Telegram-herald., 1890-05-11
o. rsssLsss OAKLAND.
F-s.HssSs azls0rd - sssa t,isx AsssI
A. for f~ezts Years

Lone ssav assy from Cahforula / -.se5 -
become g4rr2oas N tsllHg assaeru geo
ple uhAl bs4uGLfui spos TIE eigy =
O-klaaa s4s cQlt oO. I sd mauy,
nans uLaes tbss - yoa sPproSc1e3 Oak
la13 o. the ferry boat frozo So Francisco
you .aa sczrosly sny houses only trees
-4roof or church spine sSlcklIsg out hers
snd .lere. buI al tbs rsst : So u ths
DARK zreen foliage of tbs 1--we ozks-t0
LIE tae most beautiful II the osk species
"a tree whose lnte0t seemed q give
shade and protection, lis hints curved
ia 50 grsostuily, ana having always the
tendency 10 spread In 4 sort OF umbrella
fashion toward the earth.
So in the course Of ten or fifteen years,
while IN the states. I told tins story u
beautiful oakland embOwsred in her
grove of native oaks for six or seven
males. 1 said that Oakland wss one
place which gave proof that ths Amer
lean could spare tree and knew =
tree ai.o Ghat was beautiful even II lg
was native u the soil, and thar be would
not cut such Tree down and immediate
II supply It's place with All uglier one
scrubb.er one and more sickly one, be-
cause it came from some other country
and ir had become fashion and craze
10 plant it aud insist upon il that il
was an ornament
Yet 10 al extent this is just what the
Oak.auders have done.
How | have unconsciously lied abou;
Oakland all these years. return and
find the native oaks nesrly sll cut down
find Oakland as seen from the Bay OF
San Francisco, not "A sea of foliage, but a
sea of housetops. and many Of them ugly
housetops. l find Oakland grown out of
all remembrance, her avenues stretching
miles a.d miles away into what was open
country, bat quite bare OF trees. \ 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 so hostile - trees The
variety OF reasons given me is surprising
One said: We'll, you know, We want 70
get ali the sun we can about our houses.
The trees keep it Of"
Another said: 80, they're dirty things
about a house, and especially about a
store. They're shedding things all the
time-leaves and bugs and worms"
asked why they cut down the road
side trees. well" said a man, "be-
cause the roadmasters are down on EN-
They keep the sun of and the roads
won't dry up fast enough. and get SO
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 it-which he
can't 10, because he will carry enough
of it for a small farm in his eyes. When
the wind blows il blows here to some pur-
pose. 1t simply sends lin dust farms,
gardens and plantations through the
air in binding masses. Real estate then
goes up and is travelling all the time.
And the air here will turn mud TO dust
in no time at ali, TO speak hyperbolically
and hy-boreas-ly. Ii has wonderful
drying properties.
never quarrel with other peoples
tastes. Ii a man prefers a desert 10 live
on and must make a desert about him in
order 10 live comfortably, say he ought
TO have the desert. IL is his right. In
this country the rattlesnake, the burrow-
ing o~l W hich seems 10 turn its head
clean round as If il were built with a
ball and socket joint in the neck, and
the ground squirrel-a dirt colored quad
rupcd with NANCY, emaciated tail, 4
cross between a rat and a squirrel, Il
poor degraded thing. not fit to eat. al
WAYS ful OF feas and endowed with a
wonderful opacity for tumbling into its
hole. whore vOu can't get il when shot
dead say al these creatures prefer
and cu ioY To live on treeless, arid. sun
baked lands. And really many of the
people here, in the matter Of trees. seem
( 10 have the same tastes, and they have a
right 10 have them, because they can't
/ help having them.
I wonder what in the future is done
( with n man who has lied about Oakland
| as have done for ten or fifteen wears |
, didu'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 10 the
| lake IL fire and birthstone" There seems
no modification in this matter, no excep-
tions at all where q apersevering course of
living such as mine has been could have
I oxtenuatug circumstances connected
with it 50 as to soften down tho penalty
attached il has a black and sulphurous
/ look f.r mo.
Some might infer on reading this that
7 was abusing or finding fault with Oak
land. so. lam not. The Oakland people
know better than I DO what they want.
II man prefers sour milk FOR breakfast
and want sweet milk. should | quarrel
with him on account Of his preference
for sour. BY no means. The rattle
snakes. horned toa37. tarantuias. burTow-
ing owls and ground squirrels prefer
their town lots without trees. D. quar-
rel with thems 40. Ever since mar
commenced OF was commenced has ne
ousrreled. fought. killed. burned and
roasted his fellow man. because FeIlor
Man might not ike. or believe. OF do. o.
eat. cr drias what be did not thins
proper O. 10. believe. eat oT drink whai
the o-ter thought Che thing Tor himself
whether If Eas ~ nof-aod in NAM
casas 10 was n0t No. Nine i simplv
the uaacef1I. bene6csnt attitude n unsr'
diferenoe q opinion IT taste The eael'
sosrs The mole burrows snail th'