USA > California > Alameda County > Past and present of Alameda County, California, Volume I > Part 23
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The Alameda County Law Association gave a banquet on March 4, 1896, and covers were laid for forty persons. The banquet was sumptuous and the speeches short, witty, clever and apropos. Ben F. Woolner was toastmaster. There were present, J. J. Allen, C. E. Crowell, Frank B. Ogden, A. L. Frick, W. R. Davis and others. Several of the most prominent attorneys could not attend.
In January Judge Frick formed a partnership with ex-Judge Henry Good- cell formerly of San Bernardino county, under the firm name of Frick & Good- cell. The young men of the Alameda County Law Association held their first meeting under the new constitution on January 13, 1897. Much of the evening was spent in considering the life and works of Lord Erskine. The young law- yers' meetings were distinctly beneficial to the whole Alameda county bar. At their gatherings they discussed and analyzed many knotty and perplexing cases. Particularly did they discuss to what extent it was best to disregard legal prec- edent and adopt innovations in procedure that had stood like a wall for cen-
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turies. At one meeting they considered the subject of vested rights as in the celebrated Dartmouth College case.
Judge Hall in March, 1898, held that the proceedings which annexed Temescal, Golden Gate and portions of Piedmont to Oakland were valid. Thomas Cuff brought the suit and was represented by Fitzgerald & Abbott. The city was represented by W. A. Dow and S. W. Condon. In May the Oakland bar assembled and passed suitable resolutions over the death of J. C. Martin. Speeches were made describing his personal and professional characteristics and qualities. As a lawyer he was witty, keen and brilliant .. He was employed by large corporations. He came to Alameda county in 1870 and always sustained a good reputation.
Early in March, 1899, the supreme court rendered the decision confirming the validity of the annexation proceedings. It was the case of Thomas Cuff vs. the City of Oakland. The annexation election of 1897 gave 1,909 for the measure and 667 against it. In May the supreme court affirmed the judgment and order of the superior court of this county in the case of Emilie G. Cohen and three others against the city of Alameda. It was a contest of the Cohen estate over the extension of Lincoln avenue. In 1899 Mrs. Jane J. Sather brought suit against William J. Dingee for $113,068, charging that he had with- held that sum while acting as manager of the estate. Her attorneys were J. A. Sanborn and A. A. Moore.
In 1900 the county board employed W. R. Davis as special counsel to assist in the cases against Henry P. Dalton. Early in 1901, a recommendation signed by about sixty members of the bar, asking that another superior court judge might be appointed for this county was forwarded to the Alameda county mem- bers of the Legislature. Judges Greene, Ogden, Hall and Ellsworth concurred in this recommendation.
In December Judge Ellsworth handed down a decision holding the Contra Costa Water Company responsible for the loss of property by the fire which destroyed the planing mill and furniture factory of Niehaus Brothers of West Berkeley in August, 1901, amounting to about $164,000. It was shown that although that company was paying for the use of seven special hydrants. the water pressure at the time of the fire was so light that the efforts of the fire department were futile. Early in 1902 an effort to revive the bar association was made. George E. De Golia and George W. Reed were the leaders in the movement. At a meeting early in February it was provided that all attorneys of good standing in the county could become members by signing the constitu- tion, paying a fee of $2.50 and receiving a recommendation from the special bar committee. The meeting adjourned to convene at a subsequent date for fuller organization.
The first juvenile court bill was introduced into the Legislature in 1891. but failed to become a law. In February, 1903. another was presented and became a law. The superior judges and the women's clubs of this county had much to do with the success of the bill. Mrs. Anna M. Cushing was notably active in securing the passage of this measure with its accompanying probation regulations. The first judge to open and preside over this court was Frank B. Ogden. He was succeeded by Judges Ellsworth, Melvin, Harris, Brown and Wells. During the balance of 1903 fifteen children were presented for admin-
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istration by the court, twenty-five in 1904, twenty-three in 1905, and thirteen in 1906. The scope of the court was not broad enough whereupon in 1907 a proba- tion officer working full time was put on with the result that ninety-four delin- quents were taken care of in 1907 and 153 in 1908. The next year the county assumed the control of the court, employed more deputies, when the number of petitions for probation increased to 175 and the following year to 283. In 1910 was established also the Child's Welfare League which aimed at preventive meas- ures. The leaders in this organization were Miss Bessie J. Wood, Dr. Susan J. Fenton and Mrs. Eleanor Carlisle. The petitions for probation since 1910 have numbered annually about the last figures and the majority of cases do not appear in court at all-are settled in the probation office. Miss Anita Whitney was appointed the first probation officer and was assisted by Miss Helen Swett, Charles E. Merwin, Ezra Decoto and others. It was an experiment largely and nearly all the details of court procedure were required yet to be unfolded. Miss Whitney was secretary of the Associated Charities, well qualified for the duties, and was a niece of Stephen J. Field of the United States supreme court. The juvenile court law took effect April 27, 1903, and until the appointment of Judge Ellsworth, all the superior judges planned the initial steps. The fundamental principle upon which the court was based was reformation instead of punish- ment. In 1905 the first probation committee was appointed by all the superior judges in bank; they were Dr. Sarah I. Shuey, Mrs. Anna N. Chamberlain, J. B. Richardson, George C. Pardee, Mrs. Frances H. Gray, Mrs. Anna M. Cushing and R. H. E. Espey. To this committee was assigned the duty of making all nominations to the probation staff and detention home employes. Under this committee Mr. Decoto was appointed first probation officer and was paid with money raised by the Oakland Club. He was succeeded in 1907 by Christopher Ruess who continues to serve down to the present time. Dr. Sarah I. Shuey was instrumental in raising the money to pay expenses. In 1909 the county began to pay the probation officer's salary and during that year a staff of five members was appointed to assist him. No sooner were the benefits and wisdom of the measure assured than the workers widened its fields of operations. At once all cases possible went no further than the probation office. About two-thirds of all felony or penitentiary cases are referred to the probation office and about two-thirds of these are reported unfavorable and thus go no farther. Soon the probation office became departmental in its scope of operations. Miss Beatrice A. McCall, Miss Theresa W. Rich, Olie F. Snediger, Charles A. Wood, Robert Tyson and others were workers under the new delinquent system. Leonard D. Compton is at the head of the adult probation department. At first the detention home occupied a small room in the emergency hospital, but in 1909 moved into its present building. A large juvenile court building is one of the necessities of the near future.
Judge William E. Greene died early in August, 1905. He was born in Maine, graduated in 1863 from Bowdoin College and arrived in San Francisco on August 17th of that year. In the fall of 1864 he stumped San Joaquin county for Abraham Lincoln and the following year was elected to the Legislature. In the meantime he had studied law and been admitted to the bar and in 1867 was elected county judge and thereafter until his death occupied the bench, Vol. I-12
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except for a short period in 1874-75. The courts of this county paid appropriate tribute to his memory.
In October, 1905, Governor Pardee appointed T. W. Harris judge of the Alameda county superior court to succeed Judge W. E. Greene, deceased. The judges of the superior court and many members of the bar joined in a petition recommending the appointment of Mr. Harris. He had lived and practiced many years in Pleasanton, but was then residing in Oakland.
In March, 1907, the bill providing for an extra judge-the sixth-for the Alameda county superior court passed the Assembly. Everett J. Brown became superior judge in September, 1908. Judge Henry A. Melvin, of the superior court, was a candidate for supreme judge in the fall of 1908. He was nominated at the republican state convention. In 1908, the two public courts of Oakland earned $70,000 at a total expense of $12,000. These courts were presided over by Judges Samuels and Smith. The principal items of revenue were the lottery cases. In all about nine thousand cases were tried.
In a condemnation suit over a tract of land at Twelfth and Fallon streets, in the fall of 1908, the owners were awarded $53,862; they had demanded $168,322. The Oakland Moot court consisted of two divisions in 1910: (1) The supreme governing body consisting of practicing attorneys and (2) a division including young men who were just commencing the practice of law and those who intended to do so or were studying law. The membership was about one hundred and meetings were held Monday evenings. B. B. Jones was president in 1910.
In February, 1911, the Alameda Bar Association, in mass meeting assem- bled, protested against the bill before the Legislature providing for the recall of the judiciary. The resolutions were presented by Mr. Fitzgerald. In October, Governor Johnson spoke to a large audience at the Macdonough theatre on the initiative, referendum and recall, dwelling particularly on the latter. He favored the recall of the judiciary because "Judges are but men who are sometimes good and often quite bad."
In December, 1912, the Alameda County Bar Association, at the annual ban- quet, paid formal tribute to retiring Superior Judge Ellsworth and Superior Judge-elect W .H. Donahue. After twenty-four years of faithful and creditable service Judge Ellsworth left the bench, to the great regret of the lawyers. Among the speakers were Henry A. Melvin, R. M. Fitzgerald, B. F. Woolner, Samuel P. Hall, W. H. L. Hynes, George S. De Golia and others. About seventy-five lawyers and judges were present.
On November 23, 1913, Rev. R. S. Eastman said, "The legal profession is a dignified profession and one that needs the best of men. It needs Christian men. I know of no profession wherein Christian men are more needed than in the legal. I rank it, in this regard, next to the ministry itself." Late.in Novem- ber, 1913, the county board appealed to the supreme court the judgment rendered against them in the superior court in favor of the Spring Valley Water Company for the refund of $89,000 paid in taxes on riparian assessments in Washington township for the year 1911-12. Similar taxes for 1912-13 were paid under protest.
CHAPTER XI
FARMING, FRUIT-GROWING, STOCK-RAISING, ETC.
Alameda county has passed through four stages of soil and animal production : (1) The cattle period ending about 1862; (2) the grain period extending to about 1882 and later; (3) the fruit period reaching up to the present; (4) the intensive or scientific period since about 1892. These periods, of course, are not exact, but overlap more or less during the whole period since the first settlement. At first the live stock of the old Spanish and Mexican residents, mostly cattle and horses, roamed at large over this part of the state and were gathered and divided at annual rodeos. The early American settlers, not believing that the soil generally was fit for the cultivation of field and garden products, imitated the live-stock practices of their predecessors, but at the same time sowed wheat, barley and oats and planted potatoes and onions. Enormous crops of potatoes were grown as early as 1851, and wheat and barley showed wonderful returns soon afterward. Generally speaking the farmers and fruit growers of the '50S were successful. About 1857 the orchards of Messrs. Rhoda, Hopkins, Webster and Schumaker of Brooklyn township were among the finest in the state. As early as 1852 John M. Horner and E. L. Beard received about one hundred thou- sand dollars for their potato crop-raised on the old Alvarado Ranch. Colonel Vallejo's experience in raising potatoes in 1852 is narrated elsewhere in this vol- ume. Others had similar successes and failures, all depending on the markets.
In 1854 there were 61,000 acres of land under cultivation in the county, to wit: Barley, 24,000; wheat, 20,000; oats, 6,000; potatoes, 5,000; nursery trees, 1,000; vegetables, 2,000; beans, 3,000. The yield of wheat per acre was 36 bushels. There were in the county 110,000 head of cattle; 60,000 horses; 20,000 sheep; 13,000 hogs ; 350 goats.
On July 24, 1858, the Alameda County Agricultural Society was formed, the gentlemen signing the constitution being H. C. Smith, Dr. H. Gibbons, A. H. Myers, Harry Linden, W. W. Moore, J. M. Moore, R. Blacow, Alfred Lewelling, P. J. Campbell, Frank F. Fargo, H. Lewelling, G. W. Fountain, Mark T. Ashley, F. K. Shattuck, S. Shurtleff, Isaac B. Rumford, E. Wilson, Hiram Keeney, J. Blacow, W. H. Davis, John B. Ward, J. L. Wilson, D. E. Hough, E. S. Chip- man, C. C. Breyfogle, J. A, Lent. It was decided to hold semi-annual fairs, one in the spring for the display of flowers, early grains and products of the horti- culturist, and the other in the autumn for the exhibition of stock, general farming produce, late fruits, and vegetables, and such other articles as could be shown to greater advantage at this season of the year. The first officers were A. H. Myers, president; H. C. Smith, F. K. Shattuck, vice presidents ; E. S. Chip- man, secretary ; Frank F. Fargo, treasurer.
On October 7, 1862, the Bay District Fair was commenced in Oakland, and was well attended, the exhibit of animals of all kinds, as well as of produce,
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being highly creditable. Among the articles on exhibition were a squash weigh- ing ninety pounds, a cabbage, fifty-one pounds, and a sweet potato, nine pounds. The celebrated horses Comet, Hunter, Kentuck, and Owen Dale were shown at the stock parade in the evening as were also certain Clydesdale horses recently imported by J. W. Dougherty and J. W. Martin, of the Amador valley. J. D. Patterson also produced five specimens of celebrated Alderney cows. At the election of officers the following gentlemen were chosen to serve for the ensuing year: J. J. McEwen, president; S. J. Tennent, J. Bowles, vice presidents ; William Reynolds, Santa Clara, S. W. Johnson, Contra Costa, R. Blacow, Ala- meda, D. S. Cook, San Mateo, J. A. McClelland, San Francisco, vice presidents for counties at large ; G. P. Loucks, Platt Gregory, R. G. Davis, directors; K. W. Taylor, treasurer; O. Falley, secretary. The annual address was delivered by Rev. Starr King to a large audience.
In 1868 J. Lusk, who owned a ranch about four miles from Oakland, culti- vated fifty acres of raspberries. He sent to market ninety tons of fresh berries and received therefor 10 cents per pound or a total of $18,000. He manu- factured twenty tons into jams, jellies, and pie-fruit and realized therefrom about ten thousand dollars. He made 15,000 gallons of wine worth 25 cents per gallon and 10,000 gallons of vinegar worth 20 cents per gallon. The total crop returned him $36,250. The cost of cultivating, picking, canning, barrelling and putting the crop in market was estimated by him at $20,000.
Late in the '6os and early in the 'zos grain growing was conducted on an enormous scale throughout the county, particularly in the Livermore and Sunol valleys. Livermore did a large grain business in 1874. On one day in December thirty carloads were shipped to Reno and over 100 tons of barley were sent to Nevada. A carload of flour was sent to Oakland. In ten days near the close of the year over 1,600 tons of grain were shipped from that town, mostly to San Francisco, yet Edmundson's warehouse was still full and the others also. Farmers stored their grain in the town and shipped when the prices were satis- factory or when they needed the money. In one week in February, 1875, 150 carloads of grain were sent from Livermore to market. On another day forty- two carloads of wood left for Oakland Point. This year the people of Livermore and vicinity prepared a carload of grain and vegetables for the Kansas sufferers, but the railroad company refused to bear the cost of transportation. The Grangers were active in all the farming regions of the county at this date.
In 1874 there were shipped from Pleasanton 140 tons of hay, 35 tons of straw, 60,200 pounds of oats and 51,118 pounds of wool. The total tonnage shipped from the town and received there was 12,212. The wheat shipments alone amounted to 9,488 tons, of which 7,257 tons went to Oakland wharf, 478 tons to Oakland and 270 tons to Brooklyn. There were shipped 1,325 tons of barley- 754 tons to Oakland wharf. Henry Cartner, who lived near Warm Springs, had forty acres in raisin grapes and was already putting up considerable home-dried raisins for market. He had begun to home-dry almonds also. His ranch was on the San Jose road near the mission. At Sunol in December herds of cattle were sold at an average of $21.50 per head; they were fattened on the grass of the foothills. Madam Argenti was growing orange and lemon trees there at this date. The Tropical Fruit and Cocoanut Manufacturing Company was organized
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at Oakland in 1875; the leading spirit was Alexander Ashbourne. They began converting into eatables products from mangoes, pineapples, bananas, yams, gin- ger, plums, chushon, tamarinds, paw-paws, custard apples, sweet saps, sour saps, neyberries, etc.
On October 31, 1881, the county board of horticultural commissioners were appointed as follows : A. D. Pryal, A. P. Crane and Martin Mendenhall, who were to receive $4 per day while actually on duty, but no member would be permitted to charge for more than thirty days during the year.
In order to encourage the cultivation of sugar beets the Standard Sugar Refinery at Alvarado in December, 1881, agreed to pay the following prices for the best beets raised for the company in 1882: For the best 100 acres, $200; best 75 acres, $150; best 50 acres, $100; best 25 acres, $50; best 10 acres, $20; best 5 acres, $10.
In the spring of 1882 there were planted in the Livermore district 880 acres in grape vines, all being of the wine variety, except thirty acres of table grapes. It was a dry season and about 35 per cent were lost. The next year about 15 per cent of the replant was lost; but in 1884, an excellent season, about five hundred and fifty acres of plants were in good condition. With the exception of the Zinfandel few of the varieties grew much fruit after the third year. The grape crop of the 1883 planting amounted to about one hundred and fifty-five tons of first and twenty-eight tons of second crop. All was sold to C. F. Aguillon's winery in Livermore at $30 per ton for the first and $15 per ton for the second crop. According to agreement the grapes had to have 22 per cent of sugar for the first and not less than 15 per cent for the second crop. Of the 183 tons three-fourths were Zinfandel and one-fourth was composed of Mataro, Folle, Blanche Burger, Grenache, Charboro, Carigane, the different Rieslings and perhaps a dozen other varieties. The profit in the Zinfandel was fully demonstrated. The first load of grapes was delivered to the winery Septem- ber 22d and the last of the second crop November 22d, the vintage lasting just two months. The rains did not injure the first crop nor the frost the second. At the third annual viticultural convention, which opened November 29th and closed December 6, 1884, Livermore valley was represented by thirty-one samples of different blends of wine of the 1884 vintage. All the samples showed a perfect fermentation, fine color and an excellent fruity and mellow taste. By the last of December, 1884, the valley had 1,975 acres in vines, owned by fifty-eight different persons, thirty-six of whom were newcomers in the valley and twenty-eight of whom built houses and barns and otherwise improved their plantations. Eight lived in San Francisco and hired residents to attend their vineyards.
Gooseberry growing became very popular and profitable about 1883; many of the bushes were planted near Haywards. C. D. Everett, E. D. Warren, A. L. Warren, A. W. Schafer, D. S. Amalley and others abandoned their currant bushes for the gooseberry plants. Grape vine planting was all the rage at Livermore at this date. On February 13th the thermometer stood at 25 above zero at Livermore. The Centerville Drying and Packing Company employed eighteen persons in July, and ran day and night during the active season. Their cans were procured in San Francisco. J. A. Johnson near Sunol had a nursery of 20,000 trees for orchards and soon bought 30,000 more. He had control of
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1,400 acres there. In 1883 the price of fruit became so low that hundreds of growers in all parts of the county sun dried their surplus.
In August Edward F. Dyer, of the Standard Sugar Refinery of Alvarado received $1,200 from the agricultural department of the United States for a statement showing the process and expenses of manufacturing beet sugar for the third year of its existence. The statement showed that the products in sugar and molasses were $150,617.50 and the cost $105,681.65. leaving the profits $44,935.85.
The Livermore vineyards were famous in 1883. Any gravelly land in that vicinity, that would grow grain, if dry and warm, was suitable. New vineyards were being opened in all parts of Murray township. J. H. Wheeler owned a large orchard and vineyard. H. M. Ames, Almon Weymouth, Albert Weymouth and many others owned vineyards there. Land in the Brookside vineyard tract sold for $65 an acre. Staking the yards began to be common, as the vines grew better and permitted cultivation between the rows. The Fruit Growers' Asso- ciation of Eden township was organized in 1883, but languished though it remained alive for a year or more.
The California Nursery Company was organized in 1884 by John Rock, R. D. Fox, James Hutchison, Thomas Mehsiro, W. J. Landers and J. Henri and a tract of about five hundred acres near Niles was purchased and divided into 100-acre sections. The first act was to set out on one of the sections 700,000 stock plants for budding purposes. Over $30,000 was expended before there were any financial returns. Hundreds of orchards in this part of the state were supplied from this nursery. At this time blackleg appeared among several herds of cattle near Livermore and elsewhere in the county; it was found in John Clark's herd on Arroyo Mocho. Grape growers hauled their crops to the Aguillon's winery. It was noted that wild bees injured the grape crop. Mrs. Belle Jordan had an orchard of 1,200 trees in the Arroyo valley near Liver- more; it was planted by R. K. Jordan. In the orchard were peach, pear, plum, apple, almond and apricot trees. This was one of the finest orchards in the county. Near were the famous Olivina and Ojo del Monte vineyards. The canyon of the Arroyo valley at this time was often called "The Mountain Fruit Belt of Alameda County." Among those who planted vineyards near Liver- more in 1884 were D. Inman, 50 acres; John Crellin, 20 acres; Louis Mel, 20 acres ; D. F. Fowler, 20 acres and 7 acres orchard; W. C. Wright, 10 acres ; E. Squires, 15 acres and 5 acres orchard; T. E. Knox, 20 acres; Eugene Paris, 15 acres; E. Edwards, 20 acres; Almon Weymouth, 15 acres; W. P. Bartlett, IO acres ; H. A. Arnold, 12 acres, and James Concannon, 20 acres. The Olivina vineyard near Livermore bore 1001/2 tons of grapes.
The grain crop of Livermore valley in 1884 was the largest in its history- that of Murray township alone was about fifty-five thousand tons; the largest crop there before was 50,000 tons in 1880.
The Livermore Valley Agricultural Association was organized early in April, 1885, in two large meetings held at the town hall of Livermore, thirty citizens being present and taking an interested part. Land suitable for the race track and buildings was examined on the John Green and George May farms. The capital of the association was fixed at $10,000. A soliciting committee was as follows: W. W. Mendenhall, C. J. Stevens, George Beck, Wendell Jordan and
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S. B. Bowen. Within four years ending in 1885 about four thousand two hun- dred acres of cereal and hay land in the valley had been turned into orchards and vineyards. Considerable grafting on native phylloxera proof stock was done in 1885. This year Prof. E. W. Hilgard was elected president of the Viticul- tural Society at Mission San Jose. It was decided to confine the attention of the society to the grape and the olive.
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