The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1875-06-12


ponds, Ia the main, with that OK
pressed by tho Appeal, For men with
considerable capital, there h no doubt
that California presents fair field for
enterprise, but Tor those whose capital
consists In bone and muscle, no matter
how well they may be fortified by IN
legrlly, Industry aud energy, emphall-
oally II Ia MT tho place, THIS WIS, Of
course, not true Of that country NJ M
carly day, when gold, by the nil
lions, was being found In tho
raynes aud gulehea Of tho Sierra Ne
yada, Then muscle aud perseverance,
won aud many OF tho Richest men Of
California to-day got their first start In
the mines, liut those golden days
have passed, and that precious metal
IL now the product Of yaat capital In
the hands Of corporations, In silver
mining, Of course, there h no field for
The man Of small means, except IN u
common lahorer, and 10 oycrslockod IL
the labor market, that the hardest spo-
eles Of work ever performed by man,
that Of u miner, II very lnadequately
paih.
Az for agriculture, there IL no doubt
that u great deal Of money Ia made In
that employment, but ~ In mining, II
requires n large capital 10 render II
profitable, aud then II IL confined 10
a slnglo production wheat, The pc
cullarity Of the climate IL such that
there can be but little diversity of
crop. From April, 10 November, the
earth N never refreshed with n show.
81, aud hence the production Of those
small crops which go 10 mako tho fur
mers home comfortable aud give him
IN abundant aud varied supply oflood,
are out of the question, except whore
he has the means fopenlng bitches for
artificial irrigation. In consequence Of
this state of things, agriculture, like
mlning,l IL carried on almost exclusively
by capitalists aud corporations, OF
course, they give employmenttoa large
number orlahorors, but the competition
Of the multltudinous Chinese, and the
large white immigration, has reduced
wages 10 the minimum upon which an
able-bodIed man, with n good appetite,
can maintain himself. one failure of
southern omisranls TO California, of
course, oonnot be regarded as conclu-
sive ~ to the dcmorits of the country,
but tho writer of this heard of many
not unlike the following, which we
give upon the authority of Colonel Jack
Hays aud oiher gentleman of standing
and veraclly In Oakland and Stockton,
where the facts were well known;
a small colony of practical planters,
with Just enough means TO bring them
TO the state, and enable them to make
The first payment on their land, set
tied IN 1866 or 1867, In the San Juachin
valley, some fifty or sixty miles south
ensi al STOCKTON Nor two oonaoou
tive years their wheat crop had failed,
and In the fall of 1870, when we heard
this story, they We're reduced almost to
u point OF starvation, aud but for the
sympathy which their distressing con.
.ditlon excited, they must have persisted.
They Were very anxious to return to
Alabama, but their poverty was such
that they were not able to do so.
In San Francisco there il an associa-
ton of benevolent ladies and gentle
men who, without fee or reward, make
II their business to find places for the
unemployed. During our stay in that
city, In 1869 and 1870, we frequently
visited their offices. One large room
was appropriated to men, another to
women, and the attendance from s A.
NJ. to 7. NJ, was enormous. Ii was
painful In the extreme to observe the
look of detection ON the faces of those
who crowded the long benches, ranged
around the vast room devoted to
the men, waiting their turn to
speak with the agent, and to OBJ
serve the look of disappointment
and hopelessness of those who had
had their unsuccessful interview and
were passing out. A visit to the
women's room was still more painful.
There was n touching pathos in the
pale faces and scant clothing of
the poor women and girls ranged
around the rooms, patiently wait
ing their turn TO know their fate.
Sooner or later, the writer was told,
these benevolent ladies and gentlemen
found places for most of the women
and girls, who We're willingtu do house
work, but there were no places for
those who Were either unwilling or I'M
able to undergo such drudgery. AS for
the men, the agent told the writer that
they were unable to find employment
for not one in ten who applied.
In concluding an article, already
longer than our space justities, we can
not forbear contrasting the barrenness
OF the greater portion of California to
the teeming fertility of Texas. In all
the elements which go to constitute
country of prosperous farmers aud
manufacturers, and upon the prosperi-
ty of these classes depends the welfare
ofa state, Texas is incomparably SUI
nnrinr IN IL our firm nnnuiniin., ILnI /