Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-24
sally Maunderings of a COntem.
p0rRry.


The other day the HERALD had
occasion to call the Tribune to account
Tor saying that in two years from now
Los Angeles would be the greatest rail-
way center on the Pacific Coast. We
asked what was the matter with this
city being the greatest railway center on
the Pacific Coast now ? And in few
words we showed that it was so already,
and by long odds.
Faithful to its instinct of stupid per-
sistence in wrong and to its mission to
belittle everything that relates to Los
Angeles, city or county, the Tribune of
yesterday contained the following:
Perhaps the esteemed HERALD does not
consider the city Of Portland, Oregon, as
being upon the Pacific Coast, or can it be
that in its ignorance the herald was not
aware that Portland was the terminus of
three great transcontinental roads, and
has traffic arrar gements which make it
as much terminus of the fourth as San
Francisco is of the Union Pacific.
However anxious the Tribune may be
to misrepresent Los Angeles abroad to
her disadvantage, the facts do not admit
of its being done. It's uniform practice
of decrying our special advantages by as
sorting that every other portion of South
ern California and Lower California have
ss great or greater claims has been occa.
sionally criticized, but oftener passed
over by US. 1t is not fact that Portland
is the ferminus of three transcontinental
railways. She is one of the termini oil
the Northern Pacific Railway, sharing
that honor with Seattle and Tacoma.
She has, therefore, only fractional in
terest in that road. Through arrange
ments lately perfected, she has also q
fractional interest in the Union Pacific
road, through the Oregon short-line, but
she is not nearly as much the termi-
nus of that road as San Francisco. There
is also road called the California and
Oregon Railway in this State, and the
Oregon and California road in the Web.
loot State, which gives her connection
with Sacramento and San Francisco.
On the other hand, Los Angeles is as
much the terminus OF the Central and
Union Paci fic Railways as San Francisco
herself. and sends freight direct from this
city to any city in the East by that line
without going near San Francisco and
passing through Sacramento only as a
way station. In addition, we have the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, whose
recognized terminus is Los Angeles. The
Sunset route is distinctively Los An
geles road, and the very essence of the
project originally was the short distance
between tidewater at San Pedro an tide
water at Galveston and New Orleans.
From this brief review it will be seen
that we have, what Portland has not,
three transcontinental railways, and in
addition We command the facilities OF
the Atlantic and Pacific and Texas and
Pacific railways through points at which
they connect with the Atchison, Topeka
and Santa Fe and Sunset systems.
The HERALD prefers to stick to facts,
especially when facts tend to the greater
estimation OF Los Angeles. AS to the
number of trains which arrive and de-
part from Los Angeles daily there is no
comparison between this city and Port
land. The odds in our favor are i'm
mense. The extension of the Carson
and Colorado Railway from Keller to
Moiave, and of the Union Pacific and
Denver and Rio Grande to Barstow and
ultimately to tidewster at San Pedro,
Santa Monica or Redondo Beach, is not
necessary to make out great disparit,
in our favor, but these consummated pro-
jects will make 10y Angeles not simply
the greatest railway center on the Pacific
Coast, which we have shown her to be
already, but, in connection with her in.
comparable local systems, the greatest
railway center on the American cont.
nent.
II l. L