The herald., 1894-05-10
THR LION IN THR PATH.

| LOS Angeles VINO OOeb NOT WISH TO see
her become great manufacturing city.
In recent issue of the HERALD we gave
brief sketch of our local factories
which employ local capital in every
branch of legitimate and recognized in
dustry. 1t would not have looked very
large in paper published at Newark,
Lowell. Lynn or Springfield, but as
those cities have several score years the
start of us in manufactures, we cannot
help thinking that our showing was a
creditable one.
The great need OF Los Angeles is cheap
fuel. at about an equal distance north
OF San Francisco we have a formidable
rival in Portland, which has a popula-
ton nearly equal to ours. Situated but
IS miles from the Willamette falls,
power large enough to run three such
cities as Newark, she is transferring
into Der local work by means of electric
wires a degree of cheap power that
means great deal of local wealth iii the
near future. Los Angeles has no such
power at her command.
Her only recourse, then, is to obtain
cheaper fuel for steam purposes; and how
is that to be obtained? The coal meas
ures of Vancouver island and Puget
sound are already either owned or con-
trolled by the great railway corporations
who want the coal for their locomotives,
and therefore will not sell their coal at
prices which our newly founded local
industries can afford to pay. They
claim the supply of coal ia none too
plenty, and perhaps they are right. But
from the present aspect of the question
it looks as if coal would cost more before
it can be had for less. Such is surely
the case unless coal from the new and
! extensive fields along the proposed line
of railroad hence to Salt Lake is brought
here.
Naturally, therefore, we look to the
petroleum fields of the adjoining county
of Ventura to help US out. Refuse Pc
troleum ia already in general use in the
boilers of the power houses attached to
our street railroad systems; and in addi-
ten to furnishing an amplitude Of
power, creates no smoke, such as is 30
painfully discernible at Chicago. But
| the present supply is wholly inadequate,
or every steam schooner that carries
lumber between Puget sound and this
place would use it as being the most eco
nomical of all fuels. The development
Of Ventura's oil interests is identified to
some extent with the progress of Los
Angeles in the line of manufactures.
But the supply OF refuss oil for steam
generating purposes is wholly dependent
upon the sale of refined oil ior illumina
| ticn.
Right here is where we find the lion
standing in our path. The Standard Oil
company, with it's army of Paines, Rock
eiellers, Brewsters and other petroleum
princes, blocks the road already. For
the past two years this gigantic monop-
oily has been slowly and surely acquiring
an octopus grip upon lands in Ventura
county. The freight on carload of coal
oil from Ohio to California amounts to a
very handsome sum of money; and
! to save that freight the great monop-
oily is acquiring lands all the
time, to enable it to etife and
choke down all competition at this eide
of the continent. 1t looks forward, not
only to supplying the Pacific states and
the Australian colonies from the Ven
tura oil lands, but also contemplates
the coming of tiMe when the supplies
of oil in Ohio and Pennsylvania may be
considerably reduced and when oil
trains will run eastward from this state,
as they crossed the continent westward
in the years gone by.
If the Standard Oil concern would
only enter extensively upon the manu-
facture of refined petroleum on its
newly acquired lands in Ventura county,
thereby putting upon the market an
increased quantity OF refuse oil for steam
purposes. Los Angeles would have moth
ing to fear. But the danger lies in the
chsnce that they will hold their Ven
turs lands as last chance and not de-
velop them till the decadence OF their
eastern possessions compela them to do
90. Los Angeles could use five gallons
OF petroleum refuse whore abe now uses
one, if she only knew just whereupon
she could depend for a steady supply.