Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1890-04-26
or raseLsss OAKLAND.
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4 OAKLAND, CAL, April 1e.--During my
Hong stay away from California I Sssdtc
vbecome garrulous In telling eastern pe0s
!pie what beautiful spot the city Of
Oakland was built on. said many,
many times that a. you approached Uah.
land on the ferry boat from San rrancisc6
you saw scarcely any houses-only trees
-aroof or church spire sticking out here
and there, but all the rest 4 sea Of the
dark green foliage 0f the live oaks--to
me the most beautiful Of the OAK species
"a tree whose intent seemed to give
shade and protection, It's limbs curved
in 30 gracefully, and having always the
tendency to spread In . sort Of umbrella
fashion toward the earth.
So In the course Of ten or fifteen years,
while In "the states," told this story Of
beautiful Oakland embowercd In her
grove Of native oaks for sin or seven
miles. I said that Oakland was one
place which gave proof that the Amer
ican could spare treo and knew Q
treo also that was beautiful even IL II
was native to the soil, and that he would
not cut such a tree down and immediate
ly supply its place with an uglier one,
scrubbier one and more sickly one, be-
cause II came from some other country
and Il had become fashion and q craze
to plant it and insist upon 1t that Il
was an ornament.
Yet to an extent this is just what the
Oaklanders have done.
How have unconsciOusly lied about
Oakland all these yearsi I return and
find the native oaks nearly all cut down.
find Oakland as seen from the Bay Of
San Francisco, not q seq Of foliage, but o
sea of housctops, and many Of them ugly
housetops. find Oakland grown out Of
all remembrance, her avenues stretching
miles and miles away into what was open
country, but quite bare Of trees. A tree
here seems an offense. Il Is cut down
on the least pretext. have talked with
various people here about It in faint
hearted sort Of way, and asked them
why they were 30 hostile to trees. The
variety of reasons given me is surprising.
One said: "Well, you know, we want to
get all the sun we can about our houses.
The trees keep it off,"
Another said: 30, they're dirty things
about house, and especially about q
store. They're shedding things all the
time--leaves and bugs and worms"
asked why they cut down the road
side trees. "Well," said man, "be-
cause the roadmasters are down on 'em.
They keep the sun of and the roads
won't dry up fast enough, and get 30
muddy"
They have no rain here at all for full
six months, and during that season the
dust that is developed is something not
to be understood or appreciated by an
eastern man until he gets on some Of
these roads and tries to see (which he
can't do, because he will carry enough
of it for small farm in his eyes. When
the wind blows it blows here to some pur-
pose. It simply sends lin dust) farms,
gardens and plantations through the
air in binding masses. Real estate then
goes up and is travelling all the timo.
And the air here will turn mud to dust
in no time at all, to speak hyperbolically
and hy-boreas-ly. 1t has wonderful
drying properties.
I never quarrel with other peoples
tastes. II man prefers desert TO live
on and must make desert about him in
order to live comfortably, say he ought
to have the desert. It is his right In
this country the rattlesnake, the burrow-
ing owl, which seems to turn its head
clean round as il II were built with q
ball and socket joint in the neck, and
the ground squirrel-a dirt colored Quad
ruped with q NANCY, emaciated tail, q
cross between rat and squirrel, q
poor, degraded thing, not fit to eat, al
ways full of feas and endowed with q
wonderful capacity for tumbling into its
hole, where you can't get it when shot
dead-I say all these creatures prefer
and enjoy to live on treeless, arid, sun
baked lands. And really many OF the
people here, in the matter of trees, seem
to have the same tastes, and they have q
right to have them, because they can't
help having them.
l wonder what in the future is done
with man who has lied about Oakland
as have done for ten or fifteen years.
didn't mean to lie. thought was tell.
ing the truth. Still did lie all the same.
There is a remark somewhere which
reads, "All liars shall have share in the
lake Of fire and birthstone" There seemt
no modification in this matter, no excep
tions at all where a persevering course OF
lying such as mine has been could have
extenuating circumstances connected
attached. 1t has black and sulphuroui
look for me.
Some might infer on reading this that
was abusing or finding fault with Oak
land. No, lam not. The Oakland people
know better than do what they want
II man prefers sour milk for breakfast
and want sweet milk, should quarre
with him on account Of his preference,
for sour? BY no means. The rattle
snakes. horned toads, tarantulas, burrow
ing owls and ground squirrels prefe
their town lots without trees. Do quar-
rel with them? No. Ever since maj
commenced or was commenced has III
quarreled, fought, killed, burned ant
roasted his fellow man, because Fellow
Man might not like, or believe, or do, o
eat, or drink what he did not thinl
proper to do, believe, eat or drink wha
the other thought the thing for himself
whether it was or not-and in man,
cases it was not. No. Mine is simpl.
the peaceful, beneficent attitude Of mer
difference Of opinion or taste. The eagl
scars. The mole burrows. Shall tn
mole persecute the eagle for soaring3 o
vice versa?
Alameda, next to Oakland, and in sub
stance continuation Of it, is YER
beautiful place yet. Yet the anti-tre
mania prevails there. Often when
street is newly graded the trees must gc