Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-08-29
IN DEEP WATER.
yelasco, Tex, Creates General Stampede
Where 1t is Known that EIatteriDs
Prospects are Ahead.

Valasco, at the mouth of the Brazos river,
is the commercial hope of Texas, and also
of all the territory north of ii to the north
line of the state of Nebraska.
This sounds, to any one who has not
carefully studied the conditions of produc-
ton and commerce in this territory, like
too large a statement. The requirements
OF trade, l might say the demands of trade.
are cheap transportation and ample faclll-
ties for handling all articles OF commerce.
The greatest requirement is deep-water
navigation. The territory OF which | am
now speaking has never had any deep-water
navigation. There has been no port on the
gulf coast west OF the Mississippi river
deep enough to accommodate the merchant
marine which handles freight the most
cheaply Deep-0raught vessels cease TO be
cheap means of transportation when they
are forced to lighter their cargoeS. This
has always been necessary at Galveston
and all other ports on the Texas coast. A
vessel which draws more than fourteen
feet OF water cannot get into any port in
Texas except at the mouth of the Brazos
river without Tightening. AT that place,
and there only since about the ist of July,
vessels have been able to enter drawing Us
much as seventeen and half feet of water.
Galveston has recently loaded several ships
with grain. and each one of them had to
lighter 4 large portion of their cargo at
great expense. In fact, Tightening is practi-
cally an embargo to the transportation of
grain. Had either of these vessels loaded
at Eelasco they could have put on their en-
tire capacity at the wharyes and steamed
through the jetties and over the bar with
out the assistance of tug-boatS.
When the work of deepening the bar by
building jetties was commenced at the
Brazos river two years ago, there were only
four and one-half feet of water In the two
years, by the expenditure OF 81, SOC, 600; thir-
teen feet of water have been added TO the
depth on the bar and within a very few
months the action of the river unaSsisted
by dreGges (Which have never been used
on this work. will deepen the water to
twenty feet This was contemplated in the
original plan of this work made by Mir. h.
L. Corthell. the eminent engineer, who was
chief TO Capt. Eads in the work at the
mouth Of the Mississippi river.
No shallow sea-cOast port will ever be
popular with vessel men, shippers or insur-
ance companies. And the recent action of
the Southern Pacific railroad company III
abandoning Galveston ami running their
Morgan line of steamers from New York
into New Orleans | believe TO be due more
10 the uncertainty of the water 1T Galveston
and its shallowness than to anything else.
| also believe that the statements made in
the press dispatches that as soon as rail
road connections are made with the port of
Velasco, that the Southern Pacific railroad
company will put on this same line of steam
ers from New York TO Valesco, has a fon-
dation i'll fact.
The statements that it is the intention of
the Southern Pacific company TO defect
the trade of the greater part of Texas from
Houston and Galveston 10 New Orleans |
believe are ill-founded. A careful consid-
GRAFTON of the situation must convince any
one to the contrary. By water freight can
be handled more than five times as cheap
as by rail This being fact, it would cost
the Southern Pacific company five times as
much to haul freight from Central Texas 10
New Orleans as it would from the port of
Velasco (Which is about the same distance
To the West) to New Orleans, or that far
Oh the way TO New York. BY rail, more
than by water, does distance regulate the
cost of transportation. The safe harbor at
Velasco and the twenty feet of water at
that port, will attract the shipping of all
the business for the territory west of the
mouth of the Mississippi river, and should
Galveston succeed By the proposed work in
securing deep water (Which is open TO
serious doubt the six or seven years time
which will be consumed will be used by
Velasco in establishing such trade relations
and building up such trade facilities and
conveniences in the way of cotton ware
houses, congresses and wheat elevators as
will for all time keep it in the lead of Gal
weston in commercial Importance.
o. w. CRAWFORD.
Velasco, Texas, August q.