San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-08-03
NOT A WILDERNESS.

Denver Chamber OF Commerce by the
two delegates whose names were APP
pended to that report, ]. T. Cornforth
and WE. Pabor, occurs the follow
ing, in reference to Arkansas Pass:
"The bay is well sheltered, but it
and the surrounding country is in the
condition the shores of the Massa-
chusetts bay were in when the pill
grims landed at Plymouth Rock"
This most extraordinary statement
is palmed off upon the people of the
northwest as gospel; and yet, almost
| within sight of Arkansas Pass are pri-
vate dwellings, such as New England
could not boast for century after the
landing at Plymouth Rock. At the
other end of the little bay, a few miles
from the Pass, lies commercial city
greater in population than the capital
of Massachusetts, colony one hundred
wears after the landing Of the May
flower. The lands along the "shores
of the bay and the surround
ing country" which Messrs. Corn
forth and Pabor say are like
those of Massachusetts, in 1920, are
covered today with immense herds of
cattle and horses numbering hundreds
of thousands. Lest there may be
any misapprehension of the real facts
the LIGHT has been at little pains
to prepare a statement tor the infor-
nation of those who are interested in
knowing just how much there is to
this wilderness report. Arkansas Pass
is the opening into the Gulf at the
gulf terminus of the S. A. & A. p.
railway. The original line of this
railway as it's name indicates was
from San Antonio to Arkansas Pass.
A short distance from the gulf it
makes turn to the southwest crosses
Nueces bay and enters the city of
Corpus Christi. This road, 153 miles
long, passes through seven counties.
These counties are BeXar, Wilson,
Karnes, Goliad. Bee, San PatriciO
and Nueces. The taxable values of
these counties as reported by the state
comptroller for last year aggregated
S35, $40. 761. The average valuation
of the land of these counties per
acre is placed at S2.63 per acre. The
taxable values outside of land are
principally in cattle, sheep and horses.
1t is not an .eXaggerati ton to say that
not more than 80 per cent of the real
value of these immense lands is re-
turned to the assessor. 1t is certain
that S2.63 does not represent more
than 80 per cent of the value of the
lands, so that the real valuation of
counties through which the main line
of the Arkansas Pass road runs from
San Antonio to its sea port is at least
from SO. 900, 600 to $50, 100000 and very
rapidly approaching in value. Two of
these counties lie along the gulf,
which at this point so closely resem-
bles the Massachusetts bay of 1920,
and their valuation is little over
$500, 900, according to the assessors
returns, or over Sl3,00O,0 900 actual
value. The soil is rich, productive,
and capable of easy cultivation. The
climate is mild in winter, not Oppres-
sive in summer, and semi-trOpical
productions thrive abundantly; farms,
VINEYARDS snd orchards as well as cat
tie ranges are found, with corn
and cotton growing as thriftily
as in any region of the globe and
vet we are told by those Denver gen.
tlemen that this is a wilderness like
the Massachusetts bay region of 26S
years ago. These Denver delegates
visited Galveston first, and because
there was no city at Arkansas Pass
seem to calculate that there never can
be one. The LIGHT respectfully sug-
gests that it was deep water, and not
an already built city that these dele
gates were sent to look after, and that
the question is not how much city is
there where the deep water can be
easiest secured, but how much deep
water can be secured easiest and
soonest, and where is the favored
spot. These gentlemen have been
very careful not to deny that Arkansas
Pass possesses facilities for deep
water harbOr unequalled on the coast
of Texas. Texas has cities enough and
can build more. What she wants is
deep water. Where nature provided
for this is the best place to look for it,
and this is at the pass called Arkansas.
What difference does it make to Den
yer whether her goods are shipped
through a commercial metropolis or
through a desert. so long as she gets
them by the ocean route in the short
est time for the least outlay.
THE money for the erection of the
new city hall in this city was provid-