Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-21
A TYPICAL SMALL COMMUNITY
OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

here are reaping rich reward lot theii
labor and investment and those VINO
come may look for equal opportunity.
The hills are filled with riches that de-
serve legitimate exploitation.
What Made Escondido7
This valley has grown rich from the
efforts of such men as he who filled
UP the we'll hole because it had gold ore
in It, They are tillers of the soil and
have mastered the trade they nave
elected to labor in. The products of
Escondido valley are bounteouS ana
profitable. They are made up of read
lily marketable and high-priced fruits,
nuts, hay and grain, While all else
needed for self-sustenance is gdown
in this wonderful soil. Such valley!
The most perfect within the meaning
of the word valley. They tell me that
Escondido means hidden" and the hills
that surround these beautiful acres do
almost hide it. Thirteen thousand
acres were in the Mexican grant, af-
terward ratified by the federal gov
| ernment and never were a given num-
ber of acres so blessed to yield. Think
of seventy-two acres, planted in grapes,
sold In advance for $4,000 year, and the
lessee does the work! The man who
owns five acres in the Escondido val
ley makes more from that trivial in
| Vestment than the small merchant in
the large city who has ten times the
| amount invested under circumstances
| of great risk.
Escondido's Strength
Figures may be dry or refreshing.
depending on whether they hold him
drance or hope. Consider these for re-
freshment: Escondido lemons took
first premium at the Pan-American
exposition and they find a ready mar
| bot xyxx,la n,Na nn,JA h,.Nt
$500 and another $1,000 The year 1907
was a good one for Escondido. The
valley shipped 27,441 boxes of oranges,
33.957 of lemons and 1879 boxes of grape
fruit $3.50 pounds of dried deciduous
fruits, 1S7,7S0 pounds of raisins, 1872
cars of hay, 3S cars of grains, 3537 boxes
of apples, $4,000 pounds of olives, 1900
cases strained honey, s tons of hides,
2SS7 pounds of wax, 13 tons fresh fruits,
GAL, 900 pounds green grapes and 2630
pounds olive oil. The Muscat is the
| finest known table grape and is best
for raisins. One ten-acre patch brought
it's owner $1,000 for eighteen tons of
| raisins.
Poultry shipments gave equally good
account One firm shipped 125,000
dozen of eggs at an average price of
20 Ia cents per dozen. and forty-five
tons of poultry brought IA, 16 and Is
cents per pound, totaling $4,000. And
these eggs and poultry figures repre-
sent but two-fifths OF the valleys pro-
duct.
Water and its Cost
Escondido brings it's water twenty
miles, but they bring enough of 1t so
they don't have to go back the same
day for more. The source is the San
Luis Rey river, and the supply is
brought twenty miles to reservoir
| Ia ,oJ1
gallons. And this may be trebled by
simply raising the dam. The scheme
is a broad one and provides that each
land owner shall be a stockholder in
the enterprise, which Is a mutual COM
pany, and which exacts charges suffi-
cient )nly for maintenance of the sys-
: tenn. The water supply cost $350,000,
and is paid for to the last penny.
Escondido
This little city of Escondido is one Of
the wonders of state of wonders. 1t
is entirely free of debt and is growing.
In 1907 sixty-five new buildings were
erected and thus far in 1908 forty more
have been added. Its population is in
the neighborhood of 1900. The town
site covers three square miles. 1t is
110 miles south of Los Angeles, 13
miles in an air line from the Pacific
ocean, 16 miles by wagon road and %
miles on a spur from the main line of
the Santa Fe railroad. 1t has every
facility for decent and comfortable liv-
ing. A high school that cost $35,O00,
city primary school that cost $4,000.
and three graded schools make 1t an
enyiable place in which to rear chill
dren And five churches of as many
different denominations contribute
additionally as a home community.
Secret orders, too, are represented by
lodges of the principal societies.
The stores are of superior excel
lence and no want of civilized living
cannot be supplied without leaving the
city. Two newspapers are published
here and a telephone system of 300 sub
scribers makes the whole valley a
contiguous system of neighbors. The
postoffice is the central point OF six
smaller offices and is the headquarters
for two rural free delivery routes.
Thus the summing up of this truly re-
markable little city shows that life
lacks nothing in Escondido and that
Escondido lacks nothing in life. The
picturesqueness of the place, the
gently rising streets, leading back TO
the hills; the uniformity of buildings,
mostly new the flowers, the equable
unfrosted climate and the broad
gauge people of the place combine in
making it representative or the
newer and better California. Nor must
| these notes be completed without d
final reference to it's solidity. In all
the aliases of the United States, find
its equal If you can. Point out a
place of equal size where not one dol
lar of debt exists-and that in the face
of a never ceasing spirit of improve
ment Find, If you can, Its prototype
during the recent business depression,
when older and larger communities
gasped for the breath of financial life.
1t is in it's dogged determination to
| go forward and that without compro-
missing it's civic integrity that 1t pre-
sents a new side-a side yet to be de-
veloped by many larger cities.
1t is a seething cauldron in Its busi-
ness activity 1t is a haven of rest
when viewed from it's home side. 1t is
as pert and clipper as school girl
in energy-it is as sedate as her pro-
fessor in conservatism. Escondido,
sane and solid-California's own.
Upon her perfumed couch she lies
| Kissed of the sun, and fair,
| The dream of conquest in her eyes.
And roses in her hair
| She lies beside the Sunset Sea
| Whose leaping tides, at play.
| Are odorous with Already
! And spices from Cathay.
Her morning cloak that. fold on fold.
The son gods kisses pressed.
Is woven of the poppys gold
Across her amorous breast:
She clasps it bright with cleaning bars