The record-union., 1892-09-16

stiInes. ,lnd lastly, for his social, moral and
intellectual worth
we OF California are SO isolated from the
rest ofour own country that our influence in
the great populous centerS of the republic is
hardly felt And yet we are compelled TO
Draw our population from these distant local
tiles. therefore special and peculiar induce
ments must be offered to encourage immigra-
tlon. The fact is, the producing classes of the
East know very little of California's special
attractions. Our soil, our climate. the variety
and rare abundance of our productions the
beauty of our scenery, the extent and value OF
our forests, and indeed our geographical and
stood and appreciated by the great mass OF
our countrymen living on the other side OF
the continent
The truth is. Notwithstanding our immense
advantages over the rest of our country in
productive capacity, yet the cold and forbid
d1ng region lying west of the Missouri River
ana east OF the Rocky Mountains is being pop
ulated more rapidly than our own State.
10 some extent, this is attributable to the
Iact that we are remote from the centers OF
Eastern population, and that it costs too
much to come here: but there are other and
more potential reasons land reasons which we
can control) that tend to keep population
away from California.
First. we must let the American people
know our advantages. The fact is, it must be
made clear to an Eastern man that 1t is to his
interest to come here before he will cross half
continent and settle in q new and strange
land. That is to say, he must be reasonably
certain that he can make more money from
the same amount of labor here than there.
And
Second, he must be reasonably certain he
can get lands here for fair price, because as
LnlS is not largely q manufacturing State,
Iarinlng Tor long time to come will be our
chief occupation.
They must be made to know that the pc
culiarlty and abundance of our productions
ana the geniality of our climate does add to
the value of our lands. and does increase our
chances for making money.
In AlxYt hot 80 ,Nf NreNf1 y,
what we produce, as it is what we sell our pro-
ducts for, that secures success. And in this they
are right. The remedy is that we must have
better, more rapid and cheaper facilities for
transporting what we produce to an Eastern
and foreign market
II this can be accomplished, then our popU-
latlon will increase, because our opportunities
Tor making money will be enhanced For in
stance, our green fruits must be transported
rapidly and with reasonable cheapness. Cold
storage by car is yet experimental. Cold stor-
age by sea is an assured success. Within the
next three years the California fruit crop will
be doubled in amount, and if we are guided
by the new orchards being planted, our fruit
product will double within the four years next
thereafter. We must anticipate these condi-
lions and prepare to meet them.
Everything else beng equal, land transpor-
tation under the most favorable circumstances
cannot compete with water. But water trans
portation around the Horn" can never be a
success with perishable articles. The remedy
rests In the early completion Ofthe Nicaragua
St1dl Win lIllS great cOnLlnenUaI waterway
completed, we can land freights in Central and
South America, in New York, Philadelphia
and New OrleanS-nay, in LondOn-aS quickly
as we can now in the ordinary course OF
freighting by rail. The result would be that
the markets OF the world would be opened to
us, our industries would receive new and in
spring impetus. our commerce would grow as
it never grew before, our products would find
more ready sale at fair prices, our lands would
improve in value, our great ranches would
thus become too valuable to hold in vast bod
les, for increased and uniform taxation would
make the division of these lands necessary
our population would double in half a decade
our railroads would be equally benefited, be.
cause their prosperity depends upon popula.
ton and production, and the general prosperity
of the country will be their prosperity. The
greater the population the more production
and hence the more freighting and passenger
traffic.
1t is said that 80 per cent. of the business OF
the California railroads is local. Double the
population and see what effect this would
have on their traffic. The fact is patent thai
the more freight shipped to foreign markets
by sea the more will have to be hauled from
inland 10 the sea, and ii is equally patent thai
much of Calitornia's products cannot stand
the freight charges of overland transportation
and thus competition by land and sea is al
absolute necessity TO our prosperity. And
STILL however useful competitive railroads
may be and which competitive railroads every
producer is in favor of, yet California viii
not reach real prosperity until the Nicaragua
Canal shall have been completed. When this
is done, in addition to the benefits already re
ferred to, submit that our industries viii be
quadrupled, our rivers will be utilized for the
purposes OF Irrigation, "a new and eVer-increaSine
population will make this the most prosper
Gus State in the Union. In fact we must be
prosperous to encourage distant people in
coming here.
We cannot anticipate nor can we fully ap
preciate the effect which a large population
of our State. Our public roads would be i'm
proved, our schoolhouses and churches would
be multiplied and well filled; our villages
would become towns and cities, and oul
farms, though smaller in extent, would be
better titled. Our productions would be-
largely increased, and our social and political
conditions would be greatly improved.
Add to III these the fact that California pro
duces many articles and in rare abundance
not produced anywhere else in the Union
like olives, the European grape, figs, almonds
English walnuts, aprlcots, pruneS and raisins-
ana it will be noted that wealth will accumu
late here more rapidly than anywhere else il
America.
To show how important to California's
prosperity is the subject of transportation
need but quote from figures which have been
furnished me by the Southern Pacific Rail
road Company, namely: In 1891, the South.
ern Pacific Company shipped over its lines
East, and of California farm products, lSS.
977 tons; and their fruit shipments for the
fruit season of 1892, up to August list
amounted to 2,419 cars, as against 1,7OS
cars for the same period OF 1891.
The above shows the wonderful growth OF
this industry, which is an object lesson that
should encourage the whole Industrial world
10 come here and enjoy our abundance
The next step necessary to take to secure
population Is to divide up the vast landed
estates found in California. This cannot be
done except at the will of the owners 1t is
not necessary to be done except when the
land is arabic. 1t is admitted that small
farms do not pay in California, when devoted
TO wheat raising or to pasturage. But small
farms and small farming do pay when ue
voted to fruit raising or when irrigated
These great ranches will not be divided and
sold unless it is made to the interest of the
owners to do so, or unless the owners die. Die
they must sooner or later, but this is not q
hopeful remedy; and further, this process OF
division is slow and does not meet with the
present necessities of the case.
Graduated taxation has been recommended
by some. That is to say, to increase the taxes
as the acreage of each owner is increased
This would not be constitutional, and in any
form is unfair. The only point seems tn he in
making II possible for small farms to pay as
is now the case in many parts of Southern
California and in the fruit-producing locaIi
ties of Central and Northern California
This can be accomplished by irrigation
Once make irrigation business in the north
ern and central parts of the State, and tax al
the lands in the irrigation district to main
tain the bitches, and the price of land will be
enhanced. The owners of large tracts car
thus sell at an advantage, or if they continue
to hold their lands they will do so at a disad
vantage, because they will be taxed to main
tain irrigation, which is unnecessary to then
for the raising of wheat. l do not say tina
irrigation is necessary TO raise fruit in mos
parts of the great Sacramento Valley for it i:
not. But 1 Go say that whatever its use tn,
capacity of land is more than doubled by frri
CATION, and this State would be greatly bene
tited by irrigation, because many small farms
with q large productive capacity increast
wealth. advance agriculture, build up anC
maintain a higher civilization, advance the
value of land by increasing its use, and thus
multiplfes our population. There is also 5
political side to this question. 1t is undoubt
eddy true that the ownership of great tracts o
land in the hands of few men in q FIRE,
country tends to create class distinction de
creases the productive capacity of the land
because small farms produce more acre fol
acre than do large tracts of land handled by
one owner. True, the use or farming machin
cry TO some extent has done away with tn