Los Angeles herald., 1891-03-01
THE LOS ANGELES CABLE AND oTHRR
STREET RAILWAYS.

STREET RAILWAYS.
We are told somewhere in the Bible
that it is sometimes proper to answer a
fool according to his folly, and we shall
apply this salutary principle to the ed
itor OF Peoria exchange, whom we shall
dismiss with this single remark OF scant
courtesy. We care little for the journal
or its editor, but we do care great deal
about checking erroneous or calumnious
assertions, and it would be hard to en-
body in an article so brief as the follow
ing so many misstatements. tits headed
Collapse BOOM
Nothing shows the collapse OF the boom
in Lower California more than the quar-
rel which is now going ON with G. B.
Holmes of Chicago. Holmes was inter-
ested in a good many street railways,
and he finally organized one in Los An
geles. In some mysterious way over a
million and half OF dollars was spent in
that enterprise, and no one seems to
know what has become OF the money. It
involves most OF his other enterprises to
such an extent that he has had to resign
as president and retire from the man
the Davenport, Rock Island, Moline sys-
TEN some time ago, and it was rumored
at one time that he was about to pur-
chase a controlling interest in some OF
our Peoria roads, but the rumor proved
to be without foundation. Peoria has
capital enough to manage her own af-
fairs, and thus far she has not needed to
go outside for any assistance. The street
railways of Los Angeles seem to be in
wrecked condition.
We have given the heading exactly as
it appeared in the original, and it shows
that this Peoria paper is very provin-
cial affair, and that its scholarship is of
the order that was supposed to exist in
Posey county, Indiana, in the old hoop
pole days, or in Egypt, in Illinois, at
the classic period when John A. Logan
was wont, on the stump, to show the
superiority of the American to the
English language, and to throw more
complexity into things linguistic than
Ignatius Donnelly has succeeded in at
taching to his magic cypher. Mr.. G. 3.
Holmes has never been interested in
any cable roads in Lower California.
On the contrary, quite the reverse.
Lower California is in Mexico, and mo-
body has yet, outside of a Peorian, so
much as limited that that individual
had any interest in Mexican cable
roads. In fact, he couldn't have, and
for the simple reason that Mexico hasn't
got any cable roads. The circumstance
that sc. B. Holmes, OF Chicago" prac-
tises very peculiar system OF finance,
in no way involves the cable roads of
this city. Why should it? Mr.. H. has
succeeded in tying himself up in a con-
centric knot that will probably smother
him to death by the time it gets around
under his left ear, as has many a
man before his day who under-
took to use the money of other
people in his own personal ventures.
But we assure our Peoria contemporary
that the cable-road system Of Los An
! geles is alive and kicking, and is
doing good business-a business amply
sufficient to pay expenses and hand
some dividend. As to the other street
railways of this city, they are in con-
dition entirely satisfactory to their own
ers. This will surprise the Peoria jour
nal. But there is worse and more OF it.
Not only are the Los Angeles cable roads
and other street railways earning money,
but great portion of the material is
already on the ground for the building
of the great Belt Electric railway, which,
when completed, will embrace sixty
miles. Fifteen miles of this superb svs-
tenn will be in operation by the 1st of
July, and the work will go steadily for
ward. There will be neither Chicago
nor Peoria capital in this splendid i'm
provement. The power house will be
ample for system of two hundred
miles. 1t will thus be seen that Los
Angeles is not without ample capital
available at distance much less remote
than Illinois. The legislature is show
ing every disposition to pass the bill
asked for by the Belt Electric company,
and as soon as this is done the enter
prise will 60 blithely forward. We as
sure our Peoria contemporary that the
world "do move" out here.