Brownsville herald. [volume], March 24, 1929, SOCIETY, Image 15

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®!f Itaminsuttle Herald
j— -= — j
Vailey Students
— At —
U. of T.
AUSTIN, March 23.—The Latin
American club at the University of
Texas is sponsiring a Spanish lit
erary monthly, “El Universitaria,”
it was announced this week. Eze
Quiel Salinas of Laredo has been
named editor-in-chief of the pub
lication.
Members of the staff from the
Valley include Miss Emma Solis of
Rio Grande City, who will contrib
ute personals, and Miss Dalinda
R&nguez of Harlingen, who will
write articles.
> Among the contributors to the
first edition will be Dr. H. Y. Bene
dict, president of the university, and
several members of the department
of Spanish in the university.
Other students from the Valley
who are interested in the magazine
are Fidencio Guerra of McAllen,
Oscar Hernandez of Matamoros,
Humbert Garcia #and Osbaldo Gar
cia of Brownsville, Joaquin Mora of
McAllen, and Julia Saldivar of Mc
Allen.
* • *
Miss Elizabeth Moore of Browns
ville, a former student in the uni
versity, spent last week-end at the
Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority
• house. Miss Moore is an alumni
member of the sorority.
Fred Wagner erf Brownsville was
initiated Saturday into Phi Delta
Phi, honorary and professional fra
ternity of the school of law of the
University of Texas. He was one of
seven men elected to the organiza
tion last week.
Initiations were held in the state
capitol building, and a banquet fol
lowed the ceremonies.
Wagner is a member of Delta
Sigma Phi, social fraternity.
• *
Honor students of Kirby hall, uni
versity dormitory for women, were
given a dinner party Friday night
of last week. Fourteen of the 91
residents were placed on the honor
roll for the first semester.
Miss Edna Earle Walling of Mis
sion w'as one of the students whose
name was placed on the roll of
honor.
Miss Walling is a sophomore in
the university and has been an
honor student during every semes
ter.
• • •
Plans for the junior prom were
discussed at a meeting of the jun
ior council Thursday of last week.
Miss Josephine Pollard of Har
lingen, an officer in the council,
will head the orchestra committee.
The prom, which is an annual af
fair, will take place April 12.
* *
Three students at the university
have signified their intention of
attending the citizens’ military
training camp at Fort Sam Hous
ton June 14 to July 13, it was an
nounced at university physical ed
ucation headquarters this week.
Fied Peterson of Mission, a fresh
man^ in the college of arts and sci
ences, was one of the students who
expects to put in a month at the
camp. Peterson is a member of the
Hogg debating club and expects to
enter the school of law at the end
of three years.
* • *
Thirty-three and one-third per
cent of the students who reside at
Newman hall, campus dormitory for
women, were listed on the honor
roll for the first semester.
Miss Constance Wollman of Mer
cedes was one of the nine students
making the roll of honor. Twenty
seven girls stay at the hall.
* * *
Steve Wray of Donna was the
guest in Houston last week-end of
one of his fraternity brothers. He
is a member of Alpha Tau Omega
fraternity.
• * •
Students from the Littlefield dor
mitory who were listed on the hon
or roll for the first semester were
guests at a luncheon last Tuesday,
at which Dr. H. T. Parlin, dean
of the college of arts and sciences,
read the names of those who had
made the required grades'to be lrts
ed among the highest ten per cent.
Miss Anna Scanlan of Browns
ville was one of the students who
made the honor roll. Miss Scanlan
is a first-year student in the uni
versity.
Twelve per cent of the girls at
the dormitory were listed.
* * *
The University Archeological so
ciety made a trip to the Rob Roy
ranch west of Austin last Sunday.
Jimmy Hufendick of McAllen,
guide of the club, was among those
making the trip. Hufendick is a
tutor in anthropology in the uni
versity and is also doing graduate
class work.
The party studied two Indian
campsites, and dug up a fragmen
tary skeleton of an Indian, which
was given to the university anthro
pology museum.
- * * *
The Turtle club, university girls’
swimming organization, met this
week, when a picture of the mem
bers was made for the university
yearbook. Miss Martha Dickev of
McAllen was one of the members
who attended the meeting.
BATONS MODERN AID
4TO MUSICAL RHYTHM
VIENNA. March 23.—f/F)—Few,
even including very musical people!
realize that marking time with a
conductor's baton is a practice of
comparatively recent times in the
history of music. The eminent mu
sic historian, Otto Erich Deutsch,
said recently that it was in 1812
that the practice of having the con
ductor lead his orchestra bv means
of a piano was discarded at the
Vienna opera and the baton for
mally adopted.
GREENLAND’S ESKIMOS
ISOLATED BY DENMARK
COPENHAGEN, March 23.—(X*\—
The Danish government's monopoly
of Greenland trade is under fire
from advocates of "the open door"
who fear that the policy may result
in loss of the territory to Denmark.
For more than 200 years, this
monopoly has been maintained with
*he Eskimo dependency.
SEEK TO CURB
BANK CUTTING
OF RIOGRANDE
Perplexing Problem
May Be Solved By
Structure Recently
Completed
Curbing of the Rio Grande, which
for centuries has been cutting new
channels through the alluvial soil
: of the delta country, has. since the
advent of irrigation development,
been one of the outstanding prob
lems for Valley engineers.
In centuries past the Rio Grande
has wandered all over the delta
country, the flood waters cutting
numerous channels, evidence of
which can still be found in old re
sacas, esteros and arroyos on both
sides of the international stream.
The tremendous floods which
swept down the watercourse in pre
historic days, depositing the count
less millions of cubic yards of silt
which "ow -orm the Lower Rio
Grande Valley, swept aside all ob
structions and formed a compara
tively straight channel. These flood
decreased through the ages, and in
the more recent egological periods
formed winding channels, ever
changing as the stream eroded the
soft alluvial banks.
During the early pioneer days on
the lower border little attention w'as
paid to the vagaries of the stream,
its changes and its wanderings. The
earliest geographers mentioned the
fact that the lower reaches were
“extremely tortuos,” and the logs of
the steamboat captains during the
days of river navigation showed that
the distance from the Brownsville
wharves to the mouth of the river
varied from 90 to 110 miles, though
the distance by air line is approxi
mately 24 miles.
Channel Changes Constantly
Constant changing of the chan
nel, due to erosion of banks, was
the primary cause of the wide dis
crepancies in the logs of the river
captains. During the flood periods,
when bank cutting is most pronoun
ced, the distance to the mouth of
• the stream, following the channel,
would often increase or decrease as
much as 20 miles in a few days.
From Mission to Brownsville
practically the same condition ob
tains as from this city to the mouth
of the river. There is hardly a
flood that does not form one or
more “bancos" either on the Amer
ican or Mexican side, a “banco" de
signating that area formerly in a
river bend which has been trans
ferred to the opposite of the stream
bv the river cutting through the top
of the bend. Fortunately for both
American and Mexican land owners
the tendency of the stream is to
work southward, and in the twen
ty years the international boundary
commission has been in existence,
approximately 80 per cent of the
“bancos” have been formed on the
American side.
Presents Serious Problem
With the advent of irrigation and
rapid development of the agricul
tural resources of the Lower Rio
Grande Valley, the problem of eli
minating this tendency of the
stream to form new channels, be
came one of the most perplexing
Valley engineers were called upon
to solve.
Numerous bank protective works
(Continued on page twelve.)
ACCIDENTS ARE
FATAL TO 51
Automobile Leads List With
Nine Dead From That
Cause
The week ending March 15 wit
nessed the death of 51 in Texas
through accidents. Of these, the
greatest number were caused by the
automobile, which took nine lives,
in accidents. There were no deaths
from the faster mode of transporta
tion. the airplane. Burns ranked
second, taking seven lives. In addi
tion to those killed there were 287
injured.
A summary by the Texas Council
of Safety follows:
Causes Injured Killed
Automobile . 161 9
Railway Train. 10 6
Interurban Car . 2
Street Car. 3 0
Aeroplane . 0 0
Other Vehicles. 15 4
Falls . 15 1
Burns . 17 7
Drowning . 0
Firearms . 5 5
Explosives . 4
Other Causes . 57 13
Total _/. 237 51
Of the above 17 were injured and
6 killed in home accidents and 18
injured and 7 killed in industrial
accidents.
January 1, 1929 to date 2.367 in
jured and 426 killed in accidents of
all kinds, and for corresponding pe
riod 1928 1.276 and 317 killed.
SAHARA SUBWAY IS
VISION OF FRENCH
PARIS. March 23.—C-P)—A sub
way across the Sahara desert is
being seriously considered along
with the project for a tunnel under
the English channel and the Span
ish dream of a floating bridge or
tunnel to span the Strait of Gibral
tar. Fantastic as it sounds and
high as would be the initial cost,
no other satisfactory method of ra
pid transit across the shifting sands
has been offered. I
DEAD SHOT
Though many medals for
marksmanship adorn the breast
of Sergeant C. J. Cagle. U. S.
Marine from Texas, he is likely
to win more decorations soon.
The sharpshooting Texan has
been selected to take part in
the International Rifle Team
try-outs to be held at Quantico,
Va„ early in April. If he shows
his usual skill in hittitng the
bull’s-eye. he will go abroad
with a team representing the
, United States, which will com
pete in the international
matches to be held at Stock
holm, in July. Sergeant Cagle
achieved distinction in the Na
tional Matches held at Camp
Perry, O.. last September, when
he won the National Individual
rifle match by outshooting
1,453 crack riflemen, both mili
tary and civilian. He is 23
years old. was born in Mc
Gregor. Texas, and has been
with the U. S. Marines about
eight years.
American Section Interna
tional Commission To
Meet In April
A meeting of the American sec
tion of the international water com
mission, composed of Elwood Meade,
head of the U. S. reclamation ser
vice; General Lansing H, Beach,
former chief of army engineers; and
W. E. Anderson, Valley engineer of
San Benito, will be held at Wash
ington early in April for the pur
pose of assembling all data collect
ed on the Rio Grande, Colorado and
Tia Juana rivers in connection with
the proposed negotiation of a treaty
with Mexico on the distribution of
the waters of the international
streams.
A second meeting is expected to
be held on the border the latter
part of April or early in March with
the full commission present in
which the American and Mexican
members will discuss drafts for a
tentative treaty. It is understood
that when this work is completed
each section will present to its re
spective state department the result
of their findings, conclusion and a
tentative draft of a proposed treaty
between the two nations governing
distribution of the waters of the
Rio Grande, Colorado and Tia
Juana.
No definite date or place for the
two sections has been announced,
further than it probably will be at
some point on the border. Dr.
Meade is understood to be in com
munication with the head of the
Mexican section, and definite ar
rangements for the final work of
the commission are expected to be
made at the Washington meeting.
Practically all surveys of the three
streams have been completed and
a study made by both the American
and Mexican members relative to
the water problems of the various
sections. Both the American and
Mexican governments have evi
denced a desire to arrive at an early
agreement in order to set at rest
all controversies concerning inter
national waters, and it is believed
that with the work of the interna
tional commission completed there
will be no delay in negotiating and
ratifying a treaty.
Valley irrigation leaders express
themselves as greatly gratified over
the rapidity with which the water
commission is bringing the matter
to a head, and express confidence
that the treaty that will be nego
tiated will assure a fair distribution
of the waters of the international
streams. They assert it will be the
basis upon which future develop
ment of the Rio Grande Valley will
be established through conservation
of the waters of the Rio Grande.
FIRST RAINS TERRIFY
CHILDREN OF DROUGHT
—
SYDNEY. Australia. March 23.—
iVP>—The break of the prolonged
drought in western Queensland, the
northern state of Australia, has giv
en children of six years of age ex
nerience of rain for the first time
in their lives. It is related that
as the drops clattered on the iron
roofs of the homesteads, they were
terrified.
But to their narents the tattoo
was the sweetest music in the
world. They stood in the open,
laughing and cheering and were
drenched to the skin, just to feel
once again the almost forgotten
i touch of water from the sky.
PROGRAM FOR
R. M. A. PARLEY
IS ANNOUNCED
1
600 Members of Texas
Association Are To
Be Guests of San
Benito May 13-15
(Special to The Herald)
SAN BENITO, March 23.—Pro
gram for the entertainment of ap
proximately 600 members of mer
chants’ associations of Texas, who
will assemble here May 13. 14, and
15 for the state convention, was
announced today by Mrs. Ethel B.
Finks, secretary of the local organ
ization.
The program as finally approved
; at a meeting of the merchants as
osciation and chamber of commerce
secretaries of the Valley represents
several changes from that of the
state organization approval, princi
pally in the parts of the Valley that
will be visited.
The itinerary calls for a trip
through Raymondville, and across
to Edinburg and then down to Mc
Allen, Mission and back through the
entire Valley Matamoros on the
first day.
The secretaries will undertake to
raise a fund of $2,000 for entertain
ment of the visitors.
The program follows:
Monday, May 14
Morning session: Convention—
church. L. W. Bevin, president
states association, presiding.
8:30 to 9:30—Registration of dele
gates and visitors at Stonewall
Jackson hotel and chamber of com
merce.
9:30—Convention called to order
by Roy E. Clark, president of San
Benito association. Songs.
9:45—Welcome address, Mayor J.
Scott Brown of San Benito.
10:00—Response to be filled by
Adolph Grass, stato secretary.
10:15—President L. W. Bevan
takes chair.
10:30—Address by Robert Stern,
associated retail credit men of Tex
as president.
10:45—Address by C. E. Dinkle,
Texas Retail Credit bureaus.
Adjournment
Entertainment program, first day:
After adjournment at 12 a. m„
delegates will return to hotel and
will be taken to Harlingen for
luncheon at Woman’s building.
Secretaries—will Itold luncheon
and meeting at woman's building
in Harlingen, adjourning at 2 p. m.
to attend joint meeting of retail
merchants, credit men, and secre
taries.
Adjournment at 3:30 and visitors
enter cars for tour of Valiev, go
ing through Raymondville, McAllen
and all other sections, and back to
Brownsville and Matamoros at 8:30
for banquet.
Tuesday Morning. May 14
Business meeting from *9 to 12,
Robert Stern presiding, and all or
ganizations taking part.
President’s council luncheon
meeting. 12:30, Stonewall Jackson
hotel luncheon for visiting women
Entertainment details to be worked
out.
Afternoon Session
1:30—Separate meetings to b
held by three organizations.
3:00—Adjournment.
Drive down to Brownsville from
the Point Isabel, and back to San
(Continued on page twelve)
RAINS AIL TO
VALLEY COTTON
Prospects of Crop Bright,
Ginners Association
Official Avers
SAN BENITO. March 23.—The
recent rains over most of the Rio
Grande Valley have materially en
hanced the prospects for the 1929
cotton crop, according to Sam Botts,
executive member of the Rio
Grande Valley Ginners Association.
Mr. Botts pointed out that the
rains have done a great deal toward
getting the ground in a receptive
condition for planting and stated
that farmers are going ahead with
their plans for this year's cotton
crop although in many cases the
planting will be late.
He said that conditions existing
in the cotton trade point to a good
price for the 1929 crop. The gov
ernment ginning report proved dis
appointing to the trade and this,
combined with heavy mill takings,
light carry-over and a strong for
eign demand, is tending to drive the
market up at the present time
and good prices should continue
throughout the 1929 season.
W. B. Francis, vice president of
the association, pointed out that the
cotton crop has always been the big
cron of the Rio Grande Valley. He
stated that for the yast ten years
thp cotton cron has brought more
monev than the next two croos
combined. He also said that the ex
centicnal grade and stanle of the
cotton raised in the Valiev has al
ways demanded a premium with
cotton firms and that for this rea
son cotton will continue as the basic
cron.
Mr. Botts said that while no ac
curate figures on cotton acreage are
vet available, everv indication points
to the fact that it will not be
heavy enough to offset the extreme
ly light carrv-over and should the
heavy foreign demand continue
along with the heavv domestic mill
takings, cotton should prove a valu
ab1" commodity this year.
The association has b^en actively
engaged in a campaign to better
cotton conditions in the VaH*v
They have been appealing to the
(Continued on page twelve)
——————— v avwx'.w'^vwv . - '• • ■•"•v.vm.vw .. >x
Willacy Wealth Is
Revealed At
Fiesta
By H. G. STILWELL
Staff Correspondent
especial to The Herald)
RAYMONDVILLE, March 23 —
Willacy county's first Onion Fiesta,
staged as a sort of revival of an
cient Aztec harvest festivals,
brought to the attention of many
other residents of the Lower Rio
Grande Valley the fact that a vast
agricultural empire is opening in
all directions from this city, as^
thousands of acres of land are
brought under cultivation.
The onion harvest celebration, at
which Miss Doris Clark was crown
ed as Queen Noino, was planned
and carried out in observance of a
record onion crop. This crop is
only a part of the yield of this
county, which rapidly has grown to
a point where it will soon rival the
other two counties of the Valley
in shipping of produce.
Irrigation is to be added as the
next feature in the development of
Willacy county, bonds in the sum
of $7,500,000 having been voted in
order to finance a gigantic pro
ject.
Startling Developments
Queen Noino and her court were
honored in the first onion fiesta
in the county at the conclusion
of a program of parades and drives
through the country around Ray
monnville. This drive revealed
startling developments that have
taken place within the past few
years.
Four years ago a drive was
made from Ravmondville west
through the Mastenes tract, which
had just been purchased by Hard
ing and Gill. The tract was a
stretch of brushland for miles and
miles, with winding dirt roads
through it. and occasionally a clear
ed spot, with a small ranch house
or camp. The 50.000 acre tract
wTas practically all in the brush.
Now’ a high type of concrete road
stretches through this tratc of land
and on to the Hidalgo county line.
On each side of this road are miles
of cleared fields, the rolling soil
being planted in various vegetables
and fruits. In places there are cit
rus orchards that extend as far
as one can see. and watermelon
and onion fields of hundreds of
acres are visible on every hand.
Citrus Orchards Increasing
Citrus, however, is rapidly en
croaching on other crops, as it is
doing in the rest of the Valley.
Some of the trees which have
ben planted in this new7 section
have grown in a way that is sur
prising to residents of the lower
sections of the Valley, accustomed
to irrigation. There are citrus
trees that have been planted only
three years that are five feet in
height, covered with fruit and
blooms. The younger trees look
healthy, and are growing at a fairly
rapid rate.
In planting the citrus trees the
growers irrigate them once, and
after that depend on rainfall. With
completion of the large irrigation
project, however, there will be
ample water for irrigating all citrus
fruit, in the district, it is believed.
The onion crop in Willacy county
this year is estimated at about 5.
000 acres. The crop is one of the
best in quality, yield and price that
Willacy county has ever produced,
and as a result the county is re
ceiving a large cash return. The,
return from the crop is estimated
at around a million dollars, and the
major part of this represents a net
profit to he growers.
Growers Sow Seed
Growers of onions in Willacy
county sow the seed in rows in the
field, and do not transplant onions.
This is one of the few sections of
the country where transplanting
is not done. The onions are thin
ned out when they reach the prop
er size, and the thinnings are told
for transplanting and for the mar
ket consumption, usually at a price
sufficent to pay for seed used in
the onion plantings.
The present cron is bringing a
return of from $2.50 to $3.00 a
crate, and the yield runs from 60
to 125 crates to the acre. One
grow’er was offered $185 an acre in
the field for his crop, enough to
nay off the purchase price of his
land, but he refused, and is har
vesting his crop at an even higher
return.
In spite of the rapid inroads of
citrus fruit, onions are holding
their own in acreage. A new stunt
in growing onions may maintain
this acreage—that is. planting
onions in between the citrus fruit
trees. There is one orchard of
young trees near here with onions
planted in between the trees, with
a good return being made from
the onion crop.
Other Crops Follow
Willacy's onions will be followed
by watermelons, cucumbers, squash
and other such crops, and cotton
will follow as the summer crop.
The committee in charge of the
first Onion Fiesta of the county
announced plans to make an an
nual event of the fiesta, and to
increase its scope every year.
The harvest festival will be car
ried out along even more interest
ing and unusual lines next year.
DRAFT WAR CODE
WARSAW. March 23.—Pol
and’s marriage and divorce laws are
in a state of chaos, for which the
government is’seeking an orderly
solution. A new mariage code is
being drafted by an eminent War
saw attorney.
>,W
8
Pictured above are Queen Noino. Miss Doris ('lark in everyday
life, who ruled over the Kaymondville Onion Carnival and mem
bers of her court.
k
Radio Fan Mail to
NBC, Like Leviticus,
On Many Subjects
By GENE MULHOLLAND
One million, five hundred thousand packets of human emotion; hopes,
fears, joys, humor, pathos and tragedy.
One million, five hundred thousand little envelopes, each picturing a
scene or personality in as many different parts of the world.
In short, the National Broadcasting company's mail for a year. A
oui vcj icvcaicu tuat 11110 10/
the average number of letters re
ceived at the NBC annually. All
come direct to the private post
office in the NBC building at 711
Fifth avenue, New York.
Each letter receives the individual
attention of someone. For the in
coming mail is the public pulse by
which the broadcaster must gauge
the success of his programs. All
letters with a return address are 1
answered.
A corps of trained employes han
dle the mail each day, sending the
various letters to their proper des
tination. Where artists or an- j
nouncers are mentioned they receive j
the mail, and program sponsors are j
sent every letter mentioning their!
period on the air. Mail concerning !
the NBC is opened and forwarded
to various department heads.
Mail Is Useful
Much has been proved by this
huge volume of mail The public I
has been found to like certain types 1
of programs better than others. The
old, old controversy regarding jazz
and the classics was settled by let
ter writing radio fans, and the val
ue of some air features was demon
strated.
Largely the letters are requests for
certain selections, but very many
express appreciation of past pro
grams, while some contain com
plaints against artists, announcers
or features. The latter, however,
are greatly in the minority. Your
radio fan expresses his dislike
by tuning out. And failing to again
tune in. Countless thousands are
in response to offers of booklets,
radio logs or other things by pro
gram sponsors. This practice of of
fering rewards for letters is not
general, however.
A few contain suggestions for ra
dio betterment, some being quite
worthy. Numerous serio-comic lis
tening experiences are related, while
many persons pour out their very
souls to their favorite announcer
or artist. They tell of vases shat
tered by high soprano voices; of
cats fleeing as dog imitations are
rendered on the air; of dogs threat
ening the sets at the human inter
pretation of a cat's meow, of art
ists inspired to finer work by radio
music and many, many other
' things.
Almost Proposes
One correspondent used nearly 1,
000 words proposing marriage to an
NBC artist, the last 10 telling of
financial failure and withdrawing
the proposal. Another peevishly
demanded less jazz "and more Rudy
Vallee and Vincent Lopez.”
The "shutins” do not provide a
bulk of the correspondence as might
be supposed, although many letters
from invalids and other bedridden
persons are received. These are
mainly cheerful and full of grati
tude for the artists. Sympathetic
programs of the “Cheerio” and
“Jolly Bill and Jane" type attract
most of these letters.
In the face of this huge pile of
mail the surveyors decided that re
dio fans as a whole are not letter
writers. When the potential audi
ence of 50.000.000 listeners for every
NBC broadqast is considered the
mail received is comparatively light.
January, February and December
are the most popular letter writing
months for radio fans. From Feb
ruary the trend is usually down
ward until August or September,
when a heavy pickup is noted. The
figures are based on a survey of
mail received since 1923.
BRITAINS ADVANCE
EAST OF JORDAN
JERUSALEM. March 23.—(/Pi
After considerable stress and diffi
culty, national parliamentary elec
tions have been held for the first
time in Trans-Jordania.—the Brit
ish mandated land to the east of
the Jordan river, and one result of
the poll is likely to be a political
agreement with Great Britain.
Trans-Jordania. an “independent
Amirate,” is one and a half times
the size of Belgium, and has a popu
lation of 300.000.
CUBA USES MUCH SERUM
HAVANA. March 23.—t/PV— Ac
cording to reports at the sanitation
department here, the serum labora
tory operated bv the federal gov
ernment has distributed 4.966.991
units against typhoid, smallpox and
other diseases in its 2G years of ex
perience.
t
ATTACHE HERE
PRAISES CITY
Sr. Bejarano, New York Ed
ucator Tells of Work
Done In Mexico
Sr. Jose Miguel Bejarano. for
many years educational attache of
the Mexican government and organ
izer of the Mexican Chamber of
Commerce, was in Brownsville Fri
day, en route to Mexico City, where
he will visit for the next 10 days.
Bejarano recently was made com
mercial attache and will open of
fices in both Washington and New
York. He said, however, that he
will keep up his educational work,
and will continue to travel over the
United States, lecturing belore uni- l
versity bodies.
The new attache has lived in New
York for the past 18 years where
he is well and favorably known. Last
year .through his efforts, the Mexi
can-German chamber of commerce
was established.
Schools Increase
In speaking of the educational
work accomplished in Mexico dur
ing the Calles regime. Bejarano
quoted a few figures which reveal
amazing progress in this field, as
! follows:
The percentage of illiteracy in
Mexico dropped from 85 per cent
in 1920 to 62 per cent in 1928.
Rural schools increased from 680
to more than 5.000 during the five
year period. In this connection, the
educator said it was the idea of
President Gil to have as many
teachers as soldiers. There are now
37,000 teachers in the country. The
school population is 1,750,000, more
than 10 per cent ^f the total popu
lation.
Th& University of Mexico City,
oldest school on the American con
tinent, established in 1551. has an
enrollment of 10.000 students, 45
per cent of whom are women.
Praise for Airport
Each year this old university of
fers a summer course which attra6ts
some 400 teachers from the United
States. Last year. Texas led all
states in the number of representa
tives there.
| Bajarano praised the enterprising
: citizens of Brownsville who con
i ceived and erected the international
airport. “I know it will make
Brownsville the real ‘Gateway
City’ to Mexico, because the most
direct route is through here, be
cause you have airport facilities
matched by no other border city,
and because mail and passenger
lines already have been established
here.
"I know that is true because the
whole world is turning to aviation.
I am an old enthusiast myself, and
although I don't have a license for
flying now, I had my first experi
ence at it in 1911. I am flying
to Mexico City tomorrow with the
Mexican Aviation company mail
! plane.
Visits Valley
“The revolution—no, let us call
it a rebellion, unjustified highway
robbery and plundering. It cannot
i succeed. The United States has
(proved its friendship for Mexico
during the present political situa
tion and Mexico is grateful.
“I might say even that my ap
pointment was due to President
Gil's program of fostering this clos
| er commercial relationship between
the United States and Mexico.”
Bejarano is accompanied by Sr.
IM. H. Rodriguez, Mexico district
manager of the Vick Chemical
company of New York.
While in Brownsville Bejarano
S and Rodriguez were shown over the
city and Valley by Sr. Lopez Mon
tero, the Mexican consul here.
NUN WINS DEGREE
CHACOW, Poland. March 23.—UP)
—Sister Mary Fujanka, American
( Pole of the I^elician Order, has ob
: tained a doctor degree in natural
sciences at the Cracow University.
' She is the first nun to win such a
degree in any Polish school. Sister
j Mary will return to the United
j States to teach.
WILL OPPOSE
EAGLE PASS
APPLICATION
Robertson and Edward
To Represent Dis
tricts Before Fed
eral Commission
A protest against the application
of the Maverick county irrigation
district at Eagle Pass for a permit
from the federal power commission
to divert 1500 second feet from the
Rio Grande for power purposes will
be voiced by the Associated Irri
gation Districts of Cameron and
Hidalgo county at the hearing be
fore the power commission in
Washington April 12.
Decision to register a protest was
reached at a meeting of the con
servation committee of the asso
ciated district Friday following a
conference with district attorneys.
Frank Robertson, manager of the
San Benito district, and Clay Ever
hard, president of the Pharr-San
Juan-Alamo districts, will repre
sent the Valley irrigation interests
before the power commission.
The objective of the Valley dis
tricts will be to seek withholding
of the permit pending negotiation
of a treaty with Mexico and loca
tion of impounding dam sites, the
Valiev irrigation interests holding
the view that the grant to permit
at this time when negotiations
with Mexico are pending and the
terms of the proposed treaty still
a matter of uncertainty would be
decidedly impolitic.
Secured State Permit1
The Maverick district last year
secured a permit from the state
water board for 1,500 second feet
for power purposes and 600 second
feet for irrigation. Later this per
mit was amended by the state
board, limiting the district to 1.500
second feet for both purposes. The
amended permit was filed with the
county clerk of Maverick county,
but whether it will suspend the
original permit is an undecided le
gal question, attorneys state.
In discussing the proposed pow
er permit members of the Valley
conservation committee pointed out
that if granted by the federal com
mission it would asure the district
an uninterrupted flow of 1.500 sec
ond feet for power purposes, or
approximately the normal flow of
the Rio Grande at that point. This
would prove a decided handicap in
the construction of any impound
ing works above that point, vir
tually committing the federal gov
ernment to a policy which would
not include impounding dams on
the upper reaches of the Rio
Grande.
There will be practicaly no
waste of water by utilization of this
volume for power purposes, engi
neers stated, the whole question
hinging upon the policy of making
an aloleation before arrangements
with Mexico are defintely settled
and impounding dam sites located.
In the event the federal power
board acts favorably upon the
application, any conservation pro
gram worked out by the govern
ment engineers would be limited to
that section of the Rio Grande
below the outlet of the Maverick
county power canal. Surveys cf
the stream have indicated that the
most efficient system for impound
ing the surplus water would be a
series of dams, and in the event
dams are constructed above Eagle
Pass, which is very probable, it
would be impossible to provide the
required volume of water in con
tinuous flow without reducing the
efficiency of the entire conserva
tion system.
Might Prove Embarrassing
Another feature discussed1 by the
committee was the fact that to
grant the application at this time
might prove embarrassing in con- :
nection with the negotiations with
Mexico on distribution of the wa
ters of the Rio Grande. Diversion
of practically the normal flow for i
any purpose at any point also
would be contrary to the letter and
spirit of the treaty of Guadalupe
Hidalgo, it was stated, and might
be construed by the Mexican gov
ernment as indicating that tho
American government did not
recognize Mexican rights to any ,
part of the waters of the stream, j
The plan of the Maverick county
district is to divert the waters of
the Rio Grande at a point about
30 miles abov. Eagle Pass and
carry them in a canal to a point
near that city where such water as
is not used for irrigation will be
returned to the stream, a fall of
approximately 70 feet being ob
tained for hydroelectric power. Un
der the terms t: the amended per
mit issued by the state board of
water engineers 600 second feet car
be used for irrigation, which dur
ing periods of heavy irrigation
would leace approximately 900 sec
ond feet for power purposes. The
application now before the federal
pow'er commission would indicate i
tha the district proposes to operate
under the terms of the original
permit which granted 1500 second i
feet for power and 600 second feet
for irrigation. Diversion of 150C
second feet would take practically
the normal flow at that point, en
gineers state.
Robertson and Eberhard, who wil!
represent the Valley interests be
fore the federal power commis
sion, will leave for Washington
early in April and will be prepared
to present to the commission a
complete analysis on the water
situation in the Rio Grande coun
try and the status of the negotia- V
tions under way with-Mexico.
7 M