San Antonio, Taxas, February 15th, 1922
Mr. H. B. Ayres,
Mobile, Alabama.
Dear Harral:-
Enclosed please find copy of letter from Mr. Bourg of Thibodaux, Louisiana, which is self-explanatory; together with my reply.
We are betting on you putting over the bridge proposition, and this is another case where i wish it was possible for me to come down and spend a week with you and get better acquainted with that end of the work as well as the people.
I have ray palm planting proposition in the Valley just going the finest you ever saw. They have already secured definite pledges from all the land owners from Harlingdn four miles west and they are getting ' along fine with the exception of the railroad company. I have just given them a tip as to what I think would make the railroad company beautify theirs.
The Houston people have simply gone wild on this Valley business. They have just completed arrangements with the two Houston papers to handle §50,000 worth of publicity for the Valley during 1922 and I claim that is putting it over in great shape. I am getting all of our friends in the Valley to write personal friends in Houston, to the Chamber of Commerce,and wholesale and commission merchants asking them to lend their support to the Houston-Brownsville division of the Old Spanish Trail. Ross has promised to back it good and strong with his associations. I am going to take my time and work this up just like I want. I think in 30 days I can have it so we can go in to Houston and get four or five thousand dollars. I have some plans of my own worked out in my own ’hoodie" and I have discussed it with big men of affairs as well as a number of men who make a living raising money and I am just going to show you that I can put this Houston business over. I am going to use the Houston business to help put over the Mission-Laredo proposition.
I have been doing a few other things besides what I have been writing you about. Together with Representative Stewart of Balraor-hea we succeeded in getting the State Highway Department to close up the short gap of undesignated highway by Ft. Davis and make an appropriation for it besides. Representative Stewart has been my friend all the time and Van Deren is loving me to death. But this isn't the whole story. V.re will get two routes instead of one. The other route is just beginning to realize what they are missing and it will be a case of optional routes.
Am enclosing you a couple of clippings from the Brownsville Herald. One is just a nice early-day story and the other is a modern up-to-date story from our co-worker Mr. Fitch. If you get your story over with reference to the palms be sure and send a clipping to Mrs. J. C. Myrick at Harlingen, Mrs. S. E. Tucker at Brownsville, 0. S. V. Ross at San Juan, and Roy H. Hardin secretary Mission Business Men's League. I want each of these to have a copy of it. I plan to be the park director myself at the time I take