Los Angeles herald., 1890-03-28
FRIDAY, MARCH 2S, 1890,
OUR DIFFICULTIES AND HOW TO OVER.
COME THEM.

1t may seem like heresy to say there
are any difficulties in the surroundings
of Los Angeles and in the way of the
development of the resources of this
section; but there are some. 1t would
be strange thing if there were none.
The section and the city have manifold
fewer drawbacks than any others on the
globe. What are our greatest hindrances
to progress? Two. Our distance from
the markets for our products and lack of
cheap fuel Now these are real difficult
ties. They are closely correlated. For
if we had cheap fuel we could soon
create home market in manufactures
for all our products. Is there then no
way to overcome these disadvantages?
Yes, three. They are: To get cheap
fuel; to build up manufactures as fast as
we can, and to raise crops of the largest
value for the smallest weight, so as to
cut down transportation cost tothe low
est percentage possible.
How shall we get cheap fuel? There
are three ways. Alaska contains
billions of tons of coal. In large sailing
vessels it can be carried to our doors at
q very slight expense. Southern Utah
and Nevada have fine deposits of coal.
The road from there to here will be
mostly down-grade, and the cost of
transportation will not be heavy. But
this will not be available until the
Union Pacific road reaches here, which
will be two years or more from
this time. After this event we
shall have plenty of cheap fuel.
A third supply of cheap fuel may be de-
veloped in the deposits of natural gas
that assuredly underlie this city and its
environs.
In the meantime we must go into
such lines of manufactures as are possi-
BILE under the circumstances, that is
those that require the least amount of
fuel. There is tannery soon to be
set up. 1t ought to be followed by es-
Establishments that will convert the
leather made in it into such fabrics as
there is the nearest market for. All the
up into manufactured goods for our own
use. This can be done by an intelligent
use OF capital. There are our fruit
crops, too. These should be
greatly enlarged in all branches
OF the industry, and the crops
should be dried, canned, preserved and
made into a score of forms of diet, in
which added labor will more than double
their value per ton. The same is true
of our barley, wheat and corn crops.
Barley is readily convertible into beer,
and the hops grow at our doors. The
adjoining Territories will take all we can
produce in excess of the local demand
if we make a good article of this whole
some beverage. The wheat should be
ground into -four. The poor grades of
all grains, and all our corn not ground
into meal, should be fed to domestic
animals and poultry for the home mar
ket.
By following out these suggestions in
stead OF importing hog products and ex-
porting corn we should supply the home
plus to export. A carload of hams or
lard is no heavier than one of feed
barley, but it is worth more. A carload
of preserved strawberries or fine jellies
weighs no more than one OF potatoes,
but it will bring more money into this
section The bran from the flour mills
will feed cows, which will give milk
which may be converted into cheese
and butter, and the COW may finally be
stalled to make prime beef. Good
mutton sheep find ready market here,
and the producer does not have to pay
the whole value of them to have them
carried long. distance to market.
The cotton mill at East Oakland
wants several million pounds of cotton.
Let this be grown instead of wheat to
ship to England. ~
Here are few simple principles on
which the prosperity of the section de-
pends. Let us first study the home
market, and try to supply that with all
sorts of products. Let us add as much
value by increased labor to all goods
that we export as is possible, so as to
make the ratio between cost of trans
portation and value of goods
as great as possible. Let us
produce, too, such crops as have
the highest value, and not those that
have the lowest in proportion to their
weight and bulk. In this way we shall
import the minimum of the goods we
use, and pay the minimum of cost
for the transportation of our pro-
ducts. If these lines of enterprise
are persistently, carefully and intelli-
gently followed out, we shall soon export
many high cost commodities that we are
now importing, and thereby develop our
latent resources and increase the pros
Perity Of the section. We shall export !