Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-02

All Texas knows that two bills are be-
fore congress relating to deep water on
the gulf coast. One of these Is the bill
introduced into the senate by Coke, and
which has passed that body, appropri-
ating Sc POO, 900 to open Galveston har-
Dor; the other, introduced into the house
by Grain, gives private capital the priv
ilege of opening Arkansas Pass under GER
tain conditions. All Texas knows this,
but all Texas does not know the tactics
employed by Galveston to influence deep
water legislation at Washington. Ru-
mors of Galveston's peculiar methods
have heen prevalent; not loud, but deep,
and the correctness of these rumors has
been quietly investigated. So far as can
be ascertained the citizens OF Galveston
have already expended 5000, 200 at
Washington, and their lobby at the ma
tional capital has made call for $50 200
more. This latter sum was not immedi-
ately forthcoming, there being limit to
the pockets of the Island City people,
and an appeal was made to Houston for
aid, which was unhesitatingly refused.
There is food for reflection in these fig
ures. Two hundred thousand expended
and 80 900 more called for, and yet the
bill has not passed the house. If the
$500, 200 was required 10 carry the bill
safely through the senate, and the Light
does not say that it was, how much will
be required to insure its passage through
the lower house? Was the $50 900 re-
CURED for expenses before the house
committee, and will more be called for
in order to pilot the bill safely to its des-
tination2 The Light only asks these
questions. 1t does not charge that any
improper use has been made of the Gal
weston lobby fund; it only cites attention
to the expenslveness of the affair; an ex-
pensiveness that in Galveston case
seems ever, by some strange fatality, TO
attach to United States engineers re-
concentrations and operations in her
waters.
Here is q round quarter of a million
gone, and not one grain of sand moved
from that bar on which so many hun
dreds of thousands of dollars have been
sunk to no end. This quarter of a mill
lion would have added three feet to the
depth of water on Arkansas bar, II ex-
pended there under competent engineers.
This quarter of q million represents one
fourth of the amount necessary to give
a clean channel of twenty feet deep on
Arkansas bar. This quarter of million
represents no small fraction of the entire
amount expended at the mouth of the
BraZos by which an increase of nine feet
has been obtained in the depth of the
channel there, and which another quar-
ter of a million will deepen to nearly
twenty feet. If Galveston can spend
quarter of million to secure congress
sional legislation favorable to her, would
it not be wiser and better to enter upon
the work OF improvement upon her 9#ns
behalf and save the vast expenditure
sked of congress in accordance with
the United States engineers recon-
mendations2
There lie certainly marked contrast
between the methods pursued at Calves
ton and Arkansas Pass to secure deep
water. II congress can consider favor
ably such proposition as Galveston g,
viz: to expend Sc POO, 200 because there
is a city already there, surely Aransas
Pass should not be denied the right to
expend her own money in opening deep
waterway to the gulf, when all the great
Northwest is interested in securing such
waterway at the earliest possible mo-
ment. Against Sc 200 900 expense to the
government and at least six and half
years delay, put no expense to the gov
eminent and less than two years time,
and you have the relative merits of the
Galveston and Arkansas Pass projects in
nutshell.