The herald., 1893-10-08
CARPENTER AND STATE DIVISION
How He Estopped a Bill for
That Purpose.
The Senator's Great Speech Against
State Division.
Some Documents Recalling n Rccen
State Campaign - Reply to
the Senator's Argu-
ments.

While digging in some dusty old pig
con holes the other day. type written
manuscript of State Senator Carpenters g
speech on Pomona county was discov-
cred. If it had not been for this speech
state division bill would have been in
troduced in the Legislature of 1891. as
will be shown by the following corre-
spondence:
Los ANGELES, CAL, Jan. 27. 1891.
Hon. ]. E. McComas, State Senator, sacramento,
Cal:
DEAR SIR-As you will remember on
the 18th of last March, while at the
Downey avenue depot in this city, on
our way to the Cross railroad celebration
in Pasadena, we had some conversation
about state division, and you then
promised me that you would introduce
a bill to that effect at this present seH-
sion of the legislature. | have not had
time till now to get up the bill. In
closed you will find one. 1t is almost an
exact copy of the act of 1863, which was
then passed by the legislature, signed
by the governor, and lies in the pigeon
holes of congress. Only in this bill |
drew the dividing line on the natural
dividing line, the summit of the noun
tairs, which separate Northern from
Southern California. / have submitted
this bill to several lawyers and they
say it is correct. OF course, no one ex-
poets that it will now pass. but the OBJ
ject is to agitate the question and keep
it as live issue before the people and
make them think and talk about it and
find out who are the real friends of
Southern California.
The state proposed by this bill, in
cludes an area OF about 10000 square
miles, has a population of
about 100000, and pays annu-
ally about $1.500,000 of tax money into
the state treasury, of which very little
comes back most of it goes to San
Francisco. When we reflect that this
is population equal to any of the new
states recently admitted and twice as
much state tax as lie required to run the
states of Oregon, Washington, Montana
and the two Dakotas, Minnesota and 20
other states of the union, the fact ia
clear that South California could run a
state government on levy of 35 cents
on the 800, and keep all her money at
home instead of sending the 81, ,500,0 900
annually to benefit Northern California.
Well, could give you a whole book
full of arguments on the proposition.
SAcRAMENTo, Jan. 81, 1891.
B. A. Stephens, Esq. Los Angeles.
DEAR SIR-Yours of the 9th contain
ing bill for state division duly received,
and l confess to the conversation re-
ferred to by you, but since then things
have changed somewhat, and I do not
think it would be the best thing to do at
this time. Since Markham was elected
on an anti-division platform, and since
Carpenter charged us Pomona people
with being state as we'll as county di-
visionists. / herewith return your bill,
which, however. keep for future uae.
Yours truly, j. +. MCCoMAs.
Following is an extract from Senator
r. B. Carpenters speech before the
senate committee on boundaries, Janu-
airy 26, 1891, and referred to by Senator
McComas. a.. askoi'
The question of Pomona county was
before the committee. Judge Carpen.
ter said: gsatna
1T is not very long time since we
had very great deal of excitement in
Southern California in regard to di-
vision of the state.
"What was the argument? Why, that
we had to go 800 or 600 miles TO get to
Sacramento, the capital of the state,
and about 800 miles to reach San Fran
cisco.
"We were told that the Tehachepi
mountains ran between, and there was
not community of interests between
the northern, the middle and the south
nf ofoto &ho =
feeling, there went hand in hand this
request, reaching to iconoclasm, to cut
up old lines, and generally to set out
upon career of adventure and expendi-
ture.
"Where were these gentlemen then i?
Were they for the state of California :?
No; but / stood by it, and my friends in
Los Angeles stood by it, and we crushed
the monster to death; not by their
hands.
Encourage county division. encour-
age this cutting of old ties, and you will
no more than set these gentlemen up in
their new homes, you will no more have
sweat and the tofling of others, than
snake is scotched, not killed.
VIA yOu bthAu u6 WIZ btOOQ ny
you? Will you stand, sir, by your
friends or will you 60 over to your
foee? I told them that would not sur
render little lot in the great state of
California, with its magnificent future,
the queen of the Pacific slope, with it's
gigantic city and magnificent bay of
San Francisco, that is to be one of the
wonders OF the world, will, its luxuriant
valleys of the south, and its wonderfully
fertile plains in the middle of the state,
and its grand old redwood forests in the
north that tower to heaven in sublime
grandeur, and makes one lift his head
as though in the Creator of the forests
themselves. / told them / would not
surrender one little jot of my interests
to save travelling 1000 miles to go to the
capital OF the state.
'sWhen the distinguished gentleman,
that now has the honor and is honored
by being the chief magistrate of this
state, was a candidate, was not the hue
and cry raised against him in the north
that he was for the division of the state
And if he had not contradicted it and
proved it, he never could have been
nominated and elected.
"Are you going to dismember a coun-
try, with its public institutions and
public thoroughfares and the like? Are
YOU going to cut it in two to please the
base ambition and the sordid wishes OF
a few political hucksters who can see
nothing in state sovereignty; who can
see nothing in state government;
who can see nothing in the broad lines
~ tho oreat stste Of California and its