The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-01-02
SATURDAY. JANUARY 2. 1908.
RIV4LS SOUTHERN Gall
EORNIA.

That Herald readers in other sec
tons may see that the glowing re
ports published in this paper re-
garding the wonderful possibilities
of the Brownsville Country are not
exaggerated, the following editorial
from a recent number Of the Waco
Tribune is copied:
Texas people are just beginning
to realize that here at home they
have a section of the state that in
climate, fertility and products even
more than rivals the famous
Southern California country, of
which Los Angeles is the center. We
allude, as will be inferred, to what
is commonly called the Brownsville
Country or Lower Rio Grande Val
ley.
And the wonderful feature of it
is that up to only FIVE years ago this
country was given up to the ranch
man and cattle and was unknown.
Lands that sell today at $40 to 500
per acre went begging for pur-
chaser at one to two dollars an acre.
The railroad has wrought the
change and revealed the wonderland
that was in Texas. awaiting the mag
lie influence of capital, industry and
energy. The pioneers. who had fore
sight and pluck to go in and acquire
holdings in the new land are reap
ing rich reward. The products are
simply wonderful and enrich the
growers. Lands are bought and sold
daily and values go up steadily-ney-
er down. Lands that sold in
Southern California twenty years ago
at $50 to S1Oo an acre bring $500,
to $1,000 an acre today. The same de
Telopment may be expected in the
Lower Rio Grande Valley.
1T is a fact that so wonderful are
the conditions. the inducements, the
opportunities in that section that
some people viii not credit it They
doubt what is told them and suspect
some trick or deception. 1t is too
good to be true. many say. We
thought of this yesterday when read
ing the report Of Mr.. R. A. Thomp-
son. chief engineer of the Texas Rail-
road Commission. He was sent over
the line of the St. Louis. Brownsville
and Mexico Railway, from Houston
to Brownsville, to inspect the line
and decided on the amount Of bonds
per mile. that shall be allowed to
that road. He spent some time in the
work investigating the country care
fully as well as the railroad, and on
his return ne is quoted in the Dallas
News of Tuesday, as saying:
The half has not been told in the
special newspaper articles of the pos
sibilities and development of that
Southwestern country With the ca
nails completed and under way
total of between 100000 and 100000
acres will be brought under cultiva-
ton.
The country is just reaching that
point where the wonderful possibili-
ties are only in sight. The Browns
vile road will not be able to do the
business ten years from now even
if it is double tracked In proof of
that conservative estimate is that
each of the 10000 acres to be ir-
rigated viii, in the numerous crops
of a mild twelve months, produce
at least three-fourths of a car load of
freight out bound That will be an
annual movement of 100000 cars.
This is an impartial and intelli-
gent opinion and is well calculated
10 impress. Mr.. B. F. Yoakum, head
of the Frisco system, builded more
wisely than most people suspected
when he induced st. Louis capital to
penetrate the pndeveloped country
with railroad. His superb judgment