The record-union., 1895-02-25
TIE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY ROAD.

The Marysville Appeals right in say
ing that the effort on the part of San
Francisco capital to construct a railroad
will be an education to the City of San
Francisco in the expenditure of its cap
ital for the development of the State
This feature of the proposed enterprise is
of equal value to the construction of the
San Joaquin Valley road itself It is OF
vastly more importance to a railroad sys-
tenn to serve an enterprising people than
to protect itself against competition. If
the capital generated by any country
leaves that country, railroad system
serving such a people will sooner or later
become worthless. The shortest road to
the bankruptcy of a railroad system is
through the impoverishment of the peo-
pie 1t serves. San Francisco is a rich city.
Its wealth represents the profit of COM
mercial enterprise. It has grown rich
out of the commerce Of the Pacific Coast.
and that commerce was generated by the
industrial activities of all the States and
Territories lying West of the Rocky
Mountains. Having become the reser-
Volr OF this surplus capital, and standing
as the exponent ofthe accumulated wealth
of the coast, it owes to itself as well as to
the coast the enterprising application of
that capital to further industrial aud COM
meroial development.
San Francisco needs many lessons in
the way of associated effort. Successful
undertakings in the direction of railroad
building will be the beginning of other
undertakings. California's resources by
this time should have attracted one mil
lion more people than now reside in the
state. Up to this time the City of San
Francisco, the reservoir of the surplus
capital Of the Pacific States and Terrific
ries, has done nothing in the way of build
been an uncompromising enemy OF the
ing ships, or building railroads. 1t
turned cold shoulder to the construc-
ton OF the first overland railroad. 1t has
railroads already in existence. San
Francisco as railroad builder will be q
vast Improvement on San Francisco as a
railroad destroyer. Let its capitalists en-
gage in the cons1f action and operation of
railroads by all means. This is the surest
method of producing an alliance between
the capitalists of that city and the rail-
roads already underoperation. They have
IpRrU do L.,
An experiment in railroad building and
operation will teach them what it costs,
both to build and maintain roads; will
introduce to their comprehension the diff
fculties which attend the solution of the
problem of rates of freights and fares.
Mutuslity of exigency sooner or later
results in confederation. When all the
leading capitalists of San Francisco be-
come railroad men, however great the
rivalry may be between the system they
construct and the one now in existence.
there Will be mutually of exigency.
AS railroad builders, they will become
railroad defenders. Moreover, az sug-
gested by the appeal, San Francisco cap
ltsiists will learn the great lesson of act :
ing together in the promotion of the in
dustrial interests of the State and the
protection of the commerce of that great
city. The Pacific States and Territories
need metropolis. The existence of
great city in any given area is just
as essential to the proper industrial
development of that country as rain
fall is to the fertility of the soil.
The cooperation of San francisco
capital in the material development
of the territory which supports it should
be hailed as the dawn of new and better
era. The system of railroads existing
should hail this era with delight. Pri-
marily, the greatest resource of any COM
monwealth is the enterprise, energy and
intelligence of its citizens.
Capital generally gravitates to the point
OF It's most profitable employment. If
the capital generated by the industrial
and commercial activities of the Pacific
States and Territories cannot find en-
ployment here, it will go elsewhere, and
to 60 elsewhere means to i'm poyerish the