The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1881-04-23
CBICAGO, TEXAS q MEXICAN CEN
TRAL RAILWAY.


speech Of Captain w. q. Veal At the
banquet Given It's Ofiicers by the
Dallas Board Of Trade, April 18th.
1851.
Mr.. President and Gentlemen of the Chicago,
Texas 4 Mexican Central Railroad:
We are glad TO meet you tonight and to
give you hearty welcome to Texas, which
we claim offers greater and grander induce
ments TO labor and to capital than any other
country on the globe. To every good ci,i.
zen ofevery nationality and regardless Of his
political or religious tepets, Texas extends q
welcome as broad as her vast domain and
as free as the winds that sweep over it.
Texas 10 indeed an empire in
extent 1t contains 274,356 square
miles, has 226 organized counties,
and territory sufficient TO form one hundred
additional counties without violating the
constitution which fixes the minimum of a
county at thirty miles square.
This great territory Is much larger than
France, or the Austrian or German empires.
1t is more extende than the united kingdom
Of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales;
larger than Greece, Switzerland, Denmark.
Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and ali
the new England states combined. 1t is
more immense in It's area than Maine, New
Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode I.lsnd, Con.
necticut, New York, New jersey, Pennsyl-
vania, Delaware, Illinois and Ohio.
More than three-fourths of this vast terri
tory is susceptible Of the highest state
of cultivation, and produces greater variety
OF crops than any country known to civiliza.
tio0 Its chief products are cotton, corn,
wheft, rye, barley, oats and grasses of every
description, with sugar, hemp, jute, fax, the
castor bean, every species and kind of vege-
tables, and the various classes OF fruit known
to northern latitudes, semi.tropical and
tropical, as auxiliaries All these grow here
In the greatest profusion and perfection.
AS pastoral country il Is without
rival on this or any other continent Horses.
cattle, sheep and other stock are raised with.
out trouble and with next to no expense.
subsisting and thriving as they do the
year round upon native grasses.
AS you are perhaps aware, the
fines! beef sold in your markets of
Chicago, is taken fat from tho prairies of
Texas, aud this is equally true of other cities
of the northwest and of New York, as il is
fact that refrigerator ships destined for Eng
land are, to great extent loaded at North
Atlantic ports, a. we'll rs our own. and
loaded with Texas slaughtered cattle, sgpre.
eating 100000 per annum totally driven and
otherwise exported.
The healthfulness of our climate Is a fact
so long ago firmly established that il needs
neither comment or repetition. II is warm.
yet tempered and toned by Gulf breeze
ever blowing; it is in the south, yet dry and
as Tree from malaria as any state in the
west.
Were Texas as deusely populated
England. 1t would
contain l50,00O,0OO people or three times tho
gross population of the United States. Had
we the population to the square mile Mas.
sachusetts has, the number would DO 72,OQO,-
900. Having lived in and travelled over
Texas for more than thirty years, believe
these figures will be reached. | know that
her climate invites, that her soil will sustain
that many people and without the recessity
OF going elsewhere for food or clothing.
We produced, last year. twelve hundred
thousand bales Of cotton, or one sixth of
the total crop of The south, worth At $50 per
bale, S60,000000. Its staple is ranked ON
the exchanges of Europe rs tho finest in the
world, and always commands higher price
than that raised in the south Atlantic states,
or India. II is our dream that the dsy i,
not distant when but small portion of the
raw material will DO exported, cotton goods
and cotton yarns being shipped instead, and
that the revenue of Texas will DO increased
from this source tenfold. " will be difficult
however, for manufacturing to ever reach
the capacity Of Texas for the production Of
cotton, for were only one.sixlh of our cotton
lands in cultivation they would produce more
than Is now grown throughout the world.
The yield is from half TO one and half
bales per acre, and without the use of fertili.
zers, not ono ton of which has ever been
used In Held in this state to MD cotton or
any other crop.
Tha. portion Of Texas suitable Tor tho
growth OF wheat, oats and other small grain,
covering 100 900 square miles, is larger than
the great states Of Missouri, Illinois and Ohio
combined and produces much greater
yield per acre than either, Were all those
lands cultivated in wheat, the gross product
would BIO more than four times MS much as
was raised in the United States last wear.
Our average yield Is Is bushels per acre, but
30 to 80 have often been gathered.
Oats yields from Az 10 100 bushels nor
acre, barley 20 to 20 bushels; ,ye 20 to so
and corn produces from % to 60 bushels Der
acre.
Texas has nearly one million acres upon
which tho best sugar cane natures, which
will yield two and one-halt hogshesds of
sugar, and tour barrels of molssscs per acre.
Ii one ualf were cultivated and that hall
made only half crop, tho result would be
more sugar and syrup than arc now
consumed in the United States. Tho four
counties Of Fort Bend, Brazoria, Wharton
and Matagorda produced last year, 8, 66i
hogsheads Of sugar and 1924 barrels of
molasses. valued at S433 900. Tho sugar
growing country extends along the coas,
south OF tho latitude Of New Orleans, ye'
the heat Is not oppressive, as 1t Is cons family
tanned by the gulf breezes which sweep ovel
i, rendering the climate pleasant and health,
fu, and almost free from malaria.
As to our educational facilities, we CLAIM,
70 nave In existence, and the ground WORK
laid, for the most thorough and complet,
public school system in the union. Oul
present available cash fund for public school.
Is about Si000,000 invested in bonds
When tho surveys of public land, M,
completed, Texas will have between
forty and fifty million acre,
belonging to the public school fund, and
which arc to DO leased or sold and the pro
ceeds invested in government or state bonds
as the legislature NAV direct aud tho 4,