Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-16

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has always been accorded to such efforts
of the Herald, which have been
uniformly characterized by remarkable
degree Of literary and statistical merit.
All she Railroads auss Come This
way.
The encouraging notes we have from
the East with reference to the probable
extension Of the Denver and Rio Grande
road tol this city, carrying with it the
Western connections Of the Midland
railway system belonging to Jay Gould,
are significant of fact which is Of great
importance to this city and section, and
that is that Los Angeles must
inevitably form the frst Pacific
objective to all the Eastern roads
that may hereafter seek this
Coast. The Sierra Nevadas will never
again be confronted by railway enter
prises coming to California. The true
railway entrance to the Pacific Coast is
by the great basin South of Salt Lake,
and no company can afford to leave Los
Angeles out of it's route even if it's ter
minal objective should be San Francisco.
San Francisco newspapers may bawl
themselves hoarse about shortcut routes
through the Sierra by passes at the
head Of the Tuolumne or the Merced
rivers, but they are impracticable simply
because they are commercially unproit-
able. The cost Of scaling formidable
mountains and piercing them with
extensive tunnels is barrier
to the use Of any Of those So
called passes by the railroads of the
futuro. In q straight line it is only
about 800 miles from San Francisco to
Salt Lake, but in commercial railroad
miles, measured by the curves and
gradients to be overcome, it is equal to .
distance Of 1900 miles. Even with all
the advantages the Central Pacific pos
sesses, of a monopoly Of the traffic from
Oakland to Ogden. that road cannot be
made to pay per cent. interest on the
actual cost Of it's construction. ~
The distance from Los Angeles to Salt
Lake is about the game as from San
Francisco to that city, but aroad operated
from this city to the capital of Utah
could be worked the entire distance with
out gradients that would render its
length single commercial mile greater
than it actually measures. This is
simply due to the fact that this is the
natural outlet on the Pacific Coast to the
0reat Salt Lake Basin, and is without
the backbone impediments which the
Central Pacific route has to contend
with.
Now it mast be apparent to any one
who has given the subject serious study
that all the railroads of the future com.
ing to this Coast will reach San Francisco
by way Of Los, Angeles. Those that
come by way Of the Salt Lake Basin will
do so because it is not only the natural
route, but because it is the cheapest one.
1t will be impossible for the Central Pa
cifc to compete in rates with the Eastern
railroads that come this way, for the
latter will have q distance advantage
ever it OF several handred miles in
reaching San Francisco, as well as q
great additional advantage in their oper
ating expenses.
1t is therefore clear that Los Angeles
SITS in the very gateway of the future
commerce of California. 1t is inevitable
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railroad centres in the country, as she is
now the greatest railroad centre on the
Pacific Coast. We can we'll understand
that it is CALLING to San Francisco to be
compelled to take a secondary position
to Los Angeles, but the fact is,
nevertheless, one which she cannot es
cape. The Southern States are only in
touch with that city through Los Angeles,
and the Great West will hereafter reach,
with it's freight and passenger traffic, the
Pacific Coast by way of this city. In
deed, even the local traffic of Nevada,
which now belongs to the Central Pacific,
will be detected to the roads
that will hereafter seek the Pacific
Coast at Los Angeles. The Carson
and Colorado road, which is now
feeder to the Central Pacific, will neces-
sarily become feeder to the roads that
are to be built from SEWER and Green
rivers to this city, and there will be a.
whole system Of lateral roads reaching
mp the valleys to Belmont and Austin
and White Pine and Robinson's, that
will carry the trade of Eastern and
Western Nevada to connection with
the roads having their Pacific objectives
at Los Angeles.
Geography and topography have estab-
lished facts which our good neighbors in
the Northern metropolis may champ
upon but cannot change.