Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-12-14
THE FIRST LESSON,

Two hundred representative people
from States east of the Rocky Mountains
yesterday visited the Citrus Fair of Cen
trail and northern California, now open in
this city. The fair, which is remarkably |
large and fine display, and thoroughly rep
resentative of our citrus belts, proved
revelation to the visitors More than
this, 1t awakened such deep surprise, and
brought forth such remarkably strong ex
pressions of establishment and pleasure, as
in turn to awaken the curiosity of the Cal
ifornians, who were informed, on inquiry,
that the great mass of the excursionists
had had no previous adequate idea of the
productive capacity of the central and
northern section; that, on the contrary,
though reading and intelligent people,
they had been prejudiced against the re-
gion for three reasons: Association of the
idea of cold, ice, snow and climatic rigors
with the words Northern California"
positive misrepresentation made to the
people at the East concerning this section
of the State, especially that it lacks fruit
fulness, is of cherries character in winter,
is unable to produce semi-tropic fruits, is
undesirable in both soil and climate, is
cursed with maiarial influences; finally,
the paucity of the literature of informa-
ton circulated concerning the central and
northern sections, and the great abundance
of such matter relating to southern Cali
fornia, both in pamphlet and newspaper,
and the vigorous and constant advocacy of
the southern section by various agencies
at the East
These are certainly reasons sufficient to
fortify the plea of ignorance concerning
the section now locally so prominent But
here is in this first experience at the Citrus
Fair a lesson for Californians. We may
reasonably feel chagrined that intelligent
citizens at the East are so ill-informed
concerning a favored section of our COM
mon country; we may reasonably expe-
rienee surprise that the efforts we have
made to disseminate information concern
ing central and northern productiveness
are so long in bearing fruit. But we must
remember, after all, how small a part of
the nation we are how our group dwin-
dies in the aggregate of nearly CO. 100000 of
population how in the vast business whirl
and the social activities in the thirty-fve
States to the east of the mountains, we are
almost entirely lost sight of; indeed, how
intnitesimal part of the great whole we
are, and how very little, indeed, does our
Importance concern our Eastern brethren
We are to learn anew from this lesson of
the fair the old maxims, that reward is to
the laborer, and the harvest to those who
SOW. Very largely the oppressive and I'M
just competitive methods brought into play
against US are due to our own laches.
With but about six people to the square
mile, but for full prosperity needing to the
mile from 20 to 40 industrious, frugal men
and women of some means, and not con-
tent to be wage winners only, we have been
so slow in inviting their immigration, and
so modest in our advocacy of the su-
perior advantages Of the whole central and
northern section, that it is not at all sur
prising our neighbors have outstripped us
or that the country has been the subject of
Misrepresentation and Kiisconception.
The 1" revelation is not revealment
after all. 1t is but being brought face to
face with facts that we have heard of as
affair off For we have been told all these
things a hundred times. Every Califor
nian of this section who goes to the Allan
tic slope and returns, comes back with his
cheeks tingling with mingled shame and
indignation that his home is so misunder-
stood and misrepresented abroad, They
uniformly declare that in the abnormal
sboom' for southern California, even the
fact that there are other and equally, or
more productive and certainly more ia
vored sections is almost wholly lost sight
OF by the very class of people whom, most
of all others, we need with their capital,
energy and experience to develop the full
Possibilities of our section
The question now is, What are we
going to do about it ~ We certainly can
not afford to remain idle. We certainly
viii quadruple all previous efforts put
forth Tor the desired end we will not be
content to merely respond to misrepresent-