Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-07-14
An Editorial Glance at San Dieg

An Editorial GlanCe at san D1ego.
The people of San Diego certainly de-
serve credit for an energy which is
courageous and unfagging in the ex-
treme. Their fine bay and harbor al
ways constituted a natural plant upon
which to lay the base of an important
commercial growth. The scarcity of
harbors on this coast made theirs of great
value as factor in the building up Of
their city and the development of its
tributary territory. This, coupled with
the serenity of climate which is COM
mon to all Southern California aligning
the coast, might furnish any community
with the incentive for push and develop
ment, and we know of no people, even
amongst our proverbially elastic and
enterprising Pacific Coast communities,
who have displayed higher order of
nerve, determination and energy than
have the people of San Diego. With re-
verses that would have daunted the
bravest-with the broken promises of
Tom Scott, on which they firmly relied
aud with the numerous instances of hope
deferred and prospects unfulflled-they
kept on in the even tenor of their deter
mination to work out the splendid des-
tiny they had pictured to themselves
and which they we're bound to achieve,
if within the possibility of human power
and firmness of purpose.
1t was great day for San
Diego when the Santa Fe Rail
road Company was induced to
cast their fortunes with that citv. 1t
brought them into rail communication
with the outside world, and opened to
their hopeful vision a glimpse of the
reality of their dream. That great ccr
poration certainly caught the contagion
of San Diego energy, for it has launched
out into enterprises that have given to
that city enormous advantages. The
Coronado Hotel, a miracle of architect
ural vastness and beauty, and unap.
proachable in its endowments for the de-
lectation and comfort of visitors, is
but one of the great benefits the
Santa Fe corporation has con-
feHed upon San Diego. sweetwater
dana fine piece of engineering, which
stores water that covers seven hundred
acres, and which is estimated to contain
six billion gallons-is another of their
works. By this great enterprise the fact
has been demonstrated that great bodies
of water for irrigation can be stored in
the gorges and depressions of the noun
tains, retaining the catchment of wide
area of territory, and bringing into
cultivation lands that are now but
very slightly productive. The eff
feet of the water OF the
Sweetwater dam is already very
gratifyingly demonstrated in the country
lying between that point and National
City. There are some charming planta-
tions there, and fruits of very superior
quality are grown in every direction.
The great Cuyamaca fume is working
out similar benefits in another direction.
These are the pioneer enterprises in irri-
CATION, and they point the way TO very
gratifying possible horticultural develop
ment throughout the county. Whilst the
great mass of the area of San Diego
county can only be profitable for grazing,
yet there are many fine points where
stored water may be used to enrich and
develop the country in the propagation
Of sub-tropical fruits
San Diego has profted largely by the
ate boom in the accession of many fine
and costly buildings. Large and beau
'iful residences have been erected on the
;rests of the heights back of town; and
he streets of the larger part of the city
ire graced with a great number OF
new, substantial and beautiful
business buildings. The great
barren gap that in former years
separated San Diego from National City,
s now almost completely spanned by
continuous rows of houses. Indeed, the
Ian Diegan of today, looking back ten
ears and seeing the great changes !