The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1894-12-20

becoming clrcumscribed and cattle arr
now fed and fattened off the range. The
cattle and sheep industry constitutes a
great portion of the wealth of Texas.
Northern Texas is devoted largely to
grain raising; In consequence, Dallas is
one OF the greatest distributing points for
farm machinery in the United States
irrigation Is a question of growing i'm
portance IN this state. There is but a
comparatively small portion CT the state
| which Is lainless, but wherever agricul-
tural interests are paramount, Man wants
| 10 control conditions on which he is large
| ly dependent. 1t Is doubtful whether
| the streams at all places afford suffi-
| cheney Of water for this purpose. But
artesian wells may be made available.
Texas has no large cities, that is, at
taching the significance to the adjective
which 1t bears with US of the north. But
it has many medium sized ones which are
growing, enterprlslng and prosperous.
| The growth of many within the last few
years has been rapid but wholly IN re-
response to incI eased facilities or in har-
mony with the development OF tributary
country. The panic of 1893 found no
| Judgment IL this state because its
| business was conducted on a substantial
basis. Each city has the local colorlng of
its environments. Here it is wool; there
cotton; and again grain. This does not
mean isolation, though 1t might have
been so before the advent of railroads
There is among the several cities a com.
muDity of purpose which speaks well for
the future of the state
When Clay in the rapt attention of
prophecy said with reference to the West,
Il hear the footsteps of the coming null
tltudes," he uttered prediction which
would now be none the less true of Texas.
II is to be great state and the question
soon to attract attention, and possibly
provoke rivalry, is what place shall be
the emporium of this territory when its
fertility shall minister to the wants of
commerce? Galveston Is now the chief
seaport. 1t is the Manhattan of the state,
but it does mol enjoy conceded suprema-
cy, Its foreign trade is large and while
nature has done much for 1t, it has left
much .undone. The genius of man and
the liberality of the national government
are elements to be considered in fore
casting the future of Galveston. Nature
was prodigal in dealing with the city but
it worked too kindly and the sand planes
( are projected into the bay making the
service of lighters and barges necessary
in unloading and loading ocean vessels.
The system of jetties is being tried here,
confidently by the government engineers,
with dOubet by those devoid of technical
knowledge who view the wide expanse of
water between the piers known as ietties.
They do say" that these jetties have
already deepened the water. II this
be true the hopes of the people of Gal
weston will be realized and 1t is destined
to be one of the great cities of the cont1n
ent, because the sluiceway of commerce
on the Gulf is certain to gather the 'un-
earned increment" Galveston has wealth
greater than that of Houston. Its en-
terprise is inferior, and the city at the
head OF the bayou may yet claim prece-
dence OF the island city upon whose Dor.
ders the surf OF that great inland sea
beats with the lncessant roar of repress.
ed power.
There 10 suggestion of aridity In the
country surrounding San Antonio. 1t is
tentacle of the desert which lies beyond
Ghmpses of sage brush, stretches of cha
parral and the unctuous, f1eshy leaf OF the
cactus remind one of the farther west
where civilization made it's earlier con.
quests but failed to keep up the unequal
struggle, There Is no more interesting
city in Texas than is San Antonio. The
ancient is hemmed in by the modern, but
1t remains true to tie antique. The church
of the Alamo which had a baptism OF
blood which will ever make it an object
of historic interest, is now surrounded
by business, but it seems to stand alone
in the epic grandeur OF its associations
The missions lie quite distance outside
They are always visited by tourists
The rooms In which the mass was cele-
braled are the only ones not profaned by
being made to supply home for some
shlftless Mexican who asks aims with
professional ease. They toll not, neither
do they spin and are far removed from the
lovliness of the lily, though their raimeni
is almost as scant. A wr1ukled old wo
man who stood at the church door anC
pleaded for aims In speech almost al
sweet as the bastard Latin of the south,
told her age by raising her ten finger:
seven times and the fingers of one hanc
once. English was an unknown tongue
to her as 1t is to most of this vagabonc
race outside the cities in Texas.
The school fund income of Texas is
per capita about three times that of Wis
consln. There is some reason to fea
that the attention given to private IN
situations OF learning, dwaafs the public
| SShooiS. DuO u tHdU L dul uudDl6 u
speak confidently. That is a defect
which, If 1t exists, "bold peasantry' will
soon remedy with the means at their dis
posal. Judging from the appearance O.
the school buildings, there is no parsi
mony In the conduct of the people towarc
their schools.
We OF the north are more interested ir
the polItico-social conditions of the
south than In any other of its features
The members of the Wisconsin Press As
sociation have had opportunities, limit
ed In time though ample in extent-o
studying personal and sectional charac
terlstlcs of the south and it's social phases
Industrial life is now national in It's pulsa
lions and local environments no longer
impress the character to any greater
depth than habit, worn loosely. The
southern cities. and those of Texas, are
no exception, are as cosmopolitan as those