USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > San Francisco, a history of the Pacific coast metropolis, Volume II > Part 2
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83. H4. Rev. C. T. Mills, Mills' Seminary.
85. Baron von Oestreicher, Austrian Navy.
66, Hon. Hagar, Senator, Cal.
B7. General Schofield, U. S. A.
88. 1. Friedlander, the Grain King.
James Donahue, Capitalist.
90). Sir Redmond Barry, Australia.
91. James Lick, Philantephist.
92. Hon. Sharon, Senator, Nev. 93. 1). O. Mills, President Bank of California. 94. Hon. Geo. C. Gorham, Secretary U. S. senate, 95. tol. Tom. Scott, Railroad King.
96. Duke of Genoa, Italian Navy. 97. Hun .. Bluisdell, ex-Governor, Nev.
98. flon. James, Otis, ex-Mayor, S. F.
09. Hon. James A. Johnson, Lt Governor, Cal. 100. H. H. Bancroft, Historian.
101. Wm.H. Ruloison, " The " Photographer.
Entered according to Act of Caggress by Bradley & Rulofson, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C., 1876.
79.
89.
19. n-on Burlingame, ex-U. S. Minister, China. Hon. Frank MeCoppin, ex-Mayor, S. F.
42.
79
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brains of Californians during the Fifties, we will easily divest ourselves of the belief that opposition to Chinese immigration was merely a device of politicians. The most fantastic notions prevailed at that period. Not only was the doctrine of "America for Americans" being preached, but, as already shown, the desire for absorbing the rest of the world into our body politic was freely broached. In the "Annals of San Francisco" we find the writer seriously discussing the desirability of a white race settling the disturbances in China by playing off against each other the warring factions in that country, and broadly intimating that the United States might easily imitate the example of the British. "Indian sepoys," he said, "fought the battles of England against their own countrymen, Chinese may do the same for Americans."
Fantastic utterances of this sort may be fairly cited to show the wide range taken by California thought in considering American relations with China at a time when, to most citizens of the Union living on the Atlantic sea board, the name of that country was only a geographical designation, and whose knowledge of the Chinese was largely confined to the information gained from a study of the queer characters on tea chests. Californians, however, knew the Chinese. They had observed them at close range, and were by no means disposed to rate them as an inferior people. It is significant that the first governor of California under Amer- ican rule did not discuss the Chinese adversely, but when he retired from office he expressed it as his "unprejudiced opinion" that they "were more than a match for the white man in the struggle for existence." In view of the fact that Burnett has the distinction of having resigned his office because he was tired of politics, and that the opinion quoted was delivered after he had retired to private life in 1851, it may be cited as evidence that the situation was clearly comprehended long before the advent of Kearney and that Californians were under no illusion respecting Chinese capacity.
Governor Bigler, who followed Burnett in a message to the legislature on April 23, 1852, declared that the Chinese differed from all other immigrants in one im- portant particular. They had come to the country through no other motive than cupidity. "None of them had come as an oppressed people; none of them had sought our shores as an asylum or to enjoy the blessings of free government." And the same legislature to which this message was addressed, in dealing with the question, put its stamp of disapproval upon a phase of Chinese immigration which menaced the state. In March, 1852, a bill was introduced in the senate by Tingley, the object of which was to permit the enforcement in the courts of the State of contracts and obligations made in China to perform labor in California. A sim- ilar bill was introduced into the assembly. The senate bill when called up was indefinitely postponed by a vote of eighteen to two.
The rejection of the measure is noteworthy because the principle established in 1852 by a California legislature was accepted by the federal government, which nearly a quarter of a century later passed a law to prevent the importation of laborers by contract. Incidentally, it should be mentioned that the object of the attempt to secure legislation which would sanction the importation of Chinese laborers under contracts to work was disclosed in a debate in the legislature of 1855, when a member asked: "Is it not better with modern skill in engineering to put tools into these 50,000 pairs of willing hands, and in place of trickling ditches have torrents rushing along to make the miners glad and people rich?" The de-
The Oriental Well Under- stood
Attempt to Sanction Coolie Impor- tations
Kearney's Slogan Not Worse
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bate which called out this expression arose over a proposition to remove the Chinese miners from Shasta county, a fact which should be borne in mind by those who labor under the mistaken impression that Kearney's declaration that "the Chinese must go," made in 1877, had in it any element of novelty.
A Non- Partisan Agitation
The truth of the matter is that the agitation against Chinese immigration was continuous from the time of the occupation down to the date when it began to at- tract Eastern attention. That it was non partisan and non political is proved by the fact that all parties were united as to its undesirability, and that all classes were agreed that restrictions should be placed upon the introduction of Chinese laborers was shown a little later when the people of the state voted almost unani- mously in favor of exclusion. When the legislature of 1875-76 created a commis- sion to investigate the subject of Chinese immigration it was not prompted by the desire to gather information for the people of the state; the object was to secure and present in official form facts which would appeal to the rest of the nation. There was no considerable number in California at that time who disapproved of agitation. That was made apparent in a message sent to the legislature by Irwin in 1875-6, in which he declared that the laboring people ought to agitate "as long as they have a just cause for complaint." No one objected to such advice at that time; it was only when the matter was brought to a head by the growth of the evils for which Chinese immigration was responsible that any censure was visited on advocates of exclusion.
That the evils which brought about the sand lot agitation were largely caused by the desire which found expression in the legislature in 1852, when the wholesale importation of Chinese laborers was advocated, cannot be doubted. It was the persistence of the hope that cheap Chinese laborers could be brought into the country which strengthened the determination of the large land owners to hold onto their vast estates, and to that disposition more than anything else may be attributed the retardment of the agricultural industry of the state, the diversifica- tion of which has since contributed so greatly to the prosperity of California and the growth of its metropolis and principal seaport. Although the earlier misap- prehensions concerning the nature of the soil of California had been succeeded by an appreciation which sometimes assumed the form of an exaggerated optimism, the disposition still existed to regard the state as something apart, and so condi- tioned that some form of cheap labor would be required for its development. It was still assumed that the treeless plains could only be rendered useful by devot- ing them to grazing. People no longer believed that the absence of trees indicated sterility, but they were more or less convinced that they could be farmed advan- tageously only by operating on a large scale. Irrigation was sometimes considered, but not very seriously. Where the experiment had been tried it had usually proved successful but it was not generally resorted to in any part of the state. The wool industry in 1873 was still important, and much pride was taken in the statistics of production which had expanded from an insignificant output of 5,500 pounds in 1850 to over 24,000,000 pounds in the later year. The attitude toward wheat growing was nearly the same. There was a confident belief that it would indef- initely continue to be California's most profitable crop, and this opinion prevailed until after the first half of the decade 1880, when the average annual production was 30,000,000 bushels, largely harvested on big farms.
Desire for & Servile Class of Labor
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The first serious attempt to deal with irrigation legislatively was in 1875-76, when an act was introduced for the creation of what was known as the West Side irrigation district. This scheme, which failed of acceptance at the time, contem- plated a canal for transportation as well as for irrigation, and the latter was de- signed to assist the grain grower in a region of scant precipitation. The canal was to be led along the western edge of the San Joaquin valley from Tulare to tide water in Contra Costa county. It was pronounced impracticable in its original shape and awakened no more interest than the project of Wozencraft, who pro- cured the passage of an act by the legislature in 1859 which had for its object the diversion of the waters of the Colorado from their regular channel into the great depression between that river and the Coast Range Mountains. Wozencraft's the- ory was that the filling of the basin would produce climatic changes similar to those effected by the construction of Lake Mæotus in Egypt, and that the waters could be effectively used for irrigation purposes. The matter was never tested because congress refused to cede the lands asked for within three years of the date of the passage of the act, and the scheme was never revived.
Irrigation received its first genuine impetus when the prospect of breaking up the big ranches began to take on a more definite shape than that of mere hope. This did not occur until the dissatisfaction of the struggling small farmer attracted the attention and enlisted the sympathy of the city workers, who deserve the credit of being among the earliest to perceive that the growth of the state was largely dependent upon the subdivision of the great ranches and their passing into the possession of small owners. In the convention which formulated the plank which declared that "all unimproved land should be taxed the same as though settled and improved," the danger of permitting a tenant system to be developed received ample attention, as did also the menace contained in the possibility of large land owners being permitted to work their estates with cheap Oriental labor. The necessity of making the state attractive to immigrants, and the good results which would ensue from the creation of a population mainly made up of small farmers were likewise emphasized and the rational view which subsequently pre- vailed was clearly set forth.
It does not appear that the deliberations of the convention attracted attention at the time, but a year later there was much discussion along the same lines, al- though it was usually dissociated from the labor question. In 1872 it began to be recognized that the cultivation of raisins might become an important industry, and there was a generally entertained opinion that their production would be pro- moted by cutting up the big tracts into small farms. The editors of the city papers taking this as a text pointed out that a large number of small farmers would be immeasurably more beneficial to San Francisco than a few great estates, even if the latter should be developed to their full capacity by hired help. It was urged that the independent agriculturalist who owned and tilled his own land usually raised a family, while under the other system the conditions would be certain to produce a nomadic population made up of "blanket men," who would have to ramble about the country in search of a job in the seasons when work offered itself and who would seek refuge in the City at other times and become a burden on the community.
It cannot be said of this period that the merchants of San Francisco, or the people of the City generally were alive to the possibilities of diversified industry.
Early Irrigation Legislation
Desire for Small Land Hoidings
City Opposi- tion to Land Monopoly
Interest in Immigration
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Ideas of development were still in the nebulous stage and there was a marked dis- position to drift with the tide. Perhaps there was less interest relatively in the subject of immigration during the early Seventies than was manifested throughout the Fifties, when some at least seemed to clearly perceive that the future of the port depended upon the growth of a large agricultural population, whose wants its merchants would supply and for whose products they would find profitable markets. As late as 1874, when the project was mooted of making a showing at the centen- nial exposition, which was to be held in Philadelphia two years later, it was not received with any degree of enthusiasm, and the legislature declined to take any part in the enterprise on the ground that the state could not hope to derive any benefit from making an exhibit at a fair held on the Atlantic seaboard.
Growth of the Canning Industry
The canning industry, which had attained sufficient importance to have its out- put statistically stated in the later Sixties, was credited with a production of 132,- 000 cases in 1870, but the pack was consumed almost wholly within the state. Some of the fruit put up in San Francisco was shipped to Nevada and Oregon, but very few persons entertained the idea of finding markets at a distance for this particular product. This need not be regarded as a surprising statement for the shelves of the grocery stores of San Francisco down to a much later period dis- played a larger assortment of fruit canned in the Eastern states than of domestic, and throughout the Pacific coast states and territories peaches put up in Baltimore shared popularity with the products of California orchards.
California Production Not Encouraged
It may be said of the people of San Francisco in the early Seventies that they had not yet found themselves. This does not mean that there were not some dis- cerning minds able to penetrate the future, for there were plenty who were ready to prophesy that California was destined to be a great horticultural and viticul- tural state, and that its people would some day derive great profit from the pursuit of industries then in their infancy. But the great majority did not act up to this belief and were encouraged to be incredulous by critics who were ready to point out that the products of the young state were inferior to those of older communi- ties. In 1871 the vineyards of the state produced about four and a half million gallons of wine, but inferior foreign wines were imported, and it was the fashion to assume that they were better than the native product, and it was the custom to think and say that while California might produce a fairly good raisin it could hardly expect to rival the excellence of "three crown Malagas."
The spirit of the times was not pessimistic, nor can these exhibitions be fairly regarded as evidence of distrust. The City was still under the domination of the idea that mining and cereal farming would remain its chief dependence, and the merchants believed that communities can become rich by buying more than they sell. The value of a domestic manufacturing industry was not entirely lost sight of by enterprising men. Indeed undue efforts were made to stimulate it in disregard of the economic law that a large nearby consuming population is essential to the development of the factory in an era of sharp competition, and that without an artificial barrier to importation it is hopeless to attempt to successfully produce under a high wage system. One of the most melancholy episodes of this period is the vain effort of W. C. Ralston to promote manufacturing in San Francisco. He was the victim of the delusion that nearby raw materials and remoteness from other centers of manufacturing would offset the disadvantages of a limited market and a higher wage scale and paid a heavy penalty for his mistake.
The Spirit of the Times
.
SUMMIT OF TELEGRAPH HILL
The castle-like structure was put up as a place of resort. A gravity road surmounted the hill in the eighties, but the enterprise was abandoned and the tracks torn up. The hill was finally made into a public park
CHAPTER XLVIII
SAN FRANCISCO SURRENDERS TO THE SPIRIT OF SPECULATION
GROWTH OF COMMERCE OF THE PORT-UNHEALTHY URBAN EXPANSION-SAN FRAN- CISCO WITHOUT A RIVAL-CALIFORNIA PRODUCTS UNAPPRECIATED-GREAT CHANGES IN PRODUCTION-OIL PRODUCTION POSSIBILITIES SCOUTED BY CAPITAL-DISCOVERY OF THE BIG BONANZA-FAKE MINING PROPERTIES-CORRUPT MANAGEMENT OF MINES-EVERYBODY CRAZED BY SPECULATION-EXCITING SCENES IN THE EX- CHANGES AND ON THE STREETS-VILE TRICKS OF MANIPULATORS-TREMENDOUS FLUCTUATIONS IN STOCKS-IRRATIONAL ACTIONS OF SPECULATORS-THE MANY FLEECED BY THE FEW-OUTPUT OF THE PRODUCTIVE MINES-THE ACCUMULATIONS OF A COMMUNITY ABSORBED BY SHARPERS-THE "MUD HENS" AND "PAUPER ALLEY" -THE COMSTOCK LODE-FLOOD, O'BRIEN, MACKAY AND FAIR-MANIPULATION OF BIG BONANZA STOCKS-STRUGGLES FOR CONTROL-THE BROKERS-SHEARING OF THE LAMBS AND THE RESULT.
CITY
HE condition described in the preceding chapter would hardly be inferred from a study of the commercial statistics of the port of San Francisco, which showed steady gains in im- ports and exports. The latter, which had only aggregated $3,649,277 in 1860, increased to $13,385,991 in 1870 and OF SAN F in 1875 they had expanded to $23,444,025. The figures of the last mentioned year would be materially added to if the products of the state, which were finding their way eastward by rail, were included, as there was a considerable development of the domestic trade after the opening of the transcontinental railroad in 1869. The imports of foreign goods, however, kept pace with exports to other lands, rising from $7,376,016 in 1860 to $15,982,549 in 1870, and reaching $24,677,243 in 1875. There are no available statistics to show the quantities and values of goods brought to San Francisco by rail but there is reason for believing that the facilities of land transportation were largely employed by merchants who very early began to lose sight of the fact that the prosperity of a seaport depends very largely on the use its inhabitants make of their shipping advantages.
As already noted the mines began to show a diminishing output in the Sixties, the yield declining from $44,095,163 in 1860 to $17,123,867 in 1870 and averag- ing about $16,500,000 during the following five years. The lessening rewards of placer mining undoubtedly turned many from that occupation, and as the oppor- tunities for employment in the country, owing to the system of farming, which was conducted with a minimum of help, a great many of the released miners found their way to the City. This was no unusual phenomenon during the period when
Commerce of San Francisco
Decline of Placer Mining
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the gold yield was more than double that of the early Seventies, for it was the custom of the miners to resort to San Francisco during the season when work could not be prosecuted, but under those circumstances the number who sought work was small. In fact the visitors from the standpoint of the business man were regarded as a desirable floating population, as they usually expended the earnings of the summer in securing comforts and enjoyments of a sort from which they were debarred while prosecuting their search for the precious metal. The idlers from the mines in the Seventies sought the City with a much different purpose.
Army of Unemployed
The decline of placer mining was not followed by a rapid development of quartz mining, which might have attracted and absorbed the disengaged gold hunters who would probably have taken to that occupation had the opportunity presented itself. A comparatively few when the chances of the placers shrunk took up the work of prospecting, but the major part of those released made their way to the City and helped to swell the army of unemployed, which was exhibiting signs of uneasiness. A large part of the growth of population which the census of 1870 showed was undoubtedly due to accessions from this cause, and not to excessive immigration from Eastern states. The population of the state increased during the Sixties from 379,994 to 560,427, a gain of 180,433, of which San Fran- cisco is credited with 92,671, or more than half, a rate of growth which is shown to be abnormal when compared with the figures of the succeeding census, which showed a gain for the whole state of 304,267, San Francisco's share of which was only 84,486 or a little less than a third.
Unhealthy Urban Expansion
There was no good reason for this extraordinary urban expansion during the Sixties. It was out of all proportion to the development of industries of the sort calculated to afford employment to large numbers of people. There was some growth of manufacturing during the decade. Woolen mills were established, and the metal trades expanded to some extent, and there was a considerable growth of small concerns, but there was no real factory development of the sort witnessed in the towns on the Atlantic seaboard, where the operations of manufacturers were greatly extended while the Civil war was in progress, and where, under the influ- ence of the Morrill protective tariff, Americans were rapidly taking possession of the domestic market.
Too Much Thought About Distribution
While there was much talk in San Francisco about manufacturing in the latter half of the Sixties and during the early Seventies, and some unusual steps were taken to promote industry of that character, as in the case of Ralston who, in his capacity of manager of the affairs of the Bank of California, used the money of that institution to stimulate the domestic production of furniture and carriages and to forward other enterprise, a course for which he was afterward criticized and even denounced, the business men of the City continued to think of the port chiefly as a distributing center. Those who gave thought to the subject were dis- posed to take New York and Liverpool for their models, and their energies were chiefly devoted to the problems of distribution rather than of production, an atti- tude not at all conducive to creative enterprise, and a dangerous one in a city which under the modern system of development, acts as a magnet to draw population which must be provided with opportunities for employment if trouble is to be averted, and the process of growth is not to suffer interruption.
San Francisco during the Sixties and Seventies was the distributing point for the vast area known as California, and for the entire Pacific coast. The figures
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of the custom house show that practically all the exporting of domestic products, and the importation of foreign goods for the vast region known as the coast, was donc by the merchants of San Francisco. There is absolutely no mention of any cxports in 1860 through any other California port than San Francisco, and all the imports passed through the Golden Gate. Ten years later the condition remained unchanged. In 1875, when the exports from all customs districts in the state aggregated $23,444,025, the amount credited to San Francisco was $23,266,395, and in 1880, when the state's exports totalled $31,910,436, the share of the me- tropolis in the trade was $31,845,712. The story told by the tables of exports is repeated in that of imports, although care must be taken in making comparisons between different periods to not confuse the statistics which represent goods in transit, with those which show the volume and value of goods received for distribu- tion on the coast. The import totals were greatly swollen after 1875 by the in- clusion in them of large quantities of raw silk. In 1870 imports of this commod- ity only aggregated $318,041; this amount had slowly increased to $603,264 by 1875 and in the opening year of the new decade it had swollen to $10,037,009. Practically all of this raw material passed through the port to the East, only a very small quantity being retained here to be consumed in an attempt to create a silk manufacturing industry which, after a precarious existence of some years, gave up the ghost.
Prior to 1870 the entire volume of imports represented Pacific coast consump- tion, and the San Francisco merchants enjoyed the profits of its distribution. The habit of direct importation had become well fixed, and the City was perhaps less dependent upon the activities of the importers of New York than any other in the country. It was the boast of San Franciscans at a time when domestic productions were held in less esteem than at present, that the people of the City were able to get the real foreign article while those of Eastern cities were apt to have American imitations imposed upon them by unscrupulous dealers. In view of later develop- ments the propensity to extol the superiority of foreign productions seems foolish, but during the period under review this was the prevalent attitude and it was per- sistently encouraged by the class who imagined that the future of San Francisco was bound up in its facilities for distribution.
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