San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-08-12
Hon. Charles P. Taft, Millionaire Pub
Usher, Turned Unremunerative
Waste Places Into Smiling Farms
and Made Fortune For Himself
and For Others.

5000 acres himself and raises much
high-grade livestock. What is known
as the Taft ranch grows about two
million dollars worth of cotton each
year.
IL the reader is farmer in an
other part of Texas and wants to
come TO Southwest Texas, he can
come TO Taft and get lot of costly
experience without the expenditure of
dollar. He can see for himself.
One can see here what is meant by
business farming where the products
of the farms are turned into ultimate
profits at home. The cotton gins are
near the fields, the cotton after be-
ing ginned is compressed at home, the
seeds are crushed at home, the oil
from the seed is refined at home. The
same it is with the livestock products.
/ They are killed and sold as meat by
the home packing plant, and the milk
is turned into butter at the home
creamery. The homefolks get all the
profits from their industry. Only the
squeal of the pig makes music for
the outsider who does none of the
producing. Farming is a finished bust
ness on the Taft ranch. Taft expended
million and half dollars to make
it so. Many other communities would
profit by having Taft investment
and n Green management in their
midst. Then the profits Of produc-
ton would be kept at home. We don't
need any new laws, we need big men
with money in the farming business.
Everybody was afraid to risk the
-. !.
Taft and the management Of Green
took hold. 1t was great expert
ment. 1t proved a great success.
There are many opportunities in
Southwest Texas for more similar sue
cesses.
Industrial Investment Taught.
Every farm, every man almost, has
made investments in various enter
prises. They have bought stocks in
all sorts of enterprises. They hae, al
most uniformly. lost the money in
vested. A great many farmers, rs
well as some other people believe that
financiers are cheats. They believe
that stock companies are bunco games
because they-lost. OF course this is
not true. Most of the wealth of the
country has been created through the
cooperation of individuals and by the
organization of stock companies. 1t
is therefore TO be regretted that SO
many people rate all-stock companies
according to their individual expert
ences: 1t may be said here, that n
is the positive duty that our finan-
ciers owe TO themselves, to put their
talents and their money TO work in
the farming industry, and in doing
so, to do as Taft did. in enabling the
smallest farmer to take stock in cor
porations and showing them that
corporations are just as honest as
the individuals who compose them. and
are no different in their conceptions
of honesty than the individual. The
cotton compress was built by stock
company in which more than 40 farm
ers are stockholders. A cotton mill
will soon be constructed through the
same cooperation. Taft is now max
ing financiers as he helped TO make
farmers. Anyone with grain of
gumption can see that Mr.. Taft is do
ing more than making money. As
Mr.. Price said, "He is doing much 20
make our national life healthier and
happier -.-t-4 80
The Beginning Of Development.
Charles L. Taft fell heir 10 the
Southwest Texas property. 1t was
owned for many years by the Cole.
man-Fulton Pasture Company, OF
which David Sinton, Cincinnati
banker, and the father-in-law of Taft.
became the sole stakeholder. Many
years ago, before Mr.. Taft came into
control. the land was known TO be
fertile, and feeble efforts were made
to get farmers to come to Southwest
Texas and cultivate it. but without
success. Not until Charles p. Taft |
became interested and planked down
a million and a half dollars to prove
the land and pay large sums not only |
for experience in an untried country. |
and to provide the mears for modern |
living. was there any success in the
real establishment of farming, rs n |
business in Southwest Texas. Taft is
the father of it-clear down TO the
Rio Grande border. About the year
1900 Mr.. Sinton. then owner Of the
present Taft properties, owned sew
nral hundred thousand acres in West
Texas and he sent Joseph T. Green