Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-02-12
GIBBS ON DEEP WATER.
4 Talk with the Ex-LIeuteIant Cover
nor on His Return From q Trip
Along the Texas Coast.
sity For 1t and the Reasons SVhy it
Hasn't Been Obtained Before.

Ex-Governor Gibbs WAS in Fort Worth
last NIGHT, and THE GAZETTE knowing of
his recent trip along the coast of Texas,
taking soundings, tackled him to know
what he was up to and what he thought
Of deep water prospects:
GAzRTTE-Governor, as you have al
ways been an advocate of deep water on
the COST of Texas and have recently
been making investigations, do you mind
saying what you think OF the prospects
Of deep water, the necessity for 1t, and
the reasons why il has not been obtained
before7
Governor Gibbs-So far as the neces-
sity for it is concerned, Hny msn who will
ponder the question for twenty minutes
must realize the necessity to Texas and
the immense productive Srea to the north
and west of it, for an outlet. Texas
and the northwest, specially in
Guiding Kansas, with its immense
agricultural interests is greater sufferer
to-day from the excessive railroad
treights, by reason Of long hsuls to deep
water, than from the tariff or any other
source. II we had deep water on our
coast so that the thousands Of independ-
freight, we could lay our cotton, grain,
live stock and other productions down in
New York or Liverpool at about one-half
the present cost, all of which would be
saved 10 the producer. The stock raisers
and agricultural producers of Texas are
losing o. nnuElly shout S6,000,000 by
reason Of long railroad hsuls, and p5ol-
ing, which would be saved in time by
deep water on the coast. You see with
deep water on our coast, idle ships be-
longing to independent owners, would
make sharp competition in sll domestic
and foreign ports, and state legislation
would force reasonable rates on
Texas freight to the port II the
the railroads pooled against It..
Before the railroads entered Texas the
government didn't have sufficient means
10 dispose it to spend much on our coast
and our annual productions were COM
psrstively small; now it Is against the
interest Of the railroad companies to per-
NIT much OF an appropriation for the
purpose, as they have through connec-
tons and pooling arrangements to
eastern sesbosr6s that makes Texas 8
harvest field for them so long as it has no
deep water port. I have prepared
figures showing the annual loss to Texas
farmers and stock raisers by reason of
not having deep water, and It amounts 20
over $4,000, 900 year, and will furnish
them to you upon my return home.
WHY WE HAVEN'T DEEP WATER
when we consider that Texas hiss about
500 miles of coast and that this state and
the country naturally tributary and to be
benefited by this deep water port, pro-
duces about cne-fourth the wealth Of
the country it seems strange
that this entire coast should be without
deep water port, when the United
States government engineers have fire.
quently reported that such port could
be hrf st two or three different pieces on
cur coast at the small cost of 81, 900, 600;
but there are various reasons why this
appropriation has not been made. In
the first place, the producing clssses
lock ten feet beyond the pow