The Oskaloosa herald., 1915-04-01

"sich," Governor johnson is consider
ed joke by many who keep on vot-
ing for him just to see what he will
spring next. His latest proposition is
for the state of California 70 buy the
Western Pacific Railway. The
Western Pacific parallels the South.
ern Pacific from San Francisco to
Ogden, and has never been a paying
investment. Its value on the New
York Stock Exchange, varies from
$3j,000,000 enc day TO $36,000,000 the
next, and then vice versa. But Gov
ernor Johnson wants the state of Cal
ifornia to issue $50,000,U0O worth of
state bonds in exchange for the
property. lie resents the idea that
California state bond is not worth
par, but fails to explain very clearly
why the state should pay a premium
of $15,000,000 for a property that no.
body e,se is laundering after. The
fellow who can explain this, might al
so understand the alien land owner
ship law that Is involving this coun-
try with Japan. The ordinary citizen
out here however does not pretend to
understand it, He trusts it all to
Johnson and let's Bryan hold the sack
Saturday. March 90, was Orange
lay in California, and the boosters
tried to put one over on the rest OF
the country by having President VIII
son make it National event. With
ell his faults we admire Mr.. Wilson
for seeing through the joke and polite
.ly declining to turn himself into an
advertising agency. But they got
away with lot of the fruit here and
had a glorious time. The best or.
angcs here are as expensive as they
Iare at home, selling in the retail
stores at cents piece or three for
a dime If you can get outside of trust
however you can get the fruit at 10
Icents peck. The Fruit Growers As
sCciation is to California what John
ID. is to the gasoline tank. But this
is one Trust that Governor Johnson
stands for at Armagaddon.
Up at San Francisco they told us
that the San Diego fair was on its
luppers and that it would close during
the summer. Down here at the "har-
Dor of the sun, which by some
strange use of the alphabet changes
st. James into San Diego,-they tell
a different story,A Here they say the
attendance has grown wonderfully
right from the start and that the EX-
position company is making money.
To date, however, we have not been
able to find satisfactory answer to
the question, why the San Diego ex-
position?" The official name of the
show at San Francisco is the Panama
Pacific Exposition, and it was brought
into being to celebrate the opening Of
the Panama canal. The fair here Is
known as the Panama California En-
position, and was promoted and is be-
ing maintained by the city of San
Diego without any outside help. If
we may be permitted to make a guess
we would say that the San Diego show
was brought about to induce the tour.
list who might come to San Francisco
to go on down and see Southern Cali
fornia, and incidentally to help the
railroads and hotels.
But nevertheless and notwithstand-
! ing, the San Diego Exposition is
worth seeing. 1t Isl not as elaborate
or preteHtious as the San Francisco
fail, but is a marvellous exhibit OF
what an entCrprising city, and the
tail-cnd CT state built on boosting
can do. Four years ago, the site Of
tho four hundred acres now included
in the grounds was a barren waste,
bearing nothing but sage brush. 1t
is today q tropical garden, connected
vi 10 ~ hriIU
some 1900 feet long and rising 300
feet above the arroyo. All the feat
ures of an international exposition
are represented, including the cleo
trio chairs,the gaily decorated guards,
the barker and the 'Isthmus." Per
haps it would be well TO add that the
Isthmus is the Midway, or the Pike.
or the Zone. as the case may be. The
Isthmus, however, Is one part Of the
Exposition that does not look overly
prosperous. Some Of the attractions
draw WE'LL but the dispenser of SOU
venirs, WHO, by the way, sells the
same wares that may be found from
Coney Island to Seattle and from Chi
cago to San Aptonio,-and the knock
the baby down fellows stand ont in
the street and try to drag the tourists
in. The, exhibits and grounds how.
ever are fine, and our three days So
journ found them throrged with peo-
pie at all hours.
~. - -
Another thing they told at San
Francisco was that it would soon be
too hot for people to go to San Diego.
But the San Diegan resents this with
the same animation, il not wrath. that
he does the imputation that his eX-
position is only a side-show to the
main circus at San Francisco He
Will add with gustO that the climate of
San Diego is unriyaled by that found
on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Only four times in the history OF the
city has ice formed here, the lowest
temperature of record being "a above.
OF the heat, however, he is more mod
est in his claims and will even admit
that 10 times in 40 years the Their
mometer has run over the 80 mark in
summer time. He is also keen
enough rot to say how far over the
ninety mark IL ran. or how long It
lasted each time. Even the guide
books are silent on these points. And
as for dust, well we were there in