Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-28
Why TOURISTS CONE HERE

When. some six months ago, an
earthquake, followed by three days oi
fire. put San Francisco almost off the
map, together with much Of its i'm.
mediate vicinity, no part Of the United
states was more notorious in its mis-.
representations, its exaggerations
about all of California and especially
about Los Angeles and It's vicinity
than was the eastern gulf coast, TIN.
less It was Denver The press. the
railroads and the public generally
throughout that region descanted
learnedly about the fearful damage tc
California; about tho danger from
frequent and disastrous 'quakes; about
the peril in which tourists we're placed
and solemnly warned all who would
flee from the wintry blasts to keep
away from doomed and racked Cali
fornia and come to Florida, the only
safe place on the globe.
OF course, these malicious self-seek-
ers utterly failed to show that the
part of California shaken had not been
so visited before in many years; that
It was not the summer resort at all;
that Southern California, whence the
tourists come by the 100000 every year,
didn't even get q quiver and never
did; that it only knew of the quake
through regular news service and that
its attractions for winter visitors were
not changed an iota by the San Fran
cisco cataclysm. No; none of this was
mentioned. Because the earth shiv-
cred 500 miles away from the Cali
fornia winter paradise they had fits
of virtuous apprehension for the many
who find here surcease from wintry
their paths toward Che miasmatic
swamps, mosquito everglades and yell
low fever regions of Cuba and the gulf
coast.
But "God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform" The yawp
of the southeast coast came too late
to help it's trade last winter, so it has
been reiterating its lies ever since,
anticipating a harvest this winter
But 10! No sooner does the chill strike
the east and the first SHOWS and bllz-
yards visit it-far earlier than usual,
too-than terrific hurricanes and ty-
phoons sweep the whole gulf coast re-
gion. Trees are torn up, boats are
wrecked, towns are swept away mil
lions of dollars damage is done and,
worst of all, thousands of lives are
claimed. The whole coast from CAL
weston to Hatteras is torn and terri
fled and more persons are killed than
were destroyed in all the earthquakes
in Californa's history! And every day
brings in fresh reports of damages;
every day shows new records of the
dead.
Florida had mendaciously sought to
make capital for itself out of San
Francisco's misfortunes by attrbuting
the quake to Los Angeles, 500 miles
tourist trade by specous and false
arguments on the undesira bility of an
earthquake" region as winter re-
sort, knowing full we'll that no quake
occurred here. 1t tried to perpetrate
a swindle on the winter-fleeing pop
ulace to it's own profit-and what hap
pened? The worst storm in its his
tory devastates its coast just at the
opening of the winter rush and de-
spoils it even of it's legitimate share
of the travelling hosts.
''The mills of the gods grind slow
ly," they say, "but they grind exceed
ing fine" Florida and it's prevaricat-
ing vicinity seem to have been caught
between the upper and the lower mill
stones and it bids fair to be ground
into powder with all it's pretentious
claims.
And meanwhile Southern California,
the real paradise, goes serenely on.
Here are no earthquakes, no typhoons,
no swamps, no cyclones; no miasma,
no mosquitoes; no lightnings and tenn
pests, no yellow fever and pestilence;
no tropic hurricanes; no gales. All is
serene, beautiful, sunshiny and happy
Her hands are extended, full of glo-
rious gifts, for all who may wish to
seek here freedom from Floridan woes
and wretchedhess or blizzards and
frosts of the north. Serene glorious,
perfect, undisturbed, she has room and
welcome for all-and more are coming
this year than ever before in history.