Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-02-17
GIBBS ON. DEEP WATER.
4 Talk with the Ex- Lieu tenant Govsr-
nor On His RsturR Prom q Trip
Along the Texas Coast
The Prospects Fer Deep WateB the Necss-
sity For 10 aad the Reasois why IL
Hasn's Been OhtaiueS Before.
From s.turda,,a tMb. l1l Daily


Ex-Governor GibbstTas in Fort Wortl
last nisht, and THE AzErTE knowing o
his recent trip slog the coast of Texas
taking soundings tackled him to know
what he was up 10 and what he though
Of deep water prospects:
GAzKTTK-fovernor, as you have al.
i ways been ~ advocate of deep water OF
E the coast 4 Texas and have recently
{ been m.kSg investigations, do You mint
saying wat You think OF the prospects
of epEater, the necessity for It, ant
3 the regions why it has not been obtained
! befor4
q Governor Gibbs-So far as the neces
sity for 1t is concerned, any man who viii
poader the question for twenty minutes
East realize the necessity to Texas and
o he immense productive area to the north
q Isnd west Of It, for an outlet. Texas
and the northwest, specially in
/ Guiding Kansas, with It's immense
agricultural interests is greater sufferer
to-day from the excessive railroad
freights, by reason Of long hauls to deep
wster, than from the tariff or any other
source. II we had deep water on our
coast 30 that the thousands Of irdepend-
ent ships on the seas could handle our
freight, we could lay our cotton, grain,
live stock and other productions down in
New York or Liverpool at about oDe-half
the present cost, all Of which would be
saved to the producer. The stock raisere
and agricultural producers of Texas are
losing annuslly about $4,000, 900 by
reason OF long railroad hauls, and pol
ing, which would be saved in time by
deep water on the COST. You see witt
deep water on our coast, idle ships be-
longing to Independent owners, would
make sharp competition in all domestic
and foreign ports, and state legislation
would force reasonable rates on
Texas freight to the port If the
the railroads pooled against It..
Before the railroads entered Texas the
government didn't have sufficient means
to dispose it to spend much on our coast
and our annual productions were COM
parntiyely small; now 1t is against the
interest OF the railroad companies to per-
NIT much Of an appropriation for the
purpose, IS they have through connec-
tions and pooling arrangements to
eastern sesboards that makes Texas q
harvest 6eld for them SO long as it has no
deep water port. 1 have prepared
figures showing the annual loss 10 Texss
farmers and stock reisers by reason of
not having deep water, and It amounts to
over $1,000, 900 a year, and will furnish
them to you upon my return home.
WHY WE HAVEN'T DEEP WATER
when we consider that Texas has about
500 miles of COST and that this state and
the country naturally tributary and to be
beneH ed by this deep water port, pro-
duces about one-fourth the weslth OF
the country 1t seems strange
that this entire coast should be without
deep water port, when the United
States government engineers have fire.
quently reported thst such q port could
be had attwo or three different places on
our coast at the small cost Of 81, 900, 900;
but there are various reasons why this
appropriation has not been made. In
the f1fst place, the producing classes
rarely look ten feet 5eyond the plow-
beam or stske-rope, and strive by closer
personal stint and harder labor, to make
up what they lose by commercial comb |
nations and government neglect OF duty. |
Very few of these classes, as intelligent |
as they are, study these questions or are
sufficiently organized to obtain relief. |
Their interests, although greater in 8 |
Of ten to one, really amount |
very little in the exercise of practical |
political power in contest with interest.
ed and combined capital. We have |
the capital invested in eastern Sea-
ports as well as railroad lines |
to contend against, and have no harmony
and organization among our Texas pro-
ducers. The governments own engi-
neers have repeatedly reported that ST.
600, 900 would give Us deep water in Pass
Coballo or Arkansas, yet the pitiful sum Of
500, 900 Is as much as we have ever had
at any one time. On the other hand, 81
0o0. 900 was appropriated to build float
Ing park In the river st Washington City,
aud frequently this amount has been sp-
at one time for pos.ofIlce or
custom. oouse. These things were at the
of and in the interest Of COM
oined capital nearer to and more lnflu-
entail at tho throne OF political power.
No government is richer in the surplus
On hand or In productive resources than
Dur government, and none more extrava-
CANT and liberal In certain kind Of ex
oenditures, but as niggardly
n other directions. England appropria-
led and spent $20, 000, 900 at one time on
dslly Head to make .harbor of refuge
or her idle ships. We have 800 miles Of
,osst, and can't get 100000 to expend
n securing port that would result In 81
annual saving to Texas alone Of over
Be-, 000, 900, which is now taken out of the
pockets of the producers. to say nothing
II the annual savlpato the people living /
IN the immense productive ares to 1.-The /.
forth of US, whose interests IN this re-
pect, are identical with ours. The less !
but politically stronger in
laences, permit Only small appropriations
IN our coast, and encourage the scatter
ng of 1t go as not to produce results, or
he concentrating of It on the least avail
ole point, SO as to effect the same pur-
'ose. They are wiling for US o have
little money to Equsnder, but
zone to do any good with.
This policy is facilitated by the Texas
legislature having put nearly the entire
oast in one Congressional district, 10
tesd Of having five or six districts front.
ng on the coast. There is not district (
n Texas that hasn't more interest in q
eep water port than the one which fronts ]
he coast, because it has less to ship to
oreign and domestic ports than any
ther. The present able representative
1 that district, does as any other Con-
ressmsn representing that district would