The record-union., 1893-10-27
OUR OPPORTUNITY.
Chance to Advertise Northern and
Central California.
From the Red Blur News.

From the Red Bluff News.]
Northern California ought to look upon
the Midwinter Fair with special favor,
since 1t affords the part of the State north
! of the Tehachapi mountains an opportu-
nifty long needed. and which could not be
! better. For twenty years alter the State be-
/ gan to be settled by the whites little was
known of the southern part OF the State.
| by California was understood that part IN
which mining abounded, and of which
| San Francisco was the metropolis. Los
/ Angeles was a small and unimportant
town, and the amount of productive land
! around it was regarded as very limited:
/ The county Of San Diego was CONSIDERED
/ as a desert and worthless, with but Ittie
! exception. The same may be SAID OF San
Bernardino. For years past the condl-
/ tions have been changed completely.
These southern counties are the most
! prosperous part of the State, and in the
minds of Eastern people, are California;
that is to say. when they think and speak
OF California as a desirable place TO visit
or migrate to, they have Southern Cali
fornia in their minds. Everyone who is
familiar with the history of the develop
ment of the State knows how the change
came about. 1t has been the result of
superior enterprise controlled by Won
derfuI Intelligence and tact. While
Northern California was asleep and
would not be awakened, few enterpris-
ing citizens of the south availed them-
selves of the completion of the transcon-
tinental railroads to advertise their Sec
Jlon of the State, and succeeded in awak-
ing great interest in the East and attract
ing large immigration which included
many people of wealth and refinement
The introduction of water for irrlgatlng
purposes converted the desert into fruit
fuI fields. and, where nothing was seen a
few years before but cactus plants, sage
brush and horned tOads, there are luXurl-
ant orange groves and wonderful vegeta-
ton OF all kinds, that can be made TO
grow in semi-tropical climate.
After the south had succeeded in at
tracing attention to itself and people
were pouring into Los Angeles by tens OF
thousands, Northern California. half
awake, made feeble attempt to initiate
the example OF the south and attract at
tention in this direction, but it was too
late. Everybody visiting California went
TO Los Angeles and once there but few
could be induced to come this way, for
the cunning southerners took pains to
make them believe there was nothing
here worth seeing. In fact, they were
told that this part of the State was not fit
to live in, that the winters were cold, that
snow lay on the ground in the northern
valleys six months in the year and that
they were frozen in the winter down to
their roots. Eastern people who came be-
lieved this and those who did not settle
i'll the south returned home without see
ing Northern California. Delegations
were sent to Los Angeles to try 10 remove
this impression among strangers and in
duce them to visit the north, but to 10
purpose. The unfavOrable impression
thus received still fingers in the Eastern
mind and it requires the employment of
some extraordinary means to remove it.
What could be better than the Midwinter
Fair? 1t will bring Eastern visitors, we
hope many thousands of them, into the
very midst of the splendid country which
has been tabooed by Misrepresentation
and through misinformation and will do
more to remove false impressions and
build up California than any other agency
we could have brought into service would
have done in ten years. Should the Mid
winter Fair succeed in attracting to itself
a host of Eastern visitors it will start
such boom for Northern California as
will almost frighten the silurian popula-
ton and make it prosperous in spite of
itself.