The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 25, 1895, Page 22

22 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25 1895 e e ABOUT INSURANCE This Country’s Fire Waste Has Reached an Average of $150,000,000 Per Annum. There Should Be a Tariff Association for the Protection the Underwriters. Formed of All Written for THE CALL By ROLLA V. WATT. The rise and growth of thisimportant business, which we are sometimes pleased a profession, however much ofa be, can be found in pedia, therefore need 10 cal misnomer that mi any good encyc not be repeated here. Everybody seems to be more or less in- terested in the fire insurance business This s 1ent T make after many years 1ousands of people, 0 a upon learn- 1 to ask what propor- e of inc iary origin, ike as to pra eir policies with a lithogra iar) thrown in, whether nationality sines Iy give away sthe h sther kindred ques- tions. Then will follow volumes of good advice as to how urance companies should conduct their business. Yes, I con- clude all men & terested in the fire in- surance bu , from the man who has property to insure and complains of or | at the rate to the man who | a2bout rat no property to insure. That fire insurance directly results in an be no doubt areless methods induce incendiarism and e loss to the wealth of the coun- eover, the burning of property no of collec the insurance money property of innocent people. To this ex- tent, therefore, insurance may be said to be detrimental to the material inter- ests of the country, for, be it remembered, that even though fully insured the de- 1st so much of the wealth of the Nation ed, that loss does not fall h on the individual, the in ies g the intermedi the loss of the few is e good by the small y. The fire waste ached the enormous age per annam of $150,000,000. It will be conceded that thisis a fri ful drain upen our ¥ , for as ctated above the proper is insured, its an absolute loss to the com- k of the thousands of wo- and children who could have been v and stylishly clad with the fab- hich were destroyed in the O’Connor & Moffatt fire, and of the sumptuous re- s which might have been enjoyed by h and poor could they have taken the e of the flames in devouring Goldberg, Bowen & Co.’s stock, and remember how many of us could have had fine libraries could we have replenished them from the | shelves of A. L. Bancroft & Co. before the | fire. These parties were all more or less | insured, but the property was none the | less destroyed. On the other hand the commerce of the age is made possible by insurance; such | immense values as are contained in build- ings, warehouses, stores and manufac- tories would be impracticable but for in- surance; capitalists would not risk their wealth in such large sums subject to de- | struction by a single fire; credit would be impaired, manufacturers would not dare sell in large quantities to the jobber nor the latter to the retailer except for cash | were it not for fire insurance; more than half the buildings erected are partially built by means of borrowed money, but this could not be secured but for fire in- surance, for every mortgage contains a | clause guaranteeing that a certain amount of insurance shall be carried by the bor- rower, the policy to be made payable in case of loss to the mortgagee. Large loans | are of every-day occurrence, receipts for grain or merchandise in warehouses being | given as security, but each warehouse re- ceipt, to be negotiable, must have an in- surance policy attached to or back of it or provided for. The farmer requires money to harvest his grain; to get it he must| e his growing crops and cover his | e with an insurance policy before | the coin is forthcoming; the millionaire’s | palace and the poor man’s hut must be in- 1 sured to give the owner peace of mind. | The capitalist is courageous who invests | his money in the stock of a fire insurance | company. There is probably no business | fraught with such desperate chances; the | ever-present danger of a general conflagra- | tion; the possibility of a great city like | San Francisco burning up as did Chicago, Boston, Spokane and Seattle; the con- stantly changing hazards resulting from new discoveries or inventions in heating or lighiing materials or contrivances; the moral (or immoral) hazard born of avarice, covetousness or cussedness, and fostered by changing conditions and pros- pects; the criminal carelessness, dis- honesty or ignorance of architects, con- | tractors and builders, or the parsimony of property-owners; the menace of poorly constructed high or large-area buildings; the concentration of hazards; insdequate water supplies; inefiicient fire depart- ents; the failure of an employe to “‘turn on the water’” promptiy; the breaking of a water main at a critical time; sometimes a fight between {wo fire companies; the improper instaliation of electric wires, and . athousand and one other difficulties and dangers conspire to make the businessa dangerous one subject to extraordinary loss. The Pacific Coast has been usunally re- garded asa favorable field for insurance companies, but during the past year fol- Jowing the dissolution of the Tariff Asso- ciation every company has been a law unto itself. This has resnlted in the most complete demoralization ot the business perhaps ever witnessed over so large a territory. To this demosalization add the heavy losses incurred through the general busi- ness depression, especially in the North- west. and the underwriters’ cup of woe is found to be 1ull to overflowing. Fifteen or more companies have folded their tents and (not quietly) stolen away— others may follow. The outlook for our business for the next {two or three years is far from encour- | " aging; practically all of the dwelling- | house business in California has been re- written this year for three years and will | not be in the market again until 1898; | thousands of our best brick mercantile | buildings have been similarly treated. The concentration of all this *‘term busi- ness” in the year 1895 will enable the com- | no matter i destruction munity. men nt claims, why rates high or combinations necessary, or | ¢ why so-call derwriters are so | ph or chromo | burning of considerable property there | or over-insurance and | 1ger wanted by the owner for the pur- | ction jof the | tion of property is an actual loss of | | peace spr panies to make a fairly good showing as to premiums written and perhaps as to losses for the current year, but these dwellings and mercantile buildings will not con- tribute to the premium income again until | 1898; hence there must be a serious shrinkage in premium income for the years 1896 and 1897. The insurance on stocks of merchandise and factories will, of course, come around for renewal, and if rates should be restored (which is not at all likely for some months | to come) the companies will have some | income, but if rates remain open there wiil | be nothing but annoyance, vexation and | loss in the conduct cf the business. The concentration of premiums in 1895 will not | prevent the recurrence of losses during the next three yvears. ¢ This rate war was the direct result of bad faith on the part of some company | managers, and this fact makes it difficult } to reorganize any tariff association, be- | cause distrust has not yet been removed, | but the provabilities are that stern neces- sity will in due time force the companies | together, for in a war of this kind conse- i quences, like summer rains, fall alike upon | the just and unjust. Insurance companies IN ORANGE LAND. The Good Work That Is Being Done by Los Angeles’ Chamber of Cemmerce. Sixty Thousand Letters Received and Answered Annually—A Hundred Thousand Visitors. Written for THE CALL By W. C. PATTERSON, The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, which has achieved a reputation through- | out the United States, and even beyond the seas, and which has been such an im- | portant factor in the development of | Southern California, was organized in Oc- | tober, 1888. B The purposes of the Chamber of Com- W. C. PATTERSON, PRESIDENT LOS cannot make money oravoid loss of money without a tariff associ: We are unable to scientifically arrive at the exact cost (however close we may roximate it) of carrying particular ses of risks, for the simple reason that | bazards change sorapidly as to make per- fect cla: cation impossible. The intro. duction of electricity, which has been more or less experimental and fraught | with great danger where handled by novices, has alone made of little value many items in our classification tabies, and where there is uncertainty as to cust there is a temptation to speculate, hence the sanguine underwriter will take more liabtlity for the same premium than the conservative man, the latter loses his business and a conflict ensues. It may be said that this competition would right it- self by th vival of the fittest. Not so; the optimist, speculator or sanguine underwriter may wreck his company and ad its wings over the business, but then a new Richmond would take the field and our troubles again begin. A tariff association then is necessary so that by the combined experience of all companies rates may be fixed which will vield sufficient premiums to pay losses, expenses and a fair dividend on the capi- tal invested as a guarantee to the policies issued. This matter is of equal import- ance to the insurance stockholder and the general public. A Parisian Lunatic. A lunatic of a particularly dangerous kind is at Jarze in Paris. He seems to have a mania for cutting off the lobes of people’s ears. The facts have come cut in astrange way. A boy went into a wine- shop in the Rue de Reuilly and asked for a glass of brandy. It was noticed that there was blood on his face and clothes, and be- fore any questions could be asked of him he fell in a swoon. The lad was carried to the St. Antoine Hospital, where it was found that his ears had been cut with a sharp instrument. When he recovered consciousness he gave his name and address, and described a very unpleasant adventure he had mert with. ‘While walking in the streets an elderly, well-dressed man spoke to him, and in the course of conversation said : “You have a spot on your nose. You must be careful or 1t will get worse. If you like I will remove it for you by rub- bing it with a littie harmless fluid.” The lad, who took him for a benevolent doctor, went with him to a lonely spot in the Bois de Vincennes, where, after making some pretense of examining the nose, he sud- denly took out a pair of scissors and cut off the lobes of the lad’s ears, one after the other, and then ran away. ——e.———— A Powerful Frost. The man in the fur coat looked up from his paper at the one in the frayed trousers. “‘One wouldn’t think that frost was such a powerful force,” he remarked casually. “It doesn’t seem as if it could accomplish very much.” “I don’t know about that,” replied the man with the frayed trousers, doubtfully. *“What has it been doing now 2"’ *‘Oh, nothing much, but this article says that it is one of the most powerful forces of nature.” “I shouldn’t wonder,” returned the other, thoughtfully. ‘“You remember I took a run over into Iowa to play Hamlet last week 2"’ “Yes.” “Well, it was a frost thdt made me walk back. Itell you a good heavy frost can accomplish an awful lot.” ——— Where the Canaries Come From. A great many of our finest singers have come from Italy and France, but until we read it in an English newspaper some days ago we never knew that Germany carries on a very large trade in the rearing and exporting of canaries, and that the largest establishment in the world for the breed- ing of these creatures 1s situated within the domains of that empire, away up among the Hartz Mountains of Prussia. From thisand the few surrounding, but much smaller nurseries, no fewer than 180,000 birds are dispatched every year to the United States and Canada, while at the same time at least 3000 go to Great Britain and about 2000 go to Russia. (Y ANGELES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. ' merce, as contained in a resolution offered at the time by Colonel H. G. Otis, are as follows: ‘‘Inducing immigration, stimu- lating home industries, and establishing feasible home manufacturss.” The Cham- ber has always worked closely within these lines. The membership at the time of its or- ganization was twenty-five. The member- ship to-day is nearly 900. In April, 1890, it took possession of quar- ters on Main street, where the permanent exhibit, which has since become famous, took form and grew until still more room was required. In August, 1894, the commodious build- ing on Broadway which was especially constructed for the uses of the Chamber was completed. This building fronts 120 feet on Broadway and 120 feet on Fourth street, and the Chamber, with its exhibits, art gallery, offices, assembly-rooms, etc., occupies the entire second and third floors. It is beautifuily lighted by an enormous skylight, as well as from the windows. The space occupied by the per- manent exhibit is about 16,000 square feet. ‘Within these rooms are specimens of the products of the entire southern portion of the State—mineral, agricultural, horticul- tural and archzological, together with dis- plays of manufactures and of paintings by local artists. The general work of the Chamber is done by means of the dissemination of reliable information (an average of 6000 letters a year are received and answered); the maintenance of permanent exhibits, which are visited by 100,000 people an- nually; the entertainment of visitors and visiting organizations; the inspiring of local improvement, keeping our people harmoniously at work and securing whole- some legislation. Having indicated some of the things the Chamber has done and proposes to do it may be in place to indicate a few things which it does not undertake. + In this connection I beg to quote from our most recent publication “Two Years of Progress.” ‘It (the Chamber of Com- merce) does not offer ‘subsidies’ or ‘bonuses’ to anybody to settle in South- ern California. It does not advise every- body to come to California, least of all those who arrive there, unknown in a strange city, without money aud depen- dent upon what they can earn in clerical positions. While it is not true that South- ern California is no place for a poor man, on the other hand it must be remembered that a poor man’s lot is nota luxurious one anywhere, and there ic plenty of bard luck to be found in Southern California by | those who habitually run foul of that ar- | ticle. ‘The Chamber of Commerce more- over does not take up matters that havean | individual or special interest back of them. It does not undertake to advise settlers where they should locate, or what kind of land they should buy, or from whom. The object of the organization is simply to make Southern California as it is—with all its manifold advantages for the tourist, home-seeker, horticulturist, business man or manufacturer—inown to all the world in order that the country may be settled up and developed as rapidly as possible.” The three special events of the past year have been the preparation of an exhibit j for the World's Fair at Atlanta, the in- | stallation of the Palmer archeological dis- play and the beginning of work on La Fiesta. About the middle of July it was decided to put in a special exnibit at Atlanta sepa- rate from the State exhibit. Spuce was se- cured in the most central portion of the California building and the work of rais- ing funds was begun. Within a few days there was secured for this work about $6200. This sum, if I am correctly in- formed, was larger than the total amount contributed throughout the State for the entire Scate aisplay. About ti:e middle of Anugust three carloads of exnibit material was dispatched for Atlanta in charge of Frank Wiggins, who is the superintendent of exhibits of the Chamber, and by whom we were represented, both at the World’s Fair in Chicago and the Midwinter Fair in San Francisco. The California building is & handsome structure, in old mission style, in the very center of the Atlanta Exposition grounds, and about two-thirds of its space is oc- cupied by the Southern California display. A bandsome tower of oranges is the nucleus around which other displays are tastefully grouped. This exhibit has from the beginning been one of the most at- tractive features of the fair. Nearly a car- load of . first-class printed matter was dis- tributed, of wiiich the newspapers of Los Angeles supplied, free of charge, about one-half. I would state very modestly that in the distribution of medals by the managers of the Atlanta Exposition, our exhibits re- ceived thirty-seven out of the seventy-five, togethier with a half-interest in two more, both gold, which were granted equally to our Chamber of Commerce and the State Board of Trade. In short, our exhibit took 15 per cent more medals than all the rest of the State put together. Ido not men- tion these latter facts in a spirit of exulta- i tion, but rather to stimulate other sections oo 1/ 4 . N. LEVERING, WRITER AND EXPERT ON APICULTURE., C. of the State to work up to the standard which we have endeavored to create. Within the last few months the Cham- ber of Commerce has acquired from Dr. F. M. Palmer, one of the most eminent archmologists of the State, a collection of California Indian antiquities. 1t is con- ceded to be the most scientific and abso- lutely complete collection of its kind in existence. Itisa complete exposition of the life and work of the early coast tribes, 50 far as their possessions have come down to ihe present generation. To duplicate t!{i!s collection would be entirely impos- sible. Within the past year the Chamber of Commerce has published its usual number of pamphlets. “Two Years of Progress,” a pamphlet describing the progress of the last two years, and a series of small pamphlets on various topics, as for in- stance, ““Climate and Health,” etc. WM | THE BEE KEEPERS. Though Only Half a Crop of Honey This Year the Hives Were Increased. A Necessity for United Action to Insure the Growing of Forage for the Apiaries. Written for THE CALL By N. LEVERING. There is perhaps no branch of industry that has claimed greater attention of the learned and the lovers of nature and science from the earliest dawn of civiliza- tion to the present time than apiculture. To many this may seem erroneous, but historic facts reaching far back into the misty past will warrant the assertion. The sacred Scriptures abound with many allusions to bees and the importance of honey as an article of food and commerce. Profane history is replete with votaries among the learned to this pleasing sci- ence. Thelarge number of works upon bees, published nearly 1900 years ago, showed the importance of the industry at that time. Hyginus, a lover of the industry, made collections of all works that related to bees, of still greater antiquity. Aris- totle, Varro, Celus, Pliny and many other, wrote upon the subject of apicaltures Aristomachus devoted sixty years to the study of the nature and habit of bees. Philipicus retired to God’s first temples, the woody solitude, that he might have better facilities for acquainting himself with their habits. Virgil sang in sweetest strains and awakened additional charms for the bee. His fourth “Georgic,”” the grandest poem of the Romanerd, is wholly devoted to the proverbial bee. De Montford in 1646 enumerated the various authors on bees up to his time at near 600. These works, thongh imperfect, lead to further and more important dis- coveries in the colony of the hive, when, in the latter part of the seyenteenth century, Swarmmercdam published his treatise on insects, which led to additional investiga- tions. This was followed by Miraldi, the inventor of the glass hive. He was fol- lowed by the more observing Ray and Willoughby, who in turn awakened the searching mind of Reaumur, and brought forth his memorable work that shed ad- ditional light along the apicultural path. Its genial rays wrought up the inquiring mind of the blind but patient Huber, who, through the eyes of trusted friends, lifted tne flood-gates of his reason and poured forth a flood of limpid light upon the apicultural werld and gave a fresh impetus to theindustry. Rev. Mr. Dijierzon (Dyer- son) later on entered deeper into the mysteries of the hive and created ad- ditional interest in the bee world by dis- coveries of a more reliable character. Close in his wake came the late Rev. L. L. Lang- stroth with his movable frame hive and matchless treatise on the honey bee,which is pre-eminent over all similar publica- tions, placing apiculture in its present advanced condition by having awakened the slumbering genius of inventive minds which have supplied wanted machinery that now makes apiculture a pleasure and pastime, free from the fumes of brimstone of former years, which is now left to be hurled from the pulpit at evildoers. Apiculture in California, more espe- cially in the southern portion of the State, is now one of the leading industries. General Fremont in his report of his explorations of California gave it as his opinion that the honey bee could not exist west of the Sierra Nevadas. No liztle busy bee was there, To sip nectar from the flowers fair, Nor build snowy waxen cell, s ‘And store delicious hydromel. He was made well aware of his error many years after when Southern Califor- nia became proverbial as the paradise of bees and for the production of the best honey in the world. The partial failures of the past few years would seem that this paradise is gravitating toward paradise lost. The gradual climatic changes that seem to bave taken place in the past few years, cool winds that dry up the nectar during the honey flower bloom, cannot well be overcome, but loss of honey pro- ducing plants from cultivation of lands and stock grazing omn be much improved and forage restored by plantinz of trees and vegetation whose bloom yields nectar of the desired grade. The year 1894 was a memorable one in the history of apiculture in California—the southern portions of the H. PHILLIPS. State were utterly bare of nectar. This year there is barely a half crop of honey, while the bees have made up by propagation in numbers their loss of the previous year. There may be a recurrence of these disas- trous seasons from a diminished honey flow and the diminution of native forage by ag- riculture. It might be well for beemen to apoly the principles of stockmen, which have operated most favorably in their pur- suit—the loss of wild feed to be reimbursed by the cultivation of forage for the suste- nance of the bees. Bee ranches are usually located in the mountains on land not susceptive of culti- vation on account of its precipitousness, but which will produce nectar-producing trees that will yield excellent honey, viz.: the honey eucalyptus and other trees of that family, of which there are said to be from 150 to 300 different varieties which bloom at different seasons of the year, the acacia, honey locust and fruit trees of various kinds, that require little or no irrigation especially when grown on the north side of the mountain, where moist- ure is greater. Alfalfa, mignonetts, hore- [ hound, white sage, with many other honey- producing piants, can easily be propa- gated upon the mountains with the wild forage. In this way apiculture would be- come more reliable and profitable, the business a “fixity of tenure,” so to speak, that would give it-a progressiveness and permanency which would result in estab- lishing it as one of our flourishing in- dustries. In order to reap the benefits of these suggestions they should not be car- ried out by a few, but by all, when the good results would fall upon all as manna in the camp of Israel. Great care should be taken to prevent fires from breaking out in the mountains and vicinity of apiaries, as the devouring flames are very fatal to all bee forage. When these hints are heeded and acted upon apiarists will not be subject to the fluctuations of seasons unfavorable to bee forage and be secure against the occasional decimations of their colonies by famine. In order to more fully secure their de- sired object the apiarists of each honey- producing county in the State should by a co-operative movement make it obligatory upon each one to propagate a given amount of nectar-producing trees or plants each year until there was an abundant supply. This would give a marked impetus to an industrv which is now cramped and fettered by fluctuations of the seasons and the rapidly decreasing area of the native forage, and also open a wider field for the unemployed and aid those who are bat- tling with the grim struggle for a ljving. In apicultural pursuits there is no com- petition with John Chinaman, as the busi- ness end of the bee is worse to him than “Rough on Rats.” I know of none who bave ever engaged 1n the occupation in California. HUNT’S NEW LOOM. A California Invention That Will Work a Revolution in Weaving—Cloth Manu- facturers Indorse It. Weavine is perhaps the most ancient of the manpfacturing arts, as clothing was always a first necessity of mankind. As peopie became more civilized the demand for clothing increased, till now the loom is the most-used machine in the world. Mil- lions of looms are daily at work weaving the fabrics required by civilized man. Up to about 100 years ago the loom was in its primitive form, and weaving was done 1n a crude way. In 1787 Dr. Cart- wright, without having seen a loom, con- structed one to run by machine power. Soon after, in Napoleon’s time, in Lyons, France, M. Juseph Marie Jacquard in- vented a loom which enabled a workman, by’ an ingenious disposition of the warp ‘Proper Valuations Should by the management when seen in their offices at 504 Kearny street yesterday, are to make a few sample attachments, and make them in the best possible style_, and early next year fo simultaneously intro- duce them in the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and Belgium, These attachments will probably be rented at about $5 per month each. It is th :;.'_hc that before many months large quantities of them will be in use, and the receipts of the company must certainly be very large. LAND SOUTHWARD Be Based Upon the Possi= bilities of the Ground. Most of the Land Is Too Valuable To Be Used for Grazing. for Smatiler Farm ioldings. Written for THE CALL By C. H. PHILLIPS. You have asked me to contribute an ar ticle on land values in Central and South- ern California, and I regret that business responsibilities bave prevented .me from giving this important and complex subject the attention it deserves. In large agricultural sections like Illi- nois and Iowa, where corn and wheat are staple products, lands are properly valued at a price on which the income pays a fair interest. In California this does not ap- ply. The diversity of products, the near and remote locations asto business cen- ters, and the social and educational fea- tures all have an important bearing on the values of land. Land is more valuable for agricultural than for grazing purposes; more valuable for fruit than for grain raising. Land used for wheat may pay a fair income on a valuation of $25 per acre; the same land producing fruit will pay a fair interest on a value of $100 to $300 per acre. The proper valuation to be- placed on land in California should be based on the possibilities of the soil, with favorable climatic conditions, largelv influenced by location, social and educational advan- tages, and intellizent and intensive farm- ing. Unimproved lands in Santa Clara Valley that were sold at $10 an acre thirty years ago are now worth one and two hufidred. The actual condition and actual value of the same land were. the same then as now, but the touch of civilization, the application of brain and muscle, have wrought th§ change. The valué of land is largely influenced by fashion. Trends of travel and settle- ment advance and depreciate lands to a remarkable degree. The past seven years | of unrest, from well recognized causes, threads, to produce the most beautiful havedepreciated all values, lands included. A FAMOUS INVENTION — THE HUNT LOOM. [Sketched by a “ Call? artist.] patterns. Then the shuttle was sent through the warp threads by hand, and now it is done in a mechanical way, by striking it with a stick. During all these ages of weaving no change of any note was ever made in the manner of laying in the weft or filling thread. The same little supply of filling thread is now placed in the shuttle, as it was 100 years ago. This small supply of wen‘nas always | been a great drawback to the loom. It causes the loom to stop hundreds of times in a day to replenish the thread in the shuttle. It causes a loss of the prepared varn, as the shuttle becomes empty, which in itself is a loss of 10 per cent of the cost of weaving. It has always been known that if a device could be found that would give the loom a continuous filling thread and save the waste and enable the loom to run con- | tinuously, it would not only be used on | every loom in the world, but it would annually save many millions of doliars. All the wool raised in Europe, Asia, Australia and America is woven into fabrics. All the cotton raised in the British Possessions, in the United States and other countriesis woven into cloth. All the silk made from Turkey to India is woven into goods. It is easily seen thata device that will enable a loom to weave all these goods at a cost of from 10 to 20 percent less than it was ever done before isan invention whose value is beyond es- timate. When we see such an invention in working order, and contemplate its possibilities, it is simply bewildering. France erected a statue in Paris to per- petuate the name of Jacquard, and his in- vention was no greater than the one which is the subject of this article. The Hunt Loom and Fabric Company now have in operation a loom with a little attachment which weaves with a con- tinuous filling thread, saves all the waste and enables a loom to run continuously. It saves from 10 to 20 per cent in the cost of weaving, and how much more it will do can only be told after long experimental trials in factories with a large number of looms. The construction of this little device is quite simple. although it has cost many years of study and a large amount of money to bring it to perfection. Tbe shuttle, the bobbin, the pickerstick and the machinery connected therewith on the old loom are dispensed with and in their stead on each side of the lay is placed a little feeder, which receives the thre#d con- tinuously from outside the loom. A little carrier with little nippers at each end takes the thread from these feeders and lays it in the warp. It iaso contrived that when once in operation it runs continu- ously with little or no attention. The at- tachment is not costly and can be made in quantities for less $10 each. The natural resources of California, its di~ versitvof products, its favorable chmate and our ex=cutive ability asa people war- rant the assertion that she will receive her share of advancement and prosperity in the immediate future. At the beginning of the transition period an Eastern man saw in the sheep range where Santa Ana now stands what the sculptor sees in the block of marble which, as it comes from the quarry, is only fit for a horse-block, but under his magic ham- mer and chisel becomes almost an ani- mated being. So our Yankee saw beneath this tramped and sheep-cursed surface a rich soil, and in the water of the river Santa Ana the liquid that made Eden a paradise. And he contracted with the na- tive owner—a white man of the days of "49—for a considerable area of this neg- lected land. The seiler hurried with his deed {0 Dick Egan, the nearest notary, at 8an Juan Capistrano, and said, “I've sold my land at Santa Ana ut $4 per acre. For God’s sake acknowledgze these deeds quick, before the damn fool finds out he don’t know nothing about this country.” “*damn fool” quietly, but in g businesslike way, developed water, put«it upon. the lands, and sold them in s@bdivisions at $100 per acre, while the native Californian, who could not make a loan of four bits per acrein his day on these same lands, went to Lower California to escape the qualms of a sluggish but developing conscience: Abroad American securities in general are in better demand and daily growing stronger; and in estimating land values the future must be taken into considera- tion. § The farmer, merchant and banker have shared and shared alike the cruel burden of adversity; but, perhaps, the lesson was needed. History teaches us that the most successful men, individually and collec- tively, are those who have surmounted the greatest obstacles. Prosperity, like liberty, must be earned to be enjoyed. When the arable lands of California shall have passed into the hands of small holders; when the population of Southern California alone shall have exceeded that * of the entire State to-day; when the pro- lific soil, the balmy airand the consequent freedom in outdoor life are widely known, then and not till then will California lands - be held at their true value. . . It is said, says Cosmos, that women' voices do not give results in the long-dis- tance telephone; their high notes, excel lent in short lines, as all city telephone subscribers know, are an obstacle to clear transmission in lines ‘of considerable The objects of the company, asexplained | length. The -