The herald., 1896-04-12

terminal facilities at the harbor front.
As has been explained, all but very
small, narrow strip Of the available
land fronting on the proposed harbor
is either owned or controlled by the
Southern Pacific, and the strip re-
ferred to is already encumbered with
the Southern. Pacific railroad tracks
that lead to its long wharf. The South
ern Pacific is now on the ground, and
with little expansion it could simply
crowd out the possibility of any other
road sharing that ground with it.
If it were true that the Santa Fe rail-
road could enjoy amply and freely the
benefits of deep sea harbor at Santa
Monica-that the access of that road to
it would be the same substantially as
the access enjoyed by the Southern Pa
cific-Mr. Huntington would not be
working alone for the project, the Santa
Fe people, who are not entirely without
influence and not averse to securing the
traffic that would come to them if they
made the tide-water connection, would
get in and help, and the old gentleman
and his special harbor experts would not
appear so lonely in Washington. If the
Santa Fe company could see the large,
flowing opportunities for 1t at Santa
Monica that the friends of the Southern
Pacific harbor speak Of so blithely, 1t
would, without the slightest doubt.
speak up in voice in behalf of that har-
Dor site loud enough to be heard and
needed at the federal capital. AS mat
ter of fact it is notorious that the Santa
Fe people are opposed to the location Of
a deep sea harbor at Santa Monica and
that the representatives of that road
have SO expressed themselves time and
again. They have the same foundation
for their antagonism that the people at
large have. They also know that their
company would have the same show at
San Pedro that any other railroad COM
pany would enjoy, and that they could
build to that point at comparatively
light expense, their present Redondo
branch being only about eight miles
from San Pedro.
To the people of Los Angeles. who
must in a general way be familiar with
the railroad situation in Southern Cali
fornia, it seems task of supererroga-
ton to refute the statement that If a
harbor is built at San Pedro the South
ern Pacific will enjoy monopoly of the
business of hauling material, whereas if
the harbor work is done at Santa Mon
lea, the Santa Fe will share in the traf =
fic. For reasons heretofore given it
is quite apparent that the Santa
Fe would not haul single car
load of the rock that would be
used to construct the Santa
Monica breakwater, but it is plain that
if the construction is done at'San Pedro
that three roads, the Southern Pacific,
the Santa Fe and the Terminal will be
enabled to compete for the business of
transporting the necessary material.
On each Of the lines mentioned there
are large quarries of the kinds of rock
that would be used, so that the govern
ment would have the benefit of compe-
tition both in the purchase and trans
portation of rock. The Southern Pa
cific and the Terminal lines now go di-
rect to San Pedro. and the Santa Fe can
either build to that place at small ex
pense from it's Redondo terminus or
reach it with freight over the Terminal
line.
| Aside from the admitted superiority
| of San Pedro over Santa Monica for
| the location of deep sea harbor, the
difference between the former and the
latter is the difference between natural
competition and unnatural. grinding
| monopOlv