El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-09-15

And anyhow, II the city is to be moved
at all. is.m,Rhs as we'll be moved to Q
place OF safety.
! There are many elements that will
oppose the rebuilding OF the city.
, Not leas, among these elements are the
wives and children OF the busir ess
men. WHO will OF choice live where
he 10 taking the chance OF losing his
life with every Gulf storm? The
eitustion IL not analogous to that OF
the Chicago fire or the Charleston
earthquake. In either OF those cases
shereIwas nothing to Indicate that
she same thing might occur again.
made ares Or earthquakes something
70 live 10 mortal dread Of. But In the
case OF Galveston all conditions that
existed prior 20 the disaster ssill exist,
and . similar devastating wave Is
likely to sweep over the island next
week or next year.
The ban 10 on the land. There 10 no
security in what We commonly cal
reslty. After this, Galveston city and
her business men will experience diff
Guilty In borrowing the necessary CAPT
tai with which to carry on their busi-
ness. All retailers are ruined, their
stocks destroyed. Merchants have
lost the basis OF their credit. There
is even much doubt expressed IS to the
ability or willingness Of the insurance
companies to pay the losses occasioned
by the storm. OThe business men have
lo-t their all. They have nothing but
their Games to bank upon. If they are
enabled to start over again on this,
will IL pay even then, except as . gam
BILE?
The loss Of property - expressed In
millions does not begin to represent
what Galveston has really been de-
prived Of by the storm. II Is COZ f.
dence, thesgroundwork Of al CONNER
cisl intercourse and commercial
success, that is gone. Not confidence
In any individual or set of Individuals,
not cor fidepce In the willi1gness and
q oility of the city to meet its just
debts, but opfdence in the stability
of the land itself.
Galveston will be rebuilt, of course.
Il will not vanish from the earth. The
railroads will spend millions to restore |
their bridges and lines and terminals. |
Great ocean steamers will land there. |
II will be a great city again. Commerce
brilliant future 10 bliRhted. Sad as It
seems to pronounce sentence upon a city
which has already suffered so much,
yet it does not now seem possible that
the city will ever again rank with the
irss cities of she state. 1t will recover,
pay It's bills, but It's credit will not
stand the strain OF contracting any
srge new obligations.
Houston will draw from Galveston
much Of her trade, and Thousands of
he people that lately made the Island
heir homo. Houston 10 destiaed TO be
great metropolis. Houston within she
'ext ten years will take away from the
Atlantic ports and even from New Or
cans much Of She trade OF the trans
region. With the building
II the isthmian canal, Houston will
become the great outlet for transmits
issippi products, enroute to the orient.
That city will become the greatest
cotton exporting port, and will
handle the greater part OF the enormous
rain crops of she west and north vert
from the Rocky Mountain chain to
he Mississippi river. and from Canada
o Mexico, the export trade will draw
70 through q funnel, down TO Houston.
,ven where she does not control III
rade. she will have a competitive hold {
vith the great Pacific railroads and
he transatlantic steamship lines. II
, inevitable.
And there will be Q great waterway
rom Houston to the open Gulf Not .
million or two, bus eight or ten mill
ions, will be spent in strsig tening Z
he Buffalo Bayou and in constructing ,
reat, wide, deep ship canals wher-
YER needed 70 conduct the shipping !
I the world up to the whsrves OF this
oming metropolis.
Galveston will grow too, but her
restiUe Ia oone