San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-02-18
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
An old San Antonian on the Situa-
tion--How San Diego Doesn't
Boom English Wind and

!
your correspondent has gone to parts
estate dealers, of former days. 1t has
been very cold weather here for some
months for said r. E. d. The
Mondays are not the only "blue
days" A long line of blue days have
measured themselves off one by one
each destroying a little of the hope
that is said to "spring immortal in the
human breast" Yet no one can say
truthfully that he did not, with full
knowledge of the facts before him go
into the whirlpool and be swamped.
| Last wear at this time there were nu-
merous vessels at the wharves dis
charging cargos of freight; now there
is one ship, an English vessel, dis
charging coal from New Castle, New
South Wales. Then we had three
steamers week from San Francisco,
now one every four days. In 1887 and
1888 enough building was done to ac-
commodate the city for several years,
consequently carpenters, brick-layers,
ETC., ETC., have been compelled to
! hunt other places where employment
could be found. This worked hard
| ship in many cases and drove away
v
much to make this place their home.
1t did another thing which perhaps
was not so bad;it sent great many out
of the city to cultivate the soil and
make something to sustain great
city. This place is blessed (?) with
numerous natural advantages, the
most prominent beng its fine harbOr
and in consequence of this, many
| 70 hn
been allowed to die for want of en-
enlargement. One of the most pro-
gressive citizens said a few days ago
if he ever moved away from here he
would 90 where they had no natural
advantages, but where the people
had to hump themselves to get rail-
roads and other improvements.
We had fair sized railroad under
actual contract and over twenty
miles of grading had been done when
through Indifference on the part of
some and hostility on the part of 9TH
ers the work was stopped, because Los
Angeles put in a bid for it that would
have paid them to leave the work al
ready done, and accept the Los An
geles proposition. Then you should
have seen how quick all hands fell
into line; no, not all, to the very last
some stood in the way, but the feel
ing against them grew so strong that
they were silenced, and the road is
now being built as fast as time and
money can do it. Does this strike
you as peculiar to San Diego? l
think it applies equally well to an
other place with a sanity name.
Oh how many graves have been dug
for San Antonio by that same plea of
natural advantages. "Git up and
git" is a homely motto, but it is
mighty good one for cities as well as
individuals, and Ii am glad to see signs
that S. A. is getting above and
beyond the sleepy old policy of let
we'll enough alone. Now for clean
administration, sewers and paved
streets, with these will come wealthy
home seekers, a self respecting class
of mechanics and artizans, ana the
city will boom right along of its own
weight.
This of course will reach you after
the municipal contest is over. The
contest IS bitter and the opportunities
for mud singing have not been lost
or infused. You have the mud in
great abundance and the singers are
there and understand their business.
Well! | trust the best man will get
there.
The city of San Diego is moving for a
new charter, called free holders
charter, which seems to possess adj
Vantages in this, that the govern
ment is vested in two legislative
bodies instead of one, thus putting a
strong bar in the way of jobbery. 1t
also gives the mayor more power and
consequently increases his RESPONSE
bility, to which some object; but
those who have seen it tried claim
that it is the best and only safe adj
ministrat ton and point to Brooklyn,
n. V, as an example. The people
will vote in few days on the prOpO-
sitiOn of submitting it to the legisla-
ture. AS there are great many very
wise ones here who believe it to be
their duty to oppose anything not in
cubated by themselves, the PROPOSE
ton may fail; if so we get no new
charter. The present administration
has done as well perhaps as they
| could under all the circumstan-
ces, though in some important
matters, their policy has been OBJ
structive rather than progressive.
Mayor Hunsacker resigned before
serving quite a year of his term, his
legal business requiring all his time
believe the mayors of San Antonio
never resign. Must be paying job
to be mayor of old Santone, especially
when so much public improvement is
to be done. But my arithmetic fails
to teach me how it pays anything
more than the salary, perhaps there
! NAV be some new nlnfhn nnur hninn.