Los Angeles herald., 1890-06-22
THE SAN JOSE MEETING.

tor the construction of railway down
the coast from San Francisco to San
Diego, In other words, humber OF
gentlemen who know nothing of railroad
building or railroad operating are going
to meet and plan to do something that
the Southern Pacific Company, one of
the most gigantic and successful trans
portation organizations in the world, has
not yet found it quite first-class busi-
ness proposition to completely carry out.
Now, if there is any one thing that Los
Angeles county needs nf6re than another,
just at this time, it is the COM
pletion of the coast road, there being a
gap of less than hundred miles to con-
struct. If the great Southern Pacific peo-
pie still hesitate about closing up this
gap, however, what can be expected
from a new company, who have four
hundred or more miles to build, and
have no right-of-way and no knowlege
of railway building and operating? 1t
is just simply as impossible fol- new
company to organize and raise money
and build down the coast from San
Francisco to Los Angeles or San Diego
as it would be to parallelize the same
company's tracks up the valley of the
San joaquin. 1t would cost to build
and equip such road at least sixteen
million of dollars, and then it would
hardly be.,a paying enterprise. But there
is one thing that these agitators might
do-raise, say, million or two in money
and lands and give them to the South
ern Pacific Company along with right
of-way from Templeton to Santa Bar
bara, and, our word for it, the company
alluded to will have the coast road COM
pleted and in running order in less than
year. Los Angeles did the best thing
it ever acquitted itself of when, in 1872,
it voted nearly million dollars in
bonds to the Southern Pacific Company
provided it would connect this county
with San Francisco and Yuma at GER
tain time, which it proceeded at once to
do. This city and county are already
connected with Santa Barbara, and have
given literally toward that connection
and all other work that the Southern
Pacific has ever done in our midst.
If needs be, and those most interested
in coast road do the liberal
thing in the giving of money and land
and rights-of-way, the people Of this
county will not be bit backward in
making the subsidy still more substan-
tial. But we admonish our delegates
not to promise too much toward or get
too exuberant over Mr.. Ellwood Cooper's
Typographical delineations of anew road;
but, in any other way, to do what they
can to get the Southern Pacific to close
up the gap at once between Templeton
and Santa Barbara-for a coast road be-
tween Los Angeles and San Francisco
would be as good for US as new trans
continental line-and we believe that in
a year from this time the Southern Pa
citic Company could be running a vesti-
bule train with dining and composite
cars in from fifteen to seventeen hours
between the two important and con-
stantly- growing cities just named.
We never meet San Francisco people
who fail to declare that there would be
twenty-five persons who would come
down here over a fast-running, finely
equipped coast road, where one now
travels over the roundabout way of the
San Joaquin valley, with the horror of
the Tehachapi crests and tunnels and
disasters in mind. Yet while a coast
line would do tremendous through
business, and run at least two trains
day from the start, there would be more
money in ne-train-a-day passenger
traffic over the Tehachapi as there is
good local business all the way. With
coast road our metropolitan and water
ing place hotels would be filled with
San Franciscans the year round. But a
majority of these will always think
twice and even oftener before they would
seek Arcadia itself via the San Joaquin
valley and Tehachapi mountain. Let us
then give all the aid and encourage
ment we can to coast road. But let US
do 1T in proper way. OF course, we do
not object to two coast roads, but we
do think it would be tremendous mis-
take for Angelefios to contribute largely
toward a new coast line, when small
tenders all round would effect in a year
what many millions could not bring
about in four or five years. We know
| it to be fact that some of the people
who are calling loudly for new road
will not sell to the Southern Pacific Com
pany lands for rights-of-way at reason
able rates The outcome of the San Jose
meeting will be that intelligence will
govern, and that instead of trying to
raise vast amount of money to build a
new road, the knowing ones will un-
doubtedly recommend what we have
herein suggested. There would be folly
in any other action.
AN EXPLOSION.