Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1912-08-02
A YEARS PROGRESS
At SAN BEN|TO
OUTLINED AT COMMERCIAL
CLUBS ANNUAL BANQUET
Secretary Graham Reports Great
Strides in Development and Shows
Excellent Work Of The Club for
that Thriving Town.

To The Herald
San Benito, Texas, Aug. 1.-The
annual banquet of the San Renito
Commercial Club, held at the club
rooms on Monday evening was q
very successful event. The pariici-
pants, including members and
guests, numbered 119. The menu
was fine. A general spirit OF en-
thusiasm and good will prevailed
and several of the prominent men,
bers made talks which breathed de-
! termination TO continue push the
very substantial work which the
club has done for the upbuilding of
/ the community.
/ The principal feature Of the oc-
casion was the annual report of the
secretary, J. A. Graham. which fol-
lows:
Secretary Graham's Annual Report.
At this, our second annual meet
ing We should feel more grateful
than ever before at the growth of
San Benito and vicinity. At our
meeting last year our pledge was to
to procure during the year 1911 and
1912, ending July 1, 1912, was: A
big tourist hotel, cotton seed oil
mill and cotton compress. a local
fire company equipped with good
hose and hydrant. laundry. a
creamery. a bottling works, sewer.
good streets and drainage We have
been able to procure all the abYe eX-
cept the tourist hotel and ! believe
we have that matter SO well under
way that at the end Of our next fis-
cal year we will be able to look upon
such a structure. While our cotton
oil mill is not built, we have closed
a contract with c. II. Bencini TO
erect such a mill and he has con-
tracted to have the mill ready before
July /. 1913. or else forfeit $4,000
in cash He will commence work on
this mill by October 4.
1--WE have also voted bonds OF
$455, 100000 for the drainage OF the
San Benito section While all of
our lands may not yet need drain
age, it is we'll to take time by the
forelock and commence this impor-
tant work before the land becomes
water logged. All level irrigated
lands must be drained or they event
ually become sour and water logged;
there is no exception anywhere.
This work is a big undertaking and
1t will require about two years TO
complete it.
''The interurban or spider web
railroad has been extended to Santa
Maria and other points; this rail-
road Is one of the most important
assets Of our city; it will reach out
with it's two webs Of steel and bring
the whole surrounding country 10
our city. The preceding plant has
been completed, enabling us TO ship
all kinds of vegetables to the mar
kets of the North and East, arriving
there in perfect condition. Our two
cotton gins have been enlarged from
ten stands 10 twenty-eight stands,
making them two of the largest and
most modern gins in Texas.
Sam Robinson, that untiring
! booster, has sold the sugar mill to
syndicate of Eastern capitalists who
are now planning to put in cultiva-
tion 5000 additional acres of cane
and will erect two other large sugar
mills adjoining the one we now have.
"Our ice factory mas closed con
tract with the Frisco railroad TO ice
all refrigerating ears and they agree
TO take not less than 10000 tons Of
ice per year
New Business Enterprises.
During the past year the follow
ing new business houses have opend
their doors: A new lumber yard,
first class moving picture show,
three oil companies have located
depots here, another bank TO he
opend soon, Edwards and Lavender
have erected a machine shop with
turn lathes and machinery for TAX
ing care of heavy machine work. the
San Benito hotel has built fine
new brick addition. the Landrum
and Haywood ambitions have been
opened up and many thousand dol
| lars have been expended for cement
J sidewalks around this tract and
! about sixteen new dwellings erected
thereon. We have built a splendid
new club building adjacent the de
-. - efna0 M oua car