The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1876-03-09
CALIFORNIA.

sS&A- = 81
Thoasands q Unsnploysd Psopls-Basa-
moss Generally Dull-SmaM Farmers Out
OF Luck-No Place for . Poor llan-Ths
Best Of Evsrything Controlled by Com
binations.
Mr.. +. II. Dam returned homo Friday,
after an absence Of three months, most of
which was spent in travelling through CAL
ifornia. As he thought that perhaps he
might lind it desirable At some future time
to locate in that State, he examined with
care into ito advantages and Disadvantages.
He returns satisied that Minnesota 10 much
to be preferred in almoat every way. The
climate Of California is delightful, and that
l" the strongest point in ito favor. At San
Francisco he found business very lively.
but in most other places there was a sener-
al dullness, and hs saw no town the sise Of
St. Cloud doing a. much businsss ~ il done
here. Cities Of 10000 aud $4,000 inhahi.
sants show but little stir and life. Even in
San francisco there are thousands and
tens Of thousands of nen-mechauics. II.
borers, clerks and book-keepers-with
nothing to do. At one employment office,
and there are many in the city, IN one
half-hour he counted 147 men applying
for employment and out of this number
but 2got places. He was informed that this
was repeated day after day. A man from
Minneapolis told him that he had that day
cold bible his wife had given him, in or
der to buy something to eat. Another
from Mankato said that he had worked for
year to get money enough to bring him
back to Minnesota, but At last had to send
to his Mankato friends for the funds, which
he had just received and was about to start
on his return. This results from over.im.
migration. There ID great deal of work
done in San Francisco, but the number of
mechanics and laborers is very greatly in
excess Of any possible demand. These
people complain that they were deiuded
BY false representations a. TO what Califor-
MIA has to offer to those ready and willing
to wo,k.
Agriculture has few advantages for those
who can't 70 into it on large scale. In
fact Mr.. Dam found that everything Tiers,
in order to be profitable, must be done on
large scale. The best Of everything il
controlled by wealthy and powerful COM
oination'. Land is owned in la,ee tracts
and is for sale only At high figures. Small
farmers must rent. Irrigation il expen-
'ive, and isalmost always necessary. Crops
are BY no means sure. but are usually good
when there is not = failure. There il /.
general mania for specializing. Nearly
everybody dabbles in stocks-the knowing
ones to grow rich, the rest to lose. He
found the neceaaries of life to be from 8
80 per cent. higher there in gold than they
are here in greenbacks. Many frst-class
mechanics are working for 81 so and 81 .7s
per day.
Mr.. Dam says that the old settlers in
California and those with a good business
think there is no State equal to it. He
says man with capital going there can
usually do well, but that, emphatically, it
is no place for a poor man. A man can get
poorer in California than he possibly can in
Minnesota. He thinks that any person
who is comfortably fixed here and is max
ing living is very foolish to go to Califor.
mia. unless it be on account of it, milder
climate.
DEATH OF HARRY WALK1NsHAW.-
Mr.. John Cooper received Saturday let
ter from Capt. Compton, OF Fergus Falls
bringing the sad but not unexpected new,
that Mr.. Harry s. Walkinshaw had died
At his house on Tuesday night, Feb. 29th
The deceased had been during the create,
portion Of the past nine or ten years . res
ident Of this city. Part Of the time h.
vss engaged in Messrs. Young Il Bradford',
store, At other times he took mail contract
and drove express that he might have thu
benefit Of the air aud exercise, hoping t.
free himself from the hold of that terribl,
diseass, consumption, which had iouly III
firmly and surely fastened itself u,1t I'm
His failure has been gralaEGll III III steady
for more thaua year. Hi Giends-and he
had hundreds of tlem-saw with sorrow
that the Struggle was hopeless one. Last
fall he was taken to Fergus Falls BY Capt
Compton, who gave him every care and
attention that generous heart could sug.
gest, but while kindness could smooth the
hard places it could not save. Mr.. Walk.
inshaw was 20 years Of age at the time o.
his death, and member of the Presbyte.
rian Church.