Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-04
HALF MILLION MARK

Herald interviews with prominent
tourists who have visited Los Angeles
recently and made a careful study of
the city, it's environs, it's industries and
! its comparative statistics, resulted in
expressions showing a consensus apf
| opinion that within five years the city
/ of Los Angeles will contain half mill
| lion people.
1t is a noteworthy and rather peculiar
| fact that some of the older citizens of
| Los Angeles marvel al such predictions
and shake their heads negatively. They
were here when this was Spanish
| pueblo, or else later when the town
contained only 10000 inhabitants. They
grow omlnous in their remarks when
they recall the dreadful boom of 1887
and take some morbid pleasure in men,
tioning that the bottom dropped out, "
They do not seem to understand that
the bottom cannot drop out again; that
when the city resumed its upward
march in 1900 it first established a
foundation that could not be swept
away and that it has builded thereon so
substantially that no backward step
can be taken.
There is still another class of citizens
who have the utmost confidence in
tremendous future for Los Angeles, but
who are so conservative that they cam
not see how the city can possibly grow
faster in population than at the rate of
about $4,000 a year These are well
informed people, too, on all other mat
ters and would resent the insinuation
that they do not thoroughly understand
Los Angeles.
But there is just one great fact which
those who have lived here longer than
five years do not fully appreciate, and
that is that there is not city, town
or hamlet in the United States wherein
persons are not daily engaged in shap-
ing their affairs for permanent re-
moval TO Los Angeles-this year, or
next year, or some other time. The
climate, it's marvellous and delicious
surroundings, it's wonderful industrial
development, its proximity to sea and
mountain and orange groves has
reached every section of the United
States and the continent of Europe.
Coming here? Why the next five
years will see such an influx as never
occurred before in the history of any
city in the world. One New Yorker
told The Herald recently that within
ten years Los Angeles would have
million population and that within
twenty years something would have to
be done to keep more people from
coming. The language is strong, to be
sure. but it is expressive of the general
eastern sentiment.
People of Los Angeles who do not
understand this sentiment are a trihe
dubious at times of such a tremendous
outcome, but they may as well become
reconciled to the figures of the future
and seriously take up Secretary Shaw's
advice to build big
The thousands of capitalists who are
appreciate what the future of this city
is to be. Such men as Henry E. Hunt
ington, 1. w. Hellman, Herman w.
Hellman, ex-senator Dorsey and others
have no doubts. Their millions are
going into large enterprises so fast
that the easterner opens his eyes with
wonderment and thinks we have found
Aladdins lamp. There never was such
a substantial and rapid development in
any city anywhere. Los Angeles is
growing so fast that public utilities
streets, car lines, sewers, schools,
churches water service, police and fire
protection-have not been able to keep
pace with the rush. and our municipal
authorities are almost at their wits
ends trying to catch up with the pro-
cession.
But great projects are brewing that
will make Los Angeles easily a city of
half a million within the next five
years. Bringing the Owens river into
the city will be an established fact be-
fore that period has been concluded.
An abundance of water and power will
furnish the necessities that have been
required. Large extensions of street
car lines are in process of planning.
New railroad lines are coming into the
city from the north and east Miles of
splendid structures, both for business
and residence purposes, are in process
of construction, and the whole Los An
geles valley, from the mountains to the
sea, is being prospected and laid off and
made ready for the thousands who have
their faces set toward California.
In the meantime it remains for the
hundreds of thousands who are already
here to maintain steadfastly their
policy of pulling together" There is
no politics in building up Los Angeles.
Democrats, Republicans, Socialists and
Mugwumps walk proudly in the same
procession and carry identical banners
when it comes to talking and doing
things for Los Angeles. Upon that
subject Los Angeles is a marvellous
unit. chiefly because there is no room
for discussion and no cause for dis