The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 95, July 1991 - April, 1992 Page: 469
598 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Emzgrant Strikebreakers
But although there is clear evidence of cooperation between granite
workers' unions on either side of the Atlantic, on occasions the Ameri-
can warnings were not heeded, and the Aberdeen recruits then came
into bitter conflict with the American trade unionists. Perhaps the most
acrimonious incident was one that occurred in 1886 and had its origin
not in one of the eastern granite centers in which the Aberdeen immi-
grants most commonly congregated, but in Texas. Since the incident
provided the first real test of the Alien Contract Labor Act, it also at-
tracted national attention in the United States.
In November 1875 the Texas legislature decided that a new State
Capitol should be erected in Austin, through the appropriation of a
large tract of public land. Since Texas, still recovering from the Civil
War, had no funds to finance the project, it was specified that the build-
ing contract would be paid off solely in land, the state's one major asset.
No further action was taken until February 1879, when 3,050,000 acres
in the Texas Panhandle were set apart and a Capitol Board was ap-
pointed to administer the project. " In April 1879 an act to provide for
building the Capitol was passed, and in November 188o (after the land
had been surveyed and valued at fifty cents per acre) the Capitol Board
appointed a building superintendent and two building commissioners.
Out of eleven sets of plans and specifications submitted to the commis-
sioners by February 1881, the design of E. E. Myers of Detroit was ac-
cepted, and in July 1881 the commissioners advertised for tenders for
construction, specifying that the entire payment would be made in
land. The project assumed greater urgency when the old Capitol
burned down on November 9, but only two bids were submitted, and
on January 1, 1882, the contract for the new State Capitol was awarded
to Mattheas Schnell of Rock Island, Illinois. Within twelve days he had
assigned three-quarters of his interest in the project to Taylor, Babcock
and Company of Chicago, and by the summer he had relinquished his
entire interest to this same company."
'2Consisting of the state's governor, comptroller, attorney general, treasurer, and land com-
missioner Fifty thousand acres of the land grant were to be sold to pay for the survey. Much of
the following information about the early stages in the construction of the new Capitol has
been drawn from Frederick W. Rathlen, "The T'lexas State House: A Study of the Building of
the Texas Capitol Based on the Reports of the Capitol Building Commissioners," in Southwest-
ern Hitorical Quarterly, LX (Apr., 1957), 433-462
13J Evetts Haley, The XIT Ranch of Texas and the Early Days of the Llano Estacado (Norman
University of Oklahoma Press, 1967), chap IV, "The State Capitol and its builders," 49-57.
See also Forrest Crissey, "The Vanishing Range," The Country Gentleman, LXXVIII, Mar 1,
1913. Also included in the Chicago syndicate that took over responsibility for constructing the
Capitol were United States Senator Charles B. Farwell of Illinois and his younger brother John
Farwell. Col. Abner T'aylor was the Representative to Congress from Illinois, and his father-mn-
law Amos Babcock, a large landholder in Illinois, made up the fourth member of the syndicate.
Their original intention was to dispose of the Panhandle grant in some speculative scheme. It
was only after their failure to sell the land that they decided to operate it as a ranch until in-
creased immigration would raise its value and enable them to sell at a profit. The XII"' Ranch469
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 95, July 1991 - April, 1992, periodical, 1992; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117153/m1/545/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.