The herald., 1893-12-29
SOME OF THE DISTINCTIONS OF THE
ANGEL CITY.

lOfulus
To begin with, this is q region su gen,
eris. There is no occasion for any exag-
geration in treating of the city and
county OF Los Angeles and of several
other cities and counties south OF Point
Conception. They are absolutely with
cut parallel on the American conti-
nent. They are all that Nice, Mentone
and the Mediterranean coast of Africa
can be to anybody. and far more to an
American. They possess the climate of
the Riviera with the additional over
whelming attraction that they are un-
der the gladsome sway of the stars and
stripes. This fact is gradually becom-
ing widely known.
Restricting ourselves to Los Angeles,
there are many things that can and
ought to be said Of young city that is
unique in the history of American cities
for growth. There are are today in the
thirty-six miles which form the super
fcies of Los Angeles quite eighty thou.
sand people. This wide, urban territory
OF itself is quite ambitious. II is within
fraction Of being one-third as large as
the territory embraced in London. which
contains four millions OF people.
Shall we ever fill it? Undoubtedly,
with certain limitations. The Angel
City, outside of certain central portions,
will never be a crowded city. 1t will
always be noted for its exquisite, park
like residences, fragrant and ksleido-
scopic, from the aroma and the parti-
colored brilliance of flowers and lawns,
oranges, lemons, magnoliss and cy-
press. 1t will grow up into city such
as we shall seek in vain for parallel
anywhere else on the footstool. There
are young men here who can remember
Los Angeles as q 'dobie town. They
have seen her pass from the 'dobie
into the stage OF the modern American
dwelling and business house, employ
ing wood, brick and stone. There are
men in our midst not very
young who will live to see Los Angeles
city of marble, brown stone and onyx.
1t will all be in u regular and natural
progression. The writer first saw Los
Angeles in the spring of 1873, when it
only had five or six thousand inhabit-
ants. and in that twenty years he has
seen it increase sixteen fold, or sixteen
hundred per cent. Who can put limit
to the growth of place that ia making
headwsy at such seven league boot
pace?
Los Angeles has not only the excep-
tional advantage OF climate to assist her
in her rapid advanSemsnt. bnt che 10
now seen to possess unsurpassed COM
mercial elements of growth. From Los
Angeles to Galveston is by long odds
the shortest route across the continent
within the limits of the United States,
and this rule holds good whether we
draw the line from San Pedro. Rsdondo
or Santa Monica. Not only is the dis.
tance less than half.that from San Fran
cisco to New York, but commercially it
is shorter still. There are no great al
titudes involving heavy grades; there
are no snow sheds, with large sums for
their erection and maintenance. Not
only has Los Angeles the shortest road
across the continent in the Sunset
route, but she has almost a monopoly
of all the desirable tranHcontinental
lines, including the Santa Fe. and
through the Santa Fe the Atlantic and
Pacific and St. Louis and San Francisco,
and through the Sunset the Texas Pa
cifc. With the splendid harbors that
are growing up on our seabosrd, includ-
ing Port Los Angeles, Redondo and San
Pedro, we have here all the conditions
of a superb commerce absolutely conti-
mental in magnitude. The early COM
pletion of the Nicaragua canal under the
auspices of the United States or some
other power will greatly enhance these
advantages.
1t is only lately that it has been the
fashion to regard Los Angeles as m an
ufacturing point of any marked proml-
nence. All this view of our future has
been neglected in the past, but intolli-
gent people are making up for lost time,
and are revising their estimates, as
we'll they may. The prospect of the
early completion OF the Nevada South
ern railway, will pour into this city i'm
mense quantities of both the base and
the precious metals, and reduction
works, smelters, rolling mills and
foundries will follow as matter of
course. Manufactures OF crystallized
iruits will be leading feature Of our in
dustries, and very considerable begin
ming has already been made in this line.
Wines and brandies are distinctively
manufactured staples, as are olive oil
and picked and preserved olives and
the canned and preserved fruits. Our
petroleum deposits have already begun
to attract the attention of the outside
world by the magnitude OF the produc-
ton in the Pico canon in the Puente
oil fields and in Ventura county.
Meanwhile there il no contesting the
supremacy OF the region contributory to
Los Angeles IN the citrus and many of
the deciduors fruits and in the English
walnut and other nuts. The fact is that
the wonder grows that we have been
able TO do so much in the brief period
which has circumscribed our efforts.
Our leadership in the great staples OF
commerce Of all ages, corn, wine and
oil, is certainly uncontested on the
American continent now, and in these