The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-07-25
DOWN THE COAST.
Not Much Hopes for Deep Water
for Arkansas Pass or Galveston.
Cnnpns CuR1sr1 InI.

Corpus CHRISTI, July %, 1889.
special Correspondence to the Statesman.
/ Hon. w. II. Grain IN his address in Mar
ket hall last week did not hold out much
encouragement to the advocates OF deep
water-Arsnsas Pass and Galveston. He
told his audience that under the present
system of doing out government appro-
prlatlons that there was not one within
the sound of his voice that would ever live
to see deep water at either place.
He offered in congress the system that
has been adopted by the committee who
had charge of the river and harbor bill
The engineers ask for, say 100000 for
Arkansas Pass, $5,000,000 for Galveston to
complete the works, and that committee
gives them one fifteenth of what the en-
gineers ask for. Hence, he assures bis
hearers that they would never live to see
deep water at either Of those two ports.
In reply to the question, would pri-
vate capitalists be allowed to take the
work out of the hands of the govern
ment engineers?" he replied
that they would not unless
they could prevail upon the engineers to
do what they done with the mouth of the
Brszos river; that is, report to the secre-
tary of war that it was i'm practical to get
deep water at Arkansas Pass,
and recommend that no more
appropristions be made for that bar.
Then they might be able to get a bill
through congress, the same as the Brazos
syndicate did, to allow private capitalists to
give them twenty feet of W iter on the bar.
He saw no other way for them to ever get
any permanent improvement on those
bars. This matter lays entirely with the
government engineers, and unless they
succeed in persuading the engineers to &C.
knowledge that they are not capable of
overcoming the difficulties, they would
never live to see the work accom- plished.
Mr.. Grain made a deep impression on
his hearers, and all realized the force of
his argument. He tried siuce he has been
in congress to change the system that has
prevailed in reference to that class of work,
but in vain. He did not think the
next congress would make any change,
and he therefore could not hold out any
encouragement to those who favored deep
water at Arkansas Pass and Galveston.
Many of the citizens of this place think
that the San Antonio and Arkansas Pass
railway is discriminating against them.
They issue excursion tickets to Rockport
but will not issue any for Corpus. They
charge that they try to get people to go
to Rockport to the injury of this city.
The market the past week has been ever
stocked with waterm elons, tomatoes, canta-
lopes and grapes. Capt. j. G. Hatch, of
Ingleside, has been shipping to this place
boat loads, aud carloads to the interior
cities, and yet his supply is inexhaustible.
There has been considerable stock |
shipped from this section to Chicago and
New Orleans lately. Prices have been dis
tressingly low, and of course, stockmen are
not happy.
There has been many strangers in town
the past week. Some come for pleasure
and Others on business. The commercial
tourists are the most numerous, and they
make business hum wherever they are.
SEA RREEzF