Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, March 15, 1877, Page 5

THE CHICAGO 'I'RIBUNE: THURSDAY., MARCH 15, 1877, has advantages in frelghtaze which Chieago hus nat, and obtaina for its merchants, from mann- facturers, articles of neseesity much cheaper than Chirago can. This 5 ta the Lenmit of the fartaer, technufe, antd laborer, and heips to prove my statemeut that_one i lve here cheaper than fn the Enst. The possthilities of San i'rancisco are Frnut. With the fincat harbor on the Pacltic, and’ the miglity resources that surround [t, [t acems destined to bo one of the reat cities of the world, It has nlread; egun lo outgrow the peninsula on which it “ia situated, and Oakinnd, another llnmklrvn (fo_commerce, I mean, not In morals), an Fprung up acroas the bay and already han 0,000 {nhabltants, It has grown, and is stlil growing, very raphdly, one great vouse of which, I have no doubty belng the vars liberal nulley of tha Central Paciic Rafirond Company, which con- trola the rall aod ferry communicatlons between the two citics, seven” miles apart, earrying pas- ecngers for the remarkably low price of heents each single fare, and to Melrose, five miles fur- ther, for the same price, Evaustonians nn{ the Northweatern Rallroad Company 42 cents singlo farc to Chileago, which is onge milo noarer Chica- o than Melrose s to 8an Francisco, And the glorlhwcnlcm neople ahould know that tho Central Pacific carry 15,000 passengers s day between the two points, while they earrs—tewer than they might with a'more Jibernl policy, £an_ Francisco has grown to be so large that snburban restdence f8° a Juxury—a luxury, in- deed, it 18 to those who are fortunato enough to own homes fn that delightful mountain retreat, Ban Rafacl, fourteen tlles away on the north side of the bay, Inclosed by picturesque moun- faln ranges, wnich frame {t as n picture and ¢helters L at the same thne from the cool ocenn breezes. San Rafacl is the home of many wealthy Franclscans who go back and forth to Lusincar, and it is destined, on account of its most beautiful Jocatlon, nearuess to the city,and unexeeptionable climate, to be genernlly rought for residence, Itaclimate ismore nearly 1ike that of Southern Callfornia than s found elsesvhere In this nelghborhood, which mokes It Liguly favored of invallds, In tuture letters 1 shall speak more at length of thischarming little :em of o place, and of othrr localitics which have been mchlentally referred to, 1tismy * fatention ulso to investirato some of the OTHER GREAT INTENESTS of thie State, In hope that my rescarches may bo found of valua to the readers of ‘Tie THBUNE. In proof of some of iny stateinents above, [ bave been at some trouble to gathier the fullow- ingt facts concerning a few of the leading fluan- cla} and commercinl houses of this city, which I berewlth lay before your readers as showing the great wealth engaged in the varions lines of trade and finance, us wellas to demonatrate that San Francisco Is independent {n money mattera, fo commerce and nanufucturles, and uble to care for its people as well and o8 clxcnrlyuumont Eastern ditica. In future letters 1 will speak of othicr indivdual and business Interests for tho arposc of giving Eastern people & moro correet !’w of the business transacted here, us well os the trcilities for doing it. TIHIIE BONANZA KINGS. PLOOD & O'BRIRY, who have been the subjocts of cavil and detrac- tion for some months past on account of the delay In opening up tho tower levels of the Con- eolidated Virglula mipe, scem likely 10 bask azaln soon in the suoshilhie of public faver, The average reader of Tite Tribuse would be doutitless willing to accept soma portion of the obloquy heaped upon these Fenttemen could ho sssumo with their responsibility thele good for- tune. There arc four members of the flrm,— dJames C. Flood, Willlam 8. O'Brien, John W, Mackey, and Jawes G, Falr, Tho first two Ipok after their larie real estate, stock, and banXing Iaterests In 8an Franciscos tho others superfn- tend thelr mincs, inllls, forcsts, and large water Intercsts In Nevada. Tho sggregate property in ese0 of thoe four gentlemen exceeds $100,000,- 00, and it {s fncreasing at the tate of $25,000,000 perannum. It Is pretty evenly divided botwesn thetn, Me. Mackey perhaps having a little moro {han the othiers, Thelr money has probably of- forded them some consolation when tried by newspaper adversity, but thclr concclous fn- tegrity has stood them In stil better stead. 8o to all well-meaniug persons they woula, of course, prefer to bo understood and appreciated than to bo totally misreprescuted. . THE ATTACKS UPON THEM have been anomalous in the history of mining management on this const. flere aru four men who bave developed the richest mines over known in the United States, given employment dircetly and Indlirectly to many thousand peo ple, brouzht boundicss wealth to hundreds, competenca to thousands, toucted ail about them with tho wand of Fortunatuy, and yet have reccived scant thanks for thelr bencflcence. They havo the only really rich minca on the coast, though others of conslderablo richness we {n prospect. They have dlateibuted (n divt- denda nearly $40,000,00. Whilo thls has been golug on, milllons upon milllons have been apent by speculators In sinklng uscless loles n tho ground In search of ore never to ho discovered; milllons more have gone iuto the pockots of mine manipulators, osteusibly os necessury ase scsements; other millions have dropped quictly fato tho thlevish pouches of poolers of worthe less stock, cnhanced fn price by systematle decelt, and then sold to the ignurant and unwary st Ligh figures. This s the way things usually oo the stock market, and the persous guilty of suen frauds, though thelr froudu. lent practices are well known, are rarely cxposed, nover punished, and not really thought <to have done anything wrang. Acodu of cquity followed In practice pownere else, it {s hoped, permits the only mm- ing owners and managera who have cver dealt bonestly oy tho stockbolders associated with them to bo tried by public oplnion, arrslgned by a portion of the press, only after a long verlod of abuse and misapprehension to be g‘!:flinll ina just attitude belore o mistaken com- nity. ; TUAT THEY ARETO BE JUSTIFIED IN THH BYES OF TIE WORLD sesulta will soon show. Flood & O0'Brien have pald, as stated, nearly $40,000,000, besido many wiilions more through tie financlal velus of thy comuunity, as compensation for raw or manue Isctured material, or as waues for labor, When they had_done this thoy were dawn suma 1,000 feet in the buwels of tho earth, where progress Was slow on account of heat, water, aud fu- sullicient yentilation, ‘There wasno change, 1t may be obscrved, u the proapects of the mine, but until g certaln amount. of sinking of shatte, and winzes, and cross-cutting should bu done, the dividends of the Cupsolldatea Virginta mine must bo suspended. ‘They stopped the dlvl- deuds; tho stock fell, and hundreds who, fn thelr greed for gain, hud been carrying cortifis cates ot & argu,~—that Is, with only u small bercentage of the current value pald,—werg m:i»(, wut of sight and utterly ruined. Then thers was u universal wall. 3f the stack ¥ent tos Jow point one day, dealers would howl: "Why don't Floud & O'Bilen buy In and keep ltupf™" 1, o response to their demand, the Brus did “stand In,)’ as they did on scveral oce tarlons, Instantly the counter cry was ralsed, *They have depressed the stock that they mizht {hemaclves buy It I for s speculatfon.”” Noth- ing pleascd the speculazive populace. Tho trouble tually culminated by an annusl meeting, A which Mcssrs, Flood, O'Brien, Mackey, and Falr were roundly abused and loaded with con- tumety, and nothiog came of It. QUIETLY AND BERENELY ke great misc-owners went on with thelr work, 2odhaving sunk, and drifted, and pumped, tnd ventilated alt that was necessary; bsving found the lower levels as rich !non from ¥hlch tho former mitllons were tukes, they are $ust ready for the tnspection of exverts und the ublic, gid will soun resume thelr dividends, fie prescat situation scems, without techuieali- tits, to b this: Out of un irrceular mass of ore Nhich may be detined in geueral terms as forty feet n depth by 150 feet in width and 850 feet in length, not far from 8 W0 bas already” been takem. They haw explured and have fu sizbt’ o bre g -ull‘{ rich, x‘mrt of the same body, 100 fect fn depth, with the ssme xiencrnl length aud bresdth. A pretty falr esthuate cau by formed from this statenient of Wial cuit actuals lybe dune, all this belng aevessible to sight ang But this is yot all. ‘The bonauza 1s pre- dumcd—praunmed it (s sald, not knoen—to ex- Lend seyeral huudred feet further down; aud on vacof the Jower levels, 200 or 300 fect to the tast, ouother bonanza has beem touched that tuniet remaln for the present uncxplored. r ese aro sunple fucts, The reader may tako hein aud from thew draw bis own deductions, ifornia street will suon again be lu s futter, aad the volces of tuose who buy, sell, and ma- upulit stocks for & Uyig will Lo nce more turucd iuto hlessings, With all this treasuro in oy tho firm of klood & O’Brien could well l_lflbrfl tobear temporary ceusurs, and with so tear a record thelr cousclen:es might well bo dear. They do not deal fu stocksy it is not helr buslucss. It Is fmmateral to them ®hetber stocks are high or low, exeept that ey ko t sey beople cuntented and prosper- “_[lll:lr'{hct pnlar’l:.g‘ ar%lhlmw n ult:{lerm:s ank, with {ts 810, cal ros| 0un theso bobtomless gitver talice. 1t 5 uader ‘¢ Wanagement of Mr. Louls McLeau, 4 clever sad experlenced fluancer, wio i3 hlasolf con- ol rereatl fyea fta fundaall the elar- ety and thezaiiee neededdn o ¢ o, ey finan- chl entre na (hi No mlsmanneoment has eser b against the fiy I fact, Kttle has ever been allegzed nmafnst them except, that they have been slow 1o make needlcss explanutions of tielr busineas 1o frresponsible persons. THR INDIVIDUAL JMEMIERS OF TIE PHO are retiriog and unassuming niem, with no non- acnse abotit them, and thorouzhly devoted to business. Mr, Flood is the best known. Ile, a blne-eyed gentieman of modest besring, gen- tlé, conrtecus, firm, and tenacious of his righte, O'lirlen fs kind, polite, and dignilicd, ~ Mr, Fair, who has L-hnrge of the mills ani above- ound interests at Virginia, is shrewd and skill- ul in management, and & thoroughly compe- tont meehanfe. Mr. Mackey is an impulsiva ond gencrous man, who rives o great deal to the poor, and who {8 very much Toved by the entire Inboring populatlun of Virginia “Clty, His tmmedinte cares are under ground. The miners respect and love him. Few, fu fact, can be found in Virginla to say an unkind word of John Mackey, Those Injured in the mines aro carofully tended, and If they dlo their famlitics are provided The nnnual antount ot Mackev's personal henefactlons cannot fall be- Tow $100,000. All the members of the firm nro respeceted as generous and unpretentlous gen- tlemep except by those whosa interests conitlet, and these, in the good time soon coinlng, will cntertaln more favorable opinlons. WM. T. COLIIMAN & CO. ONE AMONG TIB PIRST OF TIAT ENTERPRISING BAND OF 'diieny i who bade farcwell to civilization and pushed ottt boldly over plalns and mountains In search of “1he golilen ficere,”* was the senjor member of the firm above mentioned, Mr. Coleman fs a native of Kentucky, though rearcd from boy- tiood fn 8. Louls, where be had the advantage of allberal educntion and practical busincas ex- perience, untll, at the age of 22, he voluntarily chese the 1ife of a ploncer. Crossing the plains to-day {s a holiday affalr, but it was quite difer~ ent with the men of *40, and wo need not won- der that to hove made the 2,000anile journey overland fn that day constitutes A KIND OF PATENT OP NOBILITY with resident Californians, The Soclety of Plo- neers, of which Mr. Coleman Is 'resident, Is per- liaps the most prominent soulal organization (n the efty. Arriving liere, Mr. Obleman found scveral hundred ploncera like himself, and Lundreds mora arrlving dally, drawn hither by the Insa- tlable thirst for gold. ‘The mines gttracted tho greater number, but, reslsting thelr fascinatlon, Ir. Coleman cngaged at onco In TIE GROCERY JODBING TRADE 2 in Sacramento and in the mines, in which he was attended from the beginning with success, and opened & house in Ban Franclaco In June, 1850, Hia business kept pave with the growih of the country, and Io 1853 ho went to New York ond established another house, which wea run in conjunction with the Fan Francis.o house, hoth belug candacted alinost excluslvely on the commission bais. FOUR YEARN LATER hie established a line of clipperships betsween this city and New York, nud now las a line between this city and Thiladelphia, conducted at the Phitadelphia end by Messre, 1. L. Grege & Co. From 1830 to 1870, Mr. C. reslded in New York, and personally conducted the busincss at that end; leaving the San Franciaco house In the hiands of trusty and competent agents. Now tho New York housc, located at No. 130 Pear] atreet, 1s managed by Mesars. 1T, A, Thomnns and Richard Delafield, and, lke tho §an Fran- claco Jouse, has business conncetlons with near~ Iy every scaport n the world. Messrs. Willlams T, Coleman & Co., of Ban Franclsco and Now York, shlpplng and commls- slon mzrebants, are ¥ TERY BYNNKG PINANCIALLY, and staud very high, but, while' théy have close connectlons with Great Britaln and German ports, thelr most Intimate relatfons are with Chlng, Japsn, Australla, Central and South Amerlca,and the Pacifie Coast. These coun- trics gocin sfur off to interlor readers, but to Ban Frauclsco they ars nest-door uclghbors, with whom Measrs, Coleman & Co. keep up n lively acqualntuuce, though- the bulk of thelr great hustness Is, nevertheless, with tho Missis- slpol Valley and Atlantic Btates, 4 Tuls house Landles % LARGE QUANTITIES OF PROVISIONS shipped by leading liouses of Chicago, 8t. Loufs Cincinnatl. Pcorla, Omala, and other Western cities aro finding here an excellent market in the Far Wast for tlclr surplus stocks, It fs un- aoubtedly true that the Paclfic States and Terri- torles Liave folt tho depresslon of hard times, less than any other part of our country, or, in- deed, most forelgn countries, It Isa fact also thatthis country has mora gold and silver than provislons, N carly one-third of the poputlation are mluers who have stomachs to be fed and backs to ba clad, and those nocessitics must come from abroad. S T'o particularize, Mesars. C. & Co. RECEIVE FROM TUE MISSISSIENL VALLEY Dbacon; hams, checse, butter, candles, soap, genslug root, nuts, spirits, alcohol, whisky, ote., ete., baving for scveral years handied tho total product of tho Omahz distillerles, . They have tho agency for a leading nail factory of Wheel- fog, W, Va., as well as that ot Oxford, N, J., aud recelve afso palots, oils, varnishes, and all the other products lu fact of the Western and Atlantlc States that can bo disposcd of hero to advantage. X 1N RETURY, they send Chilengo and nelzhboring citles large quantitles of Callfornin barley, from onc to 100 carloadsat a time, This barley bas a much larger and plumper berry than that grown at tho East, and, when worked into malt, pro- duces un amber Hould quite nearly resembling tha worlil-fanous Pllsner of Vienna, It fs used largely by o prominent Chicago browery, aml [ bellevo the testimony of beer-drinkors Is In favor of beer mado from CALIPONNIA DARLEY, as agalust other beer, “by u Jarge majority." Measrs, Coleman & Co, wero the first to under- take its shipwent. They also send you hops, walt, dried frults In large quantities, honoy, mustand sced, und alfalfa sced—a grass some- what resembling clover, which Eastern farmers arc introducing with good results, It §s hardy, yielda lurgely, Is very nutrittous, and especially adapted to dry climates. Thoy are sole agents for the leading and lrst salmon-packing catab- lisnments o the Culumbia River, whence {m- mensa quaptities of that most doliclous flsh find thewr way to the East and abroad, And they havo the solo sgency also of the leading Nevada borax flelds. Quicksllver and Californfa winea and braudlea are among tho other prom- fnent articles which they send to tie East, I muat not omit weutlon of Chinesa and Japan- ese teas, Chincso matting, Calcutta barging, splces, coflee, rice, Indigo, ete., which they havo from the Celestials, and which aro sent to Chicago and other Eastera citics In return for more substantial artlcles, Ti1s LOUSE PHOVIDES A WAY by which the speedy and advantageous disposal of thelr wares by Eastern merchants may he effected, And If any of the varied and justly- estcemed products of this coast, or of Japat China, and the islands of the sca, are wanted in quantitics large or small, no houso can purchase or sbip on moro favorable terins, On approved consignments sdvauces are made when desired; and they 011 orders for staple goods and recelve consizumeuts for sale In any market of the wurld, A business of such magnitude and extending to every quarter of the zlubo would seem to re- Quire a lifetiug to build up, but Iu this phenom- enal country, with the true Western encrey, it 1s not s0 great & wonder that so much has been accomplished {n 50 short a time. ‘To Tz TrisUNE correspoudent,who first had the pleasure of mceting Mr. Coleman at bls office o few days since, ho sppeared A GENTLENAN FIFTY YHAKS OF AGB OB TUERE- ADOUTS, very industrious, and full of business. His es- tablishment at the coraer of California sud Front streets, cmbracinz several numbers on cach thuroughfare, is charactenstic of tho man. It bias tho alr of business from end to cod, well adapted to tho uses to which It is put, but per fectly unosteutatious, aud without sny effort st dlsplay. Wullo 3ir. Coleman 13 now President of the Buclety of Ploneers, cllef ownes of the proved Marin County Water Company, and has been Prestaent of the Chamber of Commerce ond Chlef Exeeuttve ofcer at ane time and another 10 & numbier of public enterprises, i s atil ho NEVEIt WOULD AGCEPT POLITICAL OFFICE. That ia something hie han persistently avotded as outaide of tia professlon, notwithstanding the urgent sollcitation of gentlemen, without re- Tara 1o pasty, 1o ollow the use of his name for the placo highest in the power of the peoplo of the Btate to bestow. Thia determination, it must he admitted, Is a lttlo pecaliar in Miese times, when the manfa for office Is so general, But Mr. C. evldently believes “ihe private sta- tlon tire post of honor,' and, like Clucinnatus, prefers the plow. As showing the degree of re- spect In whlch ho (s held, 1 will mentlon, in con- clusion, the large complimentary vote which he recedved in the Legisiature some yeors ago for United Btates Ecnator, even after repeated re- fusa Is to allow the use of s name for that po- sition, § Buch {8 a brief sketch ot ONZ OF CALIVORN{A'S EARLIEST SCTTLERS, who, unlike most of tho Pacliic 8tates million- alres, made his millfons in trade and comm erce, He found “the golien flcece,” not in the eartn, bul rather on the seas, whith gave bim fair winds and prosperous sailing, ‘I am greatly mistaken or the readers of Tug Trinuxe will yet sce the name of Willlam T. Coleman even more conspleuously conueeted with Califurnia offairs. THE ALASKA COMMERCIAL COMPANY., 1718 NOT OEMERALLY KXOWN that 8an Francisco, or niore properly the great corporation named above, supplies the worle four fiithsof all the seal fur now so highly esteemed by fashionin every civilized country ou the globe. Nor is'tho ditlieulty of obtnintug theae mieh coveted furs sufiiciently eppreciated, 1 fear, by the fing ladies whom they protect from cold and Invest with agrace beyond the puwer of any other garment fn the whole range of fashion to equal. Butthe belests of the radiant goddess must be obeyed, Fickle Fushion seems o set tho greatest store by that which Is the most difficult to obtain, fn which I find an addf- tlonal reason for the scal fur becoming so popue far the world ovor, Before apeaking at fength of the Alaska Com- mercinl Company, fn order to give your readers an Intelligent idea ot the whole subject, I will state that, TUE ONLY LOCALITIES WIERE FUR SEAL CAN LE P A in conslderable numbers ure the Jelands of St. Paul and Bt. George, In our recently-purchased posscasfons of Alasko, situnted about 1,4) 1uiles west of Sitks, and Debring, Copper, and Robuen Islands, in the Russian Posessions, off tho const of Kamtchatka, of all which fslands the Aluska Commerciul Company has leases from the Amerlcan and Russlan Governments, granting them tho exclusive Hight to catch seals there for o long term of years. Some few scals are teken by fur-nunters {n other slands and on the coast, but they do not resort in largo numbers except at the Islands named. The only other source of supply Is the South Sca Istanda, which, however, are now nearly depopu- Iated of scals on account of thelr long-con- tiued, indiseriminate slaughter. From other sources—otlier than those nder the coutrol of thls Company~—perhaps 20 per cent (no more) of the total of seal-gkins coneumed by the market of the world are brought. ON THE PIRST DISCOVERY OF THE ISLANDS OF ST\ PAUL AND ST. GEORGE, they were found to e inhabited during suinmer by inaumerable fur seal, whilch were taken in great numbers Ly carly adventurers, and by indlscriminate slaugliter these anlmals wero al- must cxterminated. The Russian Government, with remarkable prescience, theu established o systein of protection, through the Rusajun- American Compavy, which tvok charge of thuse fisherfcs miore thun cighty years ago, and by careful nursiog aud fntellizent manazement Increased the nymber of seals Lo millions, and In 1567, upon the acquisition of Alaska by the United States, these fisheries wero the most ex- tenslve upon the glove. In the South Bea Isl- ands and other haunts of theac antmals they had been alinoat exterminated, belng umler no Gov- ernment protection. Profiting by tho example of tho Russian Government, 2 CONGRESS 1N 1870 passcd a law entitied ** An act to prevent tho extermination of fur-hearing anlmalsin Alaska,” which has resulted to the benefit not only of the geals, but tothe native inhabitants of the islacds und to tho Government, whereby sevenuo las been recelved already from the two lslands of Bt. Paul aad 8. Georgo alo~e equal to ‘about one-third of the $7,200,000 purchase money pald for nll Alaska, An above stuted, at the time the Terrltory was ceded to the United States, the Russlan-Aumeri- can Company had alease of the Islands of 8t Paul and Bt, Georze, giving them the excluglve right to tako eeals on those Islands, without ro- striction as to number, or dircction ns to the method of taking, With the transfer of tuc Islanda tiso franchiso of this company ceased. A Mr, 11, M. Hutehinson, of this city, thereupon proceeded ta Alaski nud purchased of the Kus- slan-American Compuny all ts uods, chattcls, lhouses, vesscls, ete,, which they had employed Inscal-kiling. [ organlzed the firm o1 UUTCHINSON, KORL & CO., who ohtalned a spectal perinlt from the Secreta- ry ot the Treasury aud continued the business of scul:killing under the protection of the Gov- emmeont untll Congress should provide somo other and betrer metliod of protecting - the in- dustry. Tne act of 1870 provides that the Islands of Balit George and Salut Paul shall be leased L o proper and responsible partles at a rental noy teas than §30,000 per angum, and a revenuo tax of not less than 3 upon cach fur seal-s ki taken aud shipped from the Islands duriug t he Tease s nud furthor provides forthe carvand pro- tection of tho scals, and the welfars of the na- tives of tho scal §slands, and tne author:zation of & contract for twenty years by which tho vx- clusive privilege of taklug scals should be eraited, limiting the numl however, tohe tuken cazh year from the b lands at 102,000, On tho bth of July, 1870, the Secretary ot the Treasury advertised for propozals for tlie lease. ‘There Woro seversl competitors, but of the number the Alaska Coninierclal Company alons hled all the requirements as 1o RESPONSIBILITY, EXFERIENUE, AND ADILITT to execute the conti ccundlugly ro- celved thu franchise, for which (t pays 835,000 ] and a tax of 826344 on each and Y skin taken and shipped, 1t will bo remémbered, perhaps, that soine of the unsue- cossfal bidders, dl;nfpululed at not recelving the contract, created considerblo of a flurry ut that thme. Secretary Boutwell had opposed the law authorizing the lease, preferring that the Government sfiould ftselt conduct the scal-lsh- I industry, but as Congress had decided other- wise, homnaio the Jeasc, us ho believed, for the best Interest of the GUovernment, But uot content with this dcelsion, on thy assemblinge of the Democratic [louse two years ago. when tho manta for Investignilng the acts of Republican ofticuls was at fts lelght, onc of tho unsuccesaful bidders, wno took hils defeat very sadiy to bieart, lald_hls grievances before nd Meaus Coumitive, and GIL INVESTIGATION OF ALL THR FACTS In the caso was had. After the cxamination of a inultitudo of wituesses, occupylug the time of the Committee for upwards uf three months, and probing the subject in every blo direes tlon, the Comilttce reported cxonerating Soo retary Houtwell and Acting Beerctary Ruchard. son, and the Alaska Commercial Company as well, in the most thorough wouner {rom blane, and even commending the latter for the stralehtforward and honoruble manuer in whitch it had fultited Ite part of the contract, The vindication of u Kepublican official at the hands of a Democratic Committes, which would warp facts aud straly every pomt tu maks political capltal, it vonlblel out of ac error of & mem- ber of Gen, Urant's Cabinet, must be rezarded by the whole country as the most tharetgh vin- dication possible. ‘The verdiet of this Comumite teo bas sct torever at rest the carplng complaivts of disappointed and jealous coupetitors, and, in Riving tho following EXTRACTS #ROM TIEIR REFORT, £ shall dismuss this branch of tho subject, which 1 haye given promincnco to ouly onaccouut of the bad feellug {1 has given riso to berg, and the long uttention ft onse claliacd of the Ways aud Means Comulttes of the House, and because Tux Tarauxe, (n comton with ull other papers, published the charges, but hasuot, to my Kuowls tilge, ever given the result of the Invest!gation, Tho Comumittog suy: * It docs uot appear that r of the parties who put In bids for this haid had any experfence {n the hite'ness, or provided with the necessary facilities Tor the faithful exccution of the leaes, had it been awnrded to them, exeept the Alaskn Commer- el Compang, whao werc the successors of Huteh- fason, Kolif & Co,, and In possension of the huxiness at that thme, with persons I ity em- nloyicent of skill and experience, and which was combosed of eapltelists of conceded strength and izt character. 1 the lease had heen maae with any firm or company who had fafled (n its executlon, or who had proved falthicss to the obligatlons Incurred, the loss to the Treasury might have proyed very scrious, Intheextermin- «atlon of the seals, and the lo3s of thelaryerevenue nmo being dlevived thereyrom, and {ikely to be con- tinned for years {v come, under the present man- agement." ¥ The report concludes as follows: **That the supposed profits of the Cnm‘uny sliould exeita the covetousncas of others Is of courre to be exaected. A dixappolnted bldder for the contract natuarally feels agzrieved, and to his persevering efforts ‘may_he traced all the camplifuts that have been made; and yet, when this person was examined in lifs own fehalf, he lailed to state any facts which could weaken a cunfidenceln theintegrity with which the Jessces had performed- thelr agreement, Tfe did im- pugn the ofliclal_integrity of Mr. Boutwell ns Eecretary of the Treasury, v making the lesse, but falled altogether to state of present any evldence which was_just!y susceptible of o con- cluslon that Mr. Boutwell wus intluenced by corrupt or improper inutives. The Commiittes refer Lo the testlmony as concluaive on theeo oints. ‘Tiiey have examined everv witness to 6 procured, Whoin 1t waa supposed possuased, or alleged to possess, any knowledze whicl would enable them to reach evervthing apper- taining to fhis investigation, and liave examined all the records and public documents within thelr reach, “In econclusfon, they coneur In the opinion hat the lewso with the Alaskn Commercial Company was made in pursuanco of thu laws that it ias inadeln the interest of the United States antproperly qranied o ihe diasie Commerciat Company; that the [nterest of the United States was properly protected in all the requirenents of tho Jaw, nnd that the lessees have Ih[lhjully compuied wclth their part of the contract.” And the Committee reported the following resolutlon, which was adopted by the [fouse: Reeoteed, Thot, $n_the opinlon of this fouse, there I no'just grofnd ot complaint_against the Alaska Cammerels] Comprny or the oflicers of the Government who were Intrusted under the lnw with the Jower tomake, aud sce to o purforim. ance of, tha lense aforesatd, and that It 14 entitied to ihe’ enjoyaent of the franchieo so lougus it folthlully performs all the requirements and etipu- Iations of tho law and contract undor which it holdn its righte, and so long as the act shall romaln inforce, But, in iy oplolon, FVEN SIOIE CONCLUBIVE EVIDENCE of the wisdom of the law grantine the exclusive right of scal-tishing on thoso felands, under cer- tain restrietions,to a single company, and of thy ool judgment of Seerctary Boutwell in leasing the Islands to this great corporation, Is scen It the vast revenue aceruing mum.\u{ {0 our Gov- crament, compared with what the Russian Gov- eroment receivee from ftsaeal Islands,and in the greatly improved condition of the natives of the island3 oud protection aiven to the seals. These facts I have gratliered from the ofiielul reporta of the Russiun Government, the published state- ments of spcelal Treasury agents dispatched by the late Sceretary Bristow, aud fron conversa- tlons with scientitle gentlemen and sea Captatny who_haye been muny times on the {slands of 8., Paul and St. George both before aud sinee they were Jeasedd to the Company. Unedl quite recently so little was knownabout TILE TERRITONY OF ALASKA that when the propositton to purchase L was hee tore Congrees 1t et with stréntous opposition, o8 will be reinembered, chietly on account of the ollegred bagseuness awl waurthlessuess of the country to b aequired. Russta bad not been able to derive sutilelent revenute from 1t to vay the expenses of malntaining its offlelal authior- ity, and scemed anxious to let it go at any price. Neerclary Soward was riddied with the shalts of newspaper sarcasmi, and most of the friends of the project favored it for the su;- posed “political vuluo it might have in the re- mote fature, rather than for” the revenue vossl- ble to bo derived from it. Now wo all know that Southiern Coast Alaska {s not tho barren waste of rock aud Icc it was represented s on the contrary, that ft Las a much more cquahle and higher incan temperaturs than Chleago, and, while not adapted to the growth of all cercala, {s capable, neverthicless, o1 sustalning a larre population Irom its own unuided re- sources, The thermometer rarely falls lower thau 10 degres Fahrenbeit, and” never lowgpr than 3 degrees or b deerces. The averaze tom- erature ~ in summer s 50 dewrees, and n - winter 80 degrees. Theso tigures ap- ply oa well to tho lslands sbove-mentloned, atid of which I purpose more particularly to speaki,- The warm' Japanese current, liky™ the Gulf Stream {n the North Atlantie, n'vel to the west coast of Amerlea, fron the lower extremi- ty of Californiu to the Aleutian Islands, a cllnate cven more mild and genfal than that of Western Europe In corresponding latitude. It may be ccutnries bofore tho vast undeveloped airrieul- tural and minernl resources of Alaska are brought Into requisition, but when the present deunsaty fnnabited purtians wishto uuload, Alase ka will tako hundreds of thousands, AT, PAUL AND 8T. GEORGE, St. Paul's Island, the Inrger of“the two, s thirteen miles long with an average width of six miles, and o superflelnl area of about thirty-three rquare mifes. ‘Chis is the most fuvored resort. of thio furscal. BL. (George Island isabont ten miles long by four In widt, with an area of abuut twenty-seven square miles, On thetwo {slands, it is eatinated, some 4,000,000 seals wake thelr home in synmer months,—from April 1o No- vember, ‘The reat of the year they spend in the uafathomed waters of the great ovean, Upun the two islands reside 5 natives, ‘Aleuta, who appear to he su amalgamation of Russian, Jupauere, and Kamichadalo blood, They speak Russian, and are devontly attached o the Russo-Greek Churc, are vuf' polite and vivil, not quarrelsome, quite Intelligent, and mout remarkably fond of whisky, nder the Rtusslan Government lttle or no effort was made to protect or edueato thom, ‘They lived in lioles dugin the ground nud roofed over with the drift-wood which finds iLs way to the island, sub- aisting chiclly upon senl-meat and whisky, and with little attention given to their mentul and woral improvement. . Under such unfavorablo circumatance it Is no wonder that discase grad- ually declated thelr number, oven in that healthy climate, threatening the speedy ex- termination of the Islands® povulation. CARE OF THH NATIVES. The leascof the Alaska Commerclal Com- pany requives that Company to furaish, free of charze, winually, during the continuance of the lease, to the fuhobltants of the flunds, 25,000 dried ralion, sixty cords firowood, @ sufliclent quantity ol salt, and u sufMicient number of bars rels for prescrving the necessary supply of meat.™ This §s dune. But the Company bas not stopped with the fultilinment of the require- nients of Its Jeaze. It has erccted neat Jittlc white vottages, one for each family, built a com- modious church, and establibed schools, where the children recelve fustruction clght months fn the xear, They sre learning quite readily to read and writa the Euglish “languege, “The natives have o monopoly of seal-killing, which 1s abont their only cmployment, The Company pava them 40 cents aplece for cach seal-skin 1aken, nml, us about 100,000 are taken annually, tiey have' a total yearyy meome from thls source alone of about $40,000. Thero wauts belngg simple and thelr nocessities few, and all belng amply provided for, there 18 no reas Bon wh‘y they are not happy. ‘The ouly thing they want that they do ot get, cxccrt [ rmrrlhc«l by & physiciun, is whisky, Like Rip Van Winkle, tley are doubtless ‘*hetter nitout (LY The Alaska Cominercial Company disproves the popular assertlon that corporations Lave nosouls, It Yas gone far beyond its contract obligations, and its Inbor and’ liberal expenditures g behal of this small band of Alcuts are bighly credita. bleto the Christianity and gencrosity of the oflicers, Iu return the (:um\‘u‘a)uy recelves mare (nt:l\(!]gem. and cheertul labar, snd tho un- bounded gratitude of the Islanders who, con- trasting their pitiabla condition under the Rus- slan Government with thelr present prosperit, and independunce, would not exchauge bacl agaiu at any price. The Compuuy, in further- agee of its kiudly policy, octs ne & kind of sav- Ings iustitution” for the islanders, recelving thelr surplus earningsin trust and paylug 8 per cent futerest thereon. Durlog the past seven yeurs they have sccumulated sbout 842,000, ul'luch the Compauy uow holds ju trust for thom. ‘The Company which enjoys thls exclusive franchise huve imade, 50 coniinon rumor goes, A CONSIDERANLE ANOUNT OF MONEY OUT O IT, But no vue will begrudge it its prolits, slace 1t pavs sunually the prescribed rental snd the stipulated revenue of 82.63% on each seal-skin taken to the United Stites Goverument, wmount{ug tu an enormous sum,—more than double that paid the Russian Government for a similar franchise herctofore wentluned. . Uncle Bamuel drove the. closcat bargain, it would :‘:c{g‘“ Ths Cowpany ls composcd of s number LEADING WEBALTHY CITIZENS of San Franclsco and Eastern States, mostly re- slding in this city, Lowover,—all of soclal dis- tinctlon sud hizhly respected,—wib made thele fortuucs by hard kuocks, Two wiilions of dol- lars represcuts the Company's capital, which, howevor, does uot bezin to comprise the total fudividual captial of its memberi, 1t has a lasge nuwber of agcuts and employes Liere, at tho 1slands, and fu London, and ciploys two steani- ships and four schvouers in the trade between this ity aud the lslands, The stesmncr Bt Paut and the schinoners Miller, Endora, and Bella ply between Ean Franciseo and the Aleutian Talanda, distant about 2,200 mfies; and the steamer Alex- ander and #chooner Dagmar between this port and the Russian Islands, about 3,000 milesawar, Another fact which it may interest my ladty readers Lo know fs, that all seal-skina HAVE TO BIi SENT TO LONDON TO LE DRESSED AND DTED before they can be made up Into the beantifu! garments so niuch adwired and prized. There aloue the secret s possessed of giving to scal that elezan! h wiich no other furcan equal, The scal-skins taken hy the Company are all Urought €0 thin port thelr “vcasels, whence they are shipped overland . to New York, “and there I’l.'llflnfmd to Lon- don, After the coarec zr:’y halr which covers the solt, glossy fur §s removed, by llzntly reraping thie inner flde of the skin and reaching the roots of the coarse halr which ar: deeper sct than those of the for, the fur is then ready for that process which Is known onty to ‘London work- men. From London, throngh the agents of the Company, the furs find a market fn every quar- ter of the globe, Ho very larze s proportion of these valuable furs are “produced by this San Franclscan Company that It not only rewnlates the nu”.ly, but, hy so dolng, larzcly ontrols the fashioi, thereby to a great extent fixing the TT%s only spoken at Tength of th have only spoken at Jength of this great Compauy asfts business related to the g:c‘:ll- Tur " trade and in connection with the Islands of 8t, Paul and 5t. George where It has the exclusive privilece of taking seal for the period of twenty years from the year 1870, But this does not'by any meaus comprise the whole of the Company’s business, It has numerous stations in_the Aleutian I and and onthe Alaskan and Russian coasts, where it gathers furs of various kinds. I had the pleasure, a fow days since, of mect- Inz the officers of this Company at their otce, No, 310 Bansome street, which shows wmany curlous evidences of the strange life fn our recently-acquired posseesions, 1 Metened to many stranze tales of the North, and recelved yarlous courtesivs which I would liere sce knowledge. P TR CALIFORNIA SUGAR- REFINERY. IN MY INQUIRY AMONG THFE VAIIOUS TRADES AND INDUSTH of this coast, I have found none which more aptly illustrates the fodependent position of Californta_commercially than doea the institu- tlon named nbove. While we of the Fast have heen compelled, by the foree of circumstances, to endure o flctitious paper currency durinz the past fifteen years, Callfornis has adhered to gold yalues and o_solid circulating medlum, ‘The Golden State i so far separated from the populuus Enst, 80 full of resources of energy and {deas, that it {s in the very nature of things that ita people shall huild up au empire here which, while we shall ever hope to clalm It as a port of the great wholl, must nevertheless pos- sess all of the clements of life and development within fteelf, and grow more and more fudes pendent of tho East. The California Sugar Refinery, since IT3 ESTABLISHMENT IN 1807, has been aole, nearly or quite, to supply the people of the coast with sugar ot prices unl- lprmly ranging lower than the same erades of Eastern eugars put down In 8an Francisco. Drawing thelr supply of raw material pretty much from the same sources, {t Is not' clalmed that the Callfornla cstabllshment bas any ad- vantage over Eastern refinerics in respect to quality or facilities of manufacture, Indeed, In the latter respect, more especially on account of cheaper labor, it ts Jikely thot Eastern retiners have the advantage It thelr hauds. But the grades of sugar and sirup betng sub- stantially the same, the principal saviog to con- sumers lere lies fn the ftem of freight. And thls, as the reader must kuow, even in thesc days of steam, and notwithstanding the ratlroad from ocean to occan, fs no foconsiderable per- centagoe added to the cost. About the time the Callfornla Refinery was started threc others were bullt, only one of which, with the Californls, now remalos (o active operation, owlng I presume to the {n- creased facilities of the establishment named, ond its other ndvantages ol copltal and experi- cuce. Fram the very claborate and carcfully- prepared review of the trade of 1576, I find TIE CONSUMPTION OF SUUARS ON TIE PACLFIC €oasT last year to have been, In round numbers, 76, 000,000 pouuds, fully two-thinds of walch was the product of the Catifornia Refinery. The greater part o the balance came from New York to the Territorics fust west of the Rocky Mountalus,~tbat dcbatable ground between the two. markels where the trade was about equally divided,—~and from tho Itawallan and Ilong Kong refinerles, The decreased production of the Callfornla Ry Dnery last year was due Lo Livo causcs,—the Joss of two cargoes of Manila crude sugar, and tho nou-deliveries of contracted Hawaliun sugars in consenuence of the delay in the inal passage by the Qovernment of the [awailan Treaty, the first cargoes of freo S8andwich 1slands produc not reaching this city untll the 11th of Scptem- ber. For this reason vrincipally LABT TEAR'S SUFPLY OF CAUDE SUGAR was drawn from Manila and Datavia, the impor- tations from Centra) Ameriea and Peru, which heretofore were large, during the past year be. ing 61 inconsiderable lmportauce on account of the uncertaloty of the Hawallan Treaty and the fear of unremuncrativo prices, the relineries to a great extent ignoring the law, dark grades of Clioa, Swatow, and Formosa; indeed, actual- ly compellinz lmporters to ship une’ Involce of this description to New York and to return avother to Houg Kong. The Calitornla Refinery has purchased AUOUT ONE-LIALP OF TIIS TEAR'S CROP of the Baudwich Istands, 1 am told. 1t fs predicted for the present season that,with an abundant product of sugars in the Paclde Ocean countrics, und with the {ree admlssion ot the Sandwich Tslaud product, it can hardly seem probable that any supplles can, hereafter, reach this coast from the Atlautle border, with tho tux of ane and a ball cents per pound freight, noless similar untoward clrcumstances as those of Jast' year occur again to cut off uceded stock frous the retineries. TIUE EXPORT TRADE, while not as yet forming a very important fea. ture, promlses novertleless (n the uot remote future to be of the first Importance, The Cati- fornla Kettnery has shipped cousideravle to China, Japan, Victoria, Central Amoriea, pnd Peru, and the demand from those countries for the products of clvilization are continually on the {ncrease. Slaco the removal of dutles from Hawallan sugars, it ls likely that British Co- Jumbta will tako Its supoly from here, iustead of Importing direct, as it has dons herctofore to somo extent. The great value to this city of the sugat-refining fudustry and of the trade In retined sugers with the {slaunds and the great countrles beyond the Pacific caunot be foretold, but must certainly in time rauk smong the firet of its commercisl Juterests. Slnce it begluning the Callfornia Refinery La been MOUE TUAN DOUOLED IN CAPACITT, which {8 now sumething over 200,000 pounds pe day. The warks, which are located at the cor- ver of Elghth utid Branuan streets, on an arm of thoe bay, which gives the most ample water- supply, covers au area of about three acres. The bufldings arc all vt brick, solidly built, sud admirably arranged, 1 should Judge, to factiitato 1he buainess, as well 88 to puand szalnst possl- by fire, which is always finmluent 1o s ers, 'The main bulldwas are iive sto- ries in height snd of equal dimensions ol 137 by 220 feet, with a brick fire-proof eneine-ruom be- tween tha two, Detached from thcse, there are 8 alrup-house for tha Alling of cusks, 1Wo ware- houscs, & cooper-shop, aud large le whero are kept the twenty-cizht horses unid trucks employed for the handlimg of the stock, 1 hadl the pleasure, the uthcr duy, of A VERSONAL INSPECTION OF THX BUILDINGS fraw top ta bottam, followiug the raw sugar, step by step us it Is carrled slong fn tho refiuing process, through room after room, ralsed to & degree of heat which strougly suggests thy ‘Turkfsh bath, sround and smong vats aud tauks {noumerable, futo a libyrinth of pipes for the conveylng of airup, which, stretched out to thelr full lengib, wust have reached scveral wiles In extent, Thruugh all und over all, two things struck me as bc'lug CABRIZD TO PERYECTION, snd these were the unifurm ncatness of the buildings and machinery, which retected equal crediv ou the Sunerfnteadeut und Chicl Eugi- neer, and the admirable precautious agaisst fire, which was av evidence of tho care and good tudunwut of the oflicers of te Cowpanv. tand-plpes conpecting with the bydrsnts und the water fn the bay run through «ll the bulid- Ings, with howe connectlons at avery floor, and rhould the great 150 horac-power enzine In the brsement which drives all the machinery in the works be temporarily dlsabled, fn an ad- Joining vraom there are too dimnmy engines with force pumps capadle of llooding the whole ea- tablislnent fn five minates, ‘These admirable procautions are a saving In the ftem of Insur- ance which in two years’ time munat nearly equal their eost. TIHE MACHINERY is the same as emploged in_Eastern refincrics, which all who are scqualnted with the business must know {s quitc cxpensive. 8o complete and thoroughly are these worka equipped {’Iu\t, 1n order to avold delays which might oceurt from the breakage of some’part, a duplicate of each and every part of the whole mm-nlnerlyl s held i1t reserve, thus doubling the cost of the works to that extent. Most of the RAW MATERIAT, used during the past year was brought from Manils, 8pal, for the “reasons named, {n ves- seis chartered by the company, though cone iderable quantitics were imported frum the al- ands of watow and Formosa, from Batavia in the Dutch East Indles, and from the Sandwich Islands. The raw malerial ts almost black In anpearance, and how L assumes the delleate white after passinzthrough the refining proc- ess isa mystery which charcual snd bone<dust alone can'solve, This company manufactures trushed suzar, cut Joaf and yellow C, besidca powdered and pranulated. anid n golden sirup which, thyueh not quite ns clear as the best trrade of New York sirups, Is_quite equal to it In flavor, and superior in healthfulness, for, as 1o cheinlenis are used Lo clarify i¢, it (s not oven o the ol:{luflhm which has heen made by physi- clans to the Easteru silver drips. MES<S. C. & P. SPIEGKELS were the origlial pirojectors of the refinery, when ft was afterwards taken foint stock compauy, with &1, they continued as sto-khold resent otlicere of the Company ars Mr, Georye If, Ej gers, President; Mr I Horstman, Vice. Py dents and Mr. D. Spleckels, Secretary, The #tockliolders are all zentlemen ol wealth, fude. peadent of thelr interest In the refinery, ond with eredit capablv of backing up any entrprise with which their naties may be counected TIIE MAIN MUSINESS OPFICE of the refinery in at No. 210 Callfornin strect, whers everything needful inay be jearncd as to stock and prices. I ightadd that the Company deals unly with wholeanle merchants, aud never clis Jeas than u load at a tine, their teems belog cash, with 2i§ per cent ofl. JIUNTINGTON, HOPKINS & COo and charga of by 2 00,000 capltaly 1T 1S DIPPICULT TO BAT whether this flem Is more widely knotn as illionaire merchants whose business, connec- tlous reach out over half a continent, or as plonecr raliroad hullders to whose cuergys ability, nnd wealth Is Jargely due the exlstence to-day of the great inter-occante line which spans the Continent. To my Eastern readers doubtless the senlor members are hest known through their connection with the construction and managzement of the Central Paclile Rallroad rystem, and i T have pursued wmy inquiries miore especally into their mercantlle experience, 1t 1s because I belleve the public more curlous ahout the means by which they attalned success than abuut the great resuits achieved. For I have alwaya thought thelucidentsthat makeupa busluess hfe.~tie hopes, disappointments, re- verses, and sucress,—could they be portraved to the world as they sctually exist in the heart and mina of the individual, would make a drama of the tost thrilling fnterest. I have no intention of constructlez n play or romance out of the facts before me concerning these men, but 1 will leave ft to the reader to judge whether thelr determined, enterprising spirit is not the stufl heroes are made of. But, fortunately for the country, though perhaps unfortunately.for thefr renown, thelr cocrgies were directed towanl the bullding of aratlrond and the devel- opment of an empire, instead of the destrue- tiou of human Iife and property. Like most of the prominent men of Callfor- nla, C, I Huntington and Mark Hopkins are 9'eRs. ‘The former {s from Oswego County, New York, and the latter from Lockport, same State. I shuuld judge them now 1o bo just past 60 years of nge, still robust fu bealth, and possessed of undiminished energy. They made thelr Journey round tne Horo, Arrived at Sacramento, their capital did not show up largely fn dollars and centr, and they found varfed employment for the first few tnonths, thereby, besides gajn- ing a livelihood, accumulating enough to, ware rant thelr embarking in business in a small way {n the beginning of '52, They chose the bard- ware trade, in which both had some lttla expe- rience, being omong the firet to engage in that business in Callfornla, Their trade waa princi- pally with miners. From a very small be- ginning thelr business gradually grew as the population increased and the country was developed, Bhell hardware succeeded to mincrs’ supplics, and, as the wants of the peuple {ncreased, one line after another was added, until thelr stock embraced everything to be found in any hardware establisbment in the States. Evenat that early date the policy of the firm was to procure the best goods to be had ood to scll ot a reasonable profit. It was not long before the house of Huntington & Hopkins was conceded to be the largest hard- ware establishment ju California, and their trade extended far beyond the boundariers of SBacra- mento, to all the minlug districts of the State. A wholesale department was sdded {n '53, aud ams!l dealers who had sprung up in various lo. calities drew thelr supplies chlefly from the Sacramento house. Thelr stock at that time was recelved principally direcs from England, The location of the Sacrameuto House was then and Is now at X0, b4 K sTREET— then a plain wooden structure. Here twenty years ngo, wheu the possibility. of a rallroad across the continent was first discusscd, used to gather the partivs most sanguinc of the reallza. tion of that hope. Here came Btauford, sinco Governor of the State, and the Crockers, aud with Messrs. Huntlugton & Topklus, when In. terest in political discusslon began to g, the never-failingz theme of a raiflroad acruss the mountalns and plains came up for rencwed dis- cusslun, The faith of these men was great. They never from ihe first doubted the feastbility of the project, or that It coulll oe bullt eventually, but * the way " was & query which, for & long time, they were unable to solve. Me Huntington & llopkius had succeeded, after a scoro of years of dilizence, shrewdncss, and honest dealing, {n acquiring A BESPECTADLE COMPETENCE, on which they might bsve retived from bustness. In fact, so conservative hail they been that they bad pever owned a dollur of stock In a mine, had pever bad & branch house, bad never seut out a “drummer’ to get busiuess, aud had never sued 8 man for a debt. Such are not the men one would naturally look to to engage ina railroad enterprise which might swamp thelr fortuncs and credit at the very outsct. They must have been aware that the history of nine roads out of every ten bullt jn the United Btales showa the ruln of the projectors, and yei these cautious hardwarc-merchants, wno koew llttle or nothiug about rallroad bullding, risked every- thing Ju the success of the Central Pacific, First, it became necessary to make A THOROUGIL SUBVEY OF TUE PROFOIED ROUTE, and, notwlithstanding the railroad fever was raging high in Calitoroia, very few were willing to contribute towgrds the preliminary survey. At leugth, after consldcrable suma had been squandercd in experimental work, Mr. Hunt. Ington azreed to be one of teu to pay for & com- plete, thorough, and final survey ol the route, Ten weu could not be found who would stand the expense, and the agreeinent was at length male between scven for the term of thres years to pay the nocessary cost. Two of these afterwards drew out, sud the result was that tho survey then made aud ou which the road was subsequontly built was pald for out of the pockets of the remataing tve. who were C. P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford, E. B, Ceocker, and Clarles Crocker, Thls was n 1590, IT WAS TUEN DECIDED not to continue longer without organization, and the Central Paciic Rallroad Compaoy was acvordingly chartered, with Leland Stanford as President, C. P. tuntlogton as Vice-President, sud Mark Hopkius as Treasurer,—positions which the samu gentlemen hold totbls day. Later, the Paciic Raliroad blll passed Con- gress, aud, assurvd of Goverument ald and en- couragement, the peanle of that Btate {ook hold of the enterprisc with more cheertol hands, and the work of ascending tho mountalns began. © This was fn the beginning of the War, Material was expensive and labor scarce, had 10 be taken on & ninomonths' vayage round tho Horn—every pound of Iron of the roadibéd and runnlng-stock—before it was used, which added largely to the cost. Then came Jong de- lays in getting the Government bonds for the compietea aud accepted part of the line, during which the five had azain to risk thelr fndividual fortunes to kecp the work going on. But the work fiever stopped, though it became necessary several times to redace the force. They re- solved to employ no more men then they could pay promptly, and when one day they found the trensury nearly empty the five men mot, and, after finding out how many men they could pay out of their own means during the year, lct all 0 but 800, whom they kept at work on the road. The Central Paciiic builders have been accused ol belng closo but I have yet to bear of thelr ever being charged with dishonesty. Asa rule. they bought eversthing for cash, and only in- curred such expensc 88 thev could reasonably afford, The reader will gain the best idea of the difteulties eacountered from the remarks of Mr. Huntington befure the Senate Committeo of Cougress, {rom which I quote: I muppose that t s & fact, tha mnereantile eredit of my partners {n Lusinces and mysclf, wuis pusitively injured by our con- nection with this enterprise. The diticulties The formor . | Ly oy PR which confronted us then arc now nearly for- * gotten, but they were intenscly vivld and real then. ‘I'lm; were difffculties from end to end; diiliculties from high nnd steep mountans, from snows, from deserts where there was seardty of water and from gorgesa aud flats where thera was ap excess; difficultics trom cold and from heat, from n scareity of timber sod from ob- structlons of rocky difficulties of supplyinz o larze forco ona long Hoe, from Indians and waat of laborers,” But they overcame them all, and to-day the gratitude of miltiona is given TIE TWO HARDWANLE MERCHANTS who we advised by scores of carncst friecnds to keep out of the cnters prize mud save thelr fortuncs, wheeo crodit was seriously questioned on account of thelr active connection with the proiect which was cilled the 4 Duteh Flat Swindle,” and which was abused by the newspap.ra, carfcatur- ed by the wits, derfled by politicians, and dis- countenanced by capltalists, But the road wos built, and the fostunc and credit of ever yono connccted with ft was saved,—thanks to too aound judgment that ruled at No. 54 K steeat, Sacramento, N 1868 Messrs, Huntington & Hopking retired from the actlve management ot tne hardware bush nees, Alhert Gallating W. R. 8, Foye, Ciwrlee M y wod . Seaton belnz almitted as partners, and the atylo of the firm was changed to Huntlugton, Hupkins & Co. Three years later the cx{um\lnn trade justified” the establishiog of a branch house in Sun Francisco, which was opened at the corner of Bush and Market streets, and now wnder tho management of Mr. Charles Miller. ‘The builue lngz oceupled by the **branch” s a bhandsoine, substuntial, luur»uufl: brick and stone structure, 01 feet square, and filled from top to buttons with as complete o stock of hardware, Iran, steel, mluine, nliling, and rallway supplies, as cau be found In ony similar establishinent fn tho Eastern or interfor States. Mr. Milter fs o native of Coxsackie, Green County, N. Y., and a resldent of California sfuce 1854, . THE ' MAIN ! Ol BACRAMENTO HOUSE hnsa fruntage of b0 feet on K strect, and a dcfith of 160 fect, three stories h..-:;im, bullt of brick and atone, and well stocked, 1t {8 ably managed by Mr. Gallatin, a native of Obly, who came Lo the Golden State in 1861, and Mr. Fuye, from Massachueetts, whocame licrein 1834, Both were formerly clerks In_the house hefore being admitted as partners, They. are all competent and experienced bandware men, haviog been thoroughly trained §n the trade from hovbood up, and tlie growth of the business sloce they took the sole management In 1863 shows that It intcrests have not suffered In their banda, Thelr annual sales, which oxtend toall the Pae cific States and Territortes, and even to China, Japan, and the Sandwich Islands to some ex- teot, amount (o the enormous sum of over ..ll'X),mO. ‘They employ forty-two men in vari- ous eapacities, and their horscs and trucks for the transportation of goods would make & ro. spectably long procession In themsclves. TUE HOUSK 11AS A WORLDWIDE REPUTATION, and Is kuown fron const {0 const and frow tho northern to the southern extremity of our country as the leading one in Its lne on the Pocifle, But uow the trade, which fu the be- ginoing was confined almost entircly to the mincs, Is exclusively withi jobbers throughout the country and here in 8hn Francisco, And I am surprised to find that jubbers bere, through tue creat facilitles this house has (o procuring Eoods, cau sell_bardware, etc., as chicaply as the merchauts of Chicage and other interior citics, aund sowme articles at even less price, Itia A MISTAKEN IDEA that the peaple of this coast bave to payan enormous disproportionate price for hardware. It mway be true that with the fluctuation of the wnarket some articlo may be a Jittlo higher, but. even thesc cxceptional cases arc offact by the zreat advantazes in other respects the aborer has _hure over his fellow laborer fo tho East. But what astonished me moat was thie comparison of Tux TRinuNs hardware-mar- ket reports, showing the ruling Chlcago prices, with the prico-list of Mesars, H. H. & Co. 1 must confess that the difference fu favor of Chi~ cago merchants which the 2.400 miles greater distance of 8an Frauciaco from Eastern pro- ducera by land, and 6,000 mliles distance by sca, would scem to call for, does not exist. A fow {tems gathered at random will show your read- cre the rangu of prices of certain articles here. Far nstance: Iron, 23 cents per pound; axes, handled, 812 per dozen; shovels, $7to 813 per dozen: shot, $2.%) per snck; rope, 133§ cunts; nails, $3.50 per Keg; borax, 85¢ centa; humjners, 88 to $12 per dozen: hatchets, $4 to £0.50 per dozen; caps, J. 1., 70 cents per 1,000; bose, rub- ber, 10 cents per foots sprivgs, 14 cents; axles, 7 cents; anvils, 13 cents, vises, 14 cents; horse- shocs §4.30 per dozent cast steel, 15 centa per y)}uml:fllu, £3.50 to #5; cxtra axes, haudied, Inches, $3 per dozen, AND HOW 18 IT POSSIBLE for a California liouss ta undersell & Clicago house, do you aski If I were to moswer, * By reason of good managewent,’ I might cover il 1he puints at onve. But 1 wiit explain s was expiained to me. In tho first place, Messrs. luntington, Hopkins & Co. deal almost ex- clusively direct with mu:umuuren‘ by which, to start with, they save middicinen’s commlis- slons. They buy for cash. And they purchase in large quantities, Thete very large capital, which'{s somewbere up lu tho inllllons, enables them thus to take advantage of the market 2s swaller dealers cannot. But in respect to frefghtage tho most notalle saviug to the consumer is mads, At certaln seasons of the year freightage Is much lower than at others, as all shippers aro aware. By astivipatiug the market sud forecasting the demand, purctiases are made of Esstern manufacturers 8o aa to tako wdvantage of the luwest possible freight. “Thelr contracts are® wostly made {n the East with vessels which arg usually willing to con- tract, just befure the movemeat of graln, at low rates, knowing that s returu cargo from Bap ‘raticisco $0 New York can always bo had. Not unirequently they contruct as low as 80 per ton, which coables the house to make prices to cutn- pete with dealers (o their line snywhere. Most ol thelr goods come by water, but what they ro- celve by rail (s brouiht in large quantites, by reason of which they can make very fuvorable terms also by rail, . .. DURING THE PAST NINE YEARY in which the bouse has beeu under the manazement of the junlur fts buzi- nvss bas locreased twofold, and far out- run the digmty aud importance of the old house of B4 K strect, which, howeyer, was in its d; 5. as {s thy present house now, the leading - waro Jobbing house west of the Miaslsslppl, and nerhaps west of New York, for 1 am not sure that any Chicaga house sold $2,000,000 worth of hardware last ‘\-unr. But while Its connectlons have largely {ncreased, and its sales more than doubled, its methods reinain the same as fixed by the founders years sgo, when their trada was principally with’the nun‘m—c&nw& ‘They buy anly the best zouds to be hait a3 low as they can possibly b obtalned, and sell for & moderate protit. ~ 8an Francisco resembles Chlcago in inany respects, notably in the energy and wide- awake qualities of {ts people, and 1 can sce that the house of winch 1 s speaking bears a strong rescblahee to Chlcago mercautllo wstablishinients, for the samo reason, Thelr motto §s to *push things,’—a rule of activn which coables them to dispose of a llne of gouds and bave anutherordérel from the manuise- turer at lower tigures, whilo sume other wmer- chuuts are just u-:uulnfi that the bottom los dmlzped out ol the market, leaviog a lurge stock ou thelr bauds. For tho past twelve years M. UUNTINGTON has yeslded in New York iu_the interest of the Central Pacitic, Characterisilc of the map, be lives in & very plain and unosteutatious manuer. But bis native encrgy and lodustry is coutlnual- 1y rroppiug out, aud we hear of biu: now asthe e bhd Kootter in varluus eiterpriacs. MU HOPKINS 15 & restdent of Ban Franclsco, wherg ho {s high- Iy respexted for bis wany catluable 1iud ona beart. His princely manslon fs just approaching completlors. It ts ono of thy tost cousplcuous editlces i tha city, aud will be tha 108t elegant privats realdenco fu San Frauaso, if mot iu this counpry, - CAlion ualitics of -