New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-23
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
STORY OF A BOOM"

crsSt southern California Room BY 7. 8. van
DIXIE 10mo. PIP. o0s. Fords. Howard huipert
Mr.. Van Dyke has written . most entertaining ac
eount Of the real estate "boom' which occurred In
southern California two years ago. 1t may won 20
doubted II boom at all resembling this In cssehua's
aver took place before Both In its tncepuon anu ie
consequences It was unique and though II serve. ~
mirsbly IS IN example Of human greed ana Ioiy' oo
vho study It have the satisfaction OK rejecting hat inc
r,., train of disaster and ruin did not follow this par
tieu,ar exhibition OF those defects OF chsractef Ing
scuf,ern California "boom" rs here descTheo wiu'
evident fidelity to facts. had no analogy WIN 'hoso
wholly fsctitous and fraudulent operations III s".h
sheer impudent mendscity. cunningT suppor.eo W
sppoals to cupidty, leads men Into positive ha'i''"
lions about town sites other real properly. never
theless It presented the singular spectacle OF cro~u
of shrewd capitalists and business mcii running hko
sbeep after a speculation which, though really oaseo
mon had no connection with the only s'aoie ihtc'V.s
ard solid prospects Of the region concerned CiearE
50 strange . phenomenon was well wor'n s'"u! anu
AZ, Van Dvhe has done his work with art and 1udg-
ment. o-...,.--.. c.,,
For several years before the "bOom" Southern Cali
fori. had been attracting Eastern capital and brains.
AZ orst people went there merely Tor inc mia "ihtc
Than they began 10 find out that the summer was not
less pleasant and salubrious. Then lew mere an"
there experimental In various cultures GASES spahs
mn along the uplands. Irrigation unlooscd the pro.
aieious fertility OF the SOIL Colonies like those OF
assdea and Riverside showed the material advantages
of water cultivation. In wonderfully snort 'n"o
these efforts proved lucrative. and from year 10 year
the prospects OF the section were better assured bu
And this is one OF the odd points Of the boom-t was
not these undeniaby fertile lands that were the suo
iort Of H. They held their own steadily from first 70
last but though the value Of Southern California vas
first proved directly through their cuit'a'iol' uo
graspng crowd that poured out It's none! III '
"boom, never sought to acquire this class oil aeea
OF course explanation of this Is that the
were really only Spectators who buying sociy ior
rse cared nothing about the quality location OF inc
iands-in fact, rule never set eyes upon 'he iu'
they purchased. They operating preciSei! iHo
stock gamblers in short and for their purpose II oio
matter whether the land they traded IN really
existed-tlat Is, so long as tho d" boom" lasteu'
At first according to Mr.. Van Dyke the natives
held aloof from the "boOm," but they were soon
drawn in, and then they went perfectly crazy
Gradually the relations of the parties cIangd' lhe
Eastern and other visitors were the frSt 70 O"
largely and the early sales had a certain soidiN VI
basis being for the most part situated In the SUBURBS
of already established towns like Los Angeles Aef
a time however the owners of catte-lanCes ana dr\
tracts got the idea Of cutting up their holdings ana
scores of town sites thereupOn plotted ont any
how and anywhere; town sites with no excuse Ior
existence without back country, or settlers or wafer
or timber or anything; and the twenty-five ana MY
foot lots I'm these locations went OH IRe not oaheS
Then the town people pTOCecUeN W WV
" imaginary future of the new settlements y great
deal Of money was flowing in, and most OF this was
sunk in improvements" of which far the most pop
ular huge hotels twenty years In advance Oh any
possible growth the country could develop frVschS
the Eastern spectators began to sell again 10 ,hc
natives. These had already rcpented OF having iet
their land 20 too cheap and frequently after it had
risen to ten or twenty times what they received lor
f. thcy would buy it again. in the hope Of ellinc
a. the second time at figures more in accord with
what they now thought its true value AS III all
such movements the crowd increased lis own 1na'ua
ton by contact. and the longer the boom lasted
the more insenSate il became.
Inasmuch as after all the land available had been
traded there still remained untouched an area Us ex
tensivc as a European kingdom, every part OF when
WAS precisely good what had been sod 1t STOOD 10
reason that the moment anybody recovered sen'e
enough to look about little, collapse would occur
THIS is what actually happened, and the mlonairs
of a day. Mr.. Van Dyke calls them' sank ihO
obscurty and poverty quickly as they had risen
10 imagined afiuence. But what became of the men
who had gone down with the "boom!' We Will let
Mr. Van Dyke tell this in his own picturesque way:
Where the mountain side slept darby blue in tho
golden haze Of the streaming sunshine. and huge
6owldtrs of smooth granite gstcncd above the dense
green of the chapara that robed its slope tc%
mon the ground that few years ago was deemed III
piv for the home of the grizzly bear rises now the
humble dwelling Of the man who but three snort yeS
for half million in gold. And where. at the noun,
tains feet the river whrls its sparkling sands ana
Of What once appeared worthless sand stands now.
beneath some huge cottonwood tree the nous OF hs
realestste agent who. from commissions alone, had
made more Of the other man than five years beoD
either had hoped ever to he worth lerchea upon tnS
shoulder of ofti"r hill where lately the polished
horns of the deer gtcrcd in the rising now looks
down upon the world below the cabin OF the lawyer
to get rich on real estate. For few short months mt
his soul expanded daily as the stunning reality hr 81
and glowed with visions of the halcyon days to come
and with the proceeds OF the sale OF ms T Sr
the little green grove Of sycamoes the hillside above
shows the Of Ta yrre e ad cow ad
half dozen chickens. he is making the living that MS
ana Io base of e where
mighty iveoaks nod over wavy swclls OF ground CLAD
IN s Wakes the cool silence of the nights and
the wildcat lies in the edge OF the mac ahq nannals
IL. eos sp Of the who but three
Ouired special bdokkecper and Stenographer and type
..rpondc1ce. Now he finds rabbits quite as good 90
oysters imported from the Atlantic coast IN me Shcl
than champagne even with French label: and he
has already made more money from his httie Ioriy
witch ne had q controlling interest and " frlze ont
his best friends with assessments on the stock 50 as
to get the whole.
At last in short. the unlucky spectators, driven
70 live on the land found ont It's valuc and began to
realize the true resources and advantages OF southern
California. The best proof of the stability of land
values In the region over which the Doom eAPnued
lies in the fact that when the bottom fell out Of IT,
no widespread crash followed not single bank failed
the market not dcugcd with unstable land and
though much loss suffered and some hardship en-
dured. the country pulled through and is now more
prosperous than Mr.. Van Dyke, In his highly
Interesting volume, gives many graphic pictures of
pcenery, and many realistic and humorous sketches OF
different types Of capitalists and spectators. The
whole story certainly presents. as Atemus Ward would
have said laree-szcd moral lying around somewhere
ana at the same time forth in these pages with
the charm attaching to fiction.