The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-04-03
California Is Viewed From One End OF
Commonwealth to Other.
Climate Is Fine, But Minnesota Is the
Better After All.
More Mankato People Are Visited
WIth.-AII Doing Finely.
Homeward Bound-.los Angeles and
Salt Lake City Taken In.

San Diego, California, March 23.-Start-
ing in at the extreme northern boundry
of California we have wound up our in
itinerary so far as the Golden state is con-
cerned at the city of San Diego, the
southern limit The distance between
the two points is something over 500
miles and in the territory travelled by
the Southern Pacifie-from Frisco to
Redlands and Riverside, the everchang-
ing scenery offered by pretty valleys
dotted with orange groves here, fields
of grain there, snow covered mountain
peaks on every side with foot hills
covered with velvety green and wild
flowers growing in profusion, combine to
make the trip one of great pleasure.
From Riverside to San Diego we came
over the Santa Fee road, that being the
only railroad running into this city. Here
we find a city that has seen better days.
The boom that was on several years ago,
and which gave promise of making a
city on San Diego bay second only to
San Francisco, bmsted prematurely and
like all towns that have undergone a
balloon ascension" it is suffering from
an overgrowth that has Slapped much of
its vitality and a great deal of its vigor.
However, we do not want to be under
stood as writing down" San Diego. It
is one of the most beautifully located
cities in California, and is blessed with
a climate that has no equal anywhere IN
the state. Situated so near as it is 20
the Mexican border, there are good
many "greasers" in and about the city,
but the great preponderance of popula-
ton. is made up of eastern and middle
west people and as a sequence there is
one vas III. In many ways
don. 1t is nothing ~
about - c1.se. k'Aase .nat 10
.st,Ssnt in the majority Of southern
California towns. Buildings show lack
of paint, parks are allowed to grow to
weeds, and street Improvements have
been neglected to an extent that inn
presses the stranger unfavorably. And still
we find many very good and substantial
business blocks, goodly number of
really nice stores, and an opera house
that excells anything seen in California
outside of San Francisco and even in
that metropolis there is nothing finer
but some larger. When it comes to
homes, there are greater number Of
handsome residences-houses that cost
from ten thousand dollars and upwards,
than any city we have visited in Cali
fornia, population considered. The rea-
SON that there are so many pretty homes
here is because men of wealth have come
out here to enjoy the exceptional eli
mate on the sea shore. As rule, how
ever, these men are not enterprising aside
from putting up their homes and beauti-
tying their grounds. They take little
or no interest in the progress of the city,
have no commercial interests to subserve,
are Indifferent to general municipal af-
fairs and are largely if not wholly want
ing in push, generosity and public spirit
so needful to make any city thrive.
Among the obstacles that have put
blight upon San Diego is the lack of
water with which to irrigate the rich
valleys contiguous to the city. Were
it not for the shortage of this one need
full and indispensable article, nothing
could hold this city down from being one
of the most important business points in
California. There are no richer valleys
anywhere in the state, and with water,
almost everything grown in California
soil could be produced here. But the peo-.
pie who own property and are doing bust
ness here are not made up of weaklings
who despair easily. They are hopeful
but not visionary. Mr.. Spreckels, the
sugar king, has large interests here and
he is now constructing dams and irriga-
ton bitches which, when completed, will
supply ample water from the mountains
to make productive thousands of acres
of land that today are lying idle. It
should not be concluded from this that
there is no water in and about San Di-
ego, for there is. The city has ample
for its every purpose and supply that
it feels is practically inexhaustible.
On many of the ranches wind mills and
drive wells operated by gasoline or crude
oil furnish plenty of moisture, and the
exceptional rains of. the present winter
win prove a great boon to the country
generally.
The great attraction to this point is
the world renowned Coronado Beach
Hotel. It is monster building contain
ing nearly a thousand rooms, handsomely
fitted up and attractive in its surround
ings. It is situated on an island, and
in the midst of beautiful grounds.
Thousands of tourists come during the
winter from the east and middle west,