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HOUSTON I AS A SETTING Of ^•vXt,-~rvoL Ot/ier Educational Facilities 'J'wontv-fi\ c History of Public Schools ON February 7, 1913. the City Schools of Houston liad enrolled for the year 14,492 pupils. On the corresponding date, 1912, they had enrolled 12,867 pupils. This was an increase of 1,625 pupils in one year. Some growth, is it not? Perhaps, too, it throws some light on the question as to why the schools cost more year after year. For the year ending in June, 1913, the schools will enroll fully 15,000 pupils. For the year 1902-3 they enrolled 7,864. This shows an increase of almost 100 per cent in the ten years just past. In 1902-3 the schools employed 179 teachers. In 1912-13 they have employed 372 teachers. Thus they have a little more than doubled the number of teachers employed in the past ten years. In 1902-3 the schools cost the City and the State, together, $127,647.32. For the year ending February 28, 1913, they cost $330,715.16. \^^lile the schools have been practically doubled in size, the expense of maintaining them has almost trebled. This is on account of the largely increased salary schedule and the more liberal equipment now being provided. The maximum salary paid to grade teachers then was $630 as op- posed to $810 now. The ma.ximum salary then paid to ward principals was $1200, as opposed to $1600 now. These in- creases are not even yet as large as they ought to be, but they show that the trend of things has been in the right direction. These things are not said by any manner in disparagement of the schools as they were ten years ago. They were then good schools for their time and their opportunity. But the world has moved on in the past ten years. It is the desire of this article merely to show that the schools have kept pace with this movement. New subjects have been introduced into the course of study to prepare the boys and girls to meet new conditions in life. Among these subjects are manual training for the bo^-s and domestic science for the girls. These have been in the schools of Houston for the past seven years. There are twelve school buildings equipped for teaching manual training. Here the boys are taught to use the saw Twenty-six Twenty-seven History of Public Schools — Continued and plane and hammer, to understand the use of tools, and to make things with their hands. There was a time once when boys learned these things at home. However, with the changes that have come into modern life, the average Ixiy would not learn these things if he did not learn them at school. The things that the 1k)3's make would be a credit to skilled work- men. There are tables, and chairs, and desks, which would be ornamental and useful in any home in the city. All the boys in the elementary schools above the fourth grade take this work. All in the first year of the high school are required to take it, and above the first year in the high school it is optional. In addition to the cabinet-making there is wood turning, pattern making, forging and machine shop work. Along with these go mechanical drawing. It is the efifort of the school to give the boys such skill in using their hands as will to the greatest extent possible assist them in dealing with the prac- tical affairs of life. Nor have the girls been forgotten. The work in domestic science and art has been established for them. All girls in the fourth and fifth grades are taught sewing, and all in the sixth and seventh grades are taught cooking. These subjects are taught again in the high school. Here they are required of all girls in the first year, though they are optional above the first year of the high school. They have cooking, sewing, dress- making and millinery. The night schools, too, arc a development of recent 3'ears. They are for those people who are so situated that they cannot attend school in the day time, but who, nevertheless, are de- sirous of improving their educational advantages.. There are four of these schocjls for white pupils and three for colored. In these scln)ols an effort is made to give in the most prac- tical form possible the elementary branches of an English education, and those other subjects which will be of the great- est practical value to those attending. The attendance at night schools is not limited to children of school age. In fact, no child under twelve is admitted, because children below that age ought to be in the day school. One never gets too old to be received in the night school. Many of those attending are in middle life, and a few are well advanced in years. The old- est one on record is a negro woman 85 years old, who is attend- ing one of the night schools in order that she may learn to read the Bible. Many grown men and women attend who have only recently come to America from foreign countries and who wish to learn to speak and read and write the Eng- lish language. The night schools also ha\e classes in stenography and typewriting and book-keeping. The}- have classes in wood Twenty-eight Twenty-nine I'i '' - i-^i'l Hi. 4 id^ •M ^^H^^ Ml' Thirty ^■^Clfiil' ~~~'fl H^K^ 4 m\ h 9 h_m ly^ Ej Q HH^^- ■;_^^^ft^H iri pn Thirty-one History of Public Schools — Continued work and in iron work. There are classes which grown women attend in order that they may learn to cook and to sew. There is also a class in Spanish. These things are mentioned to show that in the past ten years there has been an earnest effort made to change the course of study so that it will meet the demands of the prac- tical age in which we live. 1 [owever, the cultural side has not been neglected. There is in the grades a course in picture study, whereby the children are made acquainted with the masterpieces of the world's art. There is also a course in memory work, whereby the children are led to commit to memory selections from the world's masterpieces of literature. They ^re also taught the lives of the great musicians, and are taught to know and to love the world's masterpieces of music. Nor has the physical side of education been neglected within the past ten years. There is a gymnasium provided at the High School, with an outdoor gymnasium at many of the ward schools. There is a physical director, with a woman assistant who gives special attention to the physical welfare of the girls at the High School. At every school building the pupils are organized intii athletic teams. The effort is not merely to de- velop a small number at each school, but to reach as nearly as possiljle all of the children at the various buildings. There is folk dancing and organized games of many different kinds. There is a medical instructor whose duty it is to examine the children, to call attention to any physical defect which the parents may not know about, and see that cases of contagious diseases are excluded from the schools. Those children who are below the normal powers of intellect have nut been overlooked. There is a special room for excep- tional pupils, where a trained teacher makes e.xtra effort to develop the intelligence of a few to whom nature has been sparing" in her gifts. There are at present four kindergartens taught in connection with our city schools, although in each instance the expense of maintaining them is borne by private individuals. Many of us hope that the time is not far distant when there will be free kindergartens maintained at public expense in all the schools in the city. This time has not yet come, but the drift of things is undoubtedly in that direction. I'erhaps the greatest of all the improvements made within the past ten years has been in the organization of mothers' clubs, and the Parent-Teachers' Association. These organiza- tions ha\e worked loyally and harmoniously for the advance- ment of the schools. In many instances they helped introduce manual training and domestic science into their respective buildings. During the j'ear iqit-ij, they raised $7,248.93 and Thirty-two Tliirty-lliree History of Public Schools — Continued expended it for the i^ood of the scliools. 'I'hat made $45,319.60 which the mothers of the city had raised during tiie past six years, and expended upon the children in the schools. While the amount itself was distinctly worth while, the greatest good done was in the interest which was aroused among the people in the welfare of their own children. Too much praise cannot be given to the mothers for their work, and too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the importance of it. While these changes have been taking place in the course of study, and in the school administration, progress has also been made in the material equipment of the schools. The first buildings erected were of wood. Then came an era when the buildings were of brick, but were not fireproof. At the present writing there are seven fireproof brick or concrete school buildings under course of construction, each one of which embodies the most modern ideas as to heating, lighting and ventilation, and each one of which is so planned as to be adapt- ed to the widest possible use by the community as a whole. The new Longfellow and Dow Schools are of the same gen- eral construction, and are now under way. The Taylor is now being planned. The North Side Junior High School and the South End Junior High School are thoroughly up-to-date l)uildings now under course of construction. To pay for these buildings required the issuance of $500,000 in bonds for ward schools, and $500,000 for high schools. The people voted these unhesitatingly and at the request of the school authorities. One of the most marked evidences of progress in recent years is in the amount of ground deemed necessary for a school site. A number of the earlier school buildings were erected on sites of half a block. The result was that the children had practically no playground, and that when it became necessary to put additions to the school buildings, it was either impos- sible to do this, or else it was necessary to pay large sums for the extra ground. In recent years the city has been buying acreage property for its schools. The sites for the new Junior High Schools have eight and one-half and ten acres respec- tively. At one elementary school there is a five-acre site. The new Taylor School is to be built adjacent to the Sam Houston Park, and have all the park as a playground. This shows some progress from the days when half a lilock was considered sufficient. The two new Junior High Schools are to lie better buildings and better equipped than any others in the South or South- west. It is jilanned to take the children of the seventh grade and to kce]! them through the lirst two years of the High Scluiol. Tlic industrial work is to ])e emphasized so that if children need to drop out at the end of the second high school year they will at least have a fairly good ec|uipment for fight- Thirtv-foiir History of Public Schools hvj; llic l)attlcs nf life. On the other hand, if it is at all possible for them to continue, they are to be encouraged to finish the Senior High School. After they do this, the great facilities of the Rice Institute will be free to them. The Rusk and Crockett Schools are now completed. The Rusk takes the place of an old frame building that was burned down over a year ago. The Crockett helps relieve the Haw- thorne School, which has been badly over-crowded. Each one of the new buildings has an auditorium, gymnasium, club room, manual training and domestic science rooms, and is adapted to social center work. Rusk school is not only to be a wonderful elementary school ; it is also to be the first social center in the city. The architectural ideas are a synthesis of the best during the supremacy of the Tudor style in England covering a period beginning with the reign of Edward VI in 1408 and running up to an age of enervation, 1603, when the Gothic and Renaissance proved the fashion and caprice of the century. To this earlier school has been added the newer idea of win- dow space. The honeycombing of the walls with glass panes gives to the structure an appearance of modernity. The walls throughout the building are of a dove and mauve tint ; a delightful substitute for the baneful effects of a glaring white. The panels and woodwork are in dark oak stain and in some of the rooms the woodwork is finished in mission style. What recommends itself especially to the housewife and the close inspector of corners is that every provision is made for sanitation, ventilation, heating and lighting. Many of these latter suggestions grew out of recommendations by Professor A. Caswell Ellis of the University of Texas. In the structure dark brick of a brownish hue, somewhat flecked, is used, while outlines are sharply defined in concrete. The approach from the rear of the building is far more at- tractive than from the front, as the perspective is better, and the general treatment more pleasing. The first story is on a level with the ground and will be used for the social work in the neighborhood, the lunch room, the domestic science, the manual training, the dispensary and the public library. The second floor, which is gained by two broad stone stairways, will be devoted to class rooms, the kindergarten and the auditorium. The third floor will be used exclusively for class work. In the arrangement of the first floor the social life of the community is especially emphasized. It marks a step forward which can not be measured by any time periods and in its small way promises to be a great factor in economic and race progress, it is here, and in the auditorium, that the people of the neigliborhood will meet upon a general level and learn llie wisdom of co-operation and intcr(lei)endence. Thirty-five Thirty-six History of Public Schools — Continued An advantage of this lower floor is that all of the rooms are accessible from the street, while the auditorium is gained from an outside stairway in the rear. The stretch of rooms in the rear include a machine room and a storage room for the manual training department; two large rooms for the domestic science activities. Adjoining the library is the boys' lunch room, next the kitchen, where noon meals will be served by the Mothers' Club, and adjoining that the girls' lunch room. At the east end of the lower floor is the dispensary, which will also be used as a child welfare station. This dispensary will be under the direction of the Settlement Association and will carry out the same program in the neighborhood which characterized it while in the Settlement House. On the second floor, upon the north side, are two spacious rooms which will be used for the Rusk School kindergarten. It, too, is an activity supported by the Settlement Association. The most engrossing point of interest in the school life, however, is the auditorium, which is nothing short of a tri- umph. It is a splendid hall, possessed of a balcony and a stage that is equipped with scenery and dressing rooms. Everything that can contribute toward making it a people's theatre, and not too large to destroy the touch of intimacy which should characterize a people's theatre, has been done. It is here tliat the real social work of the community is to be accomplished. It is here that the neighborhood will gather in debates, in socials, in theatricals and in musicales. It may be the center of a local orchestra on one evening ; a congress of mothers' clubs on another; a civic club on another. There will be provision for dancing upon the hardwood floor of the auditorium. There will also be provision for motion picture shows on certain nights each week. These pictures will grow out of the social organizations rather than the school proper. The temperature of the rooms is automatically registered. Cool, fresh air is pumped into the rooms and the liad air is drawn out through exhausts. Adjustable shades are at all of the windows. A survey of the institution develops many points of interest. Every class room has its cabinet of steel lockers. Each child has his own compartment. Broad, double doors, which open both ways, lead from the class rooms to the corridors. Sani- tary fountains are stationed in the corridors. The completion of Rusk school marks a new era in scientific school building and equipment in Houston, and one to stim- ulate civic pride. Thirty-seven ',-•,- jyO-] ^ ^■— n — ■jl'i- Thirty-eight Music Art League HOUSTON has fur a number of years been recognized as the musical center of the Southwest. The commercial and industrial L;ro\vth of the city, instead of prox'in;^' an interference, has advanced the interest in musical activities, thereby shovvins;- that culture will ever follow in the wake oi commerce, which ]irei)ares a jiath for it. The musical clubs and ori;'anizatit)ns now existinj^- in Hous- ton are: The Women's Choral Club, Quartette Society, Treble Clef Club, Girls' Musical Club, Houston Heif^Wits Study Club, Saenj^erbund Societ}' (the oldest organization), Mendelssohn Choir (oratorio). The Choral, Quartette and Treble Clef Clubs are sins^ing societies, giving three concerts annually, at which they pre- sent, as soloists, the great artists of the world. The Girls' Musical Club, a study cluli. gives a series of open meetings and two artist recitals during the year, its aim being to present the younger artists and the higher type of chamber music to its patrons. These clubs are supjKirted b_v associate memberships, none of which exceed the sum of fi\'e dollars, for which from six to nine tickets are given. It will thus be seen that season-suli- scribers pa_v from forty-five to ninetv cents ]X'r ticket for hearing the greatest available artists. The ai^proximate sum of twenty thousand dollars was ex- pended by coml)ined clubs and impressarios during the season of 1911-1912. In addition to this, the municipal government spent for free concerts and music furnished by the Municij)al Band upon public occasions more than twenty-seven thousand dollars for the season closing May ist, this year. There are nearly a hundred churches in Houston, and in the majority of them there are excellent choirs. A good lyceum course has provided interesting attractions. The Art League has not confined its splendid efforts to the advancement of the appreciation of painting and sculpture, but has also given one concert each year, enabling Houston- ians to hear such artists as Pachmann and Ysaye. The an- nouncements for next season's artists already include Pader- ewski, Slezak, Misclia Elman, .Mina Cluck. Schumann-IIeink, Ethel Parks, Clarence \\'hitehill. and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. A partial list of artists, many of whom have ap- peared numerous times, is gi\en below: Nordica, Meli)a. Suzanne Adams, Tetrazzini, Gadski, Sem- bricli, Jomelli, Frances Alda, Charlotte Maconda, Rider- Kelsey, Florence Ilinkle, Elena Gerhardt, Schumann-Heink, Janet Spencer, TTissem de Moss. Mme. Chilson-Ohrman, Marie Rappold, Mariska-Aldrich, Alice Sovereign, Anita Rio, Ellen Beach Yaw, Agnes Kimball, LilHa Snelling, Lucy Marsh, Calve, Christine Miller, Ella Courts Beck, Louise McMahon, Thirty-nine ■^^^^^■^1 ■■■r™'^»"— ^— ■»^'*^^-^ Forty Music Art League — Continued Mary Carson Kidd, Liza Lehmann, Zapelli, Herbert Wither- spoon, Bispham, Gogorza, (llcnn Hall, Van Hoose, George Hamlin, Evan Williams, Julian Walker, Claude Cunningham, Cecil Fanning, John Barnes Wells, Harold Meek, Bonci, Reed Miller, Frances Rogers, Gilibert. David Dunbar, Frederic Martin, Campanari, Carl Schlegel, Leon Rice, Olga Samaroff, Fannie Bloomfield-Zeissler, Pachmann, Paderewski, Hoff- man, La Forge, Charles Gilbert Spross, Ossip Gabrilowitch, Hans Richard, Alexander Russell, Myrtle Elvyn, Pepito Ari- ola, Helena Levvyn (local), Lhevinne, Clarence Eddy, Cannon, Arthur Fisher, Yves Nat, Ysaye, Kreisler, Zimbalist, Arthur Hartmann, Maude Powell, Kubelik, Leonora Jackson, Jules Falk, Boris Hambourg, Paulo Gruppe, Elsa Ruegger, Kneisel Quartette, Flonzaley Quartette, Blitz Quintette (local), New York Symphony Orchestra, Russian Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Or- chestra, Thomas Orchestra, Victor Herbert Orchestra. The Russian Symphony Orchestra gave ten consecutive concerts in the Auditorium, the world's record for a symphony orchestra engagement. The school children of the city were the matinee guests of a great lover and patron (jf music for one of these concerts. Opera Companies. — Full Metropolitan Opera and Orchestra production of "Parsifal," under Conreid's direction; Savage, French, Aborn, Alice Neilson and Bessie Abbott companies, Chicago Grand Opera Company's production of "The Secret of Suzanne." A course of lectures by William Whitney Surrette of Ox- ford University is another of the musical privileges Houston has enjoyed. This is only a partial list of the artists that have been heard, through the sincere and consistent eft'orts of clubs and im- pressarios, but it gives a fair idea of what may be expected of Houston in the future. It seems not improbable that it may come to be the music center of the entire South. Fortv-cne Forty-two cialServiceFederatior of HOUSTON " Forty-three Social Service Federation "I think great thoughts strong winged with steel, I coin vast iron acts. And weld the impalpable dream of seers Into utile lyric facts." ALEXANDER JOHNSON, the grizzled veteran leader of social workers in America, after a visit to the metropolis of the Southwest, termed Houston a "socially minded cit}'," and he was right. Few cities of her size have as many altruistic citizens of influence ready to turn their attention, their energy and their funds toward the social uplift, as Hous- ton has. No worthy cause has gone without its earnest cham- pion ; no urgent need without a generous response to meet that need. Linked with the spirit of generous chivalry of the Southland has been the sterner spirit of determination and ac- tion of the land of frost, and agencies have developed — institu- tions have grown until almost every conceivable need is being met, in at least a modest way, and many of them are being met in a way that would do credit to a much larger city. Nor is this "spirit of brotherhood that maketh us all akin" alone manifest among the leaders of the business and social world. It permeates the mass of the populace and fosters a public opinion that is at once powerful and insistent and responsive. Standing at the head of the agencies in the city which are giving a "social" service to the community is the Charities Endorsement Committee of the Chamber of Commerce. Busi- ness men who are members of the Chaml^er of Commerce are urged to withhold support from any appeal not bearing the approval of this committee, and a card is given a prominent place in the office of many business men bearing this inscrip- tion, "All Solicitors for Local Charitable Organizations are required to present an endorsement card from the Chamber of Commerce Endorsement Committee." The Social Service Federation, known heretofore as the United Charities, a relief organization with four departments, is built on the most modern principles of charity work. The old charity now obsolete, in spirit at least, although still far too extensively practiced — was content to patch and palliate distress. It knew of nothing else to do. The charity of today, as shown by the work of this organization, while ministering to the needs of mankind more tenderly and intelligently than ever before, strives ever to discover and to remove the causes of distress and to prevent their recurrence. The heart of the work of this organization is its Department of Constructive Relief, and around this department and very closely allied to it are the other three: The Department of Health and Hy- giene, the Employment Bureau, and the Children's Depart- ment. It is centrally located, having its office in the Court House, and receives any sort of appeal from any part of the city. It maintains a force of six trained workers and handled Forty-four fuiid.s to tlic ainnitnt of $10,05845 during- itji2, tiii;cther with a special fund of $19,499.42 raised f(}r the Fifth Ward tire sufferers. The Houston Settlement Association is another strong agency and has its home in its own "Settlement House," in the Second Ward. It employs five trained workers, including a nurse, and is maintaining a free kindergarten, a dispensary, a reading room, etc. Its chief activities lie in neighborhood work, social center work and playground development. The Houston Settlement Association has also started a sum- mer baby camp for sick babies. A specially constructed house. built entirely open and properly screened, is provided, and the babies are always under the care of a trained nurse. The babies return home as soon as their condition will permit. The Young Men's Christian Association is one of the most popular and one of the best supported agencies in the city. It is housed in a magnificent fireproof building of its own, with dormitory, gymnasium, baths, etc., and is handling in splendid shape the work usually covered by that organization. Its in- fluence on the life of the young men of the city is an unques- tioned power for good. Forty-five Social Service Federation — Continued The Young Women's Christian Association has been work- ing under a serious handicap in that it has not as yet secured its own building. It, however, is now conducting a campaign by which it expects to secure the funds necessary to erect a building similar to that now used by the Young Men's Chris- tian Association. Notwithstanding this handicap, it has been doing a great work for the young women of the city, espe- cially the working girl. This association is maintaining a boarding home, a down town ofHce with lunch room, rest room and reading room, and a travelers' aid secretary at the Grand Central Station. Faith Home is a home for dependent children, which is at present taking care of about eighty children. A new fireproof building of three stories has just been completed. In this new home more than a hundred children can be cared for, thus giving many little ones a chance in life which they otherwise would never have. The women having this work in hand are rendering service in a field where there is every opportunity for rich results. The Co-operative Mome is a boarding home for working girls in the Fifth Ward. The building, which is of fireproof material, has a capacity of caring for about eighty girls. Re- spectable working girls who have no other protection in the city are given their board and lodging, and at the same time all of the conveniences and protection that could be thrown around them in a private home. This is provided at a very small cost. The Star of Hope Mission is one of the most interesting institutions in the city. Its problem is that of the "down and out," and the man who is homeless and without funds can find a place to sleep and can get a bite to eat at the Mission. After his immediate needs are provided for he is assisted in securing work. Hundreds of men take advantage of the help offered by this organization. The City Emergency Home attempts to do a similar work for women and girls. Any woman or girl who finds herself in the city alone and destitute is welcome at the Emergency Home. Bayland Orphan's Home is an institutinn that restricts its work entirely to the field of orphans, and is supported by an endowment. The Houston Anti-Tuberculosis League is attempting to arouse interest in the movement to stamp out the Great White Plague. It is maintaining a dispensary, and while its chief work is that of education, yet it is also doing a limited amount of relief work and employs a visiting nurse. It is providing means for any indigent person who is suspicious of the state of his health, to oljtain quickly, and without expense, reliable in formation concerning his condition. Forty-si.\ Emma R. Newsboys' Association is doing an interesting work in the city among the newsboys. Club rooms are main- tained under the supervision of a trained worker. The boys have an interesting civic organization, having their own mayor, commissioners, police, etc. Runaway boys from other cities are taken care of and sent back home. The Home for Delinquent Boys, which is an institution maintained jointly by the city and the county under the direc- tion of the Juvenile Court, is now placed at Seabrook, Texas, with seventy boys in the school. The county has purchased one hundred and thirty acres with one-quarter-mile frontage on Clear Lake, and will soon erect modern buildings suitable for a school of this type. A similar school for girls is being planned. Both city and county have begun extensive reforms in the handling of prisoners. The county now maintains a police matron at the county jail, while the city has a man whose sole business it is to look after the humanitarian features of city police work. Among the other organizations in the city, each of which is endeavoring to do its part in the social uplift of the com- munity, are the Crittenton Home, Civic Club, many Catholic, Protestant and Jewish charity organizations, Salvation Army, The Woman's Protective Association, Shepherd Fund, Art F«rty-seveii Social Service Federation — Continued League, Parent-Teachers' Association, Juvenile Protective Association, Consumers' League, Industrial Home and Day Nursery, Kindergarten Association, Council of Jewish Wo- men, and Harris County Humane Society. Not less than fifty social agencies of this city were repre- sented recently at the meeting of the Conference of Charities and Corrections in the City Auditorium. Conservatively speaking, this conference served to bring 2,000 men and women together who are engaged directly or indirectly in , social service. And thus, Houston in her struggle for commercial and in- dustrial supremacy in the great Southwest, has not forgotten her obligation to those who are unfortunate and those for whom the struggle for existence has been too strenuous. Many a kind thought, many a generous deed is mingled with the arduous activities of business and society, and never a day passes but that many a home of the poor is touched by the hand of the rich. Never a night but that some lonesome child or heartsick mother breathes a blessing upon someone who has put into execution a dream of helpfulness and kind- ness. "At night when all the world is still And the crescent moon swings low, With drowsy feet on the poppy hill A little dream shall go, Then out beyond the silvery waves That kiss the slumber shore, And in your sleep you'll smile because My dream is at your door." Forty-eight l"(jrly-iiiiic , I" iijllJifinfifiHriiiriiiiiriri * • » * II II II II Il^l £ I m Fifty Fifty-one Fifty-two AMUSEMERTS - PARKS - RECREATIONS Fifty-three k l^^^-i^ ='•1 i " ^ If ft^''.^'^- ■k-S! _ 1^^ ^ Fifty-six Fiftv-seven WF^ m ^p r'T' 1 \_^ He viMK^jM j^;^ 1^ 1 PI^JqB in |P i a 1 ^ y K. '■'-^ * ^^K 'T^/j^ '(■• mfi$ m IhI 'f-JU If' I'l "^ .1 b ^:^' '9 ?t- ■ 1 J 1 Fifty-eight Fit'tv-nine ^kiHgmmiv^'\\ fr^r:-t; Sixty Sixty-one Sixty-two lEAUTirUL ChUPCHES OF HOUSTON Sixty-tliree Sixty-four ■m&&ti~* Sixty-li\ Lovely Woni5 and Suburbs -- ICM,'.- Sixty-six Sixty-seven Sixty-eight Sixty-niiic ^. m^ Seventy ■ PI c 1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Seventy-one Seventv-two Seventy-three Seventy-four ^-^cs^. W^m^.JM jfe &r ., ■ > Seventy-five REPRESENTATIVE MEN HOUSTON MAYOR BEN CAMPBELL Seventy-six Seventy-seven Seventy-eight Seventy-nine F.iglUy Eighty-one 1 HV Eighty-two Eighty-three Eighty-four Eighty-five Eighty-six Eighty-seven Eighty-eight THE RICE HOTEL and ITS BUILDER Eighty-nine JESSE H. JONES Ninety I9I3 i837 1882 Ninety-one Ninety-two Lobby from Main Street Entrance Mezzanine Floor Lobby from Texas Avenue Entrance Ninety-three Ladies' Parli Ball Room Sun Parlor Ninety-four Main Dining Room Grill Room Ninety-five Ninety-six Ninety-seven Bl6 BUILDIKGS HOTELS _£E^J EEEEE AND APARTMENTS OF HOUSTON Ninety-eight Ninety-nine P^»m ^>«> ■^■m ^««M imt' trt ts tm y tm tTB hm t^m tm tm tm' imj ■^,tCE?S ISWWtSBRBBI One hundred One hundred one One hundred three One hundred four if= 3 ■>N, Pi El III III ^1 iiiiiEU^Mlip iriijiiui tr ;/ !. I 151 One hundred five One hundred six 'tTM: im rm rm im BSm tKi Smmt J^B'' BB am' ^li WM- One hundred seven One hundred eight ^jjnicipalJmprovements Under Commission I y lli^(iffll^ One hundred nine Commission Form of Government THE commissiiin fcjrm ui city i^overiiinent is a business cunceni conducted aloiii; modern business lines. Amontj- its numerous acct)mplishnients since its inauguration June. 1905, that go to mark its superiority over the old system may be mentioned the wiping out of a Hoating indebtedness of $400,000, with current revenues, the first year. The building of an Auditorium, seating capacity 7500, at a cost of $345,000. The Completion of four modern scIuhjI houses at an aggre- gate Cost of $315,000, not to mention the cost of the ground and the going construction of two others at a cost of $90,000; The purchase of seventy acres of ground for parks and boulevards in different parts of the city. An increase of the revenue through the water department of o\er $200,000 in one year, and at the same time a reduction of the consumjition through the meter svstem. Placing the payment of all employes on a cash basis and without delay. A reduction of the tax levy from $2.00 to $1.40 on the $100.00 valuation. Cutting the cost of water from thirty to fifteen cents the 1000 gallons, or fifty per cent. A continuous supply of unadulterated artesian water; the complete closing of gambling houses. The abolishment of variety theatres ; the closing of saloons on Sundays and at midnight every day in the week. The opening of three new parks. The adoption of the front-foot paving plan, one-third and intersections paid for by the city. The voting of $1,250,00 bonds for deepening the Ship Chan- nel to twenty-five feet; the reduction of the duration of city coimcil meetings to an average of less than ten minutes to the session. The completion of a viaduct across Buffalo Bayou, length 1650 feet and width 70 feet, at a cost of $350,000. The construction of a reinforced concrete bridge over White ( )ak Bayou at a cost of $60,000. The removal of all telegraph and telephone poles and wires from overground in the central or business portion of the city. The purchase during 1911-12 of fifty acres of additional pui)lic school grounds. The inducement of millions of capital to enter into the con- struction of modern metropolitan i)uildings and other im- provements of a similar character. The establishment of (.)ver a hundred new manufacturing enterprises. Doubling the strength and effectiveness Lif the fire depart- ment, through the m<,)St improved fighting apparatus. The establishment of a municipal publicity magazine that One hundred ten lias spread the tame ui iiuustcjii and assisted in the induce- ment of thousands of capital to invest here and in the sur- rounding;' country. The introduction df the Sommers system of ef|ualizint,'' tax assessments. The plan to acquire \\harfa,i;e facilities that commerce can operate without beini;- burdened h}- a wharf tax. The formation of a hit;h class ])olice force, equal in effective- ness to that of many much larLjer cities. The dispatch of a special commissioner to Euro])e to inves- tigate the forms of government in the most successfullv man- aged cities of Europe, and make report on the same. The employment by the year of a high class band of thirty pieces to give free concerts for the people at an a\'erage of five a week, and the only city in the South doing it. The purchase and control of the waterworks. The commission form of city government brought down to its final analysis, lives and is growing because it is conducted on strictly business principles. It is on a footing with the most successful business firms or corporations of today. If it should in any instance fail to stand the comparison it is be- cause of some defect in the management or the machinery, either of which may be remedied by the people. Among the hundreds of cities that have ado])ted it, hardly one is exactly like another. This is attriliutable to the varying views of those persons who framed the several charters and gr>verning laws. All of the franiers, liowever, admit that the principle is sound. The birth cif the commission form of government grew out of one of the must appalling disasters of modern times. One Inindred eleven Commission Form of Government — Continued viz: that which ahiiost swept the good city of Galveston off the face of the earth — the great storm of 1900. that drowned over 7000 of her people. The State had to take charge of the terrible situation as it stood the daj- after the storm, Septem- ber 9t]i of that year. The city was first under martial law, soon followed by the appointment l)y tlie State of a commis- sion to take charge of it. The cuniniissioncrs were men who had been successful in business. They luid no political debts to jjay nor personal obligations to hinder them. The idea that dominated them, was to rebuild their tmce beautiful city. They mo\-ed in obedience to this patriotic inspiration. How- ever, the law of local self go\ernmenl had to later take the situation in hand, and the people elected their own commis- sioners, but adhered to the business ideas that had at first con- trolled. Its success was so manifest and so i^ratifying that Houston took the cue. and during tlie hrst administration of former Mayor H. !'>. Rice tlie change was made, the mayor himself leading the campaign that preceded that election that gave Houston the commission form of government. Mr. Rice quickly saw the advantages of the new system. He was backed by the business men of the city, and today Houston has a form of go\ernment that is better seen in the marvelous growth that it has taken tui, since that time, than can be told in words. The millions of cajiital inxested; the thousands of people added to the population ; the e.xpansion of the residen- tial, as well as the lousiness district, are monuments that will please the eyes of generations to come, as well as those of today. Houston's form differs in some respects from that of Gal- veston. Des Moines' differs from that of Houston and Gal- veston, both. And other cities have their special features, but the principle is the same in all. One of the main features in each one appeared to be an earnest effort to eliminate politics, with all of rottenness and corruption, from the management of the city's affairs. The waterworks, whicli were purchased by the city from a private corporation at a cost of approximately a million dol- lars, became a source of revenue to the government instead of a costly burden to the citizens. The ciuality of water was much improved. Before, it was measurably a menace to the health of the consumer. After the change it became a source of health. And there is now no better water in the whole country. The supply is ample for hre fighting purposes, as well as for domestic use. All things Considered, it is due here to state that the com- mission form of government, under the administration of former Mayor Rice, has made of Houston an up-to-date and prosperous city. It removed the city from the classification of a large country town and placed it in that of a thriving, grow- One hundred twelve One hundred thirtten Commission Form of Government — Continued ini; city. \'>y outsiders it has been termed the Chicago, the Xew \'urk and the Atlanta uf the Southwest. Its future is so l)right that it has given expression that it would, in the course of a few years, become the greatest city in the Southwest and vSouth. Former Mayor Rice, in response to an invitation, delivered an address before the Chicago Commercial Club on "The Commission Form of Government of Cities." The clula se- lected the subject. After some introductory remarks, he indicated the course of his address in the following statement : "The essential difference between the form of municipal government which has prevailed in Houston since the passage of the charter of 1905 and the old form of municipal govern- ment, which has generally prevailed throughout the United States heretofore, are three: The substitution of a smaller number of aldermen, elected from the city at large, in place of a large number of aldermen elected from different wards or subdivisions of the city, vesting of a co-ordinate power in the Mayor as in the City Council to dismiss any officer of the city government, except the Controller, at any time, without cause, and the essential provisions safeguarding the granting of municipal franchises. "Instead of a body of twelve aldermen, elected from differ- ent wards or subdivisions of the city, under the Houston sys- tem four aldermen are elected from the body of the city by the vote of all the citizens in the same way in which the Mayor is elected. These four aldermen, together with the Mayor, con- stitute the City Council or legislative department of the city government. The executive power is vested in the Mayor, but by an ordinance for the administration of the city's affairs, a large portion of executive or administrative power is sub- divided into different departments, and a committee is placed over each department, and one of the four aldermen nominat- ed by the Mayor is what is known as the active chairman. The Mayor and all four aldermen are members of each com- mittee. The active chairman of the committee practically has control of the administration of the department, unless his views upon the matter are overruled by the whole committee; but by the organization of the committees the active chairman does his work to a certain extent under the supervisory direc- tion of the Mayor, who is in the last analysis the head of each committee and the person in whom the executive power of a municipal government ultimately rests." The above brief excerpt simply conveys the idea of the strong working base upon which all questions are or could be handled. One lumdrec] fourteen The Municipal Entertainment THIS movement originated in Houston al)oiit a year ago as a result of a survey that was made a few months pre- vious of the various places of amusement. It was discov- ered in this survey that the average attendance on Sunday upon the places of amusement was about 20,000 out of a pop- ulation of 105,000, or about one-fifth of the people. The amusements were the usual type of vaudeville, motion pic- tures and the average type of small theatre performances. Few, if any, of these were really the type that would give any- thing of virtue to the attendants. Amusement is as necessary as food and drink, and the ques- tion is, What kind shall it be? The amusement should furnish a stimulus in proportion to the ratio of the dullness of the employment. In other words, something was needed that would not only be recreative and amusing, but would be in- tellectual and helpful, as well. To this end an entertainment has been provided on Sunday afternoons in the new City Audi- torium consisting of high grade music, lectures, readings. The highest grade entertainers and artists appear at these enter- tainments, offering to the people something that is intellect- ually, morally and physically uplifting, instead of leaving them to the petty things of the show business. In short, this is an educational movement for social uplift. The start was made the first Sunday in May, 1912. For the first five numbers of this entertainment it was esti- mated by conservative people that the average attendance was 5,000, which proved two things — first, the people approved of the class and kind of entertainment that was being offered, and second, the social demand for such an entertainment. Before it had l)een running thirty days, articles concerning it had been written up as syndicate newspaper articles. Many magazines and the great religious journals of the country have written favorable editorials commenting upon it. Letters galore, from all over the United States, and from some foreign countries have poured in upon the Superintendent. The thought, in the beginning of the movement, was that it would be largely for the working peoi)le, but as it has prog- ressed all classes, working men and professional men alike, are to be found among its regular patrons; the old and the young, the rich and poor are to be seen there every Sunday. It has come to be generally understood in tlie city that "Every Sunday there is something good at the Municipal Entertain- ment." It has taken a high place in the estimation of the people of the city, and the great good that it is doing, both in a negative, as well as a positive way, is hard to estimate. (Imc liiindrfil rifteen Copyright by Sfhlueter^ ffoutlon, Tfxat One initidred sixteett <^._/" The Ship Channel or HOUSTON ^ .^i^^-- ■4 "'^ One hundred seventeen Houston Ship Channel SE\'ENTY-SIX years ago, when the Aliens and others founded a settlement at the head waters of Buffalo Bayou and named it Housttm in hont)r of Texas" illustrious gen- eral, no little thought was given to the strategic ])osition of the new town on the course of a navigable stream. In those days travel was restricted to horse, wagon and boat. Along the coast of the new Texas Republic commerce practically was monopolized by boat, and in consequence the coast country offered more inducements and attraction for settlement than interior sections. Yet the open coast line proved somewhat hazardous for safe harbors for the small craft of coastwise shipping, and when Houston was founded at the head course of a navigable stream, with a natural safe harbor, it soon became the center of commerce of the section, and later was made the capital city of the new-born republic. The farsightedness of its founders has made the City of Houston of today. \\'Iiile small boats thronged the placid bayou years ago, carrying the products of a broad coast coun- try, the Houston of today is preparing to bring the greatest ships of ocean commerce over the waters of the same ]ilacid stream to the protected land-locked harbor wliicli dcillars and the efforts of man ha\-e made possilile. Buffalo Bayou — renamed the Houston Ship Channel — is a natural waterway — an arm of the sea. \\'hile its greatest source of supply is from the sea — hence the term "bayou" — it is also fed by two small courses converging at Houston. In natural depth it varied from eight to fifteen feet, and since the early '40s has been navigated by steamboats. It is no e.xaggeration to say that the foresightedness of the founders of Houston has made i)ossible the Greater Houston of today. If it were not for the Ship Channel, Houston would go back ten years in development. That ribbon of water extending from Houston fifty miles to the Gulf of Mexico is Houston's greatest commercial asset. It is the most potent factor in Houston's commercial life, for it compels lower One hundred eighteen Houston Ship Channel freight rates, which Houston would not enjoy were it not for the channel. Today over $50,000,000 in commerce annually traverses the Ship Channel by small boats and bart^es. That is the actual commerce of the stream. In traffic between Houston and other seaboard points it compels a lower railroad rate, which annually saves millions of dollars to Houston industry and shipping. To the cotton planters of Texas alone it affords a saving of $6,000,000 annually, as for a distance of fifty miles it cuts the cotton rate from twenty-one cents to six cents per hundred pounds. Even in this limited use the Houstim Ship Channel has proved its usefulness and absolute necessity as a commercial factor for Houston. What its full and unrestricted use will mean may be gleaned from a study of Manchester, England, a city which dug a ship canal to the sea and became a world seaport. Houston is situated much like Manchester was. Manches- ter had great industries, many railroads, and a river to tlie sea. Tlic Mersey River was a sluggisJi stream, sometimes l)arelv getting (i\-er tlie sand, and in other ])laces aliout three feet deep. Energetic Manchester raised ten million or more dol- lars and started digging a canal to the sea. The course fol- lowed tlie Mersey, but in jilaces the canal was blasted and cut through solid rock. Years of work and great ex])enditure tinally brought the sea to Manchester and great ships followed. Houston made a study of Manchester and determined as did Manchester that as the town could not 1)e moved to the sea. the sea must be moved to the town. Hut Tb)uston had a l)etter foundation upon which to work. ( )I(1 Ilufi'alo i!a\MU was much deeper than the Mersey and the bayou defined a course straight to the Gulf of Mexico. Previous expenditures of several thousand dollars had greatly improved the bayou, but a task rivalling that of Manchester was determined upon and put through. A minimum depth of twenty-five feet and a straight course C)iie luiiulrcd nineteen Houston Ship Channel — Continued was decided on and the matter put up to the government. Two years of effort brought an appropriation from the Gov- ernment of $1,250,000, contingent upon Houston raising a like amount. \\'hen Houston asked for bonds to that amount January 10, 191 1, they carried nearly unanimously. A few months later the money was deposited to the credit of the Secretary of War and the work was started. Under this $2,500,000 appropriation dredges are now at work dredging tlie channel to a minimum depth of twenty-five feet. It is believed the work will be completed by June, 1914. for opening simultaneously with the Panama Canal. The task of dredging is much easier than that which faced Man- chester, for the Houston project needs but to dredge mud and silt from the bottom of a defined stream and cut off a few bends. Where Manchester expended $10,000,000, Houston need expend but $2,500,000 with the same results, and Houston will become a world seaport, with a greater number of rail- roads than any other city in the South. When the channel is comjileted the greatest ships of ocean commerce will come direct to the City (if Houston. Free nuiiiicipal wliarves arc being arranged for liy the City of iiouston, which will be forever maintained as free wharfage. This is a provision in the contract with the P'ederal Govern- ment. The fact that the Houston Ship Channel work is the largest inland waterway now under way by the Government, is ev- idence of the interest of the Federal authorities in providing at the outlet of seventeen lines of railroad a seaport which will handle the vast commerce of the Central and Central- Western States. The Texas coast provides nearest tidewater to this great producing area, and the seventeen trunk lines of railway entering Houston radiate from this great section. Tt is only logical that ocean commerce should touch direct the termini of these railroads, and the completion of the channel will connect the last link in a great international route from the Trans-Mississippi States direct to every port on the Globe. What the Ship Channel is to Houston is not conjecture ; it is not an exaggerated fact. The channel is Houston's greatest commercial asset — the most potent factor in the development of Greater Houston. It means the construction around this natural land-locked harbor, safe from storms, of a coming great world port and a great trade mart of the land. ^Vhat deep water has done for Manchester it will do for Houston, and the parallel is uniquely drawn by the Chamber of Com- merce in its apt slogan for Houston : "The Manchester of America." One hundred twenty C/1AMDER OF Commerce of HOUSTON flNANCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL DEVEIj^^PMENT One hundred twentv-one W. C. MUNN President Chamber of Commerce Uiic hundred twenty-two Chamber of Commerce WITH one exception the Chamber of Commerce of Hous- ton, probably, is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, or- ganization of its kind in the South. The exception noted is the Matagorda (Texas) Chamber of Commerce, the original organization of which today is out of existence. ISoth were chartered by the Congress of the Re- public of Texas in 1840, and the Chamber ot Commerce of Houston of today can trace its origin back to the day when President Mirabeau B. Lamar attached his signature in ap- proval of the articles of information of the Houston Cliamber of Commerce January 28th, 1840. Thus in 1913 the present Chamber of Commerce of Houston is seventy-three years old. This does not mean that the active operation of the organization continued over that period in the same manner the work is being carried forward today. There was a period of relapse, which continued for a few 3'ears, but about sixteen years ago the organization was re- vived and later chartered as the Houston Businness League. A little over two years ago, or a year following the succes- sion of Adolph Boldt, as secretary, the charter was amended and the name changed to that of the Chamber of Commerce of Houston, Texas, returning to the same title given the in- itial organization nearly four score years ago. Yet tile purposes of that early organization and the ime (jbtaining today are practicalh^ the same. The charter of the first organization as granted by the Texas Congress "author- ized the need of the Cliamber of Commerce as tending to diminish litigation and to establish uniform and equitable charges and considering that the establishment of a chamber of commerce may thus tend to the general advantage of the citizens of this Republic as well as tlie furtherance of the commercial interests." This creed is unchanged today, a larger organization divid- ing the work and forcing the energy as one man did those several years ago. The growth of the organization has kept pace with the expansion of the city it serves and promotes, and the perfection of organization attained by the present Cham- ber of Commerce is declared by persons who know to be un- excelled in the South. In fact, some say the Houston Cham- ber of Commerce is better organized and is attaining greater and more beneficial results than any other Southern city is securing from its similar organizations. Ten persons now direct the several departments of the greater Chamber of Commerce. The work of building a city is systematized and is conducted on the same plan as the pro- motion of a business enterprise. In all respects the sale of a commodity and the sale of a city is the same. Similar organ- izations must be maintained, and tlie larger the enterprise to One hundred tweiuv-threc Chamber of Commerce — Continued be promoted the larger and more efficient must be the organ- ization. The enlargement of the Chamber of Commerce soon fol- lowed the succession of Adolph Boldt as the active head of the organization as secretary a little over three years ago. Resourceful and energetic himself, he energized and put new life into the then struggling League. The membership when he took charge was about 385, and two persons actively adminis- tered the affairs of the Chamber. He increased the scope of the organization and added to the efficiency of the Chamber by placing the different departments in charge of experts well qualified for that particular department. The Houston Traffic Bureau was taken over from the Cotton Exchange and operated as a ]xirt of the Chamber; a compre- hensive Tiureau of Publicity in cliarge of a newspaper man was installed, while an ex])ert in agriculture and a man well informed on immigration jjroblems were secured to handle the Agricultural and Immigration Bureaus which Secretary Boldt established. I^ater Convention and Industrial Bureaus were installed and the entire work of the Chamber system- atized. Thus in a little over two years' time the actual work- ing force of the Chamber of Commerce was raised from two persons to ten persons actively engaged, while in the mean- time the membership was increased from 385 to 1,500 members. The practical operation of this great Chamber of Commerce machine is like clockwork. Traffic problems are handled by the Traffic Bureau, the City of Houston is forever kept in the eye of the world by the Bureau of Publicity, the welfare of the farming interests of the Houston District are under the watch- ful eye of the Agricultural Department twelve months in the year, while the Immigration Department concerns itself with the attraction of desirable immigrants to the Houston District. The Convention Bureau is eternally campaigning for conven- tions, while the Industrial Bureau concerns itself with the One hundred twenty-four aUractiun tu Houston of every phase of industry. The whcile is under the supervision of the president, Mr. W. C. Munn, and the secretary. Detail work, aside from the various bureaus, is done through committees, there being twenty-six committees on the calen- dar. The larger problems are handled by the Board of Di- rectors, which in cfifect is the governing body of the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Commerce is indeed the "powerhouse of the city." It c)riginates movements for the good of the city and puts them through. When any public issue is before the people for decision, an issue which is for the public good, it is the Chamber of Commerce that devotes its entire time to the campaign to put the issue successfully through. Of the front-foot paving plan, school bond issues, clean-up campaigns, the Ship Channel and viaduct bond issues — all started by the Chamber of Commerce — each went through with large favor- able majorities and without doubt due to the comprehensive effort and wide publicity given the movements by the Cham- ber of Commerce. Of necessity any city that aspires to any pretensions must have a Chamber of Commerce or some central working or- ganization which has at heart the general welfare of the city. The Houston Chamber of Commerce is non-political and seeks rather the benefit of the city as a whole than any individual or class. Vet any public spirited movement before the city, if investigated, probably will find the Chamber of Commerce as its sponsor or influential adherent. It is the one central or- ganization or power which is vital to the success of a public issue or movement, and in Houston the Chamber of Com- merce occupies that sphere. The annual meeting of the Chamber of Commerce is held in May of each year, when ofticers and directors for the ensuing year are elected. One liuiidred iwetity-tive Financial and Industrial Development — Continued HOUSTON — A city of 125,000 population, including sub- urbs ; the financial center of the Southwest ; annual bank clear- ings of $1,898,054,746; aggregate wholesale trade, $130,575,- 000; bank deposits, $45,000,000. INDUSTRIAL CENTER— The workshop of Texas. More factories, more wage earners and largest payroll in the South- west. Lowest rate on raw material. Distrilnition by rail and water. Large consuming territory. Manufactured products, $50,000,000 annually. LUMBER MARKET— Center of the great pine and hard- wood forests of Texas. Shipments for export via the Houston ship channel. Annual sales are $40,000,000. CC)TTON — The largest inland port cotton market in the world. Handles two and a lialf million Ijales annually. Stor- age capacity, 500,000 bales. Largest compresses and oil mills in the South. Splendid opportunities for cotton mills and allied industries. SEVENTEEN RAILROADS— The greatest railroad center in the South ; concentrating and distributing point for the entire Southwest. Greater number of points reached by one- line haul. Quicker distriljution over a larger area. Largest repair shops in the South. DEEP WATER PORT— Houston's Ship Channel brings the trans-Mississippi country 500 miles nearer to the sea than the Atlantic and Pacific ports. Lower freight rates from East and seaboard. Two and a half million dollars have been pro- vided for its improvement. RICE CENTER — Largest primary rice market. Seven modern rice mills. Value of annual product over $6,000,000. OIL CENTER— Headquarters for Texas petroleum. An- nual Texas production, 13,000,000 barrels. Pipe lines to Texas and Oklahoma fields. The best organized and most active Chamber of Commerce in the South. com]>osed of the principal business interests of the city, linked into a compact organization working for the interests of a Greater Houston. A traffic over its Ship Channel which totaled $50,000,000 for One hundred twenty-six Financial and Industrial Development llie last twelve months, an inerease ui $1,500,000 over the traffic for the preceding year. Five cotton compresses. Houston compresses more cotton during- the season than any other city in Texas — the largest inland port cotton market in the world. The general offices of the four railroad companies of the Frisco, East and West lines, the Sunset-Central lines, the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railroad Company, and the fiouston ISelt & Terminal Railway Company, International and Great Northern Railway Company. •Aggregate assessments on the city tax rolls of $100,000,000. The Harris County tax rolls register a total assessment of $145,000,000. Forty skyscrapers of six stories and over, ranging up to eighteen stories. Houston challenges comparison with any city in the world of equal size to show as many tall buildings. Apartment houses completed during the year at a cost of over $1,500,000. A half-million-dollar Federal building, which houses the postoffice and the Federal Courts. The largest trust company or financial institution in the State is the Bankers' Trust Company, capitalized at $2,000,- 000, with surplus of approximately $1,000,000. In size it is surpassed by but three banks and trust companies in the South. It is active in the development of the Houston section, it being estimated it has brought in over $5,000,000 foreign capital during the past three years. Over 400 inccjrporated companies, whose aggregate capital stock is in excess of $150,000,000. Eight infirmaries and sanitariums and a new railroad hos- pital operated by the Southern Pacific. Alunicipal water works, which includes forty-five artesian wells with a daily capacity of 33,000,000 gallons, which is sup- plied to consumers at a rate of 15 cents per thousand gallons. The produce market of the rich Gulf Coast Country of Texas, Houston being in the center of the richest section of Texas. The only elevator and esculator factory in the South. A lire department comprising twelve stations, with prop- erty valued at $300,000. Fifty-five horses and no men com- pose the fire-fighting force. A manufacturing and industrial activity which totals $20,- 000,000 in capital, 11,000 in number of employes, $10,000,000 in pay roll and $66,000,000 output. An annual fall fete (the No-Tsu-Oh Carnival) wiiich at- tracts thousands of visitors from Texas and Louisiana. A mean annual temperature of 68 degrees, giving healthful climate, with an annual death rate of but 13.5 per thousand. One luindred twenty-seven Financial and Industrial Development — Continued Commission form cjf municipal t^overnment, which governs the city on a business basis without regard to politics and in the same manner a great private corporation is conducted. Tlie largest produce market in Texas, whose business last year totaled $5,200,000. The Rice Institute, a university with an endowment of $10,- 000,000, opened in fall of 191 2. Forty-nine lumber companies, making Houston tlie lumljer Center of the Southwest. Its annual lumljer Inisiiiess aggre- gates more than $40,000,000. A patriotic population imljued with the spirit of progression which epitomizes the resistless energy that is making Hous- ton the greatest city of the South. Twenty-three oil companies with an aggregate capital stock of $85,000,000. The largest producing petroleum district in Te.xas, the Humble held, is seventeen miles from Houston. The financial balance of power in the Southwest and clear- ing weekly more net than any city in the South, with the ex- ception of New Orleans. Direct connection with the Brownsville Railroad with the trade territory of Me.xico, and already is connected by steamer witli Mexican ports. A wholesale trade that totaled $125,000,000 last year. Si.x National banks, with total deposits of $45,000,000. A free library with 35,000 books. Expended over $100,000 last year in extensions and im- provements of the water works system. The general shops of the Texas (S: New Orleans, the Galves- ton, Harrisburg & San Antonio, the Houston & Texas Central, the Houston East & West Texas, and the Houston Belt & Terminal Railway Companies. .\n electric railway company which operates over sixty-one miles of track, and employs 465 persons. Twenty-four puldic school buildings which, with their grounds and equipment, represent an investment of $1,043,314. The scholastic population is 20,685, '^ost of buildings and equipment, $1,043,314; salaries of teachers, $190,302. In Har- ris County there are 26,525 school children. A retail trade whose volume last year was $51,000,000. Headquarters for the Texas Company (a $50,000,000 corpo- ration) which operates in Texas and Oklahoma petroleum fields. A half-million-dollar County Court House, built of granite and iron and brick. Five express coni])anies employing 200 men and having an annual payroll of $200,000. Six cotton seed oil mills with an aggregate cajjital of $2,500,- 000, employing 1,500 men, and an annual output uf $5,740,000. One hundred twenty-eight „„„ ■■■-.--^.„.,.V...„ouuua».mfl«««B««UU^^ Nearly 2,000 commercial Imuses with a ccimlMned capital uf $211,500,000. Two of the three car wheel factories in Texas, and these two are among the largest in America. An area of sixteen square miles, with many suburban dis- tricts. Three general shops of railways whose activities, here last year employed 2,700 men, paying them $1,607,200 in wages, and representing an output of $2,405,000. Two slips on the turning Ixisin of the Ship Channel which are just being completed at a cost of $150,000. With the sheds and warehouses they will provide free wharfage facilities in the new harbor. A Ship Channel to the Gulf which is being dredged to a minimum depth of twenty-five feet under a $2,500,000 ap- propriation. The third great orange belt of the United States within the Houston district. This industry is just beginning, but is already making shipments East. The postal receipts at the Houston office for 1910, 191 1 and 1912 were as follows: 1910 $423,726.23 191 1 486,.092.49 1912 519,692.84 The receipts for January and February, 1913, were $95,- 812.30, while the receipts for the corresponding months of 1912 were $83,107.57, thus showing a $12,704.73 increase in favor of 1913 over 1912. Five rice mills with a total daily capacity of 7,600 bags. One hundred passenger trains operated in and out of its railway terminals in a day. Invested in lumber mills and furniture t'actories, $1,039,500, with an output last year of $2,409,()9(). Foundries and machine shops with a total output last year of $4,699,254. One lunulred twenty-nine Financial and Industrial Development — Continued The first cinisideration in moving; to a new town to live is, what kind of drinking water is available? In addition to the municipal artesian water supply, Houston has one of the finest water distillini;- plants in the United States, making the purest possible water for drinking purposes, manufactured by the same process that the Government uses in the arniv and na\y stills. Aqua Pura is extensi\ely used in Houston and is shipped all over the state. Railroad investments of $12,685,100, employing 5,000 men, with an annual pay roll of $3,906,220. IMie railway terminals alone represent an investment of $4,000,000. Manual training and domestic science departments in its city schools. The largest storm sewer in the South, with a diameter at its mouth of thirteen feet, which provides water drainage for the Third and Fourth \\'ards. It cost $225,000. An additional $225,000 was expended during the year in extending the san- itary sewerage system. Its own dredge boat, "The Tom Ball," operating on the Houston Ship Channel, the first of the fleet of dredges that the city will have in the service on its waterway. OiU' luinilreil tliirty One hundred thirty-one g to te ~ ti. U U II ii li nil I, I ■ ■■ ■■ii One luiiulrc'd thirty-two One hundred thirty-three Copyright by Litterit^ Houston, Ttxas One hundred thirty-four ™'""— ""•twilliiUlllH One hundred thirty-five One hundred thirty-six One hundred thirty-seven One hundred thirty-eight THE PRESS of HOUSTON One hundred thirty-nine One hundred forty One hundred forty-one One liuiidred fortv-two One liuiidrcd forty-tliree View of Main Street in 1891, the year Wm. Marsh Rice endowed the Rice Institute. The above etching is reproduced from a wood cut used in a book on Houston printed that year by George W. Englehardt of St. Louis. The book is rare from a comparative, pictorial and statistical standpoint. This Index is made to read from left to right, covering pages of views of portraits where same appear side by side. Page 25 Title Page, Fannin School. 26 Front View High School. 27 High School on Caroline Street Side; Barnett School; Boys' Outdoor Gymnasium, Fannin School. 29 High School Domestic Science Class; High School Exhibit Manual Training; School Children at Lecture of Edmund Vance Cook, City Auditorium. 30 Xight Classes in Business Course, Architecture, and for Foreigners. 31 Night Classes for Colored People. Third picture shows woman eighty-five and her grandson on front seat, she attending school to learn to read the Bible. 3i Austin School; Hawthorne School; Woodland Heights School. 36 New Rusk School, Front, Auditorium and Rear Views. 38 Allen School; St. Agnes Academy; Carnegie Library. 40 Women's Choral Club; Blitz Quintette; Treble Clef Club. 42 Two Gymnasium Classes, and First Aid to the Wounded Class, Y. M. C. A. 43 Title Page, Interior View of General Office of Social Service Federation. 45 Y. M. C. A. Bldg.; Houston Y. M. C. A. Boys on Relay Hike from Galveston to Houston carrying message to Governor in City Park on San Jacinto Day. 47 Lunch Room, Reading and Rest Room, Y. W. C. A. 48 Interior of Modern Amlnilance, of which Houston has several. 49 Norsworthy's Hospital; Southern Pacific Hospital; Baptist Sanitarium. 50 I-'aith Home; Interior Faith Home Oiiening Day; Wesley House (Girls' Co-opera- tive Home). 51 Saint .\nthony's Home for the Aged; St. Joseph's Infirmary; Settlement House and Kindergarten (to the left). 52 Two Views of Canoe Club Members on ISrays Hayou, Cluli House in first picture; Oleander Club (Galveston-Houston) on Dickinson Bayon. Page 53 Title Page, Country Club House. 54 Views of Beautiful Golf Links and Grounds of Houston Country Club. 55 Old Golf Club; Thalian Club. 56 Houston Launch Club (on hill): more than three hundred boats listed. 57 Interior Houston Club (business men); New Majestic Theatre. 58 Views in Vicks Park, recently purchased by City for site of Permanent Exposition. 59 Three Views of Elizabeth Baldwin Park; Old Highland Park. 60 Forest Hill Park, looking across stream to Country Club Golf Links; Brays Bayou running through Forest Hill Park; Two Views City Park. 61 Beautiful Park on Ship Channel at San Jacinto Battlegroimd; An Invitation to Drive or Motor; the "Augusta," a sea-going yacht built in Houston and owned by C. G. Pillot. 62 First Presb\teriaii Church; Christ Episcopal Church; First Methodist Church. 63 Title Page, Church of the Annunciation and School. 64 Christian Science Church; St. Paul's Methodist Church; Tuam Avenue Baptist Church. 65 First Baptist Church; Congregation Beth Israel: Cumberland Presbyterian, Cen- tral Christian, Second Presbyterian Churches. 66 Main Street Looking South at the Beginning of Residential Section: four views of Home of F. A. Hervy, Jr.; Residence of A. L. Nelras; an Attractive Home in Woodland Heights. 67 Home of E. B. Parker. 68 Homes of Major J. F. Dickson, Dr. W. R. Eckhardt and E. Raphael. 6g Home of J. W. Link in Montrose. 70 Homes of Andrew Dow, C. G. Pillot, Jas. A. Baker. R. C. Duff, Jesse H. Jones, S. F. Carter, J. O. Ross, Cortlandt Place. 71 Homes of W. T. Carter, Mrs. M. T. Jones, Abe M. Levy, Harris Masterson, Dr. O. L. Norsworthy, J. C. Hooper, J. W. Hertford, Lynch Davidson. 72 Beautiful Forest Hill; Homes of W. A. Cooke and M. C. Lane, first picture; last picture, Gus Radetzki and Lindsay Dunn. 73 Bungalow Headquarters Forestdale Nurseries and H. T. D. Wilson's Fine Chicken Ranch showing in center picture Six Thousand-egg Incubator House. 74 Westmoreland Farms, adjoining Rice Institute Property, and connected with Houston by hourly street car service. 75 Four Views Bungalow Addition; Entrance to Woodland Heights and Home of Wm. A. Wilson; Boulevard in Houston Heights: Three Views of Southland Terrace, Showing Splendid Natural Possibilities for Suburban Development. 77 Major J. F. Dickson, Judge Harris Masterson, O. L. Cochran, Capt. Wm. Chris- tian, J. S. Rice, John T. Scott. 78 Jas. Adair, Andrew Dow, David Rice, Jeff T. Miller, Harry S. Fox, H. R. Eldridge, H. T. D. Wilson, Daniel Garrett, Wm. B. King, E. A. Peden, Henry H. Dick- son, David Daly. 79 E. B. Parker, H. M. Garwood, Abe M. Levy. Lynch Davidson. John Stewart, R. C. Duff, Fred A. Jones, Ennis Cargill, George Torrey, Joe H. Eagle, W. H. Gill, John Charles Harris. 80 J. S. Cullinan, K. E. Brooks. E. F. Simms, W. B. Sharp*. Xiels Esperson, H. T. Staiti. 81 W. B. Chew, Chas. Dillingham, Jos. Meyer, W. L. Macatee, Henry S. Fox*, Col. (). T. Holt*. *Deceased. Page 82 Dr. Peter Gray Sears, C. L. Kerr, Arthur Cargill, Sterling Meyer, E. M. Parrish, J. B. Adoue, Richard Maury, Chester Bryan, John W. Maxcy, Jules Sette- gast, J. Q. Tabor, \Vm. A. Smith. 83 T. J. Anderson, H. Martin, D. J. Price, C. H. Dunbar, John W. Graham, A. Y. Austin, E. A. Hudson, Frank Jones, James Cravens, Ed Kiam, John Foley, Pat Foley. 84 Jonathan Lane, John H. Kirby, Jake Wolters, Jas. L. Story. 85 John H. Thompson, Thomas Stone, B. F. Bonner, Lee C. Ayers, Wm. A. Vinson, L. A. Adamson, John A. Hulen, Chas. Kirk, Bentley Nelson. Jas. T. Sadler, J. W. Neal. Jeff T. Gibbons. 86 Judge Chas. E. Ashe, Jas. D. Dawson, A. L. Nelms, N. E. Meador, Guy Bryan, Chas. P. Shearn, Bryan Heard, B. B. Gilmer, C. W. Hahl, W. T. Carter, C. G. Pillot, H. F. McGregor. 87 O. S. Carlton, Wm. Abbey. W. S. Farrish, Howard Hughes. Lee Blaffer. D. R. Beatty. E. J. Hussion. L. W. Macatee, Henry Lee Borden, Dr. Sam R. Hay, Dr. Wm. States Jacobs, Dr. Henry Barnstein. 88 W. G. Van Vleck, George Gibbons, F. A. Heitmann, M. M. Graves, W. V. Lau- raine, H. C. Schuhmacher. Dr. J. L. Gross, James Radford, Lynn Talley, J. E. Duff, J. M. Cary, Leon Sontield. 99 Carter building, showing Wireless Station; Scanlan Building; Union National Bank. 100 Te.xas Company Building; Cotton Hotel; Paul Building. loi South Texas-Commercial National Bank; First National Bank. 102 Waddell Furniture Co.; Commercial Bank Building: Houston Cotton Exchange. 103 Binz Building; Hudson Furniture Co.; Bering-Cortes Hardware Co.; Stewart Building; Tel-Electric Co.; Beatty Building. 104 Bristol Hotel; Interior Views Macatee Hotel. 105 Brazos Hotel; Two Views Brazos Court; Milby Hotel. 106 Southern Pacific Building; Stowers Furniture Co.; Bender Hotel. 107 Savoy Apartments; Rossonian Apartments; Beaconsfield Apartments. 109 Opening of the New Viaduct at the foot of Main Street, connecting the City with the North Side. Ill City Auditorium, seating more than seven thousand people. The '"Zeeland," owned by Former Mayor Rice and on which he has entertained hundreds of dis- tinguished guests of the City of Houston. 113 City Water Works Pumping Station; Mouth of Austin Street Storm Sewer; City Filter Beds. 115 Dr. W. S. Lockhart, who originated the Municipal Entertainment Idea and has successfully superintended the movement in Houston. 116 Scenes on the Ship Channel: Last Picture, famous San Jacinto Battleground, where Texas won her independence in 1836. 117 Mariner's Map Showing Houston in upper left hand corner and the course of the Houston Ship Channel. 118 Ship Channel near Harrisburg. 119 Ship Channel at Lynchburg. 121 Title Page, Members of Chamber of Commerce starting on a "Houston Boosters" trip. 134 Interior and Exterior Views of the Magnificent New LTnion Station of the Hous- ton Belt & Terminal Company. 13s Title Page, Where the Ship Channel Enters the Sea; Wharfage at Oil Station and Cotton Compress on the Ship Channel. Page 136 Houston Belt and Terminal Facilities; I. and G. N. Freight Station and Cotton Sheds; I. & G. N. Wharf on Ship Channel. 137 Two Southern Pacific Stations; Foreign Ship in the Turning Basin. 138 Reading down the page — J. M. Lewis, Editor "Tampering With Trifles" column and "Alkali Eye" in Houston Post; Harry Van Demark, Editor Texas Mag- azine; Hamp Cook, Editor Progressive Houston; Holland S. Reavis, Editor Fuel Oil Journal; F. E. Dionne, Editor Gulf Coast Lumberman; W. W. Dexter, Editor Texas Bankers' Journal; Richard Montgomery, Editor The Telegram. 124 Adolph Boldt, Secretary Chamber of Commerce. 125 G. E. Roussel, Assistant Secretary; Jerome Farbar, Director of Publicity; J. W. Wilkinson, Traffic Manager. 126 Interior Houston National Exchange Bank. 129 Interior Lumbermans Bank. 130 Aqua Pura Water Manufacturing Plant; Federal Building. 131 City Market; Harris County Court House. 132 Public Service Corporation.s — Three Southwestern Telephone Buildings — Preston, Hadley and Taylor Exchanges; Home Telephone Co. Building; Houston Gas Company, which has just increased its capacity at an expenditure of a half million dollars. 133 Galveston-Houston Interurban, showing the Draw-bridge on the Great Causeway. The car in the last picture was traveling at the rate of fifty miles an hour when the picture was snapped. 140 Houston Post Building. 141 Post StafT — G. J. Palmer, Vice President and General Manager; A. E. Clarkson, Secretary and Business Manager; R. M. Johnston, President and Editor; Harry Warner, Managing Editor; George Baily, Editorial Staff. 142 Houston Clironicle Building. 143 Chronicle StafT — C. B. Gillespie, Business Manager; G. E. Kepple, City Editor; Marcellus Foster, President and General Manager: Robert Cornell, Advertis- ing Manager; J. E. McComb, Manager Foreign Advertising. THE END OF THIS BOOK WHICH IS ENTIRELY A HOUSTON PRODUCT. DESIGNED, COMPILED AND ARRANGED by JULIA CAMERON MONTGOMERY. DRAWINGS by SAM KAISER. ENGRAVINGS by THE STAR ENGRAVING COMPANY. PRINTED AT THE SOUTHWESTERN PRESS, IN THE MONTH OF MAY THE YEAR NINETEEN HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN o -^^ ^^ ^-..^^ i°v, \,......^: .^'^ -.^-^^ , ^-v .HO* »*„ * • , • ^V O . <■ „ .. o ' . O "^ * • . , • fl^ O * o . o ' .0 k* * . ^^# . k* <^ ^.A"" : •- ^^»' A '^^ A iP/ /\ '-i'^^^^^ .'^"'^ ^^»^/ /\ ' A^ ^ - « , '<^, o'^ • ^ " . "^b j> , o " = , v. 0^ • " • ' o 4.* <> " " ° « ^^ <^> •^^0^ V,_ ,^' .^^^^A-; ■ -^ ,^ ' ,^'^mSr'_ '^. ,cV^ ^>'^^,^^'; "^ ^ .f^^o -"M^r" .^"% ''^^^^^^^'^ / "^ '^ ^^-=^^, ...\ ■^li, \:-. . -^0 ■■-'■', -^' OV C: \cf ;^te %,^ .i."^ .>V. A^ , » c , -;« I . ■ f * V •!• ^'2' -^^ vV.>v >. •■' A^ ^/ ^-/m^ ^.^ ■?■ '^o o V O • o , o . ^ , \^ •*>. 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