Amador ledger., 1910-11-25
WRITER TAKES
ANOTHER TRIP
Leduer's Correspondent
Visits Sacramento
and Folsom

NOV. ZU- our Correspondents, ike
migratory bird. has been to several
places in the last three months, all of
them possessing interesting features
too much to take up in one letter.
1 was in Sacramento for four weeks.
Well, everybody knows that Sacra-
mento is on the map, but few outside
the city realize the building boom that
is taking place there. Real estate
dealers are as busy as bees, buying
tracts on the outside Of the city and
cutting them up into building lots.
Street work has been carried on ex-
tensively, too, and the boom alto
gether, has advanced prices of realty
amazingly. 1t is certainly inflated
action that must reach a maximum.
Then the slump. and the small pur-
chasers loose. Tell Sacrameptarian
that, he'll say, "How can it?" Water
will reach its level, so will the con-
ditions of city. There is another
tendency to boom it, the influx of
fasteners who are swarming west
ward. They hear of California as the
balmy sunny land where everything
can be raised plentifully but $50
pieces; they must be coined, and if l
am Judge. it is the real estate men
that are doing the coming, not by
dies as the government does, but by
speculative genius, they all seem to
possess.
had the pleasure, while in Sacra-
mento of seeing the worlds famous
aviator, Chas. K. Hamilton fly. He
made three ascents and flew around
the fair grounds three times, alighting
each time with the ease of a bird. l
was told he made poor effort during
fair week. but he retrieved it after
ward, that's certain.
visited Folsom a few days ago,
and went out to see dredger No. g.
the largest in the world. 1t is pom
derous piece of wood and iron COM
bined, turned into actual work by the
genius of man. 1t has been under
construction for nearly two years.
There are 40 or so men constructing it,
moulding it into shape. Nearly all
the iron work is made at the com
pany's shops at Natoma with the ex-
ception of a few pieces of heavy cast
ings, which are made in the east. The
machine shop at Natoma, owned by
the company, is continually turning
out new material that is worn away by
the ponderous action of the machine,
for this one would destroy 100 acres of
land in single year-hence the wear.
| visited the Folsom prison on Sun
day last, but the warden's edict had
struck Sunday out on his map for
curious visitors-curious, say, for
every one knows it is curiosity to see
the inside of prison without having
the formality of superior judge to
send you there with permit to stay
from one to 20 years, or even life
time, at the generous hospitality of
the taxpayers of the state of Cali
fornia.
Well, l approached the outer guard
that sits in an easy chair before a
small iron gate that was wide open.
A winchester rifle was leaning
against the granite wall, and spoke
in silent volumes for itself. The
guard was an affable, good natured
gentleman, suave in manners, and
obIiglng in character. The gun SAID in
pantomine, "Look out for the man,
he may turn me into messenger of
death to uphold the law that man holds
as his perogative." AS looked at
the man and conversed freely with
him, reflective thought passed like
flash through my mind-these men
are employed by the commonwealth
of the state, to guard the prisoners.
Suppose a man makes a leap for
liberty, it is natural, bang goes the
Winchester, and down he goes; this
is law, this is order. He kills the
man because of duty. Now, my
reading friends, there is cause for
the condition that makes so many con-
victs. They are not criminals by
nature, but by circumstances. Senator
Perkins said in lecture twenty years
ago. ''Hunger, squalor. and want,
know no law. The worlds greatest
philanthopists and the political econo-
mist are striving to bring about
betterment of economic conditions in
order to aid the mass of human slaves
that are really slaves to their own
wants.
AFtar bod haan tbara 80. N LoIF