The herald., 1897-01-31
OUR SACRAMENTO LETTER
A Large Appropriation Wanted
for Yosemite Park
NOVEL FOWL PROPOSITION
Assemblymau Lacey Is Evidently Born
fiumorist
The Number and Expense Of State In
stitutions Furnishes Food for Re-
flection-The End In Sight.

legislation during the present session
is the famous
YOSEMITE PARK.
A proposition will be introduced. so
am informed, asking the legislature
to make an appropriation of $4,000 for
the construction of large hotel In the
park, to take the place of the Stoneman
hotel, which was destroyed by fire some
months ago. The park, which COM
prises about S400 acres Of land in the
picturesque valley, being the property
of the state and possessing natural at
fractions unsurpassed, If equaled, any
where else on earth, Californians very
naturally feel proud of 1t and are de-
sirous of having it made as attractive
as possible to visitors Hence the ap-
preparation asked for is not one likely
to arouse violent opposition. On Its
face it looks to people who have not In
vestigated it like judicious way Of ex-
pending money to promote the glory of
California. 1t is claimed that public
funds used in making Yosemite park
attractive are we'll invested; that tour
lists from the unfortunate east who visit
that wonderful spot become so enrap-
tured with the experience that they
are liable to buy property somewhere
in the state and become residents
thereof.
All this is plausible enough. but there
is another side to the question, so far IS
a $4,000 appropriation is concerned. I
learn from reliable sources that the pro-
prietors of the recently destroyed Stone
man house made money with it. while
the state lost money In other words,
the big hotel was a fine thing for its
lessees, and was enjoyed by numerous
geusts, but was an expensive luxury for
the state. The compensation paid the
| board of commissioners, together with
incidental expenses amounts to over
ST. 900 q year. But this Is not all that
can be said bearing upon the appropria-
ton asked for. A well known business
| man of Pasadena who spent several
weeks at Yosemite and made a thor
| ough investigation of the situation, was
here few days ago. He states that there
are two other hotels in the park, owned
and operated by private parties, who
| made the business profitable. even while
the Stoneman house was in operation.
| Also, that responsible parties with
plenty or means stand ready to erect
and operate a mammoth hotel there on
their own responsibility and in manner
| creddtable to themselves. the state and
| Tic pain. AL lHcy WI ait is CHe COLL
| sent of the state authorities. The Pas
| adena man assures your correspondent
| that there Is no necessity for the state
| to build and conduct monster hotel
| for visitors at Yosemite, as has been
| done heretofore. The scheme appealed
| to public pride, and 1t was a nice thing
| financially for the we'll paid managers
| and the seven directors, whose duties
were light and whose compensation was
heavy.
If these statements are facts, and
there is good reason to believe they
are then 1t would be we'll for the leg
islature to pause and do some hard
thinking before appropriating $4,000
for resucitating a scheme by which the
people have heretofore been freely and
unnecessarily bled. 1t would seem that
the grand park under consideration can
| and will be supplied with ample hotel
accommodations by private parties
with no expense to the state. Sixty
thousand dollars saved to the taxpay-
ers will go a good way toward supply
ing actual necessities, and Yosemite
park need not suffer in consequence.
A FOWL PROPOSITION.
The bill introduced by Assemblyman
Lacey to amend the criminal code so
as to include chicken stealing in the
| category of felonies is novelty in leg
islation. Evidently nature intended
Mr.. Lacey for humorist rather than
lawmaker Anyway, his unique prop
osition caused good deal Of merri-
ment, and some of the members seemed
to regard it as an intentional joke.
am assured, however, that Mr.. Lacey
is in sober earnest. He sees no Joke in
his amendment, nor does he offer it
with a view of fastening a stigma on
the reputation of our colored popula-
ton.
But, really, this is whiting grand
larceny down to a fine point. It sug-
gests the possibility of law, sooner or
later, making it a felony for any per-
son to borrow an umbrella and forget
to return 1t. Mr.. Lacey'S amendment
makes no distinction between large
chickens and small ones. Nothing is
said about the stolen property being
big rooster with crow that makes the
earth tremble, or an industrious hen
that lays 365 eggs every year. or a
scrawny little chicken as weak and
worthless 3 stock argument in favor
of the protective tariff system. The
author of the proposition seems to have
ignored the fact that there is wide
range of values among the Growing.
cackling, scra tching fowls grouped I'M
der the general name of chickens Mr..
Lacey's amendment is too vague as 1t
now reads. Before it becomes part of
the statutes II ShOulQ De revised by
committee of experts who are practi-
cally familiar with the raising of do
mestc fowls and the values thereof
Such committee, after careful study
and investigation, might be able to de-
termine where to draw the line through
a chicken ranch so as to locate felony
on one side and mere misdemeanor
on the other. This is important, as eve
ry member of the legislature must see
at a glance. II is but just to the man
who makes or intends to make chicken
stealing a profession that he should
know, when appropriating another per-
sons fowls, whether he is liable to go
to the penitentiary or simply be fined
in small sum and then turned loose
| to repeat his predatory operations.
STATE INSTITUTIONS.
Perhaps only few persons among the
residents of California know how many
and extensive are the public buildings
and institutions within the state that
are owned and controlled by state offic-
ials. In the first place there is the state
house, or capitol, as the building pro-
vided for the legislature and many other
public officials is called. The great
building erected for that purpose in this
city many years ago is the pride of Sac
| ramento and really credit to the state.
The grounds, appropriately called Cap
tol park, comprise thirty-five acres,
which are beautifully adorned with
gra ss- covered lawns trees and shrubs,
which are green and beautiful every day
in the year. The corner stone Of the
| pv.tf 81 10 n L,xk I,.gI