Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-05-02
ON WITH THE CIyILIzER.
The Extension Of tho IT. W. d D. o.
Beyond Harold Necessary to OBJ
tain the Panhandle Trade.
Ten Pounds Of Freight Entering the Pan
handle From Kansas to One Via
the Denver Road.
Fonr woa1n. Trx., May !. bed.

FOHI mONIHt IBAtt hHs - hs'sf
To the Editor OF the Gazette.
From your valuable paper the writer
learns that there Is just now consider
able interest being taken In Northwest
Texas. Having recently taken trip
from Dodge City, Kan, to Fort Worth
by way Of Mobeetie, thence through
the Panhandle OF Texas to Wichita
Falls. the present terminus Of the Fort
Worth Il Denver City railway, ] viii,
with your kind permission, give your
readers the benefit Of my observations
en- route from Kansas to Iexas by
horse and mule power.
II IL the humble opinion of the
writer that North west Texas will com
pare favorably with Southwest Kansas
and that In very few years the lat
ter will be az thickly settled
aud as highly improved ~ the former.
The country lying between Wichita
Falls and Mobeetle 10 certainly very
fine. The soil Is rich and deep, and
has every indication of being produc.
tive. There Ia an abundance OF run
ming water Several bold-running
streams are crossed between the two
points named and good water Ia OBJ.
tanned by digging say from fifteen 10
forty feet most any place. The climate
must without doubt be healthy, as
there IL no cause for malaria, the coun-
try being high and rolling for, there is
q good natural drainage and there are
no low or swampy lands In that sec
ton.
The one thing needed to settle
this great belt OF fine country 10, of
course, the "Great Civilizer," better
known as the Iron Horse" and he,
Ike the 'Son-of a-gun with the Hoe"
Ia getting there at the rate OF over q
mile day. / refer to the present ex-
tension of the Fort Worth d Denver
City railway, which, as most Of your
readers are aware, will he completed
in few days to point about thirty
five miles northwest from Wichita
Falls. This is good work and should
by all means be continued, and if the
citizens of Fort Worth and the owners T
the Fort Worth IL Denver City rail-
way wish to double their present bust.
ness they have but to push this extern
sion on, say from thirty.five to fifty
miles beyond the point the present
contract calls for. This done,
the road and Fort Worth
will then be able to control the vast
and rapidly growing trade Of North
west Texas, Rs well as a good portion
of the trade OF Eastern New Mexico.
To give your re aders an idea OF the
importance of this matter, | will state
that while at Mobeetie learned from
reliable source, from parties who are
In q position to know, that Dodge City
has for the last two years and Ia to-
day shipping to the hPanhandleu of
Texas ten pounds OF freight to one
shipped via the Fort Worth q Denver
City railroad This can, without
doubt, be reversed by extending that
line from seventy TO eighty miles from
its present terminus, Wichita Falls,
thirty-iive miles OF which 10 about
completed.
This of itself, to say nothing OF
the trade that would be
secured for the road and the
Fort, that now goes TO Albany, the
terminus of the Houston IL Texas Cen
trail railway, Ia worthy of the
investigation and the consideration OF
those Interested. The building of the
raad the distance here suggested would
not only secure the trade referred to-
but would be the means OF settling up
that whole section of country with d
good and thrifty class OF people, all oil
which would add thousands upon
thousands to the trade Of Fort Worth
and the Denver road.
TO convince the most akeptical oil
this fact you have but to refer to the
counties of Clay, Wichita, Wilbargei
aud Hardeman, and their rapid
development since the ad
vent of the "Iron Horse.
The railroad has not yet reached the
last two counties named but the peo-
pie, believing that II would come In
the near future, have flocked In by the
thousands and are patiently awaiting
its arrival and 1t Is to be hoped tina
they will not be disappointed. The
people Of Northwest Texas look upon
Fort Worth as their natural supply
point, and, all things being equal, they
will give the Fort the preference o
their trade. Hence we say, now tina
you have started for the "Panhandle'
trade, keep up the good work unit
you get far enough To control IL. Tina
Ia u fine country TO build a roa,
through, and labor and material will
never be cheaper than they are at tn
present time. OBSERVER.