The record-union., 1898-12-02
A LITTLE REASON NOW AND
THEN.

It is not complimentary to the intel
ligence or diligence Of a good many
newspaper men to say that they read
news carelessly and with little under
standing, but it is a fact, never
theless. A couple of buildings in the
system of railroad shops in this city
were burned recently. About half the
press of the State has taken it that
the entire plant was destroyed, and on
that basis have done a deal Of specu-
lating.
The latest newspaper intelligence to
go wrong on the subject is that of the
Alameda Argus which chatters about
something being done now," about
building shops near Alameda, since
sthe recent fire in the shops at Sacra-
mento will necessitate the rebuilding
of considerable part Of them, and
there is an agitation or petition extant
to have the whole vast industry trans
ferred to the bay" And so on it pro-
ceeds, concerning the extensive build
ing necessitated' by the destruction at
Sacramento, and the likelihood of "a
change of base being made"
The blocks are exceedingly large in
Alameda If our contemporary will
consider one of the largest blocks in
that city as representing the whole
railroad shop plant in Sacramento, then
small store in the poorest building
of the block would fairly represent the
area and character Of the works de-
stroyed by the fire here, and small
room in that store would fairly repre-
sent the value of the property destroy
ed relatively to the value Of the whole
plant.
Tt may surprise our contemporary to
know also that rebuilding of the burned
buildings has already begun. the ma
chinery for the interiors has been or
dered, and that both building and ma
chinery will be of better order and
higher type than before. 1t should also
dawn upon the commonest intelligence
that a great railroad company would
never place its entire system of shops
at one end of its line, since the cost
and time of reaching the plant from
all over the system would be too great.
Nor does any great company depend
wholly upon one system Of shops. 1t To-
Gates them where they will best serve
its economy and convenience. Sacra-
mento is the center, so to speak, of a
large part of the Southern Pacific sys-
TEN. Here the central overland route
terminates, the Oregon system and the
Sacramento Valley system, and here
begins the Western system and the CAL
| ifornla Pacific system, while the city
is forty-eight miles nearer to the San
Joaquin Valley system than is San
! Francisco Bay, and the west side Sac
ramento Valley system seventy-eight
miles nearer.
| So while shops will out OF the very
necessity Of the case be located and
are now located at other points, it does
not follow that the plant at Sacramento
! is to be abandoned. even If every build
| ing in it should burn to the ground. 1t
would be just as reasonable to say that
| with system of shops for a southern
coast and across the bay network OF
roads at San Francisco. and another at
Los Angeles 1t would be wise and eco
nomic to abandon them and centralize
all shop work at Sacramento. A little
common business sense taken into the
minds Of some of our contemporaries,
a little reflection and less selfish
prompting, would make them a deal
wiser and protect them to a certain
extent from ridicule by reason.