Los Angeles herald., 1908-05-10
REAL ESTATE is
FORGING AHEAD
RATIONAL RESTORATION OF
CONFIDENCE,
WATER FRONT IMPROVEMENT
TO RAISE VALUES
Remarkable Inrease In Shipping at
San Pedro-Ffty Miles Of New
Mountain TraiIs--Rush
to imperial

The fleet celebrations had a good eff
feet on real estate. During the week
Just closed there were a number or
exceptionally large sales In country
lands. Reports of the city firms show
that there was renewed activity In the
sale of lots and houses. Buliding III
all sections of the city and southern
California was active. Prospects are
excellent for real estate and the busi-
ness outlook Is encouraging.
A rational restoration of confidence
is more to be desired than anything
else. Unnecessary fears should be as
carefully avoided as unfounded OPP
timism. 1t should not be forgotten
that the situation today is radically
different from what existed year ago.
Then our troubles were ahead OF US,
now they are largely behind us and Will
soon become a matter of history.
There Is really ample reason for taking
more hopeful views regarding the fu-
ture. This does not mean that the
state is on the edge of a sudden boom,
but that conditions are changing ana
now positively favor progress toward
normal conditions.
A movement is on foot to organize
city improvement association to be
known as the Los Angeles Riverbed
association. It's object will be to ad-
vocate the immediate Improvement OF
the bed of the Los Angeles river. IL
would add greatly to realty values In
sections adjacent to the river.
To Rush Harbor improvements
Facts brought out at the hearing
before Capt. Amos A. Fries. United
States engineer. last week on the new
channels L.. the Cerritos slough be-
tween Long Beach and Wilmington
harbors and for Dominguez creek, pro-
posed by the Los Angeles Dock and
Terminal company and the Salt Lake
railroad, point to, the work on these
harbor improvements being rushed
through this coming summer.
The railroad and docking companies
are trying to get the matter acted on
at Los Angeles soon enough to report
il to Washington, in time to. have any
special act necessary passed at the
present session of congress.
These matters came UP at the hear
ing, where the Los Angeles harbor
commission and the chamber OF COM
merce's harbor committee Endorsed the
channel In Cerritos slough. while the
railroad and docking company favored
the Dominguez creek channel.
George II. Stewart, chairman of the
harbor commission. suggested that the
railroad give as much area for the pro-
posed Dominguez creek channel as it
will gain by abandoning the present
channel which Is most crooked one.
+. M. Jessup, the Salt Lakes en-
gincer. said that since the railroad had
offered a 400-foot channel for Cerritos
slough already, that company would
hardly consent to Chairman Stewards
proposal.
At San Pedro work is about COM
pleted on the north side of the new
Southern Pacific slip. This work adds
1880 feet of wharfage that may be used
as needed.
The dredging along the north side
l. I.<,ax of or 70 q n
feet, and any vessel that can cross the
bar at the entrance to the inner har-
Dor can lie in comfort in the slip.
Great Increase in Shipping
There has been a large increase in
business at this port in the past two
weeks. The Southern Pacific has
hauled out an average of over ninety
carloads of freight per day. Lumber Is
coming in rapidly. Several of the
schooners have worked overtime in or
der to get out promptly to reload.
The George w. Elder came in yes
terday with the largest cargo she has
ever brought to this port. bringing
about 1400 tons of miscellaneous
freight.
The steamerS Santa Rosa and Queen
each bring ali average of about twenty
cars of freigL, for this port on their
weekly trips down the coast.
-Four SWITCH eHBlISS are kept pussy
in the yards, and on Friday of last
week five trains of freight, amounting
to 100 cars, were made up and for
warded.
Wages paid to longshoremen by the
Wilmington Transportation company
last week amounted to $2000-this for
one dock alone. g
Fifty miles of mountain trails and
fire-breaks in the San Gabriel forest
-roaarva tim haVa bpau I'm, .,royo1 thiu
year by the board of supervisors as a
part of the roadwork of the county
placing the mountain roads In the best
condition they have been in for years
and rendering the danger from serious
forest fires this summer a minimum.
All the wor- on fire-breaks has been
done in cooperation with the govern
ment forest supervisor, the county and
federal authorities joining hands in
protecting the watersheds and timber
land from fire loss.
On the old Mount Wilson trail rum
ming from Sierra Madre up the Santa
Anita canyon, distance OF seven and
half miles to the summit of Mount
Wilson, ten men have been at work
four weeks and are just completing the
improvements. This trail is probably
the one most used in the entire Sierra
Madre range, carrying hundreds of
climbers every week In the summer
months to the big observatory and the
numerous summer camps on top of the
range.
Mount Wilson Trail
In addition to the 5000 spent by the
county on this trail, the Mount Wilson
hotel owners and the proprietors of the
McNally halfway house have con-
tributed to the improvement.
The Monrovia trail to Pine Flat and
the San Gabriel west forks, the Rincon
trail up the west forks of the San Ga
briel and the Dalton canyon trail east
OF San Gabriel are three important
trails and fire-breaks that have been
widened and improved by the county
ana government together.
A space from fifteen to thirty feet
wide has been cut through the chapar-
raj, an effective block to any brush
fire.
The same treatment has been fol-
lowed with the Sturdevant trail rum
ming up the big Santa Anita canyon
to Mount Wilson and to the San Dimas
trail above Glendora.
Pasadena water companies have