Sacramento daily record-union., 1888-11-21
FREEMAN IN BOSTON.
A Wen-Known Californian Gives His
Experience in the East.

Experience in the East.
Alb. c. Freeman, who is travelling in the
East, writes letter to friend in this CITY,
dated Boston, November Sth, in which he
says:
Your letter awaited me b ere, and was nv
first news from California. You can never
realize until you leave it, how far our State
is away from its sister States and their peo-
pie. 1t is not merely that thousands of
miles intervene. We are further out Of the
everyday thought and knowledge of the
East than is any Of the European countries,
and they pay so little attention to what they
hear from the Thousands of people who
have visited us ard returned, that it finds
no accurate resting place in their memory.
II we have prize fight in San Francisco,
or land or refuse TO land Chinaman, the
papers publish the fact. Otherwise, one
might as well look into London paper
for news from California as in any of the
great journals east of the Rocky noun
tains.
Let me tell you the sad truth that from
Placer county to Boston there is really no
| country save the State of Iowa and one or
two counties in Ohio. Towns and cities
| you find everywhere, and the buildings in
them surpass anything you ever saw. But
really that is ali there IS above ground
There are coal and iron and natural gas
and all kinds of manufactures but the
country is dilapidated and deserted. The
| houses and barns are unpaiuted, many of
the fences are made out of roots and
stumps piled together; the only fruit trees
| in sight are old apple trees planted by the
| grandfathers fifty to one hundred years
! ago. The country is too poor for anything
! but pasturage, and perhaps some gardening
il certain ferhlized soil. Whenever a few
acres Of corn can be seen, it looks like chill
dren were playing at farming and this was
one of the toy crops. Many of the farmers
use oxen, and we have not seen a dozen
colts or young horses in the fields between
here and Iowa, and we have travelled
mostly in the day time Sheep seem to be
the chief stock, and try to believe me if
you can, when l tell you that in New York
! and Massachusetts band of sheep NAV
consist of Z, TO- H. II and sometimes OF %
head, one dozen being about the average.
The one wealth of the country is memen-
toes and reminders, and these make Us
akin to the people 10 whom we are stran-
gers. | stood in the room of the Court of
Appeals at Albany, amid portraits and
Statues of men, whose work was more IA
millar to me than that of my own ances-
tors. think you would have smiled bad
you heard the watchman on duty kindly
explaining to me what il was that these
men, Kent, and Spencer, and Walworth,
Hill, Delano, Comstock, Folger and the
like had been and done, to entitle their
names and faces to be kept here in remem-
brance. Here, too, are mementoos of the
war, the colors of many regiments faded
with age, or stained and torn in the conflict
Here was the original draft of Lincoln S
Emancipation Proclamation, written by his
own hand, and interlined with suggestions
by Seward, and in one of the halls near by
are the garments in which Colonel Els
worth was killed, while hauling down the
rebel flag at the beginning OF the war.
Yesterday was rare day with me. Try
ing to pass up one of the narrow streets |
found it packed with men and almost i'm
passable. Looking up saw the quarters
of the Republican Committee, ana in tbs
front windows two live roosters. The birds
did not know why they were there, and
did not enjoy it. |, On the other hand
knew and enjoyed. l forced my way
nearly inside in the hope of hear
ing from California. 1t was no use
The crowd was too large, and at once
the idea was conceived and announced OF
holding meeting in Fanueii Hall, the
Cradle of Liberty, ct l o'clock How the
news was spread | do not know, but at /
o clock there was no room left in the hall
Looking over the heads of men in front
|
Constitution again alive and shaking the
old hall with thunders of applause. Ii was
indeed his form and face, in the hour OF
bis greatness, as he stood in simple grand
eur in the Senate, before his antagonist
Calhoun, and amidst his colleagues, pro
nouncing that other sentiment, dear to
every American heart Liberty and union
now and forever" The scene of the great
debate with Hayne has been transferred to
canvas by some artist and as the picture is
Immediately behind and extends clear
across the stage, it was difficult at distance
to distinguish the living beings from those
on the canvas. About the walls were por-
traits of tle early anti-slavery men-Sum.
nor Wendell Phillipe Henry Wilson and
others, as well as of such men of the revo.
luton as John Adams, and his son John
Quincy, Samuel Adams, Lafayette, and
many others. The glory of Boston has
departed, and she now gives ten
thousand majority for the Democratic
party. Her sons have gone West. and
true to their ancestry, keep the great North
west in the paths of progress and good gov
ernmeut. Those that remain are outvUted
by foreign population, but they had a
love-feast yesterday. It seemed like they
would shake down the old walls 10 The
iumuit of their applause. never saw such
happiness. When all the speakers who
could be found had talked it was no;
enough. As no more could be had, tht
crowd, following the old religious instinct
sang first the "Star-Spangled Banner y
next America" and lastly. the doxoloey
Nearer My God to Thee" am neither
pious nor musical, but helped all I could
My happiness, however, was alloyed. The
bulletin-boards were staring at me, OF
rather | at them, and there with terrible
distinctness glared the words, " California
goes Democratic" 1t seemed imDassible
that my own State, with all lis homes oi
the future, had joined the dark column
and while never believing the bad news
they still saddened me. Tonight, this last
political cloud seems
" To fold Its tent, like the Arabs,