San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1881-12-08

a quarter OF q CcAsy
sfty wears since Texas was founded by
Austin, but this period must 90 a'''
.ounted, first, by its war with Mexico;
then by the struggle between mexico
and the United States for its possession !;
and, finally, by the disasters incidental
70 the rebellion. Now, let us look ~
the comparative topography OF the TWO o
States: The area Of Kansas IS ol'ole
square miles, that Of Texas 274'4oo
souare miles. This is larger than
France. Austria, or the German en-
pire; it is greater than the United
Kingdom of England, Scotland, Ire
land, and Wales; larger than Greece
Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium the
Netherlands, Portugal, and all the New
England States combined; and more
immense in its area than Maine, New
Hampshire, Rode Island, Connecticut
Massachusetts,, Maryland, New York.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware
Illinois and Ohio combined. The aver
age length of Kansas is 400 miles;
breadth, 200 miles; area, 1878 square
miles.
RAILROADS.
In 1879, when visited Texas. there
were but $50 miles of railroad; there
are now $500 miles. Kansas has S,loz
miles.
EDUCATION.
The educational facilities OF Texas
are without parallel in the history OF
mankind; there are 100000 dedi'
Gated, to common. schools already in
vested in bonds; between 4O,OOO,OU
and 60 900, 900 acres of lands, worth s.
to Sc an acre, which will increase the
public school fund to $10O,OOO,GO, and
will realize s5,OOo,OoQ more in revenue
in addition, each ofsthe 2S6 counties In
the State has set apart to it four leagues
or 17,712 acres Of land, as an absolute
common-school fund which will In
crease the public school lands to about
60, 100000 acres, and, in addition tt
this, ONE fourth of the general revenue
of the State, and ST for each poll, goe'
into the school fund. One million two
hundred and nineteen thousand and sil
acres of public school land we're &c
back by law, thirty-five years ago, for
State university, now worth $2O pc
acre.
Kansas had system of free school
since 1856. Public schools under
State board of education, grade'
schools. free State university, Stat
agricultural college, State norma
schools, institutions for deaf and blind
denominational colleges and universe
ties, lady's college, and many privat
parochial schools and academies. Their
is permanent school fund, county AM
school district taxes.
AGRICULTURE.
Not less overwhelming are the stats
tics of agriculture of Texas, including
wheat, cattle and cotton. A recen
writer states some figures in this con
nection which are almost incredible
his advocating q new line of railroa
between the Indian Territory and Texa
to the Mexican border, and this is til
way he illustrates it: Your local trade
he says, will be immense. Conside
that your road will run some $50 mile
through Texas. This will give you a
area of 81, 100000 acres. Sould onl
fourth of this be planted in cotton
|. and produce but half bale m acre,
would yield 2,64O,0O0 bales, and if al
other one.fourth was put in wheat, an
produced only ten bushels to the acr
it would be 52,SO0,00O bushels.
, would require $4,000 cars annually
r remove the cotton crop, allowing eac
l car a capacity of thirty bales; and
: would require $4,000 cars annually
? remove the wheat crop, estimating &C
& bushels as a car load this would max
, ninety daily trains of twenty-five car
: each 365 days in the year, to remo1
? the wheat and cotton alone, to say notl
3 ing of the thousands of car loads (
/ cattle and other products. One millio
e two hundred thousand bales of cottol
: worth $50 per bale, or sec, GOO, 900, wei
}. produced last year, one-sixth of the t,
1 tai crop of the whole South; and if on
T one-sixth of the cotton lands in Tex