Weekly Trinity journal., 1872-03-23
SAN FRANCISCO ALARMED.

A Bill has been introduced In Congress
granting one-half of Goat Island to the
Central Pacific Railroad Company rs a
terminus, and has passed the House of
Representatives to engrossment. San
Francisco is greatly excited over the mat
ter, and a monster mass meeting was held
at Platt's Hall, on the 10th instant, TO
protest against any such cession to the
Railway. Goat Island contains 1872 acres
and is situated between San Francisco
and Oakland, about two and one-half
miles from San Francisco. The grounds
of alarm on the part of San Franciscans
are expressed by the following extract
from the resolutions adopted by the mass
meeting:
"What does the Central Pacific Rail-
road and our House delegation in Con-
gress propose TO do in the Goat Island
bill? 1t proposes to do this, and no less
than this: 1t proposes to give TO a
single corporation the power TO build
up an Independent rival and commercial
city in our very teeth and at the expense
of the interests of 0,000 people and
5000, 900, 600 of property for be it under
stood that the Central Pacific Railroad
now own and control from four to six
hundred acres on the line of their present
wharf improvements from the Oakland
side, and Stanford, Huntingdon, Hopkins,
and the Crockers, also own four. .tenths of
some 10000 acres more of the Oakland
water front.
With the grant of Goat Island and the
use of its bluffs for filing the shoal north
OF said Island now owned by the Rail-
road, a line of water front could be es-
tablshed on ships channel of four miles
in length, and equal TO the entire line OF
water front now occupied by the city OF
San Francisco. An extension of this
filling to the balance of the tide lands in
the possession of the Corporation and its
Directors in their private capacity, would
give them and their associates the control
Of eight miles of water front and 1000
acres of land contiguous, amply sufficient
to build city of great commercial i'm
portance. Thus the Central Pacific Rail-
road, by getting foothold on Goat Island,
would be placed in a position where it
could make use of their great railroad
system which the nation has paid for, to
build up great city upon lands that would
have cost comparatively nothing, 10 the
overwhelming dctriment of San Fran
cisco"
Hon. A. B. Forbes, Hon. J. G. Hast
ings, j. T. Lewis, j. G. Merrill and T..
b. Perrin were appointed Committee TO
attend upon the State Legislature, and to
represent the wishes of the people in OPP
position to the proposed grant. James
Otis was afterwards added to the Com.
mittee. Hon. Caleb T. Fay and General
b. f. Alexander were also appointed and
requested to go to Washington forthwith
TO represent and urge the will of the
people, as expressed by the resolutions
adopted, and to act there in conjunction
with Professor Davidson.
We hope this scare will arouse San
Francisco from the Rip Van Wrinkle
slumber Of selfshncss it has so long in
dulged. Whether great city should be
built on the Oakland or San Francisco
side of the bay don't interest the interior,
| for the reason that il would make no diff
ference and, if it did, not likely for the
worse. A more illiberal policy towards
its customers has never prevailed in any
commercial emporium than that adopted
by the Shylocks of San Francisco. Ap-
parently ignorant that the development
of the interior promoted the growth of
their city, the capitalists of the Bay City
have occupied themselves solely in devils
ing every possible way of squeezing the
last dollar out of the interior counties.
Because of their supreme sefshness we
have little sympathy with them, now that
0a-cOnstrictor-like the Pacific Railway
has them temporarily in its coils. SO
far as our interests are concerned, it's
an Injun and Bear fight and nothing more.
We do not anticipate by any means that
IA city Of 100000 inhabitants and 1900, ,OO0,-
600 of property will be swallowed up even
by as gigantic corporation ms the Central
Pacific. We do expect the Railroad will
bring the city to its own terms. We hope
that San Francisco capital will realize
the truth that liberal policy is the best.
The State of California at large, like the
goose in the fable, has been laying the
golden eggs for San Francisco, with no
corresponding return. Competition and
strife between rival cities benefits their
customers. San Francisco has had every
thing her own way and has been as selfish
as possible. Now that she sees how it
is herself, we hope new leaf will be
turned and different and liberal policy
pursued.