Evening star., 1962-05-27

takes sOundings in the maeI-
strOm and presents both sides
of the dramatic picture.
Southern California Is like dying
and going to heaven. They read
with open-modthed avidity about
the delights of sin in San Fran
cisco.
And they flock to California in
planes, trains, buses and cars
some even on foot.
They come here at the rate Of
slightly more than one a minute,
$500 day, 10000 a week, 10000
a month and a half-million a
year-nearly enough to populate q
city the size of San Francisco.
They are part Of a great mass
migration-a movement that be-
gan midway in the 18th century
when they discovered gold in
Northern California-and couldn't
keep it quiet.
And despite earthquakes, wars,
depresSions and confidence men
they stream into the Golden State.
Statisticians charting the popu-
lation explosion estimate that CAL
ifornia will surpass New York De-
cember 81 as the most populous
State in the Union.
II Million Population
On that date California's popu-
lation will surge past II million,
they predict, and will nearly double
by 1880, to more than 80 million.
The newcomers know all about
the Golden State, that fabled horn
of plenty cleaning with unending
treasures: 1888 square miles of
bustling cities, emerald-carpeted
valleys, snow laden mountains
sun baked desert, sea washed
coastal towns, towering forests and
movie stars, millionaires and mis-
Sile bases.
They're aglow with tales about
jobs, sunshine, a home of your
own with a view and a pool ono
down to vets" say the ads),
schools, welfare checks, romance
and The Good Life.
They prefer to ignore certain
other things:
That California can be indif-
ferent and cruel as we'll as beau
tiful;
That California, far from being
an idyllic refuge for those who
love salubriouS climate and boun-
tiful nature, also is hit by occa-
sional earthquakes. landslides,
floods, forest fires and droughts;
That the polyglot tidal wave of
newcomers has created grievous
problems in the big cities, where
urban dwellers gasp and complain
about polluted air, soaring taxes,
dwindling water, rising unemploy-
ment and crime, congested roads
and overcrowded schools and hos
pitalS;
> That much of California's 1900
miles of coastline one
tenth of the Nations shoreline-
is Uttered with broken bottles and
beer cans, cluttered with hot-dog
stands and billboards, menaced by
needless teen-agers and tarniShed
by heller -Skelter planning;
That California gets nearly one
out of every four Federal dollars
spent for defense but when Gov
ernment contracts dwindle, air.
craft missile electronics COM
panies lay off as many as 1000
workers a month.
In short, all that glitters is not
gold in the Golden State.
Rewards Progress
Many thoughtful Californians
are wondering whether the reward
of progress" is worth the num-
bers game" the cult of growth
manship: Does size equal stature?
Does bigness mean greatness?
To some outsiders, California is
a nouveau richie, clad in loud
sports jacket and slacks and wear
ing dark glasses; a parvenu clam
oring for recognition by his bet
ters; an upstart trying to crack
the Union League Club of National
prestige.
When it comes to Dragging or
complaining, California, sllrfeited
with boosters and knockers, takes
a back seat to no one-New York
or Texas, Notwithstanding. Each
side varnishes its claims with sta
-tistics and comparisons.
Fastest Growing County
The boosters will tell you that:
Orange County, adjacent to Los
Angeles County, is the fastest
growing county in the Nation;
Fresno County in central Califor-
MIA leads the Nation for the 18th
straight year in agriculture; there
are so many cars in Los Angeles
County, about 3.5 million, that ev-
cry man, woman and child can
spring simultaneously into autos
without anyone having to sit in
a back seat.
That San Francisco, ignoring
Los Angeles freeway frenzy and
clinging to its cable cars, is a sun
washed white diamond in a be-
jeweled necklace of cities clustered
about San Francisco Bay; all the
ships in the world could be har-
bored in the bay;
That Los Angeles population
has increased 400 per cent since
1919, its industrial work force by
TOO per cent in the same period,
employing more than 100000 in
1900 plants and closing in on
Chicago as the No. 2 industrial
area of the Nation;
That San Jose, a missile-elec-
tronics boom city south of San
Francisco where sleepy-eyed cows
once grazed hard by prune ORCH
ards, someday will surpasS San
Francisco and Oakland as the big
gest city in the bay area.
What is the price? Let the
knockers tell you: