Amarillo daily news. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 19??-current, 1921-02-20
PALMER FURNISHES
INTERESTING FACTS
Transportation
FULL THOUGH BRIEF RESUME or
PLAINS COUNTRY COMMERCE
AND TRANSPORT iTiON

ttt haNuaHNt't taHlH NHAlNhfl q
Commerce and the Amarillo Board n
City Development viii b. found dccid
edly Interesting:
AZ IN all other sections ~ this coun
try. commerce and all It's adiuncts Il
the Panhandle Of Texas have grow
natural conditions which furnished IN
form and dictated The fashion and III
rection q It's development The sam,
great pasture land ~ the Plains which
made the Panhandle the fayoriic rang,
Of the buffalo and the hunting grcun,
81 the Indian aborginc offered TO IN.
pioneer white man its sweet grassoi
and running streams Tor susicnancc ii
his cattle herds and the opportunity fol
lucrative trade. and tho first settle
ments were trading posts and suppl,
depots for Indian trad. ranch head
quarters. As the country developed
and the cattle trails SPREAD. centsrr Of
trade and routes u rude transportation
were defined. This development va,
rapid.
Thirty years after the csiablis hmcni
OF the town q Denver. the mining
camp. Dodge city Kansas. had bocome
the center Of distribution u tn cattle
OF West Texas and New Mexieo In their
journey 10 new owners and the pastures
Of Kansas, Nebraska. Colorado. Wyom
ing. Montana and the Dakoias Trinl.
dad had become an important trading
point. Tascosa was the center ow the
cattle interests both north and south
q the Canadian River. and Amarillo
marked spot where conyerged mum
erous cattle trails reaching out to ths
vast regions Of open range 10 the
South and West. To the Southf Lub
beck was the nearest outpost % civil
ntion. Mobeetie. on the east and For;
Sumner. y. ~. to the west. Thousands
upon uncounted thousands u the
horned heads q beef on the hOof were
scattered everywhere. The buffalo. the
hunter. the Indian. had passd away
and the land was ripe fur invasion b.
Organized commcrc and lransporta
ton.
In 1857 the Fort Worth & Denver
City Ry. reached down into this cattl,
country by way u Trinidad. Tascosa
and Amarillo. Al once the reign passed
away from Dodge City and Amarillo
became the concentration point 81 the
cattle q the Plains-the greatest
cattle shipping point In the world. Ten
years afierward the Santa Re came into
the territory from the northeast for its
share a the business. closely followed
By the Rock Island from the east and
the Pecos Valley Lines from the west
and southwest the Cattle Trai
Route'-Amarilo's riory az a cattle
shipping point allp.al away rapidly 20
the westward as agriculture encoach
Cd upon the range. until now the day
o. the long drive is almost gone and
The business pretty well distributed 10
al stations. Important towns nov
lift their roofs and spires. In even
center while all around about them
and In every nook and corner the In
dustry q agriculture spreads its pro
ducts 20 the sun. Here and there al
frequent intervals rises the smoke 81
manufacture and community enterprise
and the twin rails u transportation
furnish trails q commercial interrela
lion.
Forty years ago. when the first rail
Dads from the north and east pene-
trated south Texas. they encountered.
Cd the competition Of water iranSporta.
zion at the Gulf ports. Within a shor,
time an adjustment had been reached
BY which a certain territory was esial,
ished wherein common point--m
'blanket' rates-applicd. on the one
hand this was influenced by the traffic
coming into Texas from the great cate
way on the Mississippi Rivcr-St
Louis-through which flowed the com
merce coming by rail from the east. and
on the other hand the traffic from the
Atlantic Seaboard moving on wates
rates and lower basis.
Outside OF this common point terri
tory was the grea; differential Territory
comprising the western half u the
S,Ate. wherein freight rates were fixed
upon n certain varying scale over com
mon point rates. Gradually. as other
lines from the north and from the Cult
ports penetrated this territory. the com
mon point blanket was extended until
at this time the dividing line on IN,
north Il At Quanah on the +. W. a
ID. G. Railway and a, a point north O.
Snyder on the Santa Re and al BiG
Springs on the west. The entire regior
81 the Panhandle and South Plains IL 1t
differential territory as regards rate
from 81. Louis and territory q the east
north and middle west. With respec
70 rates from the Gulf all this terriior,
has the common point tasis with M
exception Of the =. W. a u. c. north q
Amarillo. the Rock Island line. ID
Lubbock.Texico cutoff u the santa y
and It's short branch lines In the s0ut
Plains.
West Of the Panhandle lies the hig
rate territory ~ New Mexico and N
Rocky Mountains. that great barrier I
transportation IN all is length froi
Mexico 20 Canada Is crossed BY onl
five lines q railroad.
Freight rates IN the Panhandle has
been built up IN a certain rclationsh
10 the Texas common point adiusimel
which was influenced by water comp
fiiion. The situation has developed fro
natural conditions and the demands arr
inK from the development q CONNER
and trade. Distance. or mileage. h
played it, part. ~ coure. but that
only one element Of the problem.
The aPnhandle Il penetrated
The Panhandle r. penetrated :
communication with the Gulf. the =. '
a d. c. IN the east the Santa Pc
the west and the Rock Island coRir
from the asst and traversing this ~
ton from east 20 west. These ha'
hronrhi 10 Us 4 nerlaln nlare On th