New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 10

Author: Davis, Ellis A.
Publication date: 1926
Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?]
Number of Pages: 1416

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The following statistics of gross and net receipts of bales of cotton and exports of cotton will give an insight into the rapid and tremendous growth of Houston as a cotton market and port: 1919-1920, gross-2,002,846; net-1,080,564; exports-69,839. 1920-1921, gross-3,045,962; net-1,567,749; exports -466,185. 1921-1922, gross-2,659,590; net-1,163,- 673; exports-478,141. 1922-1923, gross-2,691,168; net-1,377,557 exports-719,942. 1923-1924, gross- 3,495,994; net-1,816,883; exports-1,065,612. 1924- 1925, gross-4,784,025; net-2,668,265; exports- 1,821,828.

THE RICE INDUSTRY OF TEXAS

By W. K. MORROW President Standard Rice Milling Company

R ICE was first grown in India and China about 2800 B. C. and was first planted in the United States on the James River in Virginia in 1646 A. D. About the close of the 17th century rice was first raised in South Carolina and after proving successful other states began cultivat- ing rice in small quanti- ties. In 1870 South Carolina and Georgia produced three-fourths of the total crop of the United States.

The development of the rice indus- try on the coast prairie of South- west Louisiana and Southeast Tex- as began about 1885, when settlers found that they could apply mod- ern agricultural implements and har- vesting machinery which were used in the wheat fields to rice culture. From the year 1908 to the present time Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas produced practically 90 per cent of the total crop. In the past four years California has devoted a part of its . lands to rice cultivation. From the year 1908 gigantic strides were made in the raising of rice; large irrigation and pumping plants were erected, ex- tensive systems of overland canals and laterals were built and the once waste and worthless prairie lands sprung into verdant rice fields.

Rice is the chief sustenance of over one-half of the world's popula- tion. Nearly eight hundred million persons in China, Japan, India and other countries of the Eastern hemis- phere practically exist on rice. In this great country of ours, rice in its more modern manufacture is regarded as a luxury, a re-inforcement for the invalid, or a vehicle for the exploita- tion of desserts, its great food value as a staple diet being disregarded and its competitive value as compared to other grains or cereals are un- known.

Report of Miscellaneous Series, U. S. Department of Agriculture, refers to rice as a food as follows:

Rice 86 per cent, corn 82.97 per cent, oats 74.02 per cent, fat beef 46.03 per cent, potatoes 23.24 per cent.

There are large areas of fertile land in South- ern Texas which with the proper irrigation can be made profitable for rice cultivation. This area could be made profitable for rice farmers which would add greatly to the wealth and prosperity of the people in the available rice raising districts.

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Houston Buildings. The Building at the Top is the Scanlan Building; the one in the Center is the Administration Building of Rice Institute. Lower Left Is the Texas Company Building and the Lower Right Is the Second Nation- al Bank

FUTURE OUTLOOK OF HOUSTON By THE HOUSTON CHRONICLE

N O Houston essayist has turned out a New Zealand prophet to come back and moralize over the ruins of the city in the dim future, but every Houstonian has a vivid conception of Hous- ton as it is going to be. This conception may not be expressed in the language of the classics but it is a conception founded in the sincerity of Houston's ex- pectations.

The Houstonian, once started, will paint glorious pictures of a great seaport, where mighty railroad

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The New Rice Hotel, the Largest and Most Luxuriant Hostelry in South Texas

lines connect with ocean steamships; of a vast indus- trial community stretching for 30 miles down each side of its ship channel, acquired after years of la- bor and great expense, and a channel already famous nationally : for a background of tremendous oil re- fineries and great producing plants, and finally, of a city which, in its civic pride and its responsive- ness to the demands of progress, will be a fitting home for hundreds of thousands of workers who will profit by its great industrial development.

This vision of the future of Houston has its basis in fact, not in the perfervid dreams of some rabid press agent. Houston is dealing in facts, generally, and in futures, only insofar as they can be seen from the present day facts.

The city is served by a great waterway. It is the logical railroad center of the state. Its renown as a cotton market is a byword throughout the world. Its oil industries are attracting wide spread atten- tion. It is building rapidly on what it has already, and a recital of the achievements of the last ten years alone would be enough to indicate what it will do in the future.

Already its ship channel is in service. For four years coastwise steamers have plied the stream. In the fall of 1919 the first Trans-Atlantic vessel is scheduled to steam out of the city with a cargo of cotton for Liverpool.

Wherein lies a magical forshadowing of the days to come. Houston has already boasted being the greatest inland cotton market in the world. Now it is ceasing to be "inland." It is sending its own cot-

ton out through its own port to the four corners of the earth.

On this one staple alone, this crop which means more to the hundreds of thousands of farmers of the state of Texas than any other single item, Houston has enough to build a future. Houston is the natural center of distribution for this commodity. From the farthest reaches of the state, direct rail lines will rush into port, and from this port it can go to the mills of the East, to England, to the Continent.

The future that is already unfolding in the cotton industry is indicative of what Houston may expect in other lines. Already, trade commissioners from Nicaragua, Porto Rico, and other South and Central American Countries, have been dickering with local interests with an eye to "getting in on the ground floor" or the port of this city.

Armed with this channel as an entering wedge to the commerce of other great nations and the far coasts of this country, Houston has an equally pow- erful weapon of distinction in its rail lines. It is admittedly the headquarters of the railroad life of the state. The best systems are entered here, sys- tems which tap the Brownsville country with its cot- ton, its great fruit and truck garden plots, that reach into the cotton fields of the central part of the state, that connect up directly with the oil pro- ducing territory. With admirable freight rates, based on a 50 mile inland seaport's advantages, Houston can take her place easily as the distribut-

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San Jacinto Hotel. Corner Rusk and Fannin Streets, Houston's Latest Addition to the City's Hotel Accommodations

ing center of the state. She claims that place now. Future years will demonstrate her right to it still more. Houston, will, therefore, reap all the benefits of a rapidly growing state with a magnificently ex- panding commerce.

In the coastal oil fields spread out from Houston,

NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

Goose Creek, Blue Ridge, West Columbia, the prin- cipal hope of this section in petroleum, are only a short automobile ride away. Great refineries are cen- tering on the channel. Pipe lines are being run to the great storage plants which follow each other down the lines of communication from Houston. Oil tankers ply the channel, bringing crude oil from Mexico to the refineries here.

Within 30 days, two new companies have pur- chased land along the channel for the purpose of es- tablishing refineries. Hardly a company but what

Museum of Fine Arts on the Circle at the Junction of South Main and Montrose Boulevard

is represented either in a big refinery or in a land option.

Oil and cotton are not the only household goods of the Houstonian. The channel frontage is not limited to these industries alone.

Houston-or rather the port of Houston, has a prospective channel frontage 60 miles, about 30 miles along each bank of the stream that is the main artery of its future growth. On his frontage al- ready have been built a great cement plant, many oil refineries and numerous other manufactories.

Hardly a month passes but some industry, small, perhaps, but destined to grow, crowds its way in. Drugs, clothing, food products, all of these essentials of life are manufactured here. Only a few miles away is one of the largest sugar refineries in the United States.

The first step that Houston has taken that shows the farsighted manner in which it views its future has been to acquire a large frontage on the channel for the municipality and begin the construction for a vast unity of municipally controlled docks and cotton warehouses, to be open to all on equal terms.

In the same characteristic way, it has involved a comprehensive city building plan. It has made arrangements for parks, boulevards, residence sec- tions, industrial communities.

As a civic entity Houston is working to meet its growth. It has developed a public school system that serves as the model for systems in cities much larger. It has become a convention center. It is the amusement center of this territory, and each year it is able to back more pretentious musical and theatrical offerings.

Along with this progress, it is rapidly developing into one of the real intellectual centers of the Union. The Rice Institute, magnificent gift of a former Houstonian, in seven years has leaped into the front rank of colleges and with practically unlimited funds will make this city the cultural center for this entire section of the south.

Houston's fire department is giving efficient serv- ice, and there is very little loss from fires. Very few fires have occurred during the last year which en-

tailed any considerable loss. This has been due in large measure to the prompt action of the fire de- partment in meeting every emergency.

The city owns 10 public parks, ranging in area from a few acres each to 250 each. Hermann Park is the largest and is beautifully located for park purposes. All parks have been improved with build- ings and playgrounds and are the centers of much out door life during the summer months. The series of outdoor amusements, games and contests is a feature of the outdoor program provided by the city government during each summer .. Municipal band concerts have been given in the past, and have proven a popular attraction for outdoor gatherings in our city parks.

The health of the city is good. It is the custom for the citizens of Houston, under the direction of the City Health Board each year to hold "clean up" campaigns, in which all refuse and decayed mat- ter is removed from premises and destroyed. Every civic organization in the city takes part in these campaigns and the results have been very satis- factory. No epidemics of any kind have visited Houston the past year.

The city owns and operates a municipal market where it sells fruit and produce at from 12 to 20 per cent below prevailing retail prices. After charg- ing itself with all overhead expenses paid by other dealers, it clears from $100 to $200 per week.

Houston's population is growing very rapidly, the estimated increase during the past 10 years being 120 per cent. Of course the population was swelled slightly by the taking in of Houston Heights, but the great demand for housing facilities is a sure index to a rapid and permanent growth. Notwith- standing the fact that the value of building permits totaled $35,000,000 for the year 1925, and a large

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Warwick Apartments at the Circle on South Main Boulevard

part of these were for residence buildings; one of the most difficult tasks in Houston today is the finding of living quarters for newcomers. Of course building operations were practically suspended dur- ing the war, which accounts, in part, for the short- age in housing facilities.

Improvement has been made in transportation and traffic and a noticeable falling off in accidents is the result. Safety zones for the accommodation of passengers boarding and alighting from street cars have been placed on the principal street inter- sections and have proved very successful in handling passenger traffic. An ordinance has been passed regulating the parking of automobiles in the con- gested districts, which will help the situation also.

HOUSTON-THE RAILROAD CENTER

By W. R. SCOTT

President of Texas and Louisiana Division of Southern Pacific Railway Company

I N 1837 the only means of transportation from Buf- falo Bayou northward in- to the Republic of Texas was a plank turnpike, over which moved the humble ox team. By the construction of this turnpike, the pioneers of those days recognized the waterway means of transportation, but the busi- ness thus developed soon out- grew the facilities, and in 1840 there was begun the construction of the first rail- road in Texas. This, too, began at Buffalo Bayou, at the town of Harrisburg, and in 1847, when General Sid- ney Sherman associated himself with a number of prominent Texas people, the railroad was pushed westward, under the name of the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railroad Company. That rail- road afterwards became the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railroad of today. Before the end of 1852 the road was completed as far as the Brazos, thirty-two miles; and in 1860 Aleyton, seventy-nine miles from Harrisburg, was reached. From that humble beginning has been developed the magnificent system of railroad transportation facilities that have their center in the city of Hous- ton. And today the following railroads operate from Houston, reaching all parts of the United States:

The Southern Pacific Lines.

Texas and New Orleans Railroad comes into Houston from the East, being direct main line connection with the Southern Pacific Louisiana Lines from New Orleans and the East, and connects in Houston with the Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio Railway.

The Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio Railway comes into Houston from the west, having its initial point at El Paso, Texas, and passing through San Antonio, Texas, being the main line and direct connection with the Southern Pacific Company lines extending from El Paso to Los An- geles, San Francisco and Portland. The G. H. & S. A. Ry. also reaches Houston from Galveston where direct connection is made with the Southern Pacific Company's Atlantic Steamship Line.

Houston & Texas Central Railroad reaches Hous- ton from North Texas points, including Denison, Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, and also from Llano and Austin in the west central part of the state.

Through connection at north Texas points with various trunk lines including the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Rail- way and Fort Worth & Denver City Railway.

The Houston East and West Texas Railway and Houston and Shreveport Railroad reaches Houston from Shreveport, Louisiana, and makes through connection with the Cotton Belt and other lines to and from St. Louis.

Other railroads entering Houston are:

Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway, which are the gulf lines of the Santa Fe system. This rail- road has its own line into Houston from connec- tion with main line at Alvin and operates its

Airplane View of Houston's Lower Business District-Union Depot in Foreground

through passenger trains through Houston over the Southern Pacific Lines between Rosenberg and Houston.

Gulf Coast Lines reach Houston from the east and also from the south, having through lines be- tween New Orleans, Louisiana, and Brownsville, Texas. The line entering Houston from the east being the Beaumont, Sour Lake & Western Railway and from the south the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway.

The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway of Tex- as reaches Houston from the north and also op- erates trains over the Galveston, Houston & Hen- derson Railroad between Houston and Galveston This is a part of the M .- K .- T. system lines which extend north to St. Louis.

International-Great Northern Railroad reaches Houston from the north and also operates trains between Houston and Galveston over the Galveston, Houston & Henderson Railroad.

San Antonio & Aransas Pass Railway reaches Houston from the west, having initial points at Waco on the north, Kerrville on the west and Cor- pus Christi and Falfurrias on the South.

Trinity and Brazos Valley Railroad reaches Houston from the north, having its initial points

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"WELCOME!" SYLVAN BEACH PARK

DANCING

Sylvan Beach Park, Houston's Popular Sea-sida Playground

NEW ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

at Cleburne and Waxahachie, with direct connec- tions for Dallas and Fort Worth, and operating trains between the latter point and Waxahachie over the Houston & Texas Central Railroad.

Sugar Land Railway enters Houston from the southwest, having its initial point at Anchor, Texas.

Galveston, Houston & Henderson reaches Hous- ton from the south, having its initial point at Gal- veston.

Galveston-Houston Electric Railway reaches Houston from the south, having its initial point at Galveston, Texas.

Houston Belt & Terminal Railway extends around part of Houston and operates union station and freight and passenger terminals of the Gulf Coast Lines, Santa Fe and T. & B. V. roads and the pas- senger terminals of the I-G.N. and G. H. & H. lines.

Dayton & Goose Creek Railway.

The Municipal Belt Railway, controlled by the City of Houston and operates switching service to Manchester and other plants around the Turning Basin.

No better system of railway distribution from any commercial community is to be found in the United States today than that which exists at Hous- ton. Package cars move daily to all nearby and to many distant points. Hundreds of freight and pas- senger trains daily arrive at, and leave, the termi- nals at Houston. All of these connect directly with the facilities on the Ship Channel.

The volume of traffic and the value to Hous- ton of these railway lines is partially reflected in the following statistics:

Average number of freight trains arriving and departing daily 73

Average number of passenger trains arriv-

ing and departing daily 84

Average number of loaded freight cars per month into Houston 9,313

Average number of loaded freight cars out of Houston per month 15,310 Average number of package cars out of Houston daily 114

Freight tonnage in and out of Houtson per month, tons 389,865

Number of passengers handled in and out of Houston per month 201,063

Total number of railway employes living in Houston 7,318

More than 100,000 cars are handled monthly in Houston's railway terminals.

In addition to the seventeen railways, Houston is headquarters for express and Pullman car com- panies, also for shops and general terminals of some of the railroad groups.

The Southern Pacific Lines maintain general of- fices at Houston, occupying a modern nine-story building. This system serves all private industries, operating on the north side of the Ship Channel, which is part of their switching system, and with tariff charges no greater than other lines on the south side for similar distances.

Their shops are the largest in the Southwest. They build everything entering into railway equipment from cars to the most powerful Mikado locomotives.

General average number of monthly repair jobs are 3000 freight cars, 30 passenger cars and 75 locomotives. These shops employ 2200 men with a monthly payroll approximating $350,000.00.

The total number of employees of the Southern Pacific, Houston's largest industry are some 4,500 persons with an annual expenditure of approxi- mately nine million dollars.

Total payroll for railway employees living in Houston exceeds $1,000,000.00 per month.

THE CITY AND PORT OF TEXAS CITY By THE TEXAS CITY TERMINAL RAILWAY CO.

T EXAS CITY, located on Galveston Bay, five miles northwest of the City of Galveston, is one of the important and growing ports of Texas. The present population, based on the best information at hand since the 1920 census, is be- tween 4,000 and 4,500.

Texas City has attained its present rank as an industrial center and as a shipping point by its favorable location as a Gulf port. It is located on the shore of Galveston Bay, on the mainland, just op- posite the island on which the City of Gaveston is situated. From the open sea, through Bolivar Roads and the Texas City Channel, to the Texas City Docks, the average steaming time for an ocean going vessel is 45 minutes. The minimum depth of water through the roads, through the channel, and in the harbor and slips at Texas City, is 30 feet, render- ing the port conveniently accessible to large ocean steamers to and from the ports of the world.

The railroads are the G. H. and S. A., the Santa Fe, the I .- G .- N., the M .- K .- T., the G. H. and H. and T. Ct. Ry. Co., the latter being the connecting termi- nal link between the five trunk lines and the port facilities A joint railroad agency is maintained at the docks by the six railroads mentioned, so that

from an industrial and traffic standpoint the port has direct rail connections with five trunk line rail- roads. All rail rates to and from Texas City are the same as those to and from Galveston, and ocean freight rates are the same as those applying at other Gulf ports. The shipping facilities at the water front consist of three main slips, all hav- ing a water-depth of 30 feet at mean low tide, with berthing space sufficient to accommodate 22 ves- sels 300 feet long; six shipside storage warehouses, near but not on the water front, with total floor space of 350,000 square feet; grain elevator of 500,000 bushels capacity; cotton sheds and ware- houses; high-density cotton compresses at ship- side; bins and equipment for storing and handling bulk sulphur; oil docks, pipe lines and storage tanks for handling oil in bulk, inbound and outbound; ma- chine shops, light and power plant, and water sup- ply, for serving industries and ships.

The volume of traffic passing through the port is indicated by the following figures covering some of the activities during the calendar year 1922:

The import, export and coastwise movement of traffic by water amounted to 3,318,779 tons, of an es- timated value of $47,000,000, carried by 601 vessels.

HOUSTON'S MUNICIPAL PROGRESS By JUDGE A. E. AMERMAN Ex-Mayor

H OUSTON has the commission form of govern- ment. The mayor and four city commis- sioners are elected by the people and are responsible for the City's administration. The Com- missioners administer the Fire, Water, Tax and Street and Bridge departments, Each Commissioner is responsible for the conduct of affairs in his own department. The Mayor and four commissioners con- stitute the City Council Board and are empowered by law to pass and repeal ordinances.

Houston is growing so rapidly that it is difficult to keep up with the municipal needs. Every year we must revise our budgets and the call is always for more money for taking care of the ever expanding needs of the mu- nicipality.

Progress in all departments has been exceeding- ly gratifying. While all calls for improvements cannot possibly be met, we have every reason to feel optimistic. There is sound satisfaction in the knowledge that the city is in- creasing in wealth and popu- lation so rapidly that it requires constant revision of statistics. It requires expert figuring to be able to plan for im- mediate future requirements. It is a source of satis- faction, however, that heretofore the garment has never been cut too large. Houston has outgrown her small garment days, and the budgets that the various departments of the city are now placing before the Mayor would have staggered him a few years ago, yet the increase is necessary.

During the past few years Houston has realized her dream of half a century. Since November, 1919, ocean-going vessels have been sailing from Hous- ton's municipal wharves direct for Liverpool and other European ports. This marks the beginning of an extensive overseas trade through our port, which is municipally owned and controlled. New shipping lines are constantly being added to those already touching here.

For more than six years regular service has been in effect between Houston and Philadelphia. Ves- sels of the Southern Steamship Company have been making the port regularly, bringing merchandise and carrying back to Atlantic seaboard points the products of Texas and other southwestern States.

Improvements of the Houston Ship Channel began in 1870, and since that time $10,000,000 have been spent in deepening and widening the waterway. In May, 1919, the Harris County Navigation District, which includes the City of Houston, voted a bond issue of $1,500,000 for further improvements. The Federal Government also made an appropriation in-

creasing the amount of available funds to $3,850,000. This fund provided a minimum depth of 30 feet and a minimum width of 200 feet, and provided sufficient water for accomodation of the larger type of ocean going vessels, according to estimates of the Board of United States Engineers.

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New encyclopedia of Texas, volume 1, Part 10

Author: Davis, Ellis A. Publication date: 1926 Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?] Number of Pages: 1416

Author: Davis, Ellis A.
Publication date: 1926
Publisher: Dallas, Tex. : Texas development bureau, [1926?]
Number of Pages: 1416