The herald., 1897-06-23

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them. from Richard Kerens down, 4
known to own q vessel, great or small
nor is likely to. 1t - not the safety o
ships they are after, but the protection
of operations wholly on land, which op
erations may be- in need Of the expendi,
ture of government money at San Pedro
At all events. their ships are not in dan.
ger. I refer, of course, to the leading
partisans of the San Pedro movement
and not to those who have been mislec
by clamor, by calumny, by denuncia.
tion and by caricaturing, all Of which
have been most literally INDUCED In by
the more active spirits; a mode OF con
tention that always indicates weakness
of argument; it finds no warrant in the
public welfare and but miserable ex-
cuse in private interests.
The expenditure of three millions of
dollars. and prospectively Of much
larger sum, at San Pedro within the next
few years, would undoubtedly inure ia
the temporary advantage Of Los Ange-
les. but much more and permanently to
the advantage of San Pedro. which II
would certainly tend to build up. But
| the construction of a harbor at Santa
Monica, SO near and so directly in line
| with Los Angeles would inevitably
make this city the commercial empo-
rum of the Pacific coast for the Oriental
and transcontinental traffic. 1t would
advantage Los Angeles to the extent.
not of two or three millions. but Of hun
dreds of millions; not for three or four
years only, but for centuries. Instead
of building up rival seaport town to
draw off our population and wealth, 1t
would extend our borders to the ocean
shore and increase our population by
hundreds of thousands After careful
consideration. 1 unhesltatingly say that
Los Angeles could we'll afford to con-
struct the breakwater at Santa Monica
at her own expense rather than to lose
the advantages to result therefrom.
The principal attack of the cohorts Of
San Pedro has been upon Mr.. C.P. Hunt
ington. He has been assailed on this
harbor business time and again, in the
most violent manner; not merely be-
cause of his interests at Santa Monica
(for his interests are much larger at
San Pedro), but because of his supposed
partiality for the former as the more
suitable place. am not Mr.. Hunting
tons advocate, nor his defender, but the
solemn truth is that he is pre- eminently
above all others in a situation to. sub
serve the interests of Los Angeles in ref
erence to the overland and Oriental
traffic He happens to be far better
equipped for that than any other man or
company, domestic or foreign, and il
ready, as we all understand, to put his
broad financial shoulders to the wheel
AS much cannot be said Of any other
person. or association of persons, and
certainly not of any of the present ad-
vocates of San Pedro. Mr.. Huntington
owns or controls extensive lines of
steamships on both oceans. In the
Chesapeake he has, 1t is conceded, the
largest and best appointed shipyard in
the world. He lacks not ocean piers for
the convenient transaction of the larg-
est kind of ocean commerce, and, above
all, he has by far the shortest and bes;
line Of overland railroad in this country.
This line of railroad comes directly to
Los Angeles and would make Los An
geles its abiding terminus If not repelled
by the stupidity, or worse than stupid
ity of her people who favor harbor site
for the Oriental trade which would be
of scarcely more advantage to her thar
~ iOSoeSd al oal DlcSO OT Sudy mas.
That trade. if striking this coast at San
Pedro, would, with absolute certainty,
reach its eastern destination by short
est route, leaving the ambitious city of
Los Angeles to one side by distance of
twenty-five miles. Should Los Angeles
find at last, perhaps when Mr.. Hunting
ton shall have left the stage of action,
that in fighting him she had merely de-
feated herself, it will not be a pleasant
reflection.
1t is believed that Mr. Huntington, in
his plans for the promotion of the ORR
entail traffic by way of Port Los Angeles,
has the approval Of many leading men,
bers of both houses of congress, by
whom he is well known to be the fore
most business man in America, and as
giving employment, even in these hard
times to eighty odd thousand men, all
of whom are we'll and promptly paid.
The capital he controls is kept in active
operation for the benefit of his fellow
men. Mr. Huntington may be rich, but
no one will accuse him of being misery
If he is rich in worldly goods he is also
rich in resources, and so much richer in
this regard, it may be, than Los Angeles,
that she can i'll afford to reject his prof
fered benefits.
The pretense that the Southern Pa
cific company could exercise a monopoly
over any harbor constructed by the gov
ernment would be extremely preposter-
Gus, even if the act of congress did not
provide, as it actually does, for the use
and enjoyment by any other company,
of the Southern Pacific wharf at Port
Los Angeles, and of its approaches, on
equal terms with the builders, in case
the breakwater should be 80 located as
to protect it. The pretense of monop-
oily by Mr.. Huntington or his company
at Santa Monica is too shallow for seri-
Gus thought No one who has looked
into the subject gives that charge the
least credit
The practical view of this subject is
the sensible one. 1t is more profitable
to follow reason than prejudice, and in
business matter safer to be guided by
facts than fancy. I have no knowledge
more than any other person of MI. Hunt
ington's purposes, but I would not ex-
pect him, after being smitten on the one
cheek to turn the other also. Los An
geles needs friends-friends that will
help her in this, the beginning of her
promising career. She wants no more
enemies; she has too many Of them al
ready, open and covert It would be
folly to add to the number, when, in or
der to do so, she would be illustrating