Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-07-07

NONNWAl July y 1901
To the Editor ofthe Gazette

SopAwAY, July 3, 1851.
To the Editor ofthe Gazette
In regard 10 my iron pier and
break-water on Padre island, beg TO
say this is 10 new scheme, but it has
been carefully considered for many
years. i noted " it'll great interest the
construction of the first important
work of this kind mt Long Branch,
which was built for landing at this
popular resort several years ago. Since
then there have been built iron piers Mt
Coney island and Rockaway beach.
The storms of the North Atlantic have
done them but little damage. Two
years ago one OF those piers was dam
aged by the blowing Off part of the
iron roof but no damage was done to
the iron piles which supported the
structure. The sea as 1t rolls i'm SIM
ply passes through aud spends its force
upon the beach. They have ceased to
be experiments, but scientific facts
and great achievements of modern EN-.
gineers, The iron piles are hollow,
and tho water is forced down
them, the sand is washed out until a
solid foundation Is reached.
The breakwater Is more serious
question, and Is the main cost, namely,
TO make rock wall 1000 feet long
sunk in forty feet of water, coming To
the surface in order to shelter ships
while lying mt the pier. This wall
would have 10 be $50 feet at the base
and fifty feet NJ the surface of the sea.
The Delaware breakwater is made by
dumping loose rock in the sea. The
great works NJ Cherbourg, France,
and works of this kind are at Dover
and the Goodwin Sands,o on the English
coast.
While nature has not supplied Texas
with seaport, yet she has washed
out the sand on the shores of Padre
island, and thirty feet of water is
found at less than one hundred and
nifty yards from the shore. Within
hve miles of this spot are abundant
quarrles OF marine rock, leaving 10 en-.
ergetic man to provide what natur,
has failed to do.
"A glance at the map oe the continent
You will see the La PARA pier is at tn,
elbow on the gulf, and Is the natura
port for nearly one.sixth o
The continent, with variet,
OF products for shipment. No othel
port in the world could compare witt
1t; precious metals and Goals from Mex
leo; wheat and wine from California
New Mexico aud Arizona; and one
half of Texas, with their varied prod
uots, would so out by this gate TO tn.
sea, La PARA pier is not projected fo
, any village, town or embryo city; tn,
concentration of five, ten, twenty o.
forty thousand people at any point OIL
me Texas coast can not impede or stol
the traffic that would find an Quite
: over this pier. Commerce seeks
cheap and direct line of transit in get
ung 10 The great centers Of commerce
Liverpool and New York, where tn,
) merchandise of the world is received
{ and distributed. This project is under
, taken upon u business basis, aud Gal
WESTON wharf rates, port ch lrges anC
tonnage dues collected by the pier com
D pany VIII assure for II u fair rate of in
, terest upon actual cost of construction
The pier will be built out 10 thirty fee
of water. The breakwater will be Ief
open at both ends to prevent the har
Dor from filling up with sand.
That grand work, the Southern
Pacific railroad, which links Sar
Francisco with New Orleans, In orde
10 reimburse the men who nut up Tn,
D money To build 1t, must move the Cal
ifornia wheat over its line. There i,
no other important traffic. IRA
/, versing, As II does, hundreds of mile,
l OF unproductive country, II Is onl,
upon through traffic that bushes,
can be expected. This great road, ON,
a OF the wonders OF the aye, STRETCHING
from ocean To ocean on the short ~
possible line In the United States, ha,
Tor Its connection the saa rnut. ~,