The record-union., 1893-03-23

more than happens to nearly every city
in one way or an other in its history.
San Francisco, situated upon hillsides
and with rocky foundation, has suffered
from watery assault as has Stockton.
Yet no one will for a moment speak of
San Francisco as city exposed greatly
to floods, since she has no river nor any
torrential stream or even rivulet near
to her doors.
What our Stockton neighbors will dis
cover, however, is this, that the news of
their little accident will be greatly dis
torted and magnifed. Despite all the
able and vigorous press of that city can
do, the story will go and grow. that the
city has been flooded to twice and thrice
the extent of the truth, and that the dam
age has been hundred fold greater than
the facts warrant. 1t will be found that
Stockton values will be talked of as tax
ing injury from this storm accident,
when in fact there has nothing happened
Oiis1e ouSHt W VI Will III IdCt uepTtcldte
values single cent. Such cities as Balti-
more, Chicago, Louisville and the like
have had inundations several times, due
to great storms, that proportionately were
hundred times worse than this little
descent of water into the city of the San
Joaquin Valley, and no one thought of
the accidents depreciating values. But
unless we are greatly mistaken our Stock
ton friends will find that their little bath
will be magnified and speculated upon
and distorted by careless and sensa-
tional press, until they will be vexed to
the verge of losing temper.
A few years ago little high water
backed up through some old pipes and
hollows and stood six inches deep on the
outer side of the water front in this city
for two blocks, just as high tide will
rise upon the banks of an estuary. There
was no water in the city and no more
danger of a flood than of one on the top
of Telegraph Hill, in San Francisco, yet
many of the State press reveled in COL
umns about Sacramento's flood" and
sensational journalism ''got in its work'
by printing exaggerated pictures of an
old boathouse and two or three such
shells full of water, where they hung
over the outer edge of the river embank-
ment, while owl-eyed editors greatly
speculated upon the Sacramento flood
and its effects upon the Capital City. If
we mistake not some of our big-hearted
contemporaries in Stockton were led into
much the same indiscretion at that time
little before that far down the river
leyee broke, and at the same time the
back-water from one of the same rivers
that has sent its wash into Stockton came
up over bottom farm lands below this
city and to our southern border, but not
drop entered the city, and not so many
acres were flooded by the backset OF
water, all put together, as are now COW
cred by water on any single farm in the
San joaquin Valley. Yet it went all over
the State that Sacramento was under
water" and sensational journalism again
piled its infamous trade of exaggeration
and alarm.
Because we know precisely how all
this is, we sound warning note now for
Stockton. She has had no more happen
to her than is liable to occur in any con-
siderable community from one cause or
another. She has not been damaged to
amount to song. Five days after this
storm center passes one would not know
that there had been more than heavy
rain in our neigboring manufacturing
city. Let the press of this State in this
instance, if not in any other, play fair and
decently. We are all too much inclined
to give each other black eyes, to indulge in
belittling tactics toward other towns and
cities than our own, forgetting what the
demands of truth exact, and that we in
jure no town of California that we assail
one-half so much as we damage Califor-
MIA and ourselves by such assaults.
Stockton is all right, and any sensational
stories about her temporary bath ought
to be nailed to the cross of truth.