Arizona weekly citizen. [volume] (Tucson, Ariz) 1880-1901, 1896-03-21
GREAT TEXAS.
An Interview with Hon. Ben Heney
ON the Work at Aransas

| ocu iACuCy IcbuEucu d low uhl
since from Arkansas Pass. He was inter
viewed by CITIZEN reporter with tn
blowing
Reporter-How are things in Te1ss?
"No man can take trip to the gul
coast of Texas without being deeply in
pressed with q sense of it's immedist
| future greatness. We are all familis
with the fact that Texas is the larges
state in the union but 1ot everyone i
aware that it's present rapid growth il
population, wealth and commerce which
will, within the next few years, place i
| at the head of the column as the big
sest' state, in every sense OF the term
The taxable wealth today is over oNI
THOUSAND MILLIONS Of dollars and TIE
population exceeds four millions. The
lrend OF the immigration now, like thai
L commerce, is along the meridians Of
longitude. Texas, 1t is freely admitted
will build more miles of railroad before
the end of the century, then all the
other states com bined, che already has
over 10000 miles of railway in opera
tIon."
Reporter-Whst about tina: deep
water harbor?
"Work is progressing rapidly and to
the entire sstisfsctian of everyone inter
ested and to those in charge. The con-
tractor informed me, the day / left
Arkansas Pass, that he would complete
the present contract of 1900 feet of
finished breakwater within thirty work
ing days; that 1t was the most important
portion of the break water, inssmuch as
1t would approach sufficiently close TO
the shore to intercept tie heart of the
'eDb current; and, that in his judgment
this work would demonstrate the entire
success of the plans designed by the
engineers. Mr.. III. d. jenkins, the
eminent engineer in charge, publicly
stated the same thing and ADDED that
there was absolutely no Goubt now but
that the breakwster when completed
would wipe out the bar effectually and
permanently.
AS the contractor can work his force
out in the channel but about fifteen
days IN a month, the present contract
will be completed about the middle Of
May, very little will then be required to
finish the breakwster. Unless q depth
Ut twenty feet is secured prior to Sep
tenb l., 1896, the company will lose
all the valuable franchises granted by
he state OF Texas, but there is now no
,hance Of failure. AS Mr.. Alexander
crown said in q meeting of the bosro
Ut directors, The work must be ilumin-
ated in any reference to deep water"
Reporter--What depth of water ia
there over the bar ut Gslvestonf
"By the continued use OF dredges at
great expense, there is maintained
narrow channel Of about nineteen feet.
Galveston attained her present greet
o. So upon less than fourteen feet of
water"
Reporter-If deep water is secured at
Arsusss Pass, what are the prospects
for businesss
"If one fifth of the estimated COM
merce that 10 tributary to Arkansas Pass
should turn that way, and il the Harbor
company charged one-half the rates
now IN force at Galveston, the earnings
Of the %hsrves and docks annually
would reach over s3,6OO,OO0 At least
one-half of this amount would be net
profits and the company is capitalized
at S2,OOO,UOO. Galveston stock, which
has face value of $1,000 per share, is
now quoted at So, 900 per share"
Rsporter-What Was the result of the
pubic sales at the TOWNSHIP of Arkansas
Pass last mouth? "There was q large
and vacant, uncleared lots
bought from $3.50 to s720 each. The
ale lasted only an hour the first day and
over $4,000 worth of lots were sold.
he second day, after delaying the OPP
ening of the auction three hours, with
every Oody IN waiting, 1t was finally al
lowed to start, but the auctioneer was
stopped be- ore the ex-
plratiOn of an hour. 1t turned out that
The majority of the directors were Of the
opinion that the prices were too low In
view of the vast Importance of the work,
the expenditures made and the assured
success of the hsrbor plans. The CON-
pany was receiving about $500 per
acre, at these prices. for land that stood
I hem $40 per acre, yet it was unsstis-
factory"
Reporter-Hss the terminal railroad
been built by the company?
at is in course of construction now
and is being rapidly pushed to compile
ton. 1t is being built in first class shape
and the heaviest steel rails are used The
Draw bridge for Corpus Christi channel
has been ordered and is on the road.
The company has had a survey party
hn ko
North and South railroad, which will
tap all the main trunk lines"
"Private impr ovements are on the in
crease, the latest being brick yard in
the owner has already re-
ceIved cor tire cts for several buildings.
Real estate men claim that at least three
out of every i've visitors make invest
ments, regardless Of their information of
the certainty or uncertainty of deep
water"
What is the cost of living
whereabouts?
'Living is cheap on tho gull coast.
Good bed and board can be had for So
per week, with fish, oysters and game
daily on the table. wberries are
marketed in February and vegetables
are grown throughout the year. | saw
csbbaRes shipped in January weighing
Is pounds"
"Msuy prominent visitors have been
attracted to Arkansas Pass since the har-
Dor work began. Among others Mr..
VIM. Ii. Edmonds of the "Msnufsctur-
ere Record" and the Southern States"
arrived IN the latter part of February.
These two papers are probably the most
Influential for good in the United States,
if not in the world, the former noting
everything Of Importance in the COM
mercial world, while the latter looks az