The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1880-11-04
REDEEMISG THE soUrH.

printed copy of letter, written by
Mr.. a. X. Owen, of Chester, Pa, TO
Hon. Camilo Vega, member of the
Mexican Chamber Of Deputies.
touching an enterprise, which, ii
carried out. might be of some inter
est to Austin. and especially advan-
tageOus 10 the rapid development OF
Texas and of the South. Texas al
ready affords way for three grand
inter-oceanic railways. The Texas
and Pacific. one of these grand en-
terprises, trayerses Northern Texas.
and when completed TO III PasO. the
main line, with its taps. Will be over
HOO miles long, running through
one of the richest grain and
cotton and stock producing re-
gions of the globe. What this COM
pleted road has already done for
Northern Texas is but the begin
ming of a development uncqualed in
the material prosperity of any ma
ton or country or state. In time it
will move onward 10 San Diego. on
the Pacific coast. The Southern Pa
citic railway, probably the most
wonderful accomplishment of all
trans-continental lines. struck out
some years ago from San Francisco
towards the productive fields of
SouthernC California. Besides thcGol-
den City as Pacific seaport, it has a
more direct one for its trans-conti-
mental line at Santa Monica, the sea
entrance to San Diego. Eighteen
months ago the Southern Pacific
made a leap across the Colorado
river at Fort Yuma, and has
moved rapidly in the direction of
the Texas border, until now the iron
horse is putting and painting almost
in hearing of FL Paso. Here the
Texas and Pacific will meet this
road, but they are two distinct lines,
and the ends of each one rest upon
the oceans. One is to span the con-
tinent from Chesapeake Bay to the
Santa Barbara channel; the other
from the bays of San Francisco and
San Diego to the Gulf of Mexico,
effecting for Western and Southern
Texas what this other road does for
Northern Texas. Yet this is not all
that Is certain OF accomplishment in
the construction of inter-oceanic
lines across Texas territory. The III
ternational will shortly be COM
pleted to San Antonio, and then it
will move onward to the Rio
Grande, traversing Texas from its
extreme northeastern extremity 10
its southwestern borders. At the
Rio Grande this road will connect
with Mexican system of railways,
reaching to and far beyond the city
of Mexico, and to MaZatlan, one of
the finest harbors on the Pacific
coast. These are not speculative
enterprises. bus grand realities,
showing that the capitalists of the
world recognize the grandeur and
resources Of Texas, and that thus
convinced they have made it the
point where their greatest energies
are to be expended, where the
intersection of trade and commerce
passing over these great thorough
fares must be made. These three
trans-continental lines will have, in
the aggregate, on Texas terri
tory, $500 miles Of railway, fed
by vast system, unequaled. as
Texas is unsurpassed in greatness,
by that of any other state of the
Union, These are realities, and it
is of the unreal, but probable, that
Mr.. Owen treats in the letter above
referred to. 1t appears that he has
been for some years urging COM
bination between Southern lines of
railway, reaching towards the At
lantic seaboard, to make a trunk
line from some point on the Missis-
sippi river to Norfolk. He is indefi-
mite as to this point, but urges line,
running as straight as possible from
the Virginia port, via Austin, Tex
as, to Topolobampo, on the Pacific
coast. He urges this combination be-
cause of the finest ocean outlets at
each end of the proposed line, and
because it would shorten transporta-
ton between the two oceans and
between most of the great trading
marts of the world. The depth on
the bar at Topolobampo at low wa
ter is fifty-one feet, with a most
spacious land-locked harbor. 1t
lies between the mouths of the
Fuerte and the Sinaloa rivers.
while no river sends deposit into
the harbOr, which is an extinct
crater, sunk beneath the bed of
the ocean. To the eastward of To-
polobampo lies the Mexican Ell Do
RADIO, with its mountains of silver
and sands of gold. Topolobampo
is said to be 316 miles nearer ST.
Louis and $50 miles nearer Omaha
than San Francisco. 1t is over 400
miles nearer Fort Worth than San
Diego, and 800 miles nearer than
San Francisco. New York is $40
miles and Philadelphia $50 nearer
Topolobampo than San Francisco.
From Galveston to Topolobam-
po it is 957 miles, while from
New York to San Francisco it is
SS0S miles, and from Galveston to
San Diego via the FL Paso route it
is 100 miles. Says Mr.. Owen:
Ifthc actual distances of the trans
continental routes were compared,
il would be found that that from
New York to TopolObampo, via San
Antonio and Eagle Pass. is 1927
miles less than that from New York
to Puget Sound, via the Northern
Pacific: 7S4 miles less than that from
New York to San Francisco. via the
Union Pacific: 42l miles less thai,
that from New York to San Diego.
via the Texas Pacific, and S62 miles
less than that from New York 10 San
Bias. via the line proposed bv Ed