San Andreas independent., 1858-12-18
SrocKToS, December 9Th, Is
lNy. Edsf> We are all Douglas men,

almost iekdy p aps |egize for our present luke
warmness. veraI prominent Buchanan pol
iticians are NV fs1gn to oui-D Douglas Douglas
himself in their strong advocacy of States
Rights as embodied in the Cincinnati Plat
form They see the handwriting on the wall,
and (as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar of old)
look with fear and suspicion at the grazing
fields mapped out on the political landscape,
in which, after mother years probation, they
will surely sojonrn. This reminds me of a
promise, in my last, to give you something
about trade, travel and local affairs of this
city. m
Stockton is famed, in the mines, as a third
or fourth rate one-horse city. In the aggre-
gate this is great injustice to the place and to
tne many truly worthy merchants and mechan-
lcs VINO lndustriously and zealously pursue
almost every branch of business known in the
category OF trade. Much of the complaint
against Stockton, is caused by the combined
influence of San Francisco capitalists, who are
jointly and severally interested in property in
yestments with Sacramento capitalists and the
jobbing trade of that city and the northern
mines. 1t is these results that operate most
seriously against the interests of the Slough
City. Those joint capitalists build railroads,
theatres, hotels, &C., just as free, and may be
more SO, in Sacramento, than they do in San
Francisco, knowing full well call is fish that
comes to their net" They run opposition
steamboats, to Sacramento against the mon
ster monopoly two thirds of the year, regard
less of the fact that they are robbing Peter
to pay PAUL." because they thus divert trade
and travel through their own business chan
nels and reap harvest, even in season of
bad crops, to the disparagement of the south
ern mines. The Steam Navigation Company,
too, is party to the fraud perpetrated on this
city, and charge less prices liz freight and fare
to every other point in the State, considering
the distance, than to this point In evidence of
this | will note fact that came to my knowl-
edge during recent three weeks residence
in San Jose.
The entire trade of Tulare county, Four
Creeks, Visalia and the Kern River mines, was
formerly done with this city, and our mer-
chants, forwarders and draymen had the ad-
rantages of the trade. Now that same trade
is carried on exclusively with San Francisco
and the goods are shipped to Aviso, thence
via Pacheco's Pass to the places named-the
purchaser realizing by shipping on this route
just the price of freight from San Francisco to
Stockton, say $5 per ton. The distance from
San Francsco-in travelling time and expense
to Alviso, is very near as much as it is to
this city; yet, without an opposition steamer,
the Monopoly deliver goods at the wharf of
that place for 81 per ton, and passengers at
81 each. From Alviso, the freight is forward
ed down through San Jose valley some forty
miles to Gilroy, and thence through Pacheco s
Pass, on road of toll-gates to the Tulare
Plains at San Luis Gonzaga ranch, making
the letter in its angles, stretching about fif-
teen miles over high chain Of mountains
known as the Coast Range. There is the trade
OF the extreme southern portion of the Great
Tulare Valley, tapped through the agency of a
pampered Steamboat Monopoly, to the injury
of this section, where it justly belongs.
Looking from the scope of the plains to the
mines, bearing north, and we find the same
causes-cheap fare and cheap freight-divert-
ing the trade to Sacramento. In the great
county OF Calayeras-bordering as it is on the
dividing line between Sacramento and Stock
ton interests-this fact is more particularly
observable, in the effect that the Big Tree
road ian enterprise materially assisted by
Stockholm has been tapped, and will soon be
an avenue of Sacramento trade while the al
most impossible Placerville route will be used
to swear by and obtain the mail contract.
But this city has also been the loser by the
neglect and sel6shness of her own citizens, and
suffered, in business point of view, severely
from the forming of petty monopolies in vari-
Gus little branches of business, to the detri-
ment OF true competition in free trade and
enterprise. For instance, the draymen charge
the same prices now, per load (Sl), as in 40
and will, if possible, (as in a recent easel, di-
vide one load into two, in order to extort
double price, The result is, that regular dray-
men in the place Of doing legitimate busi-
ness and making money, are mostly idle while
host OF privateers in the shape of job wag-
ons, hand carts and wheelbarrows, do the
package transportation. This petty mo-
nopoly has done much mischief and driven all
the vegetable. dealers. and most of the mer-
chants, in self-defenee, to keep drays and dc
| their own drayipgs and between times haul q
load or two for an outsider at the reasonable
! sum of fifty cents. Other trades and profes.
sions have their lntle cotery monopoles, also
which shall notice in due time, if their suici-
dal course is persisted in. But there are many
honorable exceptions, In business point Of
view, among merchants and mechanics.
/ Most of the heavy dealers, in this city, i'm
pOtk tuCiI SOOuo li0tu tdSlcTH markets., anO
have branch houses, in San Francisco. while
others sell in this city, at San Francisco pri-
ces. Yet merchants from the mines pass
through this city without inquiring the prices
\ of goods, and proceed to the Bay, there pay
! ing Stockton prices, thus losing their time
| and the price of freight and passage, not tax
ing into account the delay of return on the in
yestment The consequence is that every
steamer bound. .below carries more or less
goods to San Francisco, from Stockton, seek
ing market, while the same boat, after the
recess of few days, returns with the same
1 boxes and bales marked and branded by an
4 Importer at the Bay, consigned 7" Care oi
I Sarles," Shreek, OF, some other forwarder) tc
| a mining merchant i have noted this, daily
| to be the case, and would have not referred to
it but to vindicate Stockton against the un-
just aspersious so frequently used against her
by mining traders will, in future letter
give those business houses special notice
(which sell at San Francisco prices schooner
freight added. .as
Il The Society of Natural History is success
Ilfully and permanently organized, having a
large cabinet of valuable specimens of inani-
mate nature A course of Lectures is now
being delivered, which are receiving merited
/ attention.
Il Balls and parties are now the reigning fea-
/ ture of the long winter evenings. The social
season was inaugnrated by the Grand Ball o.