The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-09-09
aays VIXEN her mines proaaoea Annually

TIE fruit trade Of California with New
York city has grown enormously of re-
cert years. and the wisdom Of her people
in making the most Of their resources Is IN
favorable contrast xish the folly Of South
esH states. like south Carolina and the
Calf statss. which neglect tropical fruit
farming despite their nesrness 20 the great
cities Of the North.
The gold fever. which originally sent
tidal wave OF emigration TO California,
brought With is. of course. vast number
OF worthless people representing the dam
gerons classes Of society. bat with these
desperate men came = large Number OF
very able and intelligent men Of business.
lawyers and other men OF professional
training. IL 10 safe 70 say that from 1870
70 Isg0 California received rs large
stream Of intellectual, educated enigrants
as any state In the Union. The brilliant
men of broken fortunes went from every
state TO California to begin anew: and the
brilliant men who were just starting out
in life TO make fortune hurried TO Cali
fornia. The intellectual impress of these
men Of bright parts who swsrmed from
all the states TO San Francisco was early
exhibited IN the history Of that remark
able city.
The history of the vigilance commit
tee" of 1856 is the story OF one of the most
remarkable events of our time. Editor
James King Of the Bulletin for seven
months poured red-hot shot into the ranks
of rnfsianism. murder. fraud and corrup-
ton until shot down like dog in the
street by Casey, one of the municipal
scoundrels whom he stigmatized as a Jail
bird. Without Kings moral courage the
conscience Of San Francisco would not
have been kIndled: without his martyr
dom IL never would have burst into fame
and been forged into trenehant sword OF
public justice in shape of this vigilance
committee"
The intellectual quality of the people
of San Francisco In 1856 was shown
by the fact that when they did rise
in rebellion against anarchy, intrenched
under the forms of Law. they reas-
suned the civic powers. which had
been stolen, abused and prostltuted by
those 10 whom they had been delegated.
with dignity, calmness, sagacity and
self-restrant that Is without parallel in
history. They erected a court. a jury;
they provided counsel, they examined
Witnesses; they did not abuse their
power. and the record Of their
four months absolute rule is
unstained by q single act of impurity,
selfshness, injustice or cowardice. They
rose instantly into dignified and power
ful tribunal, and they disbanded with un-
diminished dignity at the very height Of
their power. They were no 'mob;" no
'lynching party" they were 6.oo0 of the
best citizens of San Francisco forced into
rebellion by corrupt courts elected by
stuffed ballot boxes; by corrupt sheriffs
elected by rnffians whom they permitted
to ply their vocation by street murder
without interruption or arrest.
As an illustration OF the extraordinary
exceptional power of the Saxon race for
seif-goyernment unde- dangerous circum-
stances, the vigilance committee of 1856
was one Of the most remarkable events IN
the history OF modern times. Its delib-
GRAFTON, sobriety, success proves that the
leaders of public opinion In San Francisco
at an early day were men of very superior
intellectual and moral quality.
In New Orleans. Cincinnati. Omaha,
Denver. Memphis, Decatur the rebellion
against law was brutal outburst of ignor-
ant popular rage; there was no conscience,
no delibcration, no real public opinion be-
hind the revolving ruffianism, and so their
story Is but biotch of blood on the pages
of our history; they were mere riots, but
the uprising in San Francisco was not
revolt against Law and order; IL was
rising OF the people to rescue law and
order and justice from the hands of out
laws posing as municipal officers and
sitting on the bench.
When we remember that the present fine
civilization and wonderful prosperity of
California have all come about within
forty-thrce years, and that the first half Of
CALIFORNIA; life as a state was nearly fin
ished before the completion of the first
great transcontinenal railroad placed her
IN close communication with the country
east of the Mississippi and the Atlantic
seahoard. il is right to say that California
has accomplished wonders. For nearly
twenty years OF her life she was in state
Of comparative social and political isola-
ton from the heart of the nation, while
today she Is but six days journey from
New York
California is today the most remarkahle
growth of ali the states of the Union,
measured by her original isolation. by the
quality of much of her first gold-seeking
colonization and by the rapidity with
civilization aud prosperity.