Growth and Development of 

 Los Angeles. 



W. C. PATTBRSON, President of the Los Angeles Clearing House Associatiea. 



IT would be too much to make the claim absolute that the growth and de- 

 velopment of the City of Los Angeles, from the financial and other points 

 of view, has been greater than that of any other city in any age or land, 

 and yet the claim, everything taken into consideration, if made, might 

 possibly be sustained. 



The real growth and development of the city dates from 1885, and 

 it is quite questionable whether, during that twenty years, if we take every- 

 thing into consideration, the growth of the city is not a new record in the 

 history of humanity. At that time the city numbered probably not much 

 more than 11,000 souls. At the present time there are upwards of 200,000 

 people, permanent residents within the city limits. The industrial develop- 

 ment of the community at that time had scarcely made a beginning, and 

 the money in daily circulation was not a very large amount. It would be 

 somewhat difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain just what amount of 

 money was circulating in the community at the date taken. The two follow- 

 ing years witnessed a very great growth in the population and development 

 along every line. The great boom, which collapsed in 1888, may be said 

 to have taken a definite beginning in 1885. In 1887 the bank clearings, as 

 shown by the returns of the Clearing House for that year, amounted to a 

 trifle over $36,000,000. In 1888, when the reaction came, the movement 

 of funds fell back below the figure just mentioned, but by 1895, in spite 

 of all the dullness prevailing in business in all parts of the United States, the 

 Clearing House returns for that year showed a movement in this respect of 

 $57,000,000. In 1900 the Clearing House returns for the year showed ex- 

 changes through the Clearing House banks of $113,500,000, and in the next 

 year the figure rose to $145,000,000. The expansion in this respect has 

 been steady during all the three past years, and the last year of all, the 

 clearings through the Clearing House banks amounted to the sum of 

 $478,985,298.40. 



The following comparative statement Is interesting: 



CLEARINGS FOR 1905. 



Quarter ending March 31st $103,268,384.19 



Quarter ending June 30th 1 22,026,034.02 , 



Quarter ending Sept. 30th 125,393,636.26 



Quarter ending Dec. 31st 128,297,243.93 



$478,985,298.40 

 Clearings for 1 904 345,343,956.35 



Cain $133,641,342.05 



Percentage of increase, 38.69 per cent. 



The clearings in 1 895 were $ 57,046,843,1 4 



The clearings in 1 900 were 11 3,766,378.02 



The clearings in 1 905 were 478,985,298.40 



Along ail other lines of development the growth of the city in every 

 respect has quite kept pace with the movement of funds through the banks. 



