FRONTIER WAS
STARTED HERE
25 YEARS AGO
__
L. K. Morris, Founder
Of Firm, Came To
Brownsville With
| First Train
Twenty-five years ago cm the
m fourth of Julv the first train from
1 outside the Valley pulled into the
t station at Brownsville to be greet-1
[ ed by a mud splattered gathering 1
^ The comine of the train was hailed
mk as one of the greatest moments in
pi this section’s history.
j§g The entire town turned out and
® the station was lined with rigs and
carriages. The passengers were
greeted with hearty handshakes and
a Traded into carriages fer the short
drive to the city.
^B Among those who stenned from
a the first train was L. K. Morris
^B almost a stranger then, but whe
since has become one of the best
known figures in the development
I of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Impressed
Morris was impressed bv the pos
sibilities of this section, although at
that time this country was little
more than brush land. While he
could not foresee the development
that has come later. Morris says
that he felt sure that the coming j
of the railroad would open up a
rich territory.
.Preparing to get In on the ground
uloor, Morris made arrangements!
to open a lumber company. He ob
tained land on the outskirts of the
city, cleared away dense under
brush of ebony and cactus and built
a small lumber shed. His business '
the Frontier Lumber company, is
now at Its peak at the same loca
tion.
It is located at Tenth and St. i
Francis streets, near the heart cf
the business district. This is an-;
1 other evidence of and tribute to
J the progress of this section. Morris
■ states.
w] Confidence
HI His confidence in the Valiev was
HI quickly justified, the lumber man j
Hi declares, and his sales for the first
4J city totaled $36,000. Tire business
H grew steadily as homes and new
7 cities began springing up between
r here and Rio Grande City. His sons
' entered the concern with him later.
The younger. Richard, came tc
Brownsville in 1909 and remained
until the World war. The elder:
son, Leroy, who was then operating!
r
Bishop Cannon Slipping Into Shoes
Of Wayne B. Wheeler, Says Stewart,
As Napoleon of Prohibition Forces
m
WASHINGTON. June 29 —Bishop
James Cannon, Jr., is rap’dly slip
ping into the shoes occupied by
the late Wayne B. Wheeler.
Not officially, to be sure.
Dr Frfencis Scott McBride doubt
less will continue to direct the Anti
Sa’oon leagues Washington ac
tivities Dr McBride is by no
means a failure. He simply is not
a genius—like Wayne B. Wheeler.
He lacks the veritable X-ray politi
cal insight and the tremendous,
tireless virility of his remarkable
predecessor.
• • •
Wayne B. Wheeler was prohibi
tion's Napoleon.
No wet movement got out of hand
in his day for one single minute.
The instant it even was thought of
he attacked it. His attacks were
so furious—and yet so tactically in
spired—that moist rebellion never
a yard at Sebastian, came here to
aid his father.
All three are now connected with
the lumber company. Their busi
ness now amounts to over a million
dollars annually.
Morris does not lay all of his suc
cess to his company's policy of hon
esty and hard work, but ascribes a
large portion of it to the inherent
qualities of the Valley. His com
pany, he says, grew with the Val
ley.
Tribute
"This is not only a tribute to our
strict adherence to an honest busi
ness policy, but it is significant of
the growth and development of the
•Magic Valley.* A progress that
could not have been possible except
for the rich natural resources and
faith and courage of those sturdy
pioneers who settled here in the
eventful times of ‘Frontier Days’,”
Morris says.
The lumber company is planning
to celebrate its 25th anniversary on
the Fourth of July, the day that
Morris came to the Valley on the
first train.
Materials for some of the largest
structures in the Valley have been
furnished by the Frontier Lumber
company. A few representative
structures in the Brownsville for
which they furnished material r.re
the Southern Pacific depot, the In
ternational bridge, the First Pres
byterian church, the State National
bank, the Missouri Pacific depot
and the El Jardin hotel.
Bishop James Cannon, Jr.
had time to gain any strength be
fore he had squashed it.
Wayne B. fought always on the
offensive.
* * *
The Anti-Saloon leaguers were
prohibition's shock troops when
Wayne B. Wheeler was in com
mand.
Other dry organizations rallied
around them.
The others were helpful. They
supplied weight and numbers when
required. The Anti-Saloon league,
with Wayr.e B. as the whole out
fit’s generalissimo, remained the
entire body’s combatant nucleus.
• • •
This is not now the case.
The Anti-Saloon league today is
only one division of the dry army,
among several. It probably Is not
the best disciplined or most formid
able.
Authority is scattered.
No single individual is recognized
as prohibition's grand marshal—as
Wayne B. Wheeler was. Not that
he was formally so recognized. It
was tacit. Perhaps that was better
than a more formal recognition.
He led by virtue of his unqualified
ability to lead.
• • •
The result of this disunion—not
r -
friction, but plain lack of team
work—is that prohibition is fight
ing defensively at present.
True. It Is fighting back. It is
powerfully entrenched, too.
It certainly is in no immediate
danger.
Still, it Is on the defensive—
which Wayne B Wheeler never
would have permitted to happen.
Everything else being equal, he
believed—as every great tactician
does believe—that the advantage in
variably is more or less with the
attacking side—so long as it can
keep on attacking.
Obviously the drys need a strong
personality—to regain the initiative
for them.
Bishop Cannon looks like the man
to provide it.
It may not have occurred to the
bishop, himself, that he was doing
so—quite likely he did it uncon
sciously. through sheer force of
circumstances—but he has been
trending for quite a while in the
direction of the dry leadership
which has been vacant since Wayne
B. Wheeler’s death.
• • •
Not since Wa>ne B. Wheeler’s
last visit there, has a dry leader
made a White House call that had
anv pep in it—until the other day.
when Bishop Cannon was received
by President Hoover.
It was announced, indeed, that
his call had no especial signifi
cance.
But that always was the an
nouncement when Wayne B
Wheeler called. However, everv
time he did call, a pro-dry spurt of
some sort invariably followed. For
instance, it was Just after such
a call that President Harding got
on the water wagon.
• • •
Directly following Bishop Can
non’s call. President Hoover issued
his statement deploring recent wet
and-dry tragedies, but putting it up
to border communities to lend a
hand toward law enforcement in
order to stop them.
It may have been only a coinci
dence: all the same, it was mighty
reminiscent of Wayne B. Wheeler
days.
There is no blinking It. prohibi
tion enforcement's tendency is to
slacken unless it is kept punched up
constantly. Wayne B. Wheeler
surely did that—with a red hot
poker. Bishop Cannon promises to
be as capable at It as Wayne B. was.
SOUTHWEST IS
CATTLE LAND
Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt
Expressses Faith In
Georgia
MOULTRIE. Ga, June 29.—WV
Thousands of sleek lat cattle grazing
upon farm lands where cotton for
merly bloomed and stockyard cen
ters to rival Chicago and Kansas
City—that is the picture of the fu
ture visualized by Gov. Franklin D.
Roosevelt.
The New York executive, who is
known to hi3 friends as a "part
time Georgian" through his occa
sional sojourns at Warm Springs,
believes the southeast might be
come the greatest cattle raising sec
tion in the United States.
Not only in words, but action,
Governor Roosevelt has expressed
his faith in the revolutionary trend
.Ill ■ .III I III —
in the agricultural situation in the
south. He recently completed the
destruction of a vast orchard of
14.000 peach trees. There cattle be
ing fattened for market will forage
for food, and the transition of Mr
Roosevelt from a fruit grower to a
cattle raiser will be complete.
“Nature has imposed no barriers
to cattle raising here, and I hope
to see the day when Georgia will be
dotted with cattle farms,” Mr.
Roosevelt recently said in giving
his views on the agricultural situa
tion. He believes cotton is losing
its prestige in the heart of the old
south and that for the southeast, at
least, cattle will be the sal-ation of
the farmer.
There are 10.000,000 acres of Idle
Georgia farm land and many thou
sand more acres throughout the;
southeast which might be used for
feeding cattle.
The foundation of the Georgia
cattle industry is a reality now. and
each year has seen an increase in
the number cf head sent to market.;
and the monetary return to the
raisers. The industry has grown
from 3,000 head in 1917 to 30.000
marketed last year.
Fatter cows and better beef have
brought better prices and the an
nual return in 1928 was $1,500,000
as compared with $60,000 in 1917.
BITTEN BY COBRA,
SHE ATTENDS PARTY
CHICAGO, June 29.~Hffv—The
cobra terror Is passing In the east
ern Jungles, due to the effective
ness of snake serums, says Dr. Al
fons Bacon, recently returned here
from Siam.
**1 was amazed,” he says, ‘at the
modern methods employed by the
laboratories throughout the east.
The snake serum partlcuiarh im
[ pressed me and I had occasion to
note its efficacy.
"The wile of the American finan
cial advisor to Slam was bitten by
a king cobra, most dangerous of
known reptiles. In less than half
an hour the limb bitten was numb
and a fe« moments later the whole
side was numb Without this serum
death would have been but a few
moments away.
"She was taken to a hospital
where thr serum was admimstt *d.
and four hours later was at a for
mal dinner party. laughingly re
lating her experience:'
WOCO DOOR’S
In the Pacific North
west is found over one
third of the country’s
standing timber. In
these forests, right at
the dooryard of The
Wheeler, Osgood Com
pany, is the source of
supply used in the
manufacture of Woco
doors.
Only the choicest
Douglas Fir logs are
chosen for the material
from which Woco doors
are made. This insures
satisfactory and de
pendable service for
you from every Woco
door you install in your
home.
Manufactured by
The Wheeler, Osgood
Company
Tacoma, Washington
_
Distributors
FRONTIER LUMBER CO.
Brownsville, Texas
|_:■ | |; (
I The |
Wheeling Corrugating i
Wheeling, West Virginia 1
SUPPLIES I
The Frontier Lumber
i *
With
Corrugatetd
IDEAL BUILT-IN FURNITURE
K Handled By
Frontier Lumber Co.
* • *
Ideal Breakfast Set W911
Above is shown a very popular IDEAL
Unit — A charming breakfast set. Beau
tifully designed — roomy — comfortable.
Consumer price —
$22.25
We can show here only a few of the many
beautiful units of Built-Ins that are avail
able to you at your local building mate
rials stores. Let your dealer help you.
Notice
To Dealers
Ideal built-in furni
ture is distributed in
the Valley by the
Frontier Lumber Co.
Below is shown that much “talked about” Flaw
less Kitchen. Undoubtedly the most popular
kitchen assembly ever to come on the market.
Meets every requirement and priced within reach
of every home owner.
V.
> • S ■ \.. I
t
Notice
To Consumers
Ideal built-in furni
ture is sold by all re
tail buildine material
dealers.
Built-In
Ideal
Furniture
Manufactured by
Ideal Ironing Board .\.
Here is an ironing board that takes much
of the worry and work out of the ironing
job and makes ironing a pleasure. Built
I for a life time of sendee. Consumer price
$8.50
Beauty, quality and economy are the
three keynotes of Ideal Built-In Furniture
success. Our guarantee protects you.
j