USA > California > San Diego County > San Diego county, California; a record of settlement, organization, progress and achievement, Volume I > Part 20
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"This company was incorporated by Colonel Thomas A. Scott, of the Pennsyl- vania railroad, and others. Scott was made its president, and gave his efforts energetically for several years to the task of building a road through to San Diego. Senator John S. Harris, one of the directors, spoke in San Diego on behalf of the road, August 28, 1871, which was the first public meeting held in connection with the enterprise. In March, 1872, Scott acquired by consoli- dation and purchase property and franchises of the old Southern Pacific, the Transcontinental, and the Memphis & El Paso railroads, and by act of congress approved May 2, 1872, was granted power to build and equip lines between the Mississippi river and the Pacific coast.
"In the meantime the people of San Diego were awake to their interests. Late in March, 1872, a committee of forty was appointed, of which Thomas L. Nesmith was chairman, and the congressman, S. O. Houghton, was instructed to use his best judgment. Horton went to Washington a few days later and cooperated with Houghton and General Sedgwick. It was thought essential that the charter should provide for building the road from both the eastern and western ends simultaneously, to fix a minimum mileage to be constructed each year, and to limit the time within which work should be commenced to one year, in order to safeguard the city's interests. Colonel Scott readily agreed to these requirements and promised to visit San Diego to negotiate for the fran- chise and property of the old San Diego & Gila and explain his views to the people. There was a powerful lobby against the bill, both before and after amendment, much of which came from northern California, but the bill finally passed and was approved on May 2d, causing great rejoicing in San Diego.
"Surveying parties were immediately put in the field and the work was pushed with vigor. Three surveys in all were made. The first party of engineers arrived in San Diego on June 21, 1872. On August 8th, J. A. Evans, chief engineer of the California division, arrived to take charge of the work. On September 5th the second party took the field and nine days later, the third. In the following December, Crawford's survey of the route from San Diego eastward was com- pleted, and in March the Reno party completed its work and was disbanded. These three routes were, respectively, the southern route by way of El Campo;
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the middle route, by way of Warner's rancho; and the northern, through the San Gorgonio Pass.
"All of this was very encouraging, indeed, and when Colonel Scott started west early in August, with a party of legislators and other public men, the excitement rose to something approaching fever heat and the people began to cherish an apparently well grounded hope that their ambitions were about to be realized. The name and fame of San Diego were in everybody's month. Popu- lation began to pour in from every direction, men began to see visions of a wonderful destiny, and in a few weeks San Diego's first great boom was fairly on.
"The railway party came by way of San Francisco, where Colonel Scott and others made addresses. On August 18th the steamer Hassler arrived at San Diego. having on board Professor Agassiz and party, on a voyage of scientific ex- ploration, who remained to meet with members of the Scott party. Agassiz was here ten days, continued his scientific researches and left a much valued estimate of San Diego's resources. The Scott party arrived by steamer on August 26th. A very distinguished party it was, consisting of Colonel Scott; Senator John Sherman, of Ohio; Governor R. C. McCormick, of Arizona; Colonel George Williamson, of Louisiana ; General G. M. Dodge, of Iowa; Col- onel John W. Forney, of Philadelphia; Governor J. W. Throckmorton, of Texas; W. T. Walters, of Baltimore; John McManus, of Reading, Pennsyl- vania ; Hon. John S. Harris; ex-Senator Cole; and W. H. Rinehart, the sculptor.
"'As the boom of the California's gun announced the arrival of the vessel,' said Colonel Gatewood in the World, 'all San Diego drew a breath of relief and hope,' and we may well believe it.
"A committee of citizens met the party and Colonel Gatewood gave them a formal welcome. They were domiciled at the Horton House and the same even- ing a banquet and mass meeting were held at which Scott explained his plans. Among those who spoke were: Scott, Sherman, McCormick, Williamson, Dodge and Agassiz, of the visitors; and T. L. Nesmith, Gatewood, Taggart and Hinch- man, of the residents. Other citizens who participated were: Aaron Pauly, C. L. Carr, Bryant, Howard, George W. Marston and Mr. Boyd.
"Scott's demands were far less onerous than had been feared. In the lan- guage of the Alta California, the committee of forty were 'in fear and trembling,' expecting nothing less than 'a modest demand for half a million in county bonds and at least one-half that the people owned in lands.' What he actually asked the people to give him was a right of way one hundred feet wide from the ocean to the Colorado river; the lands which had been granted to the old San Diego & Gila Company ; a tract of land west of the courthouse, on the water front, 600 by 1,500 feet, for a terminal; and either 100 acres of tide lands of acceptable shape and location, or the same area in Horton's Addition adjacent to the shore.
"These requirements were considered moderate and the committee of forty joyfully accepted them. But a 'vote of the citizens must be taken in order to authorize the levy of a tax to raise the necessary funds. It was resolved to call a mass meeting at an early day, that the action of the committee may be submitted to the people for ratification.' This was done August 30th, without serious opposition. Tlie stockholders of the San Diego & Gila were agreeable
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to all this, provided they were reimbursed for their outlay in times past, as they ultimately were by payment of $58,000 of city bonds.
"The transfer of the franchise and remaining property of the old company to the new was made December II, 1872, President Gatewood consenting re- luctantly and insisting that the Texas & Pacific be firmly and legally bound to fulfill its agreements. On January 14, 1873, the final step in the transfer of the subsidy lands was taken. They were put up at auction in one hundred and sixty parcels, and bid in by James A. Evans, engineer of the Western divi- sion of the Texas & Pacific, at $I per parcel, there being no competition. The deeds from the city to Evans and from him to the Texas & Pacific, were exe- cuted and filed for record the same day. The total area of these lands was 8,606 acres, besides fifty-one lots in Old San Diego and other places. The total value was estimated by the San Francisco papers at $3,000,000, and by Colonel Scott himself at $5,000,000.
"The remainder of the San Diego & Gila's story is brief. After the distribu- tion of the bond proceeds, Mr. Morse employed W. T. McNealy to defend all suits against the company and attend to the disincorporation. As late as No- vember 25, 1878, however, its business had not been wound up. The directors met on that date and declared a dividend of 561/2 cents a share, payable upon dis- incorporation. The amount estimated to be on hand, after payment of bills, was $1,766.85. The company was soon after finally dissolved.
"The stay of Colonel Scott and his party was short. The negotiations with the citizens' committee were finished on the 27th, the party departed at mid- night, and the Hassler with the Agassiz party the next day. After this, events moved rapidly. The election of September 27th provided for the issuance of bonds to satisfy the San Diego & Gila stockholders, as well as to purchase terminal property. On November IIth occurred one of the most joyous and impressive ceremonies ever held in San Diego. Ground was broken for the new railroad on the company's land, about one-fourth of a mile southeast of Mannasse & Schiller's Addition. W. W. Bowers was grand marshal and his aides were Adolph Gassen, Miguel de Pedrorena, L. G. Nesmith, Frank Stone and A. B. Hotchkiss. Colonel Gatewood presided, and the addresses were delivered by Judge Rolfe, C. P. Taggart and Governor McCormick. The jubilant feeling of the people was reflected in the World, which exclaimed: 'We have twice sup- posed that the right note of accord had been struck and we have been twice disappointed. . Now there is no longer possibility of deception. All our high contracting parties have put their sign manuals to an instrument which gives Scott all he has ever asked.'
"Some months now elapsed, in which little apparent progress was made and San Diegans began to grow restless. There were not wanting those who would be now called 'knockers,' and, indeed, the vast issues staked upon this railroad might well excuse a feeling of impatience. On February 12, 1873, the World felt called upon to declare :
"'We have enough raw material in San Diego to stock an ordinary lunatic asylum. We have amongst us men who discredit the good faith of Scott, and who cannot rid themselves of an uneasy opinion that he intends to palter with San Diego. It is useless to call the attention of these men to the fact that the railroad king is a man whose reputation for fair dealing is as exceptional
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as his success as a railroad administrator. They are possessed by the demon of distrust, and the sign manual of an archangel wouldn't reassure them.'
"But one week later the same writer recorded his opinion that: 'After a very full consideration of the matter, we have no hesitation in saying that it is time that the Texas & Pacific railway authorities should show their hands.' Evidently he, too, had become infected with the microbe of impatience.
"On April 21, 1873, occurred the ceremonies attending beginning of actual work on the construction of the railroad. T. L. Nesmith made a few remarks on behalf of the committee of forty, and C. P. Taggart also spoke. 'Father' Horton threw the first shovelful of earth and said it was the happiest day of his life and that he felt more honored than if he had been chosen governor. About ten miles of the roadbed were graded and some of this grade can still be seen near the tracks of the Santa Fe railway.
"In May, Colonel Scott wrote informing the committee that his company had decided upon the San Gorgonio route, and giving their reasons briefly. This was a disappointment to the people of San Diego, as they greatly preferred the 'direct route' by one of the two other surveys. Still, so long as San Diego was made the terminus in good faith, they did not greatly object. Scott went to Europe in the fall to complete his arrangements for placing his bonds and raising funds for the construction of the road. Everything apparently went well and he had matters all arranged in Paris for delivering the bonds and receiving the money, as soon as the formalities of making out the papers could be com- pleted. To pass the time of waiting he went to London with a party of friends and during their absence the 'Black Friday,' or panic occurred, which deranged the finances of the country and caused the French financiers to change their minds about making the loan. The failure of Jay Cooke & Company in December, 1873, cut considerable figure in this wiping out of the financial arrangements for the new railroad. Colonel Scott notified his friends and supporters in San Diego that he would be unable to fill his agreements.
"The blow was a severe one to the young city and many thought it fatal. The population dwindled in the course of two or three years from 3,000 to 1,500. But there were a stout hearted few who never lost faith nor courage. Scott was not ruined, they argued; he was still a wealthy man, still president of the Pennsylvania railroad and of the Texas & Pacific and had not abandoned or changed his plans. Jay Cooke & Company were endeavoring to rehabilitate their standing and would come to his aid. And so they fed their hopes for some years.
"But while these things were largely conjectural there was one source of hope which seemed a strong one. This was the appeal which Scott promptly made to congress for a national subsidy. Congressman Houghton had been reelected in the fall of 1872 largely on the ground that he could help in mat- ters of national legislation affecting San Diego's interests. He was still in con- gress, but unfortunately, found himself in a minority in the support of this measure. The day of great grants to railroads was passing, the country had been too hard hit by the panic of 1873, and congress could not be induced to give the subsidy. Hope was not abandoned for a long time, however. In October, 1875, David Felsenheld was appointed to act as agent of the city at Washing- ton, and in the following February a bill was passed by the house for a road
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on the 32d parallel, which was supposed to mean the Texas & Pacific, but the name of the company was changed to the Southern Pacific as successor to the interests of the Texas & Pacific, and San Francisco was made the western termi- nus. Further action was postponed until the next session of congress.
"When the matter came up in the next congress, in December, 1876, San Diego was again represented by special agent, Felsenheld, and stormy times began in a struggle to save the western terminus to San Diego. O11 December 18th the trustees and railroad committee telegraphed Colonel Scott as follows:
"'The citizens of San Diego rely implicitly upon your honor and good faith for the consummation of your oft repeated pledges. You promised that if the route directly east proved feasible it should be constructed. Fulfill your pledge. The direct line is the only route upon which a competing railroad should enter San Diego and they will unanimously oppose any compromise that will not secure that line.'
To this Colonel Scott replied :
"'Have used my utmost efforts to secure San Diego a railroad line on such route as can best effect the object ; and if you can effect it in any better shape than I can, I should be very glad to have you take it up and adjust it with any party, or on any terms that you may think best. But in taking these steps, I shall expect you to relieve me of any possible obligation.'
"At this time, Scott offered to relinquish his subsidy, being in doubt about the possibility of securing government aid but the offer was not accepted, and on the contrary every effort was made to secure the enactment of suitable legis- lation.
"General Thomas S. Sedgwick was employed to assist Felsenheld, and in Jan- uary Horton was sent 'to assist Sedgwick and yourself in explaining advantages of direct route and disadvantages and great injustice of proposed San Gorgonio switch.' Long telegrams were sent to Hon. L. Q. C. Lamar, chairman of the house committee on Pacific railroads, and to Hon. James A. Garfield, and other members of that committee, explaining San Diego's situation and desires. The chief contention was that 'this people entered into a contract with the company authorized by law to build the road, conveying to said company valuable fran- chises and over nine thousand acres of land on said bay, incurring thereby a large city bonded indebtedness, for which all our property is pledged;' 'that a large population have been drawn hither from all parts of the Union and induced to invest their fortunes here, in reliance upon the good faith of congress in said legislation ;' and that the proposed compromise, making San Francisco the ter- minus, missing San Diego by a hundred miles and leaving it to be served by a branch line of the Southern Pacific, would be a great injustice to the people of San Diego and the country, 'and will bring ruin upon several thousand people who have trusted the promise of the government in said Act of Charter, and who rely upon the obligations of contracts entered into with a corporation in good faith for very valuable considerations.'
"Two historic telegrams which passed between San Diego's representatives at Washington and the city trustees exhibit the situation very clearly. The atti- tude of the trustees was enthusiastically sustained at a mass meeting of citizens.
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The telegrams were as follows :
" 'WASHINGTON, January 6, 1877.
To Trustees:
We are pressing direct route persistently, and will probably defeat bill. It will not be conceded. Compromise bill allows national or state railroads to con- nect on equal conditions. The San Gorgonio line would be so much towards Union Pacific line from Salt Lake, which would have right to connect at San Gorgonio. We are losing friends in Committee by our persistence and cannot count our present strength hereafter for any other move. By yielding we may get guaranteed bonds subsidy for whole line; and if Huntington does not build San Gorgonio line you will have the direct route, under the bill, by the time the through line is completed. The Committee concede that the direct line must follow soon under any conditions. All rights and privileges conceded and se- cured, except direct route. The Southern section (of the House) which fully understands the situation, believes this the last chance for Government aid. They comprehend the benefits of the direct route; but think you should make concessions to get a railroad on (less) favorite route. At this time shortness of route is not so important as results in developing Arizona and getting connec- tions that will increase your commercial importance and population and trade many fold in few years, which growth will enable you to build the direct route long before you will need it to cheapen freights. Why not help yourselves now, to strengthen yourselves hereafter? Unless this subsidy bill passes, there will be no road for you to meet.
SEDGWICK.'
"'SAN DIEGO, January 6, 1877.
To Col. Sedgwick:
It is the deliberate and unchangeable conviction of San Diego, that the pro- posed connection north of here, in the hands of the Southern Pacific Company, would be an injury instead of a benefit to us, because :
I. It places in control of one corporation for all time every approach to our harbor.
2. Trade and population would be taken away from, instead of brought here, while the road is building. It is now moving from the northern part of the country to Colton.
3. By occupying the only passes it would prevent extension of Utah South- ern road and connection with Union Pacific. 4. It would supersede construction of direct line from Anaheim, increasing our distance from San Francisco to 650 miles.
5. It would increase the distance from Yuma by 60 miles.
6. Experience has taught us that the strongest promises in a bill do not pro- tect us against subsequent amendments at the desire of the corporations. Legis- lation that fails to require immediate beginning at this end, and construction of so much road before next session of Congress as to remove the temptation to amend bill, is worse than worthless.
7. Whatever supposed guarantees may be put in bill making the road a
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"highway" it is well known by all engineers that the Company building the road holds in fact control of it; and no other company can have equal use, or will build parallel road.
8. Southern Pacific Company one year ago agreed to build on direct line, provided San Diego would consent that it should have the western end.
So far from a San Diego standpoint: But we hold no petty local view ; we supplicate no favors. The interest of San Diego is here bound up with the National interest. We submit to impartial statesmen the conceded truth that the proposed compromise diverts the Nation's bounty from the original purpose of the Southern transcontinental legislation; deprives all the millions east of San Diego of direct access to their nearest Pacific harbor; and destroys competition for all time. San Diego's natural advantages are such, that in asking the Na- tion's aid for the construction of a railroad to her port, she asks it upon a line. and upon terms that will contribute to the Nation's support and wealth for all time to come ; while the compromise plan will be an intolerable and interminable national burden. For these reasons San Diego prefers NO bill, rather than the San Gorgonio branch. Read again both our dispatches to Lamar.
SIGNED BY BOARD OF TRUSTEES.'
"The board of trustees at this time consisted of J. M. Boyd, D. O. McCarthy, D. W. Briant, W. A. Begole and Patrick O'Neill. Boyd was president and S. Statler clerk.
"Events have singularly borne out the judgment of the trustees concerning the effect upon San Diego, at least, of building the road through the San Gor- gonio Pass instead of by the direct eastern route. Nor was Los Angeles indif- ferent to what she had at stake in the choice of routes. Later, when Scott's efforts to secure legislation had come to naught and the Southern Pacific was beating him in the race to California, Los Angeles gave $400,000 to make sure that the road should use the San Gorgonio Pass, and no other. It was the turn- ing point for Los Angeles, and it involved long and bitter disappointment to San Diego.
"In September, 1877, an agreement was made with Colonel J. U. Crawford to survey the route by way of Warner's Pass as a means of demonstrating once more the utter falsity of the claim that the direct route was impracticable. Craw- ford and Felsenheld went to Washington early in 1878, together with Captain Matthew Sherman, to make one final effort in behalf of the enterprise, but it came to nothing.
"Thus ended the dream of the Texas and Pacific system with its western terminus on the shores of San Diego Bay. The result was in no wise due to the people of San Diego. They were wide awake to their opportunity; they contrib- uted with prodigal generosity to the subsidy; they fought long and stubbornly to protect and enforce the contract. Failure was due, in the first instance, to the panic of 1873; then, to the sledgehammer blows which Huntington rained upon his rival, Scott, until he had beaten him alike at Washington and in California. So Scott's star went out of the Pacific sky, and Huntington's rose resplendent, to shine with ever increasing luster while he lived.
"There were times when San Diego hoped that Huntington would build his line to the port of San Diego and thus create the desired eastern connection. There is no evidence that he ever seriously contemplated the project. He visited
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San Diego with Crocker and others in August, 1875, and met a committee of citizens. The best account of what occurred at the interview appears in the fol- lowing statement by E. W. Morse :
"'I was on the railroad committee when Huntington and his associates were here to negotiate with us. I think Huntington never intended to build to San Diego, but that he only came for political effect. They never made us a proposi- tion. We met on a Sunday. Huntington said he was not then prepared to make a proposition. I told them about General Rosecran's trip to Jacumba Pass and what he said about the route. Mr. Huntington objected that that would take them down in Mexico, which he thought would make undesirable complications. I suggested that he could probably make such an arrangement with Mexico as the Grand Trunk had, which crosses the line into the United States twice. Huntington said: "Well, I don't know but that would be well." General Rose- crans said several times on his trip that he never saw a better route for a rail- road; "it looks like it was made purposely for a railroad." They talked very pleasantly with us and finally said that one of their directors was traveling in Europe and "as soon as he returns we will make you a proposition giving the terms on which we will build a railroad into San Diego." I have memoranda which I made at the time of that interview. We kept on asking them to make a propo- sition after that, but they never got ready to do it. He said we could depend they would be the first railroad to build into San Diego, and when the time was ripe they would build.
"'I don't believe Huntington ever showed a spirit of vindictiveness toward San Diego, as has been reported. In all the correspondence with him which I have seen, he was very friendly. Mrs. Burton, widow of General H. S. Burton, was once dining with him and said to him she did wish he would build a railroad into San Diego, that she had some property there which would increase in value and it would make her a rich woman. "Well," he said, "it is not to our interests to build in there, at present." He talked very pleasantly about it and gave as one of their reasons for not building that if they should touch the coast at San Diego, they would come in competition with water transportation. I think they were influenced largely by- the consideration of getting the long haul clear into San Francisco, which they get now, while if they had built in here, they would have had to divide with a steamship company at this port. This party was enter- tained at the Horton House and was treated well.' "
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