History of Santa Clara County

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The Resources and Attractions of San Jose, the Garden City of California--Soil, Climate, Productions and Opportunity--What a Man From the East Learned From an Old Resident.

"San Jose? In California? Never heard of the place. Must be some old Spanish village, eh? Pueblo--that's it, pueblo. I've read Spanish history and when I was a youngster I had a lot of Spanish lingo at my tongue's end. I never heard of but one San Jose on the Western Continent and that is San Jose de Costa Rica. Perhaps you were not referring to California and your San Jose is the Costa Rican city. No? Then where is your San Jose and what do they raise there, coffee or pumpkins?"

The speaker was a man from the East, who had come to California in search of a home and also a field for the profitable investment of the money he had saved after years of toil in the cold, cheerless communities of New England. The scene was the reading room of one of San Francisco's palatial hotels and the person addressed was an old resident of San Jose, who had been introduced to the Easterner by a mutual friend.

"San Jose is of right the fourth city in the state and is located in the heart of the richest valley in the world; distance from San Francisco, forty-eight miles. It is--"

"Hold on, hold on," was the quick interruption. "Let me get my breath--you quite took it away by your surprising announcement. I am a tenderfoot, it is true, but I thought I had California sized up pretty well before I bought my ticket in Boston. I knew there were a large number of towns and villages where they dig for gold, but I had formed the idea that the only two cities worth mentioning were San Francisco and Los Angeles. As San Francisco is hardly the place for a home, I had concluded to go to Los Angeles."

"Have you bought your ticket?" "No," was the reply. "Then before you do so let me suggest that you take a trip to San Jose. You are looking for a place suitable for a residence. San Jose offers the best inducements of any community in the state of California. You have money to invest--invest it in the Santa Clara Valley."

"But I am very particular. I have a family, children not yet grown up. There are many things to be considered and I am afraid, my good friend that a country town or city--for I have heard that out here in the West a town becomes a city when it can show a population of 800 or 1,000--will hardly afford the facilities which are essential to the well-being of my family."

"Let me tell you something about San Jose and its environs. Perhaps I may be able to furnish facts that will suit all your requirements."

"I shall be pleased to hear you." The man from the East lighted a cigar, then sinking in his chair waited for the promised exposition.

[Picture not shown: SANTA CLARA VALLEY.]

"You spoke of Spanish villages," began the old resident, "and that reminds me that San Jose was once a Spanish pueblo, where all the houses were of adobe. where the seat of education and religious enlightenment was in the Mission and where wild cattle roamed the valley and a dolce far niente people lived lives of ease and dreamed not of the time when fair and stately homes should dot the lands given over to the chapparal and the wild mustard, and the busy hum of industry indicative of an advanced civilization should be heard in places where happy feet kept time to the seductive strains of the Spanish guitar, or where the matador and picador imperiled their lives for love or gold. San Jose was settled in 1787 as the result of an exploration made at the instance of the Spanish authorities in 1769. Until 1830 no Americans had ever penetrated California. In that year they began to arrive so that when the discovery of gold was made San Jose was practically dominated by the American population. In February, 1848, the United States, by treaty, acquired title to California and the first Legislature held its first session in San Jose, which for a short time was the capital of the state. Had general and not sectional interests been consulted, it would be the capital today; but by a series of bargains, governed solely by selfish considerations, the capital was removed first to one point and then another until it reached Sacramento to stay. In 1849--the year the Argonauts came from all parts of the world--San Jose, as now, was the paradise of the homeseeker, its location, climate and other attractions combining to make it the most favored city in the state. Seekers for the gold, which was to be found in the mountainous counties to the north and east left their families in San Jose, well knowing that while they delved for the yellow metal their loved ones were surrounded by all the conditions calculated to make life worth living. And if life were worth living in San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley in 1849, what must be said of the advantages which it possesses today? Then the valley, outside of the pueblo, was practically an unbroken plain where the wild cattle roamed at will. Today is presented a transformation that would hardly be looked for outside of an Arabian romance. The late Judge Belden, in a graphic and beautifully worded picture of the valley in the vicinity of San Jose, thus set forth some of the attractions:

" 'To the visitor approaching San Jose, through the upper end of the Santa Clara Valley, each mile traversed ushers in some delightful surprise, introduces a new climate. If his advent be from the north, the hills of verdure which encircle the bay recede on either hand and assume a softer contour and a richer garb. The narrow roadway that skirts the salt marsh has widened to a broad and fertile valley that stretches as far as the eye can reach in luxuriant fields of grass and grain and miles upon miles of thrifty orchards. Bordering this verdant plain, in hues and splendors all their own, come the hills and into the recesses of these hills creep the little valleys and as they steal away in their festal robes they whisper of beauties beyond and as yet unseen. In full keeping with the transformed landscape is the change of climate. The harsh, chill winds that pour in through the Golden Gate, and sweep over the peninsula, have abated their rough work as they spread over the valley, and, softened as they mingle with the currents of the south, met as a zephyr in the widening plain.

" 'If the approach to San Jose be from the south, the traveler, wearied with the desert and its hot, dry air, is conscious of a sudden change. The sterile desert has become a fruitful plain and the air that comes as balm to the parched lungs is cool and soft and moist with the tempered breath of the sea. If it be spring or early summer, miles upon mile stretches the verdant plain; over it troops sunshine and shadow; across it ripples the waves. Summer but changes the hue and heaps the plains with abundant harvest of grain, vegetables and fruit, while the first rain brings again the verdure and the beauty of spring. "An ocean of beauty," exclaims the charmed beholder.'

"From that very pretty description I infer that your climate is not to be sneezed at."

"We are proud of our climate," replied the old resident, "and with reason. There are all sorts of climate in California but it is generally conceded by those who have traveled the state over and are not afraid to express an honest opinion, that the climate of San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley is unsurpassed in mildness and salubrity. It is all owing to topographical situation. With moderately high mountains rising on the east and west and closing in on the south, the valley is protected from the fog and winds that in certain seasons envelop more exposed sections in less favored locations. Protected from extremes of heat and cold by the sheltering arms of the mountains, the hottest days of summer are never oppressive on account of the cool breezes that sweep in from the bay. Climatically considered, San Jose and the Santa Clara Valley is open to no objection."

"Your climate I admit is all right, but what about resources?"

"The valley is one of varied resources and San Jose, as the county seat, enjoys the major part of the benefit derived from the orchards, grain fields and berry and vegetable sections. The shipping facilities are unexcelled. In the first place San Jose is the terminal point and therefore growers are not compelled to send their products to a great distance at local rates in order to reap the benefits that always accrue by reason of the rates offered at terminal points."

The man from the East was becoming vastly interested. His cigar had gone out and his eyes were fixed intently on the face of the old resident. "What kinds of fruit do you raise?" as asked, and on the moment out came his notebook.

"Prunes, apricots, cherries, pears, apples, peaches, quinces, olives, nectarines, plums, limes, lemons and oranges." "Oranges?" "Yes, oranges in the section we call the warm belt, but our prunes, apricots and peaches give such better returns that we do not count on citrus fruits, leaving that line to the southern counties. Prunes take the lead and San Jose handles about all of them. There are twenty-three packing houses and twenty-four canneries in San Jose alone; outside there are fifteen packing houses and about the same number of canneries. The number in city and country will increase before the year is out.

"Gee Whiz!" ejaculated the man from the East, "San Jose must handle hundreds of tons of fruit each year."

"Hundreds of tons? Thousands of tons would hit the mark. In the shipment of dried fruit San Jose's contribution is about half of that of the whole state."

"How about marketing?" was the next inquiry as the business sense of the man from the East came to the fore.

"We are exceptionally favored," was the reply, "in having an organization allied with the packers which controls more than eighty percent of the prune and apricot output of the entire state. It is called 'The California Prune and Apricot Growers, Inc.' It came into existence in 1916 and its growth has been such that it now owns forty packing houses, has alliances with many packers and costly extensions and improvements have been mapped out for the near future. By the rules which govern its conduct it is able to prevent troublesome fluctuations and the expensive interventions of middlemen and bring security and good prices to the orchardists. It is a combine in which the interests of producer, buyer and consumer are equitably adjusted."

"That's good. I like that. And now another question. What are fruit lands in the vicinity of San Jose worth?"

"On account of the large profits, prices have gone up during the past ten years. Suitable lands with bearing trees sell all the way from $800 to $1500 per acre. On some of these lands, planted to prunes and apricots, the profits per acre, in 1919, ranged from $500 to $1,000. So you see the prices are not high when profits are considered. As an instance of money I will cite one case. A San Franciscan in the spring of 1919 bought a twenty-acre bearing prune orchard for $30,000. The fall of that year brought him a profit of $15,000 on his fruit. So you see half the value of his property was paid for in one year."

The man from the East looked at his watch.  "I find I have yet more than an hour at my disposal," he said.

"Then I will talk rapidly," replied the old resident, "though I could put in a week and not exhaust the subject.

"The soil in and about San Jose offers the prime requisites for the raising of all kinds of vegetables and small berries. This with a climate equally suited, a ready market in San Jose and a still larger one in San Francisco, makes the business of production a most profitable one and gives employment to a large number of people. The seed output will more than double the amount of other garden products. One of the seed farms located near San Jose is the largest in the world. In the future another soil industry, may be added-flax culture. Statistics show that it is very profitable and in the opinion of experts the climate and soil of the valley meet every requirement.

"While San Jose is noted as a horticultural center its industries along the line of manufactures are not unimportant. There are many lumbering manufactories in the city and vicinity. There are flour mills, iron and brass foundries, tanneries, carriage factories, marble works, cigar factories--but stay, it is better to give you a list prepared by the Chamber of Commerce, so you see what San Jose can boast of: Acme Sheet Metal Manufactory, Anderson-Barngrover Mfg. Co., manufactures fruit and canning machinery; T. D. Anderson, awning and tent makers; Banks Corporation, manufactures Banks' Evaporator; Bean Spray Pump Co., manufactures pumps, gas and traction engines; Beech Nut Co., jams and preserves; E. Benone, Ravioli and Noodle Mfg. Co.; Harry Bobbitt, California Wall Paper Mills; Braslan Seed Growers Co., Burns Mattress Co.; Byron Jackson Iron Works, centrifugal and turbine pumps; California Seed Growers' Association; Campbell & Budlong Machine Works, pumps and engines; Chase Lumber Co.; Christian Mfg. Co., harvester teeth; Cowell Lime and Cement Co.; Delmas Paper Co.; Eagle Body Mfg. Co., auto body builders and repairers; Farmers' Grain and Poultry Supply Co.; Finnett-McEwen Co., tractors; Fisk Rubber Co.; Garden City Glass Co.; Garden City Pottery; Garden City Rubber Works; Garden City Implement and Vehicle Co.; Glenwood Lumber Co.; James Graham Mfg. Co., stoves and ranges; Hart's Auto Signal Tail Light Co.; Hubbard & Carmichael, lumber and mill work: Kimberlin Seed Co.; Knapp Plow Works; San Jose Bottling Co.; San Jose Wire Strapping Co.; Moenning & Harvard, pumps and engines; Mussos Outing & Equipment Co.; Pacific Gas & Electric Co.; Pacific Mfg. Co.; Pacific Shingle and Box Co.; Peterson-Kartschoke Brick Co.; Pioneer Rubber Co.; National Axle Mfg. Co.; San Jose Broom Factory; San Jose Flour Co.; San Jose Marble & Granite Works; San Jose Foundry; San Jose Lumber Yard; San Jose Paper Mills; Ravenna Paste Co.; Schuh & Vertin, granite and marble works; Security Cold Storage Co.; Sperry Flour Co.; Vacuum System Oil Refining Co.; San Jose Implement Co.; Marvel Compound Co., boiler, gas engine and radiator compounds; Litch Pump & Supply Company, Smith Manufacturing Company, and several others. Besides these four Building and Loan Associations, eighteen dairies and creameries, eight wholesale flour and grain houses, nineteen butcher shops, over one hundred grocers, five sanitariums and hospitals, a telephone company with over 14,000 subscribers, and other lines of business. One drawback to the proper development of manufacturing industries was the lack of cheap fuel, but a factor of the greatest importance was furnished in 1901 when the Standard Electrical Power Company, with plant at Blue Lakes, put up poles and wires in Santa Clara County and furnished 15,000 horsepower for every purpose for which it could be used."

"Tell me more about San Jose, itself. I want the details."

"San Jose," said the old resident, with glistening eyes, "is the garden spot of California, the Queen City of the Pacific Coast. It is beautifully situated in the center of the valley, surrounded be the richest fruit growing section in the world, and having within it, boundaries all the elements conducive to a happy existence. I have told you of the climate, you know something respecting the resources of the contiguous territory, and you will therefore understand that trade must naturally gravitate to the city by reason of its location with outlying sections. The constancy and certainty of trade enables the farmers and orchardists to pay cash for supplies and in turn insures the prosperity of the merchants. But the fruit industry and the manufacturing concerns form but two factors in promoting commercial healthfulness. Hundreds of thousands of dollars flow in annually from the educational and other public institutions situated in San Jose and its near vicinity.

"It is one of the most beautiful residence cities in the state on account of its charming situation, unrivaled climate, beautiful landscape, educational facilities, accessibility to the great metropolis of the coast, and to the intelligence, refinement and enterprise of its people. It is connected with San Francisco with three lines of steam railroads, one line, a transcontinental one, running from San Francisco and San Jose along the coast to Los Angeles and thence East. There are also electric lines running to Palo Alto on the north. Los Altos, Cupertino and Saratoga on the west and Los Gatos and Campbell on the south. In the near future the electric cars will convey passengers from San Jose to San Francisco. A new transcontinental line, started in 1917 and finished in 1922, is the Western Pacific. A branch line was built from Niles."

"How about auto stages? Do you have them?

"Of course," replied the old resident, serenely, "for we're up to date in San Jose. There are hourly auto stages to San Francisco, Oakland, Stockton, Sacramento, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Saratoga and other points. In fact you can get an auto to take you anywhere in the state. And talking about autos--I will inform you that San Jose is the pride of the automobilists of California, for it has more roads, better roads, more beautiful spots--valley or mountain--more orchard avenues than any other section of the state. The state highway runs through San Jose with branches to Santa Cruz, Gilroy and other towns in the county. Besides there are hundreds of miles of paved roads paid for by the board of supervisors acting for the county."

The man from the East made a movement in the direction of his watch pocket, but it was not completed. Some restraining influence was at work. Presently he said: "You speak of educational facilities. A city or town may have climate to burn, the scenic beauties that poets rave about, but unless it possesses a full measure of the best of civilizing influences it fails of being the 'one and altogether lovely spot' to me."

The old resident listened complacently, "I think I can satisfy you," he replied, "for one of the strongest appeals that San Jose makes to the seekers of homes is that it is the center of the finest system of education to be found on the Pacific Coast. In the city itself are the public schools front primary to high, and many academies and private schools. The high school building, or buildings, for there are many of them, cover acres of ground, and with the improvements mapped ont for this year--athletic grounds, new structures and an increased equipment--makes the cost upwards of one million dollars. The school has the highest university rating and the course of study embraces almost every department of culture from the rudiments of learning up to the arts, sciences and classics. The grammar schools, nine in number, are comparatively new, are built in the mission form with spacious grounds, up-to-date sanitary conditions and all the appliances of first-class metropolitan institutions. And there are in the city commercial schools, church schools, and schools of painting, industrial arts and metaphysics. In San Jose is located the State Teachers' College, with an efficient corps of instructors for the education of teachers: the College of Notre Dame, one of the leading Catholic institutions of learning and morals in the United States, devoted particularly to the training ot young girls; and the St. Joseph's school for boys. Two miles from the heart of the city at College Park is the College of the Pacific, the leading Methodist College of the Pacific Coast, with a Conservatory of Music attached; at Santa Clara. three miles distant, is the University of Santa Clara, founded by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus and having commercial, law, scientific and classical courses, and with a reputation that extends to every part of the United States. Palo Alto, nineteen miles distant, about half an hour's ride from San Jose, boasts of the Leland Stanford Jr. University. It is designed in this university to represent the crown and outcome of the new education, specialized, however, on the highest planes in utilitarian directions. This university is really an asset of San Jose and as such I speak of it.

"It might be well for you to know that San Jose is a city of churches, every denomination of importance being represented. The cost of the buildings, which in their ornateness add much to the beauty of the city, range from $5,000 to $200,000. In the line of charitable institutions there is the sanitarium built by the donation of the late Judge M. P. O'Connor and conducted by the Sisters of Charity; the Pratt Home for old ladies, the Sheltering Arms, and the Orphans' Home, conducted by the Ladies' Benevolent Society. Besides there are many other organizations, like the Good Cheer Club and the Elks which care for the sick and distressed."

"How about public buildings?" asked the Easterner. "Do they match the other things you have been talking about?"

"They do and they present much that is architecturally beautiful and substantial. The Court House, Hall of Records, Hall of Justice, City Hall and Postoffice cost one million and a half dollars in the aggregate, and each structure is massive and imposing. The Carnegie Library, built by a donation from Andrew Carnegie, is a handsome structure, located in one corner of Normal Square, and answers the public needs. The business houses of San Jose are large, well built and attractive structures. There are two skyscrapers--the First National Bank building, nine stories, and the Garden City Bank and Trust Company building, seven stories. The residences, as a rule, are in the bungalow style, costing from $2,000 to $75,000. Some of the suburban residences are veritable palaces and they stand as monuments of art and beauty in the midst of luxuriant gardens and thrifty orchards. Speaking of gardens, San Jose has well been called the Garden City of California. Flowers grow so easily and abundantly that every residence has its flower garden and every month in the year some varieties are in bloom. There is no snow and the frosts are so light that only the most delicate plants are affected. There is no time in the winter when the ground may not be worked, so that under what are semi-tropical conditions the growth of flowers has everything in its favor. The facility with which the flowers are grown add much to the beauty of the public parks, of which there are four, ranging in size from three to thirty acres.

"Are there any health resorts in the neighborhood of San Jose, any drives or--"

"Enough to beat the band," was the expressive response. "The city owns a natural park known as Alum Rock, which is one of the most picturesque and inviting spots in the state. It is but seven miles distant, covers an area of about 1,000 acres, is under control of the city government, and is reached by three fine driveways and an electric railway. There are bath houses, plunges, a restaurant, swimming tank, esplanade, a concrete dam for the water supply, beautiful park-like enclosures for flowers, and lovely walks in every direction. The fame of the mineral waters has spread far and wide. There are other mineral springs not far from San Jose, and the fact that they are located far above the sea level and with most attractive natural surroundings make them sought after by both the invalid and the tourist. The roads about San Jose are among the best in the state, for the reason that they are not only kept in first class condition the year round but are sprinkled continuously from the end of one wet season to the beginning of another. This work is done under an energetic and up-to-date board of supervisors.

"While there are charming drives through the orchard districts, to the quicksilver mines at New Almaden, to Los Gatos and Saratoga in the western foothills, to the Big Basin, the great redwood park in the Santa Cruz Mountains; to Alviso and Milpitas near San Francisco Bay, along the far-famed Alameda to the town of Santa Clara and in other directions where the natural prospect is inviting to the eye, the one most favored by tourists is the drive to the Lick Observatory on the summit of Mt. Hamilton."

"I have heard of the Observatory," interposed the man from the East, "but I never connected San Jose with it."

"It is San Jose's greatest auxiliary attraction, though the Big Basin is running as a close second. The road that leads to the Observatory is twenty-seven miles from San Jose and was built at the expense of the taxpayers. It is conceded to be the finest mountain road in the world and cost upwards of $75,000. It was upon the condition that Santa Clara County should build the road that James Lick, millionaire philanthropist, agreed to construct the Observatory and equip it with the finest astronomical appliances in the world. The important discoveries that have been made since the astronomers began their work have given the Observatory a world-wide fame. The beautiful scenery of the Coast Range is seen at its best on the road to the summit, and the drive up the mountain is as much an attraction as a look at the heavens through the great thirty-six inch glass."

"If tourists should visit San Jose for a trip to the Observatory what accommodations would they find?"

"As good as can be found anywhere. There are twenty-seven hotels, besides dozens of lodging houses. The finest hotels, metropolitan in every respect, with electric lights, heating plants, elevators and the finest of service are the Vendome, Hotel Montgomery and Hotel St. James."

"You have spoken about the climate, scenic and other attractions. Have you a system of sewerage, and how does it operate?"

"San Jose has a system, a perfect one, and it operates to the satisfaction of the entire community. The city, you must understand, is located on a plain which slopes gently toward the bay. The problem of drainage, therefore, which has in sections less favorably situated involved great expense, was in San Jose easily solved. The fall is about ten feet to the mile, enough to insure a rapid flow of water and there are now over sixty miles of main and branch sewers. The principal drainway is built of brick and is five feet in diameter."

"Where do you get your water supply?"

"From artesian wells and from the lakes and streams situated high up in the mountains. The supply is ample and can be increased whenever occasion demands. The pressure to the hydrants from the water brought in pipes from the hills is fifty-five pounds to the square inch."

"How about taxes?"

"Nt high. Up to May, 1920, the city rate was $1.19. Of this eighty-five cents was for the support of the city government, fifteen cents for the school department, and nineteen cents for the payment of principal and interest on bonded indebtedness of $659,400. In May, 1920, at the regular city election, it was voted to increase the tax rate to thirty-five cents, the increase to last for three years only, to give the city a chance to recover from the loss of liquor licenses due to the wiping out of the saloons through Prohibition.

"In conclusion," sadi [sic] the old resident, "I will say that we are working under a commission form of government, with a city manager as its principal officer; that we have a Chamber of Commerce, a live, progressive body of representative men; a Merchants Association, the Rotary, Lions, Civic Welfare, a Commercial Club, a Progressive Business Men's Association, One Hundred Per Cent Club and the Commercial Club for placing San Jose in large letters on the map; that the streets of San Jose are lighted by electricity; that car lines operated by electricity traverse the city in every direction and extend to outlying towns; that fifty-nine railway trains leave the city daily; that the city has two daily newspapers, the Mercury (morning) and the News (evening) furnishing the news of the world by Associated Press and United Press dispatches; that all trades and professions are represented--there are forty-five dentists, seventy-seven physicians and eighty lawyers, and that there are over 100 auto salesrooms, garages and service stations; that over 12,000 automobiles are owned in San Jose and at least half that number by residents of outside districts; that there are fraternal orders galore besides clubs for men and clubs for women, the latter for social culture, educational and literary advancement, and in the interest of morality; that there are six banks, an efficient police force and fire department, a public library, fine, costly buildings for the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. A., Protestant, and the Y. M. I., Catholic; a Humane Society, Medical Society, Pioneers Society, six theaters (three of them motion picture houses), many concert and lecture halls, a system of rural delivery that reaches every part of the county, thus insuring a daily delivery of mail by carriers; that the total valuation of all property in the city amounts to $26,234,600; that the population within the legal boundaries is over 40,000 and that it would be at least 65,000 if the suburban districts, really a part of the city so far as social and business interests are concerned, were admitted as a part of it.

"Are you through?" "Nearly. Have you any questions to ask?" "You seem to have about everything worth having down your way, but I think San Jose will be found lacking in one respect."

The man from the East paused and with a look which said, "I've got you, now," waited for the old resident to speak.

"If we haven't got it, it isn't worth having."

"I do not agree with you. I like relaxation. 'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.' I require outdoor exercise with some nice ozone thrown in to give me a healthy color and take the kinks out of my muscles."

"All, I see. You want a baseball or a cyclers' club. We have both in San Jose. We have the automobile as well and as for hunting and fishing, no county in the interior of the state offers better inducements."

"They are all right, but you haven't got what I want and that's a golf club."

The old resident's face fairly beamed: "Haven't got a golf club? Why, man alive, we've got the best golf club in Central California."

"You can't mean it."

"I do. It was organized about twenty years ago, has as fine links as any one could wish, with an ornate club house, replete with every up-to-date convenience and costing about $20,000. The links are located on rising ground at the foot of the eastern hills about four miles from the city. A prettier location could not be found. The club house has an outlook that takes in the whole valley. It goes without saying that the club is composed of men and women who represent the best in society and business."

"What are your prospects for the future?"

"They are very bright. Money is easily obtainable and in a business way San Jose is prosperous. Its various resources, and utilities combine to make it so. The Chamber of Commerce is doing wonders in the way of promoting business activity, fostering improvements and paving, the way for all enterprises looking to the city's advancement along the best lines. Seven miles north of San Jose is the port of Alviso, situated on a slough which empties into San Francisco Bay. Before the European war the city bought a strip of land extending along the Alviso road to Alviso and more land suitable for the establishing of a real port of entry for vessels. It was the intention, through Government aid, to dredge the slough, make it passable for transportation craft and thus provide San Jose with water as well as railway transportation for her products. The war stopped the project, but Sunnyvale, nine miles from San Jose, has taken it up and a port, near the San Jose line, will soon be in operation. So you see that in 1922 the City of San Jose offers a fine field for the investment of money."

"Soil, climate, production, opportunity, Eh?" "Yes."

The man from the East now looked at his watch. "The Los Angeles train has gone," he said. "Well?" "There's the train for San Jose. I'll take it."