El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-09-10

that OF the lnulan ana Lake Cndu-
tauqua became his goal also. 1t is
said that when the white mans civil
cation covered the country. the beauty
of the lake and the flavor of its fish
corrupted the judiciary Of the country
and claimed in summertime the great
est of the fishers OF men. No wonder
that the good brethren should want to
hold their camp meetings there; no
wonder that Sunday school people held
concIave there where they could dis
cuss methods of fishing for men and
at The same time actually fish for fish
1 believe Chautauqua came out Of
this second factor of climate rather
than from the first or educational
need. Of course the greatness of the
Chautauqua idea accounts largely for
its rapid spread; but you will observe
it only thriveS in such places as Boul-
der, Long Beach, Colorado Springs,
Lake Geneva, etc. Hence 1 claim that
CIOudcroft is an educational asset of
the southwest that We cannot over
look any longer.
The Best of Climates.
I had something TO say as to how
We look after the educational assets
of this country last and it will not be
altogether inappropriate again in this
connection.
Ell PasO is in the center of a region
that rightfulIy claims and has pos
sessed for ages, the most boUntifuI and
varied resources and most delightful
average climate of the new world. And
in due course Of time the eyes Of the
world will be centered upon as they
are now turning toward the most re-
markable section of the American
continent When this does come El
PasO and the southwest will have full
+Ho+
been rightfully her very own since the
first knights Of Spain came to her Dor
ders in search for virgin gold and cit
les of fabulous wealth. They found
neithes of these; but they remained en-
chanted nevertheless to possess the
country as a veritabIe Eden. Before
the artful hand of civilization began
uncovering these hidden resources; be-
fore the Puritans thought of leaving
England; before the Cavaliers were
even born. the natives of this section
were dwelling in cities. lazily supply
ing their want by little irrigation
while their kinsmen of the Mississippi
valley and farther east were roaming
the hills and forests with no fixed
abode, in the oftimes vain attempt to
stalk the means of a single meal. Then
shall we neglect to build upon the ma
ture that fostered a civilization far
above that of the east we now try so
vainly TO initiate? Or shall We not
allow destiny to have its due and pro-
coed al once to carve out an educa-
tional institution commensurate with
our local needs and coextensive with
our wonderful possibilities
What Makes Ell Paso:
The casual tourist upon seeing the
thrift of our little city and apparently
desert country, often exclaims, Where
does it all come from? What makes
the town anyway" They seem to think
the town is here by mere chance and
that We shall wake up some morning
to find the whole thing disappearing
as the mirage Of the desert mist. Not
so; the virgin power of a beautiful ma
ture is behind it all. The nature that
supported a city population before the
white man came, IS here yet. The ma
ture that gave rise to a native civiliZa-
ton when the rest of the continent
was savage, is here yet. The nature
that led the flower of Spanish knight
hood through here and named il the
gateway to the wonderful north coun-
try. is here yet. As Onate. in seeking
the north country was forced by ma
ture 10 pass through this gateway, so
have the mining prospectors and rail-
way construction crews AS the con-
quistadOres of old found it the pass
way to new realms and the strategic
center Of their operations. so the mod
I ern captains OF industry are finding II
their true stronghold and base of op-
erations in this section of the Ameri-
can continents.
Ideas Of the East.
Some benighted denizens of the eff
Terminate east look upon FL Paso and
the southwest as the center Of an
American Sahara, whose native popu-
Iation consists chiefly of centipedes,
tarrantulas. coyotes, greasers, cow
punchers, a few NANCY prairie dogs.
and gila monsters. They think our
chief growth consists of sage brush,
! greaseweed and cactus; that our cat
tie are valuable chiefly for horns,
hides, and the bull ring; that our law
is based upon the ethics of the six
shooter; that our civilization is still
of the leather breeches type We may
not have absolutely the best of the
earth: but our civilization is the happy
J blending of the frontier type with all
the chivalry of Spanish knighthood:
our law is not the rule OF the six
shooter. but the best of the common
law Of England blended with the
matchless laws Of Rome Our cattle
are no longer the long horned type
and our population no longer chiefly
greasers, but we can show more white
! faced cattle ard red faced children
than Carter had cats.
What There Really Is.
We have the cactus it is true: but
We have robbed it Of its spines. While
sagebrush and greasewood are still
here, we can show alongside Of them
hay as fragrant as Maude Muller ever
| raised The prairie dog. it is true in
the past has humbly kneeled on the
back of his heels and fervently prayed
for rain; but the United States gov
eminent is spending $1,000. 600 in an
swer to the prairie dogs prayer and
soon the Rio Grande valley viii rival
the valley of the Nile. Already It is
1 producing peaches that rival in beauty
the blush of a maiden's cheek; grapes
as luscious as those of the hills Of
southern France superior to those of
the imperial valley; and honey whosa
flavor is verify nectar of the gods
Strawberries. yes We have them; but
we are grating onto them the milk
weed OrOducn