, 1873-02-28
|C.-CNt1FORNIA.
- r ." =
The: Financial Conditiol Of the
: - =; State. -; /:
The Causes Of That Condition.

Il ne causes OF h2t CONDITION..
vi i:Ft1 - ftl :tTs t:'..
Correspondence Of The Chicago 7tihIne.
sAn FRANCISCO, Jan. q, 1919
am prompted to give you my Impressions {
, California, however c1ndo and incorrect the
: may be. Your renders are-at liberty to take the1
:: for what they are worth. :;
The great characteristic peculiarity Of califo'
mia ia . =, .-~
= ~.-..-., THE CLIMATE. ;.
which, in January, coming as did from the col
and snows OF Montana, seemed to me mos
t1anscendently beautiful and mild The ehrub
and flowers on the mountain -sides and in th
valleys are opening their blossoms and the eras
and winter wheat are green and rapidly growing
being about si1 inches high: Rsdishes ant
other garden vegetables are ready for the table
and everything betokens spring. The frogs pee,
from the sloughs and marshes BY the roadside
and the early spring-birds are already building
their nests. :. !.
The climate OF California is. boyond question
the finest in the States. The soil ia equal te
any. no Californian can be found Hho does not
reng1oualy believe this, and perhaps nobody out
aide will care to dispute it, -. ~-.:::
f.: ~ - RESOURCES -,
J. TIE agricultural resources Of the State are I'M
mense, and in greater variety than can be found
! On the globe. The prodigious wheat crop last
| year is Es yet, in large part, nnsold- The wine
product is very great and valuable. The mines
Of California produce annually S25, ,0o0, ,o0o.. Tho
| aggregate agricultural product is probably four
times that OF the mines. .Wooleu-mauufactur-
ing, leather, shoes, wagons, harness, and other
manufacturing are mot inoonsderable. while
the Na7y-Yard at Mare Island, in addition to tho
ordinary work OF out own Government; is about
to undertake the repair, Of Russian ships, and
the furnishing Of stores, to tho amount Of
1920 000-the money being already Oh de-
HARD TINES. -.
With these RESOURCES, and others which asp not
named, it would seem that hard times ought to
be comparatively unknown in California. lot
am satisfied, from whit have seen and heard.
that there are arc more poverty and destitution
here; more, poor people out Of. work, seeking
work, and unable to- get work to do; more: men
working hard for low wages,-wages just suf1i-
oient to enable them to live from hand to mouth;
more merchants and business men Complaining
Of hard times and dull trade; more hor1se-own-
ers IN the cities and large towns unable to get a
1a1r rent; more stock-raisers, and won1-Erowers,
and f. farneEa fa complaining q I9w
this city, real estate il rapidly ON the decline,
and almost al kinds Of business ut stand-still
Mining stocks we're never 30 low, and ret it
would gsem that they have not yet touched bot
tom. The hotels are empty. and they ought to
be; stores and houses stand empty, or are nav
ing very nominal rental and everything indi
Gates general depression. hear much said about
tho probable cause OF this state OF things, and
- THE GENERAL coNcIus1oH
eaems to be, that there are three causes which.
contribute to the general results, Il
lists and railroads. -:
isolatcs tho State from the other United States.
.Third-The Importation or Chinese labor. i
with which American labor cannot nuccessfully,
compete, - ,'"'".'. : =:
This is nv own conclusion: and -eimnhas;ze
the first and SECOND as the chief oausaa- as If
they did not exist, the third would do no pnrtic i
u1ar mischief, but perhaps contribute to: tha |
general prosperity. Two hundred indiYiduals /
own, ia the State .of California. from. + oeO to
500, boo acres Of land each. Abont f;ftean mar
sons own from 300. 900 acreg to 500 OO0 arrea +
each. The Central Pacifo Railroad Comnany
own L, ,000, 600 acres. As ono rides over the /
State. no small fains. or 1t 1aasE verv faw RI 1s
acres or less are to be- seen Vast areah nndirided
BY fences arc seen EVERYWHERE. which indicates
very plainly how the matter stands: Thess
lands are covered With vast herds Of sheep and
cattle; or arc culhvated to- wheat; By cheap
most total excIusion Of Amnrican :lahor. and tha
result is that the Blauket Brioada. "a called /
which consists of:from fiye to twenty vounr
nen in company, with their blankets On theiF
backs, travelling up and dowu the State Eenk;no
to BE- secn eynrywhnre A. thee
.ars stopped at the stations along tha ralievs
,rowts of men, nurnberinp from q tn Snfl Or 3o1
as at sacremento), were always geen s1oxane
sround the depots, with anxious. hungry. ~ faces.
md, as I am cfedibly informed withIot : dollar'
many Of them, in their pockets: These men are
generally miners, frozen out " BY: tbs cold,
ron hand Of capital, and no longer
ble to- maintain IL !, foothold at their Cd.
labor. The Chinese can 1iye on
title or nothing, and therefore can and do work
IN can keep body and soul together With.
Tho Bank OF California, with other associated !
capitalists, has succeeded inm1intaining {
~ CHINESE WALL OF HARD CURRENCY ii
round the State, thus isolating her financially
rom the United States, and most effectually.}
xcluding trade. and commerce. and foreign | :
apital, from her borders An Eastern man, /
ttracted by the climate, thinks he would like to q
nmigrate to California, and he sets himself to
srionslY calculating the advantages and disad- a
Rnta1e8 in business p1int az view All at 1 =
nee he discovers that, il be immigrates, his /
apital is at once reduced one eighth. He has | a
80, 600 now. II he removes to California, on a
:ossng an imaginary line, somewhere in the 3
Terra Nevadas, his pile will suddenly melt i
own. to :. So, GOO. He will lose; four ! +