The San Francisco call., 1908-07-18

were down town, almost at the wa
ters edge, we had considerable trou-
months, as the distance worked hard
ships"
From Twelfth street as far out as
Army street the Mission is dotted with
notable manufacturing plants, the ma
Jor portion of which were not touched
by the great confagration. When one
surveys this busy section from the
hills 1T seems almost incredible that,
only seven years ago, there were
scarcely any factories in this section.
along Folsom street there were not
a halr dozen and those, compared with
the factories that have since been eS-
tablished, were of little Importance.
MIRACLE WORKED By CHEAP FUEL
1t was about 1900 that fuel oil in
commercial quantities was discovered
IN California and then wonderful
transformation took place. Old facto-
ries felt new impetus and new ones
sprangs into existence as if by magic.
For example, the south half of the
block bounded by Fourteenth, Fifteenth.
Folsom and Harrison streets was Dur-
chased by glass factory that installed
a plant for the manufacture of bottles
and Jars on a large scale. This com
pany burns $4,000 gallons of oil day
and its output is 100 tons of glass bot
ties daily Such factory would, of
course, have been impossible were it
not that the discovery of oil in CaIifor-
MIA placed at the disposal of its propri-
etors an abundant supply OF cheap fuel.
district previous to 1900. but 1t is since
that date that the enormous amOut Of
casting now being done in the Mission
was developed. Half dozen estab-
lishments that occupy all the way from
quarter TO a half block of land have
been built since then. and they man
u1acture everything in the iron casters
line. one firm turns out no less than
seventy different Styles of stoves
ranges and heaters. Others make a
speciality of machinery, much of the
power transmitting machinery used
falong the Pacific coast being manufac-
tured In machine shops of this district
Then there are great factories that turn
out steel and wire, water wheels, belt
Ing, cans, wagons, terra Gotta and pot
terry, harness and Saddlery, furniture
paper boxes. printing. clothes, boots
and shoes and a hundred other com
modittes that are distributed all over
the world. There are a dozen large
oreweries, eight gigantic laundry
plants and as many lumber mills
IsLAIs CREEK HARBOR PROJECT
Cheap fuel has not been the only fac
district in the Mission. Unusual trans
portation facilities have contributed
much, and when the contemplated i'm
front are made. the progress and
growth of this section of the city will
be even more remarkable.
The Mission now talks of its water
front as matter of course, although
up to the time of the fire the Mission
water front was given little thought
But all this has changed now. Within
one and an eighth miles of the South
ern Pacific station at Valencia and
Twenty-fifth streets, no less than four
railroads are developing their water
front properties as fast as men, backed
by practically unlimited capital can
carry them on. The Western Pacific
the Southern Pacific. the Santa .Fe ana
the Ocean Shore are all rushing CON
struction on tracks and warehouses
that will one day make the Islais creek
basin and the water front south to
Sixth street the center of commercial
activities in the west.
Under present conditions the Mis-
sion station of the Southern Pacific
railroad company at Twentv-fiSth and
Valencia streets Is at least four miles
from the water front. 1t will not he
more than mile and a quarter along
creek harbOr In other words the lis
tance from the new water front to the
central point at Twenty-hfth and Va
lencia streets is no greater than tba
distance from Eighth street to the for
ries. In addition. the street batu-ee,,
the two points is perfectly level. II
has also been demonstrated by act,,a1
experiment that load of lumber car
be hauled from the proposed Islais
creek harbor 10 any point soufb 9iS,ls ~
Eighth street in shorter time than n
now takes TO haul from the nreaa,,t
lumber wharves at the foot OF -pou1siI
street When 1t is remena bared fbat
the bulk of the population of the eifv
is now south of Sixteenth street ~ is
not dir1cult TO see that San Francisco's
commerce and the passenger traffifs ~
the Mission of the future are 70 bs
handled. from the southern part of the
bay