Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-09-18
I'm OUR
VALLEY


MOST or Us, if we think at all
about the many services performed
by the United States Weather Bu-
reau. think Of whether cold or hot
is predicted. possible effect Of wea-
ther changes on crops and roads.
whether there will be frost, or slcar
or cloudy weather.
But there are other services. Not
ably in the construction field. II
IS important to the bridge builder,
or example. TO know whether floods
are due. He wants 10 know that his
piling will stand, that his false
structure will not 90 into the river
at a crucial stage in construction.
Which accounts for a letter pub
lished recently in the daily bulletin
of the Department Of Agriculture
from the Puget Sound Bridge a. Con-
struction company, which built the
Gateway bridge IN Brownsville.
The letter, which gives an inter
esting angle to weather bureau ser
vice, says.
"Now that we have completed the
erection Of the new steel arch-span
bridge crossing the Rio Grande from
Brownsville. Texas TO Matamoros,
lamps. Mexico, we would feel re-
miss il we failed TO express our
thanks to those who have been Of
material assistance 20 us in the
prosecution of the work.
I'VE invariably enlist the cOopera-
tion Of the weather bureau when
undertaking a construction job, and
for obvious reasons. In accordance
with this policy We asked the local
weather bureau office 70 furnish us
with daily bulletins covering reports
on the weather and. particularly
the river stages at this point.
"These reports were sent us reg
ularly each day, and were invalu-
able to Us During the spring flood
here in May the work Of erecting
the main steel span was at a very
+, dangerous stage, due to heavy drift
/ in the river lodging against the
falsc-work niling which supported
the span under construction. At the
\ most critical period or this flood
i your official kindly supplemented
his usual daily reports with tele-
graphic reports from points up
river rs 10 flood conditions. This
service helped very materially in
enabling Us TO get our work in safe
condition 70 withstand the floods
that did materialize. A blunder at
this critical time might easily have
caused the false-work to fail and
precipitatc the entire bridge into
the rver. Had this occurred, the
river would almost certainly have
been forced out Of its course, caus-
ing untold havoc and terrific finan-
cial losses. That this did not occur
was due IN No small measure 10 the
assistance Of the United States wea-
ther reports.
Hence this wholly voluntary cx-
preston Of our thanks TO the de-
partment for maintaining this valu-
able service 20 the public and 10
parties vitality interested in the
yagaries Of the weather. II must be
generally true that construction
companies throughout the country
benefit immeasurably through ad-
vance notice Of storm and flood con
ditions.r
J. Il. HULL. who lives IL Mission.
believes in dates fer the Valley.
Mr.. Hull has just harvested eight
lunches of dates from one tree.
They weighed about thirty pounds
bunch.
He wants % 80 into it CONNER
sially.
Down below Brownsville n few
miles there is a date plantation.
Many thousands of trees. In two or
three years they will he at the bear
ing age.
The progress Of this date planta-
tion is being watched with interest.
One day 1t will prove itself
THINGS ARE HAPPENING in the
ola town Of Hidalgo.
Months ago Hidalgo received
bridge-an international bridge.
New life entered the old place.
New buildings and homes went up.
Now Hidalgo is 20 have a water
system, according 10 the Hidalgo
News.
The Central Power a Light COM
pany has announced il will install
the system. and build a 50.000-gal-
Ion standpipe, the News says.
THE GROWTH Of Corpus Christi.
nder the impetus Of its new port,
reflected in its property valua-
ions for 1928.
The figure is announced a. ST.
boo.
This is an increase az Sl.sSI, no.
a boost Of l2 per cent in a years
me.
IN South Texas Brownsville IS
md in valuations. The 1928 fig
are expected to 20 near md
rhaps above SI5.G00.000.
Giving Corpus Christi a lead Of
ne two and 4 half millions Of
: ,lIars.