The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1, Part 11

Author: Davis, Ellis Arthur, ed; Grobe, Edwin H., ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Dallas, Texas Development Bureau
Number of Pages: 1204

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the individual had any part in it, because he was made a better doctor by working in the medical center with all its advantages. In 1916, the med- ical department of Baylor was formally put in class "A" by the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association, and its graduates be- came recognized by every medical examining board throughout the United States. This classification, with the ever-growing requirements for entrance in to medical schools, made it difficult for the school in Ft. Worth to continue, and in 1918 that schicol was absorbed by Baylor University School of Medi- cine. This leaves but two medical colleges in Texas, this one at Dallas and the medical department of the University of Texas, which is situated in Galves- ton. Both colleges exact two years of University work, as a minimum entrance requirement and both adhere to as high ideals in medical education as found in any school in the country.

The friends of Baylor University realizing more and more the great value of the medical department to the citizenship of Dallas, the great possibilities of service to humanity which this department gives to the parent University, a campaign was launched to bring about improvements, which campaign has

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The New Medical Arts Building, Dallas, the Medical Center of the Southwest

proven successful. The medical school having ai- ways been closely affiliated with the Baptist Sani- tarium and being roused in a building on the same grounds, these two institutions entered into a cam-

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

paign wherein $1,600,000 worth of buildings would be built, and $500,000 would be set aside as a mini mum endowment for the medical department. When you understand that after this campaign was en- tered upon, a governmental appraisement of the property occupied by the sanitarium and medical school, placed their value at $1,300,000, you can see that the addition of $1,600,000 worth of buildings will make a formidable showing, and create in Dal. las one of the few really great medical centers of the country.

The clinical possibilities presented by a population of some 175,000 people such as Dallas has, are con- stantly being augmented by thousands who come to Dallas for treatment each year, as it is a center of a densely populated section. The medical students have the advantage of all this, and the environment is the very best, inasmuch as there is a disposition of all the population of Dallas to encourage such students. A notable indication of this being a re- quest on the part of the medical profession here, that the City Hospital, the great charity institution of Dallas, should from the time of the school session, be entirely in the hands of the men who teach medi- cine and surgery in Baylor University School of Med- icine.

At the present time Baylor University has three departments in the city, with the following number of students: medical, 146; dental, 75; pharmacy, 55. The Texas Baptist Memorial Sanitarium School of Nursing utilizes the teachers of the medical depart- ment, there being some hundred students in nursing in the school. It is expected these various depart- ments will from now on, have enlarged enrollmert; this will be due in part to the fact that the pres- ent requirements have been in force long enough for there to be accumulated in the Universities a larger number of students ready for entrance, than here- tofore.

Medical education opens a broad field for scien tific work, social welfare work and properly ap- plied charity, in ministering to the sick, and the care of those who need help which they can not pay for. It creates in this section a training-school for all the various scientific departments, and makes it possible for us to meet the crying demand for doc- tors, dentists, pharmacists and nurses. The hard work of building up Dallas as a medical center, is now over; the start is made, and large endowments will now flow into the coffers of the Medical Depart- ment; the scientific work and Humanitarian possi- bilities which only broaden as the years go by.

HISTORY OF THE BENCH AND BAR OF DALLAS By F. M. ETHERIDGE

T HE history of the bench and bar of Dallas can be written within the limits of this paper only in general terms. It is a history of achievement and distinc- tion. The bar of Dallas has maintained the best tradi- tions. In trying cases from New York to Los Angeles and from St. Paul to New Orleans I have been asso- ciated with and opposed by some of the best lawyers of various states, with the re- sult that I can truthfully say I have found my best sup- port, as well as my most formidable adversaries, among the members of the Dallas bar. The Dallas bar has furnished the Supreme Court with a num- ber of distinguished members, among them Sawnie Robertson, John L. Henry and Nelson Phillips. Judge Sawnie Robertson was an accomplished lawyer and one of the most likable men I ever knew. Judge John L. Henry was a prince among good men and bore the merited and distinctive designation of "the grand old man." Judge Nelson Phillips, ex- Chief Justice, has proved himself a worthy successor of a long line of the illustrious chief justices that preceded hin.

The Dallas bar has furnished the Court of Civil Appeals for the Fifth District two distinguished members, Judge John Bookhout, now deceased, and Judge Charles A. Rasbury, who recently resigned to re-enter the practice. It furnished to the nation Judge Seth Shepard who, under appointment of President Cleveland, was for many years Associate Justice, and later and until his death Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia.

Judge Shepard became a close and scientific student of the law and his opinions are comparable with those of the most illustrious of cur judges.

The Dallas bar has furnished the university a num- ber of distinguished members that immolated them- selves upon the altar of the noble profession of teaching. It contributed to the university Thomas Scott Miller, now deceased, a Harvard graduate, a genial gentleman and a profound lawyer. Judges W. S. Simkins and Lauch McLauren are now and for years past have been, each at a great personal sacrifice, rendering distinguished service as teachers in the university.

The Dallas bar has had an illustrious membership. It comprised, among others, such distinguished -

The Dallas County Court House names as those of Colonel John C. McCoy, Judges Zimri Hunt, H. Barksdale, Nat M. Burford, E. G. Bower, Alex White, Olin Wellborn, N. W. Finley, M. L. Crawford and John M. Stemmons, A. H.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

: : eids, Major B. H. Bassett, Colonel W. W. Leake, Major Jerome C. Kearby, J. L. Harris, Colonel W. L. trawford, General A. P. Wozencraft, W. B. Gano, George H. Plowman and many others of enduring :«putation.

Colonel John C. McCoy was the most noted of the ":oneers. His life, character and services at the tar were such as won him enduring fame. Judges Hunt, Barksdale and Buford were pioneer district adres. They were cast in large mold and left their mpress upon our jurisprudence. Judge White was originally from Alabama. He was of counsel in many important cases in the Supreme Court of the United States that went up from that state. After- wards he was on the Supreme bench of Utah and later came to Dallas. He was possessed of a vast wealth of learning and was a lawyer of exceptional atelity. Judge Olin Wellborn for a long time repre- sented this district in congress, and afterwards re- moved to Los Angeles, where for many years he served with distinction as a judge of the United States District Court. Judge M. L. Crawford had been a district judge prior to his removal to Dallas. He was an accomplished lawyer, an indefatigable worker and one of the acknowledged leaders of the bar. John M. Stemmons and Judge A. H. Field were partners and their firm deservedly enjoyed an en- viable reputation. Major Bassett was one of the foremost lawyers of his time. He was ambitious to round out his career by becoming a professor of law in the university. He was unanimously elected to a chair in that institution, but unfortunately died before occupying it. Colonel Leake, in his time, was the nestor of the Dallas bar. He was a pro- found lawyer and a man of rare culture and refine- ment. His example at the bar was worthy of emula- tion. Major Jerome C. Kearby possessed a keen intellect and was easily in the front rank of the greatest of the Texas advocates. Judge Finley was for many years a member of the Court of Civil Appeals for the Fifth District and his many opinions attest his industry, acumen and capacity. General A. P. Wozencraft became a specialist in the law of corporations and was an acknowledged authority upon that subject. J. L. Harris was a prodigious worker, a close and constant student and was aston- ishingly resourceful. W. B. Gano was ornate and scholarly and as a practitioner he had no superior and but few equals. George H. Plowman was a Harvard graduate and one of the most indefatigable workers I have ever pnown. Judge E. G. Bower possessed an indomitable spirit, and our present court house constitutes a memorial to his untiring effort. Whilst that court house has practically sur- vived the period of its usefulness, it was, neverthe- less, a gigantic undertaking in Judge Bower's time. Colonel W. L. Crawford, recently deceased, was a man of transcendent ability and personal magnetism. Hle was a power before the court, as well as with the jury. He was the greatest forensic orator within the range of my acquaintance.

The mention of the foregoing names is not de- signed to be exclusive and, would the limits of this paper permit, many others equally conspicuous would be added.

The Dallas bar has contributed to the bar of New York a number of distinguished lawyers, among them and notably Isaac R. Oeland and Martin W. littleton. The judges who have occupied the vari- wus benches of Dallas have all been distinguished

by their learning and probity. Many distinguished men in public life are numbered among the members of the Dallas bar, notably Charles A. Culberson, senior senator, Thomas B. Love, formerly assistant secretary of the treasury, Hatton W. Sumners, con- gressman, as well as many others.

The Dallas bar, from small beginnings and ir- regular and inefficient organization, emerged some years since into a corporate body of which there were one hundred charter members, and since its or-

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Dallas County Criminal Court Building and County Jail

ganization nearly every reputable member of the Dallas bar has become a member of the Dallas Bar Association. Many of the members of the associa- tion have given generously of their time to the work of furthering the administration of justice and of inculcating the highest professional ethics and of teaching the younger members of the bar.

I do not hesitate to say, that the standard of prac- tice of the members of the Dallas Bar ranks very high in comparison with the lawyers of other cities, her membership will rank very favorably with the best. With the passing of many of the most able representatives, there are many young and possibly just as capable young lawyers growing up to take their places and the standards are no doubt being raised rather than lowered.

The young lawyers club composed of many of the most capable and progressive young attorneys, has done much toward the progress of the young men of the profession and is worthy of commendation.

I cannot particularize among the existing mem- bers of the bench and bar of Dallas, but I can truth- fully say, having before me the criterion of contact with the best legal talent of other states, that the bench and bar of Dallas is today the equal of any.

I may add that the Dallas bar comprises very many younger members that give full promise to maintain its standards of excellence when the elder ones shall have retired or passed away.

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS OF DALLAS By JUSTIN F. KIMBALL

Superintendent

O NE of the significant characteristics in the history of the growth of Dallas as a city in the last decade is the development of its sys- tem of public schools. From an attendance ten years ago of less than 15,000, the attendance in the schools has increased to more than 35,000 for the present school year. During the last scholastic year prac- tically every child of school age in Dallas was in attendance in school, either in private or public schools. The most remarkable growth in the schools has been in the high schools and in the night schools, both of which minister to the educational needs of the young manhood and womanhood of Dallas. From an attendance in the white high schools of 1,300 ten years ago, taken care of in one high school building, Dallas has grown until it has four magnifi-'

school rooms, 40 being the standard maximum class in the elementary schools and 30 in the high schools. Likewise the permanent buildings that have been erected have all been fireproof, modern in their plan- ning, beautiful in architecture, economical of space and efficient in administration. The city of Dallas maintains a special public day school for deaf chil- dren and three special day schools for children whose mentality is so different from that of the other children that they cannot be taught to the highest advantage in the usual school. The courses in the high schools afford an unusual range of opportunity for the young people of the city, giving instruction in many courses that train for practical lines of work in the business world on leaving school. More than 60 per cent of the graduates of the Dallas

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Dallas Hall, the Main Class Room and Administration Building at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, One of the Leading Educational Institutions of the South

cent modern high school buildings, with an attend- ance of 5,500 students. Last year among the cities of the United States of similar size, Dallas stood fourth in the nation in its ratio of high school at- tendance, being surpassed only by Seattle, Portland, Oregon, and Oakland, California, all of these being towns that have no large negro or foreign popula- tion.

The rapid growth of the city of Dallas has taxed ' the department of education to its utmost to keep adequate facilities for instruction of the rapidly increasing roll of students. The city has responded to the demand for larger quarters and additional school houses have been erected to give housing facilities to the rapid growing addition, and schools . there were more than 9,000 children in the elemen- are provided in easy access to nearly every section of the city.

To house these public schools Dallas has a perma- nent investment of about $11,000,000 and expends annually for their maintenance nearly $2,000,000 and employs more than a thousand teachers.

During the same decade the board of education have held steadfastly to the policy of giving every child in school a full day at school, in a room not overcrowded and have been successful in avoiding the necessity of half-day sessions and overcrowded

high schools attend college after leaving the public schools. Approximately 2,000 high school boys each year are given military instruction, uniforms and equipment by the United States government through army officers detailed to the Dallas high schools. The board of education operates more than 30 school cafeterias and lunch rooms, in which lunches of high quality are served at actual cost to the children.

Another noteworthy feature of the Dallas schools is the detailed attention that is given in the ele- mentary schools, to accuracy in numbers, to correct- ness in spelling, to the hearing and appreciation of good music and to good penmanship. Last year tary schools of Dallas whose handwriting was su fi- ciently good to meet official approval under the recognized writing standards used in the best school systems in the United States; while the unusual achievement of the Dallas school children in musical appreciation of high class music and in music mem- ory contests has won national recognition. In all these details of elenientary instruction the most care- ful statistics are kept of the quality of the work of the children in order that it may be compared with the best standards obtainable in the United States-

DALLAS MUNICIPAL ACTIVITIES By SAWNIE ALDREDGE

F ROM year unto year in Dallas' Municipal life there is being realized a remarkable record of pro- gress, not only in material things for which the public looks to its municipality, but in the ever widening scope of a less material but none the less necessary activity which tends to make a city more livable and to give to it a "soul." Two operations are found essential in the building of every worth- while garden, or worth-while life or a great city-and these operations are the same throughout: uproot the ugly and plant deep and well the beautiful. While sensa- tionalism plays up the former, yet how much more does the latter abound! Not only have the results achieved helped to fill the needs of Dallas, but they have also attracted widespread attention from other cities wrestling with the same problems, and again and again letters have been received, even from the great metropolitan centers, asking just how Dallas has solved these problems. Not only has stress been laid upon the paving of streets, the supplying of . the physical needs of the citizenship and the better development of the public utilities in recent years, but also upon better sanitation and health conditions, welfare work, development of Dallas ac- cording to the Kessler Plan, and upon provision of more extensive and better equipped parks and other public amusements for the people.

By municipal action important changes have been brought about in the city's Emergency Hospital which include the employment of graduate and hos-

Carnegie Public Library at Commerce and Harwood Streets, Dallas

pital-trained physicians and surgeons only, to handle all work instead of a staff of "student doctors," and the placing on duty of a graduate doctor on every ambulance call so as to insure first aid to the in-

jured; there has been effected an improvement in the sick-visiting service of the city, and a city-county clinic established, while the City Hospital has been given a larger and better trained staff, additional and needed equipment of the latest type, and for the first time brought into first class recognition by the American College of Surgeons. This latter in- stitution has received a $500,000 bond issue, is jointly owned by city and county and is placed under a committee system at present governed by a Hos- pitable Board appointed by the mayor.

Municipal Building, Dallas

Welfare work of recent years worthy of note are the establishment of a working mothers' home, im- provement of working girls' lodge, relief in Mexican housing, extension in negro welfare work and an employment service recognized by the government.

Nothing is more fundamentally necessary to the proper development of a city than an adequate sys- tem of beautiful and well equipped parks. Dallas has twenty-two parks covering 3,500 acres. They include playground equipment, wading and swim- ming pools, free moving pictures and band concerts in the evenings of summer for both children and adults. "Swimming holes" have been provided at the City, Oak Lawn, Buckner, Exall, Garrett, Alamo and Colonial Parks. More than 150 free moving picture shows have been given at each park and band concerts and public sing-songs have been inaugu- rated. Athletic activities in parks have been ex- tended and the summer playground system placed under paid leaders. As a result of such park system, Dallas has the largest park attendance in proportion to population of any city in the United States. In the summer of 1920, there came to Dallas parks 1,689,865 visitors while 53,150 children used the swimming and wading pools and 17,620 persons had free baths furnished by the city parks. Besides these improvements, the municipality has added new parks to its list. The Ferris Plaza, a sunken garden beauty spot, greets the Dallas visitor as he steps out of the Terminal Station; Booker T. Washington Park, as its name indicates, is a new park for ne- groes; Parkview has been donated to the city, a strip of land has been added to Forest Park and other tracts added to park properties.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TEXAS

Dallas has the distinction of being the first city to create a music commission as a regular phase of its municipal life. Under its direction have been brought about the public sing-songs, the annual oratoric, and the annual music memory contests for public school children.

A $450,000 filtration plant is at present under con- struction and will be in operation by July, 1922, at White Rock, and plans for a big reservoir on Denton Creek, larger than Medina Lake at San Antonio, lead to a water supply that will be adequate for Dallas when the municipality is many times its present size.

One of the greatest municipal projects is the de- velopment of Dallas according to one great plan, the Kessler plan that issues in beauty and utility and practicability. The Pacific Avenue track removal, sought for through more than ten years under five mayors, has been consummated under Mayor Al- dredge. storm sewer costing approximately $300,000 is under construction, after which the street will be paved and beautified. This street will, undoubtedly, in the near future, be a model business thoroughfare, from Lamar to Harwood, both of which are to be widened, and a second great and attractive retail business center will be cared for. Masten, a third street, has already been widened. Concurrent to the Pacific Avenue improve- ment, will be the creation of an industrial section west of Akard, south of Mckinney, north of Ross Avenue, and east of Lamar. South Lamar will be widened and extended to connect with Forest Ave- nue and Kentucky Street opening has given a new connection with Fair Grounds from Commerce Street. The elimination of grade crossings, those of the Katy in north Dallas already accomplished, and removal of the H. & T. C. tracks from Central Avenue, which, when effected, makes possible a wide and direct boulevard from the business district to North Dallas and Highland Park, or a boulevard between North and South Dallas via the eastern section of the city. A belt boulevard around the city includes many advantages; Davis Street, con- necting one with the concrete Pike to Fort Worth, is being paved, the row of narrow blocks between Davis and Seventh Streets are to be bought and taken over for park purposes. Surely, through each succeeding year, the Kessler Plan is materializing and Dallas will have a great boulevard system which for beauty and directness and views will compare favorably with any city of the world. Trees are to be planted on every street-167,048, of which 40,000 are already out and a rate of 10,000 a year has been set.

Add to the above advantages, such recent acquire- ments as an adequate gas supply effectively secured, better street car and telephone service with regards to which the city is active, an increase in salaries of policemen and firemen, institution of the double platoon system for the fire department, together with its complete motorization, fire prevention cam- paigns, the addition of power flushing machines to the street cleaning department and many details of alertness too numerous to mention, and one sees a great hustling growing metropolis that is succeed- ing in the highest sense. All this has been done or is being accomplished, without an increase in tax rate for these purposes. Partisanism is kept out of the way-as is illustrated by the fact that de- partment heads who were efficient have been re-

tained through changes of mayoralties and all press on for one great goal in the City Where Men Are Looking Forward.

The municipal progress of Dallas has gone hand in hand with the business development and in this re- gard it has justifiable cause for optimism. During the year 1921, the city broke all its previous records. There are more large office buildings here than in any other city in Texas, there being at present, sixty-four buildings that are six stories and upwards in height with a number of additional ones now in construction. There were six hundred new business concerns started here during the year 1921 and several hundred more promised to locate here during the year 1922. Several new factories also are being contemplated.

The opening up of new electric lines offers another avenue for the retail trade, already the largest retail market in Texas. It is stretching its lead by an in- creasing margin. The building of paved highways throughout Dallas County has been rapidly progress- ing and adding much toward the facilities for trans- portation and incidentally improving the routes for motoring, making an added attraction for tourists as well as residents.

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The encyclopedia of Texas, V.1, Part 11

Author: Davis, Ellis Arthur, ed; Grobe, Edwin H., ed Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Dallas, Texas Development Bureau Number of Pages: 1204

Author: Davis, Ellis Arthur, ed; Grobe, Edwin H., ed
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Dallas, Texas Development Bureau
Number of Pages: 1204