Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-10-09
THE ALBUQUERQUE.
It's Construction Would Contribute
Largely to Fort Worth's Prosperity.
A Srgges ton and Arguments in Favor of
Consolidation With the Panhandle.
Corsicana and New Orleans.
RUsR, TEX.


contribute largely to the business and
| prosperity OF your city, and that every
| mile added to its extension northwest
would increase both the business of the
road and of Fort Worth. The trouble
seems to be that the citizens of Fort
Worth lack the surplus capital to carry
! on the enterprise, and that they have
not, up TO the present, been able to in
| spire sufficient confidence in nom resident
! capitalists to induce them to risk their
money in it.
While l do not pretend to be capable
| of advising the business men and prop
erty holders of Fort Worth as to what
| they ought to dc, yet we all know that
| sometimes a suggestion from very OBJ
| srure source unlOcks a difficult problem
| in business matters. l therefore venture
| TO suggest that as there is n charter for
| what is called the Panhandle, Corscana
| and New Orleans railroad company, IL
might be feasible to consolidate that
| company with the Fort Worth and AlOu-
| querque company, and make the two
| great Southeastern and Northwestern
trunk line. There are, it seems to me,
several reasons why this might be done.
The terminal points of the Panhandle,
Corsicana and New Orleans road are
Fort Worth and Pendleton ,on the Sabine
river, in the northern part OF Sabine
county. II is evidently the purpose OF
company TO construct two lines beyond
the Sabine river-one to Alexandria, on
Red river, and the other to New Or
leans. An examination of the map
shows that from Fort Worth to New Or
from n
the New Orleans Pacific and the Texas
Pacific railroads there is an immense area
OF territory depending for railroad traus-
portation east and west on the above two
lines, both of which are circuitous. The
proposed road would run through this Ter
rItory destitute of railroad facilities, and
would greatly shorten the distance be-
tween New Orleans and Fort Worth.
From Fort Worth to both Alexandria and
New Orleans the road would run through
q well settled country, having soil aud
climate adapted to great variety of ag-
ricultural, horticultural and pastoral
productions, capable of sustaining u
dense and prosperous population. The
main line and the two branches would
run through at least two hum
bred and fifty miles of the finest timbered
country IN the world, densely covered
with pine, cypress, white oak and other
kinds of oak, hickory, ash, walnut and
other hard and soft woods of commercial
value. In East Texas it would run
through the great iron ore fields and in
exhaustible beds of Ignite and mari and
through the oil and fire and potter clays
of that section. The development of the
iron ores and the lumber business would
alone furnish an immense traffic bust
A las Irin hot
lets by water and two main lines of
road. The completion of the road from
Natchez to Alexandria, now in operation
a part of the way, would give connection
with the Natchez and Jackson or "Llt-
tbs J. - railroad to Jackson, Miss. and
from there direct to Birmingham. De-
oatur, Chattanooga, Atlanta and all
points East. The building of the Hous-
ton Central, Arkansas and Northern
railroad now under construction from
Columbia to Alexandria would give the
Alexandria branch a northern connec-
ton.
The consolidation and construction of
the Panhandle, Corsicana and New
Orleans and the Fort Worth and Albu-
querque railroads would supply the need
OF great Southeast and Northwest trunk
line, affording, as it would, the shortest
and most direct route from the Gulf aud
Atlantic points to the Pacific coast Look
at the map. if you please, and trace
line from San Francisco through Albu-
guerque, Fort Worth, Alexandria,
Natchez and Jackson, Miss. and thence
through either Chattanooga or Atlanta, to |
New York, and then say whether q |
shorter or better route can be found.
''The development of the mining and |
lumber business along its eastern line,
and the impetus il would give to the set
Element of the vast and productive agri- |
cultural and grazing region on its most !
western end would assure a large busl-
ness. 1t would be a great line for carry |
ing cotton grain, wool and hides, cattle |
and horses 10 eastern markets, and the !
trains loaded east with these would De |
returned with groceries, lumber, iron |!
and iron ore for the western markets. |
The character and diverslties of its |
freights would give steady business the |
year round-there would be no idle or |
dull seasons. Every line of road cropping |
II would become feeder and distributor |
A writer III the Manufacturers Record |
has said that the Southern pioneer rail- |
road builders made a great mistake in |
building their roads away from instead |
OF through the mineral regions of the |
Appalachian chain of mountains. That
they avoided run around or, when COM
PEELED to ,rop it, sought out the shortest |
and cheapest points TO get away from
the vast stores of iron aud coal, now
yielding untold wealth, and contribu-
ting to the roads since built to develop
these resources, the greatest amount and |
most profitable traffic. It may not be
visionary to say that the time may come
when the same will be repeated in Texas.
The great lines of railroads now in opera
ton were built to meet the demands
then existing, the settlement and devel-
opment of the great and rich agricul-
turul regions. At that time, aud not
until recently, had the timber and MIN
eral resources of the state attracted out.
side attention. 1t Is now different.
Capital has gone, and is going,
TO the Llano country, seeking investment
in the rich irou ore lands and in the
marbles and GRANTEES of that section.
The lumber business of East Texas Is now
one OF the biggest things in the state
Capitalists are investing in timber lands,
andthe hauling Of lumber is the most
important item in the freight lists of the
roads running into the pineries. Large
tracts of iron ore lands haye been bought
up, rev furnaces erected and others in
demonstrated that no where can better
grade of iron be made at q less cost than
in East Texas. The supply Of ore is prac-