San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-08-03
TEXAS.
er imperial Notwithstanding facts-AahsA'
and Texas Contrasted.
FSrne'ys Progress

as inscrutable as fate, MANKIND steauiiy
eravitates to intellectual and civil hber-
ty; no matter what nations or parties
may do, the end to al! humanity Is this
War revolution, death and victory are
at last solved in the elevation and the
Improvement of the human race. lake
the history of the two great common,
wealths, Texas and Kansas, the history
of the one since its independence OF
Mexico in 1886, and the romantic story
of Stephen L. Austin, the founder son
of Moses Austin, of Durham, Connectl-
cut, and compare it with the almost
equally dazzling and briefer narrative OF
the romance of Kansas, which may be
said to have grown as rapidly as the
palace of Aladdin within less tina TWEEN
ty-tive years, or since 1854, and we have
record of human progress which defies
imagination and surpasses the ordinary
records of ancient and modern civiliza-
ton. 1t was my good fortune, with
many others, most Of them dead, and
many living, to have watched the ad-
vance and development of these two
phenomenal communities, to have per-
sonally participated with many OF the
pioneers of both, and to have seen the
substantial evidences of their joint, and
for the last ten years their parallel pro-
gress, and therefore guided by this ex-
perience, dwell upon their unspeakable
influence upon human affairs. The ac-
cident of our civil war delayed the
development of the incalculable riches
of Texas, while it served primarily to re-
veal the wond erful value of Kansas; and
now til peace has come it is marvel
GUS how rapidly that event has served
to call forth the fabulous resources of
Texas. In 1872 l saw Texas for the
first time, in company with the late
Thomas Alexander Scott, President of
the Pennsylvania railroad, chief at that
time, of the great Texas and trans
continental thoroughfare. Long before
it seemed to have been ordered that
Kansas would take the lead in the
struggle for the mastery of the CONT
nent; but this was an illusion. Texas
had been conquered in the conquest of
the rebellion; Kansas was victorious in
the victory over the rebellion. The
passion for emigrationattracted myriads
to Kansas and to the other new states
the Union, but it was some time
be ore the spirit of adventure could be
turned to the unlimited fields of enter
prise and production in the great en-
pire of Texas; but that time soon
elapsed. When our party reached the
borders of Texas, Shreveport, Louisi-
ana, on the 22nd of June, 1872, little
more than nine years ago, there were
only $50 miles of railroad in the state,
and we travelled several hundred miles
in ambulances over tract of country
which is now covered with population
and iron highways. I spoke, as the
representative of Col. Scott, to
large audiences in favor of the con-
struction of the Texas and Pacific
Railway, from the Red River to the sea,
at Shreveport La; at Jefferson, Texas /;
at Fl. Worth, Texas, and other points,
winding up at New Orleans on the 4th
of July.
From that moment fresh and all
absorbing interest was awakened in re
gard to Texas in every part of the co I'm
try. The proceedings of the tour of
Colonel Scott and his expedition were
printed in pamphlet and circulated far
and wide, and were followed by contin-
nous and persistent movements looking
to the development of the country and
the organization of immigration. What
is the outlook of today? Judged by
contrast with the younger, and what
may be called the rival, commonwealth
OF Texas, we gather the details of
picture wholly without parallel in hui
mars civilization. There is no contest
between Texas and Kansas; the world
is large enough for both. Kansas is a
planet, a star, planet of the first
magnitude, star of matchless brilliancy,
republic; but Texas is a great sun,
another world, born for superior and
supreme, control, held in its superb
entirety, not for any subordinate place