Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1872-07-19
TOWARD SUNSET.
VII.
VII.
San Francisco and Roundabout.

and the consequent abundant crops, the begin
nings of which are already coming into market,
there is not as much business activity observs-
bic on the streets of San Francisco as one might
reasonably expect at this season of the year.
Shipping does not seem to be very brisk, but IL
is TO be said on this point that there is not tou
mage enough at hand to meet current demands.
even at the high prices ruling at present, and it
is feared that there will be quite famine, so
to speak, in this respect when the time comes
to move the heavy grain crop now being har-
vested. There is comparatively little building
going on for a city of this size and situated as il
is. Changes in real estate, with a few marked
exceptions, are not many or important and
prices are reported as good deal depressed
Manufacturing is prosecuted successfully in
many branches, but the sha arp competition which
the factories have now to meet from eastern
shops tends to make that industry less pros
porous than formerly. Since the late terrible
collapse in mining stocks, business in the stock
exchanges-and this, by the way seems to be
the keynote to all trade here-has also been
fat, stale and Improbable. Furthermore, the
yield from the mines has not been as great as
was expected, partly, perhaps, on account OF
temporary exhaustion of leads, and partly
through the Vaccinations of mine managers
and manpulators. So, the whole, there
appears to be good deal OF complaint among
business men, as well in regard to present dull
ness as future prospects.
AS matter of course, a variety of causes
combine to bring about this state of affairs. II is
likely that apprehensiOns of future shakings up
by earthquakes have prevented the investment
of foreign capital in real property here to the
extent that used to be quite common. Then
again, complications touching the status and
rights of labor, wages, etc, doubtless underlie
large share of the difficulty. Likewise those
springing from the coir-currency question and
an insufficient circulating medium. But the
prevailing fashion here just now is to charge
every calamity, accident, misfortune, or draw
back, be it public or private, and whether past,
present or expected, to Ex-Governor Stanford
and his associates in the management OF the
Central Pacific Railroad. And this leads me TO
speak of
/ THE TERRIBLE CALIFORNIA BUGBEAR.
1t used to be the Bank of California, but now
1t is the railroad. That is the Califorrians
ideal of the sum of all villanies now. You hear
of it on all sides. Is a child wicked beyond the
influence of ordinary domestic correctives p
Stanford & Co. will strsightway be called in to
eat it up bodily or fling it into the bottomless
pit. Does a food devastate one section of the
state, or drouth burn up another ?-the q. P. X
K. is in some mysterious way to blame for it
Has the army worm appeared in one of the re-
mote counties ?-It is q part of Stanford s. Co.'s
Internal plot to control the state and place the
city Of San Francisco under their grinding
heel" Is the grape crop likely to be short in
some other quarter ?-the grasping railway cor
poration are at the bottom of it. Does q mine
"peter out" any where? 1t is "the anaconda
tail of Stanford g. Co. tightening about the
crushed and expiring state.' Ihavn'tyet heard
them charged with getting up the Juzo earth
quake or spreading the smallpox, about which
there is good deal Of pother here Just now, bu;
have no doubt these will come along in good
time. And SO the damnable iteration goes on
day after day. The newspapers are filled brim
full OF pungent paragraphs on the subject, much
like those that bristle in the columns of country
journals just before election day. Public meet
ings discuss the impending catastrophe; nervous
brokers launch jerky curses at the heads of the
ruthless destroyers between calls at the stock
board; croaking bummers mop their rheumy
eyes over the situation every time they take
tIeir tOddy; and am not sure but the devilisi
Vaccinations of the company are in some way
mixed up with those OF the arch-fend himself,
and made the subject of fierce fulmin atons
from the pulpit. L will ask my wife, when she
comes in, whether she has heard anything OF
the sort.
Now, seriously speaking, there can be no
manner OF question bat that TIE railway com
pany is fearfully son the Make and that il il
getting into its hands one way and another an
alarming proportion of property and power
But this, L suspect, is due to the human nature
in the concern rather than to the fact that the
Offending agency is this particular corporation,
or that its managers happen TO be MIR. Stanford
and his associates. Any other combination OF
money making men would do as much if they
could. Hundreds OF them doing the same
thing to the extent of their capacity all over the
United States o-day. And this not only contrary
u the interests of the general public, but with
aL p6 tasi o consent or active OF state
this state OF things does not lie in abusing the
men who happen TO control this or that partcu-
lar corporation tor the time being. 1t is the
natural fruit of system; and to break this up il
Is necessary to 60 beyond effects and strike al
causes. Party ties will have to be ignored, to
some extent, at least. The ballot box NUT be
purified. A higher and purer type of men must
be secured for public officers through the con-
certed action of the better classes of society az
nominating conventions, still earlier,-at
primary meetings. When these things are done
we shall have a right to hope tor better days,
and not much sooner.
THE RAILROAD HUBBUB.
at present the public mind OF San Francisco
Is very much torn up over the growing power
and alleged destructive policy Of the railroad
company, and it is apparent that popular senti-
Eent is almost unanimously against it. Like
all other questions, this doubtless has two sides;
but if the managers Of the road have any show
ing in their own behalf it does not find its way
before the people of San Francisco to any con-
siderable extent At all events, have not seen
it. But, with the best lights before me, the
situation as between the citizens and the rail-
road company appears to be about this: San
Francisco used to control and monopollze the
whole trade Of the Pacific coast, and the policy,
or rather, perhaps, the practice of her business
men seemed to be to enrich themselves and
build up the city, irrespective of the effect upon
the country upon which she mainly depended
for her prosperity. The opening Of the road
across the continent changed AL that. 1t in
terfered with the business Of San Francisco, be-
cause 1t brought into direct competition With her
the commercial cities Of the east; bat il bene
fitted the whole country on the Pacific slope, In
giving to it people choice OF markets for their
products and cheaper markets in which TO buy
their supplies. Here, I think, is where the
shoe pinches hardest, 90 far - the city is con-
cerned. 1t is undoubtedly true that the railway
company Is exachng in Its demands and oppre..
sive In is wars. Il has reached out is en-
biac.ng arms until 1t now owns or controls
nearly al the lines OF Communication with thu
HINT a. clA