The Minneapolis journal., 1905-11-05
BY E. c. Torrey.
''The proper study of mankind is man."

Accepting Pope as their authority,
the twin city gentlemen who left on
Oct II for trip thru the rice coun-
try Of Texas as the guests of the
American Rice Cereal company, found
peent Of ba s5ra hfs Btoe toe
D: Hurd of Kansas City, who travelled
with them, visiting as many of the
company's properties, cereal systems
and pumping stations as possible in
the time available.
Mr.. Hurd was born and reared in
genius by his acquaintances and is
probably the world s leading authority
on rice today. 4 successful real estate
dealer Of Des Moines, he decided to
leave Iowa because the price of
lands became so uniformly highathat
the profits in the business began to
in search of a field that offered oppor-
tunities. He invaded the south and
pushed on to the coast country in
Louisiana and Texas. The vast posi-
bilities of the rice industry appealed
to him at once.
Finding that knowledge of civil
law would be of the greatest help to
him as a captain of the rice industry,
Mr.. Hurd successively took up these
studies at his home, never permitting
them to interfere with his business
affairs, and soon became proficient in
them. He passed his examination in
the law and was admitted to the bar
entering law school. The fiber of
his intellect and the constancy of his
purpose are shown in the me thods
which he pursued to equip himself for
the development of the rice industry,
and for carving out a career for him
q IL
whereby thousands of his fellow men
could reach an independent station
In life. :, -, .-= E.. '.,T..
So much for the young man who is
known in Texas and the south as the
pioneer of rice culture-a business in
which $35,000,000 has been invested
in canal systems and milling properties
in less than decade and which annu-
ally returns a gross income of $25, ,OO0, )
600 or more.
Minneapohtans Visit the South.
1t was upon the American Rice
Cereal company's new hotel car, re-
of $4,000, that the twin city men
P. G. Hanson, T. F. Branham, George
H. Filbert, o. P. Holman and a repre-:
sentative of T h e ournal |, all of
Minneapolis, and H. B. Farwell of St.
Paul-set out upon what proved to be
a twelve-day jaunt to and from and
in the sunny south. George S. Free
of Wichita, Kans., was in charge OF
the car and the commissary and filled
a trying position to the complete salts
faction of the travellers.
At Kansas City, the headquarters of
the company, the hotel car was switched
from the Chicago Great Western road
to the Santa Fe and the party was
tod hxy ioti cb al
tion headed by Mr.. Hurd, General Mel
son A. Miles and General A. E. Nettle
ton, formerly of Minneapolis, but now
of Chicago, all personally interested il
the company. Others in the party were
S. T. Tuttle Of Wichita, James Tuttle
of Geuda Springs, Kans.,, E.. j. Olander
Kans., E. s. Porter of Chicago, Mr.
and Mrs. Robert Harvey of Burling
ton, Kans., G. w. Hurd of st. Paul
in the employ of the company, G. G.
Coonley of Bristow, Iowa, MI. and
Mrs Andrew P. Maekiex and daughter
Of Cleveland Ohio, A: L: Lyman Of
Wichita, and Herbert D. Hurd of
Kansas City. -
A smooth, pleasant run was made
thru Kansas, Oklahoma and Indian Ter
ritory and on Thursday forenoon the
train swept into Texas and entered
upon the last stage--by no means 6
short one-of the long journey to tht
gulf coast. Only. short stop wa:
the greatest oil craze the country ha'
ever seen. Oil has long since ceased
to be, if it ever was, the main reliance
and support of the city which hustle
with business and looks thrifty and up
todate. The oil production of thu
famous spinodletop, which could b.
plainly seen from the car window, ha
dropped below 1000 barrels a day.
Orange and Galveston. $@
Friday and Saturday, the goth an
2lst, were spent in and around Orange
the county seat of the extreme south
eastern county Of the state, excursion
being made from it to the pumpin
station and canals Of the America
these was taken by launch down tn
Sabine river, ten miles and up Co,
bayou for a distance of twenty mile
or more to the seat of the company
plant. The shores of the bayou wer
lined with dense masses of the wate
hyacinth in full bloom. Timber, gel
eFanSyfu eFallyf cypress s and +g gum Loaded Nit
each side. of the river-for such
would be known in the north.
Sunday, the a2d, found the party
Galveston. The weather had change
to warm and bright. First came !:
twenty y-mile ride in fast launch G
the bay. The new German cruiser, tt
Bremen. was in port and the northe1
men Joined thousands from the sout
and were received on shipboard. ]
the afternoon the beach and the ma
nifcent new seawall, which skirts tt
ocean. for a distance of seven mill
and IS expected to prevent a recu
renee of the deluge and catastrophe
five years ago, were visited While tt
population of Galveston is less by Sc
eral thousand than before the foo
the city has made splendid recover
1t has many large and costly building
An undertaking which seems as mon
mental as the construction of the gre
seawall is. the filing in by sand fro
the sea of a large part of the islam
70 accomplish this, all the buildin
must be raised to the establisht
grade.
Northern Town in the South.
THE remaining days of the stay
Texas were spent at Bay City,
Matagorda county, coast county, a.
at Eagle Lake, Lissie and Chestervil
in Colorado county. Bay City is le
than five years old and was started al
largely built up by northern men.
has a population of 1000 and is o
of the best business points of it's 81
in the state. The adjacent rice Ian
have made the town.
The Colorado county towns lie in
rich prairie section, greatly resembli
the prairies of Minnesota and the [
kotas. Rice farming is carried
there by means of canals from t
Colorado river and by so-called artesi