Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-12-05
SAN ANTONIO LETTER.
The Progress Of Railroad Building
and Combinations in Texas.

San AnLonio. Texns. Noy. aO. lssI.

San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 30, 1881.
EDITOR LEDGER:-Atter long con-
templating to write you a lette-, have
at last commenced. You asked me to
give you a sketch Of matters in this
part Of Texas. Railroads and railroad
building, and prospecting in regard
to the same, are the leading topics of
conversation in all business circles
here, and while a fellow hears a great
deal Of speculation, bOsh and gush, he
occasionally picks up,something solid
on the subject. You have, of course,
heard of the big combination between
Jay Gould and Huntington. of the
Southern Pacific. When this news
first reached US here, (imperiectly, OF
course), it looked as though the two
great syndicates had left San Antonio
out in the cold. But it seems that the
reverse is the fact. | learned from a
reliable source that a contract was
made between Pierce, the President Of
the road from here to Galveston via
Houston, and known as the Sunset
Route" and the Southern Pacific
road, last winter. by which Pierce was
to construct 500 miles of new road
from here TO the Northwest, and West
to Eagle Pass, on the Rio Grande, the
two being on the same track for about
20 miles West, and then dividing, and
VIXEN inboth roads 500 miles are COM
pleted, the Southern Pacific road will
take possession of tho whole limo both
ways and on to Galveston, and it
all will become the Southern
Pacific road. The Sunset is build
ing West of here rapidly, there
are running ninety-fve miles and the
grading is said to be under contract
and actually progressing for over 200
miles more. The S. p. is also grading
and building rapidly from Ell Paso in
this direction. The s. ?. has q char
ter concession from the Mexican gov
eminent for a road from Eagle Pass
on the Rio Grande, ITO miles west Of
here, through Mexico to its capital;
thence to some port on the gulf of
California or the Pacific coast further
south. This road is beiHg located and
put under contract and some grading
has commenced. There is evidently a
race between the Gould and Hunting
ton s~yndicates as to which will get to
the Aztec capital first with his road.
In this connection it may be we'll to
mention that Gould is pushing the
National and Great Northern railroad,
which is soon to be called the Mis-
| souri, Pacific, from here to Laredo on
the Rio Grande, about 1870 mile nearly
south Of here. That syndicate
(Gould's) has 4 charter concession
from the government Of Mexico fora
road from the west side Of the Rio
Grande at Laredo 70 the City of Mex
leo, and they are pushing its cOnstruo.
/ ton rapidly. They have seven engi-
neering parties locating the road, and
grading is progressing from Laredo
south. Jay Gould will run his T
on the S. Z. road from here to Calves
ton and Houston, and the S. p. will
run theirs on tho Il. Il j. from El
Paso to New 0r.oiDs via Shreveport
and via Texarkaua to ST. Louis, Little
Rock and Memphis, and on othrr
roads Of the Gould combina
ton passing further north through
Northern Texas, the Indian Nation,
etc. 1t will be seen hat this agree
ment will be blessing to Memphis,
as it places her in a position to be
otherwise than at the mercy Of Jay
Gould, should he be inimical
to her interests. Huntington
will of course prefer TO run his through
freight and passengers from the Pacific
coast via vi Peso, Texarkana and
Memphis, thence on the Chesapeake
q Great Southern to Chesapeake Bay
the latter being his road. Memphis
may safely feel (if the agreement men
toned sticks that in Huntington anC
his syndicate She has fast friends
because it will be to their interest t
be so, and thst largely. This rout'
through Memphis from San francisco
} will be open by the 18th OF December
as the Texas & Pacific engines vii
run to that place on that day. So OLE
! and we'll abused Memphis will, RICH
! away, have greatness thrown upon her
, and she will no doubt grow immensel.
g. in the near future.
| have already made this letter to
f long. In my next | will have some
thing to say about III Paso and Sal
Antonio, and how the two great rail
S way auocondas are likely to affect eact
S. A DE BEXAR.
4 Pain ana weakness Of lungs, livel
kidneys. and urinary organs relieve