Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-25
SCRANTON SOUNDS A WARNING

CCRANTON is a coal town in the anthracite
- region of PENNSYLVANIA. 1t came into I'M
- pleasant notoriety in the Z0s as being the
home and headquarters Of the "Mollie Alaguires.
Most of the members Of that organization who
were captured were hanged, but the lrIbune-Re-
publican is published there. Possibly the editor
of it had his ears frosted in the recent Billiards
and is peevish. ANYHOW, he is telling all his read
ers that Los Angeles is simply real estate BOOM
although he admits this city has grown from lO2
47O to $40, 1913 in ten years. Out here we think
that is enough people to make a real boom on a
solid foundation. But then OF course, we don't
know what Scranton demands in boom to make
it real
And the worst Of it is the language he uses
such as "frisly maleyOlence, "megacephaOus'
and "miXobarbaric,' If we ever find out what they
all mean we intend to grow angry, but We urge
iorbearance on the part OF the public until we can
get a competent word plumber to unjOint them and
see what they really are
Possibly the editor was interrupted in writing
his piece by the agent for the dictionary who
seized it for non-paymcnt OF installments, for he
gets right down to the ordinary kind OF Pennsyl-
yania English and cites a letter from B. K, Leach,
who tells him that Southern California is a deu-
sion and snare. He even goes so far as 10 say
that the best crop in Los Angeles is the tourists
Right there is where we have to agree with
him They are. Just let that Scranton man come
here and see the tens of thousands OF them who
have come here as tourists to remain here as resi-
dents. If they went back at all it was only to
bring their families
But of course the Scranton editor doesn't know,
so he goes on to say that 90 per cent Of the land in
Southern California is not productive enough TO
be profitable and that the inhabitants are COM
hitting suicide 70 escape their misery, and then he
adds:
Thousands believing in advertisements
published in newspapers and scattered
through the east have sold their Comiorta-
bic homes and farms or have retired from
business and located in California. to their
sorrow. The lands purchased have been
mostly unimprOycd desert tracts with no ac-
cessible supply OF wafer Hundreds have
lost their all and have faced starvation. The
wives and daughters have been forced TO 60
ont to work while husbands and sons work
on half time at any employment that could
be secured. Mr.. Leach claims that he has
conversed with men who, with tears stream
ing from their eyes have told him how
they were drawn to California by fake ad-
vertisemcnts and had lost all that they had
earned i'm the cast The writer states that
but for the fact that he was cautious and
did not invest upon first coming to Califor-
MIA he would have been in the same boat
with thousands Of others who have been
practically made paupers by the mi-reprc-
sentations Of the land boomers.
The editor oi the l'ribunc-RcpnbHcan may be
very excellent man and even speak kindly Of his
immediate neighbors after he has eaten his Christ
mas mincc pie favored with California rai,ins and
something stronger that also comes from The grape
but we feel certain Mr.. Leach must have investi-
gated Los Angeles about the time Or. Cook was
discovering" the north pole.