Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1897-02-19
A BIG SEAPORT CITY.
SHIPS FROM ALL OVER THE
WORLD AT PORT ARTHUR.
Natural Outlet for the Export Trade of
the West-Ex- Governor Morrill's Views
Deep Water Problem on the Gulf of
Mexico Solved-Stra wberries In Winter.

Recently party of distinguished
Kansas and Missouri citizens, com
posed of the representative business
men, lawyers, physicians, bankers and
capitalists of the two states, left Kan
sas City for Port Arthur on a sight
seeing tour in special train over the
Pittsburg & Gulf railroad.
The party numbered siXty-four in
all, and included such well known
Kansans as Ex-Governor Morrill,, ex-
Attorney General Dawes, ex-Superin-
tendent Stanley, Congressman at
Large j. D. Botlin, Colonel Ed. Madi-
son, E. L. Meyer, president of First
National bank of Hutchinson; Peter
Smith, president Citizens bank
of North Topeka; G. j. Twiss,
ex-mayor of Kansas City, KAN; Colo
mel r. L. Walker, eX-United States
marshal; S. II. Horner, mayor of Cald-
well; j. H. Wilson, Topeka banker.
Among Others were George A. Met
calf, c. G. Grove, ID. Baum and DR..
Kimberlin of Kansas City, Mo-, j. E.
Norling, secretary of the American
Swedish Emigration society, of Chica-
go; j. b. Brown, Rich Hill, Mo-; E. G.
Dudley, New York; +. A. Hornbeck,
land commissioner of the Pittsburg 81
Gulf, and Others The first stop was
made at the new town of Mena, Ark,
which sprung up in ninety days, with
a population of 1000. Poteau, Ind.
Ter, Paris and Texarkana, Texas,
were next visited, and then Shreve-
port, La, was the next stop, where
the party was entertained in
royal style by the mayor
and prominent citizens, who gave
them reception at the club rooms
Leaving Shreveport the party pro-
ceeded to Houston, then to Beaumont,
and arrived at Port Arthur for break
fast. The day was spent in sailing on
Lake Sabine and in visiting the expert
mental farm of the Pittsburg & Gulf
road, where $40 acres of fruit and
flowers are under cultivation. In the
evening a social gathering was at
tended in the parlors of theHotel Sa-
bine. The next morning the party
took the boat Henrietta and the
launch Jenny and went down Sabine
lake, VIII. oh is thirty miles long by ten
miles wide, and through Sabine pass
to the end of the jetties.
In the harbor thirty-three steamers
and ships were counted by the party
All of these were being loaded with
lumber. 1t was a curious and signlh-
cant fact that vessels were there from
Norway, Sweden, England, Denmark,
Italy, Russia, all taking on lumber for
their respective countries Then there
were vessels from New York, Phila-
delphia and Maine, and vessels, strange
to say, being loaded with lumber for
Montevideo, South America, and for
Cape Town and Dongola Bay, Africa.
A slight idea of the lumber business
carried on already may be gained from
the fact that in 1895, with the then
limited facilities, some 20,000,000 feet
of lumber were shipped through Sabine
Pass. In 1896, sO,OO0,OO0 feet, or the
equivalent of 5000 car loads, and in
1897, estimated on present conditions
and contracts 2OO,000,000 feet.
The party returned from the trip
through the pass and were banquetted
at the Hotel Sabine, where fresh
Strawberries, green peas and all kinds
of fresh vegetables were served.
The next day, Sunday, all the mem
bers of the party attended church, and
in the evening started for home,
making only one stop, at Beaumont,
Tex, to gather some Strawberries and
examine the fruit farms, the party ar
rived IN Kansas City, voting the trip
one of the very pleasantest they had
ever taken.
In an interview Ex-Governor Morrill,
said: II have long felt that deep
water at the gulf was of great i'm
portance to the people of Kansas.
Last year Kansas raised 10000, 900
bushels of wheat and 10000, 900 bushels
of corn for export, while about one
fourth of the export meats of the coun-
try passed through the Kansas City
packing houses. So far as Kansas is
concerned, then, the Importance of a
short haul, quick transit and direct
communication with eastern countries
cannot be overestimated. l believe
that inside of ten years the
Nicaragua canal will also have
been completed, and upon that COM
pletion the business of the world will
be transacted upon the Gulf of Mexico
l also believe that Sabine Pass will be
the solution of deep water on the gulf.
As soon as that question is settled the
people of Kansas alone will build as
great city onthe gulf as they have at
the mouth of the Kaw. Take al 1.-The
states east of the Mississippi river, add
to these states the Dakotas, Mime
sofa, Montana, Washington and Ore
gon, and they altogether produce only
10 per cent of the exports of the
United States. The remaining states
south and west of those states produce
90 per cent, and So as l said to the
people of Shreveport, the people of the
South should not be surprised at the
people in the great cereal producing
country taking so much interest in
Port Arthur and the Gulf of Mexico.
sit is the natural outlet for the ex-
port trade. 1t is bound to become a
great center of commerce. Deep water
is now within six miles of the city, and
as the Sabine lake bottom is of clay, it
will be only the matter of short time
when the channel will be cleared right
up to Port Arthur-then look out for a
big CITY,"
Work has already commenced on
cutting the channel from Sabine Pass
through to Port Arthur, and will be
completed about July 1, at cost OF
$3.50 600. Out of the siXty-four sight