Mercedes Tribune (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 7, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, February 20, 1920 Page: 1 of 12
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^stcurized Milk and
Cream
MERCEDES PRODUCE CO.
PHONE 91
Order Brick Ice Cream
for Sunday
MERCEDES PRODUCE CO.
PHONE 91
VOLUME TIL
MERCEDES, HIDALGO COUNTY. TEXAS, FRIDAY, FEB. 20 1920
NUMBER 1
_______ I •
This Agricultural Expert Engaged to Aid Farmers
h arriwgtonIemployed I®1
BY AMERICAN COMPANY
laranteeing tlie Future
| ............
Wliat Washington Taught
Evidence that the Valley is boom-
,g are so numerous these days as
become commonplace. This week’s
nvs tells a somewhat different
ory. The employment of an agri-
iltural expert for the Mercedes sec-
on farmers and the organization of
association to market their truck
lops point not to a boom but to
[ibstantial development and perma-
snt success.
The one drawback to the Valley
is been a lack) of accurate farm-
,g information. Attracted by the
alley’s semi-tropical climate and its
rtile soil people have moved here
om all corners of the country,
nst of them have been substan-
al„ successful farmers in northern
ates but they have found that
.rming in the north and in the Val-
y have little in common. Hundreds
them have, of course, succeeded
it it has cost time and money to
arn what crops are best suited for
Lis section and how they should
b raised.
lThe employment of Dr. H. H. Har-
|igton by the American Company
act as agricultural director for
farmers residing on the Mercedes
system is therefore one of the
WILL RUSH
WORK ON 10
NEW HOMES
BUSINESS MEN ORGANIZE TO
ERECT ENOUGH RESIDENCES
TO MEET DEMAND—DWELLINGS
TO BE MODERN AND WILL BE
SOLD ON EASY PAYMENT PLAN
Mercedes Farmers Will
Market Crops Through
Selling Organization
More than a score of local busi-
ness men joined forces last Mon-
day in ah effort to relieve the lack
of homes in Mercedes. At a meeting
held at the city hall a plan was
agreed upon whereby houses are to
be built in the quickest possible man-
ner and sold on the easy payment
plan.
Specifications for ten modern and
attractive dwellings are being drawn
and bids for their construction will
be let during the coming week. As
soon as these are completed and oc-
heeded and most' constructive j cupied ten. 0/kels. aie to be built
s ever taken for the benefit of |The Organization is prepared to fi-
Valley. Dr. Harrington’s famil- aaace UP to 50 homes which, it is
believed, will J)e necessary to meei
the demand of/ new residents and of
ty with farming conditions here,
experience as a practical farmer
his scientific knowledge will be
th more to this section in the
of lasting success than can be
!l; estimated.
<$><» <$>
:1c of marketing conditions was
e time a serious handicap to the
y. Many mastered the secrets
illey farming only to have their
> rot in the fields for lack of
and means to sell their pro-
In late years this condition
been greatly remedied but the
iers, although enjoying better
eting facilities here than in
sections of the country have
en blind to the value of co-
Gdoperation is the larg-
gle factor in the success of
and fruit growers in other
and can be made so here,
er the new organization will
ed remains to be seen. Many |
organizations have failed for
of support and proper manage-
But successes are built upon
•es and the new organization is
rate a long step in the right
tion.
<t> 3> <§>
lauding Washington, whose
day we are to celebrate Monday,
le bringer of Liberty, it should
emembered that he was the
t exemplar of self control, of
Sect for others; that he made an
of deference.
he truly great become universal,
py have a message not confined to
ce nor to the age in which they
|e. These words from Washington’s
rewell Address sound as if spoken
this age of unrest and party fac-
as. “This government, the off-
:‘ing of your choice—has a just
im to your confidence and your
upport... Respect for its authority,
ompliance with its laws, acqui-!
scence in its measures are duties
njoined 'by the fundamental max-
is -of true Liberty—All obstructions
> the execution of the laws, all as-
ociation with the design to con-
rol or awe the regular action of
le constitutional authorities, are of
aa! tendency. They put in place
f the delegated will of Jiie nation,
he will of a party.’’
1 Washington passed down the truth
aat real freedom means the sur-
ender of the individual self to the
irger interest. The reaction is a
irger and freer self, not lessening
jut extending one’s own personal
chievement.
others who plan to remove here.
The homes are to be of different
design and located in various sec-
tions of the city. All details for the
purchase of the lots, the drawing
of the plans and the building hav£
been left to a board of trustees com-
posed of William Lingenbrink, W. F.
Shaw '■and E. E. Evans.
The meeting was one of the most
enthusiastic ones ever held here and
the prompt manner in which the
plan originated and submitted by
Mayor L. T. Hoyt was approved and
put into execution is regarded as a
pew evidence of the progressive and
co-operative siprit existing in local
and financial circles.
Mayor Hoyt spoke of the lack of
housing facilities, of the dozens of
families who had been compelled to
take up homes in other Valley towns
this winter until they could find
places here in which to live and said
that Mercedes was developing so rap-
idly that unusual steps were neces-
sary if the city was to provide homes
for those who wanted to become
Mercedes citizens.
“Chambers of commerce and bus
iness men’s organizations in other
parts of the country are spending
large sums,’ he said, “in advertising
and trying to attract new residents.
Here we have so many new ones
that we do not know what to do with
them. It’s up to the business men
to find a way to furnish homes that
can be bought outright on the
easy payment plan.”
Mr. Hoyt explained the details of
a co-operative plan by which the
building of ten homes could be start
ecf at once and others erected as
rapidly as material can be obtained
and contracts let.
W. A. McNeil of the Hidalgo Coun-
ty Bank assured the business men of
the bank’s willingness to assist in
such a campaign of building and
spoke of the need for co-operative
action in relieving the lack of homes.
Attorney Bennett explained the legal
prase of the plan and short talks
endorsing it were made by G. K.
Wattson, Captain Jacobson and J. J.
Elliott. Mr. Elliott was the first to
subscribe to stock in the organization
both for himself and for the American
Company of which he is president.
Others present followed with their
subscriptions and in less than an
hour the total amount necessary had
been pledged.
|Valley Interested in News
of Duval Oil Gusher
■fclley residents who recently con-
^H'd that, this section is on the
IPp of one of the greatest oil
Roms in the history of the state are
pewing these and similar predic-
ts as a result of the bringing in
t‘ a gusher at Benavides in Duval
hunty, the second county north of
ridalgo.
* The well was brought in Wednes-
Ry with a flow that mounted 80
Wbt- before it could be gotten un-
ler control. The success of this well
ears out claims made by numerous
eologi^ts and oil experts. It has
een their contention that there ex-
ists a chain of vast oil lakes con-
necting the North and Central Tex-
ts fields with the Tampico, Mexico,
[elds. Surface indications, they
ive said, show that this supposed
}k of pools lies somewhere beneath
Valley.
No tests have ever been made in
the lower Valley but drilling is now
und<|r way in the northern part of
Hidalgo county and extensive opera-
tions in the Brownsville district are
being planned. Several large com-
panies have acquired holdings in
various parts of the Valley and de-
velopment on a big scale is look-
ed for within a few months.
The success of the Duvall county
well will do much to increase oil
activities in the Valley as it brings
the proven field within 75 to 100
miles of ths section. News of' the
gusher was also received with de-
light in the Kingsville district where
a deep test well is being drilled and
where a strong flow of gas has been
developed. Geologists say the condi-
tions at Kingsville are similar to
those that were found in drilling the
Benavides well. Kingsville is in
Kleberg county a short distance
south of Corpus Christi.
Mercedes farmers who are mem-
bers of the refcently organized unit
are to market their winter truck
crop this year through the Ozark
Fruit Growers Association, a selling
organization that has been highly
successful in handling the fruit corp
of several northern states and which
maintains a large selling force in the
northern markets.
This was decided upon at an en-
thusiastic meeting of the members at
the Community House last Tuesday
night after J. W. Stroud, secretary
and treasurer of the Ozark Associa-
tion had explained the plan under
which his orgainzation works and
J. J. Elliott, president of the Amer-
ican Rio Grande Land and Irriga-
tion company ‘had urged that some
organized plan for disposing of the
unprecedented cabbage crop in this
section of the Valley be taken. Mr.
Elliott also read a telegram regard-
ing the Ozark Associaation, in which
it was stated thatvit is a reliable one
and which spok'e in the highest terms
of its officials. The messagfe was from
the agricultural director of the Fris-
co lines and was in response to one
sent him by Mr. Elliott asking him
for a report on the association.
The constitution and by-laws of
the local organization were adopted
and appear on another page of this
issue. The farmers naqied G. O.
Turley, a well known commission
buyer as local manager and appoint-
ed A. E. Kusian to canvas the farm-
ers residing in the Mercedes section,
explain the organization and selling
plan to them and to solicit their
membership and pledge to market at
least 90% of their truck and field
crops through the local unit. They
also guaranteed a salary to A. W.
Miller to act as public bonded weigh-
master. He will have charge of the
scale house to be erected as soon as
donations to the public scale fund
is completed. Members of the unit
decided on a charge of ten cents,
both ways, for weighing. All the
proceeds from the scales in excess
of the weighmaster’s salary is to be
prorated at the end of the year to
persons who have used the scales.
By the adoption of its constitution
the Mercedes organization becomes
a branch of the recently organized
Rio Grande Valley Truck Growers
association althought it will be a sep-
arate and distinct organization. While
co-operation in marketing is its
chief aim the organization opens the
way for other co-operative endeavor
and already steps have been taken
for wholesale purchase of baskets,
crates and other supplies.
Under the agreement which the
members Tuesday night instructed
the executive committee to sign with
the Ozark) Fruit Gtowers association.
the latter organization is to handle
90 per cent of the crop of each mem-
ber. The truck is to be loaded here
under the direction of the local man-
ager and unless sold to local buyers
will be shipped by the Ozark asso-
ciation and through its various rep-
resentatives and salesmen sold to
the best advantage. Remittances will
be made direct to the local unit af-
ter deducting a commission of five
per cent.
Local buying, it was pointed out,
will be encouraged but no member
of the . association, under the terms
of the contract, can dispose of his
truck without the permission of the
Ozark association. Although sold
through the efforts of the grower,
the association is to receive its
commission. It was pointed out by
Mr. Stroud that the Ozark sales force
would be able to maintain a higher
local price and that it therefore was
entitled to its commission. Farmers
present at the meeting agreed with
him oh this point.
A charge of $3 a ton is to be made
for loading cabbage. It was esti-
mated that this would prove 50 cents
a ton higher than necessary but any
amount in excess of the actual cost
will be prorated among the shippers
at the end of the season. A Charge
also is to be made for packing ham-
pers and vegetables of truck and the
executive committee’s recommenda-
tion that all truck shipped through
the unit be packed under the super-
vision of 1,he association was adopt-
ed. v This/ it was pointed out, will
assure a uniform pack and will have
a considerable effect upon the price
that can be obtained in market.
Several of the farmers present at
the meeting expressed hope that the
new marketing plan would prove a
benefit to the growers in the Valley.
The caabbage crop is the largest,
they said, ever' known and a com-
prehensive marketing system was
necessary if even a majority of it is
to be sold.
Mr. Elliott said ‘he appeared at the
meeting in a dual capacity, as a
farmer and as the president of the
company that furnishes water to the
farmers. As a farmer he urged co-
operation and pointed out the great
benefits that were to be derived from
such an organization.
As president of the American Com-
pany, he announced the company’s
new policy of doing everything pos-
sible to co-operate with the farmers
on its canal system. His announce-
ment that Dr. J. J. Harrington had
been engaged as agricultural adviser
for the farmers on the Mercedes
canal was received with applause.
Many farmers took occasion after
the meeting to personally express
their thanks and appreciation to Mr.
Elliott for his promise to co-operate
with them.
-—o-
TO AID TAX PAYERS
Federal Official Will Help Individu-
als Prepare Income Reports
Income Tax Collector J. A. Mac-
Donald is expected to be in Merce-
des at the Hidalgo County Bank on
February 23rd, 24th and 25th for
the purpose of assisting individual
tax payers in the preparation of their
1919 income tax returns.
Most Successful Farm Director in
State Leaves Gulf Coast Lines to
Act in Advisory Capacity for
Farm Owners on Local Canal
System—Will be Big Benefit to
New Residents of Valley.
Dr. H. H. Harrington, recognized
as the most successful agricultural
expert in the state is coming to Mer-
cedes to work with the farmers of
this section in an advisory capacity.
Announcement that Dr. Harrington
had been engaged by the American
Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Com-
pany was made this week by J. J.
Elliott, president, as the first step
in its new policy of constructive co-
operation with the farm owners re-
siding on its canal system.
The employment of Dr. Harrington
A WEEKLY LETTER TO THE
VALLEY FARMERS
Mercedes, Texas Feb. 19-1920
Many of you who have previously
purchased land have just moved in-
to the Valley. Some of you have
previously moved from one farm to
another, maybe from one state to
another, while living in the North.
Now you are getting ready to farm
a virgin soil, possibly for the first
time. If so, you will be interested
in the manner in which your pre-
decessors prepared the soil for spring
planting.
While your contractor is complet-
ing the clearing and plowing of your
land, you may get ready to .level it
down with a drag or a float. A
float is conceded the best and is very
easily made by using three joists
2x8, eight feet long set at a slight
angle to serve as cross members,
supported at each end .with a 2x8
16 or 1 feet long, used as runners,
and for draw bars. Nail across the
top, two 1x6 planks for braces, which
will serve for a platform on which
you can ride or place a w'agon spring
seat to sit on while floating. It may
be necessary to place a mesquite log
or two on the float in order to com-
pletely fill up . the holes that were
made by grubbing out the brush and
trees. The float should be drawn
by four mules.
After leveling you need an engineer
to run your levels and to make you
a good contour blue print for the
building of your field laterals. You
can set stakes according to the blue
print and begin building field later-
als by plowing up the dirt into two
back furrows, beginning about nine
feet apart, leaving a dead furrow be-
tween the two back furrows. Finish
the work with a pusher. You can
secure one from a neighbor who has
finished his laterals and he will be
more than glad to help you get
started. Some farmers go together
and bu3r a pusher in partnership. A
steel pusher costs about $75.
You will find that a field lateral
with about twelve inches above the
surface of the ground and about sev-
en feet from center to center will
give you the best service for irri-
gating your land. You may build
your laterals much smaller than this
as many do, and find later that it is
a mistake and rebuild them making
them larger.
It is always best to level and ir-
rigate new land before planting. It
only takes four or five days after
an irrigation before you can go on
your land and work it. Many men
disc the land when dry enough, then
harrow cross ways before planting,
You will find that you never gain by
saving timef in rushing your plant-
ing until you have well prepared the
seed bed op new land.
MANAGER.
they will have first hand expert ad-
vice on the many questions that
arise with reference to their agricul-
tural pursuits.”
to helTSers
HAVE LAND CLEARED
is regarded here as one of the most i realizes that one way to make the
forward and practical steps ever j irrigation business pay is not only
taken in the Valley to assure the j to bave perfect canals and plenty or
success of the new residents here | }'rater, but to have the farmers under
and to ajd and increase the pros-1 its canai system satisfied and suc-
perity of the older ones. j cessful. Dr. Harrington will be
It is the first time a canal com- j bere as one who is especially^ adapt-
pany has gone to the expense of en- j eb and wholly experienced in this
gaging an expert to assist the users! bne of work and the farmers feel
of its water system and farmers and tbut it is a matter for rejoicing that
other who have lived for years in
the Valley declare the coming of
Dr. Harrington to Mercedes will do
more to build up this part of the
country on a permanent and sub-
stantial footing than anything that
has been or could be done.
“Dr. Harrington has been engaged
by the company to devote his entire
time, energy, ability and experience
in farming matters to the farmers
residing on our canal system,” said
Mr. Elliott. He is the best man I
could find for the place and enjoys,
I believe, the most widespread repu-
taation of any agricultural expert in
the South. He is not coming to tell
the farmers how to farm but to act
in an advisory capacity, to lend a
helping hand and offer his advice
and suggestions to any who may
want it. I am sure that his expe-
rience and his ability to impart his
farming knowledge to others will
be of inestimable value to the en-
tire section.
“He should prove of special service
to the new arrivals, the farmers from
the North who have bought land and
moved here and who must learn all
over even some of the rudiments of
farming if they are to be successful
in the Valley.”
American Company Opens New De-
partment After Several Com-
plaints of Delays
Organization of a new department
by the American Rio Grande Land
and Irrigation Company to clear land
for purchasers on a cost plus ten
per cent basis was announced this
week by president J. J. Elliott.
The department will be under the
supervision of competent engineers
and large crews of laborers will be
employed so that the work can be
done rapidly and thoroughly.
Determination to assist the pur-
chaser of farms on the Mercedes
canal system by having their land
cleared quickly and properly was
made by Mr. Elliott after several had
complained of delays and had alleged
The employment of Dr. Harring- that certain contractors had collect-
ton followed close upon the heels i ed in advance for work which has
of a statement given The Tribune not even been started,
last week by Mr. Elliott that the “The American Company is not
American Company intended to do! competing with the honest clearing
everything possible to co-operate j contractor,’ said Mr. Elliott, “but is
with the farmers and that he had; opening a clearing department in or-
been surprised to learn that the rap- der to speed up the development and
id development here had been car- * to avoid useless and costly delays
ried on without the guidance of an for those who purchase and who
expert adviser.
Experienced farmers agree that no
better qualified man could have been
employed. Dr. Harrington is a farm-
er and the only condition he made
in accepting the American Company’s
offer was that the company would
sell him a farm near here. For
many years Dr. Harrington was chief
agricultural director for the Frisco
lines. He was president of the Tex-
as Agricultural and Mechanical Col-
lege for several years and for the
last ten years agricultural director
for the St. Louis, Brownsville &
want their land made ready at once
for cultivation.
“There is no room in this part
of the Valley for the contractor who
collects for work that is never start-
ed. Purchasers who experience
trouble in having their contracts ful-
filled should report their difficul-
ties to our office. If we can help
them we are going to do it. A few
have given me power of attorney
and their land either is going to be
grubbed according to agreement or
their, payments refunded immediate-
ly.”
3760 Voters Pay Poll
or Obtain Exemptions
Thiee thousand, seven hundred and | McAllen with 525 payments and Mer-
sixty voters will be allowed to cast j cedes with 503 and * Pharr-San Juan
The Stewart Land C
their ballots in Hidalgo county at
the various elections this year,' ac-
cording to announcement made this
week by J. Alamia, county tax coi
lector. The report showed that
3437 persons paid poll tax, while 323
applied for and were granted ex-
emptions. In addtion all persons
who have lived in Texas as long as
a year but who were not in this
county on January 1, 1919 will also
be entitled to vote. This number is
variously estimated at from 100 to
400, although there are no figures
on which to base such an estimate.
Precinct No. 5, Mission, will poll
the heaviest vote, according to the
list of all poll tax payments. In
that precinct 577 receipts^ were is-
sued and 52 exemptifflflL granted.
come next in voting
with 500
strength.
The report as issued by Mr. Alamia
follows:
Prect.
Name
Polls Exemi
1
Mercedes . . .
, 503
38
2
Donna . . .
457
49
3
Hidalgo . . .
104
9
4
McAllen . . .
525
63
5
Mission . . .
577
52
6
Habana . . .
182
22
7
Edinburg . .
304
32
8
Jesus Maria
. 67
9
9
San Manuel .
. 74
4
30
Pharr-San Juan
500
37
11
Monte Christo
. 8
1
12
Sta. Rita . .
70
4
13
i Panchita . . .
66
3
1
Total ....
3437
323
Mexico railroad. Since government
operation he has been agricultural
director for both the Gulf Coast
lines and Southern Pacific, with
headquarters at Houston.
Discussing the acquisition of Dr.
Harrington, F. W. Shaw, vice presi-
dent and chief engineer for the com-
pany said:
“The American Rio Grande Land
and Irrigation Company is sparing
no expense in giving to the people
on its extensive land subdivisions
the very best canal system, and it
j
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Rector, J. F., Jr. Mercedes Tribune (Mercedes, Tex.), Vol. 7, No. 1, Ed. 1 Friday, February 20, 1920, newspaper, February 20, 1920; Mercedes, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1017636/m1/1/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Dr. Hector P. Garcia Memorial Library.