Omaha daily bee., 1882-09-08
AN UGLY CITY.
The Truth Pointedlv Told About San
Francisco.
II. w. Moore In the New York World.

II. w. Moore In the New York World.
Somebody has poked fun at San
Francisco by calling it ''the Venice OF
the West" and then qualifying the
compliment by explaining that the
only resemblance between the two
cities is in the volume and variety OF
the disagreeable smells that prevail in
them. But the San Franciscans take
no notice of this explanation. They
accept the comparison in the broadcast
sense and positively expect you to see
II resemblance between their wonder
ful but very new and very ragged city
and Ven,cel Indeed there is no limit
to the San Franciscan's expectations
from n stranger. No of adj
miration ever becomes tlattery. They
will coolly accept every word you say
and even then will assure you that
you have not risen to the whole truth
about "the Golden City," "the Queen
of the Pacific" etc, and perhaps 60
away after all with a lofty sort OF
COMMUNICATION for your rustic inca,
pacity to grasp all nee the metropolis
tan splendors of San Francisco.
Now, i was sitting in the hotel one
day and overheard a party of San
Franciscans Dragging in an off hand
way to a poor wretch who had been
brought up in New Mexico or some.
where like il, and calmly assuring him
that there was no place Sin the world
of greater beauty than San Francisco
and Of NOR delicious fruits. They
said a great deal more about fine build
ings, institutions, etc, etc, which
~a8 sheer nonsense, but let all that
pass. | venture to attack them only
ut their strongest points Hearing
the conversation, and being inwardly
exasperated at the imposition that was
being put upon the simple-minded
barbarian, / pretended TO fall into
the same easy credulity myself and
drew them on to making such mon
strous assertions as that San Francisco
was a revelation Of beauty to every
tourist and the perfection Of its fruit
a never. c%easing delight to him,
Having these grossly ignorant
men thoroughly committed to
what they had said, l ventured
to inquire what standard of compar-
ison they had for their self laudatiop,
what other countries they had visited
and what fruits they considered Cali
fornia produced IN such perfection.
Now, it is a fact that these three i'm.
posters had never been out of Amer
lea; in fact, that except for short
visits On business to the eastern states,
they had never been out of California
and Nevada! / then proceeded to
enlighten them-told them that to
those who had travelled to the cog
nosceDti, San Fraucisco does not ap.
pear al I'LL beautiful; CaaJ On the CON
trary, it is a great disappointment;
that in America itself there are many
places far more beautiful, while in the
"old world' there are scores of sea.
ports Of which San Francisco
can no moro yonture 10 COM
pare itself than "a mud pie
with u meriGgue. As for
It's fruits, there was not IN its market
nor IN it's best shops and tho height
OF the fruit season, toO-a single thing
that deserved 20 be called first. class
From The wateryc cherries to the woody
apricots, every fruit was as l4vorloss
as it we'll could be, and as a whole
they were 30 second rate that they
could not fad a sale in the best shops
of either Paris or Londo3. The best
q . aUaN .a.V. H.. Ill 800 a. .V..W. 81
cradle mango, imported from Mexico.
Its flavor was equal to that of the
langra of the Benares district, or the