[469] San Francisco Examiner, April 27, 1895.
[470] The question as to what the valley towns would do for the new enterprise was repeatedly asked, and received a reasonably satisfactory reply. Depot sites and rights-of-way were freely offered, and subscriptions to stock were talked about, if not often pledged in any binding way. The Spreckels group tried to encourage donations of all lands, and to play one town against another where this was possible. It refused to say, for example, whether the new road would begin at Stockton, as once proposed, or even whether the new route would not run through San José. Stockton organized a committee to present her claims. San José did the same. Mass meetings were held in both places, that in San José being marked by a procession, with transparencies and a band. Stockton merchants agreed to give to the San Francisco and San Joaquin Valley Railway rights-of-way 100 feet wide along the adopted survey for the railroad from the city of Stockton through San Joaquin County to the boundary line between San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties. They further agreed to convey to the railway company certain specified parcels of land in the city of Stockton, to aid the company in obtaining franchises and rights-of-way in Stockton, and to obtain subscriptions to the capital stock of the company to the amount of $100,000. (San Francisco Examiner, May 3, 1895.)
The San José delegation which came to San Francisco in March said that $148,000 had already been secured for the new road in their district, that $200,000 was in sight, and that $300,000 in subscriptions could be obtained with a guaranty of shipments by the new route from the large fruit packers, business men, farmers, and horticulturists. They added that rights-of-way, 75 per cent of which would be free of cost to the company, and also terminal facilities in San José would be provided. (Ibid., March 27, 1895.)
It is of some interest to recall that when the decision was made in favor of Stockton, her representatives had difficulty in making their promises good. It was remarked at one time that apparently one of the things most needed to help on the era of progress in California was a number of judiciously selected funerals—presumably of opponents to the new developments.
[471] See address of Robert Watt at Bakersfield, San Francisco Examiner, April 29, 1895.
[472] San Francisco Examiner, January 30, 1895.
[473] Letter from the Spreckels’ Committee to San Francisco Bankers, San Francisco Examiner, February 3, 1895.
[474] San Francisco Examiner, March 26, 1895.
[475] Ibid., April 6, 1895.
[476] San Francisco Bulletin, April 6, 1895.