The record-union., 1896-05-27

traditions connected with tnat place.
Il went to Santa Monica and made as
thorough an examination as | could
! there. l asked Colonel Crocker to go
over and examine the two locations. ana
he was in perfect accord with me in
thinking that San Pedro was about as
bad as it could be and that Santa Mon
ica was probably the best anywhere
for probably a couple of hundred miles
of seacoast. I asked Mr.. Hood, our
Chief Engineer to make thorough in
vestigation, which he did, and ne also
reported that Santa Monica was very
much the better location for a deep-sea
harbor; that a larger area OF protected
harborage could be acquired there than
at San Pedro, while the holding ground
was much better, and the harbor, in
short would be very much safer. For
my part, do not believe that any har-
Dor can be constructed on the plans
proposed that will protect San Pedro
from the terrible southern storms that
| blow up against Point Firmln When
such winds strike vessels lying there If
| they should drag their anchors they
would certainly be destroyed on the
rocky bluffs at Point Firnin. At Santa
Monica we have fine sea beach with
i perfect holding ground and since we
| located at Santa Monica I have often
examined the headlands and my judg-
ment has been strengthened and con-
firmed that we had selected the best, in
| fact the only place for safe harbor in
| the neighborhood of Los Angeles.
! "At any rate, my belief in Santa Mon
| ica was SO strong that we left some
| thing over 81 100000 of investment in
San Pedro and went to Santa Monica,
where we had no property excepting a
small road used mostly for excursions,
and invested there something like ST.
OOO,UOO IN building a pier and other i'm
! proVements necessary to accommo-
| date the commerce there. During the
| three or more years that we nave been
| there shipping has been coming to the
| pier almost every day, and there has
not been one day when ships could not
put on and take off cargo at our pier
The steamer San Benito, drawing twen-
ty-seven feet of water and many other
| vessels drawing twenty-five feet have
| been going to that pier regularly for
years. What we want is the very best
| harbor to accommodate the commerce
| that is sure to come there, as the port
for Los Angeles must be used for a very
| large area of country, to include the
| Pacific Coast, the commerce as far east
as Ell Paso, which includes nearly all of
| New Mexico, all of Arizona, southwest
ern Utah, much of southern Nevada,
and all of that beautiful though not
large area of country lying south of the
| Sierra NevadaS and west of the San
Jaclnto, probably one of the most beau
tiful spots upon the earths surface
The growing city of Los Ange-
les, now containing abour 100000
people, have no doubt will in time be
| a city extending to the northwest, which
| Will cover its own present limits and
also Santa Monica. l believe that in
| twenty-five years continuous, well
bu1lt-up city will extend from the pres
ent city of Los Angeles to the shores of
| the sea at Santa Monica Such a city
| ought to have a harbor of it's own.
| There is nice little village at San
Pedro at present. considerable improve
| ments have been made there: and I
| should hope the Government would
keep accommodations there for the
| small water craft they now have: but
do not see why they should have any
thing more than that to accommodate
| the traffic that would go there. The
| great deep sea harbor for Southern
l DSlItNc w III De, as L KNOW 1t
| ought to be, at Port Los Angeles.
! Much has been said about the ac-
ccmmodations of other roads there: but
| must say that believe those who say
| that know better. At least. those who
nave been there must know better, and
| those VINO have not are, at least, mis-
| taken; Tor, as L have said, l will agree
tc put ten other tracks along under the
~ Inf vla,.S
racine are now built, on the same level
as those, at $1,000 a mile for each
| track Other roads which want to use
our tracks can use them on the same
| conditions that we do; that is. paving
| interest on a portion of the track ac-
| cordng as their business compares with
| that or the Southern Pacific Company
Ii they wish to use the pier of the
| Southern Pacific Company it can be
| used in the same way; and when I say
ten tracks it means that there would be
| twelve tracks there, and that is more
than will be wanted in the next fifty
years, for there is hardly limit to the
| tonnage which can be taken over
| twelve tracks
L do not bother myself a great deal
about what the people of Los Angeles
think or say. | said before that I did NOT
care what they thought or said. The
ships of Maine have more interests in
this great harbor of refuge than the
ships of Los Angeles to-day. and no ona
can tell what the people of Los Angeles
| do think. We have had some of them
| before our committee. One dav thew
| think one way and the next day thev
| thnk the other way. A year ago they
held Congressional Congressional
Convention and put the candidate ON
a plank for the expenditure at San
Pedro, and a week ago they held a con-
| ventfon in the same district for Los
Angeles, and they put the same candi-
date on a plank for Santa Monica. So
it is not of much consequence.
Here more time was taken up by an
interruption by Senator Berry as to the
| meaning of the plank in the platform
referred to-
Mr.. Frye then quoted from remarks
OF ex-United States Senator Cole of
California before the committee against
San Pedro, and submitted long extracts
from the report of Engineer Corthell.
| in which he sustained the harbor at
Santa Monica in every respect and at
! tackS the harbor at Santa Monica. Mr.
| Frye then said:
I am now obliged to read some. The
engineer of the Southern Pacific. as
was stated yesterday. is Mr.. Hood, and
the Senator from California (NIr. White)
and no one else attacks his skill as an
engineer. l propose to read this be-
cause it is a communication made to