Los Angeles herald., 1905-01-29

It may be interesting to Angelenos
Of the present day to know that
Southern California has always been
the scene of important projects and
has been much in the minds of men
of influence and note The war un-
doubtedly postponed its development
to a great extent. just as the war de.
cided the contest for supremacy be-
tween st. Louis and Chicago, throwing
the former out of the race for years.
When Jefferson Davis was Presi-
dent Plerce's secretary of war he
dwelt in one of his reports upon the
advsabllity of building a transconti-
mental railway along the thirty-second
parallel of latitude of which the term
mus on the Pacific side was to have
been at San Diego. Before the war
nearly every officer who became dis
tinguished on either side in "the late
unpleasantness' had bought one or
more lots i'm what was called Middle
town." a section about midway be-
tween "Oldtown" and Horizons New
town, the latter the present city of
bay and climate" No doubt some of
these heroes have kept on paying
taxes on those lots to this day.
Grant was not one of these investors,
and doubtless for the reason that, in
those days, the hero of Appomattox
had no money to invest there or else.
where. His wife and two of his sons
have since repaired the omission and
have invested heavily in real estate in
our charming southern neighbor, and
have enjoyed its exquisite climate and
the views of a bay whose charms ara
only rivaled by those of the Bay Of
Naples. 1t is pleasant to know that
of late San Diego is coming to the
front in gallant style and is fulfilling
the hopes of those who have had faith
in her future for now these many
years.
1t Is singular thing that of all the
schemes which have lowered in the air
about Los Angeles every one, without
exception, has been fulfilled, the last,
that of building the Salt Lake rail-
way, being on the point of accomplish
ment. This is curious fact. To bor-
row an expressive slang term, Los
Angeles always gets there This is
great good fortune and is auspicious
for the future. The completion of the
governments work on the harbor of
San Pedro and the certainty of the
speedy consummation of the Panama
canal are events in the horoscope of
the future of the Angelic City which
are certain of accomplishment, the
first possibly inside of year and the
second inside of a decade.
A Lively Contest for Points
There was a time when San Diego
and Los Angeles had a strenuous con-
test for supremacy in railway develop
ment and l took hand in the fight
myself in the ranks of the adherents
of the former. l arrived in the south
ern city in the late summer of 1872
just a week or so before the arrival Of
Colonel Thomas A. Scott, then vice
president of the Pennsylvania railway
and president of the Texas Pacific
railway, which had been made UP out
of John c. Fremonts Memphis e. FL
Paso road and which had gone by the
board, sharing the fatality which at
tended all Fremont's projects-that
John C. Fremont whom George Fran
els Train called "the millionaire with
out a dollar" excoriating him in other
uncomplimentary lines particularizing
his ill-luck. 1 had been sent down
from San Francisco to edit the San
Diego World and l was soon up to
my eyes in railway matters.