The Galveston Daily News. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 348, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 7, 1897 Page: 9 of 20
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Pages 9 to 20.
I SHOE STYLES, j
♦
About the last thing one
Would think about change J
of styles is in shoes. Not, *
however,-is Dame Fashion ♦
satisfied with a constant X
change of shapes, but now ♦
has decreed a new color— ♦
a dark shade of red—Ox £
Blood—is the color. You f
are even put to the extra ♦
inconvenience of using a a.
new polish with the new 7
shoe. Rather hard to ♦
describe the new shape— X
it's a full round toe. You t
might not be prone to ac- ♦
cept the new shape or +
color—more conservative t
shape in new color—new Y
shape in more conserva- ♦
tive color. A new lot of J
$3.00 "Royal" Shoes in. ♦
New colors and shape to J
TWENTY PAGES.
SECOND PART.
*
55TH YEAH—NO. 348.
GALV
TEXAS, SUNDAY, MARCH 7, 1897.
ESTABLISHED 1842.
AFTERMATt
A DIGEST OF THE AFFAIRS OF TO-DAY. »v
BY W. C. MOORE.
this infusion of new blood v.fll J,
| E. S. LEVY & CO, i
«► Complete Outfitters. +
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
If 1OOO FOR A FIUHTINU COCK.
Probably the Costliest Hit of Poultry
Anywhere.
Now York Press.
Both had seon better days—not days in
■which they were healthier or wealthier or
happier; but days In which they were
stronger and more Impetuous, more eager
for the fiercer sports which arouse all the
animal that is in man. Both were well
groomed, prosperous looking. There scarce-
ly was the suggestion of advantage about
them, although each had from each.
And the eyes of both brightened. The
question thrilled them. It unloosed a flood
of reminiscences and for tho timo football
and racing passed the half-century mark.
They had been classmates in college. They
had been foremost in athletic games. Often
they met, as they did an evening or two
ago, in an uptown club, just to talk over
and live over some of tho contests and
maddest escapades of the days when for
them there was no to-morrow.
"Seen a cocking main lately?" was tho
query of a friend who joined them.
"It seems like a thousand years since I
saw a main, good or bad," was the reply
that came, and boxing and running had
to give way to recollections of stolen trips
sometimes into the woods, sometimes to a
deserted shanty, but more frequently to
some well regulated roadhouse where wine
flowed fast, money was plentiful and tho
game cocks did battle until one of them
could not raise his head from tho pit floor
—or, as it sometime^ happened, until' both
were dead.
"It was brutal, but it was thrilling," was
the verdict that passed in a tono such as a
man adopts when ho has done something
not quite proper, but for which, right or
wrong, he can have no regret. "It may bo
—1 suppose it was wrong," continued the
speaker, "but the spiritual part of man is
not his strongest part. And when a man
sees two good cocks sparring, with all the
skill of a clever boxer and lighting bravely
to the death, the animal takes possession of
him and for the moment ho is dead to ev-
erything but the issue of the contest."
"Let mo give another turn to your
thoughts," said tho man who introduced
the subject. "I have seen a few mains my-
self, although not many of recent years,
and I have seen some big money bet on
them, i have yet to hear, though, of any
phenomenal prices being paid by* local fan-
ciers. Homo weeks ago, at a poultry show
in Birmingham, England, Captain Jleaton
of Worsley, Manchester, acting for the. earl
of Ellesmere, paid $HX)0 for a black-red
game cock. Tho price struck me as being
a record breaker, i certainly never heard
of any such ligure being paid on this sido
of tho Atlantic.. Tho exports consider this
bird to bo one of the soundest colored ones
ever reared. One of his best points is his
tail. Ho has.a magniticent reach and in
size and shape is remarkable."
The old-timers thought a minute. They
delved into their memories for a trace of
a gamecock who had been sold for $1001).
"If any bird in this country ever com-
manded such a price," one of them finally
said, "my memory does not recall the bird
or the price. But at tho pit-side I have
heard men offer as high as $uOU for a bird,
the transfer to be made on tho instant. As
a rule, however, the men who made such
offers were gamblers, with big money at
stake.
"While wo have not paid much money
for our gamo oocks. we have spent a lot
of money on them. I have known $5000 and
more to be at stake upon tho issue of a
main, and when passions arose, as usually
they do rise in men gathered around a pit,
the wagers were limited only by tho
amount of money which each spectator
had in his clothes. J.
"Those were tho days when Philadelphia
and New York and New York and Long
island birds did battle. And such mains!
I would give a year of my life to experi-
ence the sensations which weivTnine when
I thought so much of a good main that I
would make a day s journey to seo it."
Americans do not pay the fancy prices
which gamecocks command in England.
They do not bet their money as they did
once, nor do they take the same interest
in the sport. Cocking mains are extremely
rare in tho east. They have lost the semi-
respectable patronage whioh once they
commanded, and the end of the gamecock
seems to be not far distant.
There Is an old roadhouse within gunshot
of the l-larlem, one at Perth Amboy and
two other places in New Jersey, and two
or three on Long island where pits are dug
and mains witnessed once or twidb a year.
But beyond these places the gamecock as
a tighter has no home In or about tho
greater New York.
Cock lighting is brutal!—the most brutal
of all sports. The present generation wastes
little love upon a main. It takes to health-
ier and cleaner and better forms of sport.
It is just as well, perhaps, that there are
few $1000 birds in America.
Lent.
For The News.
In youth we hold high carnival
As hurrying to and fro,
We laugh and shout amid the rout
Thronging life's gay corso.
Time, armed with scythe and hourglass.
Marshals the merry throng;
And sings the rapid changes as
The pageant sweeps along.
We pluck the fairest flowers of youth
To waste in wanton play,
And sack the treasure vaults of love
For sweets to cast away.
And when the lights of hope are dimmed!
By disappointment's blight,
The thoughtless crowd in mocking tones
Calls out, "Without a light."
The fiowrs fade, the lights burn low,
A hush succeeds the roar.
The sand runs out; Time swings his scythe;
Life's carnival is o'er.
Time shifts the glass and ushers in
Age's penitential fast;
'And thickly strews each bended head
With ashes of the past.
—Nanna Smithwick Donaldson.
Santa Ana, CaJL
Whether tho new administration will
stand the shock, or whether it will be tum-
bled from its mount by the lance of the un-
terrifled, is an important question. The af-
fairs of goveniment have been turned over
to the self-styled grand old party only on
the express condition that national credit
should remain gilt-edge. Without the sound
money ally drawn from tho Simon-pure de-
mocracy another William would have eaten
of the sacred diamond-back and dipped his
beak in the holy wine of tho late fiesta.
There will soon be an army of madcaps
thundering at the gates of the citadel and
their rams will bf^Kittering at the wralls.
The same pressure treat Cleveland and Car-
lisle successfully withstood will be brought
to bear on McKinley and Gage. The dema-
gogues browsing in outside pastures where
grass is short, will rowel their pet hobbies
up to the national corn crib and bid the
Cantonese hostler have them well curried
and fed. That particular malgrowth com-
mon to both parti'es will insist that silver
be paid out on gold demand notes. The
push are well intrenched in this field, hav-
ing for precedent the threat made by Daniel
Manning, secretary of the treasury during
Cleveland's first administration, to pay half
silver and half gold on such notes. This
same bluff was run on Carlisle, who refused
to align himself with the Manning threat.
Tho jingo will get his tongue into the .Mc-
Kinley ear and the silver warriors will en-
gage Mr. Gage. Should either be unhorsed
in the tourney, disaster will result. With a
foreign war on our hands and Mexleanized
silver in our pockets we may vainly sigh for
a return of the piping times of Cleveland-
ism.
* * *
And now that you're In
I'll give you some pointers. By which is in-
ferred
My remarks will apply to the plc-bltlng
herd,
Who will camp on your shadow, by fear un-
deterred;
With smirk and with grin
Will shake your right arm till for mercy
you beg,
Each will show you his game and ask you
to peg
Him a hole or two higher, and pull on your
leg
Like the devil on sin.
And now that you're in,
Be careful and watch our own Roger Q.;
He is loaded for bear and also for you;
There's no way of telling what Roger will
do.
You might stick a pin
Right here to remember. He's got a great
scheme
For unlimiting coinage of spelter. The
steam
He blows off would rattle a far gentler
team
Than yours, with its din.
And now that you're in,
Keep your weather eye cocked on Teller,
whose shame
Stayed away from St. Louis. The man and
his name
Are in perfect accord, each being to blaine
For voluble sin.
As for fiery Tillman, you'd better observe
Whether fulminate's stored in his mouth.
To preserve
Sweet peace 'twould be wise to take out the
nerve
Of his flexible chin.
♦ ♦ ♦
To Inquisitor: That my doctrines are not
•always in perfect alignment with the edito-
rial page of this paper need not surprise
you. The News .occupies a unique position
among newspapers, for the reason that It
permits its readers the privilege of viewing
both sides of a question. It is this broad
policy that issues tho license accorded to
me.
• « »
Were I asked to name the most potent
factor in the fomenting of our troubles X
would point Instantly and without hesita-
tion to the modem newspaper. This cease-
less kick against concentration of capital is
the straw with which the laborer Is most
easily tickled. The incessant grinding of all
these mills turned out the famous Chicago
grist at which all the world laughed. The
endless pounding away at the rich will final-
ly turn the wage-earner's brain and every
market place in the land will sport its guil-
lotine in gory action. The workman did not
know he was oppressed until the unbridled
press edified him. Were editorial comment
to give both sides of the question In the
same article and leave the decision to the
reader, no objection could be urged. Or
were the editorials written squarely, with
no intent to.Dander to party depravity, po-
litical clique and the morbid ear of the rest-
less class, no evil could result. That there
Is a growing tendency among the dema-
gogue-lted poor to despoil the rie'll by agen-
cies little less than mechanical, is self-evi-
dent. While the re-enactment of bloody
French history In our day is an almost in-
conceivable possibility, yet tho tiger in the
restless class showed its teeth last Novem-
ber. It must be admitted that those who
pulled their sleds to the top of the hill have
tho privilege of sliding down It again. Yet
in disregard of the soundness of this theory,
sensational newspapers raise a. hue and cry
every time a party of millionaires blow in
a dozen fortunes at a single jollification.
This is feeding the tiger. Men who, by pool-
ing their money, have been able to launch
enterprises of vast extent, with consequent
benefit to labor, are ham-strung and broken
on the editorial wheel for their pains. Again
the tiger dines. To the wage-earner I par-
ticularly speak. Granted, for the sake of
argument, that combines are sucking your
blood, suppose they be Lexowed out of ex-
istence and the mill shuts down, will these
ranting leaders feed your little ones? Will
they supply yon with bread tickets? Each
new labor trouble evolves labor-saving ma-
chinery of new design. Herein lies your un-
doing. A law suppressing alike the wind-
jammer on the stump and the word-jammer
at the desk will be a necessity of the future.
I speak with the voice of inspiration in say-
ing that if these false doctrines are toi be
always poured into the willing ear of the
discontented element, the ending of it all
will bo a demolition of the gold standard;
after that, a reign of terror. Were I a3ked
to name the most potent factor Inimical to
prosperity I would point instantly and with-
out hesitation to the modern Lexowmaniac-
al newspaper hounding capital out of the
country. Were I asked to name an agent
whose kindly offices can secure foc-the un-
derfed millions three meals a day and an as-
sertion of their manhood, I would point In-
stantly and without hesitation to the mod-
ern plow. « « .
Now that the only Hanna has been slated
for public service, it is more than likely that
if iii I
to tho same. While I eona id«fc the a aii's
view on tariff matters to be fuiVey, yjpt he
would insist on thorough honesty, In others,
and will very probably put the Pelir of God
Into the hearts of the congressional safe-
crackers. Hanna considers himself respon-
sible for theu^adminlstration. As he is its
god-father, he will keep a keen eye alike on
tho disbursements and the receipts. While
McKinley Is apt to prove but little more
than a figurehead, yet he has gathered some
strong men around him. The mugwump
Gage, aside from being brainy and honest,
is straight goods on the coinage question.
Hanna, although not in the cabinet, is fath-
er-confessor of William McKinley, and any-
thing Mark says goes. The extravagance
of congress is little less than a legal system
of brigandage. Its members depend for re-
election on their ability to pull the national
leg. I have great faith in the coming sena-
tor, Mr. llanna, as an Old Sleuth to check-
mate tho safe-crackers. This $t. John cried
to us in the wilderness that the Messiah of
prosperity had been found in Canton and
would soon be on deck. Hanna is already
baiting his line for a presidential nomina-
tion. No one knows better than himself
that if the McKinley administration is an
extravagant fiasco, Marcus Aurelius will
lose his political head.
* * •
The statement of the Rev. Blagdcn of
Boston that a suicide will suffer eternal
post mortem torment for the reason that
God In making, tho man forgot or refused
to provide him with intellect, was tho
church's sweetest dogma in the dark ages.
Aside from our belief in the authenticity
ot the Bible, neither Dr. Ulagden nor my-
self has any means of knowing whether
or not a man has a soul to be tortured.
During my three years' stay in Yuma,
Ariz., an oasis town in the Colorado desert,
i think at least twenty cases of men dying
from thirst were brought to my notice.
These men were mining prospectors, and as
many as three at a time were found by
search parties sent out by survivors, who
managed to crawl on hand and knees Into
the settlement. What I wish to make plain
is this: In each instance of these deaths
from thirst, the pack animals of the dead
men would be found at water holes which
occur on the desert. If between the man
and the mule a soul to be tortured existed,
the mule had it. If the man had it, it cer-
tainly deserted him in the hour of ex-
tremo peril. When men are perishing from
thirst thiey get rattled and force their ani-
mals, who can scent water, in directions
contrary to where the tanks are. At this
crisis the soul should take command of tho
mind, else what is the use of having a soul?
If our friends do not help us in times of
dire necessity, what Is the use of having
them? To prevent controversy, I state as
my belief that not only has man a soul,
but that he has a dozen.
• • *
New York has troubles of its own. That
giant of mixed good and evil, Lexowism, is
industriously bludgeoning the commercial
combines. The New York World, which
claims to have forced this Issue, alleges
that the rugar trust Las made a clear profit
of $23(1,270,000 on an investment of $20,<i00,000
in ten years. There aro no means of know
ing what the World is worth, for news-
paper valuation is largely made up of what
is termed good will. It Is not probable,
however, that tho concern could be bought
for $2,000,(XX). This sum would build and
equip four first class refineries. Is it pos-
sible that the proprietor of that paper is
content to earn a paltry ten per cent on
that sum in the newspaper field, when he
could convert his sky-scraping building Into
a sugar house and double his money every
year? Tho same paper, commenting on the
decease of tho steel rail trust, says that
"Another thing which added to the trou
bios of the railmakers were the enormous
demands made by outside steel makers,
who threatened to go into the rail busi-
ness," and named tho Ohio steel company
and the Johnson steel company as intiml-
dators. This sustains the position I lately
took in saying that no field yielding ab-
normally large profits can long be held by
one combination of investors. Idle capital
and free trade are able to clean up monop-
oly much bettor than it can be done by the
World, whose building is so high that the
top of it can mot be seen on a cloudy day.
• * *
"And does my little son know what the
bell on the shetp says?"
"Yes, mamma. It says Dingley, Dingley,
ding."
'; * •
It may be remembered that somo timo
ago I advised a correspondent of The News
who was in fitting mood to enlist in any
of tho American insurgent companies, as
by this means he would be kept at home
and prevented from feeding himself to
Cuban buzzards. That I spoke by inspira-
tion must now be accepted. At that timo
tho states were alive with proposed organ
izations, who merrily whetted their knives
i'or Spanish carving. To-day these would-
be makers of history are plowing in oats,
or if not, should be, which allows the prin-
ciple to remain the same. One Dr. Bul-
son, a Californian, dissatisfied with losing
only 20 per cent of his patients, publicly
announced his intention of joining the in
surgents, whereby his dead could be
handled in cargo lots, lie drew about him
a great following, rampant and brave. Tho
going of them never occurred. The fight-
ing doctor is now pacific. He carves not
the Spanish trooper, but the Ingrowing toe-
nail. His powder will be used in tho small
boy, not in Cuban guns.
To Mr. Smallbore: Your inference that I
am bidding for notoriety Is incorrect. Tho
appearance of my stuff is a cold-blooded
business proposition. I am employed by
The News to help entertain its readers,
When I can no longer do so I will lose my
job.
During the late high winds the wires run-
ning between New York city and Key West
became crossed with my grapevine system
Tho correspondence between a paper in
that city and its new special in Havana
came through my sounder. I offer you
some of it, which Is hardly a breach of
faith, as I am not a party to their af-
fairs:
Havana.—To tho Whirled: Everything
quiet on the island. Presented my letter
of introduction to Mr. Weyler. He is a
gentleman and treated mo very kindly.
Said ho was glad to sec new reporters, as
possibly there might be latent truth in
them which could be developed by kind-
ness. There is no fighting going on, and,
as far as I can find out, nothing but sprint-
ing matches havo yet occurred.—Jinks,
New York.—To Jinks: What are we pay-
ing you for? The Evening Scoop an-
nounced a Cuban victory and 1000 dead
Spaniards. The Morning Get There had out
an extra increasing the fatalities to 1500,
and not a vest button shot off the Insur-
j gents. Always wire "Beast" Weyler, not
"Mr." If you let tte Scoop and Get There
hang you up again we will send a man to
take your place.—The Whirled.
Havana.—To the Whirled: A magnificent
Cuban victory was achieved yesterday. The
llower of the Spanish army is in full re-
treat toward this city, leaving most of
their tlour behind them. The carnage was
frightful. The only casualty occurring to
tho insurgents was that of Captain Piernes
Madera, whose wooden leg was shot into
toothpicks. Beast Weyler is preparing to
evacuate the city. During the engagement
the insurgents' dynamite gun burst near
the muzzle, leaving the caliber sticking out
three feet. While this was being sawed off
to fit the reduced length of the gun, the
crown troops made their escape.- J ink*.
New York.—To Jinks: You are doing bet-
ter now. Do not let Weyler evacuate Ha-
vana, as that would end the war. We did
not exactly understand matters regarding
tho bursting of the dynamite gun. In easo
you get things mixed, tlx it up in your
next; it will make good reading. Send
another Cuban victory for to-morrow's ex-
tra.—The Whirled.
Havana.—To tho Whirled: Again have
tho banners of haughty Spain been trailed
in tho dust. In the battle ordered for this
extra 10,000 crown troops were slaughtered
like sheep. No Cubans were killed. Tho
reported bursting of the dynamite gun was
an error; it was the caliber that burst, not
tho gun. Tho piece was soon made ready
for action by sawing off three feet of the
gun to lit the reduced length of caliber.
Beast Weyler and the remnants of his
wrecked army are starving, and so am i.
The remnants will be put on the bargain
counter and marked down to i'9 cents. For
God's sake send me some money. Jinks.
New York.—To Jinks: You are either
crazy or drunk. Come home.—The Whirled.
IT illAliEOS ALL MALI).
Plant
Carious Effect of a Tropical
Upon All Tliut Kat It.
Pittsburg Dispatch.
According to a lecture recently delivered
before tho British association by Dr. Mor-
ris, one of tho most eminent of English
botanists, the fruit, the leaves, the young
shoots and even the seeds of the wild tam-
arind, or Jumbal plant, produce depilatory
results of an extraordinary character. Tho
plant in question is to be found in all the
tropical portions of Asia, Africa and Amer-
ica; but it is especially in tho West Indies
that Dr. Morris had the opportunity of
studying its effects, not only on human be-
ings, but also on animals and birds.
The latter, after a prolonged diet of Jum-
bal seeds are described as rapidly losing
ill their feathers—the numerous parrots
and cockatoos in particular, no longer able
to fiy, hopping about liko toads in the un-
dergrowth in a slate of most helpless and
ridiculous nudity. Horses, mules, donkeys,
pigs and sheep aro affected in a similar
manner. Brush makers would lie unable to
find even a solitary bristle upon a porker
who has been gorging himself upon tho
pods of tho wild tamarind.
Jackasses who have been feeding upon
Its leaves present a singular mangy aspect*
while the first effect ot the plant upon tho
horse Is to deprive It of any caudal graces
that it may possess, converting that par-
ticular form of equine adornment into what
is known as a "cigar tail."
hiill more strih ng ar-- the results nf the
wild tamarind upon the human being. It
immediately diminishes the growth of hair,
and if the diet is continued, not only does
it produce complete bah mess on tho crown
of the head, but even brings about the dis-
appearance of tho eyebrows and eyelashes
Dr. Morris attributes 11;i - singular effect
to the presence of some volatile alkaloid in
the Jumbal plant; but this was contested
by some of the other members of the asso-
ciation in the debate which followed his ad
dress, und i.t is pointed out that meat which
does certainly not con lain any alkaloid
properties produces similar results when
taken in excess.
Dogs that are fed exclusively on meat
almost invariably lose their coats, while
the famous Japanese wrestlers, who feed
almost exclusively on raw beef, present
both in their abundance *>i fat and In their
extraordinary lack of hair, much the sarm
appearance as a pig that has been feeding
upon the pods of the wild tamarind.
On the other hand, baldness is practically
unknown among the poorer classes of Eu-
rope, who are compelled by their poverty
to subsist almost exclusively upon a vege-
table diet. Indeed, sum*; of the most emi-
nent doctors of the old world who make
capillary conditions a special study, declare
that they frequently succeed in checking
the fall of hair by prescribing milk rice
eggs and fruit, meat being strictly barred,
BABIES-PROOF DOGS.
A Simple Operation Performed by Mr,
Lawyer's Father.
Baltimore Sun.
Mr. lij. J. Lawyer, state fire marshal, who
has been interested in the children who
were sent to the Pasteur institute to bo
treated for tho bite of a mad dog, said yes-
terday:
"My father, William Lawyer, who is an
old man, has always been fond of dogs and
he has always performed an operation on
all the animals he has owned to prevent
them from having the rabies. He has had
but one animal affected, and in this case
he failed to take the precaution as ho had
done with the other dogs.
"When ho was l. years of age a German
blacksmith, who lived at Hanover. Pa.,
owned two puppies, lie called my father
one day and said: 'William, I will show
you something which will always bo of
use to you.' Taking one of the dogs, tho
blacksmith placed it oil a boot top, and,
pulling its mouth open, pulled the animal's
tongue out. Then he took a sharp knife
and made a slit under the dog's tongue,
then took an awl and forced out a small
worm. When he had completed the opera-
tion tho blacksmith asked father to try
his hand on tho other animal, which ho
did. Tho blasksmith then said: 'These
dogs will never have the hydrophobia. It
they ore bitten by a. mad dog their jaws
will lock and they will not bo able to open
**The fir© marshal said his father had
taken the precaution to follow tho black-
smith's advice, one of the dogs, which
had been treated by this process, was bit-
ten by a dog which was mad, and In a
few days tho mouth of Mr. Lawyer's dog
became locked and the animal died with-
out indicting any injury to any one.
Mr. Lawyer says ho would liko to have
some of the medical fraternity experiment
with two dogs, taking tho worm from the
tongue of one and leaving it in the tongue
of the other, then inoculating both with the
virus from a dog known to have been af-
fected with the rabies.
Philosophy.
For The News.
There's no clothes like, the old clothes—
They're old friends, fast and true,
And learn to fit each wrinkle,
As old clothes ought to do.
There's no shoe like an old shoe-
Though appearing old and worn,
For you never know you're wearing a shoe,
Though it be all tattered and torn.
There's no hat like the old hat,
Whatever else is said, ....
For it fits the lumps and all tho bumpa
On prince or pauper's head.
KM POllT OF TUB 1IOAHD OF 1
GLNEHUS APPOlvrffiD TO FX-
AMI Mi T11B
Willi a View to Pu re base by the Gov-
ernment—Should He Owned by
tlio United States.
ot dredging would lie required to give a
navigable channel 16 feet deep up to Velaa-
co, one-half mile of this being at the en-
trance, between the jetties and jusl above.
hstlniates of the cost of the work by Mr.
C orthell and Colonel Abuer Taylor are,
then given. Mr, (.'orthell estimates tho to-
tal cost at 1-12.11. This estimate, how-
ever. includes cost of jetties, interest re-
ceiver's and other legal expenses, reor-
ganization
mil i i
of way alone;
There's no glove like the old glove,
In our own or foreign land,
For a glove once worn, though soiled and
torn.
Can ne'er fit another hand.
—W. P. .Washburne,
Senate document No. 13S, Fifty-fourth
congress, second session, containing the re-
port of the board of engineers appointed to
examine the works at the mouth of the
Brazos, made with a view to their pur-
chase by the United States, together with a
letter from the secretary of war and docu-
ments accompanying the engineers' re-
port, has been received. The following
xtraots are taken from the report proper,
references to accompanying documents be-
ing omitted.
The physical characteristics of the Brazos
river are given us follows:
The Brazos is one of the principal rivers
of Texas, it rises in the northwestern part
of the slate and runs through the central
or agricultural bell of Texas. Its length Is
about 800 miles, and its watershed embraces
about 30,000 square miles. Its low water
discharge at Richmond, a point seventy
milas above its mouth and below all Impor-
tant tributaries, was found by Lieutenant
(now Captain) '/Ann, corps of engineers,
United States army, in 1NS7. to be 800 cubic
t per second, but it. is probable that it is
sometimes much less. Its high water dls-
harge near its mouth is said to exceed Go,--
0H0 cubic feet per second. The vertical
range between low and high water is IJ
feet at Bolivar Landing, 4D miles from its
mouth; and at Waco, 430 miles from its
mouth, it is 38 feet. At all stages it is
navigable as far as Bolivar Landing for
boats drawing about four feet; and in
former times, before the railroad bridges
which now cross it were built, small boats
during high stages of the river went as far
as Washington, 205 miles from its mouth.
Above this point the liver is obstructed by
numerous shoals and rapids, whicji render
navigation impracticable. It has no navi-
gable tributary, The lower sixteen miles
has a width between banks of 300 feet at
tho upper end, increasing gradually to (500
feet, and a channel depth varying from 111
to 30 feet.
Unlike any other Texas river, the Brazos
flows dlreetely into the Gulf of Mexico
without the intervention of a bay. Be-
yond the month the entrance is obstructed
by a bar, which, before any works for im-
provement were begun, had a low water
depth varying from three to nine let.
The position and direction of the channel
were its variable us its depth. These un-
certainties rendered the river practically
valueless for commercial purposes, and led
to the construction by the state, about lsiis.
of a canal about ten miles long, leading
from the river at a point, say, thne-
fourths of a mile above its mouth, into
Oyster bay and thence into Galveston bay.
A channel of about four feet was for a
number of years maintained by dredging.
In August, 1806, Lieutenant Judson, corps
of engineers, in reporting tho results of a
recent examination, says that its width
varied from 40 to 80 feet, with a maximum
depth in cross sections varying lrom two
to seven feet, but generally from two and
a half to three feet.
This is followed by a history of termor
projects for deepening the entrance to the
mouth of the Brazos, together with a state-
ment as to the formation ot the l.razos riv-
er and dock company and its operations.
The report says:
Section 3 of said act reserves to the I.nlted
States the right to pay to the company the
value of their works, either during their
construction or after their completion,
whereupon all right of the company to said
works and to the franchises under which
they were built shall cease.
In connection with the foregoing and us a
nart of the same enterprise, a largo body ot
lands near the mouth of the river, amount-
ing to about 20.000 acres, wen- about this
time acquired by the same parti* the title
to these lands being held by the '! • xas land
and Immigration company, a company in-
corporated under the provisions ot a former
constitution by a special act ot the legisla-
ture of Texas, approved October 24, 1871.
The report then recites the operations of
the Brazos river channel and dock company,
and the views of Mr. M. L. Cart hell, chief'
engineer of the company, as to the feasibili-
ty of obtaining a channel twenty feet deep
and 150 feet wide, with a central depth ot
twenty-three feet at the mouth of the Bra-
zos by the construction of suitable jetties.
Of the results accomplished, the report says:
The result of these works, as claimed by
the company and shown oil their maps, has
been to replace the channel depth of six
feet found in March, 1881), before ihe works
were begun, by a depth of twenty feel in
March, 18915.
In considering this claim it should be not-
ed, In the first place, that the depths given
are measured, not from the usual standard
of mean low water, but from the plane of
"average fiood tide" or mean high water,
by which, as hereinbefore explained, all
soundings are increased 1.3 feet. The rea-
son given on behalf of the company by Mr.
Corthell for this departure from the com-
mon usage is that in consequence of a spe-
cial provision of the act of March 3, 1875,
authorizing the construction of South pass
jetties, all soundings there were relerrcd to
average fiood tide, and that the same plane
of reference was used by him at the Tam-
pieo jetties. But as no such provision is
contained in the act authorizing the Brazos
river works, and as the use of any plane but
that of mean low water Is to violate almost
universal usage and introduce' misunder-
standing and confusion, we think the new
custom will be more honored in the breach
than in the observance, and that ail sound-
ings should be stated in the usual way. Do-
ing this, we find that the limiting depth
over the bar and between the jetties, at dif-
ferent dates, has been as follows:
Feet.
March, 18S9. before the jetties were be-
gun, as reported iu Mr. Wisner's pu-
per, page 032 ^ 4.7
December, 1891, as shown by United
States coast survey chart 11.5
March, 189G, after completion of the jet-
ties, as shown by survey of the Brazos
It Ivor channel and dock company 19
January, 1S97, as shown by the survey
made bv the board by Mr. II. L. Marin-
din, United States coast and geodetlo
servoy 14.8
From these figures It appears that while
between .March, 1SS9, and March, 189G, there
was a. deepening due to the jetties of 14.3
feet, there has since the latter date been a
a shoaling of -1.2 feet. This change in the
channel depths at different seasons of the
year is of the same kind as that observed
by the United States engineers before tho
jetties were begun, and is due to the same
cause, namely, the different stages of the
water in the river.
The survey of March, 1890, when a channel
depth of 19 feet was found, was made soon
after a freshet, while that of January, 1897,
when 14.8 feet was found, was made after a
period of comparatively low water. Doubt-
less the channel depth will increase after
the next freshet, and then diminish, as it
has done the past year. A series of obser-
vations extending through several years is
necessary to determine to what extent the
shoaling may go in very dry seasons, but
the experience of the past year shows that
the ie.ttles alone can not maintain a channel
depth of over J5 feet at mean low tide. To
secure more than this at all seasons will re-
quire a resort to dredging.
The survey just made also brings out tho
fact that In tin* river about a mile above the
shore end of the jetties there is a shoal sev-
eral hundred feet long on which the ruling
depth is only 14.3 feet. This bar is shown
on the coast survey chart of 1889, since
which time it appears to have remained
substantially unchanged. Its removal will
no doubt require dredging. A half mile
further up the liver is another bar with a
ruling depth of 13.7 feet at mean low tld
Pages 9 to 20
the river l ank, railroad and terminal la -ti-
lt ies, hotels, artesian well, docks and ware-
houses, etc. Colonel Taylor's estimate w
$1,449,02!i, including Interest up to March I,
18SMI, or, with interest and services of offi-
cers up to date, in round figures,
The latter estimate dors not Include the
hotels, terminal facilities.. ,.i0., other than
for the jetties proper. The hoard of en-
gineers thinks the amount charged for In-
terest. legal and reeei\ersilip expenses,
should not be included in the cost of the
works. Willi these eliminated, the board
estimates tho bona fide actual cost, at
$ I. (CO, 02r(. Some of the drawbacks met by
the company, with accompanying increased
cost, arc given, and the conclusion is
reached that to rebuild the works, "either
by the government or a private, corporation
with ample resources and good manage-
ment," would cost JiJOOO.
As to the value of the works to the
government, the report says:
The last question suhmit'ied to the board
Is as to the value of the. works to the
government of the Bulled Stales. The an-
swer to this depends largely upon Ihe an-
swer given to the further question whether
or not there are. good reasons, for opening
the mouth of the Brazos at all. For if not,
the works, no matter what their excellence
nor how great, their cost, can have no
\alue. whatever to tho government of the
United Slates.
Upon the feasibility of such an opening
Brazos river to commerce the considera-
tions submitted b\ Mr. Foster, manager of
the Brazos, river channel ami dock com-
pany, are very important. There can he
no doubt that the opening of the Brazos
river to navigation by small beats and
barges and the establishment at its mouth
of a port for vessels drawing is or i!0 fe.-t
would reduce the ratea for transportation
throughout the whole valley, not only on
the freight actually carried h\ the river,
but also upon all which might be thus
carried, even though it might actually go
by rail. The lowest rate made by any
transportation line must be the rate for
ail. It is also highly probable, as stated by
Air. Foster, that such a port would become
the terminus of new lines of railway, and
thereby become an important laitor in
commerce which has already come to Y< -
laseo, in spite of the uncertain and un-
favorable conditions which ha\e tin re pre-
vailed, is an evidence of this. So that, in
the judgment of the board, there are \alld
commercial reasons for opening the mouth
of the Brazos river if it can be successfully
done. -
Upon the feasihilty of such an opening
as an engineering question, the board, al-
though of the opinion that a series, of ob-
servations running through a period of low
Water In tho river is very desirable, is in-
clined to answer in the affirmative, in
times of low water in the river dredging
will no doubt be required, but the ap-
pliances for this purpose have, during re-
cent years, been so greatly improved that
the cost of such work has- been largely re-
duced. This reduction will be still greater
from the fact that the work can probably
be done with the same plant which the
government will have to maintain at Gal-
veston. The experience of the last eight
years lias made it reasonably certain that,
with the aid of dredging, the maintenance
of a channel at tho mouth of the Brazos
with is feet depth at mean low time is
practicable. Whether more than this can
be accomplished without an unreasonable
expense the hoard is not prepared to say.
But the experience of these years has
also made ii perfectly clear that s.o long
as this port is in control of a private com-
pany its value to commerce must always
be email. So long as there is a free port
with deeper water at Galveston, torty
miles distant, it will be impossible for tho
Brazos river channel and dock company
to collect channel dues at the mouth of
the Brazos. But without such dues, or
some equivalent tnx upon the commerce
of the port no company can afford to I : ar
the burden of maintaining the channel. Tho
magnitude of this burden is evident from
the statement of Mr. (.'orthell, who. In Ids
letter of April 11. 1SUG, to Mi. Abnei* Tay-
lor. president of the eompimy, estimates
the ordinary expenses of maintaining the
works as follows:
"In my opinion tho jetties are now In
such condition that, within the ordinary
expense of maintenance, not oixeeodin'.
000 per annum for five years, and not ex-
ceeding «h 10 per annum for five years
thereafter, a good, navigable channel, at
least lv feet in depth, can easily be main-
tained with only an occasional resort to
dredging. Tlicr after the annval expense
should not be more than from $D000 to $10,-
000."
The present value of these mjflnrs (which
contain no provision for cor- t« vf the
jetties and building pier Iveh: vital-
ized at •• per ecu:, is marly ' ■). In
view of the magnitude of this u and
the doubt as to the willingnetft Ability
of any company to bear it, i prudent
business man can afford to 1. sate him-
self at this port so long a.«* as perma-
nence is dependent up u the loytuij#* o; a
private corporation, l-ntil the-usibii-
ity for the maintenance of thjKchannol is
assumed by the government tlftFconfidence
necessary lo invite capital and inspire en-
terprise 'will he impossible.
Another consideration affecting the value
of this port to commerce Is the fact that
the greater part of the river front for ten
miles from the inner end of the jetties
(about nineteen miles of river bank in all)
and the greater part of the adjoining lands,
amounting to about 2(5,0(H) acres, have a sin-
gle ownership. For while the Brazos river
channel and dock company and the Texas
land and immigration company are distinct
corporations, they are under the same man-
agement. and, as the hoard understands,
are owned by the same persons. But so
long as the present ownership of the land
remains, the enhanced values, whi< !i are
expected to result from the completion and
maintenance of the works at tin? mouth of
the river and which led to their construc-
tion, will accrue to a comparatively few
persons. So that while this single owner
ship has increased the private Interest, in
these works it has decreased tho public
interest therein.
To remove tho objection growing out of
this ownership so far as it concerns the
river front, Ihe Brazos river channel and
dock company, in a communication to tho
board have offered to dedicate to the pub-
lic. one mile of the river front either all
on one side nf the river or partly on one
side and partly on the other. And in the
opinion of the board the making" of such a
dedication should be a condition precedent
to any assumption of responsibility lor tho
maintenance of tho harbor by the govern
menL .
But If this be done, it is the opinion or
the board that the maintenance of tho har-
bor will be of a sufficient public interest U,
justify the government in undertaking to
complete the works and to maintain the
channel at as groat a depth as may he
found practicable and as the interests of
commerce may demand.
Tin? board, however, does not think that
any pavnu-nt for so doing should bu made
to the company by whom the works were
constructed any more than to tho many
municipal corporations by whom in the
past large sums have been spent in harbor
construction without repayment by the
government. The taking from the company
the heavy burden of the perpetual main-
tenance of the harbor and the securing to
them tho enhanced value of their lands
that will follow from placing the works
in charge of tho government Is all that
should be done.
IS A STRONG BELIEVER I> MA-
TERIALLY ASSISTING STATE
MILITIA.
A Brief History of the State (iuards.
Compliment* Were I'aid to the
Washington <jluard».
A FAMILY l'OISONED*
Two Attempt* Miule and the Second
Wan Sttceewifal.
Edna, Jackson Co., Tex., March 5.—About
a week ago an attempt was made to poison
the Wheeler family, living on .the farm of
Dr. J. N. Williamson, about six miles
above Edna. Paris green was used and
the plot was discovered in time to prevent
Injury. Last night a second attempt with
arsenic succeeded. A messenger brought
the news that the entire family was pois-
oned, but no deaths yet reported.
As a fitting conclusion to the production
of tho siege of the Alamo bust month tho
Washington guards gave a feast to those
who had been present and assisted them.
Bx-Governor Lubbock was the guest of
honor on the occasion, and in response to
unanimous request, delivered a short speech
on the Texas volunteer guard and the
Washington guards. In it he mentions
many things of interest to all Texans, so
at the request of the guards, the speech is
published in full at this time:
"I am pleased to be with you on this, to
me. very interesting occasion. It takes mo
back to my early days. 1 am in full sym-
pathy now with you as I was then in every
movement lookin- to the fostering and
maintenance of citizens' military organiza-
tions.
"in my native state. South Carolina,
there existed from the earliest period a
li organized militia, and in the cities and
populous portions of the state volunteer
uniformed companies were encouraged and
in some neasiiro eared for by the state.
For instance, they were excused from many
of the duties imposed upon the citizen arid
neral militia. In the cities, however.
Hi--y were specially put upon tire duty as
aids to the general police, protecting tho
property of those in the burned district. At
the age of It! 1 was a sergeant of an artil-
lery company of that character in Charles-
ton and remained so attached until I left
city, and In my early manhood I was
one of the charter members of the first
company organized in the republic! of Texas
(no! in the regular army), known as tho
Milam guards. 1 was a private for somo
years, finally becoming, after others, its
captain, and I assure you 1 was proud to
be chosen by a ompany that had been
commanded by tin accomplished James
Kelly, Joseph Daniels, a man of marked
business ability as a builder and subse-
quently chief clerk In the general land of-
fice Of Texas. John N. (>. Smith, the h ading
printer and manager of the Houston Tele-
graph, ai that time the paper of the repub-
lic, and the distinguished Judge Beter \V.
(J ray.
"Thus my sympathies ever have been
with the character of soldiery now forming
the Texas volunteer guard, ol which tho
Washington guards constitute company A.
First regiment.
"From the adjutant general's department
f get the fo.low ing:
in IN'ii (eight years before the forma-
tion of the state \olunteer guard) this
company was originally organised as the
Lamar light battery, with Captain Bd Van
I lor ton, First Lieutenant W . ll. Howard
and Second Lieutenant J. M. Forshey. it
was understood at the time that the batten-
was composed of the survivors of a similar
organization during the war between r;m
state -. As tho date could not furnish field
pieces tor their armament, thev were
aimed as Infantry and adopted the name of
Washington guards on June i!7. 1X72. it is
now the eldest organization In the state bo-
longing to the Texas volunteer guard and
has serv, d continuously since Its organiza-
tion m l-,I It has been commanded by v\\
M. Stat ford, Jesse w. Kdmundson, John M.
Line. Captain Kelly, W. K. Ma.ll, W. A.
/eigler. \\. T. Burns. J. F. Cummings, J.
B. Agullo. \\. 1\ Knoll and tit present by
J. A. Boherl inn. The company has always
been prominent in responding to all tho
calls ot the s!.;to for tho suppression of
ni'o violence a i Calve ston and other places
and attending all encampments with credit
and honors.
"In I'll tlu ro were but ten companies in
the state service aside from the ranger
companies.
"IJhc list inert i d to L'l in 1STC. and 40
in is,\ with the aggregate number of 1100
oliieers and men.
ii was only on September 1, 1S79, under
Adjutant Central John B. Jones, that tho
pi "s nt «>i ■ ..11 ition known as the Texas
voluu eer guard became established under
the militia law passed by the adoption of
the revised statuies. From 11«'0 In IS71I, tho
Texas volunteer guard increased In mem-
bership lo 8000 (limit by law) In 1894. That
was, however, due to the recognition of the
guard by the legislature In making annual
appropriations for yeatiy camps of in-
struction, which were inaugurated and car-
ried out by A I Jut ant Central W*. II. Mabry
In l.v.d, 18W, 1 :d»» and 1S9-1
"Long before these dates General Jones
and (J«.-neral King, both gallant confeder-
ates, who had seen service iu war times,
had .an arduous task in commanding tho
rangers and organizing the volunteers. 1 ai-
der the latter were various successful drills
gotten up by various cities for gala occa-
sions. Tim indefatigable and able Adjutant
Central \V. 11. Mabry held successfully
the yearly ramps of Instruction referred to
above, in data from the adjutant general's
office. •
"The recognition of the legislature mak-
ing appropriations for the service is ap-
parent iu the Increasing number of the
guard, and this appropriation should bo
continued, for in a government of the peo-
ple like ours wo are loth to see large and
expensive, standing armies kept up at great
cost to the taxpayers, such as are main-
tained in monarchical governments. We
prefer to look to the citizen soldiery who.
from a sense of patriotism, stands at all
times ready to respond to tho call of duty.
Thus It is with the volunteer guard of our
state, who are mostly young men, wage-
workers on small salaries, who stand ready
to willingly and promptly answer any de-
mand made upon them to defend the honor
and rights of our national government or
the integrity and sovereignty of our own
state, and upon each and every call of such
a character made the Washington guards
will always bo found in the forefront. I
trust that the present legislature, in tho
discharge of their many public duties, will
not overlook this, to tho state, most valua-
ble organization, but will recognize their
Importance, remembering tho heavy outlay
made by the guard in the building and
renting of armories for the safe keeping
of their arms and equipments, the pur-
chase of uniforms and other expenditures
Incident to their organization, and will at
least appropriate for their annual drills
and camps of instruction tho amount neces-
sary to defray those expense*, thus better
fitting them for service and usefulness
when called upon by tho authorities.
"It is well known that tho volunteer
guard have rendered valuable service t^
tho state, and no company has excelled in
promptness and efficiency tho Washington
guards.
"In our government wo must depend up-
on the patriotism of tho citizen soldiery;
and who more than they can be relied
upon to protect tho interest and defend tho
integrity of the state. 1 for one think
wo can rest satisfied that while tho volun-
teer guard is on duty wo are in no danger
from invasion without nor from mob vio-
lence within our borders."
AVill Hestnm* Publication.
Colmesnell, Tex., March 5.—The Tyler
County Times newspaper, which has "been
suspended here for a goodly time, will re-
sume publication to-morrow under tho
Palestine Improvements#
Palestine, Tex.. March 5.—Improvement
to an unusual extent Is still going on, and a
number of tho old brick fronts are being
torn out and new gloss fronts and Iron
columns are taking their places. Mrs,
Craves has let the contract for a nice brick
store house on Main street and Frank
BaU y will also erect a handsome brick on
the same street, one block from the post-
office, where an old livery stable, a dilap-
idated wooden structure now stands, which
will add greatly to the appearance of tha
most important part of the city. Rest-
d uees are still being built. Notwithstand-
Mr. Marindiii's survey shows that two miles I lisher. F. H. Robinson.
sumo puoiicauon ro-morrow nno- r uie , o m >. ai- • ......
management of Its former owner and pub- ing this there is an ample supply of local
. . . . . . .... I i.. iM.n'.t Minn i a Hiu uriii'lr
lu.nics to moae than do the work#
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The Galveston Daily News. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 55, No. 348, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 7, 1897, newspaper, March 7, 1897; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth465917/m1/9/?q=architectural+drawings: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Library Consortium.