansas valley to the bluffs of Kansas
City, Mo., and is used by pedestrians, vehicles and street cars. There
is a fine public library building given by Andrew Carnegie. The
charities of the city are co-ordinated through the associated charities.
Among charitable state-aided institutions are the St Margaret's hospital
(Roman Catholic), Bethany hospital (Methodist), a children's home
(1893), and, for negroes, the Douglass hospital training school for
nurses (1898)--the last the largest private charity of the state. The
medical department of the Kansas state university, the other departments
of which are in Lawrence, is in Kansas City; and among the other
educational institutions of the city are the Western university and
industrial school (a co-educational school for negroes), the Kansas City
Baptist theological seminary (1902), and the Kansas City university
(Methodist Protestant, 1896), which had 454 students in 1908-1909 and
comprises Mather college (for liberal arts), Wilson high school
(preparatory), a school of elocution and oratory (in Kansas City, Mo.),
a Normal School, Kansas City Hahnemann Medical College (in Kansas City,
Mo.), and a school of theology. The city is the seat of the Kansas
(State) school for the blind. Kansas City is one of the largest cities
in the country without a drinking saloon. Industrially the city is
important for its stockyards and its meat-packing interests. With the
exception of Chicago, it is the largest livestock market in the United
States. The product-value of the city's factories in 1905 was
$96,473,050; 93.5% consisting of the product of the wholesale
slaughtering and meat-packing houses. Especially in the South-west
markets Kansas City has an advantage over Chicago, St Louis, and other
large packing centres (except St Joseph), not only in freights, but in
its situation among the "corn and beef" states; it shares also the
extraordinary railway facilities of Kansas City, Missouri. There are
various important manufactures, such as soap and candles, subsidiary to
the packing industry; and the city has large flour mills, railway and
machine shops, and foundries. A large cotton-mill, producing coarse
fabrics, was opened in 1907. Natural gas derived from the Kansas fields
became available for lighting and heating, and crude oil for fuel, in
1906.
Kansas City was founded in 1886 by the consolidation of "old" Kansas
City, Armourdale and Wyandotte (in which Armstrong and Riverview were
then included). Of these municipalities Wyandotte, the oldest, was
originally settled by the Wyandotte Indians in 1843; it was platted and
settled by whites in 1857; and was incorporated as a town in 1858, and
as a city in 1859. At Wyandotte were made the first moves for the
Territorial organization of Kansas and Nebraska. During the Kansas
struggle Wyandotte was a pro-slavery town, while Quindaro (1856), a few
miles up the Missouri, was a free-state settlement and Wyandotte's
commercial rival until after the Civil War. The convention that framed
the constitution, the Wyandotte Constitution, under which Kansas was
admitted to the Union, met here in July 1859. "Old" Kansas City was
surveyed in 1869 and was incorporated as a city in 1872. Armourdale was
laid out in 1880 and incorporated in 1882. The packing interest was
first established in 1867; the first large packing plant was that of
Armour & Co., which was removed to what is now Kansas City in 1871.
Kansas City adopted government by commission in 1909.
KANSAS CITY, a city and port of entry of Jackson county, Missouri,
U.S.A., the second in size and importance in the state, situated at the
confluence of the Missouri and Kansas rivers, adjoining Kansas City,
Kansas, and 235 m. W. by N. of St Louis. Pop. (1890), 132,716; (1900),
163,752, of whom 18,410 were foreign born (German, 4816; Irish, 3507;
Swedish, 1869; English, 1863; English-Canadian, 1369; Italian, 1034),
and 17,567 were negroes; (1910 census) 248,381. Kansas City, the gateway
to the South-west, is one of the leading railway centres of the United
States. It is served by the Union Pacific, the Missouri Pacific, the
'Frisco System, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Atchison, Topeka &
Santa Fe, the Chicago Great Western, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul,
the Chicago & Alton, the Wabash, the Kansas City Southern, the Chicago,
Rock Island & Pacific, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, the Leavenworth,
Kansas & Western, the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient, the St Louis, Kansas
City & Colorado, the Quincy, Omaha & Kansas City, and the St Joseph &
Grand Island railways, and by steamboat lines to numerous river ports.
The present retail, office, and wholesale sections were once high bluffs
and deep ravines, but through and across these well graded streets were
constructed. South and west of this highland, along the Kansas river, is
a low, level tract occupied chiefly by railway yards, stock yards,
wholesale houses and manufacturing establishments; north and east of the
highland is a flat section, the Missouri River bottoms, occupied largely
by manufactories, railway yards, grain elevators and homes of employes.
Much high and dry "made" land has been reclaimed from the river
flood-plain. Two great railway bridges across the Missouri, many smaller
bridges across the Kansas, and a great inter-state toll viaduct
extending from bluff to bluff across the valley of the latter river, lie
within the metropolitan area of the two cities. The streets of the
Missouri city are generally wide and excellently paved. The city-hall
(1890-1893), the courthouse (1888-1892), and the Federal Building
(1892-1900) are the most imposing of the public buildings. A convention
hall, 314 ft. long and 198 ft. wide, with a seating capacity of about
15,000, is covered by a steel-frame roof without a column for its
support; the exterior of the walls is cut stone and brick. The building
was erected within three months, to replace one destroyed by fire, for
the National Democratic Convention which met here on the 4th of July
1900. The Public Library with walls of white limestone and Texas
granite, contained (1908) 95,000 volumes. The Congregational, the
Calvary Baptist, the Second Presbyterian, the Independence Avenue
Christian, the Independence Avenue Methodist, and the Second Christian
Science churches are the finest church buildings. The board of trade
building, the building of the _Star_ newspaper, and several large office
buildings (including the Scarritt, Long, and New York Life Insurance
buildings) are worthy of mention.
Kansas City has over 2000 acres in public parks; but Swope Park,
containing 1354 acres, lies south of the city limits. The others are
distributed with a design to give each section a recreation ground
within easy walking distance, and all (including Swope) are connected by
parkways, boulevards and street-car lines. The Paseo Parkway, 250 ft.
wide, extends from N. to S. through the centre of the city for a
distance of 2(1/2) m., and adjoining it near its middle is the Parade,
or principal playground. The city has eight cemeteries, the largest of
which are Union, Elmwood, Mt Washington, St Mary's and Forest Hill. The
charitable institutions and professional schools included in 1908 about
thirty hospitals, several children's homes and homes for the aged, an
industrial home, the Kansas City school of law, the University medical
college, and the Scarritt training school. The city has an excellent
public school system. A Methodist Episcopal institutional church,
admirably equipped, was opened in 1906. The city has a juvenile court,
and maintains a free employment bureau.
Kansas City is primarily a commercial centre, and its trade in
livestock, grain and agricultural implements is especially large. The
annual pure-bred livestock show is of national importance. The city's
factory product increased from $23,588,653 in 1900 to $35,573,049 in
1905, or 50.8%. Natural gas and crude petroleum from Kansas fields
became of industrial importance about 1906. Natural gas is used to light
the residence streets and to heat many of the residences.
Kansas City is one of the few cities in the United States empowered to
frame its own charter. The first was adopted in 1875 and the second in
1889. In 1905 a new charter, drawn on the lines of the model "municipal
program" advocated by the National Municipal League, was submitted to
popular vote, but was defeated by the influence of the saloons and other
special interests. The charter of 1908 is a revision of this proposed
charter of 1905 with the objectionable features eliminated; it was
adopted by a large majority vote. Under the provisions of the charter of
1908 the people elect a mayor, city treasurer, city comptroller, and
judges of the municipal court, each for a term of two years. The
legislative body is the common council composed of two houses, each
having as many members as there are wards in the city--14 in 1908. The
members of the lower house are elected, one by each ward, in the spring
of each even numbered year. The upper house members are elected by the
city at large and serve four years. A board of public works, board of
park commissioners, board of fire and water commissioners, a board of
civil service, a city counsellor, a city auditor, a city assessor, a
purchasing agent, and subordinate officers, are appointed by the mayor,
without confirmation by the common council. A non-partisan board
composed of citizens who must not be physicians has general control of
the city's hospitals and health department. A new hospital at a cost of
half a million dollars was completed in 1908. The charter provides for a
referendum vote on franchises, which may be ordered by the council or by
petition of the people, the signatures of 20% of the registered voters
being sufficient to force such election. Public work may be prevented by
remonstrance of interested property owners except in certain instances,
when the city, by vote of the people, may overrule all remonstrances. A
civic league attempts to give a non-partisan estimate of all municipal
candidates. The juvenile court, the arts and tenement commissions, the
municipal employment bureau, and a park board are provided for by the
charter. All the members of the city board of election commissioners and
a majority of the police board are appointed by the governor of the
state; and the police control the grant of liquor licences. The city is
supplied with water drawn from the Missouri river above the mouth of the
Kansas or Kaw (which is used as a sewer by Kansas City, Kan.); the main
pumping station and settling basins being at Quindaro, several miles up
the river in Kansas; whence the water is carried beneath the Kansas,
through a tunnel, to a high-pressure distributing station in the west
bottoms. The waterworks (direct pressure system) were acquired by the
city in 1895. All other public services are in private hands. The
street-railway service is based on a universal 5-cent transfer
throughout the metropolitan area. Some of the first overhead electric
trolleys used in the United States were used here in 1885.
The first permanent settlement within the present limits of Kansas City,
which took its name from Kansas river,[1] was established by French fur
traders about 1821. Westport, a little inland town--platted 1833, a city
1857, merged in Kansas City in 1899--now a fashionable residence
district of Kansas City--was a rival of Independence in the Santa Fe
trade which she gained almost _in toto_ in 1844 when the great Missouri
flood (the greatest the river has known) destroyed the river landing
utilized by Independence. Meanwhile, what is now Kansas City, and was
then Westport Landing, being on the river where a swift current wore a
rocky shore, steadily increased in importance and overshadowed Westport.
But in 1838 lots were surveyed and the name changed to the Town of
Kansas. It was officially organized in part in 1847, formally
incorporated as a town in 1850, chartered under its present name in
1853, re-chartered in 1875, in 1889 and in 1908. Before 1850 it was
practically the exclusive eastern terminus on the river for the Santa Fe
trade,[2] and a great outfitting point for Californian emigrants. The
history of this border trade is full of picturesque colour. During the
Civil War both Independence and Westport were the scene of battles;
Kansas City escaped, but her trade went to Leavenworth, where it had the
protection of an army post and a quiet frontier. After the war the
railways came, taking away the traffic to Santa Fe, and other cities
farther up the Missouri river took over the trade to its upper valley.
In 1866 Kansas City was entered by the first railway from St Louis; 1867
saw the beginning of the packing industry; in 1869 a railway bridge
across the Missouri assured it predominance over Leavenworth and St
Joseph; and since that time--save for a depression shortly after 1890,
following a real-estate boom--the material progress of the city has been
remarkable; the population increased from 4418 in 1860 to 32,260 in
1870, 55,785 in 1880, and 132,716 in 1890.
See T. S. Case (ed.), _History of Kansas City, Missouri_ (Syracuse,
1888); William Griffith, _History of Kansas City_ (Kansas City, 1900);
for industrial history, the _Greater Kansas City Yearbook_ (1907
seq.); for all features of municipal interest, the _Kansas City
Annual_ (Kansas City, 1907 seq.), prepared for the Business Men's
League.