Los Angeles herald., 1905-05-07


ment in the southwestern section of
the United States, and, indeed, over
the whole Pacific coast and those
portions Of Mexico which adjoin this
country.
When at the beginning of last cen-
tury, at the instance of Thomas JEFF
ferson, who had most intelligent and
far-seeing idea of the value of the
vast territories which had accrued to
the United States by the Louisiana
purchase, Lewis and Clark made their
excursion from st. Louis to the Pa
cific ocean, followed by the excursion
of Pike to the southwark, it was DEM
onstrated that country of vast possi-
blities had been acquired by Jeffer-
sons treaty with Napoleon, not even
the most sanguine optimist dreamed
CT the stores of gold, silver, copper and
other valuable minerals which were
to reinforce the agricultural riches
which were apparent to those early ex-
piorers. Few of the New Workers of
the present day realize how greatly
the wealth of their city is indebted to
the Aspinwalls, Vanderbilts and others,
the foundations of which were largely
built upon money made by them on
the Isthmus of Panama and the ex-
ploitation of the Nicaragua route which
were incidents of the rush to Califor-
MIA in 1S49 and subsequent years.
After years of triumphant CONNER
cialism, we are told by the officials Of
the government that there are now in
the United States fully one billion
four hundred million dollars in gold.
Few people stop to think that Cali
fornia alone, since 1S49, has poured
more than that sum of gold into the
channels of our domestic commerce,
and shat, when the stores of the Pa
cific coast territories and states, in sill
Yer and gold, are added to that tre-
mendous benefaction, they are seen to
be the real creators of the United
States as a money power. Without
the prodigal output in the precious
metals of California, Colorado, Mon
tana and the rest of the territory fol-
lowing the acquisition of the Louisiana
territory and that resulting from the
Mexican war, we not only should not
now possess this magnificent sum of
gold-far the greatest ever possessed
by any nation in the history of the
world-but we should be a billion or
so to the bad and in a position of fiscal
subordination to the "effete monar-
chies" of Europe. 1t is, therefore,
only right that the American eagle
should preen its feathers occasionally
over it's superb Pacific coast and Rocky
mountain states
The statisticians who attend to such
details have announced that this year
the gold mines of the United States will
yield fully one hundred and fifty million
dollars of that metal. AS the normal
balance of trade is largely in favor of
the United States, substantially all
that sum will be added to our stock
of gold.
Influence of New Railroads
1t is interesting to know that the
completion of our several transcon-
tinental railways has been uniformly
followed by a great increase in the
yield of gold and silver. Thus the
driving of the golden spike at Ogden
in the later seventies, signalling the
opening to commerce of our first trans
continental railway was followed by
the magical development of the Com
stock lode, which since 1869 has
yielded the incredible sum, gold value,
Of $625, 100000. in the proportion of 46
per cent gold to 54 per cent silver.
In this connection it must be borne in
mind that here in Los Angeles we
have Just witnessed the completion Of
sixty years those portions of our west
ern territory covered by this road have
been looked upon as a very arcanum
of mineral treasures, whose develop
ment has been arrested by lack of
transportation facilities. 1t has always
been thought by the most intelligent
prospectors that the building of this
road would be followed by phenomenal
outputs of many minerals, with gold
and silver in the lead. Already we see
Goldfeld and Bullfrog taking up "
grand march toward greatness as
mining camps, the former having al
most attained the dimensions of Vir-
ginia City in the early seventies.
All that appears to be needed for this
portion of Nevada is the building of
branch lines from the Salt Lake road.
which is thing certain to happen in
the near future. Those camps will
then play to the growing commerce of
Los Angeles the same part played by
Virginia City and Gold Hill to the
trade Of San Francisco. 1t is a happy
augury for Los Angeles that she is
most admirably placed to become a
great mining center. All round, in the
United States and Mexico, she is in
reach of mining camps which will
know splendid developments. Baron
Alexander Won Humboldt said that the
greatest treasure developments ever