San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-27
ON TO LLANo. WHY?


present. San Antonio has more In
terest in this extension than either
Waco or Fort Worth can have. 1t 10
reported in railway circles here that
the people of Waco did not come for
ward with the cash and that the ex-
tension is indefinitely postponed. A
telegram from Waco three days ago
announced that Coils. Miller and
Prather had signed contract for the
extension via Lsmpasas. In any
event San Antonio must have a road
to those ore beds. The establishment
of more and greater labor employing
m snufactories in this city hinge upon
that road to Llano than upon any one
thing. The meeting held Tues
day night was In the full
tide of a movement to Llapo via
Fredericksburg. Every time the
project was mentioned it literally
brought down the house. Thatmeet-
ing voiced the sentiment of this city.
It gave expression to it in its instruc-
tions to the directory of the new Ex-
change to immediately ascertain the
cost of completing that grade, putting
in culverts and bridges ready for ties
aud iron. There will be no trouble
about bonding the road for that pur-
pose. No doubt road could be built
and operated to Llapo from this city,
leasing or committing with the Aran-
sas Pass, owned and controlled by
San Antonio capital. This would
forever place the control of the road
beyond the reach of foreign capital
lists or railroad corporations. 1t
would forever continue under home
control the road to those ore beds,
granite and marble deposits, and all
the riches that lie hidden IN the soil
of the regions traversed by that road.
San Antonio can well afford to put
her hand in her pocket for such re-
suit.
This road TO Llano secured, and in
securing it we have q right to expect
and should no doubt secure the CO.
operation of Fredericksburg and
Llano, we would be in condition to
talk business to Uncle Sam about
that gun plant. The sources and ex-
tent and quality of our coal supply is
already being tabulated and filed for
reference, and direct statements con-
corning these things as we'll as expert
testimony as to the quality of ores,
fiuxes, and all else bearing upon their
adaptability to the purposes of the
government, is being taken for use
before the Washington committee. 1t
is of the first importance that this
city be able to say to the national
governm emit: "We have in operation
and under our control a line of road
connecting us directly with the Llano
ore region" There is but one COM
peting point that we must re-
gard as rival claimant for
this plant and that is in
far away Washington, way up the
Pacific coast. This matter is in its
final stages matter for congress, and
Texas, particularly Southwest Texas,
bound up in the bundle of her inter-
ests with all that vast region CONNER
cially tributary to the Gulf, should be
able,easily to command the attention
of our national congress in this thing.
That military board has pronounced
our ore specimens the finest seen,
and there is no reason why the best
ore beds, other things being equal,
should not determine the location OF
these United States works. The loca-
ton Of these works determine the
location OF an immense plant for man
ufacturing steel; machine shops in
which the steel not required by gov
eminent will be wrought into all the
thousand uses of modern civilization
shops for manufacturing the tooli
necessary to shape and forge out these
thunderbolts of war, and al
the implements of commerce. Around
these. steel shops would group them
selves the necessary forging
machine, implement and other works
that would employ capital of mil
lions, and giving employment 10
thousands Of skilled operatives ant
lahorara create q nav citv in this val