The Elbert County tribune., 1907-03-21

It is not generally known that
James Stillman. president of the rich
est bank in the United States and re-
puted to be the financial genius of the
Standard Oil company, was born in
Brownsville. Tex.
IN fact this little city of 1000 peo-
pie. tucked away in the southernmost
tip of Texas. has been not only the
birthplace of many great men, but
the arena of events which not only
made history. but are doubly inter-
esting because of the element of ro-
nance interviewer with them. At
present it is city of memories
dreaming on the banks of the Rio
Graade river, with a wonderful soil
and climate capable of supporting its
population many times over. By rea-
son of President Roosevelts dis
charge of the negro troops who raided
the town, many have first learned of
are aware of the important part 1t
has played in the commercial and
martial history of this country.
In the days of the civil war, Mata-
moras. the Mexican city which lies
directly across the Rio Grande from
Brownsville, was a harbor of refuge
for many who had excellent reasons
for leaving the states and, with
Brownsville, offered practically the
only port in this country from which
the cotton crop of the south could be
exported.
BY reason of these conditions both
citiss attained large populations and
bid fair to be the commercial centers
of that territory. but with the close
of the war. when commerce returned
to its normal channels, the twin cities
of the border, as they were called,
sunk back to their normal quietude
and Incidence.
This was in the days before the
railroad, when post wagon and horse
back were the only means of travel,
and it was in these days that the IA
ther of James Stillman did semi
banking and trading business, first
at Matamoras then at Brownsville.
The house in which the great bank
er was born is comfortable brick
cottage but no more than cottage
and when a mere boy his father decid
lditions in that section, it was best to
lsend the boy and his mother north.
The president of the City National
bank of New York has visited the city
of his birth but once since then and
though he owns a large portion of
the city of Brownsville, he admins
tiers his affairs through an attorney.
Next to the house in which Stillman
was born is another cottage equally
unpretentious. This was the refuge
of one Porfirio DiaZ, who after an un-
successful attempt to become presi-
dent of Mexico, crossed the river in
the night far above the city and ex-
hausted both in mind and body, strug-
gled through the dense growth which
screened him from his pursuers until
he reached his friends in Brownsville.
There for many weeks he plotted and
planned until one dark night he
crossed the river with but few more
supporters than corporals squad
and secured a bloodless victory over
a detachment of Mexicans encamped
on the bank. This was the beginning
of Diaz successful invasion into
Mexico, and 1t is generally believed
to have been far more the result of
currency artfully expended than mill
tary force or strategy. When Texas
decided to cast its fortunes with the
United States, and in the general
mix-up which resulted, Mexico con-
tinued to claim sovereignty over
much of the territory in which
Brownsville is situated.
Diplomacy failed to settle the mat
ter and this little unheralded city
became what might be termed the
civic cause of the Mexican war. Gen.
Winfield Scott, with his army, land
ed at Corpus Christi and from thence
marched to Brownsville.
The first battle of the Mexican war
took place at Palo Alto. about three
miles north of Brownsville. The Mex
licans were repelled. retreating to the
Rio Grande river with Scott's army
lin close pursuit. In scrimmage at
brownsville, Mai. Brown was killed
and the military post situated there
has ever since borne the name OF
Fort Brown.
At Brow nsville the Rio Grande at
tains the proportions of a mighty
river, and increases in dimensions un-
til it reaches the gulf. 30 miles away
This explains the attractions of