The San Francisco call., 1897-09-09
Thousands of Visitors Will
Assist in the Merry
making.
FIRST TRAIN DUE THIS
MORNING.
When It'Arrives Every Bel and
Whistle In the City viii
Sound a Greeting.

VISALIA, CAL, Sept. S.-Visalia has
finished her decorations and all other
arrangements for the celebration to-mor-
row in honor of the completion to this
point OF the San Joaquin Valley Railroad.
All conditions, including the weather, are
propitious for a splendid day. The sun
has stopped scorching and the um brageous.
streets of the town are ideally comfort
able. Dust has been laid by generous
sprnking.
Caterer Noel set his beeves and mutton
and hogs to roasting over the spits this
evening for the barbecue. He is a skilled
artist at this kind OF work and guarantees
a savory feast at noontime tomorrow.
The militia and fire laddies have their
halls ready for their visiting comrades.
The baseball team practiced up to the
hour of darkness, and the small boys
wagered like veterans on the footraces
which are to take place on Main street
while the baseball game is in progress
elsewhere.
The town is full of visitors already and
Main street is thick as spatter with per-
am bulators. The hotels caught big i'm
portation during the day.
Chief of Construction Williams of .he
| Valley road had his men smoothing off
the ground adjacent to the track to-day
for the reception OF the passengers to-
morrow. Passengers will now arrive
quite as comfortably as any initial crowd
ever arrived at the terminus of new rail-
way. The arrival of the first through
train over the Valley Railroad takes place
at 80 o'clock in the morning. As soon
as big No. 8, with Gardner at the throttle,
pokes her nose inside the town limits and
whistles when she passes the sign post
the town is to pull the rope and let go
with all the noise she has. Factory
whistles are to blow, bells are to ring and
dozen or more anvils in different parts
of the city are TO act as substitutes for
cannon. Enough powder will be exploded
| to blast fortune out Of Trinity gold
| ledge.
Passengers from the incoming train will
be disembarked at School street, two
blocks above the depot, that being necessi-
tated by the existence of an unfinished
bridge i'm ediately north of the depot.
The grand parade of the day is to follow
Immediately. Sheriff Merritt will officiate
| as grand marshal with MarshaI Collins of
this city and Chief of Police Woy of Fresno
..
Tuiare and one from Hantord. The visit
ing militia and officers from Fresno will
participate in the parade, as will visiting
firemen from Porterville, Tulare and Han
| ford. The destination of the parade will
be the barbecue, which is TO be spread at
the corner of Acequia and Locust streets.
Eight beeves and tifty-two sheep and hogs
now roasting are TO supply food for all
| who care to eat.
To accommodate different classes of
people the sports have been divided, and
! a baseball game between the Fresnos and
the Visalias will take place simultaneously
| with the footraceS.
| Bicycling will come in for its share Of
| attention in the middle OF the afternoon.
In the evening, before the courthouse,
where a big stand has been erected, the
| commemorative exercises will be held.
| Hon. William II. Afford of the Demo-
| cratic State Central Committee will de.
liver the Grafton, and speeches in re-
| snons are expected from Claus Spreck.
| els. Judge Nye of Oakland and A. H. Pay
son of the Valley road. The festivities
will terminate with a grand ball in the
evening.
A design representing a chick breaking
from an egg has been struck off for an
envelope and letterhead by the committee
of arrange ments. The chick is repre-
sented as cbirping, Free at LAST Visa
| lians feel that this adequately describes
| the situation. The business and social de-
| velopment of the community has been
| in bondage to the railroad difficulty for
| fully twenty years. Originally it was the
natural center of trade and industrial and
| agricultural growth. 1t remained so dur
| ing the first twenty years. of its growth,
! from 1858 TO 1873. In1875 the trouble with
the Southern Pacific began. Visal1a then
| had about 1900 mia btants. Had things
| taken their natural course and the rail-
| road been run to Visalia the probability
is that the city would have grown within
| the next ten or fifteen years to a popula.
tion as large as that of Fresno. But un-
! der the duress of the Southern Pacific the
| city suffered from extortionate freight
rates and became virtually unable to con.
| tinue as iobbing center.
| BY steady lighting and resolute cooper.
| alton Visalia managed to increase slowly
| in population until 1t reached 5000. AT
that point or somewhere near it Visaia
has remained for quite stretch of years.
| The Southern Pacific has endeavored
number of times to change the county
| seat. and failing in that to found new
| towns and TO boom other towns. such az