The twice=a=week herald. (Amarillo, Tex.) 1887-1906, 1906-09-18

will I thought ; bad declined IA
terms positive enough 70 deter any
ono from proccedng) bui had for
gotten T was dealing With my stem
uous rriend. Mr. zimmemOp
My Naturalization 10 0ppcm' on
nrorram ~ due entirely 10 my In.
ierost in. and respect dpr ,Rc Farm.
crs' coogrcss. / f6ll. hpd Nat recl'
that ! aid not have tho Time nor
The ability 10 prepare a paper wor-
Thy oC this body, But inasmugh 49,
my name is on the program, I shall.
do tho best E'con under the clrcum.
stances, aud beg of.you 20 rcmem
Der that these thoughts are my first
reflections upon the TOPIC IN hand,
and ! might have reasons TO change
them should take more time to de-
llbcrato upon them; but must give
them to you as my first reflections,
! Wish, also 10 state that make
these reflections as one whose inter-
est is Identified with this section
as fatming country In a small
way have tried to show who, this
country will do IN the hands Of prRc'
teal and scientific farmers. Ny sue
cess has been nothing marvellous, but
sufficient TO convince mo that We
are living IN q country rich in ag-
ricultural resources and with posi-
bilties OF great development, ] pre-
sumo / am not expected to boost
this country, .othevs will do that
Whatever else | may have TO
charge againsttha prostom commit
tee, I surg1y have nothing in the
grcatnessy Of the subject am re-
qucsted 30 write upon, namely "The
PanhaHdlc: IFS Pas, Present aud
FuyGre"
4 anhandle Il % nama eiyen 10 that
Bo.e on of Texas which irotudes be-
4 tween Oklahom aud New MMcc.
IL comprises in o., thirty ST cjuo..e',
containing 1888 square miles, 1t
is q plateau region with a maximum
elevation OF 1000 feet above sea
level and an average elevation OF
200 feet It's principal rivers are
the Canadian and the headwarcrs o.
Red river together WITH the Brazos.
The climate Of this section OF the
country is heaitbful and incftora;-
ing It is high enouTs9 y VA hoc
from the mala'ial and pnlc alJhful
conditions that prevail in some por-
tlous Of the South apdt5NAsts Inc
summers are tol apa, 4racinS. IN
tumn is ideal ana white the Winters
are cold for Texas, it Is, not a cold
that IS severe on acc)rpF "f he Gly
atmosphere. The climate WILL be
more correctly appreciated by q cont
parisom with other sections of tbs
state. The main temperature in July
at Galveston is SO degrees, at I'll Pa
so 50 and at Amarillo &c. The cor
responding figures for January are
SO degrees at Galveston, A at II
Paso and 80 at Amarillo. The nor
mall average rainfall at Galveston is
40 inches, at Corpus Christi so, at
Austin 81, at Abilene % and at Am.
arillo "a The soil is principally d
chocolate loan, being rich in potash
but low in heterogeneous matter
The above statement may pass fol
definition or description of the Pan
handle. Let us now turn our at
tention to its history, ITS Past, Ia
present and It's Future.
The past of this section has beer
largely affected by Homestead laws
of Texas and what ! shall say here
is not to be construed into com
plant or criticism, but as state
ment Of fact as | see it, TIL,
founders OF our state intended e
guard very jealousy the rights of tn,
future generations, especially in re
gard to a school fund. But It mus
be confessed that the wisdom Of thei
plan has not been equal to the good
ness of their intention. We hay,
indeed u great school fund, ever
though it Is maintained at the ri
diculous rate Of per cent on on
dollar per acre on amount equiva
lent toyope,lenth tQ, one;flttiqih o
the value ofthe land. Who will NO
say that very moderate school ga,
upon something like arcasopable yal
uation Of the land Mould yield |
more magnificent sum than even on
princely school fund. But ] merel,
mention this fact by way of intro
ductiou to the statement that on
homestead laws have permitted vas
and fertile tracts Of land to escap
into the hands Of predatory corpo
rations. The right of first ocotl
pancy or squatters' rights have als'
under this system adopted, been car
ried TO ridiculous eXtentr Ricl
cattle companies have been allowed