The herald., 1895-02-27
The Memorial Was Taken to
Sacramento Yesterday
1T is A POPULAR MEASURE
Our Representatives at the Capital Will
Now Be Fortified
aFhe Salt Lake Railroad Bill VIII Become
Law and All the Citizens Have to Do
Will Be to Vote the Bonds

The merchants of Los Angeles are en-
thusiastic over she prospects OF bill be-
ing passed at Sacramento which will
allow the people of the county to vote
upon the proposition OF issuing bonds for
the construction of the Salt Lake Rail
road.
II the road is built the San Joaquin
Valley road as at present projected will
not have its terminus at Bakersfield. 1t
will have to be built to Los Angeles, and
by having its connections with the
Salt Lake road the people of South
ern California will be perfect
ly independent of the Southern
Pacific Railroad. They can ship their
products directly East by shorter route
than the Santa Fe, and the expense will
consequently be much less.
The committee which leaves for Sacra-
mento is confident of securing the passage
of the bill sent to Assemblyman Bulla or
the amendment of the Matthews bill. In
either case the same end will be subserved
1t will then rest with the people of the
county whether they will build and oper-
ate the road. The city OF Gin
to Chattanooga, Tenn, and the line
is in operation today and pays handsome
ly upon the investment. 1t has been of
great benefit to Cincinnati and the Salt
Lake road will make Los Angeles the
metropolis of the Coast.
This county has a climate second to none
on earth; its land is as rich as can be
found any place, and when cultivated its
products are in demand .all over the
United States,
The building OF this road will open up
contiguous country rich in mineral de-
posits and containing valleys of fertile
L., L.. 4 1..,,1 .1.l
will only be a question of time until
small towns spring up, the inhabitants of
which must necessarily give their trade
to Los Angeles.
The building of the Salt Lake road will
make the establishment of manufactures
in Los Angeles a necessity. The iron ore
along the line will be smelted and shipped
into this city, and foundries will have
to be constructed to work the pig-iron
into implements.
We have large number OF oil wells at
present developed which can furnish cheap
fuel to any number OF manufactures
when they are built. Los Angeles will
then be enabled to give employment to
mechanics, which class of people is always
needed to build and maintain large city.
The Herald's petition of $500 names was
taken to the capital yesterday by Nathan
Cole, Jr., and will be handed to our rep
resentatives. 1t will fortify them in their
elioTts W lurtner tne Wisn vi thelr Gull
stituents.
The following timely editorial is from
last evenings Express:
Now that Los Angeles has decided to
build the long contemplated railroad to
Salt Lake, it must take hold of the pro-
ject with energy and push it to compile
ton. To have begun an undertaking of that
character and to have failed, is worse than
not to have begun at all. There is no
question of success if the matter is prop
erly handled. But Los Angeles must start
the list herself. She is perfectly able to
do it. Cities of not one-fourth the popu-
laton and not e-tenth the resources
have secured railroads by energy and puch,
and everybody joining in and helping.
There does not need to be mush talking,
but there does need to be good deal of
work done.
The towns in the states north of Cali
fornia have set examples that can very
tie have always been ready to donate
rights-of-way, and to contribute in money
and land to any competing railroad that
would build to them. They even started
to build railroads of their own before
either OF them had 20, 900 population The
result is that there are four competing
railroads for population not much great
er than that of Southern California, and
with nothing like the resources of this
section. Only few days ago the dis.
patches told how Spokane, a town not
more than fourth the size of Los Ange-
les, which has suffered a financial col
lapse as great as that of any town in the
country, raised $4,000 in cash and gave
1000 acres of land to the government to
enable the federal authorities to establish
an army post there.
This city could raise great deal more
money than some of its citizens seem to
think, if the people will initiate the San
md fba hi
all join hands to make the Salt Lake road
a success.
Before outside help is called for, home
energy must be shown. Los Angeles must
show that she herself believes the road
will pay. The time has arrived when we
must go forward or backward; we can no
longer stand still. If San Francisco builds
a road east via Bakersfield, this section
will be cut off in corner as badly as San
Diego is now. Connection will be made
with the SAINT. Fe, and the road to this
city will be little more than branch line.
These are things that any one can see may
occur-nay, will occur-unless Los Angeles
own railroads as well as San Francisco.
In this present day world of competition,
great commercial rivalry and a struggle
at every point for success, the commun-
ity as well as the individual which re-
mains quiet and waits for prosperity to
come to it, will find itself well in the
background in no time. San Francisco is
a notable example of this. 1t remained
idle confident of its commercial super
iority. until half it's trade was lost and
thousands of empty houses were to be
seen lining the streets. Los Angeles must
other towns which have commanded sue
cess by their own indomitable energy and
enterprise.