Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-05-20
THE PANHANDLE.
The Rapid and Substantial improvements tina.
Are Centering Around Amarillo,
the Princess City.

orookes, edltor OF the Amarillo Cham
pion, who has come down to view the
Glories of the Spring Palace and TO dis
tribute large edition of his paper
among the visitors to Fort Worth, and =,
knowing that he would be Informed in
regard TO theireported lariating of school
sections around Amarillo and Panhandle
City, he asked him to make q statement
about 1t.
Mr.. Brookes said that it was true that
scores of sections had been taken I'D and
held in fraud around Panhandle City, and
that it had done more to retard the
growth of that town than all other agen-
cles mbined. The land office at Austin
had been appealed to time and time
again, but no satisfaction could be OBJ
tanned by intended actual settlers, and
the hirelings of the men who had fur
nished the money TO take up the claims
on the school sections and to erect the
small shanties on them did not scruple to
urge the men to prove up their claims,
to the detriment of the settlement
of the country. To a great extent it
was simply a case of swearing to actual
occupancy and residence where men had
not been on the claims for months.
But what about Amarillo? was asked.
think, he replied, from observation
few school sections are now lariated out
for speculative purposes. There was a
time when many were held around
| Amarillo, but with the exception of a
very few the claims have all been sold
out to enterprising, progressive citizens,
and on many of the sections from $1,000
! to $4,000 worth Of improvements have
| been made.
What is the nature of the permanent
| improvements being made in and around
Amarillo9
1 cannot remember all, but will tell
you few, he answered. The contract
for the erection of a $40 200 Potter
county stone bank building has been
awarded and work is to commence in the
morning on the foundation; a 2Ox40 ad-
dition is being made to the public school
building; q large saddle and harness
store is in course of erection;
the City hotel has just finished
the erection of sixteen-room additlon;
the Champion has just finished the build
ing Of Its own Office; to the south of
town Mr.. H. G. TraYers is erecting a
$4,000 residence in the form of cross;
on the north of town DR.. 7. f. MCGEE,
late OF Henrietta, has commenced the
erection of en- eight-roomed farm resi-
dence, and has just finished the building
of a Sl400 drug store in town. Mr..
Slime has just finished and moved into
residence in town which cost $1,000, and
there are a M nber of smaller residences
being erected. This 1 consider to be a
very good showing for a town which
never had boom.
How are the counties to the south of |
Potter settling up?
The answer was, very rapidly. There |
are fully double the number of settlers |
that there were year ago. Towns are |
s2ringing up as by magic. And, he |
continued, the trade for a hundred and |
fifty miles West, Southwest, South and |
Southeast Is all tributary to Amarillo.
This is the reason of her vast trade.
Can good school sections of land be
taken up within easy distance of Am
arillo? was next asked. Yes, he an
swered. If man wants to make
home and raise crops instead of raising a
bonus, will show him good and within
four or five miles of Amarillo, where
there are valleys of alluvial soil of from
800 TO 400 acres, as rich as the valley of
theyAile, abundantly watered with never
failing" springs, or with good, pure
water which can be obtained by digging
from twenty to forty feet. This has been
made possible by the American pastoral
land and cattle company, which has the
land leased and will relinquish to actual
settlers who intend to make permanent
improvements. This company intends to
move its pasture fence several miles fur
Their north so as to give the settler
chance to locate on school land, which
at the same time will make their pat
ented sections more valuable.
Regarding the location of the Pam
hau6la i'm m finn huraau how In vour
people stand?
With possibly one or two exceptions,
we are unitedly in favor of Fort Worth,
and this because THE GAZETTE is the
friend of the Panhandle settler and has
always stood by our interests in the time
Of adversely as well as prosperity. There
is feeling that the Panhandle immigra-
ton boomers should stand by the town
whose paper has championed their in
terests.
There is one thing I would like THE
GAZETTE 10 advocate next year, he said,
and that is TO postpone the opening of
the Spring Palace three or four weeks,
20 as to give the Panhandle proper a
chance to show what we can raise. We
are much further north aud our eleva-
ton of 800 feet places US in the same
latitude as regards seasons, as Illinois.
NOWs lHS WHEEL OblS duu UdTl6y
are in the full ear around Fort Worth ]
BUR crops are but yet in the boot, so you !
can see that we are placed at disa6-
vantage in this respect. But come what !
may Potter county will be represented
It the Spring Palace next year, if have
to bring only the products Of my ex-
perimeutal farm. !
Referring to the scores of health {
seekers who are f1ockiDg to Amarillo, he :
'aid that the Amarillo was crowded with
quests, but that next week the annex, .
thirty elegant and spacious
'ooms, would be opened to the public 5
Rafting along he then said, do not for ]
get to mention the grand Methodist :
amp meeting which is to be held in :
he famous Palo Duro canyon ,commenc-
ng on Friday. June 81. Such enthusi-
Ism prevails among our cattlemen, that 4
hey have promised to donate the beeves
o supply the flesh, and our merchants 4
he -four to make bread to feed the null 1
itude who expect to be there. We ex- Il
'ect to have meeting up there that will
Tut the Sam Jones meeting in Fort Worth c
q the shade.
Mr.. Brookes had not half had his say s;
mt pressing duties called the reporter