New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-05-06
AFTER THE LAND CRAZE.
RESULTS OF THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
10, BOOM.


RUIN THAT FOLLOWED THE SUDDEN COLLAPSE
OF NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF INFLATED
vALUEsITHE HEALTHY REACTION
THAT HAS SET IN
,Tnou AK OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT TUE rRIDUNEl
san francisco, March 14-The Suddenness
SIth which the god Excitement tooA
possession Of the two chief cities Oh
southern California last week, and the ekoous
that followed TO the Santa Clara pinos, Ia Lo"er
California, can only be explained by the extreme
dulness Of business In Los Angeles and san peso'
lad tho land boom still boon on, II would have been
hard 10 secure corporals guard to venture ino me
lower territory. As II was for morths tho huihDot
Of the unemployed IN both cities had been growing
larger There was no work for then and the plooIem
Ut their maintenance beginning 70 DO iorhua"io'
Several thousand mon were thrown out OF "olN "
the suspension Of operations on the Oranch Vi wv
Southern Pacific Railroad from =an LUIS 10 eah."
Barbsrs; rctrenchmont was the order OF tho day In
the cities and on the fruit farms In all tie COLONIES
rho.. who blrod labor whom they fancled they were
ON tho bjChroad TO fortune by land speculation now
want 10 work IN their orange groves OF VINO
yards. ,u,o
would willingly have worked II they could nave got
an opportunity. This force was s"eheo W NH'
.sum,ners and tramp element that Will not DO al
b.,ost days work as long as It can beg or SHsi
enough TO live on All these people and many others
who had become disguised with the smau proh's VI
Guinness In places where tore-KeePihS was seA'iy
.rerdopc started for the mines as soon Is inc Hrs'
rport OF rich discoveries Of gold were supposed 10 DC
be corroborated The feyer grew with every Hesh
rcnort and when returned miners came In WIN goIo-
dust and good. sized nuggets, the excitement oecahe
I,,.ps. f. IA estimated that for week Ave hundred
n.ope eysry day left Los Angeles and ban Dlego ZOE
tho navy camu OF course In large cities this nuInUer
would seem trhlng, but san Diego has not more tna
so 900 People, nor Los Angeles moro tn~n oV'"V''
Hence this drain soon carried OH al INC
upemployed as we'll many VINO were
engaged in active work. Railroad building strset
work construction Of houses, all were stopper py lace
~ lsboperS Nothing like II has been seen since the
carly days IN California when san Francisco was we'll
nigh depouulated in the Wild rush to tie placer
mines about Suffers Mil; but the uTtortunae part OF
this latest gold rush Is that the feat majority OF
those who started out with hopes are now serseShs
back disguised, footsore and nat oroNe'' lno "a
element was gotten up IN cold blood for business
purpose and tho thousands Of prosDecors ~So ruSHeo
over the border merely played the part OF suckers"
THE HISTORY OF LAND BOON.
The eoII.pse OF the Southern California land boom
vas rs peculiar as It's rise. The boom lasted about
eighteen months, and marked By an extravaganza
! only witnessed In this country IN RECENT Se@S
| at one or two points In Kansas anu 'iS'oui"
The Missouri men calleI halt when prices beSan 10
double IN right and the brass bands were called out
10 add to the natural excitement OF boom ad'toh Oh
| town lots Happy would II Lcve boon for thousands
~ CalIfornans II such action had boen taken In LOS
Angeles ard the colonies that surround IT. In 1900
one could buy the best land IN the San HsoneI 1y
around Los Angeles for 800 an acre In year h@a
doubled and six months later the same land was sou
! at $500 From that time values Increased al Fsp
! seldom known outside OF romance. CnimpfoVed lana
/ Of ~ cox
81 900 or Il 500 while orange groves and VINO
| ,.rds lrouRht from ~ 900 to 81 900 an acre.
| The chief speculation, however, was in villa ana
town lots The whole country about Los Angles was
cut IN Into colonies and dotted with :oEn Sues Ihctc
was no trouble In selling teso small VIA loS' IN
fact men waited all night In lire TO get chance 10
/ buy them Many sold out before the day was over
AZ large advance on the purchase price The ususl
method WAS to lay out town, plant largo
number OF young eucalyptus pepper trees along inc
avenues lay down tbrcetoot Sidewalk OF ar'iheiai
stone In all the chief Streets and then AaVernse AL
auction OF choice lots In the new town Of Mirsmohte'
/ Monpecito Buen Ayisa any other melihHcuS name
! the protector happsned 10 Iancy. on ne Appom@u
day with brass band FREQ luncheon the train would
y, out 70 tho new colony, and the lots "ruh &c SOFA
"A fast a. tie enthusiastic Lu3tioneer could rattle them
Of Hundreds Of suoh PAPER towns were iao out
The purchasers Of lots usually paid onHquartcr down
IN cash and contracted To pay the remainder in six
month instruments. Th great majority Oh
! hn huycrs confidently expected to s"'
these lots NJ an advance before the time OF u
.ecopd paymont In the winter Of 1897 many did
sueceed in making small fortunes at this business ot
buyIng and selling corner lots at fictitious prie"s'
others built hotels and houses In anticipation O. nc
great rush Of Visitors tho year would bring Tn"
country was OVERCOMING with tourists; houses we''
scarce and dear; money flowed lIRo water
THE GREAT COLLAPSE.
han fkn
FIRST warnings wero gwen q the impending disaster
! ,hrevd men then began 20 500 that there ten
sellers TO ore buye and real estate transactions fell
oR a!armingly me real estate rckers and tho boom
spycuators tried hide the shr"So and TO salvanf'
into new life the expiring craze, but the panic hA-
already set In. Throe months saw the whole boom
| crumbng TO q fall and when the winter failed IN
bring the expected tide OF tourists with weiFllned
pockets, the disaster complete. Values shranh
nearly so per cont In three months, and what was
worse for those who had bought with the expectation
Of selling shortly at profit no buyers were Ia the
field. The rsut may easily be imagined, nine-tcnthS
OF tho sanguine spectators who had put oil tarr
spare cash into hrst payments on choice lots fuvIr
themselves unable to meet tho second payments ana
the property reverted 10 the original holders Los
Angeles WAS the OF the widest speculation, but
I'm smaller places udc san Beru ardno, Redands.
Fornone, santa Ana, Orange and many Others, mo
fever ragged with scarcely less force. There is "eli'
known in stance at san Bernardino Of man who mSle
$50 900 by judlclOus Investments In real estato VIZ IN
Il was cheap but instead OF putting the money IN
some stable securities he scattered the whole IN lrst
paymentS on corner lots and small hnit farms Inc
collapse Of the boom stripped him Of every dollar
His example could be multiplied In every place In
southern California. Very few Of the old settlers who
mado fortunes by the rapid rise In the values OF land
were shrcwJ enough to draw out and invest their pro
fits elsewhere. Tho great South sea Bubble never
with esScd more fictitious value placed on property.
A woman who owned Shty feet frontage on one OF
the chief business streets OF Los Angeles was offered
50 900 front foot for hor proEerty-a higher price
than she could have obtained had tho property been
In Nni hllnlrd ny hn