Telegram-herald., 1890-02-24
Mr.. PARWELL'S DOMAIN.
a TRACT or LAND ~ TEXAS As BIG
As CONNECTICUT
IL Was 6isea IN Ezsh<sgs for the Lens
sI4T states Great STATE HSGss-its fos-
sibiiiEis.-Hs- /. De- Cared for k-ASh.
Th0os@ad aass ~ f~sos-


recently had some httle trouble With the
president about the Chicago Offices, and
II be should decide 10 retire from the
senate and set up a monarchy Of bis own,
wherein none could question his royal
will, il would not be necessary for him
10 buy domain. Senator Fsrwell Is a.
ready the owner of an empire OF land
With his brother. John V. the dry goods
merchant Of Chicago, and Col. Abner
Taylor, who is member Of congress
from Illinois, Senator farweh owns
tract OF land larger than the states
OF Delaware and Rhode Island combined
and almost as large a. the state ~ Con
necticut IL is solid. conpsH tract.
too. lying along the western border Of
Texas, abutting about twenty miles
on No Mans Land, and extending thence
southwark about two hundred miles II
there were a railroad running north and
south through this strip, and the trains
thereon made no better time than the
average western railway train, Senator
Farwell could ride from morning till
night without once leaving his own soil.
This empire Of prairie land Is sur
rounded 10y wire fence, and other wire
fences cut IL into pastures, so that there
are in all just 600 miles Of fence on the
place. The farmer who has 1000 miles
of fence and two or three pastures. each
as large as the state of Delaware, is
farmer on the true American scale. But
Senator Farwell does not farm. He is
In stock raising, and has on his great
ranch nearly $50, 600 head of cattle. In
ten years Senator Farwell will be a very
rich man, providing he holds to this
tract of land. Already il is worth three
or four dollars an acre. and the day is
not far distant when it will be worth
two or three times as much. In ten
years that ranch, land, cattle, fences
and Improvements should be worth S40,-
600, 900. for there are 1900, 900 acres Of
pretty good land, and the present herd
of 150. 600 head will soon be multiplied
five or six fold.
Senator Farwell was at luncheon the
other day in the senate restaurant. With
him were his boon companions, Senator
Wolcott, of Colorado. and Senator Jones,
of Nevada Col. Dan Shepard, the skill
full political private secretary of Senator
Farwell, entered the restaurant on the
double quick, and in an excited way told
his chief that an alarming discovery had
been made. On account of an error in
the surveys, a considerable portion of
the Farwell tract had been located in
New Mexico, and as the Texas patents
would not hold good there all the land
thus located would be dead loss.
And how many acres are we likely
to lose, DAM" the senator inquired.
about $50, ,0O0."
"Oh, if that is ALL" said Farwell,
nonchalantly, I'VE don't need to bother
about it, A hundred and fifty thousand
acres is nothing"
And then the senator went on with his
luncheon just as if nothing had happen
can face the prospective loss of 1906
acres of land and regard it as mere
trifle.
The Farwell empire in Texas is at
present inhabited by about 500 len. One
railroad-the Denver, Fort Worth and
Texas-runs through it, and another rail
road will shortly be built. There is one
little town, which the senator and his
partners laid out a short time ago, and in
a few weeks they sold 1900 worth of
lots there. 1t is not difficult to imagine
this tract Of land teeming with villages
and towns and prosperous farmers
Were it as densely populated as the
United States it would have a population
Of nearly 100000 souls. If as densely
populated as Mr.. Farwells own state of
Illinois it would have population Of
nearly three hundred thousand souls,
and If it had as many people to the
square mile as England it would have a
pOpulace numbering nearly two and a
half millions That would be an empire
worth having. / do not suppose that
Senator Farwell has any idea OF setting
up little republic Of his own out there
in the Panhandle Of Texas, one in which
he could make all appointments without
consultation with the president Of the
United States, but If he has he will not
he able to do so, for in selling him the
land the state Of Texas was careful 10
retain political control Of 1t, just as 1t
docs II all its other millions upon mill
ions Of acres.
~ will tell you how we happened to
get that land" said Senator FarwelL
The people of Texas wanted a fine new
state house. and a. land was the thing
they had the most Of they thought IT
would be a good idea to trade their land
for state house So a party Of their
leading men came down TO Chicago and
asked some Of us 10 build them a state
house estimated To cost a million and "A
half II dollars, and take in payment
therefor. three million acres Of land
estimated 20 be worth fifty cents an acre
There we've just two things 7 wanted 20
know before going into the scheme. and
those were IL the state house could be
bulls f9r a million and half. and II the
land which they proposed giving ~ was
worth hffv cents a. acre Col TAYLOR
went down 70 Texas and satisfied MIN
self on roth of those points and we took
hold. / an not going % tel You how
much money the state house did cost me-.
Tor that ls our own business. butit cost us
q -ood deaf more than tho million and 2
haif Stat was estimated by tle architects.
must sag that we g1t a.ong pretty well
with the I-exas people. though the Job
was rot without its difficulties One u
TIE lr.t things we discovered vas Thar