Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-14

day, and the latter Will contain an ex-
haustive and complete resume of every
thing relating to the events Of the past
year and the status Of Los Angeles city
and county. We shall print large extra
editions Of each, and We bespeak for
them that liberal measure Of favor which
has always been accorded to such efforts
of the HERALD, which have been
uniformly characterized BY remarkable
degree Of literary and statistical merit.
The Policy of Repsiiing Capital.
In an article on the purchase of -four
and rolling mills, breweries and other
American interests by English svndi-
Gates, the Times suggests that the Ameri-
can people should put stop to the &C.
-quisition by aliens of American
industries. 1t would probably puzzle our
contemporary to show just how this
could be done, and an eff,rt to show why
it ought to be done would also present
some difficulties.
It is never the policy Of an enlightened
country TO repel capital. Most ssgacious
communities invite it by either not tax
ing it at all or taxing it very lightly. Let
us take the case Of the Minneapolis -four
ing mile, instanced by the Times. The
English syndicate that purchased these
valuable properties pays cash or its
equivalent for them. In other words,
the vast sum, for single transaction, of
ten to fifteen millions of dollars
has been added to the avail
able capital of the new State Of Mime
sofa, to be applied in dozen forms to
the development of its practically I'M
limited but dormant resources. English
investors are content with dividends that
to Americans seem insignificant. Let us
assume that these properties in English
hands shall net the investors In the syn
dictate six per cent. per annum. In that
case it would take sixteen years to with
draw from the State of Minnesota the
lump sum of English capital which was
placed in that commonwealth in single
year. Surely any people can afford to
encourage financial operations of that
kind Meanwhile, to earn this six per
cent. dividend the new owners of the
mills will be obliged to buy the wheat
raised by the Minnesota farmers, and
thus stimulate production. In every
sense the process is beneficial
one, as long, that is to say,
as the natural laws of supply and de-
mand are allowed to prevail, and the
maligu feature of trusts and combines
does not complicate the situation.
Take, as another example, the English
syndicate which is now being formed to
start gigantic sugar farm on the Cent?
nela. Before that transaction is consum.
mated large sum will have to be paid
over to the stockholders of the Centinela
company, which will in all likelihood be
put into the work Of development in this
county, very probably in perfecting the
new port of Redondo Beach. The two
companies are go nearly sllied and so
nearly identical in their membership
that this supposition is not strained.
Meanwhile. the English syndicate will
have to build large factories and make
extensive Improvements. In addition,
they will be obliged to cultivate several
Thousand acres-five or six at the least
in sugar beets, to supply their manufae-
tories with the required aeccharine
staple. Here we have large
expenditure of money which will I'M
doubleday circulate in this community.
It will certainly be an unmixed blessing
to Los Angeles, giving employment to
hundreds who will spend their money
here. Its indirect benefits will be great,
for these enterprising Englishmen will
not be here long before they will see that
cheap coal reaches Redondo, either
from Australia or British Columbia,
which they will use themselves and sell
to us.
We are not left to conjecture AZ to the
practical effect of the introduction of
English capital into the United States.
The Illinois Central ,Railway-the real
and original factor in The creation of Chi.
~SSS ~oo nuiAt W cuSiAou C6pit&l, anu
English stockholders have drawn large
dividends from it ever since. No citizen
OF Illinois has ever been heard to com
plain Of this. He knows that the whole
fabric OF the prosperity of his
State rests on foreign borrowed
and invested capital. We use the
word foreign in the sense of cap.
ital which came from outside the limits |
of Illinois. A great deal of it came |
from England.
The views we aim to present have no
reference to the purchase of millions of |
acres Of the State lands Of Texas by for
eign syndicates. Hare principle comes |
into play that ought to be applied not
only to aliens but to our own citizens,
There should be limit to the amount of |
land that any combination Of men, ma
tive or foreign, is allowed to acquire.
GREAT interest was exhibited in "Cali- |