Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-05-13
CAPITAL Of TEXAS
WORLD CITY ONCE
Austin as Seat of Republic
Welcomed Diplomats From
All Nations.

Austin, third Texas city to be i'm
periled by the forces of nature in lit
tie more than week, has played an
Important, but not generally known,
part in American history" says a bull
!, letin from the Washington. ID. c.,
h Headquarters OF the National Geo
graphic Society. in regard to the cap
ital of Texas. the outskirts of which
were struck by a cyclone.
When Washington, capital of the
United States, was little more than a
village of mud streets between 1886
and 1916 says the bulletin, Austin
was similar world capital the seat
of government of the independent
republic of Texas, which for ten years
existed as the Reformation of the
United States. Ministers and special
ENJOYS Were accredited to the repub-
lie by the United States. and half a
dozen or more of the leading nations
OF Europe; and the forms and ameni-
ties of world diplomacy were carried
out punctiliously in the little capital.
Most of the legations have been
torn down now to make way for mod
ern buildings. hut traditions still lin
ger of The efforts of the French and
BrItlSh ministers to gain. the greater
influence with the young. republic. and
of the watchfulneSs of the represent
iAtive of the United States to see that
no loopholeS were created to facili-
tate an attack on the Monroe doctrine.
Descendants of some of the families
or the diplomats are residents of the
city today
Selected Like District of Columbia.
Like the District of Columbia,
Austin was located by special COM
missioners charged to select a credit
republics government. This was
Immediately after independence had
been won from Mexico. They chose
tract on the Colorado river among
gently rolling hills just below where
the stream breaks from range of
low mountains. So the modern city.
set on its series of heights. has for
background a great sweep of purple
hills that adds greatly to its scenic
attractiveness.
But these hills have more ut,li-
tartan aspect than that of a pictur-
esque setting for the capital of Texas
In past geologic times a tremendous
cataclysm occurred, which formed
300-foot cliff for 500 miles across
Texas along the-line of the eastern
edge OF these now rounded hills. This
is the BALCONIES Escarpment. fast be-
coming commonplace term in finan-
cial districts; for along its line have
been discovered nearly all of the
great Texas oil fields that have
spouted and are spouting their mil
Preserves Memory Of Republic
Austin preserves a memory of the
only republic to enter the United
street, Congress avenue, Along this
thorouShfare were situated the con-
gresSional halls of the nation. At the
head of this avenue, on the crest of
commanding Hill, is the present
state capitol. Its architecture, like
Ia
is largely borrowed from the Capitol
at Washington, and it is almost as
extensive. being the largest of the
forty-eight StatehouSeS
Texas, being sovereign nation,
was the only one of the states to re-
serve for itself it's public domain.
One of the important state functions,
therefore. has been the maintenance
of a land office like that of the fed
eral government. The state capitol
is a monument to this unique condi-
tion, for the state was able to OBJ
tain it's huge government building
without the expenditure of cent of
money by 'bartering' to construc-
ton syndicate tract of 100000
acres. This was a negligible portion
of the public domain. though it COW
cred an area more than twice the
size of Delaware. 1t was kept intact
for years by it's private owners and
constituted the most extensive cattle
TdnCn III existence.
Has Huge Dam.
THE present-day Austin is credited
with a resident population of $4,000.
but the presence of 5000 students of
the State University and the inmates
of more than half a dozen state insti-
tutions carries the total during the
greater part Of the year close to the
1000 mark.
ACROSS the gorge of the Colorado
river, just west of Austin, is one Of the
largest of American dams. which forms
in the mountain-rimmed canyon a lake
thirty miles long. 1t was constructed
by the municipality as source of wa
ter and power, but with the numerous
mountain streams emptying into it. it
constitutes popular playground as
well. The breaking of the dam a dec
ade and a half ago is the only other
natural calamity that has befallen the
city. The losses were confined to the
river bottoms. Since then the struc-
ture has been replaced and heightened"