Evening star., 1923-08-28
TALKS and TALES
With and About
CAPITALS GUESTS

the United States next to New York,
1 venture to say that not one person
in a thousand would answer offhand,
the district of Port Arthur. Tex,
4 which includes the adjacent towns Of
7. Beaumont, West Port Arthur and
Z 'ort Neches
This group today, according to r.
c.. Duff Of Houston. Tex. president
of the Waco. Beaumont, Trinity and
Saltine Railroad Company. not only
clai Is such distinction, but can also
show figures which places it fifth in
rank among all ports of the country
in vo Aume of all tonnage handled.
Mr. DUFF is stopping at the Hotel
WASN'T L gton, while attending to bust
ness " 1th the Interstate Commerce
ton Of \. deal by which he secured
the abo, Ae-mentioned road, il being
formed b 3 the Consolidation of two
lines in . xas>formerly owned by the
tails Of II e transaction are now
being com 5leted, Mr.. Duff having
taken hold 4 pril last
Application has already been made
to extend tn nost me ~ iers, miles from 70 It's
ingston to II " Port Arthur district,
which when c pnp1eted will intersectt
en- route a bo W Of 100000 acres Sc Of
timber
00o.O 900 feet of t Inber. thence through
the gulf coast q 1t dome oil produc-
ing district, SCI .'ing the three oil
fields OF saratog. L Batson and Sour
OF ,ba te Jon W Gses M'h
The road will tn . n continue TWEEN
ty miles across thu rice belt into
Beaumont, a city Cd $4,000, located
! at the head of ma 1lgation on IN"
Neches river, and h snce alongside
| of the Neches river =. stream of
about a quarter mile wide and TWEEN
ty-five deep. through Port Neches
and alongside of the governments
| ship canal. constructed around shore
| of Sabine lake to Port arthur and
West Port Arthur.
This district to Port arthur OF
about twenty miles, rep esents the
| most remarkable industri 81 area in
the southwest. Prior to tscoVery OF
| oil at Spindle Top, south of Beau
| mont, the section from Bea almont to
| Port Arthur was deso1ateN prairie
| lands entirely undeveloped. TO-DAY
| the banks of the streams re lined
with great oil refineries, seve L, oper-
ating, and three under const4 = lction'
| throughout the southwest. anGt with
one to three carloads of Met Iican
crude oil arriving daily.
! These refneries run more than oo.-
which is daily being enlarged. Sin GO
| 1900 the percentage of population n
the area has increased 1000 per ceiA'.
! jumping from 10000 in that year, ia =
approximately 100000 today.
In addition the government ha s
| deepened the waterway, up to Beau.-'
1 mont twenty-five feet. making 1t pos
sible for the groups of ports TO hold
! their important position.
| In short order another extension
| northwest to Waco Will be under
| taken, which, if successful. will
! pierce the heart, Of the cotton belt
and create a direct line from that
| city to Port Arthur. thereby relier-
| ing much of the present congestion
! resulting from transportation OF the
normal output of 2.o0o.0oe bales of
| cotton in the section to Galveston.
| Mr. Duf's eyes sparkled as he
| showed where the volume of imports
| received at the Port Arthur group
| last year amounted TO SS50,O0o,oOo,
| while the outgoing ocean t@nnas.
was greater than that OF the district
OF Galveston and greater. too, than
| that of New Orleans
| The exhilaration resulting from
iahearlng of such prosperity was short
i4ived, however. for no sooner had
! entered the lobby of the Hotel La
| Fayette than / ran slap bang into
property owner. who had just re-
| turned TO his apartments after
| three-month trip abroad, SIX weeks
! of which had been spent IN the re-
! stricted Ruhr district.
| Mr. Pickford was anything but op-
! timistic in his report of conditions III
| Europe. and was emphatic In MS decla,
| ration that at present. thlngs looked
most discouraging.
Germany is IN a shocking condi-
tion." said the hotel vler Eighty
per cent of the masses ARE virtually
| starving. and those unfortunate
stricted area of the Ruhr are on the
verge of insanity. 1t is q common
sight to see taxicab driveos eating
their black loaf and one o1Ifon for
|dinner OF course, few protfeers III
the unhappy country are a'aklns
money buying property on time. ana
then waiting for the mark to dethlne
to pay for it. They pay their ia Ses
! in the same way, but the great maAes
have nothing"
Referring to conditions in the RUN
Especially. Mr.. Pickford said tha1
France had apparently lost her head.
| Her treatment of the imprisoned
people is most harsh" he continued
! 'The slightest excuse will bring forth
drastic orders forb!dding any German
to cross the lines. Families are sepa-
handled roughly by Algerian soldiers.
and life for the residents is most un-
| bearable. The invasion is an aoso-
Lutte failure. and is only serving 10
intensity bitter hatreds."
Mr.. Pickford said the attitude of the
invaders toward Americans was none
too courteous. and gave a specific M
| stance, where he assisted the WIDOW
of Gen. Duval in her efforts TO Sc
cure transportation for a young gen
tlewoman from the restricted avea TO
her home IN Frankfort The permit
was granted" said Mr.. Pickford. f'but
when time came for the young woman
to leave 1t was Immediately Ee-
! scinded" -
| On the other hand the tourist said'
hAmericans were treated with all con-
| sderation by the Germans, and that
the populace was most distresseu
when our doughboys left for home.
AS an example of the distress IN
the kaiser's old domain. Mr.. Plcktord
stressed the condition in Wiesbaden.
! heretofore one of the most prosper
Gus towns in all Germany. declaring
that at present more than 90 per cent
| of the shops were closed. great hotets
and dwellings going to rack and rum.
and no hope of relief for the terror
stricken inhabitants.
FsarfulIy down in the mouth after
such a pessimistic recital beat IL
| hot-foot downtown again in search
~ another Texan and, entering the
Il New willard Hotel: nearly upset
DANIEL willard, president of the Bal
timore and Ohio railroad. VINO was
hurryfng from the house to keep an
ensa agement.
Excitedly rushing up to the desk,
begged to be allowed a talk with
some party from the Lone Star state
and was Immediately sent up to the
fourth floor. where I found T. b
Baker of San Antonio. president or
the Baker string Of hotels, with big
houses at Fort Worth. Austin and
Mr Raker was extremely optimis-