The herald., 1897-06-04
NO SURRENDER


we published letter from Hon. r. M.
Widney upon the subject of the deep
water harbor at San Pedro. The letter
itself bears evidence of great earnest
ness on the part of the writer, and for
that reason alone it would be entitled
to respectful consideration, even If 1t
were less clear in stating it's premises
and conclusions. But we think that the
premises as we'll as the conclusions of
the writer are faulty to degree. The
controlling positions advanced by Judge
Widney are briefly these:
(a) Mr.. Huntington has secured the
Guaymas branch road, which will give
him the control of a Pacific terminus
for his transcontinental system, with
out requiring him to carry interoceanic
freight through California. That this
fact, coupled with his control Of the con-
Meeting ocean line of steamers, will
transfer to the harbor of Guaymas the
chief commerce of the Pacific coast.
Cb) That Mr.. Huntington is an ire
pressible fighter, and. should congress
attempt, by the imposition of customs
duties, to render his trade Improbable
via the Guaymas road, he could protect
himself and at the same time deliver the
final coup to the commercial pretensions
of the California harbors by building a
trans-Mexican line from Guaymas to the
Gulf Of Mexico.
(c) That San Francisco is PROSTATE
at the feet of Mr.. Huntington, because
she had the temerity to wage war
against him, and that Los Angeles, be
ing led IN the footsteps of San Fran
CISCO" cannot escape 1.-The same fataL
results
(d) That our wisest policy would be
to conciliate Mr.. Huntington by gen
eral surrender of all our local preten
sions that are antagonistic to his great
commercial designs.
To state this recommended tion in terms
is to state it's condemnation in the mind
of almost every person who believes
IN the sovereignty of the people as the
supreme guarantee of the public well
fare. To carry out the recommendation
would be weak surrender to no pur-
pose. Judge Widney has taken an ex-
aggerated view Of the power of Mr.
Huntington, however great it may be
in fact, just as he has underestimated
the strength of the people. The fact is
entirely overlooked that the Southern
Pacific has active competitors at the
principal points in Southern California
in the Santa Fe and Terminal systems,
and that this competition is growing
more powerful every year. The policy
Of the Southern Pacific is today the
eame that it has been from the begin
ming, to crush out all competition and
every form of opposition. One-half Of
all the effective energy of this great COR
poration is expended in that single di-
rection. The acquisition of the Quay
mas road was simply a strategic move
ment against the powerful aggression of
the Santa Fe system and the prospect
of yet further competition in the trans
continental traffic by the perfected Ter
.ninal system, upon the completion of
deep-water harbor at San Pedro. 1t
must not be considered for a moment
that the withdrawal of the Southern Pa
cific from the sphere of aggressive COM
petition in Southern California will!
leave this fertile region desolate.
There was time that the presence
of the Southern Pacific was supreme
necessity, and the people appreciated
the fact and filed its Golfers with their
gold until every debt was paid tenfold.
If now Mr.. Huntington should seek to
build up competing commerce in for
eign country to punish. our revolt, he
will yet be doing only what a citizen
OF such foreign country might do at
any time, and it is not difficult to see
on which side the rational sympathy
would fam as soon as the controversy
should be made to assume an inte-na-
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