Year: 1866

The statistics exhibited by the Asses
sor's reports parade one startling fact
which should attract the earnest atten-
ton Of every political economist and bus
iness man in the State, and that fact is,
that nearly one-half the wealth Of the
State is concentrated in this city. Its
a well established fact thatno city can
long prosper without prosperous coun-
try at the back Of it to keep up the sup
plies. A city produces nothing for its
support. 1t subsists wholly on its profits
as a ''middle man," as the commission
merchant transacting the business of the
people whose trade centers in its bor-
ders. 1t buys the wheat of one section
and sells tito another buys cloth from
one district and sells it to another, and
so on. 1t occasionally manufactures a
little, but all its raw material must be
procured from the country, and it must
depend upon the country for purchasers
of its manufactured articles. 4 city, in
relation to the country or countries on
which it relies for a support, occupies
the same position that a broker to his
principals. When broker becomes so
rich that his wealth is equal to that Of
all his principals, buyers and sellers, the
chances are that that brokers' business
is nearly at an end. His profits will soon
cease, and he be compelled to subsist
from the principal of his wealth, or else
he will be forced to shift his operations
to other localities, where the people up
on whom he may rely for support have
not been impoverished. The country
can exist without the city, but a city
cannot exist without the country. When
half the wealth and nearly half the pop
ulation Of a State are concentrated in
the city, it is evident that there is not
enough Of either left in the country to
keep up the value of property and sup
port the population Of the city. Half
the wealth of the State being in the
city, It's but natural that the population
should center around it, and as a conse-
quence Of this natural law, we find that,
with scarcely an exception, the popula-
tion Of every part Of the State, outside
of San Francisco, is steadily diminish
ing, while IN the city it is increasing.
In thirty-one Of the interior counties of
the State, property deprecated in value,
from 1864 to 1865, as much as it in
creased in the city. The growth of San
Francisco has not been a healthy growth
because it has been at the expense Of the
interior. During its abnormal growth
of the past four years, it has been stead
lily consuming the substance necessary
to prolong its existence and to insure its
future good health. In word, it has
been absorbing the life blood of the in
terror, on which the city must depend
for permanent prosperity. The facts
here briefly stated show the existence
of an evil which calls loudly for a
remedy. The remedy is not to be sup
Piled BY legislation alone, even if any
part of it can come that source. 1t
must be supplied, if supplied at all, by
the combined and intelligent action Of
those in San Francisco who control the
money capital Of the State. Unless the
bankers, merchants, capitalists and large
property-owners of this city. wish to see
San Francisco follow in the wake Of the
interior, and commence to sink under an
attack Of atrophy, so to speak, they must
unite their intelligence, energy and
means, and perfect some plan or plans
for restoring life to the interior, by de-
veloping its mining and agricultural re-
sources, thus enabling it to maintain a
numerous and thriving population, who
will increase the volume of trade in the
city, and thus add to the value of its
property and enhance its prosperity.
The truth is, San Francisco is gradually
sucking the interior Of the State dry.
and at the rate of present progress will
soon have it as dry as g well-sucked
orange. When that time arrives, the
city will begin to pine and waste away,


because there viii be nothing left for 1t
to suck. In Boston, New York, Gin
cinnati, Chicago, st. Louis and all