Mexico weekly ledger., 1897-03-18
SOME PEOPLE YOU MAY KNOW
An Interesting Letter From Lee Nc
Cornell, Formerly of Mexico
Has Been q Ledger Sub
scriber for % Years.

Correspondents VI II LCuBot'
Los ANGELES, GAL, March s, 1897.
FRIEND Bob: 1 herewith hand you
nv check on New York for $3.50
to pay for the LEDGER for another
year. This makes % years that the
writer has subscribed for the Weekly
LEDGER, and If it continues in the
future to give the news as it has in the
past l expect to be a subscriber the
balance of the time allotted me on
this mundane sphere.
w. L. Craddock, of your town, rep
resenting the firm of Henry E. Jones,
Of New York, spent a week in Los
Angeles and vicinity and reports do
ing a good business, and said he was
charmed with Los Angeles; that it was
one of the most beautiful cities he had
ever been in.
1t pleased me very much indeed to
see Lee representing one Of the lead
ing firms of the country. When, only
a few years ago, the writer was In the
drug business in your beautiful little
city Lee and Johnnie Marmaduke
were little barefooted boys selling
papers. They got hold of a nickel one
hot day and rushed into the store and
said they both wanted some soda
water, but they only had a nickel be-
tween them. T helped them out of
their dilemma by telling them l would
furnish them two straws, much to the
delight of both, and there they sat
with two straws in the same glass un-
til it was drained to the bottom, when
some drummers, who were sitting by,
being so much amused at their enjoy
ment Of that glass, bought them sew
eral more sodas just to see them drink
it.
L have just returned from Mr.. Men
efee's beautiful foothill home, which
is located at the base of the mountains
in that world renowned San Gabriel
valley. About four years ago the
writer sold to Mr.. Menefee the land
on which this beautiful grove is sit
uated, which was then a cactus patch,
but to-day it is among one of the most
beautiful orange and lemon groves in
the world. The trees are now laden
with the golden fruit, all in full bear
ing. Mr.. Menefee's family are all
with him; also his sister, Mrs. Brown,
who Is looking quite well. Mr.. Men,
efee has been in very poor health, but
Is looking better now than he has fer
some time, and says he hopes to visit
Mexico, his old home, this year some
time.
Nature has done a great deal for us
this year in the way of rains, which
give promise of the largest grain and
fruit crops we have had for years,
Congress has appropriated 5000, 00C
to build us a deep sea harbor, which
insures the building of a railroad from
Los Angeles to Salt Lake City, and the
most conservative men estimate that
in the next ten years Los Angeles will
add 100000 to her population, as the
Salt Lake road will open up n of the
finest mineral districts known to this
Republic. Randsburg, which is locat.
ed about rs miles from Los Angeles
has many rich gold mines, which art
producing from 800 to $500 per da!
each. The fuel question has beer
solved by the development of oil il
and near Los Angeles. We are feel
ing the effects of the Mckinley pros.
/, perity by having hundreds Of men ou'
of employment, and the merchants
almost to a man, claim since the cleo
tion of Mckinley they have had the
hardest times within the last tel
, years. In one of our suburban town
they got in two car loads of "McKin'
ley confidence" and could not pay TIT
freight on it.
This makes eleven years 1 have
been engaged in the real estate, in
surance and loan business in Lo
Angeles. My wife, formerly Mis-
frankie Overton, and l still love Cal
~ifornia, but if we ever make a chang
it will be for our native State, Mis-
souri,.
81 note in a clipping from Pomona
one of our nearby towns, that Johl
d. Cason, formerly of Galloway coun
, ty, Mo-, has recently sold from on
!. grape fruit tree fifteen boxes of crap
fruit. This fruit sells for $40 per BIO,
in New York and d~educting $1.25 TO
freight and packing leaves him $s.7
s per box for this fruit, netting hin
S131.2 2 for one tree. You can figur
out for yourself what an entire or
chard of this would yield. With bes
wishes for you and yours, I remain
your friend, LEE A. MCCONNELL.