Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-02-13

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Ocean Shore Road, which proposes to open
wAv to the northern water front.
The abovs, | believe, Constitutes your &C.
tive record, and it row remains to be shown
what YOU have failed to do-thus:
l. You allowed coast line of steamships,
which controlled and brought to this port the
trade Of the Pacific coast, to pass into the
hands of the Northern Railroad Company. a
CORPORATE whose interest and policy it is to
build up Oregon and Washington Territory,
and to divert as much trade from San Fran
ci.co as possible.
2 You have not purchased single steam
tug to put into use ia reducing towage, and
you have done nothing to reduce port charges.
g. You have made no effort to secure the
trade of the interior of the continent. and
east and north of Ogden, and east and north
Of Deming-in fact, you have no commercial
intercourse meriting the name of trade. To-
deed, you would have none east Of Sscra-
menfo but for the determinations made in
your favor wholly by that railroad that you
seek to Observation-Disclosures only made in
pursui of policy on the part of the owners
to build up the community In which they
live.
4. You did not dare to build transconti-
mental railroad, notwithstanding the substan-
tial aid in money and land eff rded, but left
that work to few poor Sacramento mer-
chants"
5. You have not put on line of steamships
to connect your port with another.
6 You have not constructed cable road.
z. You have done but little, if anything,
toward adjoining your city with works of art.
You have endowed no academy of science
and constructed no halls of learning.
Before passing from your record let me
correct myself in saying that you bad done
nothing afirmatively. This is mistake.
You have. either as Board of Trade, or as
Chamber of Commerce, proclaimed to the
world that your city is detenseless that its
Mints, banks and other vast properties are at
the mercy of the FIRST armed cruiser-pirati-
cal or otherwise. You have invited attack,
but have done nothing for defense except TO
timidly beg power sitting 5000 miles away
to come to your relief. You have not sub
scribed dollar to bring or even invite certain
skilled mechanics, or to construct works at
which ironclads could be built, or guns and
shot be cast. However, l do not wish to
alarm you further or to add to your I'M.
fouoded fears of ironcads and railroads. The
truth is that your fears have as much found.
alton in one respect as in another. The city
of San Francisco can and will be defended
against any attack that may be made. The
Central Pacific Railroad people, although
| they have no Influence with you." have
more skilled mechanics in their employ,
| more iron foundries and mac inc shops
| in their ownership, than had the So
called Confederate States; and yet the
latter successfully defended many of their
| seaports for years against the tremendous
power of the Federal Government These
people, who have no influence with you,
could, within very short time, in the service
of their country, turn all their large trans
port steamers into ironclads and their
smaller ones into cruisers and torpedo boats.
| and cast all the cannon and shot and muni-
tions of war necessary to equip them and,
with the aid Of patriotic people, they could
and would protect this harbor and city
against any force that could be brought
against either. While you have just awak-
ened to possible danger. they have long
realized it, and have not only felt that the
upon to give up their works, their steamers
| and their trains to the defense of the State,
but have, in measure, prepared for it. You
kindly said, "They do nothing for charity"
| 1t may be that you have measured their
public spirit and patriotism by your own if
3d. you will find yourself vastly mistaken
When "hostils guns" are borne toward the
Golden Gate.
Now, for the record of these people "who
hove no influence Nth you :"
l. They had the energy and enterprise to
l.
you declared that it would end at Dutch Flat.
This gave you the trade as far east as these
"poor Sacramento merchants" could con.
| struct that road.
2. They have built a road and opened the
northern part of the Sacramento valley and
brought o you ali the trade you would permit.
g. They built the Southern Pacific through
the San Joaquin valley and to Yuma. They
extended it, without aid or encouragement,
he al, into h1a pnio hob
| tied deserts of Arizona and New Mexico.
| g. They have opened that road upon terms
of exact equality to four great Eastern con-
nections, allowing each to uss it upon the
same terms that the owners do.
| 4. They are extending that road to New
| Orleans and into Mexican territory; and as
tar as it reaches San Francisco's trade gees
| with it.
5. They own the only steamship line which
| is owned at this port.
| 6. They are building steamers to secure to
San Francisco that trade which you would
lose, or have lost, by permitting the coast
| line vessels TO pass from San Francisco own
ership.
z. They will have line of steamers next
| fall TO bring emigrants from Europe to New
| Orleans, and thence by way of the Southern
Pacific Railroad to California, who will, i'm
mediately after their arrival, become active
pool with the Indies, and divert the vast trade
| Of Europe and the Orient as far as possible
| to route which lies through the Golden
Gate.
g. They have built cable roads, and lavished
wealth, publicly and privately, to beau.ify
and adorn the city.
"They give nothing to charity" They re
quire no tongue, it is true, to speak of the
thousands annually devoted to systematic
efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the poor
| to gifts to charitable institutions aud to sci
ence; for these are inlgreat part personal, and
| mostly private When monuments are to be
reared to illustrious dead, and homes to be
erected for the MANNED in their country's
service still living their gifts to say the least,
have equaled those Of the Board of Trade
They have outraged the Board of Trade"
If awaking the Board Of Trade from its Rip
Van Winkle sleep is the offense attributed,
then think you do them injustice, and that
the burden OF that sin should be shifted from
them, and placed to the spirit of the age"
which is incompatible with the ''spris OF re-
pese," as matchle sly persenitied by Irving's
erratic and somnolent Kuickerbocker.
At meeting of the Board of Supervisors,
held few days since, Mr.. Gregory, Chi
cago journalist, was asked to speak, but
4ssouHded the spectators by confession that
he knew nothing of the merits Of the ques-
lion. He said in general, however, that Chi
cage believed in the principle Of plenty of
| railroads. She had twenty trunk lines enter
Ing the city through the public highways, and
all terminating at depots, most of tsen within
i've minutes walk Of the City Hail. Chicago
believes that railroads develop the country,
and the country develops the city, aud the
city's development ia what every Chic goan is
.ctively alive to. The munic p i government
treats man with a railroad proposition on
hand with alluring sweetness.
quote from Mr.. Gregory to prove that it
is '' the spirit Of the age" that di,turbs the
dreams of your Board ; and also to suggest
contrast between the condition of things in
Chicago and in this city-a contrast " hit b
| may be of import when the questions are to
be determined ~hsther it is better to preserve
the Board of Trade at the sacrifice IF San
Francisco or to let the Board of Trade slide
| and preserve this city or, whether, if you
are to be preserved at all, it would not be
better and cheaper to do it by the process Of
embalming, and. therefore, intIust you to tt
Academy of Sciences, to be laid up and
! safely kept with the other curiosities Of the
past. have shown you some things which
these people" have done for San Frar ciscf.
II | have omitted anything the Board
of Trade has done, you will be kind
| enough to supply the omission. True,
[ might say that you have advocated
the Atlantic and Pacific roa1, but
you never advanced material aid. Had you
possessed the proverbial wisdom accorded to