The record-union., 1897-05-14

The latest information in connection
with the Fair Oaks Electric Railway
enterprise is the following letter ad
| dressed yesterday to President Stef-
fens of the Chamber of Commerce:
Sacramento, May -, 1897.
Hon. Joseph Steffens, President
Chamber of Commerce. City-Dear Sir:
In view of the kindly interest your hon
orable body has taken in the Sacra-
| mento, Fair Oaks and Orangevale Rail-
way and the encouragement given the
enterprise, report is due you of the
progress made.
With the first attempt to build the
road and its failure, you are familiar.
Subsequently, General Thompson had
all preliminary arrangements made and
capital subscribed, and would have
built the road had not the unfortu-
nate failure of banks at Minneapolis
seriously crippled his subscribers to the
stock.
Two months ago I came out in be-
half of the Howard & Wilson Publish
ing Company to make the third at
tempt to build the road as | reported to
your body. Since then we have been
diligently at work and now report that
along the line through whose lands the
railway passes have generously granted
us the right of way and signed con-
tracts to that effect
1 have also to report that five citi-
zens of Sacramento have each sub
scribed $4,000 towards building the
road. We must now raise an addition
al $4,000 in subscriptions to the bonds
in mo 70
ken by your citizens there will be no
difficulty in raising the rest of the
money from outside capitalists to COM
plete the road. 1t would be to Sacra-
mentO's credit, however if all the
bonds could be taken here, leaving the
annual interest in circulation in your
midst instead of going abroad
/ have found the citizens of Sacra-
mento willing to assist in every reason
able way, thus disproving the stories
so frequently heard abroad that Sac
ramento citizens lack public spirit and
faith in their own section
These bonds will be a safe invest
ment. They Will be secured by the
railway, its franchises and equipments
and other additional revenue producing
securities.
We do not ask subscribers to the
bonds to pay any money except as the
work progresses. Every dollar as paid
in viii go into the construction of the
road
We have not undertaken to promote
this road as a speculation, although
many of your citizens, well qualified to
judge, say it will pay from the start
We propose to see it built, however
because it was promised to our Fair
Oaks purchasers and we are working
to make the promise good
The road is essential to further prog
ress at Fair Oaks and when built our
work will go rapidly forward What
that means to your city can be readily
estimated by the amount of our pay
roll for labor, teams, etc, in cutting
wood, blowing, grading roads. cultivat-
ing, planting trees, etc, for April. which
amounted to 81, 1856 %. This money
largely came from the East and goes
into all the avenues Of trade in your
city.
Not only will developments go for
ward in Fair Oaks, but all along the
line of the road. Subdivisions will b.
made. lots sold ond houses built. 1t
will break the crust of your city and
give 1t a chance to spread and grow
In conclusion, allow me to say, that
with its natural advantages of loca-
ton, Sacramento has no peer in any
city in the State. The area of country
tributary to it is as large as New York
and New England combined With
reasonable enterprise on the part of
its citizens. there is no reason why it
should not rapidly grow.
Thanking you for the valuable as
| sistance and encouragement rendered, I
am, yours very truly
JAMES w. WILSON.