USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > San Francisco, a history of the Pacific coast metropolis, Volume II > Part 17
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The resentment created by these practices was greatly increased when the people awakened to a full realization of the purpose of the Southern Pacific pro- jectors, who were practically the same men as those in control of the Central Pacific. At first the movement to build to- the Colorado river was hailed with satisfaction. It was regarded as a step in the direction of opening a vast area which despite its uninviting appearance, owing to the absence of trees, was known to be fertile, only needing the application of water to bring it to a high state of productivity. Great stress was also laid upon the value to the City of increased means of communication with the southern part of the state and the possibility of developing a large commerce with that section. But these considerations were not strong enough to offset the growing indignation when the impression became general that the prime object of building the Southern Pacific eastward was to shut out all rivalry by barring out all possible transcontinental competitors.
'The real purpose of the Southern Pacific Company was not perceived until after the passage of an act by congress authorizing the incorporation of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad Company which designed building from Springfield, Missouri, through New Mexico and Arizona to the Colorado river, and from thence to a point on the Pacific which was not designated in the act. This line was to receive no aid in the form of money or bonds, but a land grant as liberal in its terms as that made to the Union and Central Pacific roads was provided for by congress. This road was to have been completed on or before July 4, 1878, and was usually Vol. II-8
Extension of Railroad Facilities
Shutting Out Rivalry
Huntington's Washington Lobby
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spoken of as the thirty-fifth parallel line, because its route was to keep as near as practicable to that degree of latitude in constructing westward to the Colorado river. At that time the Central and Southern Pacific maintained a strong lobby at Wash- ington which was under the immediate direction of Collis P. Huntington, who car- ried on his operations with what appeared to be an utter disregard of public opinion, which, however, was not keenly sensitive at the time, and only actively interested itself in the far western railroad problem when the subject was stirred up to serve political purposes, as it was when the Little Rock disclosures were made to besmirch the reputation of James G. Blaine and strike at his presidential aspi- rations.
Heading Off the 32d and 35th Parallel Lines
Huntington had no difficulty in inducing the contingent he controlled in congress, which embraced the major part of the state's delegation, to introduce a bill which gave the Southern Pacific the right to build eastward to a point where it would connect with the Atlantic and Pacific, and had attached to it the same land grant terms as those accorded to the thirty-fifth parallel line. This put the California railroad manipulators in a position to prevent the Atlantic and Pacific gaining en- trance to the state, but the attempt to monopolize was menaced from another quarter. In 1871 congress had passed an act organizing the Texas and Pacific Company, which was to start from Marshall, Texas, and have its Pacific coast terminus in San Diego, traversing a route which would keep as close to the thirty- second parallel as practicable. The Texas and Pacific, like the Atlantic and Pacific, was to receive a grant of public lands for every mile of road constructed, but in addition it was authorized to issue construction and land bonds. Colonel Thomas A. Scott of the Pennsylvania railroad, became identified with the Texas and Pacific railroad and visited San Diego in 1871 and entered into an arrange- ment with that city which would give his transcontinental road control of a large part of the water front of San Diego bay. There is little doubt but that he would have been able to carry through the enterprise had it not been for the crisis of 1873, which made it impossible for a man, even as strong as Scott was financially, to borrow on a scale commensurate with the requirements of the under- taking.
Meanwhile the Southern Pacific, despite the monetary stringency continued to push its line southward towards Los Angeles and eastward, reaching the Colorado river at Yuma in the early part of 1877. Up to this time the pretense of a separate organization was kept up, but a few years later the men who controlled both the Central and Southern Pacific companies resorted to Kentucky, where a corporation was formed which, under the name of the Southern Pacific of Kentucky, operated both roads. Colonel Scott's efforts had been completely blocked by the energy and machinations of C. P. Huntington, as were those of the backers of the Atlantic and Pacific enterprise who suffered equally with Scott from the disastrous effects of the financial crisis of 1873 and the succeeding years of depression. Long before the Kentucky corporation had been created the people of California had become thor- oughly awakened to the purpose of what they called "the Railroad" to completely monopolize the traffic of California, and to control all the land approaches to the state, and the knowledge of this intention greatly intensified the antagonism which manifested itself in the upheaval of the "Dolly Vardens," and as much as any other cause contributed to the adoption of the Constitution of 1879. Great results were expected from the carrying into effect of the provisions of that instrument, but
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Southern Pacific of Kentucky Formed
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although it conferred the power to control, by finesse and corrupt practices the corporation succeeded in escaping even a semblance of regulation, and it was claimed by the enemies of the constitution that the article which created the Rail- road Commission and invested it with extraordinary powers was a cunning device of the railroad to escape legislative interference. The origins of the railroad article and the arguments and steps which led up to its incorporation in the constitution absolutely disprove this assertion, and the history of the methods adopted by the railroad to nullify its provisions prove that the failure to regulate was wholly due to the apathetic tendencies of the people of California, who after gaining an ad- vantage permitted themselves to be deprived of it by the cunning of politicians.
The division into two parties of the bulk of the advocates of the Constitution of 1879 caused the Legislature which had imposed upon it the duty of giving many of its provisions effect by statute to fall into the hands of tools and friends of the corporation, and they deliberately deprived the newly created commission of the power to accomplish anything by reducing the appropriation for its maintenance to an insignificant sum. This in itself must have proved effective, even if the rail- road had not supplemented the services of its legislative creatures by corrupting a majority of the commission who were the obedient servants of the corporation. There was one member of the trio first elected who constantly antagonized his colleagues, and with the assistance of that part of the press favorable to the new constitution kept the public fully advised respecting the means adopted to nullify that part of the instrument which provided for the regulation of railroads. The effects of the agitation exhibited themselves in an overturning of the state govern- ment, and the election of the minority commissioner, General Stoneman as governor, but the upheaval did not benefit the people. The railroad, which recognized no party or interest other than that of the corporation, was as successful in manipulating the offices which directly dealt with its affairs and continued to control the Railroad Commission and the State Board of Equalization by the simple device of making the people vote for the men of its choice instead of selecting their own servants.
In 1882 a suit was brought against Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker and C. P. Huntington by the widow of D. D. Colton, an early associate of the railroad magnates. Although Mrs. Colton lived in San Francisco the case was tried in Sonoma county by Judge Temple. Its disclosures caused a great sensation, not only in San Francisco, but throughout the country. Letters from Huntington to Colton were placed in evidence which clearly pointed to the corruption of legis- latures and judges, and were full of revelations concerning the devious methods pursued by the men sued in carrying out their purposes. Colton's interests had been so bound up with those of the men who were practically his partners that it was difficult to disentangle them when the attempt was made to settle up his estate. He owned shares of the Central Pacific and Southern Pacific, and had interests in the subsidiary corporations controlled by the railroad magnates, among them the Western Development Company, the Ione Coal and Iron Company, the California Steam Navigation Company, the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company. Colton died in 1878 and his widow sought to settle up his estate and secured the services of a prominent attorney who failed to bring about an agreement. She then resorted to Lloyd Tevis who, while professedly acting in her interest, effected a settlement by reducing her claim which amounted to $1,000,000 to $200,000 of which he was to receive $50,000 for his arduous services. Subsequently Mrs.
A Political Upheaval
Widow Colton's Suit Against Railroad Magnates
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Colton repudiated the Tevis agreement on the ground that it had been made under "the influence of fear and misrepresentation, threats and fears of violence and in ignorance of her legal rights." The court decided against her, holding that in Tevis and Samuel Wilson, her attorney, she had excellent advisers.
The Colton- Huntington Letters
The trial which began in 1882 extended over three years, and at its conclusion the community was convinced that the widow had been overreached, and that the men her husband had been associated with were as unscrupulous in their private as they were in their public dealings. Concerning the latter there remained little doubt. The flood of light thrown on the railroad's doings confirmed the suspicions and observations of the people. Huntington in his correspondence had in the most cynical fashion described the means he had adopted to debauch United States senators and representatives, and the publication of the letters besmirched many prominent names. The means adopted to kill off competition, as in the case of the purchase of the vessels of the California Steam Navigation Company, and the bargain by which their owners agreed to refrain from future rivalry in order that the Southern Pacific might have the people of Arizona completely at their mercy; the workings of the subsidiary companies which grafted at the expense of the main corporation; the plain allusions to the steps taken to secure control of the legislature and the references which compromised judges constituted an indictment which should have aroused the country, but its only effect was to provide a fund of amusement for the readers who revelled in Huntington's exhibitions of wit, the keen thrusts at his associates, especially Stanford, whose extravagances he de- nounced as childish exhibitions, and his miner's slang gave a vogue to such expres- sions as "caved down the bank" which they retained for a considerable period. But they did not greatly help the reform movement, the tide of which had receded some years before Judge Temple's decision was rendered.
Growth of the Port and Changes in Shipping
The importance of the port of San Francisco continued to increase during the Seventies. The tonnage steam and sail which aggregated 1,171,000 tons in 1869, and 1,233,900 in 1872, rose to 2,027,000 tons in 1883, but there were many changes in transportation methods and in the products shipped during the period. The most marked feature was the rapid substitution of steam for sail power. In 1869 the foreign steam entrances totaled 205,000 tons. This tonnage increased to 306,300 in 1883. During the same period the domestic transportation from sail to steam was still more striking, rising from 119,200 tons to 436,800 in 1882. The increase in efficiency brought about by the substitution of steam for sail is but feebly ex- pressed by these figures. The improved facilities for handling cargoes and the greater rapidity of transit did much to strengthen the conviction firmly entertained from the time of the occupation that the unrivaled harbor of San Francisco would cause the City on its shores to become one of the great marts of the world, and it showed no signs of weakening during the gloomiest hours of political agitation, although it must be conceded that the steps taken by the Harbor Commission to utilize the advantages which its magnificent position gave the port, at no time between 1871 and 1883 were of the sort calculated to cause serious apprehension or even annoyance to the railroad monopoly.
Iron Vessels Supersede Wooden Craft
Among the innovations in sea transportation in the early Seventies was the substitution of iron and steel propelled vessels for the wooden side wheel craft which filled the pioneer with admiration. In 1874 the Pacific Mail steamship sent out from the East the "Acapulco," "Colima" and "Granada," of 1,759, 3,836 and
THE CROCKER AND COLTON MANSIONS ON NOB HILL Destroyed April 18, 1906
SE FAG
RED RUBBER STAMPS.
JUNCTION OF KEARNY, MARKET AND GEARY STREETS, ABOUT 1885
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2,572 tons burthen respectively. These were followed at intervals during 1874 by the "City of New York," "City of Para," "City of Panama," "City of Rio de Janeiro," "City of San Francisco," and the "City of Sydney." These vessels ranged from 2,000 to 2,500 tons and were intended for the Australian and China trade. The "City of Peking" and "City of Tokio" of 5,080 tons each were also used in the China trade, and their addition to the Pacific fleet of the Pacific Mail Com- pany attracted a great deal of attention as they were the largest iron steamships built in the United States up to that time. The company maintained a regular semi-monthly service between 1872 and 1874 and was operated without opposition, but in the latter year the monopoly enjoyed from 1867 to that date was broken in upon by a rival line running three steamers the "Vasco de Gama," "Vancouver" and "Lord of the Isles."
In the ensuing ycar Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, David S. Colton, Lloyd Tevis and Mark Hopkins appeared as the directory of a new line of steamers com- posed of British bottoms. It was called the Occidental and Oriental, but was generally spoken of as the Central Pacific railroad's line. The new corporation owned no steamers, but chartered three belonging to the White Star line, named the "Belgic," "Gaelic" and "Oceanic." From the very inception of the enterprise the object of those engaged in it became apparent. It was simply launched for the purpose of obtaining control of the Pacific Mail, an object which it finally accom- plished. The first steamer of the assumedly opposition line, the "Oceanic," arrived from Hong Kong June 25, 1875, and the vessels above mentioned were maintained in the China trade for several years although it was soon recognized that there was perfect harmony between the two companies.
An event in maritime circles was the arrival of the "Altoona" from China in 1874, the first tramp steamer to enter the port of San Francisco. She brought a cargo and was "loaded back." During this year thirty steamers from Hong Kong entered the harbor and in the year following the largest tonnage of any year be- tween 1869 and 1886 was recorded, there being 46 arrivals from Oriental ports with a tonnage of 136,000. Seventeen tramps were included, and this irregular class of vessels from that time forward became a familiar sight in the bay and at our wharves. Prior to 1871 there were several steamers plying between San Francisco and Honolulu making connection with an Australian line at the latter port. In 1871 a line was created which gave more or less regular service between the City and the islands, but it was withdrawn in 1873. The Pacific Mail attempted to provide facilities by putting on the "Costa Rica," but she was wrecked after making five round trips, and there were no regular sailings until 1878, when the company instituted a monthly service which was supplemented by calls made by the steamers plying between San Francisco and Sydney, which also made monthly trips. In 1882 Claus Spreckles, who was largely concerned in sugar planting in the islands secured the steamer "Suez" of 2,125 tons, and she made six round trips in that and the succeeding year. The "Alameda" and "Mariposa" were built in Philadelphia and were of 1,939 tons burthen each. They began their service October 15, 1883, the "Alameda" sailing on that date.
The Australians from an early period displayed a strong desire to establish commercial relations with the United States through the port of San Francisco. Prior to the opening of the transcontinental railroad they had run steamers to Panama, but the quicker service obtainable by connecting with the railroad at San
A Rival Oriental Steamship Line
Advent of the Tramp Steamer
Commercial Relations with Australia
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Francisco made it desirable to transmit the mails between the colonies and England from this port overland to New York. To accomplish this object an American company was formed in 1870 which operated two steamers, but it only continued in existence a couple of years. In the meantime a British line started to operate be- tween Auckland and San Francisco via Honolulu, but this enterprise collapsed within the year, and the only communication between the United States and the antipodes, until the Oceanic Company was created in 1885, was that maintained by the Pacific Mail Company. The latter corporation after the active interference with its Chinese trade by the Central Pacific people ceased to make travel on their isthmian line attractive. It is improbable that a successful rivalry with the trans- continental railroad could have been maintained owing to the enormous saving of time by the land route, except by offering inducements in the shape of a material reduction in the rates of fare, and improvements in accommodations, but neither was resorted to by the company which was completely dominated by the railroad interest. The new propellers acquired by the Pacific Mail Company during the Seventies were less commodious than the displaced side wheel steamers, and the service was no longer as good as it had been during the palmy days of travel by way of Panama, and before the middle of the eighty decade the line had few attrac- tions for through passengers.
Overland Stage Routes
The waning popularity of the Pacific Mail Company did not affect the pioneer mind in the same fashion as the disappearance of the stage coach of early days. The facilities afforded by the steamship company were immeasurably superior to those which the overland stage line offered, and were availed of by a much larger number than that which traveled by the perilous Indian infested route, but the sea trip made less impression than the stories of the hazards, discomforts and queer experiences encountered in crossing the vast expanse between California and the Missouri river, which was popularly regarded even in the far West as being mainly a desert region. The newspapers for years after the opening of the trans- continental road were filled with reminiscences of the days of coaching, and the characteristics and exploits of the stage driver were dwelt upon with that insistent note which proclaims the assurance of the writer that he is describing a popular character if not a hero, but tales of the sea trip were rarely told. Experience on ship board and the trials of the immigrant undergone in the effort to reach the new El Dorado were the themes of many writers, and formed the material for tales of experiences of the pioneers that were always interesting and often very tragic, but the pleasures of the enforced idleness, and the glories and magnificence of the old wooden side wheel steamers found few to sing their praises.
But while the romance and picturesqueness of the isthmian and Nicaraguan routes made comparatively little impression on the literature of the period, and for that reason may be assumed to have failed to fire the imagination of those who traveled over them, what the travelers saw created an enduring opinion which contributed greatly to the promotion of the sentiment in favor of realizing the dream of Balboa-that of uniting the two great oceans by a canal. The interest in this undertaking exhibited by the earlier settlers, and more populous Eastern section of the Union was sporadic in character, but its practicality and possibilities were never absent from the minds of Californians, and especially San Franciscans, who, while they may have differed respecting the merits of the Nicaragua or the Panama plans, were profoundly convinced that the scheme of joining the Atlantic and Pacific was
Visions of Joining Two Oceans
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feasible, and were ready to lend enthusiastic encouragement to any project that promised to realize their sanguine expectations.
It is not extraordinary therefore that when de Lesseps visited San Francisco after the organization of his Universal Interoceanic Canal Company in 1878, and the obtainment of a concession from the Colombian government to cut a canal through the Isthmus of Darien, that he should have been welcomed with open arms. Even the believers in the practicability of the plan of uniting the two oceans by means of a canal over the much longer route through Nicaragua, which they had interested themselves in from the days when the first concessions were granted to the Acces- sory Transit Company and its successor the American and Atlantic and Pacific Ship Canal Company, joined in the demonstration. They had regarded as most feasible the project authorized to the latter company, and felt assured that if the rivals of Cornelius Vanderbilt, assisted by the filibuster Walker had not inter- fered with his plans, that sooner or later he would have constructed the canal which he bargained to dig when he obtained the transportation privileges from the Nicaraguan government. But when de Lesseps, who had successfully cut through Suez, arrived on the scene, and apparently was in a position to accomplish the great feat of cutting through Darien, San Franciscans not only welcomed him but gave him all the support they could command. It was not much in a monetary way, for when de Lesseps visited the City it was still in the throes of an unparalleled de- pression; but the press and the public men spoke words of encouragement to the enterprise and continued their friendly attitude towards the French project until mismanagement and apparent incapacity to carry through the undertaking chilled the sentiment.
This spirit and attitude were the outcome of the firmly intrenched helief that the future greatness of San Francisco was linked up with the expansion of its sea commerce. And thus while it happened that the energies of a few men were con- centrated on the development of land intercourse, and whose efforts were accom- panied by signal success, no matter what their motives may have been, the business community fixed its hopes on water carriage. When the fight against railroad mo- nopoly was being most fiercely waged, and the people seemed by their course to concede that everything depended on the ability of the commonwealth to restrain the aggressions of the great corporation and to do justice to those who had made it possible to build up the great system which was being used to oppress them, there was no relaxation of the confidence felt that an intelligent use of the ocean would finally solve the problem in favor of the City. Thus it happened that during a period otherwise depressed, continued efforts were made to increase the facilities of the port hy the extension of the sea wall and the addition of wharves and piers. The steps taken as subsequent experience showed were not always intelligent, nor were they unaccompanied by scandal due to bad political management, but they were always in the direction of getting something better, and to that extent re- sponded to the desire of those who urged that the ocean could always be depended upon to prevent San Francisco coming under the domination of the much feared railroad monopoly.
De Lessep's Visit to San Francisco
San Francisco and Sea Commerce
CHAPTER LIV
SOCIAL CONDITIONS AND THE UNREST DURING THE SEVENTIES
THE CHINESE QUESTION-FEDERAL COURTS AND CHINESE-THE CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT-VOTE ON CHINESE EXCLUSION IN 1879-CHINESE SERVANTS-SAN FRANCISCO HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS-THE WINE DRINKING HABIT- THE FREE LUNCH-SAN FRANCISCANS NOT GIVEN TO DISPLAY-VULGAR OSTENTATION NOT COMMON-RICH MEN WITH SMALL ESTABLISHMENTS-SOCIAL CHANGES-DECLINING INFLUENCE OF THE PIONEER-CENTENNARY OF FOUNDING OF THE MISSION-SUNDAY OBSERVANCE -THE TREATING HABIT-MERCANTILE LIBRARY LOTTERY- SALMI MORSE'S PASSION PLAY- THE AUTHORS CARNIVAL-A LAW ABIDING PEOPLE-RECEPTION OF GENERAL GRANT-CELEBRATIONS AND PAGEANTS-AMUSEMENT-VOGUE OF OPERA BOUFFE- CHANGE IN TASTE OF THEATERGOERS-SPORTS-RACING ENCOURAGED-EVIDENT WANE OF NEGRO MINSTRELSY-FIRST PRODUCTION OF "PINAFORE" IN AMERICA- PROBABLE ORIGIN OF MOVING PICTURE IDEA-PRIZE FIGHTING-BASEBALL-WALKING CONTESTS-CHILDREN'S SPORTS-NEARBY RESORTS-GROWTH OF SUBURBS.
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