Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel], March 18, 1906, Image 40

About Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
Arizona and New Mexico Statehood Bill in Congress
(By Lionel A. Sheldon,. Former Gover.
v ■ . .i nor of New Mexico),
\.- - -
THIRTY-TWO new staiesfhave been
added to the orlgaiml thirteen in
the last 112 years, three through
divisions of existing states, Maine, Ver
mont and West Virginia, and one
(Texas) by annexation. Twenty-eight
were converted Into states from a ter
ritorial condition. The history of this
work is an interesting study.
, The government of territories was
at first a subject of no little difficulty.
Divergent views were entertained as
to the power conferred by the const!- j
tution on congress, thte language of ,
that instrument not holing as specific
as some thought necessary to empowr
congress to do more than deal with the
territories as property ;merely. U was
doubted whether the power exists to.
install a government over the people.
• As a solution of the question con
gress accepted the theory of the last,
congress of the confeder.icy in provld- i
Ing a government for the Northwestern
territory, nnd ever since as soon as
necessary organic acts were passed
conferring upon the people some
measure of autonomy. As denial of j
local government, wns inconsistent \
with the principles of the constitution,
congress has ever favored granting
statehood to territories as soon as con
ditions justified.
Grew More Liberal
;As time advanced the policy In ter
ritorial government was liberalized. At
first the laws enacted by territorial
legislatures were only operative when
, approved by congress, hut later the
principle was adopted that territorial
laws should be valid until disapproved
by congress. .
Government of the territories has
been in the nature of paternal. Con
gress has deemed it' wise and generous j
to contribute to the expenses, and con- |
sequently to retain a certain super
vision ■ till the people that emigrated
from many localities became acquainted j
and have established homogeneous re- j
lations. When there was accumulated I
a sufficient number of responsible peo- I
pie arid resources had been' developed j
of sufficient magnitude to maintain a ;
etate government without oppressive
taxation, congress has never delayed
In admitting a territory to the Union, i
It hns been recognized that the best I
means of development of high qualities
In a people is to turn them over to
themselves, subject only to the limita
tions qf powers which, under the eon
stittuton belong to the general gov
ernment. ...
The number of people a territory
possessed as a prerequisite to state
hood has never been prescribed, nor
has their' character been captiously in- |
quired into. In 1554 Mr. Douglas pro- \
posed to establish a rule that the popu- |
lation that should entitle a territory ;
to statehood should be equal to the
Tatlo of representation in the house
of representatives, which was rejected
by the senate. *
Arizona and New Mexico
New Mexico has more people than
any territory had at the time of its
admission to statehood, and not more
than three had more population than
Arizona now possesses. It is safe to
pay that none had as much wealth as
New Mexico or Arizona; if any had,
the number is few.
Michigan was admitted with 174,460,
Los Angeles in 1869: Wonderful Strides in Every Way Made Since Then
IPICKKD up, the other day an ex- 1
tenrlve photograph of l^os Angeles
of ISOn. It tvas In sections, place-! i
together, and was made by a brother
of the well known civil engineer (ieorgp
Hansen, who died about ten ypars ago
leaving a considerable fortune, and
■whose maps of the city and county
of Los Angeles form a portion of our
most valuable records. ''
The city at, that time contained about!
4000 people and forms a striking con
trast to the magnificent municipality
that has now grown up here. Los An
geles at that time was emphatically a
dobie town, looking exactly like the
X'arious pueblos scattered over Mex
,lco; such, for instance, as Acapulco.
"When I first saw that little town in
]572 I was almost overpowered with
astonishment. When I arrived there I
had been under the impression that it
was a magnificent city, it had tigured
so much In the dispatches in the Fran
co-Mexican war. Much such another
surprise was the Los Angeles of 1869,
except that it lacked the beautiful har
bor of Acapulco, with Its cocoanut
trees and waving palms, which poetize
that place.
The Los» Angeles of 1869 was to a
great degree massed around the Plaza,
Sonoratown occupying the major part
of the city's site. The old view of the
"picture looks as if where the Downey
block formerly stood there were a
succession of corrals. The Downey
.block,' which covered the immense cor
ner where they are preparing to erect
our new' million dollar postoffice, had
been built at that date. Only, a
portion of the Temple block had then
been put vp — that toward the Bullard
block, where the bank has • Its quar- 1
, lr« '•■•■■■■ ■ '
Minnesota with 157,087. Indiana had
but 145.0U0 in 1820, four years aftci 'be
coming a state. Alabama was admitted
in 1819 and In 1820 had a population of
127.901 the whites numbe-Ing 8. 5 40.
and the slaves 42,500. Including 11,254
slaves Missouri had 70.647. Kentucky
was admitted with 75,000, and Kansas,
by the census of IS6O, had 107,206 and
was admitted In 1861.
The area of new states has not been
a question very much considered. All
are Immensely preponderant over he
areas of the majority of the orluliinl
thirteen. None of the new states has
as large, an area except Texas. Cali
fornia and Montana as New Mexico or
Al"nnntlo first, having 122.460 and the
other 113,000 square miles.
There cannot be doubt that New
Mexico or Arizona has nmplo wealth
to support an efficient state govern
ment without oppressive taxation, and
a sufficiently large population. Both
together and separately have, been n
territorial tutelage longer than any
other territory in our history, the period
: being more than a half century. The
generation that existed til the time of
cession to this country has nearly dis
appeared, and except a slight percent
age of foreign born people the present
population know no other government
! than that of the United States.
The cession to the United States, as a
result of the Mexican war was of
California and New Mexico, the latter
comprising territories of New Mexico
and Arizona and a part of the state of
i Colorado.
I The nominal objection to New Mexico
nnd Arizona as separate states is the
character of the population. The na
tive and Anglo-Saxon element largely
predominates in Arizona and it em
braces men of as high a degree of in
telligence, virtue and patriotism as the
population of any territory previously
admitted to statehood. The so-called
Mexican people are not in larger per
1 centage thnn in California and Colo-
I rado at the time they were made states.
California was engineered Into state
hood by an American element that had
! recently arrived in the country to make
! a fortune and not to found homes.
Good Citizens
! Two-thirds of the population of New
Mexico are not Anglo-Saxon but nearly
all are native born. Those of Spanish
blood have displayed their attachment
I to the government of the United Statoi
in unmistakable ways. Two New
Mexican regiments, one under Kit Car
son and the other under Col. Manuel
Chaves, did all the effective fighting
at Val Verde and would have over-
I w helmed the enemy but for contra
vailing orders of Col. Canny. The
battle of Canyon del Apache was won
I by the splendid tactics of Col. Chaves
and the Intrepidity of his regiment of
I Mexicans. The wild Indians have been
| kept at bay by the troops of native
j Mexicans under Mexican officers.
Notwithstanding the Anglo-Sqxon
element in Now Mexico has been in a
small minority it has dominated
through its influence in legislation.
Very few facts of the New Mexico
legislature have bepn disapproved by
congress. That element has been rep
resented in the office of governor from
the beginning except for eight years.
New Mexico has a larger element, of
pure Castilian blood than in any part
of the territory acquired from Mexico.
There is a large number of men in
New Mexico of Spanish extraction who
LOS ANGELES AS IT WAS IN 1869. FROM A PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN AT THE TIME FROM THE PRESENT COURT HOUSE SITE
tors, having been erected later, in the
firstling hoom of the Angelic city-a
very infantile hoom Indped in com
parison with those we have since seen.
A Market House
Whrre the Rullard block now stands
old John Temple had built a market
house, which had been afterward con
verted into and occupied as a court
house. On the other side of the street,
where ,11m Hellman now dors business,
was the same brick edifice in which he
today sells hardware. After the Tem
ple block, it was probably the first
manifestation of the American or
"(Jringo" effort to show enterprise in
the building line.
The buildings adjoining the Hellman
warehouse were a row of single story
adobes in which were the star news
paper office, the old council chamber,
ten of which could have been stuck Into
(he entresol of our present city hall,
and the Jail, the latter a very Important
adjunct in a city which In those days
had a man for breakfast every morn
ing.
Out on Spring street, at the corner of
Second, was the Second street school.
It looked away out In the country. Old
John Bryson paid the city $100,000 for
this lot in late days; and he and the
late Major Bonebrake erected upon it
the noble building known as the Bry
ron block. At the time this photograph
w\is taken "Old Man Potts" and Pru
dent Beaudry had not cut through the
hills and laid out Temple street. As it
was taken from the hill on which the
court house now stands, some portions
of the doble city are engulfed in the
chiaroscuro. Broadway, then known
las Fort street, is clearly outlined/with
LOS ANGELES HERALD SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT
are Intelligent and highminded. They
know no country but this and are as
devoted to the prlnclplo of democratic
government as the best class of the
American people.
New Mexico has a free non-sectarinn
public school system, not the best, but
quite as good as existed in the greater
number of territories nt the time they
were admitted as stntes. The Mexicans
of that territory are not disorderly, on
the contrary they nre law nbiding. The
bulk of crimes are committed by other
classes. The territory has much valu
able' agricultural land on the Klo
Grande, the Pecos, the Membrls, the
Canadian and Mora livers, and along
numerous smaller streams. The area
of pasturage for cattle and sheep is
Immense. It can produce enough
to supply a million people to say noth
ing of its coal and mineral resources.
No Worse, if True
It Is alleged that the territories of
Arizona and New Mexico, are under
the controlling influence of corpora
tions, railroads and mining. If that
be true they are not worse than New
York. New Jersey. Pennsylvania and
other states. Those who oppose their
admission separately on that ground
are simply like the pot calling the
kettle black.
For the first, time In our history the
doctrine hns been announced that the
people of a territory nre not entitled
to .a voice In respect to their becoming
a state. In the early days that would
have been regarded ns a monstrous doc
trine. Until now the subject of party
politics has never been permitted to
influence the action of congress, ex
cept during the controversy over the
slavery qnestion. For v time there was.
a tacit understanding that' territories
should be admitted in pairs, one free
and the other slave. Were the men alive
who were parties to that arrangement
they would be ashamed of It.
The real basis of the opposition to the
separate admission of Arizona nnd New
Mexico is preservation of the domina
tion of the power of the east— to pre
serve the importance of Delaware and
little Rhody, that nre mere pocket
boroughs, nnd of such small states ns
Connecticut, New Hampshire and Ver
mont. The west, especially the Pacific
coast, is looming up too potentially,
and there is shutting of the eyes to the
fact of all history that the march of
empire is westward.
New Mexico has been an organized
territory for nearly fifty-six years. It
has been unfortunate in its efforts for
statehood. It was sought before the
Civil War, but the effort failed.
In the Forty-third congress "Stephen
B. Klklns, now Senator from West
Virginia, was the delegate . from New
Mexico, and Jorome H. Chaff pe was
the delegate from Colorado. The two
joined their efforts to have both terri
tories admitted. The senate passed
bills separately for that purpose which
were sent to the house and placed on
the speaker's desk. It was arranged
to have the vote taken on the last
night of the session. The. hmisp had
been polled and a majority pledged for
each bill— Colorado had little opposi
tion and the poll showed a majority of
but five or six for New Mexico.
In the preceding afternoon Burrows
of Michigan, a upw member, made his
maiden speech, and it was a savage
attack upon the south. When he sat
down several members went to him and
congratulated him. At that moment
Elkins came In from a side door nnd
not knowing a word that Burrows
nothing to mnr Its inviting bareness.
It whs many yours before Judge 11. W.
O'Melveny, the father o( R. W. O'Mel
veny, Ksq., who whs kind enough to
give mf> this map, built his handsome
home where are now t ho hank and tin
Potomac nnd Kicknell and other pre
tentious buildings. Th.it was for years
an exquisite nook, where the hibiscus,
the heliotrope and tuberose diffused
their fragrance on the O'MPlveny
homestead, nnd where thought of vul
gar commonplace speculation in com
monplace city lots never entered.
Not Shown Here
In the dohie city, that was then mm
Ing to the. fore there were regions like
Commercial, I,os Angeles and Aliso
streets that do not show up on tills
photograph, hut there were a number
of warehouses on these streets. On the
corner of Los Angeles and Aliso streets
where the warehouse of Haas, Barurh
& f\i. now stands, there was nn ex
tensive ndobe. In which, at. one time,
were the headquarters of Oen. Fre
mont.
Between the northern portion of So
noratown and the river there were no
buildings of nny kind. Not a single
edifice of any sort was in what is now
known a,s East I-« o s Angeles. On
Brooklyn and Boyle Heights there was
nothing but the old Boyle homestead'
and winery. All the region which is
now heavily built up, about Central
avenue to the. south, and around Uni
versity, was vineyard and orange
grove, and much of it was devoted to
raising barley and wheat nnd garden
truck. In fact the photograph shows a
very scantily built up city, where now
stand the homes and business places or
had said nnd as he was playing sweet
on everybody at that time, he also
went to and congratulated him.
Among those pledged to vote for the
bill was General Pierce young of
Georgia, a member who had consider
able following. When he saw .Elkins
congraulate Burrows, he said:
"Damn him, if he congratulates a
man for making such nn infamous at
tack on the south, we'll kill his bill."
Colorado went through enslly, but
the New Mexico bill was beaten by the
votes of Young and his friends.
It Is curious that New. Mexico wns
saved from a union with Arizona re
cently through the action of the same
Hurrows in the senate.
THE RAILWAY YARD
Into the blackness they grind
With pv»r slackening speed.
And out of the widening light
With the thuntier of valves that are
Myriad headlights.
<?rppn lights and rod lights,
A tangle of sparks and of darks;
A thousand lives nnd a thousand souls
Poured out to the city's blend;
A thousand lives and a thousand souls
Spril forth to their journey's end.
O neighbor, what Is the end you seek?
There Is none to reply, though the dead
should speak.
Click of a switch, a lever's turn,
The clang of the opened gate.
Has the hour struck? Will tho train be
late?
One prays to bis God nnd one curses his
fsite.
The lover pmiles as he touches her hand—
And the outgoing passengers wait.
It is only two who thread the throng.
A thousand lives and a thousand souls
lass by and hurry along.
Thero nre some who stand and never go
When tho porter opens the. gate;
' Their heart is sick with tho merciless
tunp;
Whoot, whoot, hough, hough, zlg-zig and
away,
Tomorrow we follow, but never today.
A thousand lives and a thousand souls
Who. have cast their lot together;
And some set out for a whole new life
And some for n change of weather.
For a dance or for death.
Yet they sit and they sleep.
Or they stare at the engine's curling
They sigh or they smile
At each vanishing mile.
(). soul, give your neighbor greeting!
But faces are clouds
Like the flashing trees
And the dizzy houses retreating.
They nre running a race, though they
know it m>t
With a thousand lives that have gone
before.
And a thousand souls with a thousand
goals
Must press through a single door.
O neighbor, think, as the drive wheel
spins.
Of the/ gutted lamps and the torch-like
sins.
Of the babes unborn, and the yawn
ing ginfi
What Is the Crown and Who is it that
wins?
—Florence Wilkinson in McClure's.
"What Is opportunity?"
"Well, son, opportunity is when your
mothpr takes advantage of my absence tn
go through the pockets of my other
clothes."
"Well, Tommy," said Spnwnger, who
had Just called, "hnpe 1 haven't disturbed
your pa and ma at dinner?"
"Xo, " replied Tommy, "we were Just
goln' to set down, hut pa seen you frnm
the winder and he told ma not to have
dinner till you went. "-Philadelphia Press.
two hundred nnd twenty-five thousand
people.
It is a notable fact that no one has
evpr invested In property in Los An
geles and lost money on his venture.
A story In connection with the winding
up of the John Temple estate Illustrates
this in a remarkable manner. lie was j
a man of tremendous business energy
and activities. His transactions ranged
over the state of California and Mex
ico. When he died he left a large os
tnte. His widow elected to live in
Paris. The late A. F. Hinchman was
associated with the widow In the e.x
ecutorshlp.
San Diego Heard From
About this time Ran Diego began to
he. looked upon as a coming place, tln
fortunately for the bank account of
Tpmple's widow, Mr. Hinchman was
firmly possessed of the idea that San
Diego was to become a much larger
and more prosperous city than Los
Angeles. Nothing would suit him,
therefore, but the sale of John Temple's
property in Los Angeles and its con
version into holdings In San Diego. As
his sister-in-law acted absolutely on
his advice, Hinchman proceeded to sell
the Temple block ' property, that on
which .the Bullard block now stands,
a lot of ground on the west side of
' Spring street, the region on Broadway
now covered by the California bank,
the -Potomac, Blcknell and other build
ings, for a mere song.
He took the money down to San
Diego and Invested it in lots and blocks
in the fair city of bay and climate.
Mr. Hinchman was a very elegant
and accomplished man, a great lln
: gui«» nnd a thorough scholar. But he
Ihe fc&steni s
Removal Sale
§\ Special Premium to Herald Readers
ujl v\ As a special inducement to Herald readers we have secured a lim-
' te d nuni ber of these handsomely finished wrist bags and will give
XI *ss.S^Cl i|«*. 5 on presentation of this coupon Monday
llWlllllll'lnl^ One Wrist Ba S Absolutely Free to Every
tlHUyilltillUllllimUlllH I Monday Purchaser, $10 or More
Very Unusual Chances — Fine Iron Beds
i Y'l | <f V y-yft $5-5° colonial style bed, this week $3 ( -75
| 1111 1 1 1 $7.00 green and gilt iron bed $4.85
jjl $9.00 choice of many designs ,$6-75
i^^yAWl^rtrrvT'f'T^ Regular $3.00 iron beds, this week $£95
' v=T ~^P§[ «=! l ' • ■'■ ■ "' ■ 111 1 \ •■ '
■ Actual Cost ff\^
BRemoval8 Removal Sale 'Prices
On Fine Dressers V.— ' -_li!>
A $23.50 Dresser for $15.00 . , iW^g^p^ip^^|l
Beautiful maple dresser, with swell top drawer and (U-4 gj It--- ' --- -Jr-J.-'^V'^'^"-^-'''"' ''",
fine glass; a bargain at the regular price, 5-'3.5n. and UIAO ■!'i : ? ; i«f : s^'2e>"; " 1 '
an extraordinary offer now at • ■)j J* : 7-*">^ -~ - -~~*Z.-~ S,
• 10.no l)r«-»«er» for. ..*.... »8.75 »2lS.r>o nroMMTB for 315.00 'i .Il.'lJUl^Zl—II" ~ ""soes;/
UIS..-.0 Drenxrr* for $11.75 »5:r..00 I»rr»».-i» for 52.-..1M1 ,\''Z ''."/■. ".'-'•--,' ®~' .to '
Chiffoniers at Removal Sale '. U^^f.-^^l ~ ° }l
SO.OO Chiffonier* !* »".*"• 517.50 Chiffonier* *18.n<i k j ■*~r^--^- ii * r <---t>>-^TTr > - 1 ', ■ '
Ms.no Chiffonier* *!>.rr. Jrto.oo Chiffonier* 922.011 Ig ' » FJ
Dining chairs, rockers, couchen. combination bookcases, sideboards, • ]$, :
parlor suils, stoves, refrigerators nnd all household furnishings at j *
jrices that mean determined reduction. .
■Eastern Outfitting Company
544=546 South Spring Street
evidently was not a prophet, or the
son of a prophet, or a seventh son of
a seventh son. The Temple property,
which he disposed of in this summary
manner, is now worth several millions
of dollars. Ten years after this sale
the Temple property in Los Angeles
was worth twenty times the amount
the property In Ran Diego would have
brought.
It is pleasant to know that things
just now are looking broght for our
sister city. But there were years find
years, following the failure of Tom
Scott to build his Texas Pacific rail
way, when thinks looked black for San
Diego, notwithstanding the gleam of
its beautiful bay and the invincible
pluck of A. K. Horton. The truth is
that those with money to Invest who
have failed to realize that Los Angele3
is the city of destiny for the south
western portion of this country have
labored under a hoodoo.
Backed Los Angeles
There were many men in Southern
California at that day who had the
same idea that old John Temple's ex
ecutor had, and who thought that in
the race toward metropolitan status
San Diego had the better chance of
the two. Not of such opinion was
Gen. Phlneas Banning, old Senator D.
B, Wilson, Don Abel Steams, Dr. John
W. Griffin nnd I. W. Hellman. Those
men, and men like them, never wav
ered In their belief that Los Angeles
was the coining city of the southwest.
Things might have been very differ
ent of John C, Fremont had been nble
to carry out his scheme of building his
Memphis & Xl Paso road to San Diego.
There was another fateful time when
Col. Thos. A. Scott of the Pennsylvania
•Railway company, having acquired the
odds and ends of Fremont's enterprise,
Started it afresh under the new name
of the Texas Pacific. The great rail
way king permitted himself to talk
of the possibility of building his road
to San Diego by the direct route,
reaching there by the route via Mil
quatny, within a few miles of the
Mexican line. It was then that the
heart of San Dlegans beat high. Old
Father Horton, who 1 heard the other
day is living at 92, in a hale and hearty
(onditlon, put in his best licks. As
showing the hardy kind of stock they
have dow.n In San Diego and what
may explain Its "never-say-die" pe
culiarities, I may as well say that I
learned It from old ex-Sheriff Hun
snker, the father of that stalwart
Democrat W. J. Hunsaker, of llun
saker & Brltt. The ex-sheriff has
passed his eightieth year, and . was
positively looking bettor than he did
when filling that office thirty, years
ago.
At a Banquet
The judge gave his father a banquet
at Levy's, nt which were gathered a
couple of dozen friends, amongst whom
] was one, who had known the father
In the old San Dlegan days.^when W.
H set type in the San Diego World
office and I edited that paper, and we
all agreed that the way he bad pre
served himself was little short rf a
miracle It needed that kind of hard
grit to see San Diego through the
times that tiled men's souls, when It
was found that not only would the
Texas Pacific not reach San Diego on
the direct route, but that Tom Scott
himself was "teetotaciously • bousted."
Fortunately the conditions for pros
perity all over Southern California
were too solid to admit of any portion
of this exceptionally favored region be
ing long under a cloud, and San Diej?o
noon came to share In me general pro
gross. Los Angeles, with the configur
ation of the continent, with the San
Gorgonlo and Cajon passes guarantee
ing her supremacy, has shot forward
like a rocket, but a whole troop of
southern cities is following; bravely In
her rear. From Point Concepcion down
the route is one of progress and pros
perity. If It he Indeed true that the
great marine transactions of the world
are in future to take plnce on the Pa
cific ocean, It Is 'good for Angelenos to
know that the harbor of San Pedro, by
the concession of the engineers of the
United States government, is to be one
of the greatest in the world— one which
In the conveniences for accommoda
tion for vessels and in the facilities for
handling' commerce, will.pqual if not
surpass those of the Golden Gate itself.
Los Angeles, in addition to her future
as n commercial city, has a hack coun
try that for variety, value and extent
of products is not surpassed elsewhere
In the world, whether the comparison
has a view to the products of the soil
or the yield of the precious or other
minerals. •*•'■;''
In 'view of what has been accom
plished in this city, of what Is being
accomplished now, and of what is In
contestably ahead, '■ a review of the
dobe days of the Angelic city is cer
tainly not without interest.- It is high
ly encouraging and is instructive as to
What lies in the future. . ■•'.■■'it 1