The Advocate and news., 1898-02-23
TINE AND MONEY WILL DO TT.
The Success of Port Arthur as an Exporting
CITY is Assured.

The Kansas editors trip to Port Ar
thur was the means of giving them per-
sonal information relative to the efforts
to secure deep water at the terminus Of
the Port Arthur route and as to the prob
ability of getting big seaport city on
the Gulf from which Kansas products
may be exported much more cheaply than
through any other. The editorial party
numbered about 200, in which were rep
resentatiVes Of 134 newspapers The road
provided a special train of five Pullmans,
a diner and a baggage car With Its
usual liberality and enterprise 1t broke
the record in extending Courtesies to
editors by paying for the Pullman cars.
The party was in charge OF +. W. Nc
Donald, Industrial Agent, who was ably
assisted by w. G. Edwards, who is in
charge Of the land excursion business on
this line. Rainy weather prevented many
stops going down, but a brief rest was
taken at Mena, Ark. 1t is a new town
but it seems to have the making Of a
live city in it. The railroad has made it
a division point. The lower half Of the
line runs through long leaf pine forest.
There are endless acres Of it and 1t Is
tall, straight and almost entirely free
from branches except very close to the
top.
The railroads experiment farm, three
miles from Port Arthur was visited. On
it were growing, in healthy condition,
all kinds of vegetables. Strawberries
were in bloom and other evidences, tend
ing to show the productiveness of the
soil, were visible. Before stopping at
Port Arthur the export pier was visited.
In the warehouse there were tons of
goods which were being loaded on steam
ers for expectation to European points.
1t was source of satisfaction to note
that about half of the stuff was from
Kansas. The Kansas goods consisted
largely of -four, salt and beef products.
Big ocean steamers loaded with prod
ucts from this pier leave every two
weeks. But the town Of Port Arthur is
a study An old settler is one who has
been there year. The town is clean,
dry, well-drained and has an air of en-
terprise and prosperity about it. 1t is
on the lake front on Sabine lake. It's
people are hospitable and agreeable.
Like most people, who are the. early set
tiers of any town, they are of a class
which is not satisfied with the staid ways
of old established communities but want
to get in on the ground floor where en-
terprise and energy will bring liberal
returns. A pleasant ball and social gath
ering gave the editors an opportunity to
get acquainted with these people. A
very instructive feature was the trip
down the lake. Few of the party had
much faith in the deep water harbor
idea at Port Arthur, but an inspection
of the work already done and of the
methods employed to do it was con-
vincing argument in its favor. The
completed portion of the canal, which
is about two miles, is success. The big
dredge is slowly but surely lengthening
it, The dredge is mammoth affair which
cuts a channel 100 feet wide, 80 feet long
and 16 feet deep in twelve hours. It is
run day and night. The mud taken out
is pumped through pipes to the outer
bank Of the canal, where it is deposited
to strengthen it, The work of cutting
the channel is really done by an i'm
mense augur, six feet in diameter, which
may be used at most any elevation and
does equally as good work whether it is
cutting twenty feet below the water or
the same distance above. An hours ex-
animation of it while working converted
every visitor to the belief that it was
merely a question of time and money
whether vessels would ever be loaded at
the piers at Port Arthur. In this con-
nectiOn it should be stated the Port Ar
thur people are not asking any one to
help them, the government will not be
asked to add to it's river and harbor
steals, they simply want to be let alone.
If they are allowed to go ahead they will
have the best harbor ON the Gulf and
will provide it without a dollar of ex-
pense to anybody but themselves. The
company is spending much money, mil
lions of it will be used, and it certainly
seems that the prudent business methods