The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-06-01
TEXAS VERSUS CALIFORNIA

Prominent Texan Interviewed, and His
Observation-Disclosures Coming to Texas, Al
though California Is n Good Country.
Our reporter yesterday met Colonel Au-
gutus Belknap, our enterprising street rail-
roader, and newly elected alderman for he
Second ward, who has just returned from
an extended visit to California over the
Southern Pacific road. In response to u
question as to how he liked California and
the country he passed through, the colonel
remarked:
This is better country than that. After
you leave here and as far as Begoria Pass,
| you strike nothing but deserG country
After you get beyond that, however, you
| find pretty good country for fruit and
grain. 1t is all plains, and water is carried
by pipes often from a distance OF to miles.
1t yields an average Of 100 bushels of grain
| or fruit to the acre, though. | found the
citizens far more enterprising there than
here. They have made that country, taking
land at about one dollar per acre, and i'm.
proving 1t until now it is worth 500 an
acre. All the cities, large and small, are
lighted by electricity, the lights being
placed on towers, and lighting the streets
brilliantly. Little gas is used. All have
good waterworks, and excellent road aud
sidewalk paving macadam, of u very fine
quality, being used.
In Oakland they have more than forty
miles of fine macadam, the Nicholson and
Belgium pavements being totally discarded.
The small cities of Los Angeles. Santa
Clara, San Jose, Oakland and others com.
pare favorably with our Texas cities, being
built with better streets, and are better
lighted. All have very good fire depart
ments, too. In San Francisco the fire de.
parlment and insurance patrol are very eff.
iicient, among the best in the country. San
Antonio needs no insurance patrol, just
yet.
"They are an energetic set Of people over
there, and no mistake" said the colonel;
IAN, II we had half that enterprise, in
this country, with our superior advan.
tages, of climate and soil we could accom-.
plish miracles. The people want to cult
vate our acquaintance, too. They think
they can trade with us, and send us Fruit,
oranges, ETC., and lumber; they having the
finest of red pine and red wood lumber
that makes very beautiful houses, and a
fine trimming and inside finish. II is as
cheap there as our pine is here, but would
cost us, to haul IL here, little higher All
the houses are built of frame, those Ca /.
uuNItE unu
substantial mansions of lumber
How are they fixed over there in your
line, street railways, colonel" asked our
scribe.
They are not as far advanced as we.
They labor under more disadvantages.
however, Of high grades, and all the roads
are cable roads. In San Francisco In eight
blocks there is q rise of $50 feet and the
roads run only at the rate OF five miles an
hour. Travel in this way is very unsaiis.
factory and there Is good deal to be done
yet before the system Is perfect. All the
street cars are attached to ono cable, and
when one car stops or gets out of fix, Off
the track, ETC., every car on the line stops,
and II will do no good to get out and take
the next car; you have to keep your place
and wait until all the cars start again. Then
again feed is high for stock there, grass be-
lug worth SIS per ton"
How do you like California as a country
for invalids2" asked the interviewer,
ut can't compare with Texas" replied
the colonel. The climate of California is
too damp. There's too much rain there for
them.' -[San Antonio Times.