Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-03-29
THE STATE.
WHY ONE SECTION GROWS AND AN.
OTHER DOES NOT.
William 81. Mills on the Necessity for
Earnest Workers on Small Farms
An Interesting Address.
IS. F. Bulletin, March 26th.

The meeting of the State Board OF Trade yes
terday afternoon assumed quite an Interesting
phase toward the close OF the session, relieving
the usual dry routine of those meetings Mp.
Chapman was speaking OF the subject of the in
crease and decrease of population in various
counties in California, and said nearly correct
estimate of population could be Obtained by
multiplying the number of school children
by 515
In eigh. years Colusa county had increased its
school attend ance 81; solano county had de-
| creased $40 in the same time; Sacramento county
had decreased by S60 San Joaquin county,
very large and fertile county, had increased but
6i2 in its school attendance; San Bernardiuo
| had increased in that time 3 329 children of
school age, and Los Angeles had increased its
! school attendance in eight years BIZ l6 ia an
| increase OF population OF nearly one hundred
! thousand IN that time IN this county.
SOME IMPORTANT FACTS.
W. H. Mills said he would attempt TO show the
I causes OF this meager population III large and
| fertile counties of California. One svt6 in.
| crease the population would be the breaking up
| OF lsrse holdings into small ones Thus rroyid.
| ing for greater number of people One great
! disadvantage the people OF this state la6ored
! under was the fact that they paid the highest
prlce OF any peop.e on the face OF the earta for
their articles. Our commerce" said the
speaker, lis served by the Longest course on the
| globe that Is sailed by any ship. We have 70
| subtract from everything sold an ar,ount neces
! sary TO adjust these cha!g S. suppose that Won
could set California, with ils climate lis fertility
| of soil, its diversity of probation down in tha
! ONO valley. There sre nearly l1,01J COO OF pop
| ulatlon IN that section. With our advantages
| we would certainly have more popula ion Than
they on the same area, yet in fJrty-oue wears OF
! settlement California can show but little more
! thsn 10 .OOG0 population. In the section named
/ there are from five to seven months of ahsnInto
suspe lslon OF production, very death in winter
| when the soil ceases to produce. In California
| the pToductlveGeSs Is continuous: there is no
| time that things are not growing: there is no
! suspension OF growth and production; snrine,
| comes at the end of harvest Hence, there is
| productiveness here
We might reasonably conclude that a similar
| area as favorabiy situated as the Ohio Valley
would carry as large a population as already 10
! cupleS that country. Our distance from the
great ceuterS of consump tion. our distance .rorn
| our markets was our great disadvantage We
nave no manufacturing enterprises in this
/ country as they have in the Eastern states We
| have no way in which the skill and industry ~
/ the artisan may be expended. We take, for e-,-
/ ample raw wool. The wool Of any country in
| lis staple ought 70 be manufactured by thai
people, at least 10 the extent of their own use
! We raise large annual crop of wool We shin
| 1t TO me East, carrying for every hundred
our wool is cleaned it loses 81 per cent. of IT'S
! weight, and, hence, for every hundred p0unds
OF wool exported we export sixty pounds of
/
| and its dirt. We sustain a population ENGAGED
! IN is manufacture abroad. We lose the oppor-
tunlty of manufacturing the staple into fabric
Inc wool IN the staple is worth from IA to 20
cents per pound, while the wool in the fabric is
worth from 81 TO 81 per pound. If we rlapufsct-
ured the entire wool clip of the State of Ca!ifor
MIA we would therefore multiply from five n
! ten times tae value We receive from il now
and the increase in its value by reason of CON
yerting It into fabric from the staple would
be the reward of our industry the crastion nj
wealth. It is art, skill and intelligence which
| produce wealth 70 The speaker illustrated this
line of argument by a recent statement made
| IN value OF ton of iron ore. The ore" said
! Senator Frye, lin lis original state when
mined was worth about Sc a ton That ION of
ore when worked up into the small screws used
IN the manufacture OF a watch became worth
| S6GO0,0OO. Labor created that difference he
tween So, the original value of the ore, and the
| findings"
PRODUCE FROM ABROAD.
Continuing, Mr.. Mills said: 1--WE raise the
! hopS ana we raise the barley, which we export
Tor the manufacture OF beer in other counties,
| 70 De IelmpoTted in the form of the LIQUID All
| they did was TO add the water. We, therefore
import the water added to our hops and our
barley, ana the extent Of this importation runs
, up INTO toe millions II has been definitely as
| certained that the city of San Francisco con-
suInes SlS,OO0,09g worth of beer Der annup 7
never drank pint of beer in my life, but |
| would Ike the State to get the benefit derived
from the making of this beer The sale 81 the
raw material was the sale OF the oppoTtunity To
create wealth When we sell the staple wool at
| ~ cents pound and purchase back the same
wool IN the form OF the fabric at s. per pound
we lost the opportunity OF creating 81 So There
are no dlllgent industries in this state Within
snort time seven carloads of potatoes were
! brought to stockton from Wisconsin ScarceIv
| day during the whole winter that con d not
see from my window at least one carload of live
cnlckens from Iowa and Illinois Within three
| blocks of where am speaking can show vcT,
! potatoes imported from Germany and pears from
+ france: The potatoes Were little things not
bigger than marbles. II i. the lack of this dill.
! gent kind of industry which has prevented This
! state from being populous. Now General Chip
man mas called the attention of the Board to the
increase IN the school population IL Los Angeles
county. de mas shown that whereas, in Co.
| lusa county the increase in eight wears has
been about o., in Los Angeles 1t is 1914 The
difference between the two counties is due To
| the dlnerence between the systems of land
| holdings In Colusa county large areas are
heid for wheat growing purposes. In Los An
geles county twenty acres OF irrigated land have
been found SUFFICIENT to employ the industry of
| single sgrlculturist. They have founded
| commonwealth upon small holdings CoIuss
count? was composed of large holdings devoted
! 10 the cultivation of cereals. Every twenty
| acres OF irrigated land in Los Angeles county is
| adordlng as much employment and maintain
lng as great number OF people as each 800
| acres IN Colusa county.
| THE CURSE OF LARGE LAND HOLDINGS,
! The advantage of area was in favor of Colusa
| county. Ihere are more acres of cultivable
! land there than in Los Angeles county. There
is no essential difference to climate as to fer
UNITY, as TO capaoility to become productive I'M
! Ger proper state of cultivation. Los Angeles
increases its population 100000 in eight years
Solusa county remains at standstill. The diff
ference Is not referable to any physical adyant-
| age which Los Angeles county possesses over
So!usa county; but TO the difference of enterprise
dlllgence ana proper appreciation of the ad-
| Eantages OF their county. Los Angeles made
the highest use of its soil and its climate: Co.
| !usa county has been content 10 remain in
| primitive state of development, having the
most barbarouS methods of cultivation which
| is defertiiizing its soil and depopuatiup its
borders. Large land holdings in California have
peen ITS curse. They have displaced settlement
ana eliminated civilization. The large land
lord is my pet aversion, and the world will lose
nothing when that class becomes extinct Mo-
nopoly OF the soil is monopoly of the oprortu-
mites of men. The large landholder is the
highwayman of California who saws, stand and
denver upon every attempt at progress in the
state. he is an incubus, and there is no neces-
slty Tor his existence at all. The ranch house
OF the large landholders of California is usually
| a hovel. 1t is devoid of o-namentation; il has
no trees about 1t to cast a grateful shade; 70
! vines Irvine over its door; no flowers at its
threshold: nothing to soften the landscape:
nothing which would indicate 8 home had
grown out OF the hearts of men, and TO which
the Young men and the young women born and
| reared there could turn in later years with af.
lection as the home OF their childhood Nothing
| surrounds the ranch house of California that is
not calculated TO repel its young people and
| they were raised. Those people spend three
months on their ranches ane the rest of the
year are attending horse RACES.
HOW TO ATTRACT POPULATION.
1.-The real truth OF this matter is that what we
need are industries in which - employ our
population Give country prosperity and it
! will not need to organize emigratiops societies
| TO reinforce its population. Wherever real
prosperity exists you cannot build q wall high
/ enough to keep the people out. This matter of
inducing population Is very much like rope.
| Prosperity in the country invites immigration;
If that prosperity is wanting you cannot push
any more than you can Iush rope straight up
into the air