Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-04-26

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 TO- nance interwoven with them. At present 1t is a city of memories dreaming on the banks of the Rio Grande river, with wonderful soil and climate capable of supporting its population many times over. By req son of President Roosevelt's dis. charge of the negro troops who raided the town, many have first learned of its existence and comparatively few are aware of the important part it 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 harbor of refuge for many who had excellent reasons -for-fenvfng 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 cities 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 indolence.
 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 a semi. banking and trading business. first at Matamoras then at Brownsville.
 The house in which the great bank CT was born is comfortable brick cottage but no more than cottage and when mere boy his father decid. ed that because of the feverish con ditions in that section, 1t was best to send 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. ters 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 corporal's squad and secured a bloodless victory over a detachment of Mexicans encamped on the bank. This was the beginning or nso.. .,,oaeufuf f,vasf0r fr.a Mexico. and it Is generally believed to have been far more the result of currency artfulIy expended than mili- 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 unheraided city became what might be termed the civic cause of the Mexican war. Cen. Winfield Scott. with his army, land ed at Corpus Christi and from thence marched to Brownsville.
 The first battle of the Mexican var took place at Paio Alto. about three miles north of Brownsville. The Mer- jeans were repelled. retreating to the Rio Grande river with Scouts army in close pursuit In . scrimmage at Brownsville. Maj Brown was killed and the military post situated there has ever since borne the name of Fort Brown
 At Brownsville the Rio Grande at- tains the proportions of . mighty river. and increases In dimensions un- til t reaches the gulf, go miles away. ThIs explains the sttrscfions of