Los Angeles herald., 1890-11-21
How to Set a Genuine Boom
Afoot Again.
The Needs of the Present Hour
Outlined For the People.
Pluck and Enterprise Better Any
Day Than Luck and Laziness.
Natural Gas, Water Power, and Nam
moth Hotel Will Set the Ball Roll
ing ALL Along the Line.

the good city of Los Angeles is just now
on very firm basis, and there is vigor
in the veins of the industrial body at all
points. There is now life in all the
pulse points one touches, and marked
growth is outlined everywhere. Los An
geles and the whole semi-tropic region
is lucky beyond the measure of mas
cot. The section could not be kept
down by any influence sort of gem
uine miracle, and most theologians ad-
nit the day for that short OF thing is
passed. Ii it were not for the fear of
making ones self disliked, the remark
might be risked that the present status
OF the city and it's environs is the result
more OF luck than enterprise; and
were it not that comparisons are not
relished excepting when made in our
favor, it might be hinted that were this
population more enterprislng our ad-
vancement might have been more rapid.
But there is no use trying to undo the
past; let bygones be bygones, and let
US address our minds to the present
condition OF things, and to what might
now be done for the future. We want
here new blood, more capital and more
muscle to develop our latent resources.
In one line of industry we are doin g
well. Can we not getup movement in
others? Here are three suggestions
or rather two, one being duplex prop
position. How shall Los Angeles sup
plement her efforts in the way of agri-
cultural development with manufactur-
ing enterprises; and how shall she
make the most commercially out of her
climatic advantages? 10 stimulate
manufactures the need is cheap motive
power. Fuel or water is necessary
in this matter. That is your duplex
proposition. To make the most out of
our largest and best capital, the climate,
the need is fine hotel. Now here the
pessimists cry, "Chestnuts The Tenth
street hotel!" Well, let the pessimists
cry. Had not the bad times following
the big boom come when they did, that
hotel would now be Che pride of all who
dwell in this city, and as to it all of us
would now be optimists. OF course,
when the bubble burst the good went
down with the bad. With the corner
lot business in the midst of the barley
fields, went the scheme of legitimate
enterprise. With the town-site of
Minneapolis" sank the big hotel But
there is this great tdifference-the streets
in minneapolis" have been vacated as
streets and returned to their natural
uses, the raising OF cabbage; but the big
hotel is not dead. The scheme
only sleeps. 1t may not be the
Tenth-street venture, but it will be
some plan to give us the finest hotel on
the continent. And why should it not
be the Tenth street foundation? The
site is CENTRAL it is ample; the rental
Of the stores ON the four fronts of nearly
1900 feet would produce heavy revenue.
Until Los Angeles has some such hos
telry she will miss the cream of ali the
travel of the world. People of wealth
never will go to any place where they
cannot have the very best of all hotel
accommodations The hotels of Los
Angeles are very fair, but they are not
what such city ought to have. To get
the cream of the travel, Los Angeles
must have hotel that in all its ap-
pointments will compare with any in
the country, and not lose by the COM
parison. And why not have such a
hotel? Look at the John o. Plank hotel
system of the east. Here is a man of
business genius. whose energy
has built not one hotel, but
nearly dozen. He has one in Chicago,
another at Detroit, third at the Straits
of Mackinac, fourth at st. Joseph,
Michigan, and a fifth in Florida. The
one at Mackinac and that at st.
Joseph are for use only in the summer
winter seekers after sunbeams. Now
here is the place for tourists all the
year around. Summer and winter they
would find this climate all they could
desire. The transcontinental railroads
ought to take a big interest in such a
hotel, and they ought to 60 down in
their pockets and help to build it. Their
dividends would come in the shape of
hrst-class fares across the continent.
And what about manufactures? Go
out Orange street, and just ON top of the
hill near Westlake park, may be seen
cut where the clay is stained by traces
OF oil and gas. Go out Buena Vista
street and the same stains may be
found. Near the Sisters hospital they
crop out again. In the Elysian park
and out at Ivanhoe they become more
marked. The other day a gentleman
out there hunting shot quail, and as
he stopped to pick up the dead bird, he
smelled the gas escaping from the earth.
He lit match and applied the fame to
the spot, when bright flame kindled,
and burned until he put it out. There
Is great body OF natural gas under the
earth in this city and along it's outskirts.
Water power? The popular fallacy is
that this country has no water. It has
large streams, but they run bottom up
wards. The Los Angeles river has a
great stream of water in it at all points
Some thoughtful person has wisely sug-
gested that big submerged dam be
sunk in the river to bring the water to
the surface, and then by a system of bulk
heads use it at dozen points to create
motive power.
Now there are the three schemes to start
boom that will come to stay, and that
will increase daily. All the elements OF
greatness are here if we will use them
to make the city great. There are
$4,000 people. Issue certificates of
stock at $5 each, and the population
ought to average an investment of one
share per capita; this will raise $250, ZOO
to bore for gas until it is discovered. In
six months float similar block of stock
to build the dam, and then issue third
series to build the hotel. There is no
use to stand still any longer.
ANOTHER TECHNICALLY,
a