Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-21
The Railroad Situation

Los Angeles is the secoho Guy u
the Pacific coast from railroad point
of view. Evidently this prestige is
10 be secured to the city, and her
status in this respect is to be maoe
still more important. Within hve
wears the large railroad business now
done here will be doubled. AT the
end of the century, an epoch SO near
us now that we may as we'll begin to
get used to looking at it, Los Angeles
will tread exceedingly close on the
heels of San Francisco in her railroad
business.
The handspring in the present era
of development is the incoming oil the
AT. & S. F. system, which is an
achievement at our very doors.
There is now in progress the grading
of a line in this interest from San Ber-
nardino to traverse the entire length
of the great San Gabriel valley, and
to reach the new depot grounds at the
foot OF First street. This will be in
operation by the early spring. The
same syndicate, or those in sympathy
with it, are busy grading line which
passes from Cotton via Riverside, Ar
lington, the Santa Ana canon, the en-
sire length of the Santa Ana valley,
crossing the Laguna ranch, and COM
ing to the same terminus at the First
. street depot.
: From La Ballona a third gang OF
graders is pegging away pell NELL on
a road which aims to reach the city
center by some line. 1t will proba.
bly, join the other new projects at
Lindon Park, by the river. The az.
gregate mileage OF these three roads
is about $50 miles. They will trav.
erse three of the richest divisions ol
the Los Angeles valley, and they are
important as forming links in a great
transcontinental line, which they
lead to tide-water on the Pacific
where ship and car can come together
without intervention OF lighters.
While the Southern Pacific Com
pany magnates, at the close of their
recent tour of inspection, had nothing
definite to divulge, this visit and the
careful attention given to all parts Of
the county, cannot fail to be fruitful.
1t seems like an axiom to say that
this company must get in here, take
off its coat and go to work in right
good esrnest, or loose both prestige
and Territory to the gigantic rival
which has come to the coast to dis
pute every inch of ground with the
old company OF the State, which has
the proud distinction of having been
the pioneer in railroadlng on the Pa
cific coast and across the continent.
Because the Southern Pacific has a
line through the valley already, and
two branches to the sea, as well as
one to the Santa Ana section of the
valley, some people think, and others
affect to think that their interests are
80 well guarded they will do no more.
A little reflection will put such
thoughts out of mind. The rapid
strides made by this section in the
past four years and the pace atwhich
devel opment is in progress, indicate
pretty emphatically what is certain
to be the history of the next half de-
cade. This not any ordinary regime
and it cannot be measured by the
record of other parts of the country.
You may talk Of the limited area OF
our arabic land as compared with
Kansas or Illinois. 1t must be re-
membered that a farmer can make
more here off of a five-acre orchard
than he can there from a quarter Sec
ton OF wheat land. An acre here is
equal to thirty there. A million acres
to thirty million.
Then again the status and habits of
the frnit-grower are SO immeasurably
above the small western farmer.
The latter is mere drudge, and may
not posses spark of intelligence. He
has little chance to gain any. The
former is a man of elegant leisure,
and has dollar to spend on books,
and an hour to devote to them and to
the other refnements of life.
Further more, in here are focking
thousands OF people OF means, who
come here to spend fortunes made
elsewhere. Our million acres equal
thirty millions in Illinois, so will our
people demand more railroad facili-
ties ten 10 one, than those of any
other region.
The sum Of the matter is, that when
this valley becomes continuous
orcha d and vineyard from the sea to
San Gorgoni Pass, with dense pop
nlation of well-to-do people, village
sixty miles long and twenty broad OF
contiguous residences OF people in al
fluent circumstances, it will call forl