Excerpt from Kansas City, Missouri, Vol. 2: Its History and Its People 1808-1908 A type of manhood that has made it possible for the people of this country to enjoy in the fullest measure the richness of this life which is their inheritance, for more than forty years he has stood as the embodiment of that kind of energy which has made the name of Kansas City a synonym for enterprise, intelligently and honestly directed, in all sections of the United States. He is distinguished as having been the moving spirit among a coterie of men of remarkable practical sagacity, in knowing how to seize upon opportunities that would command and hold the avenues of commerce from the Lakes to Galveston and to determine in advance what should be the gateway between the Mississippi valley and the Pacific. The preparation he received educationally to play the part in life in which he was destined to become a most conspicuous actor was most meager. Complimented on his wide and scholarly reading and the firm grasp he had on scientific and philosophic subjects and his comprehensive knowledge of public men and national affairs, he took from a library shelf three small books - a United States Spelling Book, Introduction to the English Reader, and old arithmetic, The Western Calculator. These, he said, were the sources of my information. I studied them in the winter when the weather was too bad to work out of doors. His ethical training con. Sisted chiefly of the shorter catechism of the Presbyterian church, of which his grandfathers, father and brother were elders. How well his contact with different types of men with whom he mingled had prepare-d him as a torch bearer for the forefront of this western procession, is not now a question of speculation but one of deeds accomplished. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.