The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-11-23
DON PORTER TALKS
OF TRIP TO COAST
Genial Hotel Man Comes Back
More in Love With
Zion.
HE SOUNDED PRAISES OF
SALT LAKE in CALIFORNIA
Disabuses Minds of Many Re-
garding Present and Future
of San Francisco.

Don =. IOTJer, pTDpTlelUf Ol Tue hth
yon hotel, returned from two-weeks
visit in California, Tuesday morning.
Mr.. and Mrs. Porter were the invited
guests of party of Union Pacific Of
ficials Of Omaha, who, with their wives,
made the trip via San Francisco down
the coast to Los Angeles, and returned
over the Salt Lake Route. In speak.
ing OF the trip 10 a representative or
The Tribune Mr. Porter said. 1t was
one of the most delightful trips we
ever experienced, The party consisted
of coterie of friends, out for good
time, and nothing intervened at any
time or place TO mar its full ENJOY
ment.
II want to tell you Of San Fran
cisco. You know that on the 18th day
OF last April, / think II was the 18TH,
San Francisco was wrecked by earth
quake and destroyed by fire as no large
city ever was of which we have any
record. After the great disaster the
most optimistic declared it would be
many years before the city would be
rebuilt, and never would it again be
the same dear old San Francisco 1T
was before the terrible morning OF
wreck and rum. Any one who can sec
the work that has been done during
the six months that have elapsed since
the city's destruction and what IS be-
ing done along the lines of rebuilding,
will be forced TO conclude that the new
San Francisco is materializing with
marvellous rapidity. and that at no dis.
tant day, as time is reckoned by
month, Will be city greater and
grander in every way than the one
destroyed There is no question but
that a few years hence San Francisco
will be the most modern, up-to"date
city in the country. The building 60
ing on there is something wonderful
The Southern Pacific and Santa Fe rail
roads are hauling out on an average
800 carloads of debris daily from the
destroyed district, TO be used else
where for filing up sloughs and max
ing valuable city property out OF use"
less land.
Money from Hartman.
"The Southern Pacific, under and by
direction of Mr. Hartman, has spent
not less than 81 100000 in helping San
Francisco since the day OF the earth
quake. 1t and the Santa Fe are doing
all in their power TO assist IN rebuild
ing the city.
"While in San Francisco / ascer-
tanned that the Palace and st. Francis
hotels are both going to be rebuilt. In
fact, that the contracts have been let
and that work on these proposed struc"
lures is already In progress. The busi-
ger than ever known in the city's his
tory. San Francisco has plenty of mon
ey, unlimited credit and an enterprise
born of the West, of quality un-
equaled in the world. -
Mr.. Porter said, ''there was great ex-
citement In San Francisco and all over
the coast, growing out of the recent in
dictment Of Boss Ruef and Mayor
Schmidt, On the trains. IN the hotels,
on the street cars, everywhere, people
were discussing it,
''What do the people think of it7'
'Why.' answered Mr.. Porter, "pub
lie opinion, as expressed by the better
class Is. that they have got the leading
grafters. The feeling is very bitter
and excitement runs high.
Ibid you stop at any of the principal
resorts on your way down the coast?'
eyes, we were out for pleasure and
of course could not pass Pasa Robles
Del Monte without stopping. 1t is
sorts in Southern California. We stop
ped at Santa Barbara, the queen city
of the entire coast, from Vancouver to
San Diego. Santa Barbara can boast n
couple of the greatest hotels in the
world, the Arlington and the Potter.
The climate is the finest in the country,
and the old mission town, originally
built by the Spaniards, is full of tour
lists all the year round. Santa Barbara
has about 10000 permanent residents
and is growing very fast, as are all the
coast resorts.
Long Visit in Los Angeles
''We stopped in Los Angeles FIVE
days that is. we made that city our
headquarters while visiting the beach
and other resorts in the vicinity. Los
Angeles is phenomenal city. One
cannot begin to describe or compute
the amount of business being tran
sacted there. Business appears TO be
driving everybody, The city is rapidly
increasing in wealth and growing in
demand for real estate To illustrate
the appreciation of real estate: A man
bought corner lot 50x150 feet two
Years ago for $4,000, with a large
frame building on it. The other day he
leased it TO the Hambergers for fifty
years at 2 yearly rental of $4,000. They
couldn't buy it, so they leased it on
Seventh street and Broadway I saw an
eight, story steel -hnilding being con-
structed on leased ground. which is con-
tracted 10 rent for $4,000 month.
That is a sample of the way building
is carried on IN Los Angeles: if they
can't buy the ground thew want they
will lease and build on it - =.
AS TO salt Lake
.EWhat. if anything, did you hear of
Salt Lake in Your travels7''
ga great deal; and YOU may rest
assured L never lost an opportunity TO
expatiate on Salt Lakes present bust
ness activity ard future greatness as
business center and desirable place in
which to live. 7 tried 10 point out TO
an with whom talked that Salt Lake
has better railroad facilities and richer
and greater resources to thrive upon
than any other city in the West. MANY
agreed with me. and not A few are
watching closely the trend of events
in Salt Lake. met with some parties
who had been reading Salt Lake publi-
. cations, who said that the taxes on
city real estate is higher here than in
other cities, and that the tax levy this
year was higher than heretofore.
explained TO those people the situation
as il is, and showed them that the in,
formation which they had received on