The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1909-11-09
TRAVELLING WITH TAT
Especial correspondence.1

OAC VI Luc SlldH IOWHS on CQarleS l..
Taft's ranch. The stop afforded a fine
opportunity for the president to recu-
perate from the fatigue of his long trip.
There was real seclusion for him, as
only few of the members of his party
accompanied him to the home Of his
brother. The newspaper men had head
quarters several miles from the ranch,
and the only communication was by
private telegraph and telephone
Army Of Men Employed.
During his stay on the ranch Presi.
dent Taft went over the big place pref
ty thoroughly in automobiles, several
of which We're at his disposal This
125,000 acre tract of land and its vari-
GUS interests and industries are divid-
ed into several different departments
which give employment at this time to
about 225 men.
Even the cowboys here have lost
their picturesqueness They live in
little communities scattered over the
ranch, each of which has direct con-
nection by telephone with La Quinta
residence, where Mr.. Green, the man
ager, resides These cowboys are
steady, Industrious men whose chief
work is to see that the wire fences are
kept in repair.
Land Values Enhanced.
1t was upon this ranch that the first
extensive experiments and practical
demonstration of farming in this part
of the state We're made, and as a re-
suit of the wonderful success in this
line the value of the land has increas-
ed from So and 81 an acre to $40 and
$50, all within the last five years. 1t
was the common theory before these
experiments were begun that dry land
farming could not be successfully car
ried on in this part of Texas. Since it
has been proved that it is one of the
best farming regions in the state hun
dreds of thousands of acres of ranch
lands have been divided into smaller
tracts and placed in cultivation. Mr..
Taft sold $4,000 acres off his ranch adj
jacent to Sinton to farmers, still leav-
ing 125,O00 acres, none of which is for
sale.
Winding Up In Texas.
The president left his brothers ranch
Friday night, Oct. %, at 7:20 o'clock,
making an easy run to Houston, where
he started his zone night stands"
Houston was brief stop. He ar
rived there at 7:10 a. NJ. leaving at
1890 a. m. The program at Houston
included a breakfast by the prominent
business men, after which the presi-
dent made public address. Many of
the residents of Galveston joined in
the celebration at Houston.
From Houston the president made a
daylight run to Dallas. the north Tex
as metropolis. The Dallas chamber of
commerce sent delegation of a hun
dred business men to Houston as an
escort to the president while travelling
in their city The president reached
Dallas at $50 p. M, Oct. %. A half
hour later he made an address at the
Dallas fair grounds, which is the home
of the largest state fair in the south.
The president remained in Dallas
overnight, leaving there for st. Louis
on Oct. "a.
Down the Mississippi.
When the presidential party reached
st. Louis it included Vice President
Sherman and Speaker Cannon. The
plans for the visit and the trip down
-the river to New Orleans, where the
president will attend the fourth annual
convention of the Lakes to the Gulf
Deep Waterway association. had all
been arranged some time before. The
president was met at the train by a
large reception party and taken to
breakfast at the Hotel jefferson.
At 10 O'clock the president spoke at
the new Coliseum at a meeting for
which $4,000 invitations had been is
sued. At noon luncheon was served at
the Planters hotel, and at O'clock the
party went to East st. Louis, ILL.,, to
attend the laying of the cornerstone of
the new federal building in that city.
Returning at o'clock, the presiden-
tial party boarded the steamer Missis-
sippi and started on the down river
trip. Six torpedo boat destroyers act
ed as escort en- route to New Orleans.
More than thirty river steamers, many
of them carrying delegates to the wa
terways convention, were in the feet.
At Cairo and Memphis.
The first stop was made at Cape Gil
rardeau, where elaborate preparations
had been made for entertaining the
men of the fleet. At Cairo, ILL.,, Mr..
Taft stepped from the upper deck Of
his steamer on to the upper deck of
the wharf boat where he was met by
the reception committee and escorted
to stand built on the lower stage of
the wharf boat, facing the levee slope.
which gave the president fine speak
ing position and location which am
ply accommodated an audience of 3d.
600 Mayor George Parsons, who had
charge of the Cairo end of Taft's visit,
had the Fourth regiment of Illinois
guards and the Danville battery there
for the occasion.
The party arrived at Memphis after
breakfast on the morning of Oct. 81
and at $50 o'clock, after the exchange
OF civilities on board the presidential
steamer, the civic committee, headed
by Governor Patterson and Mayor Ma
lone and including vast array of
Tennesseans, conducted
Mr.. Taft to the u NJ G. A. building
which the president dedicated.
Then, steaming down the river, with
brief stops at Helena. Ark. Vicksburg
and Natchez. Miss. and Baton Rouge,
La, the party will reach New Orleans