The herald., 1895-02-24
THE VIEWS OF
COILS p. HUNTINGTON
ON THE HARBOR
Why the Southern Pacific Company
Doesn't Spend Its Honey on
San Pedro
Washington, Feb. l2, S95.
A. B. Hotchkiss, Esq, 221 West Fourtl


A. B. Hotchkiss, Esq, 22l West Fourth
street, Los Angeles.
My Dear Sir:-Yours of the 4th, with
newspaper clipping enclosed is received.
| see that the article in the Los Angeles
Herald treats upon different subjects. AS
to the division of the state have 10
opinion except to say that whatever is
best for all the people | shall certainly be
pleased to see done; but before making
any division it will be well for the people
to understand and realize the expenses of
two states will be substantially double
what the expenses of one state are, and to
be sure that real and substantial benefits
are to be derived from such a change to
offset this extra expenditure of admins
tration.
AS to the irrigation question, l take it
that every well-wisher of California is in
favor of irrigating the largest acreage pos
sible, and it would seem that there is
water enough to irrigate nearly all of the
land on which the levels will allow water
to be taken. | think the western slope of
the Sierra Nevadas from, say, Tehachepi to
Redding is shed furnishing more water
tnan any other water shed in the world,
excepting perhaps the Hmalayas in India,
and believe there is water enough on
the western slopes of the Sierra Madre
and the San Jacinto Mountains to irrigate
all the land between those noun ntains and
the sea, il properly cared for. The ques-
ton is How can it be done? 1t can only
be done for the benefit of the state on the
careful, economic lines on which individ
uals manage their own private business.
| have spent much time in examining
into the value of these different bonds
but some of them seem to lack the vital
element that all investors of money wish
to secure, viz, absolute safety.
l have thought that If some scheme
could be gotten up by which one general
bond could be issued and the amounts
subdivided for the different districts, all
to be handled by some one banking house,
so that on any sales there would be IA dis
tribution pro rata among the different dis
tricts, each, of course, receiving consid
Grafton according to its importance, that
would be the best solution of the ques-
tion, as the Eastern and European pub
lie have to be first educated concerning
the value of securities they think of buy
ing, and no one can afford to SO educate
loan, equally well secured, always com
mands u much larger price than a small
one, because this has only local market
while the first has the worlds market.
Such bond would have to be thoroughly
examined and passed upon, ] think, by
some of the best minds in the state as
to its value as security and also by the
higher courts of the State as to its legality
before it could be readily placed in the
money centers of the world.
note what you say about parties in Los
Angeles building breakwater at San
Pedro mean doing the windy part of
the work. The Southern Pacific, as you
know, had large interests at San Pedro
and has them now, and if we had thought
1t was as good a place as Santa Monica
we certainly should have expended our
money right there and endeavored, with
all possible energy, to have the Govern
ment expend it's money in creating a
great harbor there; but it is not the best
place and, in my opinion, the Govern
ment will not select it for harbor on
which its money should properly be ex-
pended; and my reason for being conf
dent OF this is simply because San Pedro
10 not the best place and Santa Monica is
Santa Monica is protected from all winds
excepting directly west wind. On the
north it is sheltered by Point Firmin and
on the southwest by Point Dune.
The parties who control Rattlesnake
Island and who have some other small in
terests connected with it are spending
some time-in fact should say, rather,
all their time-in trying to prove that
San Pedro is the right place for harbor
and they are sending agents out (colpor-
teurs. perhaps you might call them) to
distribute tracts throughout the country
showing that San Pedro is better place
for harbor than Santa Monica. The
6outhern Pacific has neither the time nor
the inclination to show it's faith in that
way. 1t has shown it already in sub
stantal enough way, it seems to me,
by its action in abandoning its in
terests at San Pedro in order to To-
cate in the really right place for a harbor
Santa Monica. Had San Pedro been the
right place and had the Government
lected it, the company's property there
would have become extremely valuable;
but the company deliberately retired from |
San Pedro where it had much, to Santa |
Monica, where it had nothing-except |
as you may say, the railroad running to |
that point from Los Angeles, which was |
veil enough as an excursion road-and in |
vested something over million dollars |
there in erecting great pier, by far the |
best one between the Straits of Magellan |
and the Straits of Fuca and, might add |
probably, the best wooden pier in the |
world, and in making other improvements;
and it did this in line with the policy |
that has always actuated the Southern
Pac fc Company of sacrificing, if need be. |
that which is bad, or that which is even |
fairly good, for that which is the best.
The people interested in, or employed |
by the proprietors Of Rattlesnake Island |
have stated here and elsewhere that we
monopolize all the waterfront room at |
Santa Monica, but | have publicly stated |
that there was plenty of rooms for all |
there, and that others, if they did not
want to build their own piers and the APP
proaehes to them (for which there is am
pie room south of the s. p. Co.'S pier), |
they were at liberty to use our pier and
SO much OF the approaches as might be
necessary by either paying n fair proper
tion of the cost of the property and i'm
proycments SO used, and the proportion 1