River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1915-10-21
AS THE TOURIST SEES THE
PACIFIC COAST
By MRS. E. B. Armstrong

the meeting Oh OCI 10 1917
San Diego is the first Pacific
American port north of the Panama
canal. Her harbor is called the
Harbor Of the Sun. A natural har-
Dor, land-locked and absolutely free
from storms at all seasons of the
year. Here nature has combined
utility and beauty in forming one OF
the worlds greatest harbors. On
the United States Pacific coast line
Of 1900 miles there are but three
harbors capable Of handling the
largest vessels afloat, and San
Diego is one Of them. Ninety per
cent of the population of the United
states is closer to the port of San
Diego than either of the other
ports. 1t lies within 100 miles Of
the great circle traversed by yes
sells voyaging to and from the orr
ent. 1t has natural channel waters
deeper and wider than those Of
Baltimore, Boston or Philadelphia
One of the many cogent reasons
why this Port should become a
logical distributing center of the
southwest is that it is the proper
gateway of ingress and egress,
being the First Port Of Call in
United States territory for all in
coming vessels, and the last Port of
Call for all outgoing vessels plying
between United States ports and
the Canal The bay Of San Diego
has an area of p square miles and
a depth of water at low tide of IS
feet. The building of the Panama
Canal will readjast and revolution
lie the entire commerce ofthe world;
ten steamship lines at present make
San Diego the Southern terminus
for their steamships. The Santa
Re railroad has long been establish
ed. The San Diego and Arizona is
now being constructed, and every
indication now oints to the max
ing of San Diego terminal, also,
for the Rock Island and Salt Lake
railroad. San Diego is one Of the
most healthful cities in the world.
The total annual death rate for 1912
was only s 6 per 1000 inhabitants
for1esidents; II IS for residents and
nonresident inhabitants combined.
The total average rate of the United
States is l54 In 1909 the popu
lation Of San Diego was 50, 0l0; in
1918 it was 10000, an increase Of
500 per cent in four years. Since
1909 the city has been under COM
mission government. It's area is
" square miles. Greatest length
20 miles. Greatest width 1 miles.
The water system is excellent. 1t
became the property of the munich
pa!ity Aug. Is, 1912; before that it
was controlled BY private corpora
ton 1t is first taken from Movena
Reservoir, so miles from San Di &
This reservoir has storage Capac-
ity of Is 900, 900, 900 gal The city
has planned to build another dam,
thereby forming second Reservoir
of another fifteen billion gallons.
The average rain fall in San Diego
is fully 1901 inches while in the
mountains sixty miles from San
Diego the average is IS to 10 in.
Ninety per cent of the rainfall oc-
ours between November l and May
i. The rich soil, warm sunshine
and an almost inexhaustible water
supply make the entire southland a
veritabie garden. All kinds of work
can be performed throughout the
year without hardship or drawback.
Fresh fruits and vegetables in
great variety are available every
day in the year. Southern Califor-
MIA is mecca for vegetarians. A
man can make as much money from
10 acres here as from 100 in Nv
England.
The Panama California Exposj
ton at San Diego occupies Balboa
Park, commanding sight on an
elevation overlooking the city and
the great ardlocked harbor, one of
the finest and largest on the Pacific
coast. From these grounds is a
magnificent view long to be remen-
bered. The harbor of the Sun with
its busy shipping, beyond that the
strand of Coronado and on the
other side Point Iona, on which
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