The record-union., 1896-04-05

put faith in legends, certain man be-
came dissatisfied with his immediate sur
rcundings, and determined to visit other
countries and see the world and its Won
ders. For years he travelled up and
down, back and FORTH and, at last, when
age had overtaken him, neared the
place of his birth, discouraged. But
upon arriving at his old home he stood
lastonished. The wonders of that home
and the beauties it contained, far sur
passed anything he had seen on his
travels.
! For the uninitiated, Sacramento has a
wonderland such as one would not see,
even on a long journey. 1t a wonder
land replete with life and energy, where
cne may see wheel within wheel, all re-
volving toward a uniform end; where
one may look and look and see sights he
never dreamed of, and may look again,
and turn away vaguely conscious that
he is so confused that he is not sure of
having seen anything.
| Then if the wonder-seeker will make
a second trip, say week later, he will
ccme away with panorama painted
upon the canvas of his mind which has
strong, overalled men in the foreground
and pandemonium of sounds for a
background, while the interval between
| is filled with network of screws /. I
wheels, and belts ana bars, and rods
and blocks, and giant cranes lifting and
turning huge blocks OF rough iron that
would have defiad the combined
strength of even the prehistoric giants
who constructed the pyramids of Egypt.
| Or he may have recollection of fiery
| furnaces throwing out sullen glow into
the smoke-laden atmosphere, and of be-
| grimed, perspiring men moving to and
1ro, and he will involuntarily think of
the three Hebrew children who walke>.
| in the furnace when the wo.1c was new,
and the use of coal as a heat producer
was unknown, and will somehow Won
der, whether he wills it or not, whether
| that feat of endurance was after all.
very remarkable. Or he may remem-
Der having seen ghoul-like forms deIv-
ing into or patting down heaps of sand
i'll the thick of a ghostly half-twilight,
and he will shudder as he recalls stories
told to him in childhood about vampires
with fiendish appetites for the blood of
dead men. Or he may carry away
men, with nerves as nicely gauged as
the hair-spring of watch, who by a
few strokes Of the brush cause roses to
cioom In barren spot. and who talk to
him quietly about anything rather than
the work they do, and all the while the
swift, steady brush moves on and
changes the scene even before his eyes,
as changes the chameleon
Then, again, he has seen cunning
work performed by nimble fingers.
which has reduced the coarse metal into
shining, glittering coil, or smooth
plate, or probably into skillfully
turned hook, such as lady might de-
light to hang her Easter bonnet upon.
and will half believe that brass is king.
and that the men who work it are
eeniis of a Sociable turn, who attend
strictly to business and play no pranks
outside of their guild
AND then there are other things to see.
and others, and still others; men who
pound rivetS into great big boilers all
day, and make the visitor wish he had
been born deaf, and men who use strong
canthooks upon which they toss heavy.
thick pieces Of pig iron through set of
|
bars so slender that they bend under
! tnelr own weight; and men who stretch
pieces of bright cloth over ungainly
springs covered with coarse seaweed,
which results in seat soft enough to
suit politician.
| Ii is truly wonderland. Yet it can
not be seen in a day, nor in two davs.
out when once seen will never be for
gotten. 1t is not a place of gardens and
fountains, and rosy children and beau
teous sirens, but It is a place where
labor reigns supreme, and phiIosophv
teaches that if labor is not always beau
tlful. 1T is at least dignified
| And this home wonder house is nh
shops of the Southern Pacific Railroa 4
Company.
| Those same shops are one of the things
that have made 1t possible for Sacra-
mento to become the city she is. They
were first located here in 1869 about
the time the stupendous task of span
| ming the continent was in full SWAY.
Never since then has there been a time
when an army of skilled artisans and
sturdy laborers have not been EMPLOYED.
and never has there been a time that
/ the city has not been benefited by the
| coin Of the realm turned loose by them.
For each and everyone of those toilers
! in the shops is paid monthly salary.
which runs a specified gamut, according
| as his labor is valuable to his EMPLOYER.
They are worthy of their hire, and Sac
| ramento may be congratulated upon
| having an army of worthy, willing and
able men.
People often dislike to discuss pecu-
MARY matters If they refer directly to
| themselves. but the simple statement
that those men receive monthly, or an
| nually, or for decade, an enormous
| amount of money, most of which is
turned into the channels of trade in the
city, is, to say the least, ambiguous.
| After all, the mathematical rule that
| figures won't lie" still applies, and a
statement of fact expressed with those
same figures-the nightmare of school
girls-will throw much light upon a
somewhat obscure point. Money is the
motor which moves society and secures
personal independence and dignity. and
| that the amount thrown into the COM
munity by the railroad shops is not by
| any means Insignificant the following
estimate, compiled from the books Of
the company since 1868. will prove:
There has been paid for labor ex-
pended in the shops:
From 1863 to 1870. ........ S4,1OO, 900
From 1870 to 1880. ........ 5000 900