The herald., 1895-01-14
THE VALLEY RAILROAD
IT MUST CONE SOUTH.

railroad, if built by private enterprise, must
seek its distributing terminus at Los Angeles.
A few of the San Francisco papers Try to- max
themselves believe that there is ghost of a
show for the bay district in this matter. But
even these efforts are half-hearted in way.
| and they meet rather with sarcasm than en-
enlargement from their local contemporaries.
| Here is an instance of this kind from the Daily
| Report:
| 'As TO HERITAGEs AND THINGS.
"The destiny OF San Francisco like the Star
| of Empire, moves westward and the lordship
| of the commerce OF the Pacific is her heritag :.
| Morning Contemporary.
1--WE don't know about that. OF course, San
| Francisco, placed as tits ought to have large
marine commerce, and in time Il will. When
| it does not cost a producer more to ship car
| load from Fresno to San Francisco than it
does to send it from San Francisco to New
| York, it will be profitable to load ships here
and supply markets that way. But san Fran
cisco ought also to be the supply depot for all
the United States. so far the products of
| Northern California are conc srned, and it will
be as soon as Southern Pacific monopoly rates
have been cut in halves by the means of rail
way competition"
| And the San Francisco News Letter, which is
| supposed to know all about Mr.. Huntington
and his plans, has this to say: There is some
talk OF competing railroad through the San
errble dissatisfaction in regard to the one
which NJ. Leeds CONSTRUCTED several years ago
| on paper--as it has consumed more wind
than the traffic would bear 1t is refreshing to
| know that there have been few days OF ST.
| lence and inactivity since another yearly con-
tract for $40, 900 has been entered into. That
| will almost carry him through until another
political campaign, when the scheme will be
revived, if Huntington should not think it
| best to counsel differently"
| outside OF San Francisco there is but little
difference of opinion as to which direction
Fresno and her sister counties must look for
commercial cid. One might almost say that
there is no difference OF opinion at al for
| surely the utterances OF the few railroad or
gans scattered here and there throughout the
state can hardly be dignifsd as opinions. Land
and Water has no railroad collar Oh its neck, as
| you can see by its own animadversions on the
Valley railroad plan.
| early last summer, before the question had
been discussed in Los Angeles newspapers, in
| commenting upon the lukewarmness manifest
ed by the San Francisco Traffic association in
the matter OF subscribing to tha capital stock
of railroad up the San Joaquin alley, says
Land and Water Eve took occasion to call at
tention to the fact that the cause of this was on
account of the fear by the merchants OF that
city that such action on their part would result
| in their being Disseminated against in the
matter OF freight by the Southern Pacific; or.
i'll other words that they would rather be the
only terminal point in that religion than 10
have Stockton, Fresno and Bakersfield made
| terminals when the new road was built. AS a
way out of the difficulty we suggested to the
people of the valley that they turn their pro-
posed road around and instead OF building to
San Francisco, where they would not make
any competing traffic arrangements, build to
Los Angeles, where they would be able to
make advantageous trAnscontinental connec-
tons, and that by so doing they won d be ap-
preaching the eastern markets instead OF 60
ing away from them.
Evidently the valley people, and good
many Los Ange es business men as well, have
been bordering these suggestions, aud the
movement to have the road head this way has
become quite popular both here and the
| other side OF the Tehachepi. Our esteemed con-
| temporary, the Daily HERALD, has become so
| enthusiastic over the project tn at it even i'm
AGNES that it is the originator of the idea, and
is doing good work to help the matter along,
albeit it couples with it some very visionary
ideas about the people OF California bonding
themselves to build a -ai road from Siskiyou to
| San Diego, with branches to every point OF
| the compass"
Land and Water errs trifle in its remarks
about THE HERALD. The claim OF originality
in this matter was never set forth by THE HER
AID. How could it be, when the subject was
first preached by the people OF Fresno them
selves? What THE HERALD has done and is
still, doing in the way OF keeping the question
before the people and arousing public interest
speaks for itself.
And as to the project for state trunk line
being visonary-well. time will tell that.
There's no use in quarreling over it now. But
Par Fran Inv eli II md
is Edison at present. And for visionary men,
| where could the equals OF those who signed
| the Declaration of Independence be found the
| wide world over? But let that pass now. Land
and Water says other good things as for in
| stance:
| ave are glad to see this matter taking the
| shape it has, for it would result in good to Los
| Angeles and all Southern California. The san
joaquin valley is an empire in itself, and it is
| being filed up by an energetic population
from the eastern states who's ideas OF business
and even OF politics are in sympathy with those
of Southern California, and they would feel
much more at home in the hustling, live and
! growing city of Los Angeles than they do
among the antediluvians of San Francisco.
| And besides this, their commercial interests
would be subserved by such change in their
/ business connections They appreciate these
facts, and boldly say that if Los Angeles will
| come 10 tnelr relleI now they Will cast thelr
| lot with us, not only in business, but will stand
in with Southern California, even to a division
| of the state.
with the state line running along the
south line of MERGED county Southern Cali
| fornia would get about half the territory and
nine-tenths Of the business energy and, as the
French would say, the clan OF the state Our
nor hern neighbors appreciate this, and the
upper portion OF the state appears to be bs-
| tween two fires, either of which will burn up
| their power to the 'cow counties" to pull
| out their political chestnuts If the state is
| not divided the south will soon be in the ma
jority, and can control the politics OF the state;
| on the other hand, if division is accomplished,
| they lose the better half of what is now Cali
fornia. They have heretofore talked loudly OF
| the want OF patriotism OF the divisionists, but
now when they see their political power wan
ing, they forget this and practically say, as
| Horace Greedy said to the south at the begil-
| ming of the war: 'Wayward states, depart in
| peace The bisecting knife loses its terrors
| when the fesh-pots of Office arc slipping from
between their fingers.
THE southern hall of the state is the only
section where extensive railroad building is
possible. To the north the country is cut