One of the most inspiring decades in Wichita’s development started in 1910. It was one of change, fires, floods, expansion and progress. Population increased from 52,450 to 72,717 by official census count. The downtown area acquired a new look and the confidence of the previous decade continued.
During 1910, forty-four persons were arrested for fast driving and seventy-two others were charged with violating the Auto Ordinance. No driver’s license was required until 1911, when an age minimum of fifteen was set for driving. Ordinances were also passed forbidding muffler cut-outs and a $200 fine was imposed for racing. The newspaper reports in 1915 were that “regulation of traffic remains a joke,” and that during the rush hour between five and six p.m. traffic was “a sight for the gods and a menace to men.”
Traffic continued to be the plague of mechanization, with the city experiencing congestion even in the early days. By 1912, Wichita had 52 traffic ordinances on the books, 60 miles of paved streets and the parking of vehicles was a problem.
“In 1912 came the first parking regulations, requiring that cars parked along the curb face the direction of the traffic and be close to the curb. In 1917 headlight dimmers were required and wagons and buggies had to have taillights lest they be run down by their replacements on the streets. In 1919 one hundred local men were deputized to help the police with traffic. Each was given a bunch of postcards upon which to report violators to the Chief of Police.”
The year 1913 was a year of several “firsts” for the city. Officer Jeff Thompson became the first black officer on the Wichita Police Department promoted to the rank of detective, the first railway train traversed the newly constructed elevated tracks, and Clyde Cessna made the first airplane flight over Wichita’s business district at an altitude of 4,000 feet.
In 1919, Samuel W. Zickefoose was named Chief of Police. As the city grew in size so did criminal activity. Stolen property seemed to be moving at alarming rates through the pawn shops and second-hand stores in the city. City commissioners passed an ordinance requiring all pawn brokers, second-hand dealers and junk dealers to maintain a detailed written record on all articles they purchased. Dealers and brokers were also instructed to take a thumb print of the subject selling the article. A lawsuit was filed challenging the legality of such an ordinance, but the courts held the ordinance reasonable and valid. Based upon this success, an inquiry was made by the Chicago Police Department who wished to model their ordinance after ours.
Also included in the History Book:
Woodrow Wilson
Clyde Cessna
Cessna Aeroplane Works
Det. William Humphries & Capt. Frank Griswold are killed in the line of duty
Motor Cars surpass Horses
Dog Catchers
W. C. Coleman