Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 104, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 September 1909 — INTERESTING LETTER DESCRIPTIVE OF TRIP. [ARTICLE]

INTERESTING LETTER DESCRIPTIVE OF TRIP.

Mrs. B. D. Comer Writes Entertain^ ingly of Scenery and Things Between Here and California. In company with my niece, Miss Lora Bruce, we left Rensselaer July 27th enroute for California, arrived there July 31st. No one can conceive of the grandeur of this trip except they take it. I will only speak of a few points of interest along the route. We left Chicago over the Burlington route to Denver, here we stopped for three hours and visited the capitol. This is a magnificent building, the dome of which is covered with gold. You begin to get a glimpse here of western life. We left Denver over the Denver & Rio Grande route, here the observation car was put on and remained the rest of our journey. This route across the Rockies is claimed to be the most picturesque, also the most dangerous. We had two engines and at times it appeared to be more than they could do to make the ascent. This road curves and winds around till often you can see the engine and back coach at the same time. It has been said that the engineer can shake hands with the flagman on the back coach. The Royal Gorge in Colorado is in the canyon of the Arkansas river and is the most remarkable chasm in the world through which a railroad passes. It is eight miles long and the walls of rock are 2,600 sept high. The Grand Canyon is just as picturesque but not so immense. We viewed thisJJy moonlight. : Our next stop was at Salt Lake City. Here we met Cecil Alter and family. Mr. Alter is employed by the government weather bureau. Through his kindness we were taken to the top of the building here. We had a fine view of the city and were pointed out the places of interest. Then we walked by and viewed the great Mormon buildings with their mysteries, their heresies and grandeur. This is a beautiful city. ■ We now took the San Pedro route and crossed the desert where so many people lost their lives during the gold craze in ’4B and ’49. Our next stop was at Los Angeles. This is a city of wealth and splendor. It has the most elaborate and ornate electric depot in the world and sends out more- cars every day than Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Michigan. Los Angeles is to southern California what Chicago is to the middle west. Here you find thousands and thousands of tourists seeking the fountain of youth. It lias been well said that the imports of this city are people from the east with money; the exports are the same, minus the money, We now took an electric car for Long Beach. Here my brother, C. F. Bruce, and family live. He is engaged in the lumber business and owns a ranch of 23 acres. By the way, every farm of from one acre up is called a ranch. Long Branch is a city of 20,000 inhabitants. Charley says he has seen it grow from a barley field to its present size in eleven years. This is an example of how quickly towns spring up along the coast where nature has endowed it with wonderful resources, a location unsurpassed, climate balmy, sea breezes, abundance of pure water and fertile soil supplemented by the untiring efforts of civic pride of the citizens. One of the most unique attractions of Long Beach is the celebrated walk of a thousand lights, more familiarly known as the Pike. It has a slQ{> 1 000 pier, an auditorium seating 6,000 people, finest bath house on the coast, has spent $940,000 for street paving, has three beautiful parks, two fire departments, two systems of water works, two daily newspapers, eight banks, electric light and two gas plants, splendid schools and churches and a harbor that is nearing completion at a cost of $1,500,000. Santa Monica, another beach city, has a population of 20,000. Here lives Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Boston, sister and brother-in-law of Mr. Comer. They have a number of furnished cottages they rent and a large apartment

house called the Hoosier, which attracts Hoosier tourists, also a ranch near the city limits. Here is located the National Soldiers’ Home. 1,500 soldiers are now in the home. This is surely the most, pleasant home for the boys in blue in the United States. To show how fast these old defenders are answering the final roll call, they keep eight graves dug and ready. In the cemetery sleeps over 2,000 of the boys. The two most interesting side trips we had was probably to Mt. Lowe and the Cataline islands. The trip up Mt. Lowe is made via the Pacific electric railway, is conceded by all travelers of discriminating taste to be one of the most charming in the world. The track winds among the great shoulders of the mountains and sides of canyons until we reach the Rubio canyon, which is 2,200 feet above the sea level. Here we step out of the car and look up the incline, which is 3,000 feet long, direct ascent 1,400 feet. The cars up this incline are attached to a cable of .finest steel- At the top M. the incline we again change cars for electric line; this is five miles long and climbs 1,500 feet. The road bed is hewn out of the granite sides of the mountains. There are 127 curves and 20 bridges. The longest piece of straight track is 250 feet. At last we reach Ye Alpine Tavern, from here on three miles the rest of t-he way must be made by burros. The Catalina Island lies 27 miles from shore. It is 22 miles long and contains 40,000 acres. The trip was made by steamer, Cabrilla, which had 900 passengers. We went out in a glass bottom boat and saw the sub-marine gardens and other places of interest. To say the least of California it is a wonderful country. It has an ideal climate, perpetual summer, delightful sea breezes, glorious ocean sunsets, no thunder, no flies, no mosquitoes, but fruit and flowers like the garden of Eden. Enterprise, ingenuity and snap with natural resources makes California the mecca of the world. But amid all its beauty and glory Ay heart yearned for my loved ones and my Hoosier home.

MRS. B. D. COMER.

The strikers of the Pressed Steel Car plant at McKees Rocks, near Pittsburg, decided to return to work at the plant and accept the concessions granted by the company. Nine men were killed and scores injured during the strike trouble.