The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-27
ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE
An Interesting Interview With
de Putron Gliddon.
A MOST HOPEFUL FEELING
For Expansion in the Far East, but
Afraid of 1t in the West-Seattle
Is Making Hustle
for Trade.

months de Putron Gliddon and wife
have returned home to Butte. During
their absence they visited Portland,
Seattle, Tacoma, San Francisco, Los
Angeles, and then spent seven weeks
at Coronado Beach, in southern Cali
fronia.
AS Mr.. Gliddon has business relations
in the cities mentioned, he is able to
ascertain the trend of affairs in the ter
ritory covered, and was asked by
Standard reporter as to how the Pa
cific slope is faring:
He said: washington and Oregon
seem to be peculiarly prosperous, and
so is the northern part Of California;
but southern California is suffering
somewhat from two dry seasons, and
the ranchers and fruit raisers are in
clined to be blue these days, and to
suggest hard times. But all along that
| coast there is a most hopeful feeling,
| and the average citizen has roseate
| views of the business that is likely to
| spring up as result of the new turn
| that events have taken in the far East.
| So far as expansion goes, they are quite
in it's favor, but notice that they are
| wee bit nervous as to the expan-
| sion in the West Indies, especially Porto
| Rico, because they realize that the
| island grows the very same fruits that
| they do, and can get them into the
| markets ahead of them, and there is a
| very sensible alarm felt that the or
| ange and lemon crops will be at, SER
| ious disadvantage If they have to COM
| pete with Porto Rico, and possibly later
| on with Cuba also. Apart from that
| disadvantage, the folks out there are
| favorable to the expansion of the pos
VIA
| Heve that it Will open up a tremendous
foreign trade through the Pacific coast
| ports. OF course the chief hustler for
| trade is Seattle, that city being the
| only real live city on the coast, for Ia
coma is irritatingly sleepy. Portland
aristocratically slow, San Francisco
more wakeful than the others, but
| never fully alive to it's opportunities
and San Diego, well, l think it would
| do better if it could but it has hardly
| recovered from the effects of the boom
! that was so utterly crazy and ruinous
| in its results. 1t has magnificent
| harbor, and the Sante Fe railroad is
trying, with some success, too, to build
| up a trans-Pacific trade. But San Di-
ego will be a great port when the
| Nicaragua canal is cut, for it is the
| only port of note that can be reached
! by shipping going from the Atlantic
| to Pacific oceans when they pass
| through the canal. -a
Yes, we liked Coronado Beach i'm
| mensely 1t is the most wonderful eli
| mate in the world. At least that is
what Uncle Sans weather bureau Of
| tcers say, and they ought to know.
| The variation of average temperature
| between summer and winter is but
| eight degrees, being so in winter and
6S in summer. No European resort can
| compare with that, so that Uncle Sam
| again beats the world.
But every time / go to California
and travel through it, and then return
to California, l cannot help thinking
| how the Californians have to suffer
| great drawbacks that Montana knows
| nothing Of particularly in the line of
| transportation facilities. ! do not be-
| lieve there is any state in the union so
| handicapped as that one is, and that
| surely must account for the fact that
| the population of California does not
| grow as it should when one considers
| the start it has had and the climate
| it possesses. Montana is far better
! off than California in this respect. Now
| just think of that great mother lode,
a great gold belt of so miles of gold
bearing rock, that has produced mil
lions upon millions of dollars worth of
gold, and yet to this day there is no
railroad nearer than II miles from 1t.
Why, you know, Montana would not
d
and what is more, the railroads that
serve Montana would not have the
monumental cheek to ask the people
to accept such an insult to their BUSH
ness Sagacity. Here we have three
railroads, but there they have one and
that one, the Southern Pacific, simply
does as it pleases, and for some reason
or other the Californians don't seem to
have enough all-around American in
dependence: and grit to get right up
and demand proper treatment, or let
the monopoly understand that if they
don't get it they will put other lines in.
Why, Butte would do that in two ticks
If the Northern Pacific or the Great
Northern railway or the Oregon Short
Line tried any of the funny business
such as the Californians have had to
put up with for years past.
Il firmly believe that there will be a
great difference in the winter resort
travel during the coming years. and
that California will suffer ON that ac-
count. ] look upon Porto Rico as the
future winter resort for the wealthy
classes of the east who have hitherto
gone to California in such numbers
and they will be Influenced by two rea-
sons. one being the fact that it is
nearer and more tropical as well as
newer. and another that the do not
appreciate the unpleasant features of
travel on the CALIFORNIA; one great
railroad. the Southern Pacific And
really | do not blame them, for during
this year the Southern Pacific has had
30 wrecks, which suggest gross mis-
management and recklessness, and be-
sides this / think it is generally agreed
by those who travel that the train
crews of the Southern Pacific are the
most unpleasant creatures to get along
with in this country, and altogether
lack the first idea of common courtesy.
And this latter fact will be enough to
turn the tide of travel towards the new
possessions of Uncle Sam. OF course,
the Santa Fe is gradually getting into
California, but it merely touches few
points, and is not by any means as
yet serious competitor for the other
road.
80 that, despite all the disadVan-
tages that a more northern climate
may be thought to possess, / am salts
fled that the people of Montana have
no reason to mourn over their lot
mo, the folks outside don't know
very much a bOut Ruttp vet pXcept that