Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-11-01


all her taxable value. Today. $780,
100000 is fair estimate of her taxable
property. Back in the early '7O's. III
miles of railroad accommodated her
people. Now 1900 miles of railroad
are operated within the state line.
which means an outlay, in round num-
bers of something like $3.50, 600. 900. Texas
holes first place in the raising of cattle.
This item alone means a revenue ar-
gresatins away up in the millions. In
the raising of cotton she leads the
World, one-third of all the cotton crop
OF the United States; one fourth of the
e'tire cotton crop of the world. comes
from TIE Lone Star State. in fact the
world looks to the South for its sunnlv
OF cotton. and if total failure were To
lall upon the cotton crop of Texas. one
half the spindles of the world would he
dumb
Only about one-fifteenth of Texas
lands are under cultivation and vet she
raises one-twclfth in the value of the
entire farm products of this country
Her soil although it varies in different
sections is for the most part y black.
waXy loan. what the Texans call
black hos soil. 1t retains its moisture
even during drouth. Rice raising is
looked upon as being in it's infancy.
Some ten or II years ago when rice Gull
ture was first started in the coast prai-
RE land, bordering on or adjacent to
the gulf. it was an experiment. 1t has
got beyond the experimental stage. it
is a sure crop. and for the past two
years 100000 bushels of marketable rice
has been raised. Sugar raising is an
other industry that has made rapid
strides in the past few years. A little
south of Houston are some of the larg-
est sugar plantations of the South.
One little group in particular raised IT,
0OO.oO0 pounds of sugar in a single sea-
son. Everything that will grow in a
tropical country will flourish in Texas.
L saw bananas. pineapples, peaches,
watermelons, berries of all kinds figs
sugarcane, cotton. corn. and, in fact, a
thousand and one marketable crops
growing like a green bay tree.
The city of Houston occupies a posi-
ton all its own, for it is, today the
largest interior cotton market in the
world. Statistics show there have
peAsoSd "itAiI Ioui ilOIlllS VI d Slf1Sle
season into the gates of the city 20OO,-
600 bales of cotton, or 500 bales a
month. 1866 a day; $40 bales an hour,
day and night. The handling and dis
tributing of this commodity alone is
great business of itself, and requires
railroad facilities of no mean proper
ton to move it. In 1890, Houston had
population of $1,000. Ten years, after
or in 1900, her population had Increased
to $4,000, Il gain of 1900. At the pres
ent time, her population numbers 49,
900, an increase of more than so per
cent in five years This does not in
clude the suburban towns. She pro-
vides for educational purposes for -
900 children between the ages of seven
and seventeen. The school appropri-
alton is divided between the whites and
the blacks. on a pro rata basis. There
are no mixed schools in Texas
While some Of our party were enjoy
ing themselves at Dumlers Garden,
others accepted the hospitality of the
railroad and made a side trip some 50
miles down the line to Galveston. the
oleander city of the gulf, the shipping
port of the South and the Southwest.
Five years ago the waters of the gulf
were coursing through the streets of
this island city, bearing death and
destruction, in it's wake the tidal wave
had done its awful work. The devas-
tation OF Galveston was complete. The
story of the Galveston flood is still
too fresh in the minds Of the public to
need repeating. Today. a new Gal
weston has sprung up out of the ruins
of the Old. A beautiful city few
tlaces OF the horror are still visible.
but the hand of time is fast blotting
out the ruins of the tragedy. The city.
as it stands. today, presents very
pretty appearance. Oleanders and
roses in profusion, that bloom the year
rounG. border the avenues. The gar
dens everywhere are specially con-
spicuOus. for their variety of colors.
and the air seems to be filled with their
perfume.
From east to west the city extends.
from gulf to bay some four miles
across the island. and presents to view
many costly and tasteful residences
and substantial business blocks, but
GalvestOn's chief claim to recognition
as the third exporting port in this
country is her magnificent water front.
She has two miles of wharf frontage
capable of accommodating 30 sea-going
vessels loading at one time. This I
think substantiates her claim of having
the best wharf facilities of any port in
the United States. She has mini
mum depth of q feet of water in the
channel; IS lines of steamers ply to
foreign ports; two regular lines of
Coastwise vessels to New York; nine
lines to ports on the gulf. Her popu-
lation at present is something rising
$4,000. She has magnificent beach
that extends for miles. One of the
greatest pieces of engineering work the
government is doing. today, is the big
wall being built around the city. The
wall is to be 1853 feet long. Is foot
high. is feet wide at the base. Bonds
to the amount of 81, 500 900 were author
lied for the completion of the wall and
filling up behind it. Contracts have
been signed to raise the grade of the
city. This will necessitate an ex-
penditure of something like $4,000, 600
more. and will require, it is estimated,
about 100000 yards of filling. The
city is being raised on stills practically