Mexico weekly ledger., 1905-03-09
CALIFORNIA, TOO, HAS
ITS DRAWBACKS.
Former Audrain County Man Finds
Some Things in the Golden
State That are Not Of the
Best-Admires the
Climate,

To the Editor OF the Ledger.
MODESTO, Cal, Feb. 2S II have just
been reading 10 the LEDGER ahoutthe
extra cold weather you are enjoying
and thought | would like to draw a
picture in contrast. Imagine, II you
can, seeing almond trees in full bios
som, grass, pretty and green. men go
ing about in their shirt sleeves, birds
singing, and yIolets blooming around
nearly every house. Oranges are
plentiful and the majority of the
home have from n TO q dozen orange
trees in the yard. But in order that
you may not think that this country
quite a heaven, let us look at the I'M
pleasant features too. Someone has
said that California is cultivation,
Irrigation and exaggeration." The
latter is certainly true In some meas
ure. You so often read only of our
many advantages. While Stockton
with its twenty-five thousand people
hundred factories and mills, idea
homes, fine public buildings and natu'
raj resources, is a good place for busi-
ness and O beautiful place to live; has
} its hundred saloons and many othel
dives and evil influences which daily
, confront the young life.
Modesto, thirty miles southeast o
Stockton, where ! am now 10 charge
of my brothers store, has about TIVE
thousand, seven hundred people, four
, teen saloons and seven churches. Tn
: land around Modesto is very rich ant
makes q splendid alfalfa field, sell
. from s35 to sl25 per acre. The sourc'
: of the water supply Of this part Of th
{ valley is a dam built across the Tue
Ilumne river In a canyon about thirt,
I miles from here in the mountains
Canals bring this water through tun
!. nels and fumes to this section OF tn
$ country.
The enormous expense involved !
: this method OF Irrigation is met b
taxation. Taxes In Modesto amour
to nearly eight per cent. And thai
with other expenses makes living cor
siderably higher here than in Missouri
We have Just passed through th
heaviest part of our rainy season an
unlike Mexico, our streets are nc
paved and mud has been plentiful 70
the last month, but we prefer that I
S zero weather and having to show
Il snow of the walks.
wi One thing l notice here is that
l. man may call another a "liar" will
Tout fear OF getting into trouble. Yo
know what would happen in Missoul
under the same conditions. An oil
lfo~rty-niner, who has been teaming Il
years in the southern part Of tt
state, told me one day that he didn
have but one thing against a Nilsson
ian and that was if Missourian tol
you he was going to whip you he wi
"mighty nigh sho to do it," Eyiden
ly the old fellow had had some dea
ings with "Missourians." But II
about to forget what | started
write about. Don't get the idea thi
le all you have to do in California is
walk around and pick up the go
pieces, work is work in California
well as In Missouri. However Il
lranchers' life is not SO hard here as
is there, owing to the fact that '
have no severe winter in which to fe'
stock or chop holes In the ice for the
to get at the water.
Wages are better, but expenses a
more. There are two sides to the que
ton. You will not find heaven
earth. But II is worth a great deal
live In a climate like this, free fro
such weather as you have been endu
RI ing for the last few weeks.
Taking everything into considt
~ation, even the fact that Mexico is 6
.hs ing to be a city, land l for one, a
not coming back to help make it s
give me California every time.
Yours very sincerely,
NO LEROY NJ. MORRIS