South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-04-12
Seeing America
First
BY Fred Kelly.

/ II i had great deal more money
and a little less energy than 1 now
have, / would move at once to Red
lands, Calf, and remain there the rest
Of my life.
IL is a town of some 10000 souls
/ and l imagine it is the most beautiful
| city of it's size in the world Million
aires and multi millionaires are to be
found there in a profusion that brings
TO mind the old simile of the fieas and
! the dog. I have an idea that when a
man not a millionaire walks along the
streets of Redlands. mothers pause to
| point him out TO their little children
| The consequence of this millionaire
/ population is a place devoted almost
/ entirely TO beautiful homes, flowers,
and scenery. Keeping tab on orange
groves and playing golf are about the
only industries The man who likes
/ to divide his time between looking
! leisurely at gorgeous surroundings and
harassing a golf ball would be in his
| element in Redlauds If he wants
lot Of action and his tendency to
become bored in the society of mil
| liOnaires, the beauties of the place
might pail on him. Millionaires are
all right in their way, of course. but
to live entirely surrounded by million
aires would be not without it's disad-
vantages. For one would have neigh
bOrs that possess only a scant sense of
proportion or OF humor. How could
man with a sense OF humor ever de-
vote his life TO acquiring million dol
lars?
Now if a man thinks millionaires
would be stupid company as a steady
diet, but likes lots OF bright warm
weather, and does not demand too
much excitement. he could not do bet
ter than live in Riverside, Calf, which
is town a few miles from Redlands.
Homes in Riverside are not so cost
ly as those at Redlands, but / do not
recall seeing a home in either city
that was unattractive. Neither place
has any Sums Riverside has a pop
ulation of 16, 900 or $4,000, and it's
business center gives the impression
of having been built all at the same
time. There are no old places that
ought to be weeded out some day to
make room for new ones. Everything
is too good to tear down. 1t is a
model town TO live in. Unlike Red
lands. which is a trifle more dazzling
in its beauty. Riverside seems to be
made up almost entirely Of persons
who work for a living. They do not
appear to be working very hard, it
is true, nor TO nave any particular Oc-
casion to, but they lack that complete
air Of leisure which antagOniZes those
OF us who haven't got il. And an
model town is its absolute cleanliness.
1 did not see a speck of dirt on the
street or anywhere else during the
two days | was there.
Riverside is the heart of the orange
growing section Of California. The
original navel oranges tree is by itself
surrounded by a little fence, and, l
believe the people all cross them
selves and make genuheXions as they
pass the tree.
In nearly every direction from Riv-
erside are beautiful shaded highways
bordered by solid professions of small
orange groves and pretty little homes !
l cannot imagine anything finer for
a man who is willing to put up with
little hot weather in summer and
who wishes to lead a quiet life be-
meath a sky that is clOudless nine
months a year. than TO own one OF
these groves. They cost from 81 900
TO $4,000 an acre, aside from build /
ings OF course CalifOrnians tell a
great many lies about the income TO |
be derived from a five-acre orange /
grove. II one could make all the
money one hears can be made simply /
by watching orange trees bear their
golden fruit, half the people in the
world would move next week 10 Cal /
ifornia.
Yet I found the people at both Red
lands and Riverside the most truth |
full regarding the weather that / have /
met anywhere in California All ad- /
miJted that IL was extremely hot in
summer One can't help liking a
Californian who looks one straight in /
the eye and declares the weather in /
his locality is at times uncomfortable. /