CALIFORNIA. 



69 



of the- Supreme Court, and possibly only by that 

 of the United States Supreme Court. 



In 1899 175 miles were added to the railroads 

 in the State, and in the first six months of 1900 

 the added mileage was 122. 



Products. The gold product of the State in 

 1899 was given at the mint as approximately 

 $15,335,031, and silver $504,012. The silver is 

 given at its commercial value; its coining value 

 was $1,106,578. 



The returns to the mint show the employment 

 of 18,701 miners in the gold, silver, lead, and cop- 

 per mines of the State, a decrease of 1,122 com- 

 pared with the previous year. 



The copper product was estimated unofficiallv 

 at about $4,000,000, and the oil at $3,000,000. The 

 entire value of the base metals and inferior min- 

 erals was estimated at $13,976,969. The oil in- 

 dustry is rapidly becoming one of the most im- 

 portant in the State. 



The sowings of sugar beets were reported at 

 42,300 acres. The wheat crop was an average one, 

 estimated at 30,833,333 bushels; barley, 20,782,608 

 bushels; hops, 8,325,000 pounds; wool, 29,500,000 

 pounds; raisins, 66,000,000 pounds; prunes, 96,- 

 500.000 pounds; canned fruit, 2,900,000 cases. The 

 nut crop of southern California, mostly Walnuts, 

 was estimated at 450 car loads. 



Public Lands. The slow rate at which sur- 

 veys of lands in the State are made, while those 

 in other States are carried on with vigor, is a 

 public grievance, especially with settlers on the un- 

 surveyed lands. A bill passed Congress in March 

 providing for the preservation of the big trees. 

 The State has received, by bequest of Col. J. B. 

 Armstrong, between 400 and 500 acres of redwood 

 forest, adjacent to Guerneville, for a public park. 



Public Works. The report that has occupied 

 the Debris Commission since 1896 was presented 

 to Congress in February. Two projects are spoken 

 of in the report. That of 1899 is the one approved 

 by the commission, the chief of engineers, and the 

 Secretary of War. It consists of a series of dams 

 constituting restraining barriers and forming im- 

 pounding reservoirs in and about and above and 

 below De Guerra point, in extent 2,000,000 acres 

 of settling basin, with lateral outlets, and calcu- 

 lated to impound 50,000,000 cubic yards of debris. 

 The project likewise touches upon the plan of the 

 confining of the Yuba river below the works to a 

 single channel. The report estimates the cost of 

 constructing the works at present advised at 

 $800,000. 



A new contract has been made for the construc- 

 tion of the San Pedro breakwater. 



San Jacinto Mountain. A dispatch of March 

 19 from San Jacinto said: "Tremendous excite- 

 ment prevails in San Jacinto, it having been dis- 

 covered that part of San Jacinto mountain has 

 slipped into a subterranean cavern. A territory 

 covering 60 acres, at an elevation of 4,000 feet, 

 was dislodged by the Christmas earthquake, and 

 slipped 150 feet lower than it had stood for many 

 centuries. The face of this new valley is thickly 

 traversed with fissures and cracks varying in 

 width from 1 inch to 6 feet across, and it is not 

 possible to see the bottom nor to sound the depths 

 by throwing stones into them." 



Legislative Session. As no Senator was 

 chosen at the regular session in 1899, a special 

 session was called this year and continued from 

 Jan. 28 to Feb. 10. Thomas R. Bard was made 

 the nominee of the Republicans and was elected 

 Feb. 6, receiving the full Republican vote, 85. 

 James D. Phelan was the Democratic nominee. 



Other purposes for which the session was called, 

 as named in the Governor's proclamation, and the 



disposition made of bills embodying them, are 

 summarized as follows: 



To re-enact the law creating a Commissioner of 

 Public Works. Law re-enacted on lines proposed 

 in the proclamation. 



To enact a law relative to an auditing board for 

 the Commissioner of Public Works. Law enacted 

 as proposed in the proclamation. 

 . To repeal the wide-tire law of 1897. Law re- 

 pealed. 



. To repeal the act of March 27, 1897, relative to 

 the location of mining claims. Law repealed. 



To amend section 3494 of the political code, 

 relative to the sale of public school lands. Bill 

 defeated. 



To empower the Governor to remove summarily 

 all public officers appointed by or under his author- 

 ity. Bill defeated. 



To empower the Governor to suspend for cause 

 during recess of the Legislature appointees sub- 

 ject to confirmation by the Senate. Bill defeated. 



Constitutional amendments relating to the judi- 

 cial department, providing for three district courts 

 of appeal, and to municipal charters were adopted. 

 Concurrent and joint resolutions adopted were: 

 Asking Congress to make appropriation for roads 

 in Yosemite National Park; favoring election of 

 United States Senators by the people; favoring 

 American manufacture of the proposed Pacific- 

 cable; favoring the completion of public surveys: 

 opposing the Jamaica reciprocity treaty; asking 

 Congress to prevent fraud in the location of oil 

 lands; asking action of the Government on the 

 report of the Debris Commission. 



Political. No State officers were elected this 

 year, their term of office being four years. Con- 

 ventions were held to choose delegates to the na- 

 tional conventions and to nominate presidential 

 electors. 



The Republicans approved the national and 

 State administrations, favored the construction of 

 the Nicaragua Canal under Government ownership, 

 appropriations by Government for reclamation and 

 irrigation of arid lands with co-operation of the 

 States, establishment of national forest reserves, 

 prevention of fraud in acquirement of mineral 

 lands, continuance of the Chinese exclusion laws, 

 road improvement, increased appropriations to the 

 State University, and adoption of the proposed 

 amendment for regulation of primary elections. 



The Democrats adopted a platform approving 

 the Chicago platform, favoring the candidacy of 

 William J. Bryan, favoring an amendment to the 

 Federal Constitution to require the election of 

 United States Senators by direct popular vote: 

 demanding a similar amendment providing for the 

 income tax; favoring the immediate construction, 

 control, and protection of the Nicaraguan Canal 

 by the United States; extending sympathy to 

 the South African republics; condemning im- 

 perialism; condemning the Porto Rican tariff 

 law; affirming that the Constitution follows the 

 flag; favoring the abolition of all unnecessary 

 war taxes; condemning the trusts: favoring the 

 passing of lavvs for the exclusion of all Asiatic 

 laborers and congratulating the Democracy on 

 the selection of W. R. Hearst to be president 

 of the National Association of Democratic Clubs. 

 On State matters, the resolutions called for 

 preservation of the redwoods, rehabilitation of 

 hydraulic mining, storage reservoir*, increase of 

 university revenues, reduction of hours of labor 

 for minors, and election at large of railroad com- 

 missioners. 



In the Legislature the Republicans have 34 mem- 

 bers of the Senate and 59 of the House ; the Demo- 

 crats, 6 of the Senate and 21 of the House. 



