Daily Los Angeles herald., 1881-09-11
TRANsCONTlNENTAL RAILWAYS.


Do Our People Want the Atlantic and Pacific
to Pass Through Los Angeles2 Sagacious
Suggestions Of Friend Of This County.
g. Il. Hopkins, Esq, the Presi-
dent of the California Insurance
Company, who has just returned
from trip to the East, has writ
ten, under date of San Francisco,
Sept. 7th, the following Interest
ing letter to J.de Barth Shorb, Esq. :,
of San Marino:
l have just returned from a fly
ing trip East, during which I
called at Boston on H.C. Mutt, the
new President Of the Atlantic &
Pacific Railroad Company, with a
view to learning the views of the
Directors concerning the location
of their road in California and the
facilities they intend furnishing
for the cheap and rapid transit OF
fruit. 1 found that a great dsal
will have to be done by the fruit
growers Of Los Angeles county to
enlighten said Directors on this
subject, or else we shall have the
modification of seeing that road SO
located as to be of no use to us,
especially in the San Gabriel val.
ley, while the San Diego branch,
crossing the Southern Pacific at
Cotton, will furnish our Riverside
friends with access to Eastern mar
kets that will be denied to US.
found their intention to be to
run as direct line as possible from
the Needles on the Colorado river
across the Mohave desert to Te-
h20hepi Pass, thence alongside the
SZlthern Pacific through the San
Joaquin valley to San Francisco. I
took the liberty of representing to
Mr.. Mutt the enormous present and
future production OF fruit in South
ern California, the corresponding.
ly enormous demand for the same
all over the East, where the fruit
crop. this year at least, wretched
in quality and in very limited sup
ply. 1 showed him that oranges
could not bear freight charge of
$500 per carload, ami that unless
sent with the despatch of express
trains large loss must result that
In consequence of these high
freight charges and the CONTEMPT.
uous limitation of the Union Pa
cific to only two fruit cars daily
over that road, grapes that brought
only $50 per ton in California were
retailed in Boston and New York
at 40 cents per pound; that poor er-
anges were selling in st. Louis at
81 per box, while probably half
the crop OF our State this year, per.
ished because it weuid not
pay to ship to San Francisco at so
cents to $l.50; that there were
probably ten times as many trees
now growing as are now in bear
ing, whose product, If II market
were opened East, would furnish
freight to thousands Of cars snnu-
ally; that unless a branch road
were constructed into our val.
ley, none of this freight would
reach their road, for the managers
of the Southern Pacific would
doubtless demand so high a freight
for the sixty miles on their road to
Cotton that we could not afford to
patronize it; that a large way
freight business both ways would
be lost, if the rate via Santa Bar
barn and the Coast were aban-
doned; that the plan indicated by
the company would be preference
for deserts over the only route that
would yield IL revenue; and that
the increase Of population aud con-
sequent production in Los Ange.
les county, resulting from cheap
and quick carriage OF our fruits
East would so develop that county
nish by far the principal business
of their road, and go on increasing
year after year Gd infnituna. [
urged that the tr,Ie policy of that
company would be either to run
their main lines through cur
county, and according to the old
survey, via Santa Barbara and the
Coast, or run branch lines 80 as to
secure that trade, and to announce
this to be their intention at once,
and IN so public manner that our
people might know just what to
expect, and that if this course
were adopted the company would
be astonished at the amount of
fruit that would be ready for their
read in three years from now,
when 1t will be prepared for busi-
ness.
In reply to all this, Mr.. Mutt In
formed me that the company had
several surveying parties In the,
field, and could not make up their
minds as to the route until the re-
ports had CO me in; that the directors
were open to conviction, and would
gladly listen to all facts and argu-
ments In aid of their eounseIs.
But was satisfied that the sub.
jec: was new to them; that their
object 10 first of all to reach San
Francisco without regard to the
loss of way business resulting from
taking the most direct route to
that city through deserts; and if
Southern California is 10 expect
any benefits from the Atlantic and
Pacific competing for the fruit
trade, 40 despised by the present
MONOPOLY, yet SO vitality import-
ant to as, energetic and prompt eff
fort must be made by our fruit
growers to awaken the interest Of
that company to the subject.
beg leave to suggest. therefore,