The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-07-08
HOUSTON.
SPEECH OF HON. A. w. TER
RELL TO A LARGE
CONCOURSE.
A PROFOUND DIsQUIsITIoN ON
THE DANGERS OF MO
NOPOLY.
snecial Teleram TO the statesman.


uorsroN ,Iuly Hon A. w. Terrell arrived
from Austin this evening, and addressed lsfge
concourse of people Tonight his sPeecn, VIII" mn
WAS mastery effort. lasted till il o'clock Ter
rell was well received by the people The speech
was frequently appiauded nj, ..,,.
Amonp other Things, Judge Terrell said;
Referring 10 the improvement OF IeXas harDorhi
ba said. Wby Is IL that Texas is forever treated
NV the federal government in her harbor improve
ments as a step-ohildf With coast line almost
double that OF any 1t9er sta'e WIN yen rv S nne Of
them and great 10 all the elements OF asrlculIuIa
wealth why IL it that our cotton and Wool seek the
ocean by land trip to New YORK M dio os
our rich lands remain nnworked, while nVe acres
on the granite hills of Massachusetts Will sell tor
enough to buy Texas farm. Thy ls TINS! Our
climate is more inviting our virgin sou ylel o.
more varied products, and the ocean, that great
cheap highway of commerce, which denes the
pools and freight combinations OF corporate power
Is at our door. $3.50. -, ~ .o1o
which should send our products by the nearest
path 70 the ocean, and both must be removed ne
fore we can prosper. -, -
must now put our civil shoulders to the wheel
We have two resources, and either wOuld enaDle
us TO de spen the channels to our ports. FIRST, we
have nearly six millions OF school money now
loaned 10 the state. TO counties and TO railroads,
and about thirty millions OF acres OF school lands
A resort TO borrowing that fund or any Other
fund which will involve debt OF over Ten nun
dred thousand dollars, could only he made, even II
desirable, after amending the constitution what
we need IL present help. The remnant OF the pun
lie lands, that fruitful source OF pluhdeI
and corruption, may even yet he rescued
from land corporations and do us good Ten
years ago, though opposed the proiigate waste OF
our lands on railway corporations ! aided Judge
Mccormick to pass through the senate bill Tor
the relief o: Galveston giving twenty-five sections
of land for every ten thousand dollars In bonds 10
be issued by the CITY, then sald that sutn s ir
Aid WAS meanly paTsimOniOus in the state Inc
bill was defeated In the house, ana now since we
have gwen sixtyfour millions OF acres as present
to wealthy men to build railroads, why not now now
dedicate some lands TO build channels 10 noat our
products to the seay We have abont Two nllllons
Of acres of land still left belonging to the state EN-
braced in reservations that we can use, ana worm
over three millions of money II this could he
rescued from the devious policies OF an institution
known rs the land board and devoted to secure
deep channels to our harbor5, II would do more
good than 1t ever will in any other way
Texas could devote the proceeds OF lts safe 10 I'M
proving her harbors, or make the land itself basis
Of credit 10 Galveston and other ports, under laws
guarding against the accumulation OF large bodies
OF land In single ownership, and still preserving IL
for settlement at cheap rates
Once turn seward over our own wharyes, the
commerce OF the country tributary to our coast
and In every county in the state, would feel the i'm
pulse of new life and prosperity. Not Galveston
or Houston or Sabine Pass alone, but every city In
Texas would grow and deyelope. No state can
be truly great, that has sea line OF her own, SO
long AZ she permits her earth products to pass 10
the markets Of the world through the harbors OF
oher states.
WHY should not the general government be ap.
p,aled 70 for help with land aleOy We are propos-
lag TO devote nearly enc hundred millions OF money
to build ship railway through foreign Govern,
ment under pretense of helping commerce, thus
swelling the national debt and cOntrivlng an excuse
for continuing high tariff. II we dedicate the
remnant Of our public domain to the opening OF
oar harbors the federal government would, through
her congress, from very shame, come forward and
help Us, acre for acre. The United States granted
TO the five states Ct Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wis
consin and Michigan nearly five millions OF acres
Of Ian lArnOr PURPOSES.
not Texas obtain like favor for her harbOrs under
law restraining the concentration of that land in
corporate or individual ownership, ana protecting
II for settlements
The federal government has still over six hun
dred millions OF acres appropriated Michigan
and Wisconsin received over Il million OF acres
for harbor ard ship canals, and II Texas will put
her own shoulder to the wheel, Il land reservation
may be secured from the federal government to
meet all our wants. Remember, tins would not be
grant for the Spectator of monopoly, hut by the
state for the security of her commerce.
But deep water alone will not divert commerce
20 our coast towns. You may establish channel
fifty feet deep, at Galveston, and etill the natural
laws of trade which would send heavy products on
the shortest line to the sea, will be dehed, unless
the government will protect the people against the
arbitrary methods of the railways. SO long az
they pool and discriminate in favor flong hanls to
New York, and make themselves able to do this by
extravagant charges on our home commerce II Is
folly to talk OF better times either for agriculture
or our coast cities. We had just as well look the
problem square in the face and choose between an
intelligent control of railways in the interest OF the
people and of commerce, and being controlled by
them to the destruction of both. We have gwen
them sixty four millions of acres OF Texas land
now worth enough TO build them, and II we cannot
control them in our interest," thew will become
curses instead of blessing
Unless the state shall impose firm and just con.
tr u these great public highways 1t s folly to
talk of grand results from deep water Giant lines
OF railway nearly three thousand miles long, com
peted or nearly complete converge on Galveston,
hat can drain territory In which there Is over
four thousand millions of wealth and which must
find its nearest road to the sea across our coast.
But other giant lines also touch our coast and
crossing the state antaliZe our seaports by wheel
In our products to New York from their very
doors. Only last year cotton was carried from
d)llars bale, and yet the charges to Galveston
Were three dollars and seventy five cents.
Tie Galveston News of June 20 uses this Ian
gage: at will be readily understood that If
rate, can be cheapened To justify home buyers
for foreign markets in paying better prices for
h )me produce, the farmer will also be justified In
sending his products seward instead of retaining
them at home 10 be converted into Improbable
pork. These desirable results are to be achieved
by the double influence of short connections and
competition
The News Is right, II competition will exist. But
who ever dreamed that competition will cheaper
freights while pooling and combination is possible,
aud wha assurance have we that the competing
lines of 10 day will not be consolidated or in pools
- morrow
Now, can we ever prosper as long as high tolls
are collected on local freight in order TO afford
cheap rates on long hauls 10 New York; Let me
illustrate: Brazos planter three years ago de-
sired TO quit growing cotton and to cultivate corn,
with view of selling II at Laredo and TO southwest
Texas, but he found that the freight rates from
Hearne to Laredo on corn were double that charged
from Kansas City TO the same destination. The
same planter sent baled hay by rail TO Galveston,
two hundred miles, and II took just one-third of
the sale price TO pay transportation. How can 4
state ever prosper whose laws fix the maximum
freight charge SO high that corporations may estab