San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-06-06
SHORT STOPS.
What the People are Saving.
by Col. JAS. p. NEwCoMB.

very easy and rather dull homilieS
as to what keeps San Antonio up
that everybody understands the
problem. To my friends protest
reply that my only object is to get
our intelligent people to thinking
then it will all look as easy as the
simplest sum in addition.
1t would, perhaps, be more pleas
ant to read Short Stops upon the
twirlings of the county ring than
to have the question of our bust
ness prosperity probed. If my
banker friend and the observant
milk man are satisfied, | might
stop short, but only yesterday |
saw my tactical friend dressed up
and walking around shaking hands
with the honest voters. Has he de-
serted the milk cart for the politi-
cal arena
When.the milk man has to ex-
change his milk for grain and hay,
purchased at the feed stores, to
feed his cows, he has but little
margin left, unless he puts it in
after he milks. We never hear that
the milk is inspected, although
the city pays for an inspector.
Perhaps my observant friend has
ceased to milk the dairy COW, and
is now cycling the public teat, for
no matter how dull the times or
how dry the weather, the office COW
gives down the substance of the
taxpayers.
No city of the same human pop
ulation on the continent supports a
greater number of domestic ami
mails than San Antonio; we have
more horses, COWS, dogs, cats than
any town | know of. 1t costs some
thing to feed the dogs, but our
meat is pretty much home pro-
duced article, and the money paid
the butcher comes back to the GUS
toner. Not so with the horse and
COW feed.
We could get along very well
without the dogs, in other civil
lied cities they are not permitted
to run at large. But our horse
stock are necessary to our business
and pleasure. 1t is a moderate
guess to say that San Antonio has
1000 horses, and that our city pays
out for grain and hay at least $780,
600 annually, and that 100000 OF
this amount is sent to Northern
Texas or out of the state. A clean,
clear loss Of wealth. We exchange
nothing but our hard earned mon
ey for this grain and hay and it
goes beyond our reach.
| have mentioned our brewing
industries that has not only saved
the large sums formerly paid out
for foreign beer, but export their
product to distant points and cause
a balance in our favor as to this
particular item. Now il we can
save or rather keep at home the
$350,000 we send off for horsefeed
we would stop big leak.
If the stranger approaching our
city over the Gulf Shore road,
could see, instead of parched corn
fields, that splendid section of our
county between the Calaveras and
the Cibolo under system OF arte-
sian water irrigation not only
would the horsefeed question be
solved but our city could be sup
piled with small fruits and vege-
tables now purchased from abroad
Fifty thousand bushels Of corn
and forty thousand tons of alfal-
ia could be produced in this
section under irrigation, and every
dollar Of the product would be kept
in our city. The arid state of Col
orado produces six million dollars
worth of alfalfa yearly on it's irri.
gable farms.
Now, when few bold schemers
without money enough to build
and equip a single mile of railroad
propose to build to the Gulf or tt
the Mexican border, provided oul
citizens will give them $l00,OOC
bonus, the proposition is not con
sidered unreasonable. When the
fact is that the schemers have al
ready contracted for the construc
tion and equipment Of their roaC
for the bonds they are entitled t.