TEXAS 913 



In 1911 the legislature voted to establish an agricultural experiment station for the culture 

 of tobacco in co-operation with the Federal government; it allowed commissioners courts 

 to appropriate as much as $ 1,000 each for farmers' co-operative demonstration work and to 

 establish county agricultural experiment farms and stations. The Agricultural and Mechan- 

 ical College was authorised to employ an expert in terracing farm lands to prevent erosion. 

 The office of state sheep inspector was created, and the sale and transportation of sheep with 

 scab was forbidden. The Federal department of agriculture has a dry farming station in 

 the N. part of the "Pan-Handle." In 1911 the boll-weevil seemed to be absent from cot- 

 ton fields in the N. part of the state where it had been abundant in 1910. 



Mineral Products. Total value, 1911, $18,817,304. The most important item was 

 petroleum, 9,526,474 bbls. ($6,554,552). Coal, 1,974,593 tons ($3,273,288), showed a 

 slight increase over 1910 and natural gas a large increase,- total value $1,014,945. But the 

 output of asphalt (oil asphalt and refined bitumen) was valued at only $786,785, nearly one- 

 third less than in 1910. Clay products were valued at $2,659,919 ($132,417 being pottery); 

 stone at $588,777 ($490,289 limestone; the remainder granite and sandstone); sand and 

 gravel at $543,866 (more than half being gravel); and lime at $218,007. The output of salt 

 was 385,200 bbls., valued at $299,537. Portland cement was not separately reported for 

 Texas in 1911; the value was probably more than $1,000,000. A little quicksilver was 

 produced, some fuller's earth and about 5 tons of tin, from a mine near El Paso. 



Manufactures. From 1904 to 1909 the number of establishments increased from 3,158 

 to 4,588, and, that of persons engaged in manufacturing from 57,892 to 84,575 (49.C-66 wage- 

 earners to 70,230); capital invested from $115,665,000 to $216,876,000 (87.5%); and the 

 value of products from $150,528,000 to $272,896,000 (81.3%). The most important manu- 

 factures in 1909 were: slaughtering and meat-packing products $42,530,000 (nearly eight 

 times as much as in 1899) ; flour and grist-mill products, $32,485,000 (nearly thrice) the prod- 

 uct of 1899); lumber and timber products, $32,201,000 (97 %of the lumber cut being shortleaf 

 yellow pine); cottonseed oil and cake, $29,916,000, in which Texas ranked 1st; and refined 

 petroleum, in which the state ranked 4th. Other products were: car construction and re- 

 pairs by steam railway companies, $13,359,000; rice, cleaning and polishing, $8,142,000 

 (three-fourths more than in 1904; the industry had hardly begun in 1899), in which Texas 

 ranked 2nd to Louisiana; foundry and machine-shop products, $8,068,000; malt liquors, $6,- 

 464,000; and food preparations, $5,229,000. The more important manufacturing cities were: 

 Dallas, $26,959,000; Houston, $23,016,000 (thrice what it was in 1899); San Antonio, 

 $13,435,000; Fort Worth, $8,661,000 (including large meat-packing plants just outside the 

 city limits); Galveston, $6,308,000, mainly flour; Beaumont, $4,830,600, principally rice- 

 cleaning; Waco, $4,769,000, mainly cottonseed products; and Sherman, $4,676,000. 



Transportation. Railway mileage, January I, 1912, 15,038.22., more than that of 

 any other state. The Federal government completed in 1911 the main Galveston channel, 

 32 ft. deep and 800 ft. wide and in 1912 had about half finished the 30 ft. channel along the 

 Galveston wharves and the Houston ship channel; in 1911 began the 30 ft. channel from Gal- 

 veston to Port Bolivar, the 40 m. incomplete link between Brazos river and Matagorda Bay 

 in the inland water way from Galveston to Corpus Christi, the Sabine Neches canal (25 ft. 

 deep) to Beaumont, a deep water harbour (20 ft.) at Harbor Island, Aransas Pass, and a 

 lock and dam on White Rock Shoals, .Trinity river. Improvement of the Trinity river was 

 delayed in 1911 until a railway could be built to carry supplies for dam-building. The 

 causeway connecting Galveston with the mainland was formally opened, May 25, 1912. 



Legislation. The regular session of the legislature was held from January 10 to 

 March n, 1911 and a " called " or special session from July 31 to August 29, which 

 re-districted the state into representative districts. The legislature asked Congress 

 to submit to the states a constitutional amendment providing for the direct election 

 of United States senators and one prohibiting polygamy. 



Amendments to the constitution were adopted at the general election of 1912 

 permitting cities of 5,000 or more to adopt or amend a charter by a majority vote; 

 creating a board of prison commissioners; and permitting the legislature to appropriate 

 money for indigent and disabled soldiers and sailors and their wives, and to regulate 

 the terms of trustees of state institutions. 



Three new counties were created: Brooks (county-seat, Falfarrias) from parts of Hidalgo, 

 Starr and Zapata; Jim Wells (county-seat, Alice) from part of Nueces; and Willacy (county- 

 seat, Sarita) from parts of Cameron and Hidalgo. 



The 1 2th of October (Columbus Day) was made a legal holiday. 



The office of state inspector of masonry was created. Wharf and terminal companies 

 were put under the jurisdiction of the railroad commission. All disabilities of married 

 women in regard to mercantile and trading pursuits were removed. A new penal code was 

 adopted. The legislature voted $10,000 for a monument (begun in 1912) to Gen. Stephen 

 F. Austin (see E. B. ii, 94Oc) in the state cemetery at Austin and $2,000 for a monument 

 (completed in 1912) to Elizabeth Crockett, wife of David Crockett (see E. B. vii, 477c), in 



