The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1908-12-14
THE CREATION
OF WEALT H
IMPRESSIONS OF COL. ". J. BRY-
AN ON VISITING THE VALLEY
No Other Section of United States Of
fers Greater Opportunity for the
Honest Creation of Wealth than He
Found in this Valley.

round IN this valley.
To The Herald:
Mission, Texas, Dec. although
little late perhaps for the publica-
ton of events connected with the re-
cent visit of Col. w J. Bryan to the
Lower Rio Grande Valley, yet some
of his remarks when he was enter
tanned at this place, were of a tenor
that marks them as out of the ordin-
airy and are therefore worthy ofrepro-
duction They embody tn views of
a great man, an experienced and OBJ
servant traveller, upon the opportuni-
ties existing in this Valley.
On his return from Mexico On De-
cember first, Mr.. Bryan got of the
Mexican National train at the old
town of Reynosa, which is situated
on the Rio Grande river, about 20
miles above its mouth, on the Next
can side, and is town that was or
iginally established by the Spaniards
early in the1Sth century.
In the short time he spent in Rey-
nosa, Mr.. Bryan was very much i'm
pressed with the conditions every
where apparent. The old Indian
priest with his stone church. the Gus
toms fthe people, their social and
business surroundings, all reminded
him very forcibly of what he had read
ofthe conditions existing 200 years
ago when the Spaniards first settled
in the rich Valley of the Rio Grande
and began to teach the Indians how
make brick and cultivate the fields.
Business was noticeable only by its
absence. with men looking for work
at so cents per day and women at
IS cents per day, and about the only
industry being the making of drawn
work and the raising of few cattle
and goats. A contented people in a
sunny land, with very few wants and
very little to supply those wants.
Taking a dilapidated hack at the
station, Mr.. Bryan and his wife were
driven to the banks of the Rio Grande
about one mile distant, and crossed
the river in a row boat, arriving on
the American side at the little town
of Hidalgo, Hidalgo county, Texas,
where they were met by Messrs. John
Ciosner and John Conway and escort
ed to the La Lomita ranch. The next
morning, after looking over the va
rious irrigation works being con-
structed in that vicinity and selecting
for himself a tract of land, Mr..
Bryan was rendered a dinner at the
new town of Mission. situated on the
Hidalgo branch of the St Louis,
Brownsville and Mexico Railroad,
forty miles west of Harrington At
ter a dinner composed of vegetables
grown on the ranch, such as green
corn, tomatoes, sweet potatoes. and
celery. he made very happy after
dinner speech, using as his text the
Creation of Wealth. 4"
He began by referring TO the ex-
preston frequently used by Presi-
dent Roosevelt Swollen Fortunes
and incidentally referred to his own
Chicago speech of twelve years ago,
in which the expression, The Crown
of Thorns and the Cross of Gold.
was used. indicating that the main
political issue before the American
people today was the proper distribu-
ton of wealth as between the wealthy
few and the many who are represent
ed by the laboring man who is willing
to do an honest days work for an
honest days pay, together with a
fair share of this worlds comforts
for himself and for his family.
He stated the belief that it is the
settlement of this question that is
largely accOuntablefO for the growth of
labor unions, equity leagues, trusts,
etc, which, in turn are the cause of
corrupt politics, labor strikes and
night riders and various attending
evils Continuing he said that con-
ditiOns existing on the American side
of the Rio Grande were the same as
those existing on the eAIXican side to-
day, until the coming of the railroad
in 1904, followed up by the irriga-
ton enterprises, and in speaking of
the development of our country and
the creation of wealth here on the
lower Rio Grande, he used the illus
tratiOn that the lands represented a
cipher. the water flowing uselessly to
the ocean represented a cipher, the
Mexican labor in idleness represent
ed cipher. and the hand of man in
diligently combining these three
ciphers could create almost any value
by changing the barren desert into
cultivated fields. He stated that no
where else in the United States where
he had been were there in mis- opin-
ion, such opportunities for the crea-
ton of wealth by an intelligent COM
bination of labor and capital as he
found in this Valley. No man could
find fault with any wealth acquired in
developing this land by cutting the
brush off and irrisating and making
it habitable for prosperous COM
munity, which is alike beneficial to
the laborer and the capitalist.