The Portland daily press., 1888-01-17

We are permitted to make some extracts
| from letters written home by Portland
man who went to Los Angeles some time ago
for the benefit of his health. They hardly
bear out the glowing accounts of the country
that have been spread abroad for the pur-
pose of inducing Eastern people to emigrate
there. The only thing the gentleman has
found satisfactory is the climate. All the
other attractions are either exaggerations or
absolute fabrications.
Under date of Dec. IL he writes;
Started by rail a. m. and after riding
| through Is miles of worthless country that
by great effort is being made to sustain
| enough sickly, transplanted, orange, palm,
| it q respectable Q0r this part OF the world
| appearance: reached Santa Monica the near
est point on the Pacific. Everything in this
State is disappointment except climate
which is 80 K'') and the Pacific is no excep-
tion. In fact it is the greatest disappoint-
ment of all. Left the depot situated in the
center Of what one year ago was typical
booming Californian coast town OF 6,000pop-
ulation and sauntered about deserted streets
among deserted homes, many vacated for a
long time and more being vacated each. day,
| Saw no one scarcely on the streets. One OF
| the three horse cars lines was making q
| feeble effort. The five trips 1 saw netted
| two passengers. One year ago rooms were
not to be had here and cars could not accom-
| modate the travel. Yet when told two
men In store the town was dead they were
| mad in a minute and said 'twould have 8
| great boom soon as the new National Sol.
| diers' Home was surely going to be bull
here. That same Soldiers Home seemed e
be the only thing this whole Southern Cali
| fornia depends on for future prosperity. II
| is to be built in every town in, and on every
| tract that is being doomed in the State
| 'Twould take a dozen Soldiers Homes to
resurrect Santa Monica though.
Now about the Pacific. Come with me In
| imagination as we 60 down to the sea. AS
| there are no rocky headlands, or grassy
| slopes down to the beaches in this unsatis-
| factory part of the world we will have to
pass through a gully cut, through a high
bank of dry, dark reddish brown earth, fine
| as flour, ON to beach composed OF the same
| earth on which no child would more than
once attempt sand bath as at Old Orchard:
As we stand on this beach composed OF
pulyerized brick dust with the omnipresent
off shore wind sending clouds OF the same
into our eyes and down our backs, we may
scan the horizon for days but never a sail
gladdens the eye, only the broad expanse OF
sickly green lazy sea with not rock, head
land or energy enough to produce white
| cap however small. Our view commands
| fifteen miles of beach and sea but no eyl'
| dence of life, not even a cabin, punt or dory
| on the whole expanse.
We have seen nothing seward, let's now
| turn and cast glance inward over the long
| line perhaps half mile) of joist framed
| structures varying from dens five feet
| square to almost any size, covered with com
| mon white sheeting, answering for hotels,
residences, stores and bath houses, on to the
| most monotOnouslv desolate coast one can
imagine Of rolling, billy country, without 9
tee or shrub, just grass covered hills and
| scant, sickly grass at that.
Under date of Christmas day he writes:
There is nothing to do here, and 5000 idle
men to do it. / shall have been here three
weeks next Tuesday, and my expenses have
been $50. Have even been forced to deny my
self some of the very comforts Of life at that
! Don't for moment get the idea from my
| letter that am going to give 1t up and come
back. I'll see 1t out now at any cost. The
| climate is just lsyely, but, as they say here
| one can't live on climate alone, and every
make no bones" of telling us that the coun-
| try could not even now from its own devel-
| Oped and undeveloped resources support it.
| present population. That all they depend
| on is the money brought by Eastern people
Everything is worked to scoop that Eastern
cash. Even the apples in fruit stores arr
| marked SO to force one to pay 10 cents eacf
| or spend ''two bits" % cents. Apples art
| marked "a for two bits or about s cents
| each, and as there is nothing smaller than a
nickle recognized as money here. one costs,
| as you will see, 10 cents.
| There is an abundance of fruit here, bui
| such fruiti / was In "Real Estate Office
| yesterday, where was great display. OF al
| kinds of fruit. There were great shelves OF
apples half as large as ones head. Agents
were talking land ON to people, or trying to
They had just caught an Eastern man, and
thought they had him solid for 20 acres OF
land for an apple orchard, when a Maine
man spoke up and said: ''See here, old man
| left Waterville in 80 and have been al
| over this State since, but I've never seen an
| was about right. There is but one apple
| here that grows to any size, and that is
| monster, but no one wants a second one.
| People are leaving here in disgust In car
| loads for the East daily, but the numbers
| never lessen, for as many or more arrive to
| take their places; and the fact that they ar
rive with money and go back 'busted" Is al
that keeps the place alive.