The record-union., 1891-02-23
Home AGAIN.
California On Wheels" Returns From
Its Long Journey.
Northern and Central Counties Missed
Great Opportunity for Adj
yertiSing Their, Products.

California on Wheels arrived here
yesterday afternoons by the local train
| fromaNillows, and was sidetracked at
tn Vest end of the depot. 1t consists of
! three cars, two of them containing ex-
hibits of fruit and Cher products of the
State, the third being occupied by the
gentlemen having charge of the exhibit.
The train was not expected to arrive
here until this morning, hence very few
people were at the depot. The cars will
! be thrown open this morning at $50
O'Clock, and those who wish to see what
has been shown to the Eastern people in
the way of California products can avail
themselves of the opportunity at any
| time up to Tuesday afternoon. The eX-
hibit may possibly be here longer if the
managers receive special instructions to
that effect, but as yet none have been
! forwarded to them.
LONG JOURNEY.
5. j. Mathes, of Los Angeles, Superin-
tendent Of the exhibit, and f. B. Smith,
| who has also assisted in showing visitors
through the cars during the entire trip,
were seen yesterday by RECoRD-UNIoN
| reporter, and they gave few interesting
notes OF their journey over the United
| States.
''We started out on the third day of
December, 1SS9," said Mr.. Mathes, land
| here we are in Sacramento again on Feb
ruary y, 1891. We have been travelling
now nearly fifteen months, and we've
| been on the go all the time. These cars
have travelled over fifteen thousand miles
OF railroad, and, as nearly as / can esti-
| mate, fully 100000 people have visited
the exhibit. We have been royalty treat
ed by the people of the East, and 1 know
this has been
A GRAND ADVERTISEMENT FOR CALI
FORNIA.
'VisitorS have wondered at what they
saw In these cars, and very often it was
impossible to convince them that certain
fruits or nuts could be and were grown in
this State. Why, scores OF people have
doubted my word when 1 told them that
almonds and olives grew here. They
| would not believe it, and when they We're
shown the oranges and apples they mar
| Veled at the size of them. Both of our
carsIShave been boarded by crowds OF
people wherever we have stopped, and
while those on the inside were looking at
the fruit, hundreds would surround the
cars and wait until they had an opportuni-
ty to see the exhibit.
I'VE We're very lucky" continued Mr.
Mathes, lin avoiding accidents on our
trip. We have been before and behind
them, but were never detained by one for
engine OF our train ran off the track ON a
bridge, but did not Overturn the cars. A
few of our glass jars were broken, and
the front platform badly shattered, but
the damage was soon repaired.
INDIFFERENT TO THEIR INTERESTS.
"There was one thing we lacked, and
| that was sufficient quantity of green
fruit We ought to have been able to
give people now and then sample of
what we showed them in the exhibit, but
we could not do so. True we received
regularly every week during our Journey
through the East different varieties of
fruit and vegetables from Los Angeles,
but Northern California practically paid
no attention to US, and the people of this
| section of the State can blame themselves
for not taking advantage of the golden
opportunity that was offered them to adj
vertise their section. The southern farm
ers naturally get most of tho praise, be-
cause they were continually sending
something that was fresh and inviting 10
the eyes of visitors. The only things sent
us from the northern part of the State
during our entire trip, were four boxes of
grapes from Mr.. Murphy, of Brighton,
Sacramento County, and
A SQUASH FROM BUTTE COUNTY.
We did the best we could with these and
the preserved fruit to show the people
what Northern California was able to pro
duce, but it was nothing to the showing
that the people of this section should have
made.
I'm the past two weeks we have stopped
at Yrela, Redding, Red Bluff, Marys-
vile, Chico, Willows and Woodland, and
told the people there that they had not
| taken the interest they should have in the
exhibition. We soon convinced them
! that they were negligent in that respect,
| and we were assured that they would do
better when the cars were started out
again.
From this city sCalifornia on Wheels''
will go to Stockton, and thence to Oak
land, which is the end of its journey.