The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-03-31
FAITH COURAGE, ENERGY AND GRIT.
What These Have Done Develop and create u' , -
N' ~ Coast "A Five Million Dollar Enterprise

/ increased the depth Of water SO thHt Nes
coils drawing twenty Ave feet have passeu
in safety over the bar.
In choosing site for town seven anu
che half miles from deep water inc pro
iectors CT this enterprise had but one way
open to make that town seaport sa''''e
Lake is so shallow that only vesse's %
4 light draught can ply upon It's suriaoe'
so tho plan OF building 4 canal was
adopted. and Il was to signalize the com
1 pletion Of this canal that tile big ceie-
/ bration was held last Saturday.
The canal work is not yet finished, but 1t
Is 1888 feet wide sixteen feet deep and Is
filled with water for the entire seven an"
one-half miles The dredges VIII continue
at work and 1t is believed that in lew
months more steamships drawing twenty
Ave feet of water will sail up the canal
and anchor in the slips OF Port Arthur
/ y
The little town of Port Arthur is Won
der in itself Two years ago there were
less than two hundred people on the town
site; a year ago there we're a little over
1000 today the population is nearly ZOoo'
In a year from now 1t is expected to re
5000 Every enterprise in and around the
believe that Port Arthur will be large
scale. The Sabine hotel is one of the
largest and best summer resort hotels
in Texas. The natatorium Is large ana
beautiful one, and would be credit TO
city of $4,000 inhabitants. The pleasure
pier and pavilion is splendid structure
and feature that will prove especially at
! tractive to summer visitors
In business way. the city has NAM
moth grain elevator, brick plant, an ex-
port pier, eight miles of terminal tracks,
and in addition large number of new
enterprises are contemplated such as many
additional miles of terminal tracks, dry
docks rice mills. water works, ice plant
and coalng station In fact, there is every
; reason to believe that Port Arthur will be
a large city The people behind it are of the
pushing kind. They have the money, the
brains and the courage necessary for de-
velopng a good thing, and they will not
falter.
That whole section of country prom
= Uses to grow and develop with mighty
strides in the next few years, Beaumont,
Orange Sabine Pass and Port Arthur all
strides in the next few years, Beaumont,
is really city now, with it's ten thousand
inhabitants and it's big saw mills, rice
plant, foundry and machine works, creo-
soting works, electric light, ice and water
works plants. and other enterprises.
~
Sabine Pass is naturally quite jealous of
), the Port Arthur enterprise but it need
not be. The people at the Pass have the
finest deep water port on the whole gulf
coast, and they ought to make the best of
It. 1t is provoking to them, of course, to
see so much money spent in developing a
town and seaport eight miles away, but
:. it has been demonstrated that nothing can
stop those Port Arthur people, therefore
j., the next best thing is to go ahead and
make Sabine Pass city regardless of what
., may be going on across the lake. There
>. is room on the gulf coast for half dozen
. big seaport towns, and they all ought to
:, grow and prosper. Port Arthur has only
= one railroad and Sabine Pass has one,
, therefore they have an even break for
business 1t is true that the Kansas City,
=, Pittsburg and Gulf railroad men seem de-
q termined to bring all the products they
can get from the West to Port Arthur
but you can rest assured that the Hunting
~ ton interests will prepare to meet such
competition, and that Sabine Pass will
q not be neglected That port is dling a
good business now, and with competition
: to stir UP its railroad feeder the people
% there can expect constant increase o,
II exporting aud importing.
n y
n The developing of Port Arthur
y should also be very encouraging
y to those who believe in Houston
O as future deep water port.
n If little town like that, with only one
! railroad. can afford to expend Ave mil
: lion dollars to become a seaport, think oil
the inducements there are for Houston tt
spend Ten times that sum. And then when
VI we realize that the government engineer,
+ have declared that it will take only three
. million dollars to consummate our Buffalo
u bayou plans, and that this appropriated
'e mas virtually been agreed upon. every cit.
IL izen should congratulate himself upon
: being resident of such favored cit,
u Houston has ten railroads to bring
- products for export, and they and
% connections penetrate every section j
country The city's business under
conditions is likely to surpass our wil;aeyd
expectations
q
% Inc finishing of the Port Arthur Gang
. means much in the development of TexA-
but the deepening of Buffalo bayou wi
mean more than the mind of man cS
le new deem possibility. Houston holh
&c the key to the door behind which Is lockl
e the export traffic OF dozen States. rs
Key will soon turn in its lock and the dol
l. Will be thrown open to the world. T.
= Port Arthur, Sabine Pass, GalyestoE-
i Velasco and Houston will all be great seA
" port towns, but the greatest of these iii
IS will be Houston.