New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-04-19
TEXAS AS IT Is.
lie INNL STAR METRlpOLIS.

FAILURE.
GPRoN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRBUNEl
GALVESTON. Tex. Feb. s-Ihe hest place for a
preliminary look at the Texas metropolis Is the
observatory on the fremont House. which over
tops the church spires and Is the highest point IN
the city. You a broad cXpanse Of clean, bright,
white houses and wide, sandy streets, stretching
from the gulf beach 10 the shore OF the bay,
a distance OF about a mile, and from a blunt point
where sea and bay meet, extending westward IN a
long parallclogram to q horizon of sand and weeds
and plmmeritg agoons. On the bay side not far
from the point is a line of wharyes. skirting the
business portion of the city. This portion is com
pact and wcl-built, with handsome brick
blocks, which have nothing Enthusiastically
Southern IN their appearance and would
be creditabe TO any thriving town IN
Illinois or Iowa. NOu will remark from
your lofty outlook that all the streets have eN-
cellent brick sidewalks; that the dwellings give
evidence that the value Of paint ia understood by
their owners. and that there is n total absence OF
shade trees-a popularity which YOU will readily
account for by the fact that the site Of the city is
sandy island. saturated ;wO feet below the surface
with bIacsh water and su jcct t0a deluge from the
sea in severe sOuthcrly storms. Looking AZ the
rather mcagTc array Of shipping at the wharyes, you
will perhaps wonder how this can be tho third cot
ton-shppng port in the United states until your
sweeps the gulf horizon and is arrested by long line
Of bare ma,ts evidently of ships riding at anchor
what can they be doing ont there, hull down at
sea ~ you ask; "why don't they come into the har-
bort" The Galyestonian who is giving his services
as guide philosopher and friend answers rather re-
uctautly: "Wcll, the fact Is, that Is our harbor
ont there No vessel drawing over twelve
feet can come into the bay, 50 tho cotton
ships anchor outside and take their cargo from
steam lighters Between the entrance TO the bay
and the shipping YOU see yonder, there is big bar,
nearly four miles across" "What do the ships do
when a heavy gale blows ~ "They get up their
anchors and run to sea- You naturally remark
that this is a queer sort of port. and your
companion tells You of the experiment OF
sunken jetty planned by Mayor Howells of
the Engineer Corps AMI advises You to see Cap
tain Davis, who is in charge of the work.
After this preliminary survey Of Galveston you
are prepared to make q nearer acquaintance wthIts
streets and people aud to learn more particularly of
its couditouandp prospects. It's the ouly place u Tex
as that deserves the name of city, all other places
which make q great figure on the maps and in the
newspapers being exaggerated villages IN tranSl-
ton state-ciGcs only by courtesy and act OF the
Legislature. Enthusiastic people claim for Calves
ton 900 inhabitants but taking the returns of the
Drought ont the full vote 2S,O0Oi5 fair estimate.
There has been loss Of population within the past
three years, AMI the high hopes formed during the
flush times Of the speedy growth of great South
eru motropos on this strip of wayc-washcd sand
have gwen place to a feeling of dependency. The
people begin TO realize that the handling of cotton
does not alone make a great city. They must have
harbor open to the shipping Of the world; they
must have railroads radiatug TO the interior; they
must have manufactures OF such articles rs farm
cr, need or their town will never Ice anything more
than IL Is now. Galveston is in the same condition
as Charleston, Savannah and Mobile. These four
cities are trying 10 live on the business of handling
cotton. They have each population of from $1,000
to 80 900 and cannot increase it without developing
new:lndustrics. Galveston has one great advantage
over the other three in the vast eSpanSe OF new
country back of it, which is rapidly filling up with
eutcrprisng people, but sac has counterbaiancing
disadvantages in the want of harbor and the lack
ofrailroad facilities. Ai5iuge road to Houston is
all that gives her connection with the railroad sys
TEN of the interior. Another road is building,
but before fifty miles of track have been put down
1t is involved ina financial troubles.
Ofchicf interest among questions affecting the
future Of Galveston is that relating 10 the harbor.
was shown today the charts, photographs and
models ~ the United States Engineers Office Illus
tratmg the nature Of the work now in progress 10
secure q channel across the bar. \ sunken jetty,
composed of row of large gabons filled with sand
and placed end to end, Is being thrown ont from
Bolivar Peninsula to the farther edge of the bar
distance OF three and a quarter miles. About
third of the work is now completed. The total cost
will be in the ucighborh0od of $1,000, 900. The
eibous are great baskets Of cedar poles and canes
with plank bottoms and tops They are twelve
feet long. six high and about four broad and arc
sunk upon a LAYER of cedar mattresses placed in
position by divers. First water is pumped
into them and then sand To disp,acc the water.
When submerged they ale invisible from the sur
face The theory Of the work Is that the tide sweep
ing out from the btv. striking agHn0l inns suhken
cttV and flowing rapidly along It's side, VIII grad
ually scOur away the sand from the bottom aud
make channel at least twenty feet IN depth. Tho
principle is the same as that relied upon BY Captain
lads for his work az the mouth or the Mississippi
but the COnd iOns are widely different. Here there
Is no uver current, and the action of the tide can
alone be depended ON to effect the securing and in
stead of soft mud bottom, easily worn away by the
water the bottom is here hard sand, not much al
frctrd hy ordinary tidal action, but liable to cOnsd-
erallc disturbance from storms. As strong aTgu-
meut tort the final success of MAJOR lioWelss interest
ing and courageous experiment his good fortune III
treating a small bar right IN the hafb0Ts mouth Is
cited This bar appeared after severe storm lew
years ago. and threatened to entirely close the port
line of gabIOns was thrown across II, ana II
encrdilV washed away. IL IL possible, though,
that ordinary tidal action would have worn il down
If 1t had been let alone. shall not pretend, how
ever to discuss scientific questions connected with
this little ietty or with the big jettY now IN pro-
grcss nor have | sufficient information 10 warrant
either q hopeful a dscOuraging opinion as 10 the
final success of Major IOwellS plans. 1t IS apparent
that unless deep channel can be opened from the
bay to the sea, Galveston can hope Tor no important
development IN the future. She Is essentially
commercial city. and a commercial city without
harbor that will admit sea-g going ships of ordinary
draft is an anomaly more curious than promising.
There Is talk of an artificial harbor, like that at
CherbOurg, built from the beach ont into tho sea.
in case the jctty should be q failure but such
harbor would at least - 600 OO0 ana II Is not
To ice expected that Congress viii spend so large
sum for the benefit of 20 small place.
All the business talk here relates to cotton.
.. lluun ~ 81 .. lIlNn Luu