The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1889-04-04
DEEP WATER PORT.
Mr.. Thomas j. Hurley Talks
About the Prospects.
Five Hundred Men Now at Work
at the Mouth of the Brazos.
The Company Organizes.

The problem of securing deep water
port on the Texas gulf coast has perplexed
the commercial public of the southwest
ern states for some time. Congress has
annually appropriated sums sufficient to
keep one or two places on the gulf from
being claseed with inland towns, but fur
Their than this nothing was accomplished.
The solution of this question of such vast
i'm portence to Texas and other south
western states has at last been offered by
number of energetic business men, men
of capital, brains and pluck. For some
months past the public mind has been
agitated about the plans of the gentlemen
who had undertaken the hurculean task of
providing deep water port for Texas.
The stockholders of the
BRAzos RIVER CHANNEL
and Dock company have just held their
first meeting at the mouth of the Brazos,
and for the first time the identity of all
the gentlemen who have ventured upon
this bold project is disclosed. A STATES
MAN reporter had the pleasure yesterday
of meeting Mr.. Thomas j. Hurley, of
Fort Worth, who will be remembered as
the gentleman who recently purchased
the. street railway in this city. Mr.. Hur-
ley is interested in the Brazos project, and
in fact had Just arrived from the meeting
of the stockholders, and he kindly con-
sented to furnish some interesting facts
about the company. The directors of the
company are United States Senator
Charles B. Farwel, of Chicago; Congress
man Abner Taylor, of Chicago; w. @. D.
Grannis, president of the Atlas National
bank, Chicago; j. Otis Whetherbee, Bos-
ton; Thomas j. Hurley, Fort Worth; Ira
H. Evans, Austin; W. M. D. Lee, Leaven-
worth, Kan; Charles W. Ogden, San An
tonic; George W. Angle, San Antonio; l.
b. Yale and John Winches, Brazoria. The
following were
CHOSEN OFFICERS:
W. M. d. Lee, president; Ira Il. Evans,
vice president; j. M. Ferguson, treasurer;
Thomas j. Hurley, secretary.
eyes," said Mr.. Hurley in response to q
question, "there is quite a boom in real
estate at the little town of Velasco, near
the mouth of the Brszos. Lots have
jumped from $40 TO 500 and people are
docking there daily. The town presents
the appearance of an immense mining
camp, with it's mixture of little houses and
tents. The company owns the land on
either side of theeriver for sixteen miles
up from the mouth, but none of this
land has yet been put on the market
There are at present 800 men engaged or
the ietty work, and by the LIST of May the
number will be increased to 1000, so thai
on the LIST day of next January we expect
to have
TWENTY FEET OF WATER.
Mr.. E. l.. Corthell and associate engi
neers, who have charge of the work, arr
experienced in this line of work, having
been engaged upon the jetty work at thu
mo uth of the Mississippi"
SHOW is the scene of this work reached,
asked the reporter.
"At present, take the Columbia Tap I,
Brazoria, and then go down the river b,
boat. The company will very soon have
| LINE OF RAILWAY
| of its own to the mouth of the Br6zos.
corps of engineers are now in the field
and are running three lines, one of which
runs to Houston. The most practicabl
route will be selected and the road will b
built at once"
As regards the Austin street railway, MI
Hurley says the property will be great,
improved, and in the course of two month
the lines will be operated by electricity
Mr.. Hurley is most agreeable gentleman
pleasant and easy in conversation, an
impresses one with the fact that he is
thoroughly practical business man. ID
and his associates are doing a grand wor
for the development of Texas, and the ad
vent of such N en- into the state presage
the dawn of an era of unprecedente
prosperity.