Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-09-13
II REQUIRES HOURS
TO TRAVERSE TEXAS;
STRANGERS CONFUSED
Fasteners Don't Realize That
New York Chicago Distance
Is Tied.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.

IN reading news of the Mexican
horder troubles those VINO live in the
cast and north have little or no CON
ception OF the magnificence of dis
tances in Texas. and OF the s%tupend-
Gus undertaking General Funston was
facing in patrolling even the Texas
Mexican tine with the 5000 to 1000
troops he had available before the war
departnlent came to his assistance.
1t really seems that persons of those
sections regard Texas as "a marrow
strip of land lying along the Mexican
border. with every square mile of it
In constant danger from Mexican raids.
Wfllc. as a matter of fact. there are
points in Texas where Texans feel al
most as foreign to the Mexican Dor
der as do Canadians.
a young mar from Chicago. a few
weeks ago. was in \ position in Hous-
ton. Tex. His relatives. reading in the
Chicago newspapers OF the raids in the
Big Bend country .f Texas. wired him
To come home immediately and keep
away from the border. They did not
take the trouble to ascertain that the
young man was IS hours on the fastest
train in Texas from the nearest avail
acie point to the herder-Del Flo.
31-Houe Trip.
The actual time consumed in going
from Houston to M Paso is 81 hours.
n distance OF So miles BY the nearest
rali route This distance is only ia
miles less than the distance from New
York to Chicaco-at1 miles. Which is
mdae in is hours en- the Twentieth
Century Limited.
Those going from Houston 10 ST.
Louis make the trip eight hours
quicker than those going from Hous-
ton to IN Pase. although the latter
trip is On a direct line and the former
is over three or four. differen, rail-
roads.
When General Funston ven to Ell
faso from San Antonio TO attend the
SONS reading the dispatches could not
understand why he should ave FL
f'aSo one night and not reach Fort Sam
Houston, San Antonio. until virtually
the same hour the following night. The
reason is that it is $50 miles from San
hours to travel it The distance is ia
miles greater than the distance from
Chicago to Pittsburgh.
Travel 80 Miles.
The distance from Echo. Tex. the
most eastern point on q direct railroad
route. to FL Paso. Is 9s4 miles, or three
miles less than the distance from New
York to Chicago.
1t requires eight hours of travel to
go from Houston to San Antonio, and
1T takes IL hours TO make the trip from
Dallas to San Antonio. The distance
from Houston to San Antonio is 2l3
miles on a direct railroad route, and
from Dallas to San Antonio is 2SS miles.
The latter trip is also made on a direct
railroad route.
Nj distance from Brownsville. Tex,
on h gulf coast, the easternmost point
ON the Mexican border, TO Ell
Pas0. the western terminus of the Dor
der. is more than 1900 miles. When it is
taken into consideration that this dis
taEce is greaser than the distance from
New York to st. Louis by $40 miles. it
can easily be seen that the stupendous-
I;ess Of General FunstOn's undertaking
is appalling.
Another wrong impression among
people not familiar with conditions on
the border is that the Rio Grande
should be sufficient to keep the Mexi-
cans on their side. il the bridges were
aiken away. The Rio Grande is called
a river at certain times during the year
purely through respect for its condition
at other times. just at this particular
time. when the dry season is at it's
height. at many points. and, in fact AL
most all along the Texas-MeNican bor-
dee. the stream is narrow enough for a
child to step across.