The herald., 1897-08-24
guished body of citizens of SO large and
han f..1e Ill.

guished body of citizens Of SO large and
beautiful a city
81 did not anticipate, in coming here,
seeing such an astonishing change in
the appearance of Los Angeles and its
surroundings within such a short space
of time. 1 candidly express to you my
unfeigned pleasure in having again
seen your charming city and trust 1t will
continue to grow in beauty and in i'm
portance as it has done in the past fif-
teen years.
"Since 1 came here I have received
many invitations to visit and inspect
various waterways along the coast, a
great many more than it would be pos
sible for me to accept, but 1 shall re-
spond to these as far as is compatible
with the limitations of the time my
party has allowed itself.
''The whole country. from Maine to
California, is interested in waterways,
and from every part of the United States
we are appealed to to improve them.
And they should be improved: nothing
is more important to our most valuable
interests and to general prosperity than
such Improvements. (Cheers.)
ut is my purpose to learn as much as
possible of your needs and your wishes
in this behalf. I sincerely desire to know
what you want and what you ought to
have, and l can say that it will be my
pleasure not only to learn these, but to
further them as far as possible. I can
not speak for the other members of my
committee, but for myself I wish to say
that it shall be my studous endeavor
to learn your necessities in the matter
of waterways and to aid you to the best
of my ability in satisfying them. cloud
applause.)
Ladies and gentlemen, 1 thank YOU
heartily, for myself and for my family
and friends who are with ME here, for
this pleasant occasion and the oppor-
tunity to meet so many of you, and 1
hope it will not be long until shall have
the pleasure of seeing you again."
The visitors assertion that he would
further the wishes of the people as
much as possible caused much discus
sion afterward, many of his hearers TAX
ing it as hint that he would use his
influence in favor of San Pedro because
he has found the people here almost a
unit in favoring the Improvement of that
port.
Accompanied by Messrs. Virgins.
Patterson and others, Mr. Hooker went
to the register and placed his name at
the top of clean page, his son, Master
stephen, adding his below that of his
father. He was then shown the displays
in the exhibit hall and evidenced a keen
interest in everything he saw, asking
many questions and seemingly desirous
OF learning IS much about the products
of this part of the country as possible.
He did not ascend into the gallery. It
had been his intention to remain in the
city until last night and then go north
but the receipt of telegram from San
Francisco caused him to change his
plans, and upon learning that there was
train for the north leaving at 11:45
o'clock, he decided to take it, so as to be
in San Francisco this morning. He was
therefore unable to see all the displays
in the chamber. Joining the other mem
bers of his party, he was escorted to
the Van Nuys by the same committee
that had called for him there. The
preparations for the trip were hurried
ly made, and at 11:15 the party drove to
the Arcade depot and half an hour later
departed for the north.
In response to question as to his
opinion of the exhibit, while en- route
from the chamber to the hotel, MI
| Hooker said:
Il was surprised and delighted. 1 had
no idea that such display as that could
be kept up all the time, but then have
learned that almost anything is possible
in this country. That exhibit speaks
| more than could be expressed in hun-
dreds of volumes Of description, and the
fact that it is so well kept up speaks
we'll for the enterprise and public spirit
of the citizens of Los Angeles
/ was also delighted at the heartiness OF
my reception. 1 will admit that 1 had
some doubt as to the feeling of the peo-
pie hereabouts toward me since the har-
Dor matter had been before congress,
but I have certainly been shown that
there was no room for any doubt. shall
always remember this visit with pleas
ure."