The San Francisco call., 1910-02-19
HOW CANAL WILL
BENEFIT The STATE
Tide of immigration Will Flow
Into California When Big
Ditch Is Finished
By WILLIAM L. GERSTLE,
President Chamber of Commerce of San Fran

President Chamber of Commerce of San Fran
cisco.
The message received from Colonel
DeVol by the management of the Pan
anna Pacific exposition announcing that
the Panama canal will be completed by
January /, 1915, is the great news of
the current week. In it is contained
the promise of big things for Califor-
MA and for San Francisco, for Los
Angeles, San Diego and all other i'm
portant points on the Pacific coast of
the United States at an early day. The
canal means to California primarily
the beginning of immigration to this
state on large scale from European
countries. The advantages to COM
merce will be enormous. l am In
clined TO think that the filing up of
the state with the population that it
needs is of the first Importance.
From excellent authority the lnfor-
nation is obtained that California has
as many acres that are capable of
yielding profitable crops under cultl-
vation as are contained in the entire
area of Italy. The population of Italy
is 30.000,0G0 in round numbers. Cali
fornia's population is less than 2.000.-
600. The opening OF the canal will pro-
vide means to get California products
to market cheaply and that Will tend
TO Increase the profits of the producer
and also to enlarge the market IL
our present annual production from
agriculture, horticulture and Yiticul-
ture and mines amount to $400,000,000.
as has been reported by the California
state board of trade. what the total
output from these sources of state
wealth ought to be / am not prepared
to say, but the figures will be large
and the corresponding benefits will be
beyond calculation.
CAPACITY IS PERPETUAL
The land is here, with the neces-
sary water for irrigation and the eli
mate that insures perpetual capacity to
grow those products of fields, orchards
and vineyards that are peculiar to Cali
fornia among American states The
soil has the requisite fertility to bring
forth the best in quality and to make
the production in the aggregate. meas
ured by the dollar mark as we'll as
by tons, very large. All that we re-
quire in addition to the canal, is the
population, and the canal Will begin
to give US desira BILE immi grants in 1915
at the rate of many thousands per an
nun.
from European countries TO the United
States are farmers. Entering the coun-
try by New York or other eastern ports
they are handicapped by lack of knowl-
edge of the English language and un-
familiarity with the conditions In the
United States. Many who were farm
ers become laborers in large industrial
plants. They wish to continue as farm
ers and they would be of great adyan-
tage to any farming section of the
United States.
Now California is not a great manu-
featuring state at present. For many
years its strength viii be in a large
measure found in its capacity to pro-
duce wealth from its millions of acres
that can be cultivated. The canal will
furnish the means to develop our lands.
to build up our interior towns and
cities, to increase vastly the volume of
exports of native production to be sent
abroad, simply by bringing immigrants
who are farmers directly to this state.
SHORT ROUTE BY CANAL
1t will be expedent to import many
products by the comparatively short
route supplied by the canal that could
not go out without damage by the
longer route around Cape Horn, or by
any route other than by rail now exist
ing With that consideration is coupled
up the power that sea routes of mod
crate length have to regulate the rates
of all rail carriers of freights. which is
also an important consideration in es
timatng what value the canal win be
TO California from and after the open
ing of the year 1915, little less than
five years from the present.
Travellers from the United States in
Europe learn that the name of Cali
fornia is well known-better known
than that of any other agricultural
portion of this country. There are
some in Europe who entertain the ficti
tious notion that gold can be picked
up here in the streets. The larger share
of those who look forward to coming
to California desire to own and operate
farms. Long before the time comes for
the direct tide of immigration to flow
from Europe to this state by way of
the canal, means will be taken to