Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 6, 1936 Page: 1 of 8
eight pages : ill. ; page 22 x 16 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
f*V
?
I
*
’ 1
4
y*
m
For a Greater, Better Palacio* Country—Agriculture, Industry, Commerce, Living
*Ji:5pDBSCRIPTI0N $1.50 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE
PALACIOS, MATAGORDA COUNTY, TEXAS, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1930
VOLUME XXIX NUMBER 6
COUNTY GOES WET
BY LARGE MAJORITY1
i
GREAT VICTORY RECEIVED
SAT. FOR LEGALIZING
THE SALE OF LIQUOR
*
Y
0
,4.
_ atagorda County, legally dry
since the year 1907, was turned
back into the wet oolumns last
Saturday by a majority of over 400
out of the healthy voto of some
2000. The day was a miserable one
or else the total vote would have
mounted and the majority would
have been heavier.
This overwhelming vote in favor
of legalising the sale of liquors and
bringing the traffic out into the
open should prove a mandate to the
officials of both the city and coun-
ty to proceed immediately to the
closing of every place where liquor
is sold illegally. There is no further
excuse to wait for complaints to be
made. These places are known, they
are operated contrary to law and
should be closed. The owners of
such places can apply for and buy
license to operate. Let them do this
or be closed.
While the wet majority in Bay
City should have been at least 2
to 1, there are many who were sur-
prised that the majority vote was
in favor of legalized liquor. Many
people who have never in their lives
voted a wet ticket did so Saturday
because they preferred the legal,
open sale of the goods against the
illegal bootlegging which has been
so bold and prevalent for so long a
time. This, of course, was the prop-
er way oLlooking at the question.
Bay City’s vote was 438 for legaliz-
ing liquor, 377 against, a majority
of 61.
Palacios and Collegeport proved
to be the only boxes in the county
to return a majority against legal
liquors. Palacios voted 226 dry and
200 wet. Collegeport voted 20 dry,
13 wet. The banner wet box was
El Maton .where the dry vote was
l against 49 wet. The closest vote
was at Van Vleck, 20 wet to 17 dry,
and at Caney where 7 wet votes
were polled against 4 dry. Markham
WW also close, 68 wet to 63 dry.
The election was quiet and order-
ly throughout the entire day, not
a great deal of effort being put
forth or electioneering done. None
on the part of the antis. In the
Bay City voting precinct the pros
were more or less active and did
a great deal of work in the way
of meetings, card and letter writ-
ing, using the phone and by per-
sonal contact, however, creating no
iancor or unpleasantness.
P.-T.A., Y.W.C.A.
To Give Program
on T ex. Centennial
A Texas Centennial Program will1
be given at the
The vote by boxes is us follows:
Bay City
Wet
438
Dry
377
Palacioe
200
226
Gulf
59
11
Matagorda
87
11
Wadsworth
87
11
Markham
68
63
Blessing
66
22
Midfield
69
17
Cedar Lane
15
10
Pledger
28
12
Caney •
7
4
Buckeye
17
8
Collegeport
13
20
Van Vleck
20
17
El Maton
49
1
Ashby
19
6
Clemville and Sargent had not
reported when this went to press.
However, ap they are both wet
boxes, the results will not be chang-
ed. Their votes will run the wet
majority to around 400.—Bay City
Tribune. •
Restoration of Texas’ Oyster Industry
s Urged by State Marine Biologist
Despite the continued rainy
weather, Palacios remains one of
llVreuK’ the0lcUoJehCeldUriS' P™on-lik* water (too fresh or too
By ALBERT COLLIER
Marine Biologist State Game, Fish
and Oyster Commission.
It is commonly recognized at this
time that the Texas oyster as an
industrial product is on the wana
There are several factors depletion
of the public oyster beds. The fac
tors are these: Overfishing, natural
enemies and extremes of the ele-
ments.
By its very nature the oyster is
helpless as an individual and doom
ed as a race before the uncontrolled
onslaught of these factors. It
not difficult to see how an oyster
reef when subjected to unrestricted
exploitation by dredge and tong can
soon be annihilated. It is not hard
to see what little protection an
animal with a shell house Las when
it is attacked1 by animals that can
bore and drill quite freely through
this house. One can easily conoeive
of the damage that can be wrought
upon a colony of stationary animals
when silt-laden flood waters drop
their loads of ooze upon them, or
when storm-stirred seas cover them
with their heavy sands, or when
0„,_____. . , . ... salty, as the case may be) is pdured
srts.'Lsn ss thm tor «
vote was cast and at the close of tlm '
the polls that evening it was found | Absolutely and directly man can
226 were in the dry column and control his own willful ravages;
200 in the wet. The county went sometimes directly, sometimes in-
wet by a big majority and Palacios directly ®nd within limits he can
will probably have within the near control natural enemies, but flood
future two or more legalized places ant* hurricane can only be allowed
dispensing liquor for the first run their respective courses, the,r
time in the town’s history.
One Killed, Two
Injured at Citrus
Grove Explosion
IRA WARD IS RILLED AT WELL
EAST OF PALACIOS ON
MON. AFTERNOON
One man was killed and two in-
; ured in an explosion at the Citrus
Grove well on Monday afternoon.
Ira Ward, agee 27 years, a mem-
ber of the Continental Oil crew,
was the one killed, and his brother,
Ray, another member of the crew
was stunned by the explosion. —
H. C. Rhodes, an employee, since
fury unabated (possibly some re-
servations for the former.)
This, then, is a picture of the
world in which the oyster lives, per-
haps a drastic pidture, true. But
whether the youthful oyster in the
freedom of its larval life recognizes
the vicissitudes of hfs sedantary
future or not, we must. Especially
if we intend to nurse him through
the critical stages of his life to ma-
turity.
Granting that the Texas oyster
industry is now insignificant and
at the same time recognizing it
as one of the greatest potential
fisheries resources that we have
on our coast, what can we do to
revive it, and how should we go
about it? Economically there are
two important roads to rehabili-
tation that can be taken. One is
for the state to take over the de-
velopment of oyster bottoms and
the other is for the state to lease
its bottoms to private enterprise
for development. At present the
last week, suffered the loss of two }atter is the tendency and in view
fingers, some severe bruises and of thig it seems pertinent at this
deafened by the
pertinent
time to make clear to the public cer-
tain important points in regard to
beginning an oyster culture project.
Which of these roads is taken is
immaterial here, because in either
case the method of development is
was partially
blast.
M. M. Kinley, of Houston, a vet-
eran oil well fire-fighter, who was
there preparing to “shoot” the well
was the other victim and has a
broken arm, fractured knee cap and j tj,e sam6j e > by artificial cultiva-
mjured leg. I tion. By artificial cultivation, if
The accident happened about 2:20 properly carried out, an undevelop-
m Hjgb School on o'clock when an attempt was made j ed and carelessly exploited natural
next" Tuesday evening at 8 o’clock,.t0 we'd a Piece on thc bottom of resource can be turned into a val-
under the sponsorship of the P. T. an emPty nitroglycerine can. uable source of healthful food and
A. and Y. W. C. A. Council mem- I The Taylor Brothers’ ambulances a profitable industry. It has been
bers. There will be no admission were rushed1 to the scene and the done in other sections of the coun-
charge and everyone is cordially in- 1 injured men taken to the hospital try with a high degree of success)
vited. j in Bay City, and we learn they are and there is no reason why Texas,
Numbers on the program include wel] “ C°uld be expec*d’
Cowboy Song, under direction of The body of Ward was prepared
Mrs. Harper; Girl Reserves sing burial and stopped to his home
Texas Songs, “Meaning of the Tex- 1 ln Pauls Valle>b okla- for lnter*
collect the oyster larva. Where they economy is more than lost in a re-
are available, boatloads of oysteT
shells are carried out and scattered
over bottoms that have been se-
lected on account of their proxi-
mity to reefs that will put out the
suiting poor set.
The operator must be certain that
he is scattering his cultch at
time when the oyster larvae are
ready to set in sufficient quantity
jMMAMAS
"Rather a man without money, than
money without a man."
FEBRUARY
6—Start of lix-month Cana-
■■ dian tarthquaka cycla,
1663a
M
6—First International dl»*
armament conference
meett in Washington,
1922.
’—First successful steam fire
engine demonstrated at
Cincinnati, 1853.
^4..
%
8—Fremont proclaims Cali-
fornia annexed to tht
United States. 1147.
»—Congreasauthorisei estab-
lishment of tho Wtathcr
Bureau. 1170.
10—Conqueror Hernando Cor-
tes sails for Mexico. ISIS.
< 11—Thomas A Edison, treat
•~B.ni inventor, bom 1(47.
City Codncil to
Shell 4th Street
to Pavilion Pier
HARD SURFACED ROAD WILL
BE PROVIDED FOR ALL
PLEASURE SEEKERS
ais Centennial,” by Mrs. Best;
“Negro Folk Lore,” Mrs. Miller;
ment.
Enters Race For
District Clerk
‘Spanish Missions” Miss Fetterly; J# Grady Walker
"Social Life of Early Texans,” Mm. j
Bolling; "Early Ports of Texas,”
Mrs. Traylor.
A business meeting of the P. T,
A. will be held at 7:30 preceding
the program and there will be no
meeting of the Y. W. C, A. Council
on Monday evening.
—Publicity Chairman.
HEAR ME!
An old time Gospel Meeting now
in progresa next door to the Ideal
Grocery Co. Old Fashioned, Yes.
Un-deneminational, yes. Purpose of
meetings—that Souls might he sav-
er, and God Glorified. Come, all
are welcome. Work with us, you will
be blessed for your service. God
will be Glorified1 and thc world made
better, for if Jesus be lifted1 up He
will draw all Men unto Him.
Mrs. R. T. Phillips returned Tues-
day from Osage City, Kas., where
she had been since before Christmas
visiting her daughter, Mrs. Charles
Schoonover and family, and other
relatives in Kansas.
In the announcement column of
the Beacon this week will be found
the name of J, Grady Walker, as a
candidate for the office of District
Clerk, subject to the action of the
White Man’s Union primaries in
April.
Mr. Walker has been a resident
of Matagorda County a number of
years and for the past few years
has made hiis home in Palacios,
where he has been associated with
different business concerns and has
made a large circle of friends. He
is qualified in every way for the
office he seeks and will strive to
give the people of the county effi-
cient service should he be elected.
He asks the support of his friends
assuring them it will be greatly
appreciated.
Albert Bentz who attended John
Tarlton the first semester came
home last week, but hopes to enter
College again next fall.
OL
with even more natural advantages
than the other localities referred to,
cannot come into her own in this
respect.
Three Methods
Oyster cultivation is usually ini.
tiated in a given locality by one or
more of three methods, according
to the type of locality in which the
project is started, and the financial
resources of the operators. As not-
ed in a preceding paragraph, the
oyster starts its life as a minute,
free-swimming larva. The critical
moment in an oyster’s life is dur-
ing the stage that this larva isi
ready to attach itself to some solid
substratum. It matters litjtle of
what the substratum is composed,
so long as it presents a clean sur-
face for attachment. The water over
and around oyster reefs bears lit-
erally millions of these young free-
swimming oysters during the
spawning season and of course they
are distributed over the bays by
the prevailing currents; they are
carried about until they are ready
to set when they must attach them-
selves to a solid substratum or per-
ish. They will Bet on anything that
presents a clean surface and when
this is deliberately put in the water
by man for the express purpose of
catching young oysters it is known
as cultch.
One of the common methods of
starting an oyster farm is to put
out various materials suitable to
larvae in large quantities. If this)to make his labors worth while,
method of starting Is properly exe- Otherwise the cultch will lie on the
cuted it is economical, but if cer- bottom and become slimy with silt
tain precautions are not taken Its | and alga, and thus lose its collect-
ing efficiency. A second precaution
that must be taken in this method
of operation is the determination of
the type of bottom on which the
cultch is to be scattered. The bot-
tom must not be so soft as to al
low the cultch to sink below the sur-
face nor must it be constituted of
a sand of such quality that. will
shift around the shells and allow
them to work down, much as they
would in quicksand. The best oyster
bottom is generally considered to
be what is characterized1 as a hard,
sticky mud.
Poultry Netting Used.
A variation of the above start-
ing method is to put the cultch in
bags made of poultry netting be-
fore putting into the water. There
are several advantages in this man-
ner of handling the shell. Should it
fail to catch a set of oysters, then
it can be taken from the water and
rebleached for a second attempt.
Also when a set does occur, the spat
(young oysters) can be moved with
much greater ease and much better
distributed over the selected grow-
ing bottoms, if indeed they are to
be moved.
A second method of starting a
farm is for the operator to buy hiaf
“seed oysters” from one who has
made a specialty of spat collecting.
It will be some time before the
Texas oyster industry develops to
this stage of production.
A third method, and the most
widely used on this coast so far,
of initiating artificial cultivation is
obtaining seed oysters from natural
reefs. Here the wild1 oysters are
tonged or dredged up from public
reefs and the seed oysters sorted
out, the remainder of the mass of
large oysters and shell being shovel-
ed back into the water. In some
cases, on account of reduced op-
erating cost, the entire mass is
taken untreated to the proposed
beds and planted. This is a bad
practice because it defeats one of
the important advantages of arti.
ficial cultivation. Invariably wild
oysters are in an overcrowded con-
dition and consequently the product
as put on tihe market is not uniform
and of very poor shape—important
considerations on the open and oom
petitive market. When, during cul-
tivation, the clusters of small, poor-
ly formed' oysters are broken up
and scattered over new bottom they
quickly increase their growth and
take on a typical oyster shape. Thiel
gives a uniform oyster and one with
a body that does not look like a
grotesque egg noodle or a diseased
potato. A well formed shell is also
handled with much greater facility
at the shucking house. In view of
this, it can be seen that the simple
transfer of clusters of untreated
wild oysters from one location to
another cannot improve them to any
great extent over the wild product.
Once the oyster farm is started,
constant watch and care is neces-
sary. During harvesting time‘the
operator should see that all new
clusters are broken up and the
young oysters treated with due re-
gard for their thin, fragile shells.
He should be on the alert for any
predator, for predators seem to
relish well cleaned and healthy beds
of oysters. There are many details
of operation that will have to be
worked out to suit the particular
locality in which the farm is situat-
ed. These requirement® can only be
mastered by intelligent and scienti-
fic management.
There are many technical phases
of oyster culture, the responsibility
of which private organizations could
not be expected to assume, individL
ually or collectively. There are fun-
damental problems involved which
require painstaking research and
constant scientific routine. Recog-
nizing this as prerequisite for the
successful development of the oyster
industry on the Texas coast, the
Texas game, fish and oyster com-
mission has launched a scientific
program designed to render aid
wherever it may be most needed.
At the regular meeting of the
City Council Monday night a plan
shelling 4th Street from the
Pavilion Pier to the pavement at
the corner of Commerce or least
Duson Ave., was discussed.
Mayor Deutsch appointed a com-
mittee, with councilman, H. C.
Lewis as chairman to investigate
cost and other necessary steps for
the project which is to be thirty
feet wide. This would certainly be
great improvement and one badly
needed and we are pleased to learn
being contemplated by our city
dads.”
Water Superintendent Guy Bar-
nett was selected as delegate to at-
tend the State School of Instruction
to be held at College Station next
week.
CONTRACT FOR NEW
HIGH SCHOOL IS LET
Clark Thompson
Guest Speaker at
Rotary Luncheon
Hon. Clark Thompson, of Galves
ton, was guest speaker at the Rot-
ary luncheon Wednesday, with Com.
G. A. Harrison in charge of the
program. Mr. Thompson is a gift-
ed speaker and was at his best on
this occasion. Other guests were
Mfcjor E. A. Wood, Clarence Mc-
Donough, Ralph McMahon and
N. Gustafson, of Austin, who were
here with E. O. Taulbee, president
of the Bay City Chamber of Com
merce, and Mr. McIntosh, of Cana'
da. A number of the local Rotarians
were accompanied by their wives
and altogether it was a very enjoy
able meeting, one of the best to be
held at the present place of meet-
ing, the Pavilion Cafe.
E. P. (Zeke) Noble
Out For Constable
E. P. (Zeke) Noble announces
this week as a candidate for con-
stable of this precinct a position he
has held the past few years. In
seeking re-election Mr. Noble asks
the support of his friends and
promises to do his duty as an of-
ficer of the law fair and imparitally
at all times.
Texas Motorists
Compelled to Get
Drivers’ License
PREPARATIONS FOR PUTTING
NEW LAW IN EFFECT
FEB. 14 COMPLETED
Engineers, River
Board Men, Tour
Lower Colorado
Bay City, Feb. 4.—Headed by E.
O. Taulbee of Bay City, president
of the Lower Colorado River Flood
Control Association, a party of en-
gineers and river board members
today made an inspection tour of
the Colorado River with special in-
terest being stressed on the prob-
lem of opening the mouth of the
river, which has caused a flootd
hazard for many years.
In the party were Clarence Mc-
Donough, manager of the Lower
Colorado Authority; Ralph McMa-
hon, state reclamation engineer, of
Austin; Col. E. H. Marks, United
States district engineer, Galveston;
John T. Bond of the Matagorda re-
clamation board); J. H. Wilkins, en-
gineer for the local district, and E.
N. Gustafson, engineer, of Austin.
A trip down the river to the pen-
insula was made in one of the con-
servation district boats.—Houston
Chronicle.
LOCAL BAPTISTS ATTEND
WHARTON WORKERS’ CON.
Five representatives from the
First Baptist Church attended the
monthly workers conference of the
Colorado Baptist Association, Tues-
day. Those attending from Palacios
were Mrs. J. R. Elliott, MrB. O. B.
Hamlin, Mxjs* Julius Snyder and
Miss Minda Barr went to Victoria
Saturday morning to join Mr. and
Mrs. Keith McIntosh of Kamsack,
Saskatchewan, Canada, to spend the
day sight-seeing in thc “Alamo
Rev. and Mrs. George D. McClelland, city” and visiting Miss Alice Barr.
Austin, Tex., Feb. 3—Texas’
major experiment in the field of
motoring safety, designed to reduce
the huge toll of human life on its
highspeeds roads, will get under
way soon.
L. G. Phares, acting director of
the Department of Public Safety,
said Saturday that his organization
would start issuing motor vehicle
drivers’ licenses when the law mak-
ing them mandatory becomes ef-
fective February 14.
The law will be administered
through a separate bureau under
supervision of Capt. J. D. Moffatt,
veteran highway patrol inspector.
The patrol will form the chief field
force, co-operating closely with
local officers and jurists.
All drivers of motor vehicles must
obtain licenses before April 1. They
will be issued by County Tax Col-
lectors and may be obtained simul-
taneously with the registration of
motor vehicles.
Pharesi calculated that approxi-
mately 2,500,000 Texans would be
required to obtain licenses. He said
there were approximately 1,250,000
vehicles with an average of two
and two-tenths drivers of each.
Licenses, which will be valid for
three years unless revoked for traf-
fic code and law violations, will be
issued free.
Must Carry Permits Always
Phares warned motorists to carry
their licenses with them at all times
to avoid embarrassment.
_ "There will be plenty of time for
all to obtain licenses,” he said. “I
hope all officers will enforce the law
from a reasonable, sensible stand-
point and not attempt to harass the
public. It was not the intention of
the Legislature to embarrass citi-
zens but to improve conditions on
the highways. We want it to be of
constructive benefit, but if it be-
comes a nuisance through bad! en-
forcement practices there will be at-
tempts to repeal.”
License forms are being mailed
to Tax Collectors.
♦
A. N. EVANS OF COLUMBUS IS
LOW BIDDER ON MAIN
BUILDING PROJECT
Bids for the construction and
equipping of Palacios’ new high
school building were opened last
Thursday afternoon, and A. N.
Evans, of Columbus was low bidder
for the construction and the King
Furniture Co., of San Antonio, for
equipment, their bids being $64,-
898.00 and $6,249.70 respectively.
Other bidders for the building
were G. W. Mitchell, of San Anton-
io; Thos. A. Sheenan, San Antonio;
Tellepsen Construction Co.. Hous-
ton, while the American Seating
Co. of Houston; Bickley Co., Hous-
ton and Southern Office Furniture
Co. of Houston were other bidders
for the eqiupment.
Mr. Evans was the contractor
for the Blessing High School, also
did some of the work at Camp
Hulen and has numerous friends
here who are pleased that he suc-
ceeded in getting the job.
As none of the bids were as low
as the amounts allowed by the PWA
the board was compelled to take
option on them and while Mr. Evans’
basic bid was $60,678.00, changes in
the preferred plan were made to
bring it to the figures quoted above,
which with alterations of the
equipment as had been planned, the
board feels will be satisfactory to
all.
We learn work orders have been
received from PWA headquarters,
but up to this time the money is
not yet available so no announce-
ment has been made just when the
work will be started on the exca-
vation and foundation.
C. E. Moser Makes
Announcement For
Sheriff of County
C. E. Moser, a prominent rice
farmer of Wadsworth, authorizes
the Beacon to place his name i*4he'
announcement column this week
as a candiate for sheriff, his candi-
dacy being subject, of course, to
the action of the White Man’s Un-
ion Primaries in April.
Mr. Moser has been a citizen of
Matagorda County for many years
and in seeking the office of sheriff,
states he is following'his own am-
bition and the solicitations of his
many friends; and if elected to the
office will devote his entire time
and all of his energy in trying to
serve the county in a careful and
impartial manner.
He asks the support of his friends
and will appreciate any encourage-
ment given his candidacy.
tion and1 the final stub will be con-
fiscated and sent the department
the third conviction.
Persons driving after their li-
censes have been suspended will be
subject to heavy penalties, includ-
ing imprisonment for six months.
All members of a family who
drive the family automobile will be
required to obtain licenses. Each
license will carry a detailed descrip-
tion of the person to whom issued
and they will not be transferraible.
Causes for Revocation
Licenses would be suspended au-
tomatically or revoked on convictfbn
of negligent homicide resulting
from the operation of a motor ve-
hicle while under the influence of
intoxicating liquor or drugs; any
offense punishable as a felony under
the motor vehicle laws, three con-
victions in twelve consecutive
months for speeding or reckless
driving, failure to stop and render
aid after an accident and convic-
tion on two separate charges of ag-
gravated assault on a person with
a motor vehicle.
Licenses will be granted all per-
sons who are prima facie sound
mentally and physically. Permits
will be denied persons less than 14
years old, habitual drunkards and
users of narcotics, persons adjudged
The license is in three perforated ^insane, epileptic or feebleminded and
sections. The first removal of one
of the sections for violating traffic
laws automatically reduces the
classification of the driver from
first to second class.
On conviction of a violation the
trial Judge will note on the detach-
ed section the offense and the dis-
position and mail it to the safety
department. Similar procedure will
be followed on the second oonvio-
pensons who are shown by common
experience to possess defects that
ren.der them incapable of efficient
driving,
Special provision has been made
to license visitors who remain in
Texas more than ninety days.
Administrative expenses will be
defrayed from a $3 license fee on
chauffeur and other professional
drivers.
4
/
mmmmm
wmm
■M
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Mrs. J. W. Dismukes and Sons. Palacios Beacon (Palacios, Tex.), Vol. 29, No. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, February 6, 1936, newspaper, February 6, 1936; Palacios, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth726049/m1/1/: accessed July 8, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Palacios Library.