Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-11
PEARSON MILLIONS
TO DEVELOP TEXAS
Mexico Northwestern Man AC-
quires 100000 Acres for
Big Irrigation Works
Especial to The Herald)

SAN SaAN L OANLSJ LOAst COSs AOs cll
of the Pearson millions which have
been poured so lavishly into the devel-
opment of Mexico and in the building
of the great water and power plant at
Necaxa for the City of Mexico are to
be expended in one of the largest irri-
cation and power projects Southwest
Texas has yet seen. Agents of Mr..
Pearson have been quietly acquiring
large tracts of land bordering on the
San Antonio, Medina, Guadalupe and
other rivers in the neighborhood Of San
Antonio, to the extent Of 100000 acres.
The plans of this now world famous
financier embrace the getting of new
wealth from the soil of this section to.
the extent Of millions of dollars an
nually.
f. S. Pearson, at the head of the
Mexico Northwestern railway system,
on his way to New York, accompanied
by his family and railroad officials,
stopped over in San Antonio to thor
oughly go into the work already ac-
complished by his representatives.
While here he viewed the land desired,
making the trip overland back to the
city by automobile from Encinal. There
he was met by his chief engineer, c. H.
Kearny.
Already arrangements have been
made with the state for the placing of
dams and power stations in and at
the streams required in the big project.
Water will be diverted from the river
on to the land for irrigation purposes
by a system OF canals and laterals, and
the 1000 acres, in the great major
ity, that are now wild and uncultivated.
but with thick growths of mesquite
and chapparal, showing the richness
of the soil, will be cleared and turned
into farms and placed on the market.
CHEAP POWER AND LIGHT.
The power generated from the rivers
promises to revolutionize conditions in
this section OF the state, since the
small cities and towns, and even San
Antonio itself, will be in q position to
receive cheap power and light. Owners
of land partly cultivated and who do
not desire to sell are being approached
in a proposition of giving a portion Of
it in exchange for water rights in per-
petuity. 1t is predicted that 5000 fami-
lies at least will be occupying these
farms, and that the land will be pro-
ducing within a few years crops worth
between twenty and thirty million dol
lars. Perhaps these figures may ap-
pear exaggerated, but an income of $500
an acre annually Is a small figure from
irrigated land in this section of Texas.
1t is q conservative figure, based upon
actual returns.
Pearson is interested to the extent of
many millions in Mexico and Brazil. On
his work at the NecaXa dam he is en-
ploying between 5000 and 10000 Mexi-
cans. While in San Antonio the rail-
road and power plant builder said that
his present plans for Mexico called for
the construction of 500 miles of road in
the northern part of the republic. The
line from Chihuahua to Ell Paso will,
in his opinion, be in operation by June
1 next, as there now remain but fifty
miles OF this to build. The copstruc-
tion still to be continued is across the
divide, and much of this will be in the
nature of tunneling. There is ample
capital, according to Mr.. Pearson, to
carry out the project, and he could see
no reason why the work should not go
forward without cessation.
English money is chiefly financing
the undertaking. He said concerning
any future trouble in Mexico he looked
for nothing serious, as the officials are
prepared to meet any emergency. Re-
garding business conditions, there is
evidently prosperity in the republic, as
the National railways are showing an
increase in earnings, and the same
holds good in other commercial enter
prises.
Mr. Pearson has been supplied with
Typographical and other maps of the
southern part of the state, and it Is
probable that in connection with his
big power and irrigation scheme there
will be other developments inspired by
the capital he controls. He said that
the remarkable success attending farm
ing by irrigation in the San Antonio
territory, as shown by the fortunes
made in the growing of Bermuda on
ions at Laredo and other points In the
Rio Grande valley. and the large re-
turns from truck crops generally, would
with the growing and eager demand
from the north and east for these fresh
vegetables, which Texas can ship for
northern markets while the blizzards
still linger in the lap of winter, assure
the success in far greater degree of
irrigated farming. It is expected by
Mr.. Pearson's engineers that active
operation will begin within the next
thirty days, and work will be rushed
so that by this time next year the canal
system and power plants will be in ope-
ration.