Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-10-19
Oakland, However, Starts a
Fight Against Greater
San Francisco
By ERNEST N. SMITH

D.
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 8.-When
w. r. Hearst in a speech delivered
in California some months ago spoke
Of San FTancisco-Los Angeles 4
Company" he gave expression to a
condition OF cooperation which has
since extended beyond California
and is becoming strong factor in
the knitting together Of the entire
Pacific slope in common interests
and common fortunes.
This cooperation, II carried to a
successful and permanent conclusion
viii mean far more to the Pacific
States than will any other one thing
not even excepting the Panama
Pacific Exposition and the canal. It is
spirit Of unity which viii mean mil
lions Of dollars to the commercial
life of the Slope, and untold benefit
to property and humanity.
1t is spirit worth knowing about,
a spirit well worth watching in its
fast growth, and above all a growth
Of which the Islands and Honolulu
should be a part. -
This unity OF spirit was undoubted-
ly first brought about by the fight
for the worlds fair for San Fran
cisco. First of all San Francisco
buried its differences brought about
by the graft prosecution and its at.
tending misfortunes. Right or wrong
the past was forgotten, and few
far seeing and hardy spirits came to-
gether to build anew. How well they
worked the present discloses. The
whole Pacific slope in the end got
behind San. Francisco, learned of the
sturdy spirit of the coast metropolis,
and in turn San Francisco thankful
for help, began to learn about neigh.
bors who could offer such valiant
service. :
Selecting Sites. ..-.s.. H.. ..s..
The fair city selected, delegations
from all over the coast and California
came to select their building sites,
incidentally had good time and
went home filled or recharged with
the "gingery" enthusiasm which was
building worlds fair. Warm friends
were made and not forgotten. San
Francisco formed a Flying Legion .
a body of enthusiastic business and
professional men who held themsel-
yes at the call of the city and the
exposition, to be sent out at short
notice upon errands of commercial
and civic purpose. Up the highways
and down the byways went various
groups OF the Legion" spreading
cheer. opening up avenues of trade,
making other cities problems their
own. They sang the song Of unity,
and the great future, If everybody pull
led together.
Then came trade excursions, when
businessmen, keen competitors, drop
ped business for while and hired
special trains to go through the
state and I'D and down the coast to
meet in social way men with whom
they had done business in years.
MISUNDERSTANDING and i'll feeling
were stamped out everywhere, and
the seed Of progress was sown.
Visit the City.
Other towns and cities caught the
enthusiasm, and prepared to visit
San Francisco. Los Angeles sent up
boat load of their most prominent
merchants, and everyone sat down to
Q friendly discussion of common prob
lens. San Francisco promptly re-
turned the visit, and the Los An
geles men enlarged thaf list and
came again. Not to be 0utdone the
real estate men came trooping up to
San Francisco ito see what they
could see" They were met with a
frank confession of admiration. and
as one man expressed 1t Il take off
my hat to men who ian take q worth
less desert and cultivate it and sell
land for 500 an acre, then put the
land into orange groves and sell it
for $500 an acre, then cut UP the
orange grove into subdivisions and
sell it for $1,000 a lot, then cut up
the lots into business districts and
put skyscrapers on the original des-
ert land and sell it off for $4,000 a
front foot" ~..., e. ~ -. -. -
Back the visitors hurried to Los, An
geles. Meanwhile a San Francisco
delegation hustled away to Portland,
Seattle, Victoria and Vancouver even,
just 10 show that the spirit of prog.
ress can be international The boost
ers did everything there was to do,
saw everything there was to see. said
everything there was to say. admired
everything there was to admire, and
then hustled home to make ready for
q visit from the. friends they had
just called upon.
Down Came Canadians.
And soon afterwards a delegation
arrived from Vancouver and Victoria,
whooped it up. got. full of American
git up and git" and left a ruddy
healthful British feeling behind them.
Suddenly it was discovered that
the business men of the city, running
in bushes groves as some men do,
knew but little of what was. going on
outside their particular lines. Inn
mediateiy home Investigation excur-.