Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-05-02

ter Ci P6nusylVb1is, EOsS IL MS piaCc oou
effected, saying that Galveston did not
bs!0Dg to Texas, but to the whole coun-
try; that It was port OF thesEUnited
S.atss, and not of Texas alone.
appeal to the members OF this House
to let this appropriation remain undis-
turbed. This ia only hslf what the chief
Of engineers asks. BY that amount crest
good Will be done. l. will deliver Gal
weston az TIE state OF TtxSs in q mess
ure from the control Of the railroads in
thes state. [Applsuse ]
Mr. BouteIIe-I d0CSG think the gen.
tleman from Texas On. SseWarD coult
have understood me when he thought
that ssss looking ct this proposition
from any sectional standpoint. There was
nothing sectionsi in my remarks. They
we're antirely practical. Wnen he inter-
rupted ne was shout TO resd the re-
msrks of the distinguished senior Repre-
sentative from Texas (Mr. Mills) 10 show
that in his opinion this WIS q useless ex-
pendi.ure of money. l will Continue my
residing from thu. point. Mr.. Mills says:
But in 1879 the gabionnade system was
abandoned, swept away, and 1t mas gone
"xhere the woodbine twineth." It hss
gone cut TITO the wide sea, and the 1927, :
600 expended by the government to make
d channel By the gsbiouuade system has
been sunk In the depths Of the sea. In
1879 the mattress sys-em was adopted. a
jetty four and one-half miles in length
Nss constructed at cost Of S97S, 900, in
Guiding Sl00, 900 contributed by the city OF
Galveston. The total amount expended up
the present is 81 ,57S, 900. That single jstty
was TO perform wonders, and it did per,
form wonders. There IS something strange
about il to one Who does not comprehend
fully the science OF engineering. It deep
ened the water. There is no doubt about
that, for the engineers tell rs go in their
report. But 1t deepened IL on the wrong
side OF the ietty.
1t was the design Of the engineers that
the chsanel should be on tee north side
of the jstty, bus the water refused, and
cut the channel on the south side. The
engineers designed that the south side
scouId be shosled, but the wster de-
tarmined TO shoal the north eide, and they
cut q channel from four TO eight feet deep
on the south side. the water was twelve
feet deep on the bar when the work be-
gan In 1874. In September, 1875, 3 heavy
storm came and plowed ont channel
zine inches deep Now they have tnir-
teen feet OF water, and there is tnree
inches OF that thirteen feet Involved in q
contest between the engineers and the
clerk OF the weather as to who is entitled
to claim It.
In addition to the grand successor get
ting q channel on the wrong side OF the
iettP, they hsve turned the current of the
gull slong the shore OF the island, which
is cutting il away and threatening the
permanent destruction Of that part OF the
island and the submerging Of houses
along with the jetty in the waters Of the
gulf. Such have been the achievements
of our engineers. The people of Texas
have no confidence IN obtaining deep
water under their plsns, and they look
for success only BY the adoption Of the
plans OF Esds at the mouth OF the Mis-
sissippi, and that is by raised jetties, con-
flung the outflow to the enamel and
making it do the dredging.
he committees recommendation OF
$500, 900 for Galveston hsrbor was
agreed to. The mex important sppro-
prlation for Texas was S250,0O0 for Ss-
bIne Pass and Blae Hsrhor, which was
objected to. On this Mr.. Stewart said:
| regret very much, Mr.. Chairman,
fore the House again, but 1t seems
that Texas is 10 be attacked all along
the line. Laughter Heretofore l
have 1een defending appropriations made
for ports not in my own district, but in
the district represented by my colleague
(Mr. Graip); but now rise to defend an
appropriation that is made for the only
port on the Mexican Gulf that is within
my district, and naturally I have some
feeling about it. The gentleman from
Missouri (Mr. S.one) says that all the
money thst has been expended at Sabine
Pass has been wasted, and he refers to
the report of the engineer, not knowing
or not remembering that that report was
made for the fiscil year, which closed on
the LIST of July last. Since then nearly
5000, 900 b IS been expended there, andIthe
damsge this. WAS cone to the west wall OF
the jetty has been repaired.
Now,if you draw line on the mspfrom
Sabine Pass to Brazos Santiago, at the
mouth of the RIO Graude, you have dis
tsnce of nearly 400 miles, and II the me-
srderings Of the coast are counted the
distance will be very nesrly doubled.
Along that entire line OF coast there Is
not harbor, with the exception Of one,
that will admit vessel drawing fifteen
feet of water. Back Of that coast is the
great state of Texas, about which talked
wnIle ago, and will not now repeat
what then said. The plans adopted for
the Improvement Of the hsrbor at Ssbine
Pass are two jetty walls. One Of those
walls has been completed up to high
tide for 1872 feet from the shore, and
the west jetty wall has been built 1901
feet in length, and built up to high tide
1870 feet.
The government has already expended
upon these works over 100000 Will
the gentleman from Missouri row say
that the government should stop and let
what it has already expended be lost2 Is
that wise policy? I make the assertion
now without the fear Of contradiction
from any one, that no jetty works which
have been built In this country, with the
exception, perhaps, of the works at the
mouth Of the Mississippi river, have &C
complished such great results as nave
been accomplished at Sabine Pass. When
these works were commenced in 1882
there wss scarcely six and one-half feet
of water on the bsr; to-day there is,
according 10 measurements in the month
OF February last, over eleven feet OF
e. nj