The herald., 1897-03-09

"Yes, and they were away off," said
our friend from Maine. "I have been
there myself, and know It,"
'Then let's have another commits
sion," said Mr.. FELTON,, "and let their
decision be final"
All hands agreed to this proposition.
except Mr.. Huntington, who, like the
excellent strategist that he is. indus
triously said nothing. This commission
came out to the coast in 1892 and made
q full report on the whole situation,
five to nothing in favor of San Pedro.
leaving the Santa Monica case appar-
entity not leg to stand on.
This took place nearly five years ago,
and 1t is almost incredible that during
all the perior since, the fight has waged
with increasing fervor, until now at
last 1t seems to have come to final and
complete finish. Two separate commits
sions of engineers were not enough to
satisfy Mr.. Frye. He wanted next
commission of senators, and his wish
was granted-at least as far as their
appointment Only one of them actually
came; that was Senator Cullom, and he
was disposed to apologize for it. and
assign other causes for his trip to the
coast. United States senators have un-
6oubtedly some sense of the ridiculous,
and the idea that they were to come
out here and look at the waves of San
Pedro and Santa Monica bays and de-
eide offhand a complicated technical
question of engineering was little too
rich even for them.
H. A. art
ing at this end of the line, for now that
the cruel war is over and we
are all going to bury the hatch
ct, the whole business should
be forgotten as soon as possible.
After all. however. there never was any
great amount of disagreement among
the people at large on this question.
Had 1t been otherwise-had the commu-
nifty been really dfvided--there is very
little doubt that the appropriation would
have gone to Santa Monca-if it had
been allowed at all by congress. The
railroad influence would naturally be
stronger among the shippers than else
where, and practically all the shippers
were members of the chamber of COM
merce; yet when the vote was taken in
that body the majority was two and
one-half to one in favor of San Pedro
By the way, regarding that vote in
the chamber, I had few days ago a
long letter from my old friendly enemy,
John M. Crawley, who is now in Paris,
on that topic. He Gays that 1t was en-
tirely his own notion. and not even sug-
gested by Mr. Huntington. AS Mr.
Huntington passed through the city
only few months before that time,
and seemed very much interested in the
attitude of the Los Angeles people
toward his plan. We had always sup
posed the Santa Monica resolutions
came from him. but 1t seems we were in
error. OF course neither Mr. Crawley
nor anyone else on the Santa Monica
side, ever imagined when they started
In that the final result would be a vote
In the chamber at large. They thought
the resolutions could be quietly pulled
through favorable board of direct
ors, and big point scored in their IA
vor. l could have told Mr.. Crawley
what would happen IL he had ever asked
me about it, but he sprung the resolu-
tions as surprise. In the end he was
somewhat surprised himself 1 want to
say for Mr.. Crawley and Mr. Muir. and
for that matter for all. the local South
ern Pacific people, that they put up a
fair, square fight, in gentlemanly style.
The company has reason to be proud
OF them, for they carried themselves
bravely through a hard situation. As
TO the story the Examiner sprung that
Mr.. Crawley was removed on account
OF his failure to hold his own in the
fight, there is nothing in 1t. Mr.. Craw-
ley left of his own volition.
The prettiest piece of polemics in the
whole affair was the battle In congress
last spring Then 1t was that the en-
my made his great mistake. Before that
time we had been modest in our de-
mands. asking for only one or two hun
dred thousand dollars, merely to begin
the work or to dredge out the interior
harbor. Such sum as three millions
was never dreamed of-we scarcely be-
lteved there was that much money. All
OF sudden, with twist OF the wrist
worthy of Hermann, the conjurer, Mr..
Huntington held up the money. the
whole three millions. bright glittering
and beautiful, right before our aston
tshed eyes, and said, "All this you NAV
have, II you will take 1t my way" It
was magnificent, but it was not war.
He shouldn't have started in on his long
suit until he was sure all of the trumps
were out. Feeling absolute confidence
IN his own champion, the man from
Maine, he hung up the purse, and then
our own Steve got it away from him
From the moment that the question was
referred to an irreproachable board of
experts the contest was at an end. Re-
yond that it was merely matter of
form.
Without doubt the cause was won
chiefly through the almost unanimous
sentiment of the people of this section
IN favor of place where competition
+ was easy, as against a place where COM
petition was-to say the least-dtfficult
Nevertheless. mere unorganized senti--
ment cannot win battles, nor does ~
come into existence without tie inf,u-
ence of guiding minds. When San Pedro
harbor is built. it will be. in the humble
opinion OF one who served as
. high private from the begin
ming to the end Of this war
largely the work of three mem These are
4. E. Gibbon, Harrison Gray Otis and
Stephen M. White. Had any one of these
three been lacking we c0,rld uof v,oss,h,,.