St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-05-16
California. No. 10.



persons and places than it is to CRITICS,
them. Clcrgymen attending funerals
Judges and lawyers riding ON railroad
passes. and editors who have free tick.
cts t" the circus, know how this i>
Bat if clergy men. and judges. and rdi-
tors cannot give an mrhiaScd Judgment
h"" are the people generally to know
the facts
have written III these letters MANY
pleasant things about California; IT.
climate Is 80 rcmaI kahlc and its pro
duction> 50 wonderful. that | could not
i'll truth do otherwise. But one need
not spend six months in California to
learn that all is moi gold that glittcrs,
even here. This is Il world of compen-
Stations: and the great Dispenser of
good does NOT give California il climate
without an equal and productions so
marvellous, and all the other good
things thrown in. In short, there are
serious objections t" California aS Il
| place of residence. which should as Ger
tainiy and carefully he considered 10y
those thinking of emigratimg here us
are its advantages. have Thought in
THIS letter To state some ohjcctiouS to
California a> tEel occur to me, some of
which have been hintrd at in former
articles.
First Ldch Of Water Without a,ti-
iicIa irrigation. Il great share of this
state is nearly OF quite worthless: while
to the remainder of it the difference he
tween Il wet and a dry season Is the
difference between bountitul crops and
general prosperity, and half crops ul
less and general br>ime>, >taynation.
lhls year Is likely To prove IL striking
illustration of the uncertainty of all
calculations in advance a> T." the crops.
| his coast Is aS dependent upon the.
'cHIIl and latter rIin a. WAS the land
of Palestine. which it RESEMBLE, in
many other respects. This Nrar the
early rains came gently and c"piuu>ly,
ami >lN weeks ago even Nthimg indicated
a hGumtiiul Year. But the ''Iatlcr rains"
which generally come in showers dur
ing the mouths of March and April.
have Failed this lcar to put in an ap-
praIancc. he consequence l., that IN
s"me parts nt The state the grain fields
look as though fire had run oven them.
and the crop i'll such sections will hc !.
failure.
High Price Of Ldmd California has
unfortunately fallen into the hands of Il
few men. gave III former letter
some figures on the size of the ranches
III the seven lower counties. \ few men
have become possessed of vast tracts of
land which cost them little OF nothing
at the outset. and being aSsc>>rd at a
nearly nominal sum. it cost, them but
little To hold it. \ stock of cattle or
sheep on these ranches increase at Il
great ratio, and the principal expense
attending them l. that of hcrdimg.
Thus the great iandholdrr> have he
come wealthy, and they cling to thcir
sources of good fortune. This. to.cth-
er with IN almost universal >piI,t of
speculation. makes land unusually
high for :; new country. and too high
for the good ot the state
Il GOH CURRENCY 1t Is To" bad and
w"r>r tur the people of California than
any body else that being in the same
country and rndcr the same govern
mcmt a> the rest OF the states. the same
kind OF money is not current. Onc
learns very soon after his arrival il
California that the engraved portraits
of President Lincoln. Chict Justice
Chase. Gen. Spinner. etc. held in such
high esteem east. aIc of littl. account
here: and that Uncle sans paper
promises To pa! al" not current III this
state. :" the first work to hc done on
reaching this city is to have grecnharks
exchanged for gold and silver. ny which
means the former i> shrIInk at the pres
cnt price of gold, eighteen per cent.
This heavy >hrinkagc is 1t dead loss.
and prevents many eastern people and
much eastern capital from coming here.
There are other objections to Calitor-
MIA as Il place of residence which would
have weight with some people. 1t has
mixed population. All parts of the
earth AZ" represented. And a. much
;iS may he said in favor of missionary
work on American soil. it is no doubt
true that Americans can live more
pleasantly among their own people /
thaE with those of foreign nations.
California is Il whisky drinking state. /.
1t completely annhilateS the argument
50 often heard that the people in wine !
growing countries are not intempcratc /
have no statistics. but it seems a~
though this state must SrlrpaS> all 9th ,
places. If Il town il 81 small that there
i but one building besides the rail .
road station. that one is sure to he IL
saloon" These drinking habits of the .
people. together with their passion for
speculation and gambling. has ruined
some of California best men. and l. .
bound to ruin Il great many NOR {;
while It's influence upon the coming
generation is demoralizing and deadly. .
California is full of adventures. spec /
ulators and swindlcrs. and those who .