Texas Almanac, 1945-1946 Page: 70
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70 TEXAS ALMANAC.-1945-1946.
velopment. It was about the beginning
of the present century, however, that
manufacturing industry became a really
prominent part of Texas economic devel-
opment.
First Great Oil Field.
It was in 1901 that Spindletop startled
the world with its magnificent gushers,
giving Texas its first really great oil
ield. The bringing min of this field and
the succession of discoveries that have
followed have done more than anything
else to send Texas hurriedly along the
path of industrialization. Not only has
petroleum given Texas the raw material
for the greatest of its manufacturing in-
dustries, it has assured to other manu-
facturing industries an ample fuel sup-
ply, and it has contributed much to the
uilding of industries dependent on petro-
leum by-products. Furthermore, petro-
leum has contributed more than any
other resource to the liquid capital of
Texas available for investment in indus-
trial and commercial enterprise. The
discovery of oil and the wealth that ac-
cumulated from its production have
largely relieved Texas of its former de-
pendence on outside capital for new in-
dustrial development.
It was also in the year 1901 that the
two great meat-packing plants were built
at Fort Worth. There had been a num-
ber of small packing plants in the State,
but it was not until these two large in-
dustries were erected that Texas was
fairly launched into the ~u' cture of
one of its most abundantly produced raw
rflaterials. The manufacture of cotton
goods, cottonseed products and flour also
received impetus soon after the opening
of the century.
It was the administration of Gov. Jo-
seph D. Sayers (Jan. 17, 1899, to Jan. 20,
1903) that ushered Texas across the
threshold of the new century. Other than
as initiating the economic developments
mentioned above, his administration will
be remembered for two great disasters,
the Brazos flood of August, 1899, and the
Galveston hurricane and flood of Sept. 8
and 9, 1900, which took a toll of lives that
has never been accurately computed, but
has been estimated at 5,000 to 7,000, with
property damage that amounted to a
large percentage of the total wealth of
the community. Nature compensated the
state in a degree for these two great dis-
asters by producing one of the greatest
crops in its history, and the new cen-
tury opened with a wave of prosperity.
Primary Election Law.
The two-term administration of S. W.
T. Lanham (Jan. 20, 1903, to Jan. 15,
1907), which followed that of Sayers, was
distinguished in the political develop-
ment of the state by the adoption of the
Terrell election law and the inaugura-
tion of the popular primary. This law,
so-called from Judge A. W. Terrell, who
introduced the bill, did away with the
convention system in Texas for political
parties having more than a scattering
support. The first primary election un-
der the new law was that of 1906 inwhich the popular vote was distributed
as follows: Thomas M. Campbell, 90,345;
M. M. Brooks, 70,064; O. B. Colquitt, 68,-
529; Charles K. Bell, 65,168. No man
having received a majority, the State
Democratic convention, under the law as
originally passed, was required to drop
on successive ballots the lowest man,
prorating the vote among the other can-
didates as dictated by county delega-
tions. On the second ballot, Campbell was
nominated, and he was elected in the
general election with negligible opposi-
tion.
During the administration of T. M.
Campbell (Jan. 15, 1907, to Jan. 19, 1911)
there was an amendment of the election
law to do away with the bunglesome
combination of popular vote and conven-
tion proration of vote in event no one
received a majority in the election. It
was provided that nomination should be
by single popular vote, the one with a
plurality, whether majority or not, to
receive the nomination. Campbell was
nominated for his second term over R.
R. Williams.
Although the two terms of Governor
Campbell witnessed the panic of 1907 and
its following bad effects, there was rapid
economic development in the state. The
census of 1910, at the end of his second
term, revealed a population of 3,896,542,
which was an increase of 847,832, or 27.8
per cent, over the population of 1900. The
total value of manufactured products,
between 1900 and 1910, jumped from
$92,894,433 to $272,895,635. The number
of farms in the same ten years increased
from 352,190 to 417,770.
The two-term administration of O. B.
Colquitt (Jan. 19, 1911, to Jan. 19, 1915)
was characterized politically by the
coming to boiling point of the prohibi-
tion issue in the state. There had been
frequent and sharp strife over this issue
during the preceding administrations, but
it became the dominating issue with the
advent of the Colquitt administration.
A constitutional amendment for state-
wide prohibition had been submitted at
an election Aug. 4, 1887, and had lost by
a vote of 220,637 to 129,270.
However, prohibition sentiment had
spread rapidly as evidenced by the suc-
cesses of the "drys" in local option elec-
tions. In the Democratic primary July
25, 1908, the question of submission of
prohibition was submitted to vote. It
carried by a vote of 145,530 to 141,441,
but the following Legislature failed to
submit the question. The campaign of
1910 logically centered about the prohibi-
tion question and Oscar B. Colquitt, pro-
hibition opponent, led the field. Prohi-
bition was submitted in July, 1911, how-
ever, and lost by a vote of 237,130 to
230,150. Prohibition was again the lead-
ing question in the campaign of 1912,
when Colquitt defeated William F. Ram-
sey in a memorable race which resulted
in a vote of 218,812 to 177,183.
Colquitt's administration was notable
for its economy in state fiscal affairs, re-
form in the penal system, prompt steps
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Texas Almanac, 1945-1946, book, 1945; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117166/m1/72/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.