The
City Contains More Than Four Hundred Thousand People.
Of these, a vast
number, thirty thousand to fifty thousand, it may be, have no real
business in San Francisco.
They live from hand to mouth, by odd jobs
that might be better done by better people; and whatever their success
in making a living, they swell the army of discontent, and confound all
attempts to solve industrial problems. In this rough estimate I do not
count San Francisco's own poor, of which there are some but not many,
but only those who have drifted in from the outside. I would include,
however, not only those who are economically impotent, but also those
who follow the weak for predatory ends. In this last category I place a
large number of saloon-keepers, and keepers of establishments far worse,
toward which the saloon is only the first step downward; a class of
so-called lawyers, politicians and agents of bribery and blackmail; a
long line of soothsayers, clairvoyants, lottery agents and joint
keepers, besides gamblers, sweaters, promoters of "medical institutes,"
magnetic, psychical and magic "healers" and other types of unhanged, but
more or less pendable, scoundrels that feed upon the life-blood of the
weak and foolish. The other cities of California have had a similar
experience. Each has its reputation for hospitality, and each has a
considerable population which has come in from other regions because
incapable of making its own way. It is not the poor and helpless alone
who are the victims of imposition. There are fools in all walks of life.
Many a well-dressed man or woman can be found in the rooms of the
clairvoyant or the Chinese "doctor." In matters of health, especially,
men grasp at the most unpromising straws. In certain cities of
California there is scarcely a business block that did not contain at
least one human leech under the trade name of "healer," metaphysical,
electrical, astral, divine or what not. And these will thrive so long as
men seek health or fortune with closed eyes and open hands.
In no way has the unearned increment been more mischievous than in the
booming of towns. With the growth of towns comes increase in the value
of the holdings of those who hold and wait. If the city grows rapidly
enough, these gains may be inordinately great. The marvelous beauty of
Southern California and the charm of its climate have impressed
thousands of people. Two or three times this impression has been
epidemic. At one time almost every bluff along the coast, from Los
Angeles to San Diego and beyond, was staked out in town lots. The
wonderful climate was everywhere, and everywhere men had it for sale,
not only along the coast, but throughout the orange-bearing region of
the interior. Every resident bought lots, all the lots he could hold.
The tourist took his hand in speculation. Corner lots in San Diego, Del
Mar, Azusa, Redlands, Riverside, Pasadena, anywhere brought fabulous
prices.
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