Galveston Tribune. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 148, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 16, 1912 Page: 67 of 85
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SECTION NINE.
Galveston Has Ample Finances Back of Large and Growing Trade
Trade Relations With Surrounding
Coast are Growing More Cor-
dial as Trade
Some idea of the amount of capital
necessary for the proper financing of
the various enterprises of Galveston
can be gained when it is known that
the one item of exports of cotton and
cotton seed products through this port
amounts yearly to the neighborhood of
$200,000,000. That is just a starter,
however, when the other large inter-
ests which are centered here are tak-
en into consideration.
There is a tremendous amount of
coastwise trade in general merchan-
dise, there are a large number of
Jobbing houses in the city in the var-
ious staple lines, there are retail
tetares and department houses that
rank with the best in the state, there
are a number of factories of different
character, and all of them requiring
capital. While perhaps not requiring
such a large amount of financial back-
ing, another important item in Gal-
veston’s channels of trade is the for-
warding business, that is handling of
freight from shipside to cars and get-
ting it sent on to the interior destina-
tions in good order. There has been
a wonderful growth in this business in
the last few years and the forwarding
agents have been able to serve their
customers up state to good advantage.
Concentration of cotton in Galveston
is the one big thing requiring capital.
The cotton is concentrated here and a
certain amount of money advanced to
the owners, with final settlement
awaiting the sale of the staple. Hun-
dreds of thousands of bales of cotton
are Concentrated here yearly and of
course the money advanced thereon
mounts up into the millions of dollars
annually.
Galveston Has Cash.
For the proper financing of all the
lines of trade indicated above and any
others that may have.been inadvertent-
ly overlooked, Galveston has the cash.
The banks of this city are in the hands
Retail Business.
Galveston’s retail district is one of
the best in the country and nowhere
else in the same area In this country
can so wide a range of articles be
found. With the big cargo vessels of
every nation coming to this port with
every imaginable article of commerce
in addition to the supply of home
products there, are to be found all
things that the mind might decide
upon. Also it is found that the stores
are well arranged- They are properly
lighted and the transactions in the
hands of skilled and courteous trades-
people. Also the retail district of the
city is undergoing a transformation in
the matter of lighting and soon the
downtown section will be the most
brilliantly illuminated of any similar
section in the south.
Some of the largest and oldest wholt-
sale establishments in Texas are lo-
cated in Galveston and have for years
enjoyed the reputation of handling
their business to the mutual good of
themselves and the customers whom
they serve. Incidentally Galveston
wholesale business is on the increase
with indications that it will continue
to do se even more rapdly than at
present.
The trade of Galveston with the coast
country, the towns along bay and |
gulf shore and the Hereby interior is j
of constantly increasing importance j
and volume. The coast country produe- j
es everything that Galveston wants td j
buy. Galveston is able to furnish all I
the things that the inhabitants of the i
coast country need. That there is a I
steady growing feling of cordiality t
and friendship between Galveston and
the coast country is shown by. the re-,
cent trade excursions run by the Re-
tail Merchants association and the
commercial assouiation. Four of these
excursions have been run, throe by
train and one by boat. They proved
to be wonderfully sucesssful in every
case and wrere participated in by more
THOUSANDS OF BALES OF COTTON IN' -WHARF SHED AT GALVESTON.
run to Kemah, Seabrook and La Porte.
On April 18 the fourth excursion, in
which three powerful launches were
used, j was to WallisViLle and 'Anahitac
in- Chambers county. All of these ex -
cursions were of inestimable value in
bringing about better tiade relations
betwen Galveston and her nearby
neighbors.
and of course a big shed filled
with cotton When it is taken
into consideration that even this
wide variety of articles handled is only
a small portion of the total of Galves-
ton trade it can be more clearly seen
wliy this city is a great financial and
trade center.
Written in figures and set down in
figures it is a matter of deliberation.
1 here foie for years to c'ome the city
will profit by its record in things
fi i; m cial.
, To have a faith in4 the future found-
ed on the knowledge of the past; to
be sure of today because of the his-
tory-of yesterday; to have a confidence
mjm of experience-— these "tilings are
aii asset in the financial and business
a J\rld and pay u dividend in peace of
vessels from using the harbor and
necessitated the lighterage of cargoes
to the4 larger vessels anchored in deep
water beyond the outer bar.
Prior, to 1874 the projects for im-
proving the 'harbor related to dredging
operations . on a small scale.
The project for the permanent im-
provement by' jetties was adopted in
1874 and modified in 1880 and 1888.
contour of the gulf and supplementing
the action of the tidal scour by ‘dredg-
iing. The estimated cost of this re-
vised project was ?7,000,000.
The expenditures under the above
projects resulted in y^00 in ' a depth
of 2'3 feet at mean low tide on the out-
er bar, an increase of 14 feet since
work began, and a depth of 26 feet at
inean low tide on the inner bar, an in-
crease of 16 feet during the same per-
iod.
The south jetty extended 35,603 feet
and the north jetty extended 25,907
feet. The amount expended on this
project was $7,041,684.42, of which $97,-
687.S5 was for maintenance of the
improvement.
The hurricane of September 8, 1900,
damaged the jetties to a considerable
extent, and a board of engineers’ offi-
cers estimated the cost*of repairing
the same at $1,500,000. Appropriations
under this estimate commenced June
13, 1902, and were completed in 1906,
$1,200,000 being appropriated.
The act of March 2, 1907, appro-
priatinig $300,000 and authorized con-
tinuing contracts for prosecuting the
work to the amount of $700,000 addi-
tional, all of which has since been
appropriated. In pursuance of tbe dis-
cretion vested in him by this act, the
secretary of war approved a project
for expenditure of funds appropriated
and pledged in obtaining a depth of
30 feet by repairing the Jetties, by
jetty extension, and by dredging, in-
cluding construction of a new dredge.
This dredge, the Galveston, began
work November 24, 1908.
From June 13, 1902, to June 20, 1911,
$2,530,173.76 has been expended in ac-
cordance with modified project, of
whch $525,238.10 was for maintenace
of improvements.
Galveston has ample, commodious
and modern school buildings, a corps
of unsurpassed teachers, a course of
study approved by educational experts,
a state school fund augmented by vol-
untary tax of her citizens and a live
and progressive board of education.
Galveston harbor is one of the most
impressively beautiful in the world,
stretching for miles in a great semi-
circle, the ship channel sweeps by tbe
greatest system of docks in the south
and out to sea'through the most mag-
nificent system of jetties in the world.
Galveston has many public buildings
which compare in size and artistic as-
sign those in cities of twice imr popu-
lation.
liitid.
FREIGHT HANDLERS ON DOCK AT GALVESTON.
of capable, courageous and skilled
financiers who have had years of train-
ing in large undertakings and know
thoroughly the needs of the various
lines of trade.
There has never been a time wnen
the Galveston institutions were endan-
gered by the “panics” which have from
time to time played havoc in otheh
sections of the country. In fact on
more than one occasion other sections
have turned to the financial institu-
tions of this city in times of need and
have, found the aid they sought was
forthcoming. No legitimate undertak-
ing is likely to go unfinanced in Gal-
veston. for the money is here and in
the hands of people who know how
and when to use it to the best inter-
ests of the community.
The Galveston Cotton Exchange plays
an important part in the trade activ-
ities of the city and the transactions
there,daily amount to a small fortune.
The exchange is one of the leading in-
stitutions of the city and has always
Stood for progress in the community.
Another indication of Galveston’s in-
creasing importance as a trade center
of the United States is the constantly
increasing total of custom house re-
ceipts on imported merchandise. For
the year ending January 1st, 1912, the
custom receipts for this port amount-
ed to $808,409.12, an increase of $329,-
841.80 over t^e previous year. This is
a record year, while the present
twelve months promise to do equally
well.
Receipts at the post office for stamps
and stamped paper are also somewhat
of a business barometer, and in the
case of Galveston the record is entire-
ly in the right direction. The last year
was the banner year in the history of
the local post office. The total re-
ceipts amounted to $161,912.62, an in-
crease-of $19,731 over the previous year
and far greater than any other preced-
ing twelve months.
than one thousand representative busi-
ness men.
The first of these excursions, early
this spring, Avas to Texas City, Lamar-
que. League City, Dickinson and Web-
ster. The second of the day folloAving
the first Avas to Hitchcock, Alta Loma,
Algoa, Alvin and Pearland. During the
following Aveek the thipd excursion Avas
Not All Cotton.
That all the volume of business han-
dled in Galveston is not cotton is in-
dicated by accompanying illustrations.
There is shown one of the largest
wharf sheds filled with broom corn,
on another thousands of bunches of
bananas, on another freight handlers
ready to take cars of merchandise.
t Harbor Development
RaViking as the second largest port
in the world. Galveston is constantly
j making improvements through the
| government appropriations in its har-
j bc-r The average yearly expenditures \
j for the maintenance of the harbor
channel amounts to about $150,000 ex-
clusive of tr.e new Avork and exten-
sions made in harbor and channel. The
present project calls for thirty-foot
chanel through the entire harbor and
out to and beydncl the mouth of the
jetties. The rivers and harbors bill
now pending in Congress carries with
it an iterii providing for a survey of
the Galveston channel to give a uni-
form depth of not Jess than thirty-five
feet, which Avili mean an a\4erage
depth of about 86 or 37 feet, because
the channels have always maintained
a depth of one or two feet above the
project. Galveston harbor ranks as
one of the finest land-lock harbors in
the world, with accommodations for
an'immense fleet of the deepest draft
Aressels afloat.
Appropos of this a resume of the
improvements of the harbor might be
of interest;
Galveston harbor originally em-
braced an anchorage" area of over 1960
acres, of which 1500 acres had a depth
of more than 20 feet, 1300 acres had a
depth of more than 24 feet, and 460
acres had a depth of more than 30
feet.
,The entrance Avas obstructed by two
bars. knoAvn as the inner and outer, j
The natural depth on the inner bar I
was about 9 feet and on the outer bar I
about 12 feet. These shallow depths
prevented all but the lightest draft i
BANANAS UNDER WHARF SHED AT GALVESTON.
Previous to 1886, $1,478,000 was ex-
pended, with an additional sum of
$10Q,000 subscribed by the city of Gal-
veston in 1883.
1886 PROJECT.
The 18S6 project provided for a cer-
tain depth of 25 feet and a possible
depth of 30 feet by constructing jetties
to a hejght of 5 feet above mean low-
tide and extending them to the 30-foot
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Buyers and Exporters of all Grades of
COTTON SEED MEAL
AND CAKE
LARGE QUANT IT T OF BROOM CORN ON GALVESTON
GALVESTON,
TEXAS
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Yopp’s Code.
H. W. HILDEBRAND, President.
E* w- HILDEBRAND, Secretary._E M. HILDEBRAND, Treasurer.
Anchor Milling Co.
Cottonseed Meal and Cake
Incorporated under the Laws ot the State of Texas
PAID UP CAPITAL $25,000
Long Distance Telephone GALVESTON, TEXAS
Codes:
Cable Address: ANKERMIL.
Private Code—A B C Code, 5th Edition.
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Galveston Tribune. (Galveston, Tex.), Vol. 32, No. 148, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 16, 1912, newspaper, May 16, 1912; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth871897/m1/67/?rotate=90: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting San Jacinto Museum of History.