Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-13
coLusA COUNTY Foss1LIsM.

CoLUsA COUNTY FossILIsM.
The holding of large tracts of land. unculti-
waited and unimproved, by individuals or cor
porations is against the public interest and
should be discouraged by all means not incOn-
sistent with the rights OF private property
Constitution Of California, Art. IL, Sec 2.
The Central Irrigation Ditch Company
of Colusa county, the protector of an en-
terprise which promises to confer growth
and prosperity upon the west side of the
Sacramento valley, particularly in Colusa
county, encountered on the line of the
ranch. This ranch is large holding,
comprising $4,000 consolidated acres of
very rich land on the west side of the
Sacramento river Like similar ranches
in other counties of the Sacramento val
ley, its ownership has constituted dis
placement Of civilization, has conferred
upon the country the appearance Of an
unsettled waste, and has deprived all other
enterprises and ownerships in California
of the benefit of an increase of population.
1t is therefore the natural foe of improve
ment, and so when the Central Irrigation
Ditch Company sought to carry its ditch
across this holding, it was resisted. The
representatives of the Glenn ranch sued
the Central Irrigation Ditch Company for
damages.
A case arising out of this contest,
which was recently tried in Colusa county,
has produced some most startling develop
ments. 1t was shown by the testimony
that the wheat raised on holdings of 100
to 800 acres of land in the State of Cali
fornia cost the raiser 81 20 per hundred,
while wheat raised on holdings aggregat-
ing twenty to fifty thousand acres can be
produced at so cents per hundred. When,
therefore, wheat is worth at the nearest
railroad station to the land wherein 1t is
grown 81 20 per hundred (the price at
which it has stood for some years., it is
raised without profit to the small farmer.
The same rate, however, would give to the
large land holder profit of 20 cents per
hundred, or Sl4 per ton. The testimony
appeared to establish this beyond contro-
versy, and the jury awarded unusual dam
ages to the Glenn ranch, because the ditch
would infict more injury upon large land
holdings than upon smaller subdivisions Of
ownership. If at the same time the wheat
on 10000 acres of land can be produced at
a net profit of $l4 per ton, while the wheat
on 800 acres is produced without profit,
the consolidation of small into large
holdings is the logical result.
All property passes to its most profitable
ownership, impeiled by the resistless ten
denotes underlying economic industry
During the decade between 1880 and 1890,
the Sacramento valley showed no increase
of population in the rural districts. II
wheat-growing is to be the dominating in
dustry of the valley, it will show a decided
decrease within the next ten years. The
logic of this Glenn estate fossilism tends to
the depopulation of the State, and the YER
dict of the jury in the case under consid-
Grafton is a judicial determination rele-
eating the fertile lands of the Sacramento
and San joaquin valleys to the semi-bar-
barism of large land holding. Mr.. Lusk
the attorney for the Glenn estate, hai
secured a judicial conclusion, which is in
effect notice to the people Of the world
that California is suitable place of resi-
dence for millionaires only, and wholly
unsuited to the application of the industry
of the respectable common people. He
has shown that the millionaire wheat
raiser will sooner or later own the entire
arabic area of the State He has disclosed
an inherent tendency which will newt
ably aggregate the small holdings into
broad areas of unoccupied wheat fields
owned by country barons residing for mos
OF the time at the Palace Hotel in Sar
Francisco and cultivating their lands with
the labor of Chinese and tramps. He ha.
shown conclusively that large land owner.
and their advocates are public enemies
whose destruction is the first duty of the
people of tbs State.
The result of the trial, however, ha:
performed the service of establishing be.
You'd question the fact that any acre o.
land aggregated with other acres under a
large ownership has a higher value thar
acres of like fertility segregated into
smaller holdings. If upon twenty or fifty
thousand acres of land wheat may b.
grow at profit of Sl4 per ton, when a
the same rate upon 100 acres Of lane
wheat must be grown without profit, or a
loss, each acre within the large holding
by reason of lis aggregation, is worth five
or ten times as much as each acre Of tn,
smaller holding, and should therefore b.
assessed accordingly. The organic Law
OF the State of California declares that i
shall be the duty of the Legislature to dis
courage in all reasonable ways the monop
oily of the soil.
This is a sober and deliberate declara
ton of public conscience on the subject
and the formulation of public policy. II
will, therefore, be consistent with law, rea.
son and Justice to assess the land holdings
upon a cumulative basis, holdings of 100
acres being assessed at $50, holdings Of
three to five thousand acres at $40, from
five to ten thousand acres at $50, and from
ten thousand upwards at 500.
1t is competent for the coming session