The record-union., 1893-05-10
HOME MANUFACTURES.
President c. P. Huntington on Manu-
featuring in California.
The Question of Eastern Competition,
Rail Transportation and Self-Help-
fulness In Developing the State.


pany, was published yesterday in the
San Francisco Examiner, as one of
a series of letters passing between
those gentlemen upon the interest
ing question OF general development
of State resources and the en-
largement of home industries, the
nature and scope of the correspondence
being derivable from Mr.. Huntington's
letter.
What Mr.. Huntington says regarding
manufacturing possibilities in San Fran
cisco applies with much force to Sacra-
mento, and to other points in the State
where there are natural and commercial
suggesting utilization in the
way of manufacturing.
Mr.. Huntington's letter is so clear and
straightforward and is evidently inspired
by such warm interest in California that
it will be read with profound interest by
all our citizens.
23 BROAD STREET,
NEW YORK, April p, 1898. !
Un1. II. 4hflIS, Esq, San Francisco, Cdi.-MY
DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 18th reached
me by due course of mail and have read
what you have written with much satisfaction.
think that you and are in perfect accord
about the matters referred to by you, as l am
quite sure no one would do more than we to
benefit California or the city of San Francisco.
There are quite good many who, for some
reason that l do not understand, seem to be
endeavoring to harm the Southern Pacific
Company, but cannot believe that any con-
siderable part of the population of San Fran
cisco sympathizes with them. Certainly San
Francisco can never grow up to be great city
by merely trading or exchanging commodities
made outside of the State. She must have
manufactures of her own so as to give en-
ployment TO her people. She is so situated
that there are many things that can be manu-
factured there better-or, 1 may say, more
they can be by any other
people, for her climate is almost perfect, and
in n other place in the world, believe, can
the laboring classes live SO wen on fixed
sum.
Mr.. Newlands was in my office a few DAYS
ago. He takes great interest, as we know,
in the prosperity of California, not only be-
cause of his large interests in California but
because he has desire to build up and make
San Francisco q great commercial city. But
said to him that it could not be done by
raising large sums of money to be sunk in
transportation; that if the money he said
could be raised In San Francisco TO build
ships and railroads was turned in the direc-
ton or creating something to transport her
interest would be better served without harm
ing any other interest y large population
must have something 10 do, otherwise the
people cannot sustain themselves either
morally or financially, for there is no saying
that is true with so few exceptions as the one
that 1.-THE devil finds work for idle hands to
do" The Southern Pacific Is certainly doing
business as low as It can be done until the
tonnage is increased. Double the tonnage
and the rates for transportation can be verv
materially reduced us the fixed expenses
which are the great ones that the road is bur
dened with, would b. the same, or nearly So
whether the road should do little or much
business. If San Francisco Will gather the
crude materials from California, Eastern Asia
and the islands of the Pacific and send out
goods all the transportation
l am quite sure-I speak more
of the companies that I in part
control-would distribute the output of her
mills at any price that did not carry with it
actual loss upon the cost of its movement
There are about 5,OoO,O 600 pounds of wool
shipped out ofSan Francisco. How much OF
that 35,OOO,OOO pounds is converted into
yarn or fabrics before it leaves the State? I
think only very small portion. What an
industry that would be for her people! Civ
ing employment to thousands of girls and
boys who are now idling away their time,
and 10 thousands coming face to face with
many temptations to which they would not
be exposed if some good, honest work were
offered to them. suppose these 35,OOOOOO
pounds ofwool that go out bring to the State
no more than S7,0oO,OO0, when, if it was
manufactured into the great variety of goods
into which it is susceptible of being manu-
factured, the amount would be at least S35,-
0O0,ooU-a great sum to be saved to the
state; but the great difference in money is
not the greatest blessing that it would bring
TO the State. 1t is the labor which would be
given to her people.
think the ramie plant could be raised in
California and other parts of the world and
gathered into San Francisco, and there manu-
featured into such articles as are needed tor
mans use. which would be an immense in
dustry, and would of itself support a large
city.
1t is SO with many things that 1 will not
enumerate here, but the two articles that
have mentioned could be manufactured in
city Of New York-at prices as low as any at
which they could be procured from other
parts of the world, and when it came to the
distribution of the product l would promise,
for the Southern Pacific Company that il
would put them into the furthest markets
that we could reach at a rate barely above the
cost of actual movement of the trains when il
was necessary to do so in order to reach these
remote points of distribution, and the train
movement is but a small part of the expenses
OF operating a railroad.
1 do believe that if the people of San Fran
cisco would consider this matter more than IL
seems to me they have considered it in the
past, they would come to the conclusion that
their city cannot be built up altogether bv
cheap transportation. The TRANSFORMATION
lines running out from the Atlantic seaboard
will not allow San Francisco to any very con-
siderable extent to take goods manufactured
here or in Western Europe, and return them
any very considerable distance eastward from
the Pacific Coast. When we talk to them
about Transporting goods from here and
bringing them back to Salt Lake they say that
it cannot be done successfully; that they can
and will lay goods down there which are made
and transported from this side direct at less
rate than they can be run upon the longer
line. We must remember, too, that this is
entirely reasonable, and, in fact, logical. On
the other hand, they would not make the
same efforts to meet the prices on goods
manufactured in California, because that
would be fighting, as it were. an unknown
quantity.
out of our sixty-six millions of people
sixty-two millions of them live east of the
one-hundredth meridian, and only four mill
ions west OF il, while the acreage OF the West
is larger than that of the East What we
want to do IN San Francisco is to gather GER
tam things that we can send to the mass of
the people east OF the one-hundredth meridian
and it can be done and done successfully with
many things, but not with all. Certainly San
Francisco can never be at her best until she