Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-30
BLUE LAWS IN TEXAS
AS Many as in Any State of
the Union.
CARDS ARE FORBIDDEN
MOST OF THE COUNTIES ARE FOR
PROHIBITION.
Gambling Suppressed and One Cannot
Play Dominoes or Shake Dice
for the Drinks.
By VIM. E. CURTIS.

ANhe.7 - q Oi6 SNdtt I1dIy respects, ana
Is growing bigger every Gay. 1t is now the
fifth state in population having run ahead
of Missouri during the past ten years. In
1880 Texas had 1,591 .749 people: by the CEN
sus of 1900 it had almost double that num-
Der, and returned 3.0is.71o: while on the 1st
of January. 1905. according to local enum-
eratlons and estimates, there We're $500 900
persons living on its soil. OF these, in 1900
the census showed 620,722 negroes, an in
crease of only 220. 100 In twenty years
Texas has an area of 265, 80 square miles.
The longest distance from north to south is
$40 miles; from east to west, So5 miles, as
far as from Philadelphia to Chicago
Although Texas is a solid democratic
state, not more than half the voters go to
the polls. According to the census of 1900
there were 737,76S men of voting age. but in
November of that year only 39S.073 ballots
We're cast.
Texas has a greater railway mileage than
any other state, having passed Illinois DUR
ing the last two years. The total main
lne mileage reported to the railway COM
mission January / was 11517.59, while Hi
nous mad IL .229.o0 miles and Pennsylvania
1U,22o miles.
Largest School Fund.
Texas has the largest school fund of any
state in the Union. amounting to S39 533 :323
Understanding bonds and nearly nineteen
millions in land notes and school lands of
the appraised value of ten more millions are
now leased to farmers at an svera e,a ,r;oa
Oh ~ an acre. In addition to this there are
seven million acres of desert lands which
a. present nave no value, but some time
VIII De worth large sum of money as the
greater part of them can be IRRIGATED
IN addition TO this, several counties have
oepaidte sehooi funds and school lands
ailhot,ltlns altogether in value to SO. SGT. 293:
winch. added to the state funds ral,ns -
total endowment for the education az +ba
people OF Texas, SAG, 400, GIG, the richest
heritage of any state
exas mas more schools and better schools
ana pays more for education than any othar
southern state, an average of Sa IN ~
CaPita LOT the school population and $40 n
per capita for the average attendance
cotta, LAS produces more than one-third the
| cotton crop OF the United States
galveston stands third in the LIST os ey
porting cities. During the last fiscal year
uer exports amounted to sI49, 437,54 New
io5h ana New Orleans alone surpass her
ana she Is far ahead of Boston PhiIadeI-
phfa or Baltimore
Inc value of the taxable farm property
OF Texas this year is 500, 900, 900
The income of the cattlemen of the sta ia
iast year was more than $90000OoO from
that source alone
In 1870 there We're only four national
banks In Texas, and their combined indi-
Texas has 800 national banks with indi
Vldual deposits amounting to $92 654, 900.
No Race Suicide There.
The number of children In Texas is 1aroar
In proportion to the population than in any
other state. The average family numbers
o-2 persons, which exceeds that of any
other state in the Union. North Carolina.
Virginia. West Virginia, Minnesota, South
carolina and Tennessee follow in order
BY the census of 1900 there were 45e 444
children in Texas under five years of age.
missouri. with 5000 more population than
Texas. had IS, 40S less children; and Ohio.
with 80 per cent more population, had
20.636 less children
The natural increase In population-not
including imml gra tion-for the entire United
States during the ten years ending with the
last census was ~ per cent. The increa Sc
for that period in Texas was 3OI per cent
during the ten years named Texas had
oi4,Si2 more births than Deaths while New
York had only 234,931 more births than
deaths.
Although Texas is considered new state
larger per cent of her population was
born within her limits than in most of
the other states. OF her 3o4S, ITO popula-
ton in 1860, 2,C91, S7S We're born on the soil
and only 1887 were foreigners, most of
those being immigrants from over the hor
der in Mexico
Although Indiana has half a million less
population than Texas, she cast a quarter
OF million more votes in the last election.
Texas has more peach trees than any
other state in the Union-S 24S 35S in ali
Texas is the pecan state" having 35s
$50 artificially planted trees, and over 500
V0o wild trees. The pecan crop is valued at
S2,JO0.Uoo each year, more than half of II
coming from wild trees. The wild nuts
sell from 3 to cents a pound while tbe'
cultivated nuts bring from 20 to 80 cents a
pound.
Abundance Of Fruit.
Texas has 1.es4,s46 apple trees and pro-
dueed $4,000 bushels last year. She has
over million pear trees, more than a mil
limo plum trees and 100000 Crane bear
ing vines. At the present rate of Increase
Texas will have a greater area In orchar
and vineyards within the next ten wears
than any other country in the world She
has today more than thirteen million fruit
trees and vines and is planting more than
a million every year. In 1897 five ga rIoads
of fruit and vegetables were shipped out of
the state; in 1904, 11,6S7 car loads was the
record.
Texas produces one-tenth of all the honey
raised in the United States and has larger
number of bees In 1904 432, 90S swarms of
bees were reported for taxation, which pro
duced $5l5,3I9 worth of honey for the mar
ket, not counting what was consumed on
the farms The greatest apiary In the
world is near Beeville, in Bee county which
has a population of about 5000 about forty
miles from the gulf coast. This is the only
after
the busy bee. Beeville is seventy-ffye miles
from San Antonio and has population OF
1890 people.
Last year Texas raised 1886, 451 fowls
and 60. 942, $50 eggs. This was not enough
to supply the home demand, and large
quantities of eggs and chickens were
brought in from the neighboring states.
In 1880 there were ia, 1874 farInS IN Texas:
in 1900 there were 352, 1870 farms In 1850
these farms were worth $3.50, 0s4, 1854 as an
praised for taxation; in 1900 they were
worth s962, 476,273.
In 1880 the total number of acres In farms
was SO, 292. 219; in 1900 it was 125, so7017
Texas was originally a Catholic state 1t
was founded by Roman Catholics and in
1925 the people lived under a constitution
which required them to confess the faith
of Rome, under the penalty of the for
fixture of their citizenship. The same year
the Roman Catholics were practically os-
tracized in Massachusetts,. Today there are
ten times as many Catholics in Massachu-
sets as there are in Texas and Texas has
more Baptists and Methodists than all of
the New England states combined
Moral Conditions Changed.
The change in moral conditions has been
quite as marked as In other respects
Texas has always been looked upon as
4