Los Angeles herald., 1890-11-24

North-What Intelligence, Enterprise
and Genius May Accomplishments
ing Details.
When I first saw Riverside, on the
1st of April, 1873, Judge North had
barely set an enterprise on foot which
has resulted in perhaps the most inter
esting horticultural development in the
United States, if not in the world. At
that time the residence and nursery of
Judge North, a recently completed skel-
eton of hotel, and one or two private
residences, were the only editices on
a tract OF land which the census-taker
has declared to contain upwards OF
forty-seven hundred people. The ditch
was built and water was running, but
that original ditch was very different
affair from the superb main ditch of to-
day, twelve feet wide at the bottom and
eighteen or twenty feet wide at the top,
with a subsidiary ditch, which con-
vey the fertilizing waters OF the
Santa Ana river on their fructifying
mission. The genius of Judge North
impaired an impetus to Riverside, car
ried forward by competent successors,
chief amongst whom has been Mr.. S. G.
Evans, which has made that settlement
typical representative of what can be
done in Southern California where the
conditions OF water and soil are favor
able. When Judge North bought the
original tract he paid trifling sum per
acre for 1.-THE exact figure failed to
learn, although it was probably not
more than $3.50 an acre-and the quid
nuncs considered that he was throwing
away his money. The land itself was a
sheep pasture, which had been tram
pied so long by the bands and herds
which had depastured it, and which had
been packed to such hard consistency,
that nobody dreamed that any good
could come out of that Nazareth.
The City Of Riverside.
If not in population, at least in area,
the city Of Riverside is most impress
sive municipality. 1t lays over Los An
geles in territorial extent, embracing
spread of sixty square miles, as against
our thirty-six. In every respect it shows
the modern instinct. 1t is lighted by
electricity; it has hard and smooth
streets, which are sprinkled twice a
day; it has an opera house which would
do honor to city OF any size; it has
cemented sidewalks, and it has most
admirable system for the distribution of
water, both for the purposes of irriga-
tion and domestic use. The former is
taken, as before intimated, from the
Santa Ana river. The latter has inter-
esting features from which the people
of Los Angeles might well learn lesson.
At an outlay OF two hundred thousand
dollars, the people of Riverside went up
to old San Bernardino and bored nine
artesian wells, which yield supply of
fully two hundred inches. miners meas
urement. A reservoir was constructed,
in which the water is aerated, and the
hmpid and delicious fluid is conveyed
in iron pipes to the city Of Riverside
and distributed all over the municipal
ity. The streets are sprinkled ON
system which the people of Los Angeles
ought to copy. Four OF Studebaker's
improved sprinkling wagons were pro-
cured, water stations were established
at points calculated with mathematical
precision to exhaust the supply to q
drop on arrival at the next station, and
through this ingenious system four
wagons are found ample to sprinkle
twice day city go much larger than
Los Angeles.
Riverside boasts at least three hotels
that would be accounted up to high
standard of comfort, the Glenwood, the
Arlington and the Rowell. The Glen
wood is one of the most unique, attrac-
tive and cozy hotels in the country, and
its wealth of foliage and wide veran-
dahs are consoling to the tourist tired
out by travel.
For long while Riverside was one OF
the typical prohibition cities of Califor-
mia. Its people wearied of prohibition,
however, and at an election called to de-
termine the matter, high license was
carried by the enterprising citizens of
the place. The result is that there are
now in Riverside two saloons which
probably pay the highest license paid by
any institutions of the kind in Cali
fornia. AS the price OF cooling or heat
ing the human palate, as the case may
be, they pay city license of $4,000 and
county license of $500 year. One of
the leading agents in bringing about
this revolution in the interest of COM
mon sense and sound morality was Mr..
Frank A. Miller, the enterprising pro-
prietor of the Glenwood hotel, and a
gentleman who seems to be heart and
soul in every movement to push River
side to the front and vitalize her busi-
ness.
A Notable Ride.
Through the courtesy OF Mr.. Frank A.
Miller and Mr.. s. A. White, had an
opportunity OF seeing something OF the
wonderful progress made by Riverside
during the past four or five years. To
say that the exhibit is amazing is to put
the matter mildly Riverside nrnner