USA > California > Los Angeles County > Los Angeles > Los Angeles from the mountains to the sea : with selected biography of actors and witnesses to the period of growth and achievement, Volume I > Part 19
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In 1910 the city voted $3,000,000 in harbor bonds to start the work, and in 1912, after litigation by opposing interests, this money became available.
In 1913 the city voted a bond issue of $2,500,000. These issues with $4,500,000, voted in 1919, making up the $10,000,- 000 agreed upon.
The events of these few years really constituted the birth of a great seaport, and in 1912 a newly organized board pro- ceeded at once to prepare for the shipping that was expected to come with the opening of the Panama Canal.
A reinforced concrete wharf 2,520 feet long was built on the west side of Pier 1 and another 400 feet long at the head of the west channel-both in the outer harbor. On the 2,520- foot wharf was built a steel and concrete transit shed 1,800 feet long by 100 feet wide, with clear span, with concrete fire walls 600 feet apart, steel smoke aprons and automatic sprinkling system-one of the finest buildings of its kind in the country.
Five railroad tracks and a 50-foot concrete roadway were installed on the pier, and a magnificent reinforced concrete warehouse, 152x480 feet in area and having six stories and a basement, equipped with automatic sprinkler system, whip hoists, elevators, outside stairways, cargo chutes, two rail- road tracks inside the building and, in fact, all that goes to make it the peer of its kind in the United States.
On Pier "A" about 3,000 feet of creosoted pile wharf was constructed, and on it four steel on wood frame transit sheds all 100 feet in width, single span, with automatic sprin- klers, and of lengths varying from 500 to 1,000 feet each, with four railroad tracks serving them and a 50-foot concrete roadway.
Los ANGELES HARBOR AS A LUMBER RECEIVING PORT
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At this enormous pier docked the American-Hawaiian Steamship Company and the Independent Steamship Com- pany, and later the Pacific Steamship Company, the Los An- geles-Pacific Navigation Company, the Williams-Dimond Line and the California Pacific Steamship Company.
At the head of Slip 5 was constructed a wharf 670 feet long, and on it a transit shed 100x530 feet with railroad and highway service, as on the other piers.
Ferry terminals were installed at various places in the harbor. A vast amount of dredging was done in order to fur- nish adequate depth for the ships that were expected.
A fish harbor was created on Terminal Island, on which the fishing fleet could tie np to a 1,600-foot wharf that was constructed in front of the area set aside for fish canneries.
A wholesale fish market was constructed on the west side of the main channel, in which all of the wholesale dealers in fresh fish could be accommodated on eqnal terms and in a perfectly modern and sanitary building.
At First Street a wharf 330 feet long was constructed and on it an umbrella shed and a two-story building to house the pilots, the port warden, the wharfinger and offices for the steamship company nsing the wharf.
On the main turning basin was built, for the Standard Oil Company, a wharf 800 feet long, and across the way a wharf for the Union Oil Company, while on the breakwater a loading station site was provided for the General Petroleum Company.
A municipal belt railway was decided npon, and to date some fourteen miles of this railway have been built.
In addition to creating paved roadways serving all wharves, additional approaches to the harbor were created.
In the midst of this construction activity the great war was started, and as this took nearly all ships from the Pacific, the benefits expected from the Panama Canal conld not ma- terialize. As the funds for harbor development were ex- hansted about the same time, the work of harbor building, in large part, ceased for abont four years and until a new bond issue by the City of Los Angeles of $4,500,000 was voted and harbor work resnmed.
FISH HEADQUARTERS, LOS ANGELES HARBOR This Reclaimed Acreage is Central Point in $6,000,000 Fish Industry
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The Harbor Department operates on Santa Catalina Island its own quarry, from which the rock needed for bulk- heads, roads, etc., is taken.
It is now installing the latest mechanical appliances for handling cargo with speed and cheapness.
It has plans of further harbor development pressingly needed that will require, in addition to the present bond fund of $4,500,000, another $10,000,000 at least to complete.
The war, which took away the shipping, created in the harbor a large shipbuilding industry consisting of two ship- yards with three ways each for wooden ships, and two ship- yards with six ways each for steel ships. It was at least partly the means of locating the largest United States submarine base on the Pacific Coast in the harbor. It greatly increased the fish canning industry, an industry which in and about the port engages seven or eight hundred fishing boats.
The war helped to increase the fuel oil, gasoline and kero- sene business in the port.
The war increased the demand for raw cotton, so that California and Arizona went into cotton-growing with great and surprising success, and Los Angeles Harbor became an important cotton port, and port officials installed a high density cotton compress.
A large refrigeration and ice-making plant is about to be installed to meet the growing demands of the fishing industry.
A vegetable oil trading and refining plant is being installed to take care of the vegetable oil business coming from the Orient and the South Seas.
A stockyard is being created to take care of importation of stock.
A supply of steam coal has been provided in the port for bunkering coal-burning ships. The bunkering of ships with crude oil is taken care of by three of the largest companies in the country, one of which has an enormous oil refinery a few miles from the port, and another is completing an enor- mous oil refinery within the harbor district.
A 10,000-ton floating dry dock is nearing completion.
A new and very fine fire boat has lately been built and brought into the service of the port.
GREAT OIL TANKERS PLYING IN AND OUT OF THE HARBOR
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The United States Navy on the Pacific uses the port ex- tensively, and the flagship of the admiral has Los Angeles as its home port.
The Globe Milling Company maintains and operates a grain elevator on the main channel.
Five of the largest lumber companies have extensive yards and mills on the waterfront.
A 10,000-ton marine railway for ship repairs, etc., is about to be installed on the west basin.
A channel to the Long Beach Harbor has been dredged, making it possible to create thirty miles of still water dockage in the inner harbor alone.
In 1920 the following steamship lines operated to and from the port :
Pacific Motorship Company (Los Angeles Pacific Naviga- tion Company, agents)-Paita, Eten, Callao, Mollendo, Arica, Iquique and Valparaiso.
Los Angeles Pacific Navigation Company. Direct sail- ings-Honolulu, Yokohama, Kobe, Shanghai, Hongkong, Manila, Singapore, and return.
California & Mexico Steamship Company-Lower Cali- fornia and Mexican ports.
Pacific Mail Steamship Company (M. F. McLaurin, Inc.)- Balboa and way ports. All important Mexican and Central American ports. Also sailings for Havana, Cuba, and Balti- more, Maryland.
Gulf Mail Steamship Company (Los Angeles Pacific Navi- gation Company)-Guaymas, Topolobampo, La Paz, Mazat- lan, San Blas, Manzanillo, Acapulco, Salina Cruz, Cham- perico, San Jose de Guatemala, Acajutla, La Libertad, La Union, Amapala, Corinto, San Juan, Puntarenas, South American ports.
Rolph Mail Steamship Company (Rolph Mills & Co.)- Mexican, Central American and South American ports as far south as Valparaiso.
South American Pacific Line (Rolph Mills & Co.)-Mazat- lan, Manzanillo, Acapulco, Salina Cruz, Champerico, San Jose de Guatemala, Acajutla, La Libertad, La Union, Amapala,
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Corinto, Puntarenas, Buenaventura, Manta Guayaquil, Callao, Mollendo, Arica, Antofagasta, Valparaiso.
Toyo Kisen Kaisha-Salina Cruz, Balboa, Callao, Arica, Iquique, Valparaiso.
Harrison Direct Line of Steamers (Balfour, Guthrie & Co.)-English ports.
Norway Pacific Line-Scandinavian ports.
Johnson Line (M. F. MeLaurin, Inc.)-Scandinavian ports. (Sailings contingent upon cargo offerings.)
Williams, Dimond & Co .- New York, European and Eng- lish ports. (Sailings contingent upon cargo offerings.)
Pacific Steamship Company (Admiral Line)-San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Tacoma, Victoria, B. C .; Vancouver, B. C .; Everett, Puget Sound ports, Mexican and Central American ports.
McCormick Steamship Company-San Diego, Redondo, San Francisco, Eureka, Portland, Gray's Harbor, Puget Sound ports.
Luckenbach Steamship Company-New York sailings.
North Atlantic and Western Steamship Company-Phila- delphia and Boston sailings.
General Steamship Corporation-South American and Australian ports.
Swayne & Hoyt, Inc .- West Coast and East Coast South American ports.
Los Angeles is now known as the great seaport of the Southwest. An enormous commerce on the seas is assured it. The fledgling has become a young eagle with an eye on half the world. It shares with San Francisco and Seattle the trade of the Pacific-still in its infancy-but destined to grow with marvelous rapidity.
It is a municipally-controlled and regulated port, and this largely by reason of the fact that it is in large part a munici- pally-owned and operated port.
The rail haul to it is shorter and is made under better operating conditions from most parts of the United States than to other Pacific ports.
Its water highway to the Orient, Australia, New Zealand,
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the Philippines and Hawaiian Islands is in the favorite Sun- shine Belt.
It may be a source of surprise to know that the building of this haven has not required an extraordinary expenditure of money. Nature has already done so much to assist man in his labor that the trouble of construction was rendered easy. The breakwater cost $2,900,000, and the dredging of the inner harbor up to the year 1910, $1,638,000. And think what has
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STEAMSHIP UNLOADING WHEAT FROM AUSTRALIA
been done with that comparatively small amount of money. It has required five and ten times as much to accomplish the same result in other harbors.
There will be comparatively small expense for yearly dredging to keep the harbor deep enough, as is the case with most large harbors of the world. This fact alone will mean a large saving. A great deal of the money allowed by the Government will be used in building proper fortifications.
The necessity and importance of fortification construction cannot be exaggerated. If one but stops to think how unpro- tected we are in this section of the country, one will see the
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necessity of something being done to strengthen our position. The Government has spent millions of dollars fortifying the Atlantic coast, but on the Pacific coast only a very few of the most important seaports are made safe from danger in case of war. There is no reason why the most thriving part of the Pacific coast should be so situated that an enemy can walk right in its door without knocking. A few years from now there will be greater necessity for this protection, because the surrounding territory is being populated at such a surprising rate. The safety of millions of people will be brought into question, not to speak of the danger to shipping as well as to the harbor itself.
And now to begin with the advantages accruing to the Southwest through the harbor.
There has been a steady growth from year to year in the shipping business of Southern California. Some years have seen a remarkable increase, but it has to a great extent been dependent on the facilities for commerce which were devel- oped. Most of the products have been exported by rail, but large quantities have also gone by water. Nevertheless, in the past we have not had a deep enough harbor to furnish the best accommodations for ships, and therefore could not re- ceive goods from the largest ones. This, of course, hampered our foreign trade. Some of the large harbors of the world have appropriated large sums of money to deepen their gate- ways. As for the gateway to Los Angeles harbor it will be wide enough and deep enough for many years to come.
The trade of Los Angeles Harbor is nothing to be ashamed of. Even without the great possibilities which the Panama Canal will open up to us, we would unquestionably have a great trade anyway. But when the salient feature of the great circle route between the Panama Canal and the Orient, being only seventy miles from the entrance of the inner harbor, is taken into consideration, no one can imagine how much the harbor will mean.
In 1910 the crop of oranges and lemons amounted to almost 41,000 carloads. The tremendous quantity of citrus fruit that is shipped has to be forwarded by rail and at a very high freight rate. By water this crop should reach New York in
GREAT SHIPBUILDING COMPANY PREPARING FOR THE FUTURE
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from thirteen to twenty days, depending entirely on the speed of the vessels plying on the route. At present it takes twelve days by rail, but what will the few days' difference amount to when the difference in rates is taken into consideration?
It is expected that oranges and lemons will be shipped to New York by water at the cost of one-third the rail rate. The icing of a car of oranges or lemons from Los An- geles to New York costs about $75. On shipboard the temper- ature is always very even, much more so than on land, and if there is any necessity for refrigeration it can easily be done by the circulation of a refrigeration fluid by the engines. This can be accomplished by the use of a very little power, and consequently at a very low cost.
We should also ship to Europe at a considerably lower cost by the all water route. It is expected that freight will be sent to Liverpool and London by water at the cost of from $7 to $9 a ton. The rail rate for citrus fruits is far in excess of that.
As far as time is concerned, it takes three weeks for the citrus products to reach Europe now, while by the Panama Canal it should not take more than three or four weeks.
Thus it can be seen that the principal advantage of the Panama Canal is the furnishing of a new and cheaper manner of transportation to the eastern part of the United States. The railroads will have to lower their freight rates to the East, and therefore, traffic will be benefited in every direction.
Not only will we have a tremendous trade with the Atlantic coast and Europe by water, but there are many things raised in the Southwest which should build up a large commerce with the Far East. Lemons have been sent to Japan by way of San Francisco. Besides there should be a considerable de- mand for dried as well as deciduous fruits in the Orient. But one of the principal exports to the regions across the Pacific is cotton. In Imperial Valley cotton is being raised very successfully and it is said to be the finest in the world. The producers have already had orders from Japanese spinning mills and a number of experts from Japan have visited the field and were well impressed. Besides this, we are in direct communication with Texas, whose annual production of
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cotton amounts to some 3,000,000 bales. There will certainly be a sufficient amount to supply the needs of the Orient.
Besides cotton, Japan imports principally iron manufac- tures, sugar and wool. All of these are produced in this part of the country. The imports of all the countries in the Far East very much resemble these. They export some very valuable products, some of which will be used in the South- west. From China we will be able to procure pig iron at low figures. From Japan some very fine hardwood has been shipped, and the oak which has been received competes with eastern oak. Other exports are silk, coal, tea, matting, ore, bullion and camphor.
The commerce with Mexico has gone to San Francisco, but in the future there will be no reason on earth for sending the freight from Mexican points an extra 358 miles up the coast to San Francisco, when the same can be landed at San Pedro. In the new regions of the west coast of Mexico the people require a large amount of machinery and tools to develop their land, all of which Los Angeles can manufacture and send down to them. Once we have put in our claim to this trade, we will find that a large amount of produce, especially trop- ical fruits, can be brought to this place at a much less cost than at present. For all these tropical products we have had to pay a very high land freight rate, because most of them came through New Orleans to the coast.
From the west coast of Mexico we are able to secure these goods at a much lower price because we have vessels plying regularly between our harbor and their shipping places. There are excellent pineapples, bananas, and beds of oysters five feet thick to be found there. These oysters are as good as any found on this coast, and better than some which come from the Atlantic coast. In this region, which is situated in about the central part of Mexico, there is a great demand for dried fruits, and all kinds of groceries, principally condensed milk and butter. Most of the condensed milk is brought from Seattle, which, of course, means an extra trip of over 1,000 miles.
In this way Los Angeles has for years been losing trade which now logically falls to its lot. There have been plenty
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of supplies, but we were hampered in our shipping facilities. The day is soon coming when we will be able to put in our claim for our own trade.
There are great riches stored in all parts of Mexico, and it will only require time and money to develop them. With the proper facilities for transportation and the consequent opportunity for bringing to light the wealth still concealed from the eyes of man, the possibilities for a great trade be- tween those regions and the United States are enormous. Los Angeles Harbor will, on account of its proximity and the excellent railroad transportation to the interior which it offers, claim a great part in this commerce.
If such a wonderful commerce was given to Seattle by the discovery of gold in Alaska, what will Mexico mean to Los Angeles with its rich mineral deposits and also its agricul- tural products? In Alaska severe winters have to be faced by people unaccustomed to them, but in Mexico one will be secure from cold weather and plenty of assistance can be had at a very low rate from thoroughly acclimated natives.
The same may be said of South America, for in many re- spects the products are similar. There are rich mineral de- posits still undeveloped.
In this direction lies one of the great openings of Southern California. From the wonderful lands south of us wealth is staring us in the face. A chance like this has seldom been given to any land.
Of course, Los Angeles will be the great center of attrac- tion for tourists. The people who pass through on their way to the Orient will stop for a few days in the magic wonderland and visit the various attractive resorts and see the rich coun- try surrounding Los Angeles. These tourists always bring a large amount of money into the city and the railroads derive a thriving business from this vast increase of sight- seers.
Many people are making the trip to the Orient and around the world at the present day. Very often they come to the western coast of America and leave from there for the Far East. Most of them make Los Angeles their final stopover,
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because they visit Puget Sound and then come down the coast to Los Angeles by rail, through Portland, or they come via San Francisco. They were once forced to retrace their steps to take the steamship at San Francisco, but Los Angeles can accommodate the trans-Pacific liners now, and so these people take the vessels here.
In connection with this another fact bearing on the de- velopment of the Southwest should be mentioned. It has oftentimes been found difficult to secure labor, especially for fruitpicking, and sometimes the labor secured has not always been the most satisfactory. In the future good laboring men will be able to come via Panama at a rate much cheaper than the present one by water and rail. This, of course, will go far toward increasing and unearthing the hidden resources of the Southwest.
Manufacturing in Los Angeles has been increasing steadily every year, and is taking great leaps now that this is the maritime city of the Southwest. Think of the ease with which we can procure fuel. Here we can obtain millions of barrels of oil, on which great sums are saved for every barrel burned.
Most of the manufactories and warehouses of the future will be located in the vicinity of the harbor. There are ex- cellent sites for these near San Pedro. Also back of Wil- mington there is admirable flat land, on which vast numbers of them can be erected. A special advantage in regard to manufacturing will be the ideal climate, which will render all labor easy. The men will not have to struggle through heavy snowdrifts to reach their occupations, nor will they swelter under a burning sun which strikes to death with the force of its terrible rays.
Until we are finally prepared for receiving the vessels, we will not be able to half appreciate the great advantages which we will have. It will be a glorious awakening to behold the rays of the rising sun calling the laborers to another day of life-bringing toil. And as the great orb of day rises higher in the sky, at each stage, he will turn the emerald seas to sparkling crystal as the prows of a continuous stream of pass- ing vessels wake to life the sleeping waters of the Bay of San Pedro. All day long there will be a bustle about the
ยท
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wharves and docks, the loading and unloading of vessels, the departure and arrival of the great argosies.
When the evening sun sinks to rest behind the grim out- lines of Point Firmin, the giant guarding the harbor, he will light the whole expanse with the golden rays of his setting. And perhaps some ship with sails spread, waiting for the first touch of the soft night breeze, will be kindled by the
SLIDING OUT OF LOS ANGELES HARBOR
glorious golden light shot through the sky by the king of day, until those very decks and sails seem aflame.
Gradually the light dies down and the ship becomes a gray specter on the grayer sea. But the Southwest, having beheld that sight, will know that another day has passed, another day that has been a day of labor, but labor fully re- warded, a day bringing in great wonders, and a day carrying away greater wonders. Above all, and through all, with the throb of the great liners' engines, will be heard the voice of the Southwest singing, always singing of the golden wonder- land; of the land of Cathay; of the land of health, happiness and prosperity.
Vol. 1-15
CHAPTER XII
THE AQUEDUCT
In my book "California," published by the Grafton Pub- lishing Corporation, I made the following statement :
"The story of the Owens River Aqueduct is the story of a great city builded on a desert that one day awoke to the very serious fact that it must stop growing or find more water for its uses. The city did not desire to stop growing, but there was no more water anywhere within sight that it could obtain. It had utilized to the utmost limit every drop of water in every stream to which it had a right. The city that faced this grave problem was the City of Los Angeles."
And also, here again, in order to discuss the present and to forecast the future, we find ourselves compelled to revert to the past-that beautiful and mighty past when were laid the cornerstones of the commonwealth, and when California's career among civilized communities was begun. Wherefore, I ask the indulgence of my readers to quote again from my book "California":
"In considering the present and future greatness of Cal- ifornia, the imagination constantly reverts to the first at- tempts that were made at civilization and commercial prog- ress. One who knows and loves the story of California can never behold the great irrigation ditches which wake to liv- ing bloom the vast stretches of opulent plain and valley with- out seeing, as in a dream, the first uncertain waterway which Junipero Serra projected in the Mission Valley of San Diego. As one speeds now upon the shining highways that link towns and cities together from end to end of the Golden State, memory stirs in the loving heart, the dream of days when the Mission hospices, with their flocks and herds on the hill- sides, and the Indian neophytes chanting in the harvest fields, awaited the welcome traveller on the King's Highway. And
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HEADWATERS OF OWENS RIVER, SOURCE OF LOS ANGELES WATER SUPPLY
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thus Junipero Serra stands forth the first and greatest char- acter of which California yet can boast-her first missionary, her first merchant, the first of her empire builders."
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