The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-03-06

| troll of the Car of all the Russias.
| Mr.. President, in the successful car
rying out of the policies which seem to
be outlined by our Government in the
direction I have inadequately attempt
| ed to point out, lies, believe, the des-
| tiny of Greater California. I will not
stop to demonstrate a fact SO obvious.
But If it were possible for our Gov
eminent to retrace the steps it has
taken in the last six months and with
draw the flag from all our new POS
sessions, California would still offer
unrivaled inducements to homeseekers
and to capital
Whatever further may suggest in
pointing out the way to develop our
State and add to our wealth and pop
ulation must necessarily be but in out
line. I can trust your quick and we'll
trained perceptions to complete the
sketch.
At present the developed and unde-
veloped wealth of California lies pri-
marily in her agriculture, her mines and
her forests Manufactures as a great in
dustry may be set down as dependent
somewhat upon the solution of the
questions I have already considered.
! Give us an open door to- China and upon
the authority of P. B. Cornwall we can
| lay down anthracite coal in San Fran
cisco for 50 and So per ton. China may
| yet solve the problem of cheap fuel for
| our factories and make our mountains
of iron ore available. You must find the
way for California factories to supply
it's share Of the increasing demand for
/ American manufactures of all kinds.
which must spring up in the wake of
orr flag and under it's protection in the
countries washed by the Pacific.
| Our agriculture, broadly considered,
| is in many respects unique. OF the pro-
ducts of the soil it has a range greater
than any country on the globe. Not
many years ago We exportedonly wheat.
In recent years our fruit products sent
out of the State have exceeded in value
our wheat exports without diminishing
| the latter. This has resulted from the
discovery that on the same farm where
we have grown wheat, the orange, olive,
raisin grape-in short, all the fruits of
| the earth. except those exclusively
| tropical-can be grown roftably in
commercial quantities. We have not
yet fully appreciated the meaning of
this discovery.
Prior to 1880 we had practically no
market without the State Except for
wines to some extent for our agricult-
ural products other than wheat and
barley. For the year 1897 this trade,
embracing fruits, vegetables, wines and
brandy, reached over $4,000 carloads.
We have nearly driven out of the Amer
| lean markets the prune and the raisin
and are successfully competing with
| both these fruits in the markets of the
world. Our apples are sold in the Lon
don market and our dried and canned
fruits are finding their way into Euro,
pean homes. Despite the affectation
of wine drinkers in the East, our wine
product sells with the French article.
In New Orleans. where consumers know
good wine without consulting its label.
our trade amounts to 100000 gallons
annually.
In recent years the wine industry has
suffered mainly through disagreement
between the grower and the seller. The
profits on fruits have fallen off because
of the long period of financial stress in
our country Some growers have ex-
pressed the belief that we have reached
the maximum of profitab BILE planting and
that there is fear of over production. l
have on many occasions combatted both
these fears and 1 still dispute the claim.
/ invite your Investigation of the
questions underlying thu successful
operation of our orchards and vine
yards An industry which not only
commands large support at home, but
which brings in $30O00,e00 annually
from without the State is worthy your
thoughtful consideration. The con-
suners of fruit are constantly increas-
ing and our markets widening. There
are limitations constantly being placed
upon our fruit crops. We have had two
successive years of killing frosts; we
have had in places destructive north
winds Fortunately, the great extent of
territory in planting and the widely diff
ferent exposures to frost ravages and to
winds enables the growers as a Whole
to keep our showing good. The BIOS
soming season differs for the same
fruits in different localities so that we
are not all exposed at the same time.
The great range of varieties also avoids
complete destruction of crops.
The output also has it's limitations
from badly selected land from bad cul-
tivation and handling of fruit, from
exhaustion of the soils fertility by long
use and non-fertilization.
1t has also been demonstrated that
means for irrigation must be found or
many orchards will cease to be profit
able
1t has been a common idea that irri-
cation is unattainahle except in the few
localities where water can be had by
gravitation A running ditch of water
wasting itself twelve hours out of the
twenty-four was thought to be requi-
site to irrigation. Men who have been
studying our economic problems. among
them some of your honorable fraternity,
have found that nearly everywhere IN
the State subterranean currents OF wall
err no great distance from the surface,
are ohtainable and can be brought 10
the surface at less cost than interest on
the average ditch system; less than the
rental charges of water companies.
Many orchards lie near some running
stream, and yet the owners have been
wringing their hands at times OF
drought not knowing how to raise this
life-giving element to- their furnishing
trees. Enlight1nent on this subject is
displacing ignorance, largely through
the columns of the press. { am my
self raising fifty miners inches of water
from the Sacramento River to a hight Of
forty feet and sending it back by
bitches to second river-botton lands at
a cost of So for ten hours run. Others
are doing better from wells and streams
with gasoline engines.
You cannot too often nor too strenu-
ously urge that water be brought upon
your land The climate with which
God has endowed the State was at the