Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-11-16
LESSONS FROM OUR VISITORS.

The people of Sacramento can congratu-
late themselves upon one thing-they have
won the esteem of the members of the Ma
tional Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, now
in session in this city, for their abstinence
from disparaging criticism of other sec
tions of the State. We are inclined to be-
lieve that such is now the habit of the
people of the Capital city, and that they
have cause to be proud of the fact, since if
ever any community had reason to feel I'M
friendly to other communities, that of Sac
ramento has had provocation sufficient to
justify retaliation upon almost every other
section of California. For the fact is, and
tits one not pleasant to contemplate, that
the City Of the Plains, like most Capitals,
is one of the most abused, and with the
least of reason. The occasion of these re-
marks is the expressed testimony of one Of
the keenest witted and most observant of
the delegates in the city at this time,
man who has travelled much, and has twice
before this trip visited California. Speak
ing in group of delegates, who expressed
concurrence, he said, in substance: 81 am
especially pleased with your people, be
cause they have not offended good taste by
decrying other sections of the State They
have not, with US. dealt in detraction of
rival cities or communities; they have
talked California to US great deal more
than they have Sacramento. This has
been very gratifying to US. Some of our
people have visited California before, and
at time when the several sections of your
State seemed to be engaged in the task of
pulling each other down. 1t never pleases
sensible people, and with thinking men
discredits the statements made and de-
tracts from even such eommendation as is
given. We have had nothing of this in
Sacramento, and you cannot realize, proba
blv, how much the fact has impressed Us
in your favor. Americans are lovers of
fair play, and above all things, distrust
men who strive to raise by treading on
other people"
There is no necessity for much COM
mentary upon these frankly spoken words
1t is true, as the speaker referred to said,
that the people of Sacramento have
learned the folly of assailing other sec
tions; they never did indulge in it to any
great extent; they have been "for" Cali
fornia as a whole first, and for every part
and parcel of the State, and for Sacra-
mento next. Probably the fact that Sac
ramento is the Capital City, has influenced
them in the matter greatly, but it is due
also to the bitter injustice that has been
done the city and its vicinity, by other
sections in time past, and which has taught
our people the cruelty and the impolicy of
assailing other localities. But while the
quoted remarks are fattering, we might
learn valuable lesson in another diree-
ton. if our friends the Changers would
speak as frankly on another topic a the
one TO whom we have referred, for we need
to learn that there is such a thing as being
too loyal to our State as advocates. We
run to the extreme, and become offensive
when in the presence Of Eastern visitors
we laud our heritage by harsh comparison
with the homes of our guests. 1t is not to
our credit to close their mouths by the
laws of hospitality and then proceed to
preach to them CT arctic rigors they are
supposed to have left behind; to remind
them that while the sun shines warm here
and the springing grass and the ripening |
orange tell the story of our climate, they |
are in wonderful contrast to the sleet and |
the snow of winter at the East.
We who indulge in this sort of rhetor-
ical Furnishing should remember that the
love of home and birthplace is as strong
with our Eastern visitors as with any peo-
nile: that what we dislike in their winter is
not without pleasures and compensations to
them. that the most unwise method of
winning the favor of the Eastern visitor is
to assail the home land he has left for a
time. If he has spark of loyalty in his
composition he viii resent these assaults
and this indulgence in contrast. Let US
remember that he is as shrewd, observant
and wise as our own people, and viii draw
as correct conclusions from his observations
of California as would Californians in his
home. There was just a tinge of sarcasm
in one of the speeches by a guest from New |
Jersey at the social meeting in the Capitol