USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > A history of the city of San Francisco; and incidentally of the state of California > Part 20
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The majority of the holders of the extension deeds were Broderick's intimate friends. The measure was recommended by Governor Bigler, who was under his influence. Brush, one of his devoted followers, in- troduced the bill. Estell, one of his chief aids, was its manager in the lobby. Nearly all his friends in the legislature voted for it; he was in attendance during the session, though his home was in San Francisco, and he was not a member. It passed the assembly, where his faction had a large majority; it was defeated in the senate by the casting vote of Lieutenant-Governor Samuel Purdy, who afterwards received the congratulations of Mr. Broderick for having done right, with the explanation that as his friends were largely interested in the bill, he had not made any effort against it. By Broderick's influence Bigler was subsequently renominated, Estell obtained a lucrative state prison contract, and Brush was placed in a fat office in San Francisco.
Purdy's vote secured great popularity to him, and there was a general demand that he should be the democratic candidate for governor. There was no doubt that the extension bill was generally considered a serious fraud, and that Bigler, if renominated, would lose many democratic votes. But Broderick had his personal purposes to gain, and for their sake he was willing to endanger the party, and to impose upon the good nature of his friends. The election of Purdy for governor would have thrown two obstacles in the way of his advancement to the senate. Purdy and
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he were both from the same state, and objection would surely be made to giving a senatorship to a New Yorker immediately after another had obtained the governorship. If Bigler, who was a Pennsylvanian, were not nominated for governor, he would become a candidate for senator, and his popularity with the Missourians, who were a strong element in the legis- lature, might give him the preference. The leader of the Tammany faction explained these points to Purdy, and begged him not to be a candidate, and the selfish request was acceded to with an excess of generosity. Bigler and Purdy were renominated for governor and lieutenant-governor; the platform avoided all mention of the extension fraud; Purdy received twelve thou- sand votes more than Bigler; and the latter had a majority of fifteen hundred, though it was generally believed that he owed not less than three thousand votes to frauds on the ballot-box.
Though Broderick did not plunder the public treas- ury for his own profit, nor directly assist his friends to do so for theirs, yet he was, for several years, the " boss" of the city administration of San Francisco, as much as Tweed ever was in New York, and the gen- eral character of the city officials was equally base in the two cities under the " boss" control.
SEC. 156. Veracity. Mr. Broderick employed falsehood often and boldly, for the purpose of deceiv- ing the people and injuring his enemies. He not only denied facts known to many persons, but he contra- dicted himself, and thus furnished proof of his mis-
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representations. In a public letter, he said: “ Be- tween Mr. Gwin and myself there was no condition whatever in regard to the distribution of the patron- age." In a speech at Quincy, he told the people that " Gwin sought me and begged me, in the most humiliating manner to take him with me to the United States senate." At Stockton, he repre- sented that there was a bargain, but it was made by Gwin with Ferguson; and at Yreka, he declared that Gwin " absolutely sold his followers for the position he now holds. I gave him the position." On one occasion he said he knew nothing of Gwin's promise to give up the patronage, and afterwards he published Gwin's letter to himself dated three days before the election, renouncing all claim to the pat- ronage. At Nevada, he asserted that he intended to support Latham, but discovered that the latter had employed an agent to steal a letter from Tilford, and for that reason Gwin was preferred. We have, how- ever, the concurrent testimony of Estell, Tilford and Latham to prove that Latham was defeated solely because he would not give a written bill of sale trans- fering all the federal patronage in California. Besides, when Broderick replied to Latham's long speech at Nevada, giving a history of the senatorial election, he did not contradict the latter's statements.
Those who knew Mr. Broderick intimately claimed for him remarkable administrative ability, high con- versational power, a strong attachment for his friends, a strict regard for his promises, and a wonderful
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capacity to charm all upon whom he exerted his pow- ers. Their opinion may be accepted upon those points. He must have been a remarkable man to have tri- umphed over circumstances so strongly adverse as he repeatedly did, and to hold his influence over his followers after he had made so many serious blunders.
SEC. 157. Chase for Senatorship. He spent seven years in his struggle for the prize of the federal sena- torship. Three times-in 1851, in 1855, and in 1856 -he prevented an election rather than permit any- body else to get the place; once-in 1852-he was defeated; once-in 1854-he attempted to bring on the election fraudulently before the proper time; only one legislative session-that of 1853-between 1850 and 1857 inclusive, was free from the worry of a senatorial contest, and in six out of the seven struggles Mr. Broderick was a prominent actor. In 1854 his congressional ticket got only ten thousand out of seventy thousand votes; in 1855 his party was defeated because he controlled its nominations; in July, 1856, rumor said he was in danger of banish- ment by the vigilance committee, and when he left the city for several days his absence was popularly attributed to fear of the committee. Thus for three successivo years after his attempt to grab the sena- torial toga before it was ready, the people had ex- pressed their dislike of him in a most emphatic man- ner; yet in January, 1857, he turned up as master of the legislature, and not only secured his own election to the highest political office which California could
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confer, but designated his bitterest political enemy as his colleague, obtaining from him, however, a writ- ten assurance that Mr. Broderick was to be dictator of the democratic party in California. Supposing that this transfer of the federal patronage to him would be approved by the people and his party, he confidently anticipated the distribution of the leading federal offi- ces in the state among his friends, and when his demand was refused, he denounced President Buchan- an as a dotard, and his policy as an outrage upon freedom. He appealed to the people of California to sustain him and they condemned him. . Challenged by Perley, he declined, under the pretense that an alien was not entitled to the satisfaction of a gentleman, but he declared that he would not object to shoot at some official as high in office as himself. This bait, designed for Gwin, was seized by Terry, who, as a preparation for it, resigned his office of chief justice of the state. Broderick was so nervous that his pistol went off before he was ready, and his cool antagonist planted a mortal bullet within two inches of the spot which would have been instantly fatal. Thus this ambitious man was finally at rest; his fortunes ceased to vary, and his character belongs to history, where it must be judged, not by the extravagant praise of his personal friends, or the hate of his enemies, but by his public actions, which furnish sufficient material for measuring him morally and intellectually.
SEC. 158. 1860. Among the important events of 1860 were the rejection by the federal supreme court
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of the Santillan claim under a pretended Mexican grant for fifteen thousand acres south of California street; the defeat by the state supreme court of the Peter Smith title to two thousand acres of land west of Larkin street, and the publication of evidence showing conclusively that the Sherreback claim for a tract of eight hundred acres south of Market and east of Tenth street was worthless. These claims and the Limantour, defeated two years before, had all been held by a few speculators; the Limantour and Santillan by persons not residents of the city; and as they were not in possession, and the occupants were not disposed to buy them off, the grading of lots, the opening of streets and the construction of houses on the large areas covered by the claims had been pre- vented or seriously obstructed. The overthrow of the claims added much to the wealth of thousands of citizens, gave security to the titles of large districts, and stimulated improvement and business south of Market and west of Larkin street. The construction of the steam railroad on Market and Valencia streets gave cheap and convenient access to the Mission and to Hayes valley, and added much to the value of their land. The Washoe mines had attracted much attention in 1859, but it was not until 1860 that the conviction was established that the Comstock lode had large and rich ore deposits, not to be exhausted for many years, and that the business men of San Francisco began to comprehend the importance of owning the mines and controling the management by companies incorporated in their city.
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The federal census reported that California had 379,994 inhabitants. Of these three sevenths were men between the ages of twenty and fifty, and one eighth were women of the same age; and more than one third of all, or one half the adults were of foreign birth. Of the 146,528 foreigners, China supplied 34,935 ; Ireland, 33,147; Germany, 21,646; England, 12,227 ; Mexico, 9,150; France, 8,462; British Amer- ica, 5,438; Scotland, 3,670; Italy, 2,805; and South America, 2,250. The American states which had the largest number of natives in California, were California, 77,707; New York, 28,654; Missouri, 14,002; Ohio, 12,592; Massachusetts, 12,165; Pennsylvania, 11,143; Maine, 9,864; Illinois, 8,251; Kentucky, 7,029; Ten- nessee, 5,197; and Virginia, 5,157. All the Amer- ican states and all civilized nations were represented in this motley population; San Francisco was credited with 56,802 inhabitants.
SEC. 159. Prosperity. The defeat of the Mexican and Peter Smith claims to large areas in the south- ern part of the city, not only enriched thousands of citizens occupying the land in dispute, who now became the owners in full, and gave them inducements for opening streets, grading lots, and building sub- stantial houses, but it offered opportunities for the investment of money, just at the time when the out- break of the civil war checked the habit of paying visits to the east, and stimulated many Californians who had previously considered the state as a place for a brief sojourn to look upon it as their permanent home.
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The ownership of the land south of Pine street having been doubtful, those citizens who wanted per- manent homes had been compelled to purchase them in the northern wards, where the space was limited, the streets narrow and in many places steep, the build- ings old and shabby, the grading, on account of the tough clay of the soil or underlying rock, costly, and the prices high. It was because of the uncertainty of titles in the south that most of the fashionable res- idences before 1860 were on Stockton, Powell, Mason and Taylor streets, north of Clay, and that nearly all the houses of worship were north of Pine street. St. Mary's cathedral and the First Congregational church were on the corner of California and Dupont streets; the First Unitarian and First Presbyterian on Stock- ton, near Clay; the First Baptist on Washington, near Stockton; the First Methodist and Grace (Episcopal) on Powell, near Washington, and Trinity (Episcopal) on Pine, below Kearny. The sites of these churches were selected then with reference to their proximity to the residences of the members of their congrega- tions. The leading hotels, save the Oriental, were also north of Pine street.
The south end of the city, released from the heavy drag which had checked enterprise and prevented im- provement for ten years, started suddenly upon a wonderful career of prosperity. The north end, de- prived of the protection previously given to it by the inability to obtain secure titles and by the prohibition of grading and building in the south, remained nearly
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stationary, while the growth, the fashion, and the wealth gravitated rapidly to the southward, and to the western addition, which was reached through the southern streets. The work of the steam paddy, the construction of street railroads, the rise of the new hotels, completely eclipsing those of older date in the convenience of arrangement and elegance of construc- tion and furniture as well as in size, and the transfer of the majority of the wealthy families, of the most fashionable promenades, and of the leading theaters and churches to the region south of Pine street, were among the important changes that followed the judi- cial decisions defeating the great land frauds. It is a singular fact, however, that the decision confirming the Sherreback claim has never been reversed, though it is said that the claimants have abandoned it. The rapid progress of the agriculture of the state, and the large revenue derived from the Comstock lode stimu- lated the growth of the city, and in the course of the year ending with August, 1861, one thousand four hundred and fifty-three new buildings were completed or commenced, including the Russ house, Lick house, Occidental hotel, Masonic temple, Grace church, and St. Mary's hospital.
SEC. 160. Bulkhead. As the time for the expira- tion of the contracts under which the wharves had been built was approaching, the owners of those structures having enjoyed large profits from the heavy taxes levied upon ships, formed a consolidated corpo- ration, which proposed to build a stone bulkhead, and
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requested the legislature to give them, as compensa- tion, possession of the water front, with the privilege of collecting tolls there for fifty years. The mercan- tile community protested against such a sacrifice of public interests to lobby influence, but the legislature passed the bill in defiance of sound policy and the popular will; but as the city had been saved seven years before from the great fraud of the extension bill, by the casting vote of Lieutenant-Governor Purdy, so now it was saved from the bulkhead bill by the veto of Governor Downey.
SEC. 161. Pony Express. A notable event in its time was the establishment of the pony express, which began its service carrying letters between St. Joseph, Missouri, the western end of the railway sys- tem on the Atlantic slope and Sacramento on the Pacific side. The distance was about nineteen hun- dred miles, and the time ten and a half days, or two hundred and fifty hours, with an average speed of nearly eight miles an hour, each horse going about twenty-four miles.
The horse mail started twice a week each way and seldom carried more than two hundred letters on a trip, sometimes not twenty, the high postage of five dollars for a half ounce driving the ordinary business to the slower mail. The first pony mail rider from the east arrived at one A. M. on the fourteenth of April at San Francisco, by the regular steamboat from Sacramento, bringing his horse with him for the pur- pose of making a display on his arrival. Announce-
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ment had been made that there was to be a public demonstration, and a multitude of people went in grand procession, with music and torches to the wharf, whence they escorted the mounted mail-carrier with continuous cheers to the post-office. The time for let- ters between New York and San Francisco was by the help of the pony reduced to thirteen days; but for news it was brought down to nine days, that being the time between the telegraphic stations at Carson and St. Joseph. The pony mail, though sometimes inter- rupted by Indian troubles, deprived the mail stage on the southern route of much of its interest for the gen- eral public, and was the main reliance of California for important news until the telegraph was completed across the continent. Before the pony mail had been started, a telegraph company, aided largely by news- paper enterprise, had begun to construct a line through the San Joaquin valley, on the mail route, the object being to catch the news in advance of the arrival of the stage at San Francisco. The wire reached Visalia in June, and was then continued on to Los Angeles, but its value for the purposes of its construction was of brief duration.
SEC. 162. Election of 1860. Though about two thou- sand miles away from any of the territory upon which the rebellion raged, California was profoundly agitated by the war. At nearly all the elections, from 1852 to 1859, the people of California had given decided majorities to the party in favor of the extension of slavery. In 1859 the southern democrats had 62,000
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out of 103,000 votes; in 1858, 44,500 out of 81,000, and in 1857, 53,000 out of 93,000; but in 1860, when the death of Mr. Broderick had removed an objec- tion that kept many votes from the northern democ- racy while under his political management, and when the line between the north and south was drawn with greater distinctness, the state gave its electoral vote to Lincoln, and out of 71,000 democratic votes, Doug- las, the northern candidate, had 38,000. Breckin- ridge, who represented the moral right of secession, though the intention to secede was not avowed, and was not generally believed, had little more than one fourth of the votes cast in California, and only one sixth in San Francisco. Thus a large majority of the people had indicated at the polls that their sympa- thies were with the north, as might be inferred from the fact that more than two thirds of the Californians born on the Atlantic slope were natives of the free states. Under these circumstances it is not strange that when the flag of the rebellion was hoisted, Cali- fornia, under the leadership of San Francisco, ad- hered to the Union, and continued faithful to it to the end.
One result of the war was the abandonment of the overland mail on the southern route, and the estab- lishment of a daily overland stage on the central route. At the same time the telegraph made rapid strides from both sides towards Salt Lake, where the connection was made on the twenty-third of October, and then San Francisco was put in instantaneous
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communication with New York. A new apportion- ment was made this year, giving the city one seventh of the members of the legislature, whereas it had previously only one tenth.
SEC. 163. Baker's Oration. On the twenty-ninth of October, a few days before the presidential election that was to give the federal government to the repub- lican party, and put a stop to the advances of slavery on our continent, there was a great gathering of peo- ple at the American theater to welcome Edward D. Baker, who, long a resident of San Francisco, had in the previous spring gone to Oregon for the purpose of being elected federal senator, and while on his way to Washington with his commission in his pocket had stopped to spend a few days in the city which he con- sidered his home, though he declared that his legal residence was in Oregon. He was a great orator, and on this occasion had great topics to discuss-the rights of freedom, the duty of sincere republicans to elect their candidates in defiance of the threats of the slavery extensionists, and the course which he should pursue as senator. The following passage in his ora- tion deserves quotation here :
We are a city set on a hill. Our light cannot be hid. As for me, I dare not, I will not be false to freedom. Where the feet of my youth were planted, there, by freedom, my feet shall stand. I will walk beneath her banner. I will glory in her strength. I have watched her, in history, struck down on an hundred chosen fields of battle. I have seen her friends fly from her; her foes gather round her. I have seen her bound to the stake; I have seen them give her ashes to the winds. But
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when they turned to exult, I have seen her again meet them face to face, resplendent in complete steel, brandishing in her right hand a flaming sword, red with insufferable light. I take courage. The people gather round her. The Genius of Amer- ica will at last lead her sons to freedom.
The orator was not a native of our city, nor even of our continent, having been brought to the United States when an infant by his English parents, but it was here that he found inspiration and appreciation for a passage which is one of the glories of San Fran- cisco. It will survive the English language, if that can ever die; it will be repeated, cherished and ap- pealed to until freedom in every form, the most pre- cious of all the triumphs of humanity, and the struggle for it, the most sacred of all duties, shall have lost their interest. It surpasses any paragraph in Demosthenes, Cicero, Burke, Mirabeau, Brougham, Webster, Sum- ner, or Gladstone; it more than complies with Ma- caulay's definition of eloquence. It is the soundest reason (deduced from numerous famous experiences, going back as far as history over a field as wide as civil- ization) on a subject appealing to the strongest sym- pathies of our common nature, white hot with the justest and most generous enthusiasm, and expressed in the highest polish of rhetoric. The large auditory, enthusiastic on account of their numbers, their zealous devotion to their party and its principles, confident of their victory, as assured by every premonitory sign, and about to take part in the ballot battle that was to decide the policy and fate of a great nation, received
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Baker's outburst with keen appreciation, thrilling ex- citement, and thundering applause.
SEC. 164. Seven Years. The period of seven years, from 1854 to 1860 inclusive, was marked by the decline in the yield of gold, then the chief product of the area tributary to San Francisco, which ceased to gain population and wealth so rapidly as in the previous era, and in some of her leading branches of business suffered severely, though she continued to prosper, building many houses every year, opening new streets, paving old ones, building sewers, and grading streets to the newly adopted official levels. Many families arrived from the east, society improved notably, and communication with the Atlantic slope was greatly facilitated by the Panama railroad, the overland stage, and the pony express.
While the gold yield and the number of mines de- creased, the state was making far more progress than it had done in the preceding five years. It changed the bulk of its population from a migratory to a fixed condition. The titles of many of the Mexican grants were settled; considerable areas of federal land were surveyed and occupied ; numerous farm buildings, fences, roads and bridges were constructed; orchards and vineyards were set out with the best varieties of fruit; horses, neat cattle and sheep of the best blood were imported; and a still greater addition was made to the wealth of the state by the arrival of the wives, children, sisters and mothers of men who had lived for years without their families. The regions about
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San Francisco, San Pablo, Suisun and Monterey bays were especially prosperous; the towns of Sacramento, Stockton and Marysville improved ; and in the mining regions, while the shallow placers were giving out, many hydraulic camps, including Yankee Jim, Todd's Valley, Michigan Bluff, North San Juan, Campton- ville, Brandy City, La Porte, Port Wine, the drift mining towns of Iowa Hill, Forest Hill, Forest City, Alleghany, and the quartz mining towns, rose in im- portance. The growth of the state secured the continu- ance of the prosperity of the metropolis.
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CHAPTER VI.
THE SILVER ERA.
SECTION 165. 1861. Soon after the inauguration of Lincoln, California was called upon to decide whether she would adhere to the cause of the Union, or set up a Pacific republic, the latter course being the one recom- mended by the majority of her representatives in con- gress. On the eleventh of May, San Francisco held an immense public meeting, or rather collection of meetings, for the day was converted into a holiday. The streets were filled with flags, and a multitude of speeches were made and resolutions adopted, in favor of sustaining the federal government in its policy of preserving the na- tional unity by force. The demonstration was so
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