Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-03-23
SOME POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC
FEATURES OE CALIFORNIA.

silNeI states anu the more SOOer state
ment of Professor keasbev in the Jan
uary Forum are both alike warnings of
the Tact that the interests of section
of the county have been sacrificed to
the the more paramount interests of the
whole. The real meaning and impOr-
tance of State boundary lines are only
seen when they happen to coincide with
the boundaries between different ecUno-
mic or social interests. The cUmpro
misses of various kinds which will have
to be made as time goes on will be
the easier to reach If we recognize frank
ly the existence of conflicting interests
and of sections differing from one an
other in the problems which they will
h I'VE to solve. The State Of California
represents one of these separate sections.
California is in many senses country
by itself. In area equal to France, 1t
stretches from one end to the other of
the temperate Zone and has all the
varieties of climate and of products.
1t is cut off from the rest of the union
on the east by twelve hundred miles of
desert, q ossed by only two lines of rail-
roads. and on the north by all but i'm
passble mountains through which a
single passenger train passes each day.
In many respects Boston and New York
are nearer Europe than they are Califor-
mia today. The economic interests of
81, A., l., 70
ample, are far more similar than those
of any other part of the union and Cali
forna.
The character of the people and many
of the institutions has been determined
by its history, history of practically
much less than 40 years. 1t never had
terrtorial} government, but sprang
full fledged: into statehood. Its cities
and towns grew up with unprecedented
rapidity. Its people came from all
parts of the. union and represent less
uniform element than any other part of
our country. Early habits fixed cur
rency different from that of the other
States. The basis of this is gold in
actual circulation, not in the vaults O.
the banks. Paper is seldom seen and
only accepted on closest scrutiny. The
miserable copper pennies and two-cent
pieces are unknown except as curiosities
and pocket.pieces. The smallest coin In
circulation is the fve-cent nickle.
The main effects of the great struggle
between the North and the South here
were not connected with the issues a.
stake int the war. They were two in
number. The first was brief none
tary panic caused by the attempt of
debtors to. pay their creditors in the
deprecated legal tender greenbacks and
the efforts of the creditors to ensure
specie payment (gold) by State law
The second was the building of the first
transcontinental railroad. In other
respects California remained unmoved
by the war. While Just before the
great struggle other western territorie;
desiring admission to the union were
almost torn IN two by the strife between
slavery and antislavery parties, Cali
fornia, lying on both sides of Mason anC
DiXon's line, if extended so far, and set
tied in large part by emigrants from the
southern slave States adopted, an anti
slavery clause in its first constitution
almost without debate. Even thai
great question was not vital here.
The first problems which this State
had to grapple with were very different
from those of any other part of the
union. In those early golden" day:
of sudden conquest and sudden wealth
two things were imperative. The frs
was to secure possession of the conquered
country. For this dependence was haC
on national assistance and that depend
ence gave Use to an enthusiastic pa
triotism which has not fluctuated. The
second was to secure some form Of
stable government. This was even more
difficult than the conquest. The vicis
STUDIES of mining life, the varying
chances of fortune, gave even the mos
legitimate business wholly speculative
CIdIdCttI' HS eager Sttktl lNl loIluH'
had no time for the duties lof citizenship
The passion for speculation took hold OF
all and changed the character of the
population both for the worse and il
some respects for the better. Yet the
fact that the earliest arrivals were tC
some extent picked men, the survived
fittest of those who had had the energy
and courage to start on such an eXpedi
ton, accounts for the surprisingly
small number of mistakes in the public
policy of the earliest years. These
earliest settlers came ria Panama OF
"overand" from the Southern States
They composed at first curious mix
ture of motley elements since merged
IN one decided type. After 1869, when
the railroad came through, new influx
of less able, less desirable arrival:
changed the character of the people fol
the worse. Fortunately the institu