Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1909-10-10
RANCH ONE OF
THE GARDEN SPOTS
Of TEXAS
PdinceIy Estate Where PreSi-
dent VIII Visit Brother Gov
ers 10000 Acres and IS
Magnificent Domain
tBy George A sehreiner)

R"A 2AANPfsAtf IVY w
on the beautiful Corpus Christi bay.
within easy reach Of the metropolis
~ the great southwest. san Antonio.
where the DAYS arr warm and make
things grow. n b nights cool 10
give them a resin one of the gar
den spots 81 Texas located the
Taft ranch. 1t Is q princsy domain.
% which. In the oldeu DAYS. would
nave been coveted by kings and might
have cost the read Of the holder.
Large enough to accommodate many
. small European principally within
its borders. II has a soil and climate
hard to equal. let alone surpass. Be
ing located in the rain belt along the
Gulf OF Mexico the many acres on the
ranch produce anything man wishes
Frost and snow are unknown ana win
ter is a season when flowers bloom
and men walk around in their shirt
sleeves. But there is the breeze from
the gulf that makes the shade delight
fully col and the nights Arabian.
For the average man il is hard to
form m idea OF the surface repre-
scented by $4,000 acres In the ian
guage OF the veFnaeuiaT there is som
land 10 such a stretch. Yet this is
only a part OF the Taft ranch This
section is located in san Patricio
county and is known as Ia Quinta
On it is located the Taft home recent
lv completed. Ia EncinaI.' a tract
located IN Encinal and Webb eoun-
ties, Is larger than he former oy
many acres. No less than 100000
acres form its vast expanses Of rolling
pasture land slightly tmbered with
mesquite and huisache.
How Charles z. Taft acquired this
immense property Is q very simple
though interesting story DaSe sin
ION. e pioneer ranchmau Of Texas. ac-
quircd these broad acres in the days
when land in the southwest sold for
as many cents and more often les
than il nov costs dollars Dave. as
he was known all over. had an only
daughter. and later on she became
Mrs. Charles 2 TAFT Simple enough.
is it not
For many years the ranch was Of
no more value than ans other range.
Then IT struck Zig Bits brother that
he might be able to turn the property
10 some ny bringing il in
touch with progress This was done
To-day the ranch is practically a self
contained little domain. Ia It few
months it VIII be this In a greater
degree. The packing plant, which has
been in operation for three wears. VIII
bC increased to . ctrsrif, IF 800 head
Of cattle per day and at least as many
hogs and sheep The expenditure nee
esStry exceeds 100000 There is nov
being installed a 75-ton r~frigerating
and ice making plant with access 10
as pure z supply Of water - ever
came 10 the lips al man. n an cleo
trio light and power plant Mas COM
pietcd some time g Cotton gins.
mills, storage houses ana the Ike
are going up constantly \ vast pro-
ducing and manufacturing center. en-
jnying every convenience and com
fort OF the city. Is thus being created
Naturally a vast number Of people
live on the estate. IN the little town
Sinton live 1900. AT Gregory 500,
at Tart 500 and At Portland 400. All
Of these work on the Taft ranch. IN
the case Of Sinton. however. this IS
not altogether true for tho reason that
the hand in It's vicinity was recently
cut up into small tracts n rented
TO northern farmers
The administration Of such an
estate is no small AFFAIR. As a mat
ter 81 fact the Taft ranch enjoys a.
government % its oWn John +
Green. the superintendent 81 the es-
tate. exercises in some respects the
authority Of a county judge. lie is
the man who settles al disputes and
as peaccmaker generally He
designate Justices OF h peace, a
number OF constablcs and about 20
daputV sherins. Though liquor can
secured in the towns i~ntoNication
means deportation from the property
for this reason H. almost n
known. crime is rarely met with on
the estate. Tndesirables are dealt
with in practical fashion Superiu-
t,ndent Green orders them TO move
on and after that the TAFT ranch sees
them no more
The idustrial department OF the
ranch is managed In the same thor
auEh manner There is 90 head % sN-
ery branch OF activity, q man who has
his promotion by merit and
seniority. Al. however, are RESPONSE
bile Co Mr.. Green. At the present time
J. TumInson is in charge or the cat
he department and C. NJ. Williams
the agricultural department
"a hiie a number ~ other people look
the packing. dairy, cotton ana
other Industries The smooth nam
ner In which the affairs Of the Taft
ranch are being run is. indeed, a val
liable lesson n practical sociology.
Ground Tor the new acres Is be-
cleared every dsv m the year. on
the Taft ranch there Will b. located
next year the largest cotton field IN
the world. il will be twenty-five
miles lyong and will extend one mile