Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-16
IMMIGRATION NORTH.
Why the Texas Immigration Bureau Failed.
Who is Responsible Justice
be Done"
Gainesville Hesperiau

and Webb counties were the only ones of
200 organized counties that paid their as
sessments for 1889 to to the state imml-
grafton association. hence the demise of
that institution. -
Were il not for an occasional notice of
this kind we would have entirely forgot
ten that such an organization had ever
been formed in Texas. If we depended
on any good that was ever accomplished
(by those who had charge of the associa-
tion) to remind us of the existence of the
Constitution we certainly would have
forgotten long before this time that it
ever existed. Speaking of the emlgra-
| ton movement which promised so
much for the state and had at the time of
| its creation the good Will, Endorsement
and financial backing of the leading citi-
Zens of our state, there is no doubt
many of our people who are to this dav
in the dark on and lack good deal of
having the facts in the case in regard to
that movement. That the name was a
! good one no one that has the best inter
est of Texas at heart will deny. The
! question to-day is why did it fail and why
was it not sustained by the people and
the railroads? In our opinion the people
| declined to longer contribute to the or
L.
hence no encouragement or excuse for
| keeping up the organization. The reason
why no results were produced was simply
because the proper men had not
been selected to do the work, and last,
but not least, what little was done was
in Texas, instead of out of Texas. The
object of the organization was to have
representative men of Texas go to the
people in the old, thicklY populated
states in the North and East and pre-
sent the advantages of Texas to home
seekers and capitalists This could not
be done successfully at ''long range
while our competitors were and are to-
day in the field meeting the people in
person and soliciting them as well as Of
fering liberal inducements to have them
settle and invest in their section-the
West and the Northwest. This, we
think, partially accounts for the failure
of the association.
AS stated, we believe large per cent.
of our people are not as well informed as
they should be, of who it was that origi-
mated the emigration movement and
spent time and money freely in behalf of
the same, and we will add done what ac-
tual work that was done, and kept Texas
before the people for nearly year at his
own expense. The one we refer to is Mr..
John Howard 1t was he who aroused
the state on the subject of emigration
and with the aid Of the press Of the state
succeeded in having the state organized.
That being accomplished he went to St. |
Louis and established what was known as
the ''Texas headquarters, - and from |
the start his work showed results.
He, with his assistants. started xlfe x
people to Texas and there was not a tsyne5
no Sfa Init hot fbo
effects of the work being done by HoyS
ard in st. Louis. The people aud press |
of Texas and st. Louis acknowledged /
and Endorsed the work. The majority of |
the people of Texas were and are yet of |
the opinion that Howard was furnished |
money to do this work by the state emf
grafton bureau. This was not the case
The bureau did not contribute the price
of one postage stamp to the work done
by Howard, and Notwithstanding the fact
that they were urged and requested to do
so by some of the most influential men
of our state. Not only citizens who con-
tributed their share of money to the
general fund, but some of our railroad
officials and many others. Mr.. J.
Waldo, at that time chairman of the
Texas traffic association, and who is now
general traffic manager of the Missouri,
requested the state bureau of emigration
to help sustain the Texas headquarters
in ST. Louis. Waldo Endorsed Howard
and his work in the strongest terms
After visiting his Office at st. Louis and
seeing the good effect of the work, and
taking into consideration the fact
that Howard and his work was in
dorsed by the people of Texas,
the press of the same and the leading
railroad officials of the state and this
after having his work thoroughly in
spected and Investigated by representa-
tive men of the state and state press and
railroads, we are one who regret TO learn
that Howard was and is to-day out of
pocket at least $4,000. This is not count
ing anything for his services. We have
it from reliable source that Fort Worth
did her share in helping sustain Howard.
contributed $500, the Cotton Belt rail-
road 1925, the Dallas County emigration
association 500 and from
few others sundry sums to the
amount of $50, making in all |.
Sl775, leaving Howard to pay over
$4,000. Knowing that many of our peo-
pie as well as some of our railroad Off
Gals are of the opinion that the money TO
keep Howard at work was furnished by
the state emigration association, we deem
it but right to give the facts in the case,
and especially so as Secretary ChiltoR
rather left the impression in writing his
of or for the association that the
bureau has been at work and those who
know anything of the history Of the as
ISOLATION are well aware of the
fact that nothing worthy of mention
was accomplished by the organization.
We believe that there are those in Texas,
both citizens are railroad officials, who |,
would cheerfully assist in seeing thafsf
Howard did not suffer financially on sc
count of his effort in behalf of the state
did they but know the facts in the case.
If Howard was right, which We all said
at the time he was land believe so yet,
he should at least be refunded the ae-
tual money he expended. One thing is
certain, il Howard was wrong he should
refund the money he received from Fort
" Orth San Auforli0 Dallas and |