Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1925-04-07
in OUR
VALLEY

Al tOhn
I'M on the street early this morn
ing and were thoroughly "bawled OUT
because of conditions surrounding the
Improvement of Brazos Santiago har.
Dor.
Not being a member of the board nj
army engineers, nor having any officia
connection with the harbor work. tht
bawling OUT rolled off. the writer like
water off ducks back.
However. the commodore, whose OK.
periencc with harbors goes way back
almost into the middle of the last cen.
tury, is an earnest advocate Of great
harbor at Point Isabel. There is none
who is more enthusiastic when its pos.
sibilities are up for discussion.
The commodore. it will be recalled by
all except those who have come to the
Valley in the past half dozen years or
SO, was leader in one Of two schools
of thought with reference to Brazos
Santiago.
Commodore Cobolini Of Brownsville
began fighting as a ''red shirter" with
the famous Garibaldi back in the sos
and he has been fighting ever since.
Only the scene has shifted.
1t shifted from northern Italy to Gal
weston. then to Rockport, then back to
Galveston, and then to Brownsville.
1t was some IS or 20 years ago that
he came to Brownsville He engagea
in the fish business. retired from it
somewhere about 1910 Soon after com
ing here he became identified with agi-
tiago.
He continued with the work for many
years. finally securing recommends,
ton by Colonel Richie. u. S. district
engineer in 1910, for some 30 feet and
jetties Commo odore Cobolini has helu
to the jetty idea right along. He rever
believed that the work could be accom-
plished in any other way. But the gov
crnment did not believe the expenditure
justified, and the jetty idea never "go,
over"
About this time there developed an
other school of thought. It's idea was,
since the government would not under
take jetty project, to begin har-
Dor on small scale, and demonstrate
by using it that a real hsroor was just.
fled
A campaign was started. and in 1911
the government made a modest appro-
priation of $65.OO0 to drcdge the outer
channel on the bar. and $4,000 annual
ly for five years for maintenance pur-
poses; provided, the people of this sec
tion financed the dredging Of the inner
channel estimated to cost about $125,,
600. guaranteed its maintenance, ana
standardized the railroad between
Brownsville and Point Isabel.
Time dragged along for while.
Eventually the people raised S125,000.
mostly in small contributions, and the
railroad has been standardized.
The people turned their money over
to the government to be expended. The
government let the contract for both
tn. inner and outer channel dredging,
and work started in 1928 on the inner
channel
Work halted on the inner channel in
December when it was discovered by the
u. S. engineers office in Galveston thai
the peoples fund of $125,000 had be-
come exhausted, and about $4,000 more
was needed to complete the inner chan
mel work The people owe the contractor
about $1,000.
There the matter stands.
Government engineers recommended
the character of Improvement that i
row underway. but experience IN at
tempting to drcdge the outer channel
has now caused doubt to aIlse as TO
whether it will be feasible to open
channel across the bar and keep it open.
So say the present engineers, none Oh
whom were connected with the original
recommendation.
Major J. L. Schley. present district
engineer, in Brownsville yesterday, az
though concerned about the $1,000 owed
the contractor, says it will not be ne
cessary to complete the inner channei
until It has been demonstrated that the
outer channel can be opened.
And the engineers are not at all con
vinced that the outer channel cannot %
opened. They are going to try lt. lne
government, through Secretary OF wa
Weeks himself has assured the FaiieS
that every possible effort will be maos
10 carry the project through
The idea of a harbor at BrazOs San
tiaro fs not entirely Twentieth Cen
tury idea.
Rack in 1867 a Brownsville dan!
newspaper constantly agitated an I'M
proved harbor at Brazos Santiago. II
fact. the newspaper story OF bfazos
Santiago Of the past Is years Is the
same story. in some cases almost woro
,,,ord that was written in the Daily
Rancbero of Brownsville 90 years ago