The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1909-07-28
TELLING THE TRUTH.
Donna. TEXAS July ., 1903.

DOuudt 1C1dS july ., StV-
To the Editor of The Herald:
1t is about time there was change
in the general policy regarding this
Rio Grande Valley. Heretofore, the
Information about the valley has
come through real estate owners and
agents As matter of business,
they always put the best foot for
ward and this becomes so much the
habit, that often, they inseasibly
glide into, at first a covering up of
bad points and then of denying them.
Spectators rushed in as with all
new countries. 1t is true that much
land has been sold here for much
less than it was worth. This has
stimulated activity and perhaps to-
day, land, considering the state of
development here, Is higher than 1t
is actually worth. But that land
is to-day sold at higher prices than
it is worth But that land consid-
ering the development of irrigation
and the knowledge of the climate
and the adaptation of the land to its
most valuable crops, is sold at higher
than it should be worth. believe
tIdJ e5OOQ ldIQ Ills FdAlO9 Put AALAO
cultivation and with water and rea-
sonably near a town, will be worth
from $500 to $500 an acre. But it
will not be worth this till it is de-
veloped and till knowledge of what
can be best raised on it, is acquired.
Perhaps the real estate men and
spectators have been necessary to
attract the real settler and developer
but even if so, enough of the real set
tiers and developers have come in
and are at work, to make them large
ly in the majority and their senti- |
ment should be the prevalent one
in the valley.
Those show the highest apprecia- /
ton of the really wonderful charac-
ter of this valley who are willing
that the fullest truth be told about /
it. Those who when you say that |
great damage was done by the re- /
cent flood or that the sun is too hot |
to raise decent vegetables in sum-
mer, say: Hush are the ones who |
really doubt its value. Let US have |
the full truth. The majority of peo- |
pie here now are not land dealers
and spectators. but they are land |
owners and developers They have |
shown their appreciation of the vdue |
of the land by actually settlini on !
it.
Suppose the truth does give tenn
porary setback to an unnatural rise |
in land values, it does not hurt the |
real settler who is looking to the /
value of the crops he raises for his
income. 1t makes no difference to |
him whether his land is valued at |
So an acre or $500 as long as he
gets good return per acre from it.
In fact so many half truths which |
are worse than whole lies, have been
told about this valley, that there are
lot of disappointed and disguised
people who because the truth has
been suppressed in the past, are apt
to believe an evil hint at once and
perhaps enlarge it. Nothing but a
radical change of policy and the tell
ing of the whole truth, can even par
TALLY correct the evil that these
vague, floating rumols will cause.
Hence l heartily approve of The
Herald's policy of not hushing up
perintendent of the Donna canal, has
adopted the same policy and told at
the first meeting of the Donna-Run
Commercial Club. the exact state OF
the canal after the flood and what
had been done 20 remedy it. Thee
was serious damage there that it viii
take from q to 80 days to correct,
but he also told y cry modestly, how
they had damned up a resaca and
were pumping water onto the sec
ond lift from that and were watering
the lands on the first lift from the
part of the canal so that
10 one will suffer from water there |,
Unless one investigates personally
one cannot be sure of the correct
ness of reports and / have found that
so much covering up has been done
in the past, that once a report is
started. the talk of people makes it
worse than it really is. l bring up
.hese reports and make this state
nent to illustrate how badly this val
ey needs the telling of the exact
ruth
Trusting The Herald will continue
IS policy of truth telling as being
lot only right, but at present abso-
utely necessary for the permanent
lpbuilding of this valley, | am
Sincerely yours,
ELTWEED POMEROY.