Los Angeles herald., 1891-06-13
THE PROBLEM OF THE HOUR.

In Southern California the great need
of the day is cheap motive power. This
is need that has been referred to fire.
quently in these columns; and, in the
opinion of the HERALD, this is subject
that cannot be too frequently brought to
the notice of our people; so that no
apology is necessary for anything writ
ten or said in this connection. We
should not expect any very marked pro-
gress in all the branches of material
prosperity so long as we are unable to
compete with the people of other por-
tions of the country in the production
of manufactured wares and goods.
Kindly dame nature has favored the
land we inhabit in many ways, aud
Southern California was intended to be
a completely self-sustaining region
Within the borders of the six counties
are to be found in sufficient abundance
the precious metals and many of the
less precious, though not less useful,
metals and minerals of daily use among
the people of today, while the generous
soil will yield ample returns OF well-nigh
every vegetable product useful il the
arts.
Our geographical position, also, is
exceptionally favorable to the stimula-
ton of manufacturing industries in a
land so signally favored by nature.
Every portion of our territory lies
within few hours distance of the
great ocean of the world, and the mar
kets open to our manufactures are the
countries along its shores and the many
islands of the sea. Why is it that
Southern California does not spring at
once to the highest rank among the
manufacturing regions of the earth?
To this question the answer naturally
suggesting itself is that there is lack of
cheap power, yet this is an answer
which would indicate but little rehec-
ton on the part of the eperson making
it. The HERALD insists that cheap
power does abound in Southern Califor-
MA, though but little effort has been
made hitherto looking toward its cheap
development. The coming great motive
power OF the world is electricity, and in
all the caflons of the. Sierra nature has
stored up an exhaustless source of
power in the shape of falling water to
supply with electricity, which, by
means OF wires, can be made available
in factories big and little, all over the
land between the mountains and the
sea.
In addition to this scientific men are
now arriving at the conclusion that
Southern California contains one of the
greatest oil fields of the continent. For
the past five years wells have been pro-
ducing oil at distance of only fifteen
miles from the city of Los Angeles, yet
no pipe line has been constructed in or
der to make this fuel cheaper to the peo-
pie of this city. For several years the
wells of the Sespe region have been
yielding yearly increasing amount of
cheap fuel, and great deal of this is
being piped to the seaside and shipped
abroad.
Again: 1t was thought, only very
few years ago, that coal, if to be found
at all in the region south of the noun
tains, would be found in pockets only.
The fact that an immense bed of coal,
of a quality better than that of the
coal now sold in this market
at price making its use for
manufactures entirely out of the
question, exists in this region is daily
made more apparent to him who keeps
track of the development of our natural
resources. 1t is now known that coal
exists at many widely separated points
of the county of Los Angeles alone, and
recent prospecting, of a character more
thorough than similar work done here
tofore, shows conclusively that the for
nation is regular coal formation, and
that, if shafts be sunk to the necessary
depth, the coal obtained is of very
superior quality.
At the commencement of this article
it was said that cheap motive power is
the problem of the day which we of
Southern California are called upon to
solve. Yet this problem is as easy OF
solution as that Of the egg which was
proposed by Columbus. In the myriad
water courses of the Sierra and under
the soil in very many parts of the terri
tory of Los Angeles county alone cheap
motive power exists. 1t needs only in
telligent enterprise, backed by the ex-
penditure of not very great sums of
money, to fill the cis-sierran portion, at
least, of this fair region we inhabit with
the busy hum of spindles and the pros
perity- bringing ring of steel on steel.