Daily Los Angeles herald., 1881-08-10
Narrow Gauge Railroad Meeting.


Pursuant to call a citizens meet
ing was held In the parlor of the
First N 4tional Bank yesterday af-
ternoou at l O'Clock.
General Shields called the meet.
ing to order, when Ex-Governor
Downey was elected Chairman and
L. M. Holt, OF Riverside, was elect
ed Secretary.
General Shields being called
upon to state the objects of the
meeting, said that this meeting
was not called to build narrow
gauge railroad, neither was il the
province of those assembled to
raise money or take any other steps
towards building such road, except
to haae a route carefully examined
by a competent engineer and to
have an estimate made regarding
the productions of the country
through which road might be
run that the feasibility of such an
undertaking might be placed be-
fore the public and before capital
lists who had money to invest in
such undertakings. That work
could be accomplished by this
meeting, and being accomplished
1t remained for tie people to inau.
gurate the work or not as they
might deem advisable. He recon-
mended for the position of engi-
neer Salmon P. Jewett, of Pasa-
dena. and offered letters reoom-
mandatory from President r..
B. Hayes, s. 8. Davis, ex.Mayor of
ohio, and the President
and other officers of the Cincinnati
and Portsmouth narrow gauge
of which Mr.. Jewett was
engineer, which letters
were read to the meeting.
ID. M. Graham asked the ex.
pense of putting q man on the
route to ascertain the practicable
lty of the project, and Gen. Shields
replied that the expense would be
nominal-simply travelling ex.
penses of the persons engaged in
The work.
Gov. DOwney asked what route
It was proposed to examine.
Gen. Shields reported that the
line of road would run from Los
Angeles to Pasadena up Arroyo
Ssco, thence through the San
valley to Duarte and
Azusa, thence via Mud Springs to
Cucamonga and San Bernardino,
thence down through the River
side settlement to Ell Rincen,
thence through the Santa Ana
cafion to Orange, to Newport Land
ing, thence up the coast via West
to Wilmington, thence to
South Santa Monica aud then to
Los Angeles again, making COM
plete circuit of $50 to 200 miles. of
road.
Jesse Yarnell suggested that sta
tistics should be secured showing
the patronage that such o road
would receive If built.
d. M. Graham stated that statis-
tics had already been published re-
lating to the productions of the
San Gabriel valley, Riverside and
Santa Ana.
The question being raised as to
whether the people would embark
In such a railroad enterprise, Mr..
Holt, OF Riverside, stated that so
long as the rates Of freight were so
high on the existing lines that the
people OF San Bernardino county
could successfully haul freight for
sixty miles along the railroad
track and save money, there ought
to be a disposition on the part of
he people 10 seek relief. Again,
San Diego would soon work for the
San Bernardino county trade and
would get it unless freights in this
were reduced.
Mr.. Graham then moved that s.
P. Jewett be requested to make an
examination of the route and re-
port at called meeting. The mo.
tion was unanimously adopted.
On motion Of Will d. Gould,
General Shields was appointed
for the proposed work.
s. @. Evans, of Riverside, D. M.
Graham, OF Pasadena, and Geo.
Rice, of Los Angeles, we're appoint
ed q Finance Committee to raise
funds to pay the expenses OF the
engineer and statistician in the
performance Of tho work assigned
them.
The meeting then adjourned to
meet again at the call of the Chair