CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

THE SELLING OF A MYTH: 1\ LOS ANGELES PROMOTIONAL LITERATURE, 1885-1915

A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Mass Communication

by Judith Wilnin Elias

August, 1979 The Thesis of Judith Wilnin Elias is approved:

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California State University, Northridge

ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Special thanks to Susan Henry, for her encouragement and expertise Sam Feldman, for his understanding and enthusiasm John Baur, for his experience and knowledge and sincere appreciation to Carey McWilliams, for his support of an unconventional idea.

iii TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page ABSTRACT . v Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION 1 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . • . • • . 9 III. METHODOLOGY ...... 24 IV. THE LEGEND OF LOS ANGELES: The Climate and the Dream . 32 V. THE SELLING OF LOS ANGELES: The Chamber, the Colonel and the Railroads...... • ...... 47 VI. THE HARVESTING OF LOS ANGELES: Oil and Oranges ...... 73 VII. THE FOLKLORE OF LOS ANGELES: The Electric Theatre ... : . 86 VIII. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . 97 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 109 APPENDIX A . 122 APPENDIX B . 123

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iv ABSTRACT

THE SELLING OF A MYTH:

LOS ANGELES PROMOTIONAL LITERATURE~ 1885-1915 by Judith Wilnin Elias Master of Arts in Mass Communication

At the end of the 19th century, Los Angeles created a legend of a mythical city through the continual use of self-advertising and promotion. This publicity, which included descriptive accounts, rail­ road propaganda, newspaper and magazine material and advertisements! was largely responsible for the city's phenomenal growth. This thesis is a study of the promotional practices used during Los Angeles' formative years, and deals with the psychological and sociological aspects of the booster literature of that era; The self-interests of the railroads, the real estate specula­ tors, the oil, citrus, manufacturing and other enthusiasts provided the impetus for what became the most intensive public relations effort the country had yet experienced, and which produced unprecedented results.

v The land boom of the 1880s was the beginning of the publicity consciousnessthat has characterized Los Angeles ever since. The boosters sold climate, land and unlimited economic opportunity to a growing and responsive middle class. Much of the promotional litera­ ture was produced by professional organizations formed to encourage westvtard migration. Subsidized vtriters produced a prodigious amount of slick brochures, newspaper copy and other published propaganda that successfully marketed a new lifestyle, one which stressed the enjoy­ ment of wealth. The claims made by the boosters overcame the fact that, during these years, Los Angeles had very little industry, insufficient water to sustain growth, reputation as a "cow-town," and inadequate hotel facilities and a location distant from established population centers. By basing their campaign on real attributes, the climate and the scenic grandeur and the availability of land, Los Angeles promoters were able· to gain believability for their exaggerated statements in other areas. After the turn of the century the national advertising campaign of "Sunkist" and the image-making role of the film industry provided unexpected support for the boosters. Although most histories of Los Angeles describe the historical role played by the promotional material, this thesis explores its significance in depth, and emphasizes the importance of utilizing this variety of ephemeral material for historical research.

vi CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In this grand country we have the tallest mountains, the biggest trees, the crookedest railroads, the dryest rivers, the loveliest flowers, the smoothest ocean, the finest fruits, the mildest lives, the softest breezes, the purest air, the most bashful real estate agents, the-brightest skies and the most genial sunshine to be found anywhere else in North America ... we ... welcome those sojourn­ ing in a 1 City of the Angels 1 where their hearts will be irrigated by living waters flowing from the plrennial fountains of health, happiness and longevity. Illinois Association booster pamphlet (1886) At the end of the nineteenth century, California history was legendary. The legend included a pastoral past, a progressive and imaginative present and an imperial future. 2 Due to the state's isolation, it was sparsely populated. The residents of southern California, however, demonstrated a collective genius for self- advertising and promotion, and sent a continuing supply of news stories, flyers, letters and pamphlets to the east, the mid-west and Europe--projecting an image of Los Angeles as a "golden dream",to all who would listen. This publicity consciousness, first developed during the 1870s and 1880s, has characterized this region ever since. Neither agricultural development nor railroad competition would have been successful in attracting mass immigration without the use of widespread propaganda. 3

1 2

This thesis deals with seminal aspects of Los Angeles promotion during the years 1885-1915, using the promotional literature of this era. Samples of surviving pamphlets, flyers, advertising lit-

\ erature, travel books and special supplements prepared and distributed by Los Angeles newspapers are studied to demonstrate their importance to what was, in effect, a major public relations campaign to sell the ·fledgling city. Historians have seldom given much more than peripheral atten- , tion to this material, though the amount of promotional literature ·produced during Los Angeles• formative years was prodigious. One of the few who noted this lack is historian Glenn S. Dumke who credits this literature with being largely responsible for southern California's penchant towards extravagant publicity. 4 This thesis will show that analysis of the language and distribution patterns used for public relations purposes can provide insights into the economics, politics and sociology of an era. Such analysis results in information not easily obtained by other, more traditional research methods. The public relations practices which created and perpetuated California•s mythology of a paradise deserve a place in journalism history. The results changed the course of American history and geography, and established themes that are used to define Los Angeles to this day. Hope for a good life was a key motivating factor both in America and Europe in the 1880s, and thousands upon thousands of emigrants were attracted to southern California by the themes which 3 dominated this promotional literature --the potential for health and wealth, the enjoyment of that wealth, and land and home ownership. The selling campaign gained its impetus from the economic self-interests

~f the railroads and local business enterprises and landholders, but the mythology created by the publicity writers appealed to the American and European public, and the 11 legendn of a land of easy living created a bellwether metropolis in the middle of a desert. An additional factor was the selection of a target population for the bulk of this promotional material. The midwest was constantly flooded with publicity stating that the good life could be found in southern California, and this population, carefully chosen because it was relatively close geographically, fairly prosperous, interested in better agricultural conditions and beset by an arduous climate,. responded. 5 The success of the promotional campaign was impressive. Beginning in 1900, more than 50,000 people annually migrated to California, an overwhelming majority settling in southern California.6 And most of them stayed to in turn become boosters themselves. The Los Angeles campaign was unique in several aspects. Though overt advertising and exaggerated claims had been used before in drawing the American population westward, these promotional efforts eventually peaked. In southern California boosting became an integral part of 1i fe. This thesis will focus on the three decades between 1885 and 1915 because they encompass a number of catalytic events: the arrival in Los Angeles of the Santa Fe railway and the resulting competition with the Southern Pacific railroad; the real estate frenzy of 1886-88; the discovery of oil in Los Angeles; the first national advertising campaign of the region's citrus growers; and the arrival of the early film producers. These events led to unprecedented periods of popula- tion' growth in southern California, and many historians credit the creation of these boom eras to the extravaganzas of promotion written and distributed by Los Angeles business interests. 7 Due to the emphasis in the promotional literature, Los Angeles attracted a population that did not conform to the typical frontier

pattern. During the period covered in this study~ Los Angeles registered a very low ratio of men to women, an extremely low propor­ tion of young people and a correspondingly high proportion of elderly. Additionally, due to the emphasis on the enjoyment of wealth that was central to the Los Angeles image, the area attracted a larger majority of middle-class native-white Americans. 8 The enticement of a scenic home-site and the beneficent climate resulted in many more women moving to the area than in previous frontier settlements. The emphasis on a home-of-one's-own was underscored by the innovative time-payment trust loans devised by the state's lending institutions.9 The California railroads, having created transportation routes before there was a need, induced travel by offering a safe, relatively comfortable means of transportation, and thus allowed a segment of the population, the physically weaker and less adventurous, to avail them- selves of a viable means of traveling tremendous distances to an unknown region. The promotional literature which fueled these booms included accounts by tourists, travelers, residents and other enthusiasts, 5 railroad, immigration and real estate agents, industry representatives and Los Angeles newspapers and magazines. The importance of research­ ing these materials has been underscored by California historian Carey McWilliams, who terms Los Angeles promotional literature a variety of folklore that is deserving of study but has never been thoroughly explored. In this study the terms southern California and Los Angeles will be used interchangeably, since the hundreds of books and pamphlets. written about the area in the three decades with which this thesis is concerned seldom differentiated between the two identifications. Similarly, the terms migrant, immigrant, emigrant and settler were used indiscriminately in the literature of the period and will be con­ sidered interchangeable for the purposes of this thesis. The term

11 boom 11 refers to periods of extremely rapid growth, an apt description for many of the developmental stages of Los Angeles, since its history· after 1868 is frequently traced by historians through its booms. 10 In this thesis, terms that refer to the 11 Selling 11 of Los 'Angeles include advertising, publicity, promotion, boosting and_public relations. These are used interchangeably due to the often covert sponsorship of much of the promotional literature. News articles in Los Angeles papers were often unacknowledged paid advertisements for realty projects and railway land offerings, sometimes for land secretly owned by the publishers. The Southern Pacific had a number of popular writers on its payro 11 , though this was not pub 1i c knowledge, and they produced a flood of books and articles, fiction and nonfiction, praising southern California. Special edition supplements of the Los Angeles 6

Times, such as an annual 12-page New Year's edition, were solely devoted to the sometimes fanciful benefits of life in Los Angeles. Nearly all the promotional literature alluded to the unlimited natural resources (including the dubious claim of ample rainfall in a desert climate), the rapidity of commercial and industrial development and the plethora of opportunities for a better life, while the language used is strikingly similar.11 This thesis is organized so as to trace the development of the major promotional campaigns encouraging immigration to southern California in the years 1885-1915. This introductory chapter is followed by a review of the relevant literature in the fields of California history, public relatioffiand railroad history, as well as specialized areas such as film history and demography. By utilizing sources from diverse disciplines, this study has sought new perspec­ tives in analyzing non-traditional material. Chapter III discusses an interdisciplinary methodology for the study of ephemeral material. Chapter IV investigates the promo­ tional literature's initial emphasis in the 1880s and l890s--the selling of the Los Angeles climate as the panacea for perfect health

and longevity. This \'JaS the theme of the 1iterature of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and it was echoed by the railroads ·as they worked to divert travel in the direction of southern California. Chapter V focuses on the harder sell that began in the 1890s as the promoters realized that, while the tourists and health-seekers spent money, it was more profitable to sell the land to migrants interested in business, farming and other mutually beneficial 7 endeavors. An unprecedented amount of booster brochures, flyers, pamphlets and special promotional enterprises were promulgated by real estate speculators, agents, supporters of the western railroads and the' publisher of the Los Angeles Times, among others. The boom psychology was strengthened by the discovery of new uses and supplies of oil in the Los Angeles area. The booster litera- ture and promotional support generated by the oil interests and the . innovative Sunkist advertising campaign are dealt with in Chapter VI. These campaigns were aimed at well-to-do conservative families with capital to invest, and the public telations methods used reflected this approach. Chapter VII explores the effect Los Angeles had on the fledgling motion picture industry. The fortuitous results included the world 1 s enduring fascination with the mythical Los Angeles portrayed in the films. The final chapter summarizes the research and presents conclusions drawn from studying the promotional methods used to create this legendary city. Suggestions for future research in this pre- viously overlooked area of mass communications research, including areas beyond the scope of this study, are offered. A primary lesson to be learned from this study is that,. in all probability, the climate and the railroad accessibility would not have drawn tourists or settlers to Los Angeles in discernable numbers with­ out the massive public relations campaign conducted by the boosters. The promotional literature that was so pivotal to this demographic phenomenon deserves the attention of journalism historians. 8

CHAPTER I FOOTNOTES

1Illinois Association Pamphlet (n.p., 1886), quoted in Glenn S. Dumke, The Boom of the Ei hties in Southern California (San Marino: Huntington Library, 1970 , p. 205. 2Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream, 1850-1915 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973), p. 126. 3Dumke, Boom, p. 5. 4Ibid., p. 276.

5Frank L. Beach, "The Transformation of California, 1900-1920: The Effects of the Westward Movement on California's Growth and Development in the Progressive Period," Ph.D. dissertation (University of California at Berkeley, 1963), p. 4. 6Ibid., p. 11. 7Robert M. Fogelson, The Fra mented Metro olis: Los An eles~ 1850-1930 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1967 , p. 70. 8 Ibid. , p . 84.

9Beach, .. Transformation, 11 p. 31. 10carey McWilliams, Southern California: An Island on the Land ·(Santa Barbara: Peregrine Smith, Inc., 1973), p. 126. 11 Dumke, Boom, p. 282. CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

We have a tradition which points, indeed, to the vicinity of Los Angeles, the City of the Angels, as the site of the very Paradise, and the graves are actually shown of Adam and Eve, father and mother of men, and (through some error, doubfless, since it is disputed that he died) of the serpent also. California As It Is, 3rd ed. (1882) This study's focus on a non-traditional research area necessitated reviewing the literature of several related disciplines. While there is a plethora of historical materials relating to the boom periods of Los Angeles history, these seldom accord the role of the promotional literature more than a paragraph or two, although it is usually admitted that the image they created was a principal force in attracting people to the region. 2

Placing the promotional literature into context requir~d a survey of historical information in several fields: California, the westward movement, railroad development, public relations, film industry development, and economics. The study of Los Angeles as a final frontier, both of geography and expectation, is covered in a multitude of books in the fields of history, economics, and literature. Several dozen books were consulted with a view to analyzing publicity methods, but only the more valuable ones will be listed.

9 10

Indexes and Guides Cowan's Bibliography of the History of California and the Pacific Coast, 1510-1906, begins with the statement that "a survey made indicates that a complete bibliography would comprehend about

5,000 titles 11 --and this was in 1914.3 Cowan does have a chronological index, a valuable aid. One of the best and most complete bibliog­ raphies is Los Angeles and its Environs in the 20th Century, edited by Doyce B. Nunis, Jr.4 Margaret Miller Rocq's California Local History contains no materials specifically in the areas of advertising, promotion, "booms," or anything similar, but does mention many sources of background material. 5

Guide to Historical Bibliographies, by Edith M. Coulte~ also lists the same sources as those previously mentioned, especially in connection with the major California histories.6 George Butler Griffin's Publications of the Historical Society of Southern California: Documents of the Sutro Collection, contains items from the Spanish· period of Los Angeles history which, while interesting, are not germane to this study. 7 A Study of Graduate Research in California History in California Colleges and Universities by Pamela A. Bleich8 menti·ons several theses and dissertations concerriing tourism, land booms and the impact of the railroads. Of particular value was the research of John Baur, whose doctoral dissertation on the Health Seekers of Southern California deals with the promotional approaches used in the latter part of the 11 nineteenth century. Helpful in providing background information on the promotional planning processes of the citrus growers is Josephine Kingsbury Jacobs' dissertation on "Sunkist Advertising."10 Another very informative helpful dissertation was found in the Sunkist Archives: "History of the California Fruit Growers Exchange: 1893- 1920," by A1 bert J. Meyer. 11 A search of Journalism Abstracts showed only two related theses: "Press Agentry and the Emergence of Daniel Boone as an American Folklore Hero," by Wanda Washington; 12 and "A Study of

Public Relations in the Miami Land Boom of the 1920's, 11 by James Stanton.l3 Only the second proved helpful because it discusses the direct relationship of boosterism and successful boom cycles. Articles in Journalism Quarterly~ 14 in general, do not often touch on public relations issues, and there are no titles listed under the topics of public relations, propaganda, promotion or history. Poole's Index to Periodical Literature,15 however, listed several articles that bear directly on this thesis topic. Contempor­ ary magazines such as Land of Sunshine, Harper's Monthly and Century printed articles praising Los Angeles, with many of the authors being the same book writers mentioned earlier such as Helen Hunt Jackson, Charles Nordhoff and Theodore Van Dyke. A rich source of material is the Historical Society of Southern California Bibliography, compiled by Anna Marie Hager and Everett Gordon Hager. 16 Published in 1958, it contains concise abstracts of all articles published in the California Historical Quarterly to that date. Articles helpful in researching this thesis included a 12

chronological iketch of the activities of the Chamber of Commerce, written on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary. 17 Also relevant were a summarization of the achievements and aevelopment of Los Angeles from 1883 to 1903 by J. M. Guinn~ 8 and an account of the real estate boom of 1885 by Joseph Netz in which he described the lurid and highly improbable a.dvertising which allowed the boom to develop. 19 Another article of interest is an account of the co-founder and publisher of the Wilmington Journal, L. T. Fisher. Fisher, who later started the Santa Monica Outlook, wrote an article on the progress of, as he called it, the "Cow-:Country Capital," in the "Pioneer Register--Pioneers of Los Angeles County." 20

Special Collections The University Research Library at the University of California, Los Angeles, has an extensive collection of railroadiana. Books on the western railroad systems allude to the extravagant use of promotional literature and publicity methods. While there is general agreement as to their effectiveness, these sources provide differing views as to their morality. Sources providing excellent background information on the railroads in southern California are Stories of the Great Railroads, by Charles Edward Russell ,21 and The Story of Western Railroads, by Robert Edgar Riegel. 22 Both present a realistic business assessment of railroad development. The Age of Steam, by Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, presents an interesting analysis of the imperial philosophy of the Southern Pacific Company. 23 13

The University of California, Los Angeles Library also has an excellently organized California Collection. Of particular interest are the promotional materials donated by Carey McWilliams. Other pro­ motional pamphlets and brochures can be found in the chronologically arranged 1600 Collection, one of the few sources so cataloged. Valu­ able background material is to be found in the John R. and Dora Haynes Foundation Collection, also at UCLA. The Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, California houses a vast collection of California materials.· When used for this thesis, however, the majority of the ephemeral material was not cataloged, but stored in numbered boxes. These proved extremely valuable, with several examples of souvenir booklets and advertising posters not found elsewhere. The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, was an excellent source for material on the citrus industry. and the Southern Pacific railroad. The Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles contains a vast amount of material relating to the film industry, including a chronological file of ephemeral material. This must be considered the definitive source for film history research. Other special collections containing primary source material include the Sherman Foundation at Corona Del Mar; the Los Angeles ehamber of Commerce; the Ephemera Collection at the Huntington Library; the Title Guarantee and Trust Company; the State Archives Branch of the Los Angeles County Museum; and the California Room (scrapbooks of clippings and biographical information) at the Los Angeles City Library. 14

Another source of promotional literature can be found in the archives of the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific railroads. However, the Southern Pacific keeps all material in San Francisco, and is not kindly disposed to allowing access. The Santa Fe's collection is in Omaha, and archival material is not released. Other examples of promotional literature may be found in the annual News Year's special issue magazines published by the Los Angeles newspapers. These are a rich source of advertising and provide exam- ples of Chamber of Commerce rhetoric. The Automobile Club of Southern California also provides a source for turn-of-the-century promotional literature. However, much of the early printed ballyhoo has not been retained by historians, and must be located in bookstores or with private collectors. Often these are piled haphazardly in cardboard boxes and are, of course, uncataloged. Interestingly, the British Library in London, England, has a relatively large number of pamphlets, bound together in a book titled Tracts Relating to America~ 1849-93, containing a few·relevant examples of Los Angeles booster literature.

Secondary Sources As previously mentioned, a vast amount of material has .been published about California. Of particular value as a general back­ ground source is John W. Caughey's California. 24 Older histories with more emphasis on the development of Los Angeles are A History of California and an Extended History of Los Angeles and Environs, by James Guinn, 25 and Los Angeles From the Mountains to the Sea, by John Steven McGroarty. 26 15

Particularly useful sources with information relating to the promotion of Los Angeles are Southern California: An Island on the Land, by Carey McWilliams, 27 Americans and the California Dream, by kevin Starr,28 and The Boom of the Eighties in Southern California, by Glenn Dumke. 29 These provide perspective for the role played by the promotional literature in the development of Los Angeles. More information on the connection between the railroads, agriculture and promotion is to be found in books such as Fabulous Boulevard, by Ralph Hancock. 30 Other good secondary accounts of the publicity methods of the era are to be found in such sources as The Herald's History of Los Angeles, by Charles Willard, 31 and Harris Newmark's Sixty Years in Southern California. 32 Los Angeles: From Mission to r~odern City, by Remi Nadeau, is a more recent account (1960) that discusses the correlation between the boom cycles of Los Angeles, railroad develop-. ment and boosterism. 33 Earl Pomeroy's 1957 booK, In Search of the Golden West: The Tourist in Western America, 34 provides a good overview of the expecta- tions and reactions of tourists at the turn of the century. More detailed information on the role played by the Los Angeles Times can be found in Thinking 3ig: The Story of the Los Angele·s Times and Its Influence on Southern California, by Robert Gottlieb and Irene Wolt, 35 whose early chapters are particularly helpful. The contribu~ tions of the Times to the mythoiogy of Los Angeles are also examined in two unpublished dissertations, "The Information Empire: A History of the Los Angeles Times from the Era of Personal Journalism to the 16

Advent of the Multi-Media Communications Corporation," by Jack

Hart;36 and "Otis and His Times 11 by Richard Miller.37 Both are rich sources of material on the wide range of economic interest and the extent of the manipulative efforts of the Otis-Chandler newspaper dynasty. Susan Henry, in her study "Colonial Homen Printer as Prototype: Toward a Model for the Study of Minorities,"38 argues that the newspaper provides an excellent source for social and economic historical research, and provides a further rationale for the use of advertisements to illustrate local customs and economic circumstances, pointing out that they provide concrete data on such topics as transportation, manufacturing, education and entertainment. A valuable source for background information on the use of non-traditional methodology is Lucy Maynard Salmon•s The Newspaper· and the Historian. 39 Particularly helpful is her perspective on the value to the historian of commercial advertising and publicity. She provides strong arguments for their unique qualifications as records of the social order of an era. Another strong argument for the use of non-traditional material is presented by Louis Gottschalk, in 40 Under·standing History. Helpful discussion of the use of published contemporary histories, family biographies, travelers• accounts, stories and reminiscences, newspapers and business records as primary sources is found in Edith M. Coulter•s Guide to Historical Bibliographies. 41 This emphasis is reviewed in depth in Local History, by Donald Dean Parker,42 who also is helpful in suggesting ways of obtaining such material. 17

Additional support for the use of an interdisciplinary approach to historical research is found in The Modern Researcher, by Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff. 43 Barzun and Graff also serve as excellent sources for methodology concerning the collecting and arranging of information for historical research purposes. Fundamental to this thesis is the concept of public relations.· Little has been written about the history of this profession. How­ ever, interesting background material showing the interrelationship between advertising, promotion, press agentry and· public relations can be obtained from several sources: The Engineering of Consent, edited by Edward L. Bernays,44 who is often called the father of public relations; Effective Public Relations, by Scott M. Cutlip and Allen H. Center;45 Public Relations, Principles, Cases and Problems, by Bertrand R. Canfield and H. Frazier ~1oore; 46 and Public Relations and Business, by Alan R. Raucher. Additional information on the role played by public relations in settling the west can be found in E. J. Murphy's The Movement West, Advertising's Impact on the Building of the West and the Years Ahead.

Primary Sources Sources of boom literature may be divided into the key areas of climate, health, land, railroads, and mineral and agricultural interests. Many of the books are similar, such as journalist Charles Nordhoff's California for Health, Pleasure and Residence, 48 Theodore S. Van Dyke's Southern California,49 and Ruth Kedzie Hoods' The 50 Tourist's California. Extravagant praise of Los Angeles and environs is a steady theme. These tourists• or travelers• accounts 18 are described by Dumke as the first advertising to filter into the eastern mind, filling a need to abolish the idea prevalent in the east that southern California was still frontier territory. Other books that serve as excellent examples of the "tourist" genre are Walter Lindley and J. P. Widney•s California of the South, a book for the health-seeker written by two doctors in 1896; 51 California the Wonderful written by Edwin Markham in 1914; 52 Happy Days in Southern California by Frederick Hastings Rindge, 53 and To and Fro in Southern California, by Emma H. Adams. 54 An 1892 book that promotes the California climate, The Mediterranean Shores of America, by Dr. P. C. Remondino, 55 shows very clearly how this emigrant doctor turned local booster regarded the area. Remondino stated that "nature has evidently fitted Sout~ern California meteorology with such a nice self-adjusting regulator that climatic accidents to health cannot occur to you." Examples of books that clearly show their origins are Outdoor Southland of California, by Frederick Roland Miner, 56 a collection of articles that were first printed in the Los Angeles Times; Southern California, by Charles A. Keeler, published by the Passenger Depart­ ment of the Santa Fe Route, Los Angeles, in 1899;57 and La Reina, by Laurance L. Hill, publicity manager of the Security Trust and Savings Bank of Los Angeles, first printed in 1889. 58 The first two describe the idyllic climate and its advantages, as well as the scenery and the natural wonders of the area. La Reina goes into historical detail, mentioning business people and politicians influential in the develop­ ment of Los Angeles. 19

Examples of books that are based on primary source material include t~e Three Came Hest, edited by Helen Raitt and Mary Collier Wayne,59 two cousins who found a trunkful of old letters in an attic.

\ The letters were written by Margaret Collier Graham, her husband Donald, and her sister Eliza Jane Collier, three who traveled to California from Iowa and Illinois in search of health for Donald, who had tuberculosis. The books, pamphlets, brochures and other ephemeral material discussed in the body of this thesis are from several different sources. Other than those previously mentioned in the special col- lections, this material was found in second-hand bookstores. Interest- ingly, a greater variety is available in the eastern half of the United

States. Other sources are the private collections of local st~dents of history, or personal memorbilia. Curators of local historical collections have not in the past considered this material worth retaining. Similarly, the publishing companies of that era which are still in operation have not retained archival files. However, as this thesis shows, in researching non-traditional areas, non-traditional methods of locating relevant material must be devised. Although the sources of background information are numerous and relatively complete in their coverage of the early history 'of Los Angeles, very little attention has been paid to the catalytic promo­ tional literature generated during this era. What this thesis will do is demonstrate the relevance and importance of this previously under- utilized ephemeral material in providing augmentation of existing historical data. 20

CHAPTER II FOOTNOTES

1california as It Is, 3rd ed. (San Francisco: San Francisco Call Co., 1882). Cited in John E. Baur, The Health Seekers of Southern California, 1870-1900 (San Marino: Huntington Library, 1959).

2Frank L. Beach, 11 The Transformation of California, 1900-1920: The Effects of the Hestward Movement on California's Growth and De­ velopment in the Progressive Period 11 (Ph.D. dissertation, University of California at Berkeley, 1963). 3R. Cowan, A Bibliography of the History of California, 2 vols. (San Francisco: John Henry Nash, 1933). 4Doyce B. Nunis Jr., ed., Los Angeles and its Environs in the 20th Century (Los Angeles: Hard Ritchie Press, 1973). 5Margaret Miller Rocq, California Local History: A Biblio­ ra hy and Union List of Library Holdings (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1970 . 6Edith M. Coulter, Guide to Historical Bibliographies (New York: Russell and Russell, 1935; reissued 1965). 7Donald C. Cutter, The California Coast: Documents from the Sutro Collection (originally translated and edited by George Butler Griffin in 1891; bilingual edition Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1969). 8Pamela A. Bleich, A Study of Graduate Research in California History in California Colleges and Universities. 9John Baur, The Health Seekers of Southern California, 1870- 1900 (San Marino: Huntington Library, 1959).

1°Josephine Kingsbury Jacobs, 11 Sunkist Advertising 11 (Ph."D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, 1966). llAlbert J. t~eyer, "History of the California Fruit Growers Exchange, 1893-1920" (Ph.D. dissertation, The Johns Hopkins University, 1950) . 12Handa ~·Jashington, "Press agentry and the emergence of Daniel Boone as an American folklore hero" (M.A. thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1973) (Journalism Abstracts, Vol. 12, 1974). 21

13James Russell Stanton, "A Study of Public Relations in the Miami Land Boom of the 1920s" (M.A. thesis, University of Florida, 1974). . 14Journalism Quarterly Cumulative Index, Vols. 1-40, 1924-1963 Minneapolis: The Association for Education in Journalism, 1964), and Supplement to Vol. 51, No. 2 and Cumulative Index to Vols. 41-50, 1964-73 (1974). 15william F. Poole, Poole•s Index to Periodical Literature (New York: Peter Smith). l6Anna Marie Hager and Everett Gordon Hager, Historical Society of Southern California Biblio ra h (Los Angeles: Historical Society of Southern California, 1958 .

17"Chamber of Commerce Mi 1estones, 11 Hi stori ca 1 Society of Southern California Quarterly, Vol. 30 No. 3, {September 1948):20-22. 18J. M. Guinn, "A Summarization of the Achievements and Progress of the Historical Society at the Celebration of the Twentieth Anniversary," Historical Society of Southern California Annual, Vol. 1, (1903):40-42. 19J6seph Netz, "The Great Los Angeles Real Estate Boom of 1887," Historical Society of Southern California Annual, parts., and 2, (1915-16):64-68. 20 L. T. Fisher, "Pioneer Register--Pioneers of Los Angeles County, .. Historical Society of Southern California Annual, part 2 ( 1904) : 143-7. 2lcharles Edward Russell, Stories of the Great Railroads (Chicago: Charles H. Kerr & Co., 1912). 22Robert Edgar Riegel, The Story of the Western Railroads (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1926). 23Lucius Beebe and Charles Clegg, The Age of Steam {New York: Rinehart and Co., 1957). 24John Walton Caughey, California, a Remarkable State•s Life History (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1970). 25James Guinn, A History of California and an Extended Hist~ry of Los Angeles and Environs (Los Angeles: Historic Record Co., 1915). 26John Steven McGroarty, Los Angeles From the Mountains to the Sea (Chicago: The American Historical Society, 1921). 27carey McWilliams, Southern California: An Island on the Land (Santa Barbara: Peregrine Smith, Inc., 1973). 22

28Kevin Starr, Americans and the California Dream 1850-1915 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1973}. 29Glenn S. Dumke, The Boom of the Eighties in Southern California (San Marino, California: Huntington Library, 1970). ·' 30Ralph Hancock, Fabulous Boulevard (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1949). 3lcharles Willard, The Herald's History of Los Angeles (Los Angeles: Kingsley-Barnes & Neuner Co., 1901}. 32Harris Newmark, Sixty Years in Southern California, 1853- 1913 eds. Maurice H. and Marco R. Newmark (Los Angeles: Zeitlin & Ver Brugge, 1970). 33Remi Nadeau, Los Angeles: From Mission to Modern City (New York: Longmans, Green and Co., Inc., 1960). 34Earl Pomeroy, In Search of the Golden l.Jest: The Tourist in Western America (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957). 35Robert Gottlieb and Irene Wolt, Thinking Big: The Story of the Los Angeles Times (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1977}.

36Jack Hart, 11 The Information Empire: A History of the ·Los Angeles Times from the Era of Personal Journalism to the Advent of· the Multi-Media Communications Corporation 11 (Ph.D. dissertation, Univeristy of Wisconsin, 1975).

37Richard Miller, 11 0tis and His Times 11 (Ph.D. dissertation, University of California at Berkeley, 1961).

38susan Henry, 11 Colonial Women Printers as Prototype: Toward a Model for the Study of Minorities, 11 Journalism History. 3, No._ 1, Spring 1976. 39Lucy Maynard Salmon, The Newspaper and the Historian (New York: Oxford University Press, 1923). 4°Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History (New York: Al'fred A. Knopf, 1950). 41Edith M. Coulter, Guide to Historical Bibliogtaphies (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970). · 42oonald Dean Parker, Local History (New York: Social Science Research Council, 1944). 43Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff, The Modern Researchers, 3rd ed. (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1970). 23

44 Edward L. Bernays, ed., The Engineering of Consent (Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1955). 45scott M. Cutlip and Allen H. Center, Effective Public Relations (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1971). ' 46Bertrand R. Canfield and H. Frazier Moore, Public Relations, Principles, Cases, and Problems (Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, 1973). 47Alan R. Raucher, Public Relations and Business, 1900-29 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins, 1968). 48charles Nordhoff, California: A Book for Travellers and Settlers (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1875). 49Theodore S. Van Dyke, Millionaires of a· Day (New York, n.p. 1890). 50Ruth Kedzie Wood, The Tourist's California (Ne0 York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1915). 51 walter Lindley and J. P. Widney, California of the South (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1896). 52Edwin Markham, California the Wonderful (New York: Hearst's International Library Co., 1914). 53Frederick Hastings Rindge, Happy Days in Southern California (Cambridge, Mass.: By the Author, 1898. 54 Emma H. Adams, To and Fro in Southern California (Cincinnati: W.M.B.C. Press, 1887). 55P. C. Remondino, The Mediterranean Shores of America (Philadelphia: F. A. David Co., 1892). 56 Frederick Roland Miner, Outdoor Southland of California (Los Angeles: Times-Mirror Press, 1923). 57charles A. Keeler, Southern California (Passenger Department, Santa Fe Route, Los Angeles, 1859). 58 Laurance L. Hill, La Reina (Security First National Bank of Los Angeles, 1889; reprinted., 1931). 59Helen Raitt and Mary Collier Wayne, eds., We Three Came West (San Diego: Tofua Press, 1974). . ,,

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

The career of a city contains as much good material of which an entertaining history may be constructed, as does the life of an individual, or the development of a nation.l

The Herald 1 s History of Los Angeles City, Charles Dwight ~Jill ard (1901) This thesis, designed as an historical study, relies on source material concerning the growth and development of Los Angeles during the years 1885-1915. In order to gain an understanding of the condi- tions during that era, secondary sources in the disciplines involved were consulted. These include histories of southern California, the western railroads, advertising and journalism. Although the historical material for this era is extensive, the relationship of promotional material to the social history of Los Angeles has not yet been fully explored. This thesis uses an interdisciplinary approach, combining descriptive analysis and interpretative techniques, in order to explain the cultural context and catalytic role of the extensive promotional materials under study. Much of the promotional literature was culled from collections of California documents in libraries and archives, and other sources such as private collections and bookstore holdings. From all the promotional material collected for analysis, this thesis discusses the literature most representative of both the booster

24 25 intent and persuasive writing style. Material for this study was collected from bookstores in cities mentioned in secondary sources as target areas for this promotional material, such as New York, Chicago, Boston, London, England, and several midwestern and southern cities. Additional primary material was located in major research libraries with substantial collections of Californiana. Particular attention was paid to material generated by the western railroads, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the citrus and oil interests and the Los Angeles Times. Secondary sources note that the advertising literature for Los Angeles was produced in enormous quantities.2 However, since little value was attached to this material at the time it was distrib­ uted, relatively little has been preserved. The problem of selecting representational material for historical research was addressed by Frederick Jackson Turner, who suggested in the 1920s that what was needed was a "broad study in analysis and interpretation of method and results. Here insight into the significance and the ability to grasp rapidly the essential in a mass of evidence would be the test of its worth and method of investigation."3 The use of promotional material and advertising as sources for historical research was approved by Turner in his letter to Har~ard graduate student Fulmer Mood, who had suggested a doctoral dissertation on the literature of frontier promotion to include narratives, guide­ books and booster pamphlets. Turner wrote that a more satisfactory thesis would include "not only the literature of general propaganda and the criticism called out by it, but also practical operations like 26 emigrant agents of states, and railroad colonization, by means of land seeker's excursions, sales and advertisement of railroad lands, etc., state activity in land marketing, etc.'.4 This thesis analyzes and describes selected examples of promotional literature such as this, including pamphlets and brochures prepared by government agencies, railroads, business organizations and other representational writers. The economic and psychological pur­ poses for which they were written and their relationship to the historical events at the time of their production are discussed in the substantive chapters of this thesis. A primary goal of this thesis is to place key promotional developments within historical contexts. This will make it possible to trace the i nterre 1ati onshi ps bet\'Jeen different campaigns and to isolate the historical events which precipitated the campaigns. Thus the contemporary booklets, brochures and pamphlets published by the railroads, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and other agencies for promotional purposes, are organized into loose chronological sequence. 5 This perspective must be established in order to understand the-motiva­ tions of the writers and distributors of the booster literature, as well as to explain the effect of the promotional literature on the readers. Particular attention is paid to the reasons readers were so receptive to Los Angeles promotions, and these reasons are explored in the context of one aspect of Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier theory. He stated in 1893 that the last frontier had been reached. 6 This left California as the last outpost. An interdisciplinary approach is used to provide background for this argument. Support for the interdisciplinary approach to 27

historical research is provided by Jacques Barzun and Henry F. Graff~ ¥Jho state that the historian needs to consider sociology, anthropology and demography as integral parts of history. 7 This thesis, using this perspective, includes analysis of the techniques used to advertise the land and other attributes of southern California. The methodology for this thesis includes discussions of material indicative of the booster psychology. Of primary importance are the publications and articles of the major newspapers of the era~ primarily the Los Angeles Times, which quickly outpaced and outfoxed the Los Angeles Tribune and the Los Angeles Express. Since the role played by the Los Angeles Times so dominated the city•s growth, analysis of this type of newspaper has particular value for historical research of this era.8 Critical evaluation of this data shows the close,rela- ti onshi p betv1een the advertising and editori a 1 content of the Los Angeles newspapers and the financial investment of the publishers. This thesis is supported in this area of reserach by Lucy Maynard Salmon, who suggests that commercial advertising provides a perfect record of the 11 hidden springs of the social order. 119 The advertisement, she argues, aids the historian in reconstructing the past. If the advertisement•s information is true, then the facts it states are of value, and if its statements are false, then that of itself serves as a record of the low moral standards tolerated but not acknowledged by the press and the public. 10 She further explains the importance of researching advertising by pointing out that the commercial advertisement often controls the policy of the periodical press.11 Historians frequently utilize 28 editorial contents of newspapers in order to reconstruct the past, but

Salmon explains that both the 11 authoritative and unauthoritative parts .. are valuable. 12 Advertising, she argues, provides rare evidence about the ambitions, needs, and social standards of the people to whom it is directed. 13 In general, she concludes, the study of the periodical press and its advertising remains the most important single source the historians have at their command for the reconstruction of the life of the past. 14 In addition to advertising materials, this thesis utilizes sources collected and produced by local historians. Included are such materials as published contemporary histories, accounts of travelers, anniversary addresses, stories and reminiscences, local newspapers and periodicals and business records. The importance of these as primary sources is also argued by Edith M. Coulter. 15 A strong argument for incorporating such sources is made by Donald Dean Parker, who stresses that local history focuses on the attitudes and prejudices of people and their influence upon the mental mobility of communities. 16 Parker also argues that such sources as gazeteers, companion handbooks of travel, and emigrants' guides and directories contain revealing information on historical developments. 17 Thus, this thesis also examines such material. Parker also stressed the importance of newspapers and periodicals as primary sources, stating that advertisements of local businesses sometimes provide better revelations of the economic, industrial and social life of an era than the local news. 18 29

This thesis suggests that analysis of a non-traditional source aids in a cohesive dovetailing of local and national history. A review of the promotional literature of Los Angeles shows that it helped create a city that matched the needs of the populace attracted to it. Los Angeles can be thought of as a fabricated city and even the his­ torians of the time were absorbed by the myth of a community that promised to meet the demands of the future. For this reason, contem­ porary histories of southern California often perpetuated the myth, by incorporating premises devised by the promotional writers. By tracing the deve 1opment of the themes in the promotion a 1 1 iterature, it i.s possible to see the corresponding enthusiasm in other accounts of the period. This thesis is organized along lines suggested by Frederick Jackson Turner. In addressing the value of the study of promotional literature, he explained: Masses of evidence would appear, but need not be incorporated or exhausted--rather sampled and appraised and fitted into the larger picture ... with some opportunity also for the exer­ cise of historical skill in organizing and interpreting.l9 The use of such non-traditional sources for historical research entails inevitable risks. Turner explained that part of the risk is the need to prospect and find the color. "Part of it is in the.danger that confronts any pioneer."20 30

CHAPTER III FOOTNOTES

1charles Dwight Willard, The Herald's History of Los Angeles· City (Los Angeles: Kingsley-Barnes & Neuner Co., 1901), preface. 2Glenn S. Dumke, The Boom of the Eighties in Southern California (San Marino, California: Huntington Library, 1970), p. 282. 3Frederick Jackson Turner, quoted in Wilbur R. Jacobs, Frederick Jackson Turner's Le ac (San Marino, California: The Huntington Library, 1965 , p. 234. 4Ibid., p. 235. 5Louis Gottschalk, Understanding History (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1950), p. 52. 6 Jacobs, Turner, p. 235. 7Jacque Barzun and Henry F. Graff, The ~1odern Researcher, 3rd ed. (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1970), p. 204. 8Lucy Maynard Salmon, The Newspaper and the Historian (New York: Oxford University Press, 1923), pp. 62-64. 9 . Ibid. , p. 37 3. 10 Ibid., p. 375. 11 Ibid., p. 21. 12 Ibid., p. xi i. 13Ibid., p. 335. 14 Ibid., p. 491. 15 Edith M. Coulter, Guide to Historical Bibliographies (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1927), p. 3. Historical Bibliographies (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1935; reprinted New York: Russell and Russell, 1965). 16 Donald Dean Parker, Local History (New York: Social Science Research Council, 1944), p. 11. 17 Ibid., p. 42. 31

18Ibid. 19 Jacobs, Turner, p. 235. 20 Ibid., p. 236. CHAPTER IV

THE LEGEND OF LOS ANGELES: The Climate and the Dream If there is one characteristic of this State, of which the true Californian is prouder than another, it is its climate. With his tables of mean temperature and records of cloudless days and gentle sunshine, he is prepared to prove that California has the most glorious climate in the world. Should the rains descend and the floods prevail, or should the heaven become as brass, and neither the former nor the latter rains fall, these climatlc extremes, he excuses on the plea of exceptional years. J. M. Guinn, "Exceptional Years," Address to Historical Society of Southern California, March 4, 1890 The legend of Los Angeles was developed and embellished by ingenious promoters of every variety, using flamboyant scenic guides, scientific health journals, travelogues, and sober industrial prospec-. tuses. Books and pamphlets \'/ere written by tourists, land specula tors, railroad representatives, settlers, doctors promoting health cures, and those with other economic interests. There was no obvious reason for a city such as Los Angeles to develop other than its vast area of fertile soil. It stood in the middle of a desert, without a natural port, without a navigable·river, without a commercial product. It was not on a natural travel route. Nevertheless, the use after 1884 of unprecedented promotional methods by various interests throughout the years magnified and pyramided the legend of Los Angeles. From 1870 on it was kept, in one form or another, an accessible dream.

32 33

First, they sold the climate. And even when other selling points came along, they continued to embellish· this theme. The eli- mate, it was promised, could make even hard work and the arduous ' accumulation of wealth seem pleasurable. Charles Lummis summed it up in a 1916 issue of his magazine

The Mentor. 11 Climate is the greatest asset southern California has, even greater than oi 1 and oranges and gold. In the soft climate 2 people enjoy health and happiness--and they say they do not gro\'1 old. u Climate was trumpeted so flamboyantly that promoter James W. Abbott found it necessary to write, in his 1914 booklet Among Cities Los Angeles is the World's Greatest Wonder--WHY?, "It is true that climate is the primal element and raison d'etre of it all, but because the progress has been so vastly beyond previous experience anywhere, and so difficult to comprehend, there has arisen an almost universal belief that Los Angeles and its associated cities have been evolved out of hot air, as well as balmy air."3

The climatic stage, when sunshine was sold 11 by the fraction of an acre" was handled in a calm and business-like manner. Los Angeles exported its glamour and made money out of it. The boosters of Los Angeles and the early motion picture producers who followed were similar in that each was working in a mist of make-believe. 4 Of all the phenomena attributed to southern California by its promoters, climate was the easiest to sell. In a four-page pamphlet sent around the world in 1899 the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce maintained that 11 decidedly the chief attraction of Southern California is its climate. This is the feature that brings three quarters of the 5 eastern visitors to Southern Ca 1 iforni a. " 34

Climate was usually the first virtue listed in booster publications about southern California. This was evident in every type of promotional 1 iterature. As Kate Sanborn wrote in A Truthful Woman in Southern California, an 1893 guide meant for the female traveler, 11 Climate ... spell it with a capital, and then try to think of an adjective worthy to precede it. Glorious! Delicious! Incomparable! Paradisaical!!! 116 Southern California was a land where

11 anything unpleasant, from a seismic disturbance to musquitos [sic] in

March is 'exceptional' and surprising ... Thus 11 aside from these draw- backs and dust in summer, all else is perfection except that the weather is so uniformly glorious that there is seldom a day when one is willing to stay at home. 117 She insisted, ironically, that she was giving California 11 en verdad. There has been too much bragging from the settlers. 118 Special booster newspapers, such as an 1888 edition of The Southern California Bulletin, published in Boston, stressed the virtues of the climate for the settler. After citing all the dangerous and often fatal (both to the settler and his pocketbook) conditions of previous Western immigration, the Bulletin boasted that: The same family can by continuing the journey four days enter upon a land where blizzards and cyclones are unknown, and snow is never seen except upon the higher peaks of the glorious mountains ... Having chosen land where there is water for irrigation, the settler's task is comparatively a light and easy one ... Herein lies one of the great reasons for the superior healthfulness of the California climate. In the long years of the past, before the winter's rain began, the previous year's vegetation had dried up and fallen to the earth in powder, and when the soil is now upturned there are no impris~ned malarial gases to be set free, as there are in the East. ,.

35

The owners of the hotels, as well as the railroads, had strong reasons for promoting tourism. Typical of the brochures designed to lure the easterner to Los Angeles was A Winter in California for the Season of 1887-88, prepared by the travel office of W. Raymond and I. A. Whitcomb, \'lho owned a hate l in East Pasadena. Raymond • s brochure reiterated the theme that the climate promoted health as well as enjoy­ ment; "That the climate of California is more healthful than that of . Florida, has been established on the testimony of many eminent physi­ cians; and the freedom of the Pacific Coast cities from disease also proves that it possesses advantages over the Mediterranean coast resorts ... l 0 Companion pieces to the Raymond excursion booklets were brochures describing the hotel. One, printed in Boston and dis~ributed in Britain before the hotel opened (October 30, 1886), quoted the British vice-consul's official report to his government: "[in Los Angeles] the climate is superior to that of the south of France and Italy, its superiority consisting in its equableness and dryness}'ll Walter Raymond had reason to work closely with the various booster interests. The land for the Raymond Hotel in Pasadena was conveniently located on what became the main line of the Santa Fe . Rai h1ay. The railway donated the site for the new hotel and the town donated the v;ater. In other booster 1 iterature intended for Great Britain, Raymond's writers continued to use the promotional technique of presenting testimonials by credible sources. The pamphlet,

California--Its Climate and Prospects for Emigrants~ published in London, c. 1887, included an excerpt from the Evening Dispatch of 36

Edinburgh, Scotland, July 8, 1887, which quoted Vice-Consul Mortimer as explaining "Among Californian blessings the chief is a healthy cli­ mate, and the healthiest and most delightful part in the Golden State is the neighborhood of Los Angeles."12 Material circulated by the boosters was not necessarily limited to facts. To support the claim that the Los Angeles area was the per­ fect place, the desert-like conditions were not mentioned. In fact, posters in the eas't and in Europe showed gaily decorated excursion steamers plying up and down the Los Angeles River~ 13 This was the river that Harry Carr, who had been a reporter for the Los Angeles Evening Express, described in his book City of Dreams as "so dry eight months out of the year that a pollywog would have to stand on his head to get enough moisture to soothe a headache."14 Typical of the emigrants of that time attracted by booster· information, Carr had moved to Los Angeles when his father caught "California fever. It spread through the quiet old streets [in Iovva] like a panic."15 Families would move to California and write back, "spreading the infection." Carr's father had written the Chamber of Commerce in Los Angeles asking what the prospects might be for la\'tyers, and received glowing letters of enthusiasm. Taking note of Raymond-Whitcomb excursion brochures, the family took the train, "which had special cars for emigrants. Back in one end of each Pullman car was a stove where the mothers of the flitting families could cook coffee." The well-publicized excursions, Carr wrote, "started people across the continent in herds."16 A little book called California Cornocupia, published in 1883, demonstrates the extravagant phrases used. The author claimed that 37 the "air is so clear that with the naked eye one can count the windows of a house twenty miles away," and the air was so dry that "meat is cured by merely slicing and hanging in the sun."17 A different promotional tactic was expressed in a booklet which claimed to be written "by historians." The climate would allow the supreme development of the human race, they stated: The isothermal actuation existing where man had attained to, and maintained the highest moral, intellectual and commercial attitutes, will enable man to do the same thing ... The mean temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit characterized the regions of Babalon [sic] Athens, Sparta, Rome and other eastern cities where thought conceptions stand preeminent among mankind. Coming to our own continent, the isothermal line of 60 degrees mean temperature, beginning near New York, extends west through Philadelphia, St. Louis, Kansas City to Los Angeles. This mean temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit, wherein the human race reaches and maintains the highest development, may account, to some ~xtenta for the phenomenal growth of Los Angeles and surround1ngs. The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, revived in 1888 to keep the land boom from waning, believed that Los Angeles possessed no industrial future due to lack of fuel sources. As a result it con- centrated on attracting tourists and farmers. Seeking something to propagandize, they found a magic word, climate. 19 Advertising historian Paul Deresco Augsburg quoted the Chamber as saying: "It's about all we've got--that and the orchard land--but we'll make all the noise we can about it. "20 This one word, elaborated and ill us- trated and eulogized and super-press-agented, was hurled at the world in thousands of magazines and newspapers and pamphlets until both hemispheres accepted as a settled fact that climate was the exclusive . 21 proper t y o f Los Ange 1es an d env1rons. 38

In an 1899 publication written with a heavy-handed approach, Climate and Health, the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce wrote: Decidedly the chief attraction of Southern California is its climate--but not all California is alike--take for instance, an August afternoon in San Francisco, and at Indio, in the Colorado desert. In the former place, the inhabitants will be found attired in heavy overcoats and sealskin \'/raps, or seated around large, open coal fires; at the latter, a thin shirt and overalls are too warm for comfort. Los Angeles occupies a happy position between these two extremes.22 Lest someone worry about other months than August, the booklet con­ cluded, .. Southern California affords more perfect.days during the year for outdoor life, winter and summer, than any other place in the 23 country. n One of the projects of the Chamber was helping the news media by providing information. In 1892, when 300 members of the National Editorial Association visited Los Angeles, they were supplied with all kinds of pamphlets and statistics, and each editor was given a 1500- word news story, written in the first person. Few of the editors bothered to rewrite it, and it appeared practically unchanged in 250 :eastern papers, in effect, an example of the Los Angeles mythology at work. The articles reported that the climate was bright and beautiful, the most delightful climate in the world, but that particular day it was 100 degrees, the hottest April day Los Angeles had experienced in 29 years. 24 Each of the town's three surviving newspapers, led by the Times, printed special editions pointing out the incomparable glories of southern California. In December, 1888, 10,000 copies of the special edition newspapers vJere mailed throughout the middle west--many of the names obtained from professional 11 sucker lists. 11 These were followed 39 almost immediately by 10,000 copies of the Chamber of Commerce's first piece of literature, a pamphlet of 36 pages, rhetorically entitled: 11 Facts and Figures about Los Angeles City and County ... Full of extrav- agant phrases, it linked together oranges, lemons, sunshine, angels, the Creator, mountains, sea, cheap land, and profits of a thousand dollars an acre. 25 The tourist's role in boosting the west was twofold. Not only did tourists visit southern California, attracted by the booster lit- erature and travel books, they were often enticed into staying by many of the same selling points and, in turn, became boosters too. His- torian Earl Pomeroy wrote in his 1957 book In Search of the Golden West: The tourist may be short on information ... but long on the kinds of misinformation on which the West has grown. He can tell us not only something about what the West was, but much about what it wanted to be and pretended to be, and about what he thought it was ... he and his dreams were a part of the West.26 Typical of the brochures promoting tourism was the previously mentioned A ~~inter in California prepared by the travel office of

W. Raymond and I. A. ~·lhi tcomb. These two active promoters profited by pioneering dining cars and other conveniences, which brought thousands of tourists and possible emigrants to southern California. Raymond's booklets, after mentioning the convenience of rail travel, extravagantly praised the southern California climate: 11 The claim is well substantiated that during the 'rainy season' in California there are more cloudless days than the section east of the Mississippi can boast of in the whole year. 11 27 40

The booklet also claimed: There is a steady tone in the atmosphere, like draughts of champagne or the subtle presence of iron. It invites to labor, and makes it possible. Horses can travel more miles here in a day than at the E~st, and men and women feel impelled to an unusual activity. 8 In an 1890 excursion pamphlet, published by Raymond and Whitcomb for the Society of California Pioneers of New England, a most "luxurious" trip was planned to show the comparative ease of railway travel now available to those who remembered the "tedious voyages 'around the Horn,' the Isthmus journey, and the long and dangerous transit by oxteam."29 The object of the trip was "the California of 1890, one of the greatest health and pleasure resorts of the world,"30 a slight exaggeration at that time. The promoters of Los Angeles eventually realized that attrac- ting tourists and health-seekers, while profitable, was not as economi- cally feasible as selling the land to settlers and business interests. A new theme then became evident in the promotional literature, though it was primarily based on the fortuitous climate. Remembering Nordhoff's admonition, "beware the curse of California--idleness and unthrift--to which no doubt the mild climate predisposes men, 1131 the promoters sought only the industrious and ambitious emigrant. The California Immigration Association set the tone when it printed in its map folder of 1885: The new settler who deserves success begins at bed-rock, keeps out of debt, buys as little as he can, wears his-01d clothes, works early and late, plants trees and vines for the future, leaves whisky alone, and has a definite aim and plan in life. Such a man can come to California with a small capital .... Those who are content to work and be patient here will find the reward sure and ample. Is it not worth while to have a home in a land where there are no violent extremes of heat 41

and cold, and where the farmer can work in comfort every month of the year?32

They thriftily added at the bottom of the page, 11 After you have read this paper, hand it to some friend ... 33 Other promotional material hammered at the same theme. A booklet called Profitable Reality, published for and in the interest of 11 Homeseekers, Fruit Growers and Ranchers, 11 touted. the splendid opportunities for men and women in 11 the choicest spot on earth-- Southern California, Land of Sunshine, promoter of good health, and beneficient Goddess of Profit-making ... 34 Stressing the value of thrifty investment, the brochure added: 11 The effort and self-denial necessary in paying for your home will make you a stronger man ...

The last page of this similarly requested, 11 Send [this] toyour friends 35 back East IT •S FREE. n What southern California had to offer the emigrants who arrived in railroad cars instead of prairie schooners was according to Charles Lummis, 11 the promise of being able to build fine houses instead of log shanties, and planting flowers and lawn grass before 36 they planted potatoes and seed corn. n It was this message that Lummis and his fellow promoters held out to prospective settlers. While the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce aimed its campaign primarily towards business people and the Southern Pacific directed its towards the reliable farmer, both sought tourists. But the over­ riding lure, as it had been for the health seekers, was the climate. Historian W. W. Robinson in 1968 stated that because of this continued and unprecedented barrage of publicity, the United States would always remember that good climate and soils were available in 42 the southwestern corner of the country, and that southern California deserved its reputation as a 11 booster, a boaster and a user of extravagant language. 11 37 The effects of the combined promotional efforts of the town, railroad and commercial interests were startling. Relatively few railroad passengers had been interested in the southern half of California before 1883, when the Santa Fe broke the Southern Pacific monopoly. Shortly after, the Southern Pacific itself began through service to the area via the 11 Sunset Route. 11 One of the reasons the railroad began boosting this so strongly was that the company's profits were greater on the long haul by way of New Orleans than on the shorter overland route by way of Ogden, Utah. 39 As a result Los Angeles became a hotbed of real estate speculation not equalled until the Flor-ida boom of the 1920s. Promoters, settlers and tourists attracted each othe~, pyramiding the promotional effect.40 The Los Angeles Times encouraged this in an 1889 Annual Trade

Number back page item entitled 11 0ne Hundred Citizens. 11 The article advised readers: ~~~~hat can they do? They can, by each buying 100 copies of the Annual Trade Number, at a cost of only $8, effect a total circulation in this way of 10,000 copies, sending the papers to . 41 all parts of the Union, and even to New Jersey. 11 Perhaps Ralph Hancock said it best, in The Fabulous Boulevard: It must be the climate. It is unquestionably the climate that figures most in everything said about California. Certainly it is the biggest fact of life in Southern California where it is sold throughout the year to the public of the country in doses. Climate is a profitable business, and it always has been. It brings in dollars--lots of them.42 43

Another view was offered by Paul Deresco Augsburg, who wrote in a 1922 article in the Dearborn, Michigan, Independent: Take a flock of climate, a few good-looking oranges, a sleepy pueblo of old Mission days, a Chamber of Commerce and a large quantity of advertising; ... and what do you get? The answer is Los Angeles, the Topsy of all the cities, the horn­ tootingest town in the world, the municipality which adver­ tised itself into a population of 775,000.43 The coordinated effort to sell the climate of Los Angeles began in response to an economic slowdown in 1887. A combination of events, including a change in the weather patterns, an increase in caution on the part of the local banks in their real estate trans- actions, and a decline in the number of tourists brought the growth of the city to a standstill by 1888. Without much industry to speak of, and few pleasantries beside the weather and the agricultural opportunities, the promotionally-minded citizens decided to sell the climate. Through the use of strategically written promotional material, newspaper copy that made each new real estate development sound like paradise and a steady barrage of tourist and travel guides, the climate was sold. The effect of this literature, v1hich promised a nation a pleasurable life, marked a turn away from the puritan work ethic that had dominated American history in the preceding decades. The fact that the approach fabricated by the Los Angeles boosters was so effective proved that it had, perhaps inadvertently, hit a national nerve. 44

CHAPTER IV FOOTNOTES

1J. tvl. Guinn, 11 Exceptional Years, 11 Address to Historical Societ of Southern California, in Historical Societ of Southern California, 1890 Los Angeles: Evening Press Co., 1890 , p. 33.

2charles F. Lummis, 11 Department of Travel, .. The Mentor, 15 December 1916. 3James W. Abbott, Amon Cities Los Greatest Wonder--WHY? (Los -7~~~~~~-=~--~~~----~---Angeles: Cadmus 4R. Duffus, Queen Califia's Island (New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 1965), pp. 121-123. 5Climate and Health In Los An eles Count and Southern California Los Angeles: Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, January 1899). 6Kate Sanborn, A Truthful Woman in Southern California (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1893), p. 66. 7 Ibid., p. 70. 8Ibid., p. 184. 911 No Hardship in Southern California Pioneering, .. The Southern California Bulletin, May 1888, p. 2.

10w. Raymond and I. A. vJhitcomb, A Winter in California (Boston: James S. Adams, 1887) , p. 14. 11 w. Raymond and C. H. Merrill, The Raymond (Boston: James S. Adams, 1886), p. 1. Raymond was quoting from an extract from Vice­ Consul Mortimer's Report of the Trade of California for 1886, included in California--Its Climate and Prospects for Emigrants in London, British Museum, Tracts Relating to America: 1849-93. 12 Earl Spencer Pomeroy, In Search of the Golden Hest (New York: Knopf, 1957), p. 26. 13california--Its Climate, p. 6. 14Harry Carr, City of Dreams (New York: D. Appleton-Century Company, 1935), p. 145. -- __ .._ ,-

45

15Ibid., p. 323. 16 Ibid., pp. 127-135. 17california Cornocupia (n.p.: 1883), p. 12. _Included in (ondon, British Museum, Tracts Relating to America: 1849~93. 18Atchison and Eshelman, Los Angeles Then and Now (Los Angeles: Geo. Rice & Sons, 1897), p. 26. (Despite efforts of the Huntington Library research staff, no first names have been obtainable for the authors.) 19 Paul Deresco Augsburg, 11 Advertising Did It! 11 Dearborn: Dearborn Independent, 25 November 1922, reprinted as pamphlet (n.p.: W. P. Jeffries Co., 1922), p. 4. 20 Ibid. 21 Ibid. 22Climate and Health (Los Angeles: Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, 1899) . 23 Ibid. 24Morrow Mayo, Los Angeles (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1933), p. 90. 25 I bid. 26 Earl Spencer Pomeroy, In Search of the Golden West: The Tourist in Western America (New York: Knopf, 1957), p. 595. 27 Raymond and Whitcomb, ~linter, pp. 13-14. 28 Ibid., p. 52. 29Grand Excursion to California of the Societ of California Pioneers of Nev1 England Boston: American Printing and Engraving Co., 1890)' p. 5. 30 Ibid. 31 charles Nordhoff, California: A Book for Travellers and Settlers (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1875), p. 181. 32Map of the State of California. (San Francisco: Immigration Association of California, c. 1885). 33 Ibid .

. i 46

34Profitable Realty (Los Angeles: City of Los Angeles, n.d.). 35 Ibid. 36Pomeroy, Search, p. 41. 37w. W. Robinson, Los Angeles: A Profile (Norman, Oklahoma: Oklahoma Press, 1968), p. 115. 38carey McWilliams, Southern California Country (New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1946), p. 157. Beach Transmigration, p. 62. 39 Pomeroy, Search, p. 19. 40 Ibid., p. 25. 41 Los Angeles Times Annual Trade Number, 1 January 1889, p. 49. 42 Hancock, Boulevard, p. 6.

43Augsburg, 11 Advertising, 11 p. 1. CHAPTER V

THE SELLING OF LOS ANGELES: The Chamber, the Colonel and the Railroads But what similes can we employ to describe the sad lot of a man who never knew southern California? His life is as un­ comfortable1as is a man's position when impaled upon a barbed­ wire fence. Frederick H. Rindge, Happy Days in Southern California, 1898 In analyzing the components that produced the rapid growth of southern California after 1880, promoter James Abbott wrote in 1914, 11 next to climate come the railroads. 112 The convenience of the railroads brought great numbers of people of solid financial backgrounds, most of them provided with money for investment, and most of them lured west by the aggressive promotional campaign launched by the railroads. The building of the first railway by the Southern Pacific, above all other factors, caused Los Angeles' population to increase 100 percent, and the building of a second, the Santa Fe, caused the increased number to multiple 500 percent--a total advance from 5,000 people to over 100,000 in 20 years-- 11 a marvel that no one could be expected to foresee, 11 wrote historian and journalist Charles Dwight Willard in 1899. 3 Changes in the migration patterns after 1900 showed an equal mix of men and women, with 80 percent of the migrants under 45 years

47 48 of age. This change, attributable to the convenience of the railroad travel, allowed a greater percentage of the migrant population to move directly into the state's labor force, and participate in both its politics and society.4 Sta tis ti ca lly, the southern counties shovJed a rate of popul a­ tion increase from 1880-1890 of eight times the state average. In the decade from 1900 to 1910, the rate of increase was four times greater than the state average. Most of the increase took place in one county--Los Angeles. 5 In constructing its various lines throughout southern California, the Santa Fe company had come into ownership of consider­ able land, and it was interested--as were some of its leading officials--in many townsites and development enterprises along the route.6 The railroads' management believed that settlement of the vacant lands was needed to produce freight along the line to provide cargo for trains returning east. The policy of the railway was to put passenger rates as low as practicable and a rate v1ar between the Santa Fe and the Southern Pacific proved a highly successful promotional method. Before the Santa Fe provided competition, the Southern Pacific had not given Los Angeles special attention.7 The Southern Pacific's extensive advertising campaign in the east and in Europe served to bring in eager tourists and immigrants, intensifying the magic of souther·n California. Therefore, when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe completed its line to southern California, and aimed its promotional campaign at farmers, merchants and the 49 restless, they were primed to travel west. Journalists and historians Robert Kirsch and WilliamS. Murphy wrote that the midwesterners read the handbills and literature distributed by the railroads and visions of orange groves and abundant harvests uprooted entire midwestern commum"t" 1 es. 8 The Southern Pacific advertised that southern California was a rich field for home seekers and pioneers, a place where valuable land could be acquired for almost nothing. 9 The railroad could pro- mote this land at competitive prices as the result of the hard bargain it had driven in the first place. When the railroad reached the northern edge of the southland, it made its demands upon Los Angeles. It wanted, in addition to the usual right of way and alternate land sections, 60 acres in the middle of the city for a depot, plus the small railroad which the county had built out to the harbor of San Pedro, on the Pacific coastline. The railroad also wanted a cash sum · representing five percent of the county's assessed valuation; otherwise its tracks would go 65 miles east to San Bernardino. After cursing the railroad for a year, the county gave in. 10 The Santa Fe finally broke the Southern Pacific's monopoly into Los Angeles in the spring of 1886, and a falling out between the two railroads brought on a rate war, publicized as disastrous to those companies but productive and of great benefit to Los Angeles. 11 Round- trip tickets from points as far east as the Missouri River were ham- mered down to $15. A Southern Pacific agent in Los Angeles established a tourist rate of just one dollar and though this was in effect for a very few days, it is credited in most historical accounts as 49

restless, they \•Jere primed to travel west. Journalists and historians ·Robert Kirsch and WilliamS. Murphy wrote that the midwesterners read the handbills and literature distributed by the railroads and visions of orange groves and abundant harvests uprooted entire midwestern

corrnnum•t• 1 es. 8 The Southern Pacific advertised that southern California was a rich field for home seekers and pioneers, a place where valuable land could be acquired for almost nothing. 9 The railroad could pro­ mote this land at competitive prices as the result of the hard bargain it had driven in the first place. When the railroad reached the northern edge of the southland, it made its demands upon Los Angeles. It wanted, in addition to the usual right of way and alternate land sections, 60 acres in the middle of the city for a depot, plus the sma 11 rail road which the county had built out to the harbor of San Pedro, on the Pacific coastline. The railroad also wanted a cash sum· representing five percent of the county's assessed valuation; otherwise its tracks would go 65 miles east to San Bernardino. After cursing the railroad for a year, the county gave in. 10 The Santa Fe finally broke the Southern Pacific's monopoly into Los Angeles in the spring of 1886, and a falling out between the tv/0 railroads brought on a rate war, publicized as disastrous to those companies but productive and of great benefit to Los Angeles. 11 Round- trip tickets from points as far east as the Missouri River were ham- mered down to $15. A Southern Pacific agent in Los Angeles established a tourist rate of just one dollar and though this was in effect for a very few days, it is credited in most historical accounts as 50 psychologically encouraging thousands of Easterners to visit the coast. Many sacrificed their return tickets and settled there.12 Skeptics have pointed out that the fare stayed at $1 for only one day, 13 and vJas solely a gimmick. Additional encouragement v1as given by arranging for the return ticket 1 s price to be accepted as down payment on railroad lands. In fact, the question of motive has been raised: were the Southern Pacific and the Santa Fe railroads bitterly com­ peting, or did they have a tacit agreement to cut rates to the bone and open up southern California and the intervening country. Both railroads are evasive about the matter even today. The owners and directors of both railroads owned thousands of acres of land in southern California and v1ere interested in many proposed development enterprises. They hoped to create communities on vacant lands traversed by their tracks, to increase the value of their own private property, and to produce freight ~nd passenger traffic--an attitude that proved extremely beneficial to the fledgling Los Angeles. 14 The Southern Pacific railroad had been the dream of five men-- engineer Theodore D. Judah, Collis Potter Huntington, Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker, and Leland Stanford. All men of moderate means in the early 1860s, they fulfilled their dream with financial aid more generous than any previously offered by Congress, through the Pacific Railroad Act of 1862. A 1971 memorandum of the Southern Pacific Public Relations Department cited, as justification for the railroad's profiteering, historian Bancroft's contention that it would be churlish not to admire the result. 51

It is a boon to the state that, even in self-preservation, the Southern Pacific, after choosing a route through the richest unsettled lands in the southern counties, should seek to promote immigration to those sections, and should construct tributary roads t9 develop their resources and create business for itself. 5 The Southern Pacific memo, in defense of its land acquisition, explained that under the Land Grant Acts, the commonly held assumption that the grants were pure subsidies or gifts to the railroad is a misconception. They were part of a contract by the government and the railroads, for which the government received valuable consideration in the form of transporting government troops and all government property used for military purposes for one-half the standard rates, among other considerations. These unique arrangements, the railroad claimed, were responsible for the transformation of the west. Thus, federal loans and land grants made it possible to do what never had been done before: build railroads and provide transportation ahead of settlement.16 This necessitated the quick attraction of settlers. There were t\vo distinct phases of the resulting "boom, 11 the first a develop- ment and the second a craze. The sudden influx of population brought on by a railway war, and a steady barrage of promotional literature resulted in the arrival of great numbers of people of a good industrial class, most of them provided with some money for investment. This led to a rapid increase in real estate values, and stimulated building and the general development of the resources of the country. 17 Under­ standably, the Southern Pacific has called California "the focal point of the greatest human migration in the history of the world."18 52

The Pacific Tourist, an 1884 publication, boasted that the Southern Pacific was the greatest railroad enterprise of the Pacific Coast. By it the whole transcontinental traffic must be performed for years to come, and the difficulties encountered, the country opened, the wealth developed, and the wonders and curiosities of nature made accessible--all are marvelous . It was built without the aid of government bonds when railway contract~rs in the East were idle and railway shops were silent. The book was an account of early rail travel put together by more than 40 artists, engravers, and correspondents at the cost of $20,000. The publisher's note states that it was the costliest and handsomest guide book in the world. 20 Typical of the railroads' promotional literature was the booklet, The Golden State, copyrighted in 1903 by John Sebastian, a Southern Pacific traffic manager for the Rock Island System. Sub- titled "A Gratuitous Guide," it stated that "for the last four or five years, the railroads leading to the Pacific Coast have exploited its attl~actions in a systematic fashion ... 21 The 1903 edition directed its approach to the visitor and possible settler. The tourist does not need to be told to go to Los Angeles. He wi 11 go there anyway, partly because it is the southern metropolis of the state, partly because it is the principal center of winter pleasure travel, is charming in itself, and charming in its easily reached surroundings . So widely has its resident population been recruited from the Eastern states that among its 150,000 inhabitants are almost sure to be found former friends and neighbors. For Los Angeles is essentially a city of homes, and hundreds coming yearly from the East to take up their residence in Southern California prefer to do so where, in addition to perpetual summer, they can enjoy all the advantages of city life.22 53

Hm•Jever, in the 1907 version reprinted by the railroad, Sebastian aimed for a different audience. California is of such tremendous importance in the new geography of the world ... not because of its gold, or of its orange groves, or of its climate, but on account of its commanding position as America•s Oriental Gateway. 23 Admonishing its readers to "go west, young men, and be wise, for in California there is the reveille of the coming day," 24 the 1907 booklet presented a business-oriented approach. After the opening pitch, however, the rest of the copy was the same, outlining tourist attractions, railroad-sponsored hotels, and the wonders of the climate, reflecting the booster•s post-1900 emphasis on attracting business­ oriented settlers. Despite problems caused by a public outcry for reforms and a demand that the federal government control monopolies, the Southern Pacific Company continued with its massive promotional efforts. Increasing government investigations, and an 1894 pamphlet, The Octopus--A History of the Construction, Conspiracies, Extortions, Robberies and Villainous Acts of the Central Pacific, Southern Pacific and Other Subsidized Railroads, written by John Robinson, aroused public indignation. The title was the inspiration for Frank Norris• 1901 book, The Octopus, 25 which further inflamed public sentiment against the 11 trust of transportation."26 Nevertheless, in 1898, the Southern Pacific founded Sunset, a magazine whose purpose was to promote and glorify the West in an effort to persuade Easterners to visit and colonize the still thinly settled region served by the railroad. This aim v.Jas stated in the first issue in May 1898. 27 Between 1909-1913, just before it was sold to private 54 interests, Sunset conducted a major community publicity campaign under which counties and municipalities joined the Sunset Magazine Home­ seekers Bureau in issuing thousands of promotional booklets. These were distributed by the railroad, Chambers of Commerce, boards of trade, county supervisors, and others. 28 Other booster activities sponsored by the Southern Pacific were exhibits in major fairs and trade shows, including those held in European capitals, such as the Paris Fair of 1900 and an exhibit in the Royal Galleries of London in 1910. The Southern Pacific was the first American railroad to have representation in the city of London, and their agents encouraged passengers to buy tickets directly to California, offering a package ticket with steamship lines crossing the Atlantic.29 Also seeking European immigrants was the California Emigration Society. An 1890s poster read: Do you want to go to California: If so, go and join the Company going ... under the charge of the California Emigration Society, in a first-rate Clipper Ship. The Society agreeing to finS places for all those who wish it upon their arrival.3 Between 1910 and 1918, a staff of Southern Pacific lecturers toured the middle west and east and parts of Europe, telling of the attractions of the west and the opportunities for colonists and set­ tlers. As a rule, the lectures did not include direct advertisement for Southern Pacific. 31 The incentive for the Southern Pacific's continued promotion, until 1900, was largely Henry Huntington's, one of the original founders. He believed that Los Angeles was destined to become the most important city in the country because of its proximity to the 55

Pacific. Asia, he felt, would provide a steady market for the produce "f . of C a l 1 orma. 32 In the August 1885 Los Angeles Express, an editorial spoke highly of the Sunset Route and its effectiveness in its good work of immigration and development. This stream of new blood passes along the main artery through Los Angeles ... and here, many of the new Argonauts will take up their abodes. It will be like those famous Greek wanderers of old who found the Lotus Land. Once here they will find no enticement sufficient to cause a resumption of their wanderings.33 . The only way to stop the growth of Los Angeles was to kill the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. William Mulholland, 1907 The railroads were enthusiastically welcomed by the business interests of Los Angeles. The first Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce was organized in 1873 primarily to conduct a fight to bring the Southern Pacific line through Los Angeles instead of San Diego. 35 The membership included such promotionally-minded men as Harris Ne\'lllla rk and Robert M. Wi dney, a former Southern Pacific agent. These growth-minded business people persuaded the county of Los Angeles to offer $602,000 in bonds, plus the already operating railroad lines from the city to the harbor of San Pedro. 36 Widney has been called the first of the California land boomers because as early as 1868,

\<'Jhile employed by the railroad, he had prepared circulars and maps for new imnigrants that were mailed throughout the United States and Europe. 37 This first Chamber died of disinterest during the business slump of 1877. 38 Its existence was often ignored in the historical 56

literature of Los Angeles. In Know Los Angeles County, a 1939 booklet published by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors under the direction of the Chamber of Commerce, 1888 was mentioned as the year in which the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce vJas founded. Due to its

11 constructive literature extolling the climate and the tourist attrac­ tions," the general depression ended, the booklet boasted. 39 The Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, brought back to life in 1888 at an emergency meeting by motion of Times publisher Harrison Gray Otis (as mentioned in chapter IV) was for years the most active organization of its kind in the nation. The Chamber, having only a limited number of verifiable assets to offer, often invented advantages for the city. 40 Frank vJiggins, a full-time self-proclaimed booster, was put in charge of the publicity for the Chamber. Totally dedicated, he had come to southern California in ill health and recovered, he believed, due to the 11 invigorating 11 climate. His efforts were so prodigious that many historia~credit him with acquainting the rest of the nation with the advantages of living in the southland. 41 While his output of promotional literature, under the aegis of the Chamber of Commerce, was prodigious, other historians credit Charles Nordhoff's travel book with greater impact, as previously mentioned in this study. 42 The resurgence in boosterism was brought on by an unfortunate turn of events in Los Angeles after 1886. The climate, which had been on its best behavior through the real estate boom, included floods, heat, and wind storms. Bet\11een 1886 and 1888, two slight earthquakes, the first in years, contributed to the rapid drop in property assessments.43 - ___L

57

A revised promotion was proposed by the officials of the Santa Fe Raiiroad to the desperate business people and bcnkers of Los Angeles. They suggested a "frank) expensive, concer'ted, immedi- ate effort to lure into the section a host of steady, industrious,

·intelligent dirt farmers from the fV1idd1e \!Jest. 1144 The president of the railroad, H. B. Stroage, Esq., received a rapid respor.se from the

Chamber, who suggested that 11 a chief des i der·atum to induce immi gt'at ion i~, cheap lands. 11 The Chamber further suggested that it print c. l-ist of remaining available land and dist1·ibute several thousand copies to "refute the claim made by unscrupulous parties that there are no cheap lands in Los Angeles county. 11 45 They \\'ere r'eferring to the nationa·i press. whose accounts of the boom, they felt, gave that impression.

The i~su1ting 1889 circular did not mince words. Systematic and presistent misrepresentation of this city have been indulged in by non-residents in order to stop the heavy immigrat·io!'l to this country. The "Busted Bcom 11 has been the theme of all the stories. Notwithstanding these continuous assaults,Los Angeles has built herself into an elegant city. The banks held steady .... We now have a population of 75,000 intelligent, energetic~ wide awake people, who have confidence in the future of Los Angeles.46 The Santa Fe returned the compliment, distributing a one-page reprint of the Chamber of Commerce pamphle;., under the railroad 1 S

·imprint. It explained: 11 NO p·lace has made such vwnderfu1 oro~Jress as Southe;~n Ca 1 i forni a during the past tv1enty years. The new era dates from the wrival uf the Santa Fe in Los Angeles in November 1885. 1147

Slightly defensive still, the pamp~let continued:

You hear nobody rema·rk ·in Sout.hen1 Cal-ifornia, 'l~hJt a fine day,' for the fine day 1s the almost invariable rule. 1~ 1s sometimes sneered that we ch~rge for our climate in connec­ tion with the land. It ~s the climate that makes it possible 58

for us to raise crops of several hundreg dollars an acr·e ... is not such a climate worth paying for? 8 The first comers, however, were not always the industrious settlers the boosters were seeking. The railroads had opened up a new country and the citizens of New York, Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois moved more quickly and in greater numbers than anybody else. These wel'e not mid-western farmers; they were homeseekers, city families, clerks, adventurers, war veterans, merchants, misfits, promoters, speculators--and many of them were people who took their money and went to the booms, in the hope of making more. 49 Sign1ficantly, they a l1 added their vo·i ces to that of the boomers. And \•/hen they a rri 1Jed, and whether they four.d what they were seeking or not, they continued to promote the California dream. W. C. Patterson (who stated in his pamphlet that he was an historian), wrote in 1897 that southern California needed more people of thr:: right kind. This meant people with money, energy, enterpt·ise and industry. The booklet assured the reader that if these right peop 1e come to Los /l.nge 1es, they would not be hoodwinked. The Chamber cf Commerce, the Boar~d of Trade, and the t•1et·chants and Manufacturer's Assc:ciation would meet them at the threshcld of the city to give aid ctnd encouragement:

There will be no absurd offer of a bonus or anything that savors of corrupt practices, but if the opening is here for our consideration and you see it to your advantage rest assured a welcome that will please, a hospitality magnetic in its influence and the incentive that a broarl and libergb business man would becomingly accord another, awaits you.

,J. E. C1 arke, r;ommi ssi oner of immi g~~ation for 5outhern

Ca1ifcrn·ia, wrote in 1885, ;'The quest·ion of greatest consequences in 59

enlist the aid of leading newspapers to issue an immigrant editio~

with only trustworthy information.51 The response produced papers like the Rural Californian, financed by Los Angeles business interests

and sent east by the Southern California Immigration Association. William H. Workman, later mayor of Los Angeles, was on the Associa­ tion's ex~cutive committee.52

ti or. i 11 ustrati ng typi ca 1 approaches used by the boosters to attY'act

the r·ight kind of irnmign;l.nt. Published in 1890, it contained his-

tories of the counties of San Bernardino, San Diego, Los Angeles, a~d

Orange. Sandwiched in between were descriptions of prominent citizen~

11 who had made 11 easy fortunes, photographs of their magni fi cE~nt

Victorian homes with elegant gardens, large cind eff·iciem;--iook·\ng

business buildings, and grandiose scenic views. Ignoring the slwnp

in t~e real estate market at the tine of publication, boG!< boasted,

.,n1e great rea·J-estate boom of Los Angeles in 1886-87 is cert<:dnly

the most wonrletful thing of its kind in the h~stor·y of the Pacific

r- SlOpl:. n:-d

The boosters were following the railroad's principles in

br-ln~Jing about improvements before thE"~ demand 'l'lorranted. The d1.:!ve·l-·

opers gambled on the beach resorts~ built transport out to remote areas

after which they built subdivisions and created suburbs, and finally with n•;Jch ballyhoo and golden promi ~;es, enticed the popu1 at ion to those: areas. If ever a n:gi on 1 i ved and plan ned for the future~ H was 60

southern California. Development was, to a large 2xtent, carefully organized, plotted and manipulated for the benefit of those doing the

• t::tl manipulating. Expans·lon beccme the rnajoy· :·,usiness of the re91on. J •

The arrival of this rapid influx of immigrants changed Los

Angeles from a smnll and little-known city of 25,000 people (in 1880~ just before the boom) to a large and bustling urban area of 100,000 rr.; by 1910 ..):- The expectations of the immigrants encouraged deve·lopc~rs to continue the city's outward mobility, and their conception of the good l·i fe so shaped the landscape; the community. and the governntent of Los Angeles that it left an indel lble imprint on its character. Los Angeles, with its rapid growth, ended up with a population differing from that of other far western cities. By 1890, it was no longer a typical frontier settlement, having on·ly s!ight.!y mcli'f:: m0.les than females and a higher concentration of the middle-aged, an extremely low proportion of young people and an exceedingly high proportion of the elderly. 56 It differed markedly in its landscape, transportation, community~ politics and planning fr'om the: great

Amet'i ca.n metropo"ii ses of the 1ate nineteenth and ea\~ ly ti'ienti eth c·P.ntul'ies. i'1·iddle-s1ass native Americans outnumbered working-class

• .. ~7 Ew'ope<'\n 1 rmm grants . _., The rai-lroad and or·gar:ized business interests had achieved their goal.

''Believe this, young man, try to believe this--to begin with-- the railroads build themselves. Where there is demand sooner or later

However, ir1 actuality, the California railroads created the demand.

1\s histor·i·?tl Ralph Hancock concluded: ------.- --~-- ___L__-- - '

61

It is not prophecy or planning that did this ... The California booster is the real cause of the region!s phenomenal growth. This ardent, voice-cf-sunshine, this b1 atant rr.cuth-p-; ece of climate 5 tid s Prophet of the pr'omi ssory Land--the Ca 1 i forni z, Rooster--·l s the most outstanding characteristic of California H~story.59

The rea 1 estate boom thut resulted from this worl dvri de publicity blitz, aided by the even mure pel~vasivt:: raill~oad campaign~ resulted in the land rush of the period. In 1887, promoter Jesse H. Burks used satire to epitomize the blatant sales literature of the per-iod.

Boom! Boom~ Boom: The newest town out!

BALD eYv·DASH

10,000 acres of beautiful land lying on the top of OLD BAL.OV. 9,000 acres will be at once divided into fine business lots 1 14 x 33 • l\ll lots, v-rill front on gr'and avenu<:'S, 17 feet wide, and nm back to 18 ·inch allevs ; .. to accomrnodate the inquisitive who are afraid to ;nvest without inspecting the property, a fast balloon line will be stal~ted in the nP.ai~ futw~e. Part·i os vri l1 be permitted to retur'n by the superb toboggan slide to be constructed in the sweet bye and bye. Projectors of the Scheme are philanthropists and willing to sell at ~ery close figures and give purchasers the benefit of thE? r'i se--· bO

The p1~omise of single~t:omf.~ ownership was stressed iti l:~~-

The home is the safr::guard and bulwark of American liberty. ·rner~e are thousands :crf hon;es in Los Ange 1es, ov.Jned by thc'l r occup0nts, 2.nd built throuqh these mutual associations that ·wculd never· be otherwise bt.rilt, because upon this kind of 'purcha.se plan 1 the paymeni.:s ;:~remade monthly and for about the same amount as the l"ent vwu J d othen·!i se be . . . . They stand today free from debt, monuments of beauty to the credit of the tllOLi~]htful , persevering, fruga 1 wage ear·ners of this d tv, h;;ose honest 1abor ha·s thus been made tQ adorn many of its str·e.c~ts vrlth tht~ most inviting beauty.61 62

Los Angeles boosters began actively promoting Los Angeles as the city with more \'!age-earning home-m-mers than any other c"ity in the country.6? This made good business sense. Until 19'i4 one of the biggest, if not the biggest, single industry in Los P,nge1es was the business of growth. In order to take care of the newcomer, business was coordinated around real estate expansion and building construc­ tion. 63 'fhe Southern Pacific developed a publicity theme 1'designed 64 to o.ttract the settler to the \•Jest--• The Gn:>atest Oppol'tuni ty ~ !!• and

uted throughout the country, stated in its first ·issue~ ,]anucn·y HS87; that Los Angeles 11 0ffered a soil where the husbandman can make gl··catE:i' profits with less exertion than any other section of the world; also

[there are] openings for capital, brains and muscle equal to those which san be found anyv.. •here ... 65

Los Angeles was considered a commodity--something to be advertised, publicized and sold to the people of the United States like asp·irin~ soap and toothpaste. That so many millions 1iste:wd and bought and in turn t0ld their neighbors back home is not at all extrt:ordin.a~~_y. l.t i·s on·ty proof that a pleased customc~r~ is the best

Newsp<:tpers have been one of the greatest factol~s in the development of Los Angeles. and the newspaper with the most prominent ' . ' • . -67 and :H~i~vasive role was tne Los i-\ngeies I_yne:>_; The somewhat biased

·in "1908: 63

The r·t;putation of a city is made in larger measure by its public press than by any other agency of whatever nature, In the matter of possessing clean, clear cut, fearless newspapers united in the one aim of building up this fair city, and making it known in the \vol~ld, Los f\nge1es is pai~ticularly fortunate .... And ~~~hne recounting this department of the city's superiodty, it is not amiss to state that the Los Angeles Times is regularly the largest daily newspaperpu5TiShed-----:rr1the United States, and it has for nearly a quartet~ of a century been absorbed in its chosen task of exp~giting the virgin advantages and splen­ did opportunities. ·

Hhen Harrison Gray Otis arrived in Los Angeles ·in 1882, he found it a 1 and of persona 1 oppor~un ity. Otis boos ted Los Ange 1e:s from his first day on the job, when he saw the possibilities resulting from the sudden influx of 1 and-hungry easterne·ts. The Times 1 nev1s columns r'ead much the same as the speculators • ads between v·!hich -~:"hey were sandwiched.69

Otis~ who had failed at making a p1·ofitahle business of small newspapet·s tvlice befor)l realized that advertisements, wert? the key to success. Hhen he bought the Los Angeles _Times, wh-ic:h hc.d b2en started in December' 1881 by two printers and a St. Louis newspaperman, he began the po1icy of printing local news in m'der- to cornpete with the two established papei~s in the area, the E~I~-~::._ and th•:: Jj~:?ta_l_:~~' who p~eferred to use the wire services.?O

Coincidentally, 1882--the year Otis joined th::: TiJne~--was the date ~iarry Chandler arrived in Los Angeles; from the east. Chandler had contracted tuber'cu1osis and his parent:;, impressed by Los Angeles' promotional literature, sent him there for the ddvertised curative pr·operties of the souther·n California climate. He not only regained his hea Hh eventuc1'11y, he ended up con t.i'O 11 i n9 the I!.~e~_·--and married

Ot'is' daught2r, starting the present dynasty.71 64

Otis easily understood that the tremendous area of unpopulated land in the Los Angeles area, relatively worthless in 1881, could pro- vide him with untold wealth if he could turn the wasteland into a city. 72 Between 1882 and 1890 Otis, through a series of maneuvers beyond the scope of this study~ built the Times into a prosperous and influenti~l paper.73 He developed a workable system that combined public relations and sen ing and \vas built around the advantages 74 nature had given southerP Ca l·i fOI~ni a. By 1886, the volume of re :~1 estate sales in Los Angeles reached $100 million, and the Times was ~----- full of real estate advertising.75 Otis actively helped promote the rise of satel1He suburban towns and the Jimes supported their gt'owth with special sections and editions.76

Newsp3.pers iind business i nter·ests worked together to organi zc campaigns to promote the economic potential they were literally banking on. In 1885, the Southern California Immigration Association (SCIA} was initiated by {)"ilmetn Thomas nard and Los Angeles Times pal~tr:er H. H. Boyce to stage prowotional exhibits and agricultural displays across the country.77

The TiJ_ne?_ echoed the pr·o;notional sentiments of the busines~, organizations. Otis suggest~:!d, editorially, tho.t Los Angeles prevent bum~, whom he considered counterproductive, from being allowed to setUe in the city. 78 In a similar vein, the Immigration Association, in its 1895 annual report, mentioned that it sent suitable material of an advertising nature only to grangers in the United States, since it pre felTed to attract fanners as sett1 ers. 79 65

Echoing the theme~ the los Angeles Board of Trade stated in its Annua 1 Report of 1887-88; ~~~.Je must make strenuous efforts to induce also that immigration of a class of farming people who v-!il"l till our soil and bring forth by the sweat of their brow that which is needed for self-support."80

Otis bought out Henry Boyce's ha 1f interest in the Time~_ in

1886 and vh·ote, in an editorial announcing the reorganization, 11 The 81 motto of [the paper] will be PUSH THINGS!" He did just Hds~ playing a seminal role in promoting the bo~m and the long decades of aggressive boosterism that fo1lowed. 82 Otis hired writers who agreed with his philosophy, 1i!(e Harry Ellington Brook, who also wrote pamphlets for the Chamber of Crnrunerce.

Brook later established the cultural magazine _L_~HJ._2i_S_~l!]~~l:!.t~'.:.~· which promoted the wonders of the Los Angeles region. 83 This was later· taken over by Char·l es Lummi s, an enterpr·i sing wrHer who, in 1884. pi~oposed to walk across America from Ohio to Los Angeles, describing thh trek in a series of letters to the Times. The success of this scheme led to his being hired by Otis as city editor of the Tim_es the day after he arrived in the city. 8 ~ He was also hired by the Santa Fe railroad to prepare travel releases.85

Otis' boosterism kept the Tim~s_ ·involved in an incr-easing number of special publications, sections and editions. In December

1888 it printed its first special edition for the European market, praising the virtues of southern California life. One of his more ambHious pub1icatio~ns was the _Lo~~-ngeles Times Almanac, begun in

'1897 and d·i stri buted vJi de 1y throu9hoUt the country. Subtitled . . . - ~--~- --~------______j_ __ ~...... -- __.: ______·~----

66

A California Reference Book for the Home~ Office and Farm, Vol. 1, No. l contained 552 pages, with 33 pages listing Los Angeles oppor­ tunities for entrepreneurs and settlers. These were sandwiched in between facts such as wedding anniversary categories, freight rates, naturalization laws and crop statistics. It devoted many pages to

Chamber of Commerce activit~es, such as 11 La Fiesta of Los Angeles, 11 an annual· carnival which attracted thousands to the city.86 Otis nevet' claimed any halo of civic philanthr-opy; rather, he

supported real estate development because it was good for the Time~. 87 His motivations were the same in other local issues. His behind-the- scenes maneuvering to control the Los Angeles newspaper market were meant to strengthen the Times. (He secretly owned the !i?.Ia l__sl_ for ten years until Wil"liam Randolph Hearst bought it in 1914 and, with Harry Chandler, secretly controlled the distribution routes for the Los

Angeles Trib~ne.) He saw the paper as the voice of southern California, a promoter of business and an advocate of population grmvth and region a 1 expansion. Otis equated Los Ange 1es • interests with those of the Ti_mes and 0.cted on that be 1i ef. 8S The newspape·r •s role in the fight for the San Pedro harbor and for the adqeduct to bring Owens Val"le_y water to Los Angeles were very much the result of this philosophy. The boosters of s:outhern California, in the two decades before 1900, hawked climate, scenic beauty and diversity as their primary products. In fact, in a survey of the adjectives and adverbs used by contemporary soul"ces, historian Beach found th_at 11 ideal, beautiful, g1or;ious, majestic, incomparable, charming, romantic, enchanting, 67

luxurious, marvelous, wondrous, unrivalled, colossal, and spectacular" wer'e used most frequently. 89 The second most promoted aspect was the California home, whose selling features were that it was designed and built for indoor ease and outdoor pleasure and was, most importantly, within the reach of most people. 90 T~is was known as the "California bungalow," first designed by the well-known architects, Charles and Henry Greene. The primary missionades of this golden dream wer·e the business gr·oups and organizations. They f-inanced the production of most of the booster literature, effectively distributed the material to selected regions of the United States and Europe, and served as the state's image-makers.9l These vested interests operated through

---~--n-g~nc-i-es-financed by the railroad companies, tourist hotels, news­ papers, cooperatives, public associations, and city and county governments. Between .1900 and 1910, the increase in population in California set a record. The rate of growth of 60.1 percent resulted in a total population of 2,377,549, and most people settled in Los Angeles. 92 By noting a change in the American dream, the promoters influenced thousands of settlers. Though not considered so at the time, this wholesale distribution of Los Angeles publicity was in reality a wen­ financed public relations campaign. Its success in selling a myth was

undeniable, for in a. few short years the myth became reality. CHAPTER V FOOTNOTES

3cha)~-1es Dvrif!ht ~~1i·;·;ar·cL~ H·I:;tor·_y of tht~ Los J\ngf~les Chan1ber s:_t_(~.Q<~~~.tc~·- (Los f\nge ·l es: K ~ ;-;~(l Ey:.-iJarr1es--i~~~~?~1-11e-r c~;-T~Ef9T:-·!j-:·-~T4/-

l:r " ~ ~ r • "['h '"' ,.. .. '"' .. an:y I'!C'.lw. 1 ..iHth)S, . c.a!norrna:, . t >-: !:ire:!t exception I ~--·------~--· -----~--·-·------·---·-----~~-·---~- Current Book, Inc:. s 1949) ~ p. 210.

7rbid.; p. 326.

9Marrow Mayo. Los Anoeles (New Yo~k: Alfred A. Knopf. 1952), . -~---_...tt---~- --- p. 60.

lOibid. ~ p. 6.!.

nrb·1d. ·

Los Anqeles~ p. 7J. ------~----""--· ~---~~ 14r·DL. .· ,j

16southe~··n Pacific ?ub'Jlc Relations Depi1rtmcnt, nThe Ro1e of Ccn1 .. ra.1 Pac·If·ic and ~:ou~~hccn p.jr;·i·f·ic in Devt-:loping Cal·ifor'nia and the l!Jt?.s t _If u ~!u l _y ~ 19/l 1 p ~ ·1 £; { fv\~rncra.ndurr:) .. 69

171· .. I ...,." · tnc.. , p . .:5!.

'l8Hil1ard, Her·ald's_lli. .sto_IT, p. 323. 19rrederick E. Shearer, ed., The Pacific Tourist (New York: Adams & Bishop,, 1884~ repr·int ed., NewYcri·T:·:-·sount.Y-B"~)6ks, 1970), p. 328. 20Ibid., Frontispiece.

21 John Sebastian, TIH= Golden Sta!~. (Chicago: Flogers & Co.~ 1903), p •. 6. ~2Ibid., pp. 42-43. 23John Sebastian, California, The Golden State (Chicago: Rock Island Lines, l908L p. ::.,.-----·------·

24Ib'd1 ., p. cLQ

25Khsch~ ~Jest, p. 480.

26Frank Norris, The Octopus (Gar·den CHy, N.Y.: Doubleday & Co. , 1901 ; repr·i nt ed. , 1952) , ~l-~-5-39.

27su!~.~t r~ag~,?j~, r~ay i898, Front·ispiece. 28southern Pacific Memorandum, p. 11.

29rbid. The Southern Pacific Agency was located 2t 333 Strand, and was under the direction of R. G. Bonsor. 30ca·!ifCi~nia Emigration Society poster (Boston: Pt~opellet' Job Press, c.l890}.

31 Ib·id.

32 "··<··-· - t' , ca1~£:y !•:c.~;! !-I~HT1~; •. ?.~~~ner·n "l'ft-a 1 orma · t.._

• 1 36-:-.:..,·~~...- 0 • ) r:, ....1ao JtJ,. .,~.u

'f·

38 r· b 1· "·.r1 39~~i1liam S. Dunkerly, Know L_(_)_?_~.~g::_l_~CouQ.1X (Los /mge1es: Lus Angeles Co·.. mty Board of Supervisors, 1939j~ p. 35.

p. "129.

41p-,.~ .,,., .-p ·c n 10,:1 .,,,._.)if,;d 1-t.A "i I' _r:_.__~~-'1 .... .- I •_)· • •

40 ' ( "'<-Norr·o\rJ ~1ayo, .1.9_~--~gel~~ New York: Alfred A. Knopf~ 1933.

4·3Ibid., p. 89.

,~ ll ~:o-r Ibid .. , p. 91"

1 45r."''l''in+I>~~- I ••• " •1-r~ ' I et•·e~··~ • t'J• 1.:l> • B• • •S .....1,.., ''Oatl :;J • Esq( • • pl~es,·clen~·... " , Atchison) TODE!ki:l F< Santa fe R.ailroa.d, Los flngeles County Circular, Facts and Figures from the Chamber of Commerce, 1889. California ·rr-omofroiia~r-riTer;atu're:·-- Los-Arlg-e 1es c·ounTT:·~~are Book con ection' Hunti ngtcn Li bl~<.'H~y.

46lbid.

llJ '> "t Santa~~ Hai1;-oad, _Fas:_ts_Q.!_1~J..Fi~ti!!T_es_, miniattp~·lzed :"EDrint, '! 9()5'

49;,'1;.\YO, J._!~Sjmg::: -~ ~_s_, p · r! ·

50l..J. C. Patte1·son, Los__ Angeles __ .Ihen and Nov!_ (GeorgE~ Rlce aPd SOilS~ 1897)' p. 108. 5lclipping, n.d., California Scrapbook 16, 1885) H~ntington Libr~ary.

r.·r-

_');)Rcber-t ~,1. Fouelson,0 Ille _F.r·~gn~~nt?:S)_Metropo"!is: __LoS_!:i.ng_r:_1~~~' ..!....:~-:::..::.:~'8i;CJ 19·-:;o __ :.:::'. .::. ,rr--~b·~·' .... iNn 110gc., a M~'-<.<"icL.. ,.. • Hanran J lJ rnvers1·. "t y Press, '1967T)IJ, p. ·los·o,.

~:.··0 " Jhid., p. 83.

I; '7 ~;Ibid.

5Brr-ank Norris, The Octopu::: The Story of California (Nev1 YG'C'k; ~-. r•·"·'·c.-e. Cr..•. ,. l '">f'\;.. J-~. --·p·--. -2--8-~-. ·-···------..,------~-·-··-·-----· C.oub 1~~d-t\Y (:· ... ~~} _ ~~ _ :::OJ .• v 59Ralph Hancock, Fahulous Boulevard (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co., 1949), pp. 28-29. ------·--·------~--

60circu1ar, 1887 5 Fo1·lo Co11ectionj Huntington Library.

61 Patter-son, Th_~~E.!:'L Now, p. 197. 62Hancock, Boulevard_, p. 126. 63 rtid.

6~News Release, May 1969, Southern Pacific Public Relations Office, p. 1.

6 5 Lo~ A_i:!_SI_~l_~~s __ T·if!!~~-~l__!r@nac, January 1897, p. 8. 66Hancock, -~t:_!!::t_l_ev~_l,d_, p. 8.

58•o· s A11geles Tl 1 uctr~+Ao' p. 42 .. -==-=------~- ---~ ~--~· _-:.. ..:..:__~_:~-' 69,Jack Robert Hal~t, llThe Information Empire: A History of the Los Angeles Times From the Era of Personal Journalism to the Advent of the Multi-Media Co~nunications Corporation'' (Ph.D. dissertation. University of L~isconsin-Mad·ison, 1975), p. 28.

7l Hl'ld., p. 61.

72Hi1liam Bonelli, Bin·:on Donar Blackjack (Beverly Hi'lls, Calif.: Civic Rest3an.:h Press·~--1954):·~-p-:,_14_.---son-elli 's book was highly critical of Otis. and reflected the author's prejudicial attitud2 towards the Times.

73r:O'' [)''ynnd of· t. <=tud·y ,..ee 1 • d·a-'-~·'lr·c 1._. u ' ;::, c.: '~' -~ -~h-,t. • t t. ~-~r··-oe '-· v ~ .. his! I .k, , ~ 'J;:,r+r ""' t.. , ~~'fl·te, Informat-ion Empire," pp. 18--32; Rober·t Gottlieb and Irene \·Jolt, Thinking Bi~J: The Story of the Los Anoeles T·imes, Its Pub-lishers and Tfi€1--;-:::-Tnrfuence--on-·s(Juffie·t::r1~- cJl1Tor~i1~-1Nei~·-vorE:-- G. -P-.P-Li'tnam '5-~scins., -:-()":.:,-7"\~~-~-:-·-··-· --~----.:,-7·---~-·-··-----~------~---~----~---""-·-·-~------. !;;!.:. pp. 11'"11. 74 Bone 11 i, -~--~ acsiEck ~ p. 14.

7r:.Ib'dv . 1 • , p. -5I .

761-lal··t. uinformation~;i p. 51.

77Gottl-ir-:b and ~·Jolt, _Th!.I!.t_!ng Big, p. 28. 7Q usone 111 ' Q_}_?_~l<:l~~~-~-' p. 15. 79 "?885 R'::pott of th,3 ImmigratiOn A:>so:::iat-ion of California," California Patron, 5 December 1885. Clipping, California Scrapbook 16, km tTi1-gtoil--Tr&ra ~~:;.

xo ~ i 1 . . . I ' - t ~ ~ . ' . B . ') 7 'J -'bo.:: t 1eo ana ~.ro I ! _i__0 ~-!:!_K li:!._9___!:_1 g__ , p. c.. •

81Hart, "Information, 11 p. 29.

82rb~.a., . p. 20o.

83Gottl·i eb and Ho 1t, _Ih·i nki nq~.i9_~ p. 26. Dona.l d R. Culton, writing in California Histol~y, Sumrnet' 1978, attributes the founding of Land of s'un~~-hTn·E-;-To Ch"""iir;: es Dwight Wi 11 a rd. \ria 1 ton Bean, in Cil}f?_rn-L~,--;_:rii1(ns Lumr.li s as foundei" and E~di tor. 84 r.- ran.·k .L. 8 eac h , ".· 1 ne' -~··. ,~ans ·f orma t .1 . on of california, 1900- 1915: The Effects of the Westward Movement on California's Growth and Development in the Pr·o~p'ess-Jve Period" (Ph.D. dissertat·ion, University of California at Berkeley, 1963), p. 51.

n ·- 85tlal~+f .t-, "~n.corrl·latir·n1! ,.c~., fJ· •·.'i•u".

86The Los J\ngeles Times JIJmanac, Janaury 1897 3 p. 24-. The fiE•sta, estab-1 fsfle·a in 1894~ was pafdf-or by the ''pub1 ic-·spir-Hed" ci t:i zens _ /\mong the 1 eadi ng features were a gm~geous night pagE:ant of illuminated floats representing the Lands of the Sun: a day pardde of military and civic organizations, sailor·s from a United States warship, the fire department, Chinese gorgeously atttfed~ with an in,mense dr·agon scvet~a l hundred ft:et long, etc.; a flora 1 par-ade: t1attl e offlowers, participated in by citize:1s in vehicles of every descrip­ t.-1on, from a dog t:cft to a s-ix-house coach, all smothered in fn1qr·ant blossoms; a parad~ of school children; a grand ball and fireworks, the whale ending up with a masquerade jollification on the street during the c 1os i ng eve:1 ·i ng.

87Har·f· I' T nt-OY'Il':o.i·ion II n !11.• >J' .. !. 5'.. ~ ...... ' ,-~- -

t~o" ... • :.1· .iDH.!.s p. 4-3.

'd g-;.···1o1:.., .. , p. 5. - J ------i_ ---

CHAPTER VI

THE HARVESTING OF LOS ANGELES: Oil and Oranges

It is. not tnw that the industry is mt?rely speculative. /\t least, it is no mm·e speculative than r·a·ising or·anges, which depend for success upon soil, moisture and climatic condi- tions; not mo~·e speculative than any bt~ancll of mercantile trade; and certainly not more speculative than honest mining. 1 Lionel V. Redpath, Oil in f_a_l_i fox-n i a, 1900 ------

One resource, which added to the bcom psychology and was enthus·iastico.1ly promoted by these bus·iness groups, is seldom mentiuned in histories of the booster era. First discovered in_Los Angeles in

1880 by a farmer digging for water for his dairy cows, it was the beginning of a new industry. The farmer, Arthur Freemont G·11mor·e,. started the first independent oil company in the west in 1901, selli~g

9as6li;1e for automobile engines from the back of his farm waqon. 2

At first the oil was not much use. As kerosene, it had to compete with whale oil as well as candles for lighting. The industry therafore cOJlcentrated on selling California oil as asphaltum for

')_ pav1ng'". ~· Then E. L. Doheny. who had discovered oil in tbe m1ddle of L.cs Angeles in 1893, persuaded the Santa Fe Railroad to experiment with crude oil as fuel for its locomotives. It proved t -- 74

Boosters picked right up on this new blessing. The 1907 asphaltum base, was used more extensively for fuel than for any other purpose: A careful test recently made with a locomotive shows that oil at one dollar a barrel is equivalent to coal at less than four dollars. The one great lack of the Pacific Coast country is and always has been fuel ... fuel to keep the fires burning in furnaces and engines~ in mines and factories, on railway locomotives, etc. It is easy to understand that the oil of California which is one of its greatest assets, is also one of the state 1 s props of prosperity. In other words, oil has helped to make Los Angeles. Manufacturing could not be done on a Qrofitable basis. using our necessarily dear coal as a fueL~ The production of oil became .profitable in 1885, and the 1886 annual report of the Los Angeles Board of Trade remarked on ''the rapidly increasing production of petroleum in the two counties of

Los Angeles and Ventura, and the still greater demand for this liquid 116 "'1>j;' nr..'~ct-1'<.....l • In a handsome booklet published in 1893 under the authority of Henry H. t

7 Co.!"ifornia, and a close fi·lend of Otis,' it WlS noted that Cclifcnlia oil differed radically from that of Pennsylvania, as its residuum was asphaltl..:m instead of parafine. 11 It is this quality which makes our oil so va1u~b1e for varnishes~ lubricants, and inks another [use] is tubes in which electric wires may be run. The black ink produced

'iS of high E:xce'l1ence, and. is used to print the Los Angeles I.i!~~~

In addit·1on, the asphaltum, which existed in "prac- tic.:t11y inexhaust-ible quantities, 11 was available to pave miles and

0 rni 1r-:s of rocids, making Los Angeles highly suitable for automobiles.J 75

The Automobile Club of Southern Ca1ifor·nit:1 v'las org:udzed ·in

1900 as one of the first in the country~ ev2n though a.t that thr.e there were only about four thow:.and 11 hcll~se1ess car'Tiagr::sn in 1\mer·ica.. They 10 were considered the toys of the t'ich. Nonethe.le~s, the Southern

Paci fie) \·Jhich used its contt·o 1 of county government to concerjtrate roadbuilding aimost exclusively on feeders fol~ its railroad lines, was joined in' the batt1e for good r·oads by the Automoui!e Club. The effect, in the next few decades, was to bring mass motorization to southern California, v1hexe climate, scenery and boosteT·ism comr;ined with low gasoli11e prices ~nd highly-touted roads to make the region a 11 moi• _.L_.nl~l·~t·~ _,. ~ )·'·::.An~·~~A

The oi'l field::; themselves becantC?. a tourist attract:!on. of California oil in the world, boasttd in a 1900 advertisement that

3.nd pl~&ct'ic;:l11y ever·y known oi1 field in this vJonderful state.

Passenger's fl~om the East via either· the Sunset, Ogden or Shasta Routes traverse the heart of the oil fields. It is the only line which

~ ~- d:J~~s ~ n ~ -5

;::; ~~rdnt d;;tt ·i ng fr·om the 1870s, vast amounts of 1 and Nhe re S(J!ne of tile richest oil deposits were being discovered. This resulted in a court

battle, since the lav1 excluded 11 mineral lands 11 from the railroad grants. The railroad contended that petroleum was not a mineral; the

Supreme Court ruled that it was. In 1919, the Federal circuit court in Los Angeles ruled that the government could not revoke the rail-

roads' title to the land because it had not proven that the rai1roadsl officials·were fraudulently aware of the presence of oil when the . H patents \'>iere 1 ssued. In Petroleum in California: A Concise and Reliable History of ----·------···------·------.-.----~~-----~-...!::...---~

th~Qi1 !_nd~~trx_of the State~~~ published in 1900, l~allace Ho.rdison, oil pioneer and president of the Los Angeles Oil Exchange (organiz0d

in December 1899) stated:

Petroleum ... leaves no soot or dirt, and it is free from all smell, leaving no spot or stain upon houses or shrubbery, so that point y·ernains clean until worn by vJind or r·o.in. l:lrL:n the means of bur~ing the various products of petroleum shall have been perfected, and universally introduced, it will be the housekeeper 1 s delight, for then soot and ashes from coal and wocd will be a thing of the past. When our streets are all paved and lighted by petroleum products, street cars, motors, locomotives, steamships, factories, machine shops. and other· plants aY'e rnoved by the great force of fue1 on ... ~o supply the dem~nd will ~equire t~e deve1opmen~ of many t1mes i:JS mucr1 ter'r1 tory t'iS 1 s now bel ng operated,~

The expensiv2ly-c!esigned book began: 11 Any account rn-n'oorting

to giVt! a story of the oil industry of Califonl"ia, ~thich did net assign

a prominent place to ltiali.ace L Hardison, would be very much like the

1 16 story of Hamlet with the Pl~incf~ of Denmark left out. ' He was one of

the largest holders of oil land and securities in California and, when

he bought tf:·2 Los l\n9eles Ji~.!:'~ irt 1900, became a threat to Otis 1 p Times. · Hardison, ~.Jho had hoped his paper wou1d surpass the Iimes_ as

Los Angeles\ number one paper, came under fire and Otis, as usual, won 77

thf2 batt:le. By '1904, Har·dison gave up, and Otis, thr·ou9h

Washington, publisher, and without Hardison 1 s knowledge. arranged to 18 become t ne. II secre t puo"1 is• hr2r o f · t'ne .,t>era__:_(l_., ' 1 ' ''

The tl_~ra1d, under Har-dison's ownership, had been the principal exponent of the California oi1 indust,~y. advertising 'itself as the

11 19 0i 1 Author-ity of the Pacific Coast. ll' The _Tinl_S:'S I Han'.}' Chandler'

Otis' son~in-law, was a partner o~Hardison's in the oil scheme from vJhich Hard·ison gained the money to buy the H~al~_, 2 ° Chandler is credited by most historians with niast~rminding the financiai prog1ess of the Iil}"!~c!S_ a.fter the co l1 apse of the 1886 boom. Through the mech- anism of syndicates which involved some of the most influential business people of Los Angeles, he initiated massive land acquisitions and business ventures, beginning with the California-Mexico Land ar=d Cattle Company. In 1899, this syndicate purchased 882,000 acres of pr'ime ~-zmch and fat'm 'land. 2i

In 1903, other syndicates of Chandler's pu1·chased Ranchc Let

Brea (a 60-acr·e field not'th of Holl,ywood Boulevard 1Hhich later bec:.J.m~

11 11 2~ Ho"liyvJood ) ~ and 30,000 acres of Porter Ranch land in the ;:;Jr1

F~rnando Valley north of Los Angeles (together with Otis, E. T. Earl of the hos t\r!__g_e·l es __ l~I'.Q_~-~~ and fvioses S. Sherman. a Los Angeles v-Ja ter- , . 23 con~rrnss10ne;n)C In 1909, they acquired the largest undivided piece cf rwoperty in Los Angeles County at the time--47 ,500 acres in the San Fernando Valley which had belonged to wheat farmer James Lankershim

l,. , ,~,('"- -~-- ~ ~~, ''4t. ano 111s en.r.uy,:e,... sna.c v· a.n 11-l.Y~·.. Chandler also organized several syndicates to drill for oil throughout the southern California basin, and hs maintained close 78 i.

'·'-' ? relations with the Urrion Oil Company. 25 /\ great future was forecast in a 1912 Unidn Oil booklet distributed overseas that promoted the use of asphalt, declaring 11 in .the United States a national highway is to be bui 1 t from Ne1;1t York to Los Ange 1es, and from tho. t part to Seattle and 1126 Galveston, wh·kh will require an immense amount of the material.

These syndicates were a combination of capital~ railroad, and newspaper· influence and, as real estate conspiracies, controlled immense power--they could manipulate intec~urban l"ines, streetcar lines, city streets,. public opinion, and the cap·ital of society, all for· the purpose of gadning massive and almost certain prof"its for a roomful of stockholders. 2.7

One of the effects of Chandler's syndication methods was to set a pattern for development in the Los J\ngeles area, accele>··ating '>'8 subw·bani zation and adding to the boom psycho l og_y, L The theory of the Chandler-and-Otis-directed Times--that nature and p0cple could be manipulated in the interest of growth and profit--was essentially the

Americar dream, and therefore Los Angeles became a model of an American city fulfilling the countryas expectations and fantasies. 29 The 1904

stKh ~Hl as toni shi ng t'ate? . the whole United States is in b~ck of her an~ supports her. Just so long as people grow rich in the United. 30 States, just so long will Los Ange"les DY'OW. u

AnothE'r' symbol of golden Ca.iifornia sunshine was the citn!s products) the oranges, grapefruits, lemons and tangerines, sent thr·ou9i10ut thE~ yea't to American markets. The ~>sunk-ist" labe"l became ' 31 one of the~ b-e·st mean~.> of publicity southern Cal·ifo!·'nia haa. /9

Ft~ank ~4i ggi ns suggest•:d to the Los Ange 1es Charnber of Commerce, in

1888, that they stop just shouting about their 11 big otanges and cab-· 3"' bages and oth1~r· stuff 11 and get an exhibit together·, c_ his idea inte!'-

ested not only the Chamber, but the rail roads, ·the newspape;"s and the

state government. This eventually resulted in the most advanced cit-

rus marketing concept in the country, with an advertising appr·oach

that has been the subject of several studies in the fields of busir1ess,

economics and tristor·y. HO\'Jeve·r, its effect on the public image of 33 r 1 • £ • 1· ' t • d 1 ' • d . 1 sou·r1er·nt ~ ~a 1 rorma .n.s oeen nv:'n ··ione· on y 1nc1 .2ntal1y.~

Since many 0f those ·involved in promotin~ the citrus indu~,try

in southen1 Ca'lifcr-nia had other business interests 3.s we11 ~ this helped to ensure the U11precedented success of the citrus industry 1 S promotional methods. It is difficult to emphasize sufflcient1y the

• ...1 )) impm~tance of the citrus i ndust}~y in the region's deve1opment. ,)"'

Hhi1e the industry served as the ptedominant producer· of Califcrn"~~ "J!:, agricultural income from 1890 to 1938)~~ it is its importance as a tourist attraction and its aggressive promotion of the Californin dream that is relevant to this study.

From 1891 to 1892, the Fruit Growers of Southern California tried to coor·dinate the mark·:::ting of the citrus crop. !!These ef-forts

\JIIet'e inadequate--1892 disastr·ous.--1893 even worse,~~ Sunkist. 1 s D. F

McMillen stated in a 1968 talk to the Southern California Historical

Soc1ety.' 36 The California Fruit Growers Exchange was started as a measure-'! when the industry faced the prospect of ''star-ving '/ . 1 1 3 •i..IH'-1 ,..,,- E•'r·.. l"•--:·i'·-1--lC'"'n J .J. l.. , C H:::., +·v·-o::,ec-1,1 .... .;> • ' '

In 1905., thEoY spent $250 for adw~d:isithJ, n.0stly in England

Unab'l e to con vi nee the di Y'0:ctOJ'S to spend 80 more, Frances Quarles Story, president of the Exchange, solicited the 39 a1ao-re1t.1erE• I ~ • I ..0 Mcorm1c c . k o f teSoutr1ern.ac1.1Ch ! p . -(:. Ra1way, ., oro f 40 E. ,Lj . Harr1man, · pres1"d en t of th e Umon · Pac1 ·c· 1 1c Ra1 "l roa ..d In e·ither case, the railroad offered to match the Exchange's advertising budget, dollar for dollar. In 1907 the Southern Pacific, wh·ich stood to gain both increased tourist traffic and increased freight tonnage, spent 4.1 $10,000 tb the Exchange's $7,000.

The Exchange's approach was remini~cent of the promotion used by the r·;.d ·;ways, the Los A.nge 1es Chamber of Commerce and the rea'! estate speculators of the 1880s and 90s. It aimed for the well-to-do mid-westerner. The target state was Iowa~ which also happened to have an established system of railroad branch tracks. 42 Advertisements in all the Iowa newspapers proclaimed March

1-7, 190/', as !'Or·ange Week in Imva, 11 with 11 Hundreds of Carloads of the Choicest Oranges Grown in the World Direct from the Beautiful

1143 11 Groves of California. The Exchange's slogan 3 0ranges fOl~ Hea·lth-- 11 California for WeaHh, was splashed all over the state, on billboards~ railroud car banners and barn sides. 44 Booklets were distributed offering hea1ths household and ben.uty tipss with oranges and lemons promoted as the panacea for near::; cveryth·; ng: as a po~'IHfu1 genni ci de, "completely destl~oyi ng organisms which cause and prolong nearly all diseases''; a brass and silver C!eaner; a lemon bath used by Queen Wilhelmina; and, on the advice of the best physicians, "a neutralizer of the effects of Sales in Iowa increased 50 percent and 17.7 percent in the other states. The advertising budget increased to $25,000 in ,_ ;_ -

81

1908, and the Sunkist label was pasted on six million oranges and

one million lemons. 46 Most historians give credit for the single most sensational job of selling southern California to the Exchange, with the assistance of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Southern Pacific promoted nationwide markets for California agricultural produce as aggressively as it promoted the influx of settlers. Transcontinental freight rates were set sufficiently low so that California growers could compete with those closer to eastern markets. 47 Promotional literature saturated

the state. The unprecedented advertising barrage~ which included con- Stant newspaper ads and billboards showing colorful pictures of oranges

surrounded by California scenery and special1y bannet~ect trc1·ins pu11in-:; exhibit cars left little doubt that ihis campaign was responsil11e for stimulating much of the migration to southern California during the period. One effect of the advertising barrage was to establish the image of orange growing as a gentleman's occupation, and this attracted retired business and professional people who expected to become wealthy> healthy, and contentect. 48 The 1913 Annual Report of the California Fruit Growers Exchange reassured its members that advertising was beneficial ~nd designed to educate tr:e consumer. Not-ing the influential power of the printed word, especially in newspapers and slick brochures, the report stated, ''Advertising ·Js not a mysterious thing. It is simply telling the people the truth about the thing we· have to sell and telling them through those channels in which they have co~fidence and to which they 49 ;;u~e acclistorned to look for information and guidance. n B2

The cooperutive marketing ·t.echn·;ques of the citr·us gi'O'tier~; succeeded in 1a.r·ge part because they uti"! i zed two components of tt•e myth that had sold Los Angeles--health and pleasure. The novelty of selling a product to a market several thousands of miles away led the industry to adopt new marketing techniques, but the imagE.' they pl'·o­ moted was heavily dependent on the enjoyment-of·-living emphasis that had been ~mployed earlier by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.

In s"inri1ar fashion, the ·automobile quick"ly became a pzu~t of Los Angeles livingj because the theme of an enjoyable lifestyle had been initiated by the booster efforts of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centudes. The oil industry had only to continue to st~~··ess, in extravagant terms, the availability of the scen·ic grandew~ ar;d unique semi-tropical climate of southern California. These w2re also reinforced ~y the posters. slogans, and advertising backgrounds of t~e Sunkist campaign. ~33

CHf\PTER VI FOOTNOTES

1Lionel V. Redpath, Petroleum in C·,difornia (Los J\ngeles: By the author, 1900) , p. 27 _------.. ·-·----··-··------

2Ralph Hancock, Fabulous Boulevard (New York: Funk &Wagnalls Co., 1949'), p. B8.

3John Walton Caughey, California (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prent·ice Hall, 1970), ·p:-420-.--

4Ibid.

51.os l\ngeles_ IllustrC!ted, p. 58.

6Fourth Annual Reoor~t of the Los Ang1::les Boar·d of Trade (Los Angeles: PuEi11 shed--by-tf]c-1-Boa rd-cif-Di rectors ,1,-1mes -t~irr'o:r::--VrTn~t, 1886) ' p. 1 06. 7 Robert Gottlieb and Irene Wolt, Thinkihg Big: The Stot~ of the Los Anqeles T·imes, Its Pub·i i sheY's and-T1ie1)~-1nff(ie-ri(;(~·-on--s6:,~th-i-;rn f~jJI

l 011 1 t 8 r· • " • A - . 11· ? ; Aa ..on t.~ ean, ~,alnO\'nla:~ n lnterpret1ve 1stor:1_, .. ;:J ed. (New York: ~kGraw-Hill Book·l::i)-.-~-- 19ITL p. 375--::--~-~-~------11 Ib".Hl., p. "'77J • 12 r omrny Tom.1nson, 1 . -··h1 ,E· r·rlr...:.:s:..:::t:.._.:._·::..~ • 7.- Y.ears (I, .. os Hnge" 1 es: r1Utomobir. l e C1 ub of Sou them Ca 1 i fornia-:--Tifi~). p. _"'1.' __ _ 13Redpath, t~~:Qle~rn, p. 160. p 14RnA~u\:;~J I' .:(~1l"&orn~a.... U}.. _._~--1.!_'-' . ., 373 ~ 98. B4

19 Redpath, Petroleum, advertisement, back cover.

20Richard Conneny Miller, "Otis and His Times, 11 Ph.D. dissertation (University of Califo•tnia at Be!"k.e·Jey) 1961), p. 21LL

21 11 Jack Robert Hart, The Information Empire: A History of the Los Angeles Times from the Era of Personal Journalism to the Advent of the Multi·-Media Corrnnunications Corpor·ation, 11 Ph.D. dissertation (Madison, ~V"isconsin: University of \~~isconsin, 1975), p. 67. 22 Ibid. 23 Ibid.

24 Gott 1.1eb an d Wolt, Thinking Big, p. 138. 25 rlD1 'd • ~ p. ,-8~ . 26 untit1ed book.let (San Francisco: Union Oil Company" 1912)., p. 90. Tracts Relating to America, British t1useum.

27 11 rv1iller, 0tis,n p. 269. 28 Gottlieb and Walt, IhinkinJLJtL~, p. 145. 29~ . . ,.. 1 b l d . ' p. 54 L. 30 c.. A H1gg1ns, . . To CJa l 1. f orn1a . anu.~ Bac· k ( 'l~ew Yor·: k Douo ' ·1 eaay,' Page & Co., -1904), p. 147. 31 Hancock, BouJ~v(! rq., p. 117.

32 11 11 Pau·l D(>.resco AugsbtH'g, Adverti sing Did It (Dearborn: Dearbor·n Jn.deJ~~~ndent, 25 November 192~?, reprinted, n.p., W. P. Jeffries Co., 1922), p. 4. 33 Josephine Kingsbury Jacobs~. 11 Sunkist Advertis-ing~" Ph.D. disserta.tion (iJniversity of California at Los Angeles, '!966); Albert ,J, !v'leyer~ 11 Histm~y of the California Fruit Grovvers Excha~EJt~: 1893~· 1920, 1 ~ Ph.D. dissertation (John Hopkins University, 1950).

3,1.' . . ~ . 'Car·ey ~lO'

3bD c 11 • l,. tkt1lil1en~ 75th Anniversary Talk to the Southern California Histrn~ical Society, 11 1968, p. 4. Sunkist Archives. CHAPTER VII

THE FOLKLORE OF LOS ANGELES: The Electric Theatre The m6tion picture is the epitome of civilifation and the quintessence of what we mean by 1 Amei~ica'. Will H. Hays, President of Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of A~erica, Inc.

The arTivai of the motion picture industry in the first two decades of the centw~y, and the establishment of '1Ho11ywood" .:;.s 1ts riexus with the world, provided unexpected support for th2 Los Angeles boosters. Notivated by econonrlc lnter~ests, the promoters 1 11 leqend" of a land of easy living had unprecedented effects~ resulting in th~ enormous gr·owth of the state's popuh. t lon throuyh r'esettl ewenL

P. mutuality of interests C(eated the legend of 11 Hol1yv:ood~!i and Hc1lywood enhanced the legend of Los Angeles. Originally dei~loped pdmari1y for· the value of iJ>; 1,;:~nd~ the business pr-omoters of !_os

J.\ngeles quickly realized the vaiue of the fi1rr. ·industry's glamor. In

3ddition, this was an industry with a product easily and profitably transported the thousands of mi1es t0 the east coast.

Hol1yi'iood was only a bean field until a syndicate, directed by

Harry Chand1er, bou9ht the la.nd. !\pproximately a decade later, Chandler

2!~d a de1egatio~1 spake vJ·ith rnJvic rnakers t),iho \~;ere v1s1t1ng San

come to Hollywood ·I nstea.d ~ offer·i ng

') var·.ipd topograph.Y ~-t;1d per.. pc:tua1 sunshinr~ a:~ induc<·:::HH:~nts .. f_ Subdivided in 1901 by H. J. HhH_:ley as tht:~ ''Ho1iy11ood Ocean

VievJ Tr·act, 11 it included among its shareholders Harrison GY'i:l.'l Otis, edHor of the Los Angeles Jimes_, ~1. H. Sherman and L P. Clark, rail- road promoters; vJa lter Lindley, author of a tourist book on southern

California; Chandler, Otis' son-in-law; and Fred Bynon, editor of the

Cahuenga Valley Sentin__!]_. All were influential 111 Los Angeles finance.

This brought a rare combination of capital, railroad and newspaper 3 interests to support a real estate development.

The land was cut up into building lots, and a gigantic adve~­ tising campaign was bcgun. 4 Ads stated that this was the ''most allur- ing spot on earth, where sea and mountains kiss each other under an etF:·na·~-!y blue sky5 where the most luxuriant vegetatior; thr·ives in the unbe1ievably pure a1r.• 115 The effects of these advertising efforts were extraordinary. Their role in the historic development of southern California and Los Angeles is too often downplayed, but its si]niti- cance is evident in the growth patterns of the area.

The history of the mot.ion picture industt"Y conta-ins a nun1be;~ nf contradictions. Until 1910, films were not even shown in Hollywood, since the cHy fathRrs looked askance at recreationa-l establishments of dubious moral'ity. In 1910, however, the Horsley brothers, tir-ing of the handicap of Brooklyn's g1oomy skies, transferred their busine'>S 6 to a Hol"iyvwod bar·n. \di1liam Horsley, who was superintendent of

Nestor StJdies in Bayonne, New Jersey. stated that the greatest factor

·in bringing rdm 1.-1r~st was the His!~q:_.Q_f ,i:~l tfor.Q_"@_) by John Steven f~cGr·oarty. 7 fvkGroarty 1 s ~al:i__f~)_!:'_t:l_iA.' a Chamber of Commerce-style

11 mug book"" was pub 1 ·j shed in Los AngEles in 1911. 88

The movies first came west in 1896, but not to l.os An9eles.

They were shown in Gustav t~a lter 1 s Or·ph~C:um Vaudeville Thea tel~ in San Francisco, and enjoyed a brief success as a novelty, But, by 1900, the films had become so boringly repetitious that they were pl~ced last on the program, the chaser that was supposed to clear out the audience before the next show. 8 They saw a resurgence ·in popu"larity

1.vithin the next few years, \'lhich has been attributed to the greater. avai1abi1ity of equipment, and somewhat better films. Equal1y irnpm·-· tant was the improvement of exhibition facilities. This started in Los Angeles when Thomas Tally, a Texas cowboy, rode into the c-ity and was intrigued by a phonograph parlor with~ kinetoscope. Tally opered his own parlor. in 1896, using a partitioned section as a theater. 9

He:: put ho 1 es in the par·t iti on through which patrons. nervc•Js ,•bout 11} ventur·ing into a da~~kened room, could see the show. · In /~pd"l 1902,

11 th1=: entei'pl~-ising Ta11y opened an E1ectric Theatre," for· ~lp-·to-datc liHigt, Class r1otion Picture Entertainment Especially fol~ Ladie":. J.nd

Crdldren." This was the fir.st of many innov;;;.tions from Los /\nge1es!

1 the c-ity thrlt. V.'i.'

Dozens of pt-ints cou.ld be made and shovm ave~- ar.d over· to paying

In -~ 90 7, ther·e were rno'rr;~ than l 00 film exchanges in key American cities. but growth in the industry was so rapid that a year 89 later, due to the low cost and ease of establishment, nearly 10,000 nickelodeons vJr:>r'e situated across the country. This expansion created ar. insatiable demand for film. 14 t:lany people, incluct·ing the promotor's of Los Angeles, suddenly developed a passionate interest in motion pictures, noticing that the movie business earned mol~e profit than 15 any other.·· Thomas A. Edison is often credited with inventing the movie industry, since one of the first t!ffective methods of taking motion

. t 11 'l • ' .t. d'. h" . 16 p1c~ures on cei 1U.o1a was crea~e 1n 1s stud1o. · He neglected to take out foreign patents, however, and the equipment ~valved in France

by f\uguste a.nd Louis Lumi~re, among others 9 was avo:i1::lb1e to

American film mak9rs.l'l

Edison wa.s backed financially by the Gt~ner·a.i Electric Comp;::~:w lP and the J. Pierrepont Morgan banking house. J In an attempt to p~a- teet his patents and end some of the lawsuits filed against hi1n,

Edi::;on formed the Motion Picture Patents Company in 'i909, This ;.,.-as compdsed of s·ix Amer·ican companies and tvm fl~ench firms} ?iithe and

M~li6s. For the next fiv8 years, from 1909 to lGl4. the remain1~g ' . . ' ' . 19 independent film producers fou9ht the paten-cs-f·Jl!ll COi1iLH:r1:::.1o'l.

The qt~O\Jth of Hollywood is frequently attY'ibuted to the attempt of th::; independents to remove themsE 1 ves from y··~strict ions of the Edison patents. In reality, many of the independents moved to Los Angeles for other reasons, primarily the climate, which the producers hJd 1ca.rned of through the pnnno t'i on a l 1 iterature that had b1 anketed t~e east for several decades. Other factors were the relatively low

~osts of land, rent and labor in southern California. 90

In fact, the first film maker tu arrive. William Seli~, was not-an outlaw mov·ie maker. Ir. 1909, vrhen he meved his production company to Los J\nge 1 es, he ,_,;as a 11·i ed w1 t.h Ed ·• son 1 s p:-1tt..!n.ts comp;;~ny .,

In fact, when Selig was asked in an inte;·vie':J in the S·'ln Fr'ar:cisco

Q~~2!~.:::1~ on January 15, 1922, why he had ck:cided to move to Los

Angeles, he gave the weather most of the credit 1 adding he had hein'd tha.t the a.rea offered the ideal light for pictures. 20 This worked well for outdoor scenes, but the movie makers soon found that the endless sunshine they had read about could not be as easily controlled as electric lights in indoor studios. Los Angel~s! because of the Owens Valley water project, had an excess cf cheap electric power, and was able to offer this as an inducement to the fi ln:

Selig and the Bison Company, two of the earliest film makers to move to Los Angeles, both attributed their interest to the booster effor·ts. Se"lig stated in 1907 that 11 the Los l\nge1es Chamber· of Com·-· merce shipped !modest descriptive literature' east ~hich frequently mentio~ed Los Angeles as basking in sunshine some 350 days of the year. 11 Selig raved to the other companies back east about the Los

1\nge"!es cl'lmate and scenr::r·y. D. tL \;riff-ith's Biograph, the New York

,.,,., // the oth8rs soon followeci.--

il'i s company, B·i son, moved to Los ,L\nge 1es in 1909. The city then had 250,000 residents, many of them Spanish-speaking, and eager to work production companies.£."1 Though he stated that Bison was one of the first to begin building a motion picture center in 1909, he credited Dave Horsley with the distinction of being the first person to estab1 ish a studio in Los Angeles when he took over a fonner'· 1~;:-wt::rn on the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Gower Street in the fall of 1911. 24 While Selig wrote that he had come to Los Angeles to avoid 25 the vdntry blasts of Chicago, Balshofe1· ctedited Los .A.ngele:::. v.rith pt~ovidi ng· both an escape from the winter· months and fr-om the Patents Company detectives. 26

Los Angeles may have proved to be haven for the harassed trust·- breakers, but the important point was that the climate reduced studio investment to a minimum. There were no heating problems and no need for prolonged use of electric lights, at least at the beginning. The rural suburb of Hollywood was ideal for th2 film producers. It contained an abundance of barns suitable for conversion into stud-los, since, a.fter Ho'!iyvwod's v-w11s vL:~nt dry ·in 1~no t~e real

:;;;_:t:,c ···t"·'r.·· c.;_,.,,,,." ·,. es•1.~_,.. ._.._ '-·-1tuv·et "'"-•i'lu~ ,..,l!' l~~•t:t1~'--;.-~",-.~al +.,.l,!'\..o'LIU','J ...... •.,·1 27 Anxious to keep the indus- try~s interest in the los Angeles r~gion) the boost~rs sought to annex

pronrinent) ',\fea 'i thy i-

.~R by film makers, ana looked suspiciously at show business people.~

At first, Hollywood citizens f0~gl1t to protect their residen- tia'l community. But, as part of Los Ange·l·;~s, they could no longer object tr) studios in thf~ir town~ as did the city councns of Glendale, ')(I -. ·" ,~_, >t' 1'/j • " CJ .Scuth Pa.si:ldena, an u ::> d • .a 1 .on 1 c a • Movie makers were quick to note that harassment or expulsion by local city government was not possible '1f'l ·in Ho 1'1ywood. was plenty of land available and rents were low.·u Eventually, the money paid broke down all barriers against the studios. 31 Despite all this movement west, the Los Angeles Chamber of Cownerce still had to work hard. In 1919, they wrote: All of the great stars of filmdom have chosen Southern California for their workshops and most of them make their p1~rmanent homes here. Nowhere has nature prepared so \"ie 11 for the work of the motion picture producer. It is but natural that the people of this section should follow this lead and VJelcome, as they do, the expansion of motion pic­ ture making and take pride that Los Angeles is the motion picture capital of the world. The article continued: You realize surely the importance of having every member of the organization awake in the morning and start to work in a. flood of happy sunshine. Cold rain and slushy snov1 do not tend to the proper mental condition for the best cre~:;_t·ive vwrk. Environment affects ever·y member· :;f a til~ producing organization from the stars, directors and can1eY'amen to extras and general helpers. Every film man should carefully consider the above bit of psychology. No other city in the world offers seashore, mountains9 desert and c;ty civilization within an hour of the studios. There is no cessation of the growing season. Gardens and or:::hards can be filmed 12 inonths of the year. Snow scenes may be had within a few miles. NovJ cc.me tht:: hiH'd sell. "Cheap electric power· is avo.ilab.le in any ~uantH.y. He can assur·e you that Southern California is the mDst ideal city [sic] for producing fi1ms. 1132 This last was necessary, beca.use GriffHh had begun trying every means possible to duplicate the skillful lighting arrangements he had enjoyed at the legitimate theatf'i" ·i 11 Ne·w York. Griffith's impact on the movie industry is well documented, both for his advancement of the featur~ film and the star s_ystem, and lris discuver·y of the r-ight l!acUng rnater··lall! for' the motion p1ccure' ' camera tecnn1que' ' ' t11a1r t neI env1s1oneL.' ' d 33 93

It was evident that the movie maKers were fascinating to touri~ts and residents alike~ and Los Angeles business people observed that they were bringing a lot of new money into the town. The movies now began to work to the benefit of the Los An~eles promoters. In movie the~ters everywhere people began to catch glimpses of streets filled with quaint little houses, of flower-filled paties, of palms, pepper trees) and eucalyptus. Magazine articles and newspaper stories spoke of the everlastin~ summer, the bungalows that could be rented cheaply, the romantic movie business. No other city ever enjoyed the publicity that came to Los Angeles through this medium. From all over the country, tourists bega.n to arTiVR~ 4 i\s usual, fu1fi11·ing the pi~o- jection of the Los t\ngeles settler, they r·emained, to work at ful---

It was not long before the designation "A Hollywood Production" gainea a certain cachet with the public. It became an even more familiar and valuable asset in the advertising of movies than the br:imk name l!Surlkist 11 for ora!lges. Simil

35 becam£-: <'l. majot factor' in the city's burgeon·ing grov1th. both 2ppropriate and timely for the motion picture indw;;try to d"'isc~:rve}' Los Angeles. l\mcdcans were beginning to enjoy a :;;hortet \'JO':''K \'}r~ek due to the spr·ead of ·inr!ustrialization, and motion pictures were p~rfect for filling the increased amounts of leisure time. The Los Angeles buosters, who had written endless brochures and 94 rec,rlon, ivere eager to promote the fil;n ·inclustry and, in turn, wer·e delighted to see the movies promot~ng the Los Angeles way of life. Instead of an exact geograplrical location, Hollywood became a state of minct. 36 Hollywood's success in selling the same dreams that v;ere the focus of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce publications, the Sunkist campaigns and the t'ai1road literatu1~e val·idated their premise. The vibrant, exciting, luxur·ious lifestyle so often por·trayed in the films was the Los Angeles dream, and the fact that the films were made in Hollywood proved to audiences that Los Angeles was the place to attain that dream. CHAPTER VII FOOTNOTES.

1 Wi11 H. Hayes, Se§_~_!1d Hear_:_ A Brief Histort_2L_~i~.. !.i9il . .P.i~_t_u)_res ~~}~-the Dev~] opme.!:!_t_Q..L~oung_llos Ange 1 es: By the author, 1929 ' p. 4. ?Edwin 0. Palmer, tJistory_of J~ol_l[wood_, 2 vo1s. (Holl_ywood: Arthur H. Cawston, 1937), 1:192.

3Ibid., p. 113.

4Julius Pfragner·, The t::ye of History, The Motion Pictur-e from ~1_?-_gi~, -~a.n!_~r_!:l_ __ tq__So~_:_c!._ri 1m (Chicago: Rand- McNa iTy&co--:~-~96~1}-;p--189. r: ~~Ibid.

6John W. Caughey~ California (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: PrenUce Ha"ll, "!970L p. 497.

7Pa 1me~~. ti? !_l_i_~vood ,. p. 192.

8 0 Kel··,n.. e',·.h.... i'v'~~acgoHan, :Je h 1n· d tf.1e .creenS ( New ·y or~:k D.e.acor..:e l ~ Press~ 1955), p. "!7. ------

9Benjamin B. Hampton, A Histor:y_Q:Lthe t4ov_ies (Nei'l Yor-k: Covici-·Friede Publishers, 1931;:---p. 28.

10t~acgmvan, Scr~ef!s p. 128. 11 D. J. i~enden, }]~~ Bh·t_b ___o}~_1_he r:l9vies (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1975), p. 22.

12Ibid .• p. 87. ,., (8 ~"'

14rHcha.i'd Schickel, f;io_v·i_~s (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1964), p. 12.

15pfragner, l)'e_, p. 189.

l6Hampton, t\__Hi stor:_y, p. 73.

l7p~r~~~~P~ eve l) ,,,(,;:,''-''!:::.-<-:..'·· 1Ql~·. 89. 96

19schicke1, Mo~·iesJ p. 34. 20 Richa~·d Dale Batman, 11 The Founding of the Ho"llywood !"lotion Picture Industry," lJouY'n_9.l_ of the L~_est_ 10 ( Oc toner 1971): 3. 21Hampton, A Histo_~, p. 191.

22 Pa1mer, ~ol~ood, p. 191. 23 Fred Balshofer and Arthur C. Miller, One Reel a Week (Berkeley: University of California Pr·ess, 1967}, p. 54.

24Ibid., p. 57.

25 Ibid., p. 56. 26rb.;d .J.. ! • ' p. 41 . 27w. W. Robinson, Los Angeles, A Profile (Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press. 1964), p. 36.

28Lynn BmvTnan, _l:_os~eles, Epic.of a C..i.!Y. (Berkeley: Hmv,:;11- North Books, 1974), p. 233.

29satman, 11 Founding," P. 13. 30r· .d 01 • ' p. 14.

321-!ampton, A History, p. 52.

33rb·d~ 1 •

34rt) ·'ctI · 3 p. 80.

35\4o.l ton E. Sean, CaJHornia, 2d ed. (New York: ~1cGraw-Hi11 Book Co., 1973), p. 386. CHI\PTER VI I I

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

Who shall set a limit to the triumphal march towards commercial, industr·ia1 and social supr'enEH:Ji .•.. That our future is one of surpassing brightne3s and promises th~ full realization a~d development. of all of our city 1 s latent possibilities, which will place her. in less thar a centu)~, among the greatest and proudest cities of the old and new worlds. is doubted by few~ and is the log~cal deduction of scir~ntific: and mathematiccfl calculation. 1

Thn pE~ri od from ·l 869 to the end of thf~ century v:as orre of seriou~; decline in Amer·ican agt'icultun>., dut: to an overexpansion of production and a deflated currency. Additionally) post-Civil War recon.stt'ucti on and UY'ban i.mernp·l oyment contri butE:d to the rest! ess:;e:>s

"' .il ...~' ..; ... ""' • ~ -i--, 2 1 n r-.! •• cr, to.n soc 1e LJ •

As in every p~1·iod of ('Conomic 'J.ncerta·Jnty; l\mer··ica's ·rest- less society struck out for open lan~ migrating w~stwnrd. However,

'LO·"' 1.\"" "·"loc n-~• 1 r·r'''"'t'u~rl1..,. ~ 11..~ ' • n'~••. I '1-h~.... ~, ...... tv:1;,,...~,1/!'-' \..•<..A t ~.J • ,1 1'::iC ,c-;:_, seH·:pr"""""'-~to 3 Through the use of judicious v.,r·~t:ing, carefu11~y planned and cont·inuous adve~o"\tising earn- paigns. 2nd ~iscri8inating j~stribution, the boosters ochievcd theiT qoa1 of enticing me~,bers of the industrious middle class to emigrate.

07-·' 98

Historians have both marvelled ~nd scoffed at the promotional pl:'actices used at the turn of the century to sell the legend of Los Angele:s. Nevertheless, a boundless enthusiasm, guided and focused by pragmatic business minds) successfully sold a ityle of living that was new to the American consciousness. The promoters offered an inimitable style of 1ife and v-10rk, one that promised the farmer, the entrepreneur and the E~ropean immigrant an easier, more varied, healthier and more enJoyable. prosperity.. 4 The ciassic American dream was based on the hope for a better life, and the boosters offered a tempting variation to the earnest middle class. This combination of psychological and sociological forces provided a climate of expansion that benefited the boosters of the Los Angeles dream. Powerful economic interests backed an unprecedented barrage of promotionRl materials distributed throughout the United

States a:~d Europe fr,om 1885 to 1912. The combined effol~ts of the railroads. the tci1 ·~state speculators, the oil, citrus, mr.nufacturing and agl~icultural interests \'J(.:n~ assistt:d by two remarka.ble institu~ tions~ Commerce~ which encow·agE!d membf:rshi p of a11 those i nter·ested ! n the advance:nent of thr~ city and not ju::>t tfiose in act-ive business; and the Los fmge1es T~~~~s~ a single- the· impetus for what hecame the most intensive public relations effort trH: countr·y had yet ex peri er.ced; and which produced unpre(edonted

The land boom of the 1880s was the beginning of the publicity The 99

mythology, created by the varied economic inter't:•sts, c.ppea1ed to the

American ar:d [twc'pc~;;n public, and a. city \l.;as cr'ea.ted in a most un1·ike1y place--the middle of a desert. The boosters sold land~ climate and opportu~ity to America's growing middle class, a most responsive audic~nce.

,il, second phase, fueled primarily by Sunkist) Southern Pacific and tlv..: L'os An9e 1es Chamber, brought Los 1~ngel es a record of growth that smashed cd ·1 of its previous records. From 1900 to 1910, Los

An9eles' rate of decennial growth'was 183.5 percent, the fastest ever estab1ished by a. major metropolitan area in this centur}',::,

Economic:a.l1y, the booster efforts were pi~Jmari1y on behalf of those who would benefit the most. The Southern Pacific, which had bunt a railroJ.d on government money, partly justified for militat.Y purposes; needed to create a market both for hs services c.nd fol' the vast a,nount of te,·THory it i1r..d been awarded for its her·oic const·t'uc- tion effor·t. In order' to prospel~, the Los Angeles I'!!~~~ needed to create a major metropclis, as did the landholders, hotel owners, entrepreneurs and bankers--men like hotelier Remi Nadeau, department store ov-;ner· Harris Ne~v:nark a.nd newspaper publ·JshET Henry Boyce.

The railt'oads and the business interests, whose nucleus was the Los /\11ge 1es Chambel~ of Co;nmcrce, cooperated v-Ji th the 90vecnment-. sponsored imnrlgr·ation agencies. These promotiona·! organizations fmT:ed to enccurr;ge w.:stward migration were a1 so the sout~ce of much

Subsidized writers produced a prodigious

nev,:s oa per copy and other pub 1 is hed propi:!ganda. ,r.,r·t·Jc1es WE~r·e often blatantly pror•1otional. Special 100

information sections ar;d issues, such as the annual tC?._S 1:r~gel~~ Times

Al~!tac, were de vi sed primarily as promoti ona·l pieces and ~Jere dis- tributed widely to selected markets across the country. In fact, it often seemed that Chamber publicity \'vas the only news Los Angeles produced. One effect of the successful marketing of a lifestyle that included,' in part, having an orange tree in one•s front yard$ was a citrus crop that became a glut on the local market. In the early 1900s, the growers organized into a cooperative, and, as the California Fruit Growers Exchange, began an experiment with national advertising. They sold not only oranges but the California dream. The results proved so effective that not only did the eating of ora.nges become a nat·i ona 1 habit but severa 1 hundred thousand immi -- grants moved to southern California from Iowa, the first state tar- geted fo\' the cam;.ii'\"ign. And, during 1907, the first year of the promotional blitz, orange sales in Iowa increased 50 percent. 7

The Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads, which stood to gain both in passenger and freight trijffic, cooperated with prefer- ential shipping rates, refrigerated cars and specially decorated trains, and b.Y toutins the orange gi~oves in the·ir promotional literd- ture. Since Los Angeles did not have a diversified industrial base 0 t ., un,.; 1. t1fter l9LO,c• the success of the citrus industrj' 1 S can1paign contributed heavily to Los Angeles• phenomenal growth.

The primar'y attributes of climate, scenic beauty and diversHy continuPd to be the nucleus of the Los Angeles legend, but after 1900 the fledqling oil industry prov·lded additional material for the 101 boosters. Promotional publications toutRd southern Celifornia 1 s oil as a clean, cheap fuel. providing more proof that life in Los Angeles was clean, healthy. beautiful, enjoyable and profitable. As usual in the tightly interwoven economy of Los Angeles, the Los tmgeles Ti_~~i:?_ and the Southern Pacific were able to turn a profit on the oil bonanza, and both proceeded to include this re~ource in-thei~ booster publi- cations. The arrival of the motion picture industry, itse-lf origina'!ly

- • • ,. • ,J enticed by the booster claims of perpetual sunsrd ne a.nd 01vers1T1eu landscapes, provided unexpected support to the irnage of Los ~~no e 1es. -.)

Eventually~ the Hollywood imo.ge, pr·omoted by the f'l1m ir:du·;t:--y, did mor·e than even the orange gr·oves and the c1 ;matE: to inctease Los

Angeles' romantic appeal to tourists and imn.l~:r·ants. Ar.d, r·e:dizi~.g th;;~_t the motion picture industt'Y was 'f,. gr·eal -~::;set, the Lvs Ange;2s

Chamber of Commerce sr~t abJut to increasr~ par·Ucipat-ion by other f'iiln makers, offering cheap power, supportive adv2rtising and other entice- ments. In retuY'n~ tr.e motion picture indust:~y cn::ateJ an aun~ of glamour that continues to this day.

From th0 late rdneteenth centul~y on~ Lo~ ~~mge1es disp-layed a collective genius for productive promotion. What was crnrununicated to the wo;·i J v1as. a vision Gf a .:-Hy--a projected imi1•Je composed of the hope and amb-itior:~:, of those who ca1ne to Los Angeles to acquir-e health, or wealth. or beauty, or fame. or peace of mind, or all of these. And, whe·~lJU' cr nc·t th~:,y found what they vlet·c seeking rnany of those who stayed tunwd r·iqht d~'ound ~md joined iP the booster chorus. In fact~

~t has Seen said that ~he sorawling acreage that comprised Los Angeles but 102

C;.;nciusions

This study has focused a.ttent·ior. on the sixategic ro1e of the

promotional literature produced by Los Angeles bus·iness interests during the years 1885-1915, and on the compounding effect of the

Hollywood film industry. During these years, the region grew at a

pace unmatched by any other state and was only succeeded by the booms 11 of the tv1ent'ies and the post-~Jo1~1ct ~lar II era. The claims mr..de by

the boosters overcame the fact thi1.t souther·n ca·l ifcrni a ha.d very 1 ittl e indust:··y, insufficient water to sustain growth (a situation br1ef.ly solved by the Owens Valley Aqueduct), a reputation as 11 COw-town,u inadequate hotel facilities and a distant location. In addition, Los

Angeles did not have, at the beginning~ a viable harbor or ·f'iver system, or, ordinari1y an essential in ,;merican economics, a popu·latior: suf- ficient to provide a consumer market.

By basing their campc.ig:~ on real attributes, the climate and the scenic grandeur, Los Angeles' promoters were able to gain a n:Jdicum of believability for their exaggerated statements in other ar2as. The promise of economic opportunity was, as this research has shm-.sn ,· the strongest motivating factor of all. People came in response to the extravagantly touted, but potential, opportunities in land~ oil, trade, agr'h;ul ture ctnd emp1 oyment.

This study has se1ected examples of the promotional v.Jriting that stressed the concept th2t a minimum of toil reaped a maximum of . ph?asur0.ble benefit. lt is this emphasis that is v;orthy of the scholur 1 s attention, since it set a pattern followed in public rela- t:ior~s techniques to Vrls day. The promotional literature reiterated 103

the point that the enjoyment of wealth was preferable to the accumula-

tion of wealth, and that it took imagination and hard work to reach this goal. This translated to the migrant the possibility of being one who deserved to enjoy his prosperity, and this proved irresistible.

Th~re are many remarkable aspects of the gigantic profuotional campaign which the boosters c6nducted without awareness of sophisti- cated marketing research methods and with virtually no knowledge of sociological trends. They created a legend of a land with incomparable

opportunities and ameni t·i es, and, dur'ir19 the three decades covered by this study, they conv·inced differ·ing segments of the popt.(lation to

uproot themselves and t~avel thousands of miles for resettlement. Though not recognized as such as the time, this study shows that the promotional activities of the southern California business

inter·ests fall into the category of public relations. The unvtece- dented effectiver•ess of the legend of Los Angeles is evidence of the uniqueness of this promotional campaign. People believed that Los

Angeles offered a better chance to fulfill their dreams and fantasies

because the promoters told them so.

The steady barr~age t)i· Utopian mythology caused Los Angeles to develop in a different manner than had other western communities.

Fn:;derid Jackson Turner \•Jrote that 1\'Jhile vmve after wave ro1ls

Hestw:lrd, the real El Dorado ·is sti1l further on. 1112 But \'/hen the trJveler reached Los Angeles, this was psychologically the last front·ier.

The traits of the frontier that Turner attri,buted to the 11 p·ion<:ef' wt-:r·e a prDctica1 ~ inventive tw~n of mind ... that masterful 104

grasp of material things ... the restless~ nervous energy, that

• • j • • d 1 • •I 13 d onn nan ~c: Ht( 1 v1 ua 1 sm.· These wonls might be used to describe the resilient and inventive Los Angeles boosters, who having reached this last frontier, boasted louder and longer than a~yone else about their

El Dorado. Secaus~ of the physical barrier of the Pacific Ocean, Los

Angeles had to serve as the fulfillment of their· drearns. Newcomers to Los Angeles have been a continually perpetuated majol'"i ty, 14 and the re1vcomets in the years cover·ed by this study were often the most enthusiastic boosters. The Los Angeles migrants dif- fen~d sor.ia11y and econc:mica·lly from the historica·l pioneer, and having n~oved families and possessions several thousand miles could not admit to family and friends back east that Los Angeles might not have every- thing the booster literJture had led them to believe.

One explanation for the fact that Los Angeles migrants, whether hea1th-seekers, entr~preneurs or farmers, joined so erlthusiastica11y in the booster dCtivities might be that to admit failure meant return- inp home, becausA, rsy:hologically. there were no further lands tu the

•·1es>·Vi ·~ y +,:,,_..t~ -~~P"'';e _. • -. \,.-..._""'~. tt-.e-...! 1 .."~· ~.J~~l .. •:).y,lic '-J' ~ " ."::".r• ~ ~~~~__:_no,..,~dr. •. ~~· pp·rce_,·ve_d_ • as the_ last fron-

mignmts. Hu.v-1ng re~~cb::d th2 physical limits of t.he land, they fou:··id it necessery net unly to stay and war·~ toward filling their dreams, but ·to shout to tne rest of the world that the legend of Los Angeles was tr·ue.

Frede~'·id: ,Jackson Turner· incbded in his definition of the fr(nti t:r tha-t. it >Jas a qeoqra phi c area that pt·ov·i ded an unusua 1 oppor- tunity for' the inidiuid:.!als to better themselves economica1l.y and 105

SOCla. 11 y. 15 He also stated in 1893 that the frontier era had passed.l6

This meant that nationa1ly, the myth of the frontier, as a. place of un- limited oppor·tunity \

This thesis has shown that the value of the promotional literature of the Los Angeles eras covered in this study is multi- faceted. Although histories of Los Angeles have mentioned the role played by such material, for the most part, the army of promoters, speculators, travelers, newspaper and magazine editors, guide-book writers, and authors of railroad b~ochures and industrial publications play a significant, but often forgotten, role in history. An important exception is the real estate 1 iterature of the 1880s. Much of the ephemera has been discarded. Yet enough has survived, as this thesis proves, to provide evidence of the psycholog- ic~l emphases than ran through much of the material. The flyers, b~ochures, and ~amphlets were found in the back rooms of bookstores, often stored, uncataloged, in dusty cardboard boxes. Material was also found in the scrapbooks und memorabilia of the descendents of pioneer families, which can occasionally be found in the libraries of local historical socities. Other ephemera, particula~ly those per- taining to the railroads, has been retained by dedicated collectors. 106

Nevet'the1 ess, since the use of this promoti ona·l 1 iterature can be helpful in reseal~ch in the fields of economics, politics, business and sociology, as well as histor·y imd mass communications~ it is important that these original sources be located. Research on public relations as a profession, and on its development as an adjunct to the business structure, is sparse, and what little has been done has been mainly in the fields of business and advertising. While historians have acknowledged the importance of this branch of related study, little has been done in the field of mass communications on the literature of promotion. This type of material, while scarce, can be found. Valuable additional research might be done utilizing surviving promotional materia 1s. Research on the authors of the brochur·2s, and the sources of funding for the different varieties of literature might shed further light on the iqt.errelationship bebJecr. political and business interests. An example would be the Pacific Electric R&ilway Cox Company and Henry Huntington. Other areas deserving of study include the promotional effects cif the radio and televisior industries, whose connections to Los

Angeles again enhanced its im0.ge in later yeat's. 1\dditionally, the effect of the Hollywood films on the unstable ~~orid \·Jar II population might be investigated. The literature of other major promotional campaigns in the Los Angeles area during the years 1885 to 1915 is also worthy of study. Particularly important are the public relations drives to gain local support for the Owens Valley Aqueduct and San Pedro Harbor. These 107 campaigns are beyond the scope of this thesis since they were directed primarily at the residents of Los Angeles, rather than at possible new i~nigrants. Historians have traditionally relegated promotional literature to the sidelines and footnotes of history. This thesis has proven, however, that this material can provide valuable evidence of the psychology of an era. 108

CHAPTER VIII FOOTNOTES

1Grea!er_Los Angeles Illustrat~~ (Los Angeles: Pictorial American, 1908), p. 81. ,.., LWalton Bean, Californi~, 2d ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.3 1973), p. 274.

3Frank Beach, 11 The Transformation of California: 1900-1920," Doctoral Dissertation (University of Ca1ifornii Berkeley, 1963), p. 207. 4Robert r1. Fogel son, J:.he Fragmented Metropo 1_!~-~ Ang_~lJ:~: 1880-1930 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1973), p. 72.

5Jack Hart, "The Information Empire. 11 A h·istory of the Los Angeles Times from the Era of Personal Journalism to the Advent of the Mu1ti·-Media ·c-ommunications Co-r'poration. Ph.D Dissertation (Univers·ity

of Wisconsin, 1975) 5 p. 29.

6Glenn Dumke, The Boom of the Eighties_ (San Marino, Cal"if.: Hunt·ington Litwary; 1951}, p. 57. 7carey McHilliams, Southern California Country (New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1946), p. 162.

8 Ibid. , p. 2 36 . 9Paul Deresco Augsburg, 11 l'~dvertising Did It!" Dearborn: Dearborn Independent. 25 November 1922, reprinted as pamphlet (n.p.: w. P~-Jefft~1 es Cr)~-~---1922) , p. 6. 10carey McWilliams, California, The Great Exception (New York: A. A. Wyn, 1949), p. 70.

11 Frederick Jackson Turner, 11 The Si gni fi cance of the Frontier, 11 Word That Won the West. ed. Richard N. Current and John A Garraty (Bosfon:--rittfe, sr:o~vn- & co., 1962), p, 55. 12rbid. 13 Mdl"i 11 i ams, So~~thern, p. 239. 14 ' Turner, "Significance, 11 p. 55. 15 ~o·tr·d • , p. 3"76. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Tliompson, Warren. §.~.P.!~th aT]_c!_Changes in California~1 __ ~ulat-~2_.r:!_. Los Angeles: The Haynes Foundation, 1955.

Thra$he~-. t•iarion, M.D. Long Life__j_!!__Ca1ifor_}1ia. Chicago: ~l. /J.. Donohue & Company, 1915.

Turner~ Frederick Jackson. llThe SignificancE of the Frontier . .., In Wor·ds That Won the ~Jest. EdHed by Richard N. Current and John A-:-carraty. -Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1962.

Van Dyke, Theod

vli1lard, Charles Dw·lght. The Heraid's Hist_g_r_,y__Q_f__b_

History of the Los Anqe·les Chamber of Commerce. Los Angeles: ---·--Kings 'I ey-Ba rnes-ifNeune~· Co. ' 1899. ------

Hood, Ruth Kedzie. The Tourist's Califor~nia. New Yot~k: Dodd, ~1ead and Company ,""'1915."------· vJorkman, Boyle. The City That GreH. Los Angeles: The Southland Publishing Co., 1936.

Pamph 1e_!_?_

Abbott, James ~~. Among Cities Los Angeh~~ is_ the \.Jorl ds ~:!:_f~ati::!_?. t Wonder--WHY? Los Angeles: The Cadmus Press~ 239 Los Angeles s t·:-;·yg·y~

Annua 1 Publication of the Historical Society of South_!2rn _Ca 1 i f9.IJJ.1.~~­ ------·189f. Los Angeles: Press of the Franklin Pr·inting Co., '189"l.

Augsburg, Paul Deresco. 11 Advertising Did It." Dearborn: Dear_~rn. ]l_!d'?.Q?rdent, 25 November· 1922; reprinted, n.p., ltJ. P. Jeffries Co .. 1922.

BI'OOk> Hi'lrry E!1ington. The Ci..!Y__And_Iou.D__!y of Lo~ __t\nqe1es in Southern California. Distributed at the World 1 s Columbian txpcis-fE1on,-Tt3~13-~·--los Angeles: Los Angeles Times-f·;1irror· Co., 1893; Nineteenth edition~ revised, November 190/! issued by the Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles: Press of the Los Ar.geles Printing Company.

Har~ry En-:ratDn~ comp. Southel~n Ca'Jifornia, The Land of Sunsf'!:ine: An Authentic Descri_Q_tion of its }~aturai Features, n.-~o··r;:.:;;;:--::;~,(ro,...·,...s-part· s--L.. os 11 n''P~l.. E-;c-:-T-h. a ,-n-,-J+Ttern ---- r~e ...... u ;,...'(..~<··_ f.l,. J _! ~ ll ~J. · e._. .. J-\t !:;1-- ..,_,.. 1 '- ._..~.. •. v. 1 taTCf'or71Tii-~Jor:·r;:r'sfilir Association and Soutf1en1 Ca"lifm-nia Bureau of Infonnat·ion Print, 1893.

Burks, Jes st-: H. C·i rcu1 aL Rosemond Tract.

California for the Settler. Southern Pacific Company by A. J. Wells. ------·--s~in-~rrancTscD:'"T9Ts.

--·~~···-.--California... ---~,~--·-··---·~---~~---·· Cornocuoia. ---- ____ x: ,.____ n.o.,. 1883. California Fruit Growers Exchange Recipes. Published by California · · Fruit-Growers Exchange, !900. ·

California, The Golden State. Published by Passen~er Department, Rock Island Lit:ies, Chicago, 1908.

California Pamphlets, Southern California.

Ca 1 ifornia' s Coast Country. Issued by Passenger Department, Southern Pacific Company, San Francisco, 1907.

The City and County of Los Angeles. 10th issue. Issued by Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Los Angeles: Press of Out West Company, 1902.

Climate and Health in Los Angeles .County and Southern California. Los Angeles: Los AngelesChambero-·fcommerce," 1897:"__ _

Darlow A., and Brook, Harry. The Rand McNall,y_Gu_id§_t2~aJ..jforni_~ 11 via 11 The OverlEl.nd Route. With map and i11ust~·ations. Chicago and New Yorf:lfand, McNally & Co., 1900.

Dunkerley, l~illiam J. Know Los Angeles County. Under the direction of Leonard E. Read, gerieralmanagei:Los An9el es County Chamber of Commerce. Los Ange 1es: Los Ange 1es County Bo:~{'d of Supervisors, i939.

Fisher~ L. T. "Pioneer Register--Pioneers of Los !mgeles County. n T9cf4.Historical Society-- ______of Southern"' ____ California ------Annual. Part 2.

Greater Los Anqeles Illustrated Pictorial American. Compiled and ------pu oT1Sh"eCi -by-the P1c:fo rTarAmer1caii-~--42b-431 Pacific E1 ect ric Building, Los Angeles, n.d.

The Great Exterior Fruit B2H and San·itarium. San Bernardino: ---·--ffme-sBooks and.-JDb Pr::rn-r, 1885.

Hill, Laurance L. Los Angeles in Three Centuries. 4th ed. Los A.ng~1es: Se.ci:!r1t~y~:~l1rst···NaTTona1·Ban~Cof-tos Ange1es, c. 1931. 117

Janss, Petet. I_he_Soutj~1and ~11agazine. September, 1911. Keeler, Charles A. Southern California. Passenger Department, Santa Fe Routr:, Los Angeles-:1899.- The Land of the Afternoon Sunshine. Los Angeles: Press of Kingsley, f4o fes-T Co11fnsco:-:-T9o7.

Los Ange 1es Board of Trade. 1.23 An~J es__ ~_i ty and County, R_esourc~s, Climate, P.rogress, andJ2ut1ool~ 1888.

Los Ange 1cs Chamber of Commerce. How t1/e Grow. 1897.

Los Angeles County Facts i.\nd Figures. Circu1ar. 1889. Los Ange 1es Herald and Express I 11 ustrated Souvenir Di rector·y of ------·-so-uthern Cal ifoni·:ra:---ros"'Aiigel es: -Press ~Commercia-l Printing House:-c=-1904. los Angeles, the Metropolis of the South. 1888.

The Los Angeles Times A]manac. Los Angeles: Times-i.. 'Jir-ror Co., va·l. 1 No. 1, JanuaJ~y 1897.

T~e _!.._9_~._ Angeles Times Annual Trade Number. 1 January 1889,

"Los Anqe-!es, The Old and the NeVJ." Los J\ngeles: Th~ G1~aphic Publishing Co., 1906. Maclay San Fernando Rancho Trustees. T!J_e Maclay_ Colony of_Sat_:J_ Fernando of Los .Cmgel_~_ Countv, California. Los Ar.ge'les: ·rs92.--.. -

McG~oarty, John Steven. Southern California. San Diego: Southern California Panama--Exposition Commission, 1914.

l'1:5p of the State of CalHot·nia. San Francisco: Immigration Associa­ ------fTOn-of-taTfforni a, c. 1885.

The Mentor. Department of Travel. December 15, 1916 .

.~U.Bll.L_i.I!_Los A!)_9~.l~2: Issued by Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. New York: Newcomb Publishing Co., c. 1912.

Nolan, Edward t~. Califot·nia, An About the Golder, State. Chicago: The Althl~o-p PublisnTi-i~T~i-ndMaTfing House-,c1rca. 1887, 118

The Oil Industry. San Francisco: Palmer Oil Company~ 1912.

The Overland Route to the Road of a Thousand i~onders. Issued by the - Union Pacific and So-uthern Pa·c·Hic Passenger Departments. 1908.

Pen Pictures from the Garden of the ~~orl d. Ch-icago: The Lewis Publishing Co., 1890.

Pt~o(i~able Realty. George C. Peckham & Co. Los Angeles: 1912.

Jh~ H~Q.t_~anr-!__its Surroundings: East PasaderH:J 1 Ca_J_ifo_!nia. Boston: James S. Adams, Printer.

The_ Raymons!_~nd its Surroundi.!:!_9J_: South Pasadena. Boston: James S. Adams, Pr·i nter.

Raymond, W. , and Whit comb, I. A. A t~i nter hl Ca 1 i forrd a. Boston~ James S. Adams, Printer, 18~---·------·-·

Resources of California. Prepared by authority of lavJ. H. H. ---·~a-rkllam, Governor. Sacramento: State Office) 1893.

Riverside County Califot'nia. Issued by the Boar·d of Superv·isot·s and ------the ·cTiairtbe.r·-6Tc·omrn.erce, Riverside County ca 1 i forr:-l a, Riverside: The Mission Print Shop. Redpath, Lionel V. Petroleum in California. Los Angeles: By the Author) l9oo-:---· -·------

Robinson) H. W. Panorama. A Picture History of Southt~rn Ca1"ifon1la. Los Angeles: Title Insurance and Trust Company~-1953:---~----

Sebastian, .John. The Golden State. Chicago: Rock I:;land Systern. 1903. Summel· in Southern California. At(hison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ·--·------c-;.:,·m--;:;-a-n-;~---,-")t.··;::j s"-senn;_;~--Do'"'-"'"'Tti1"'nt Ch .;, Crl ao .· 1, uoqr.; •· :. .J~ •iJ . .} ""~ .,..i.::JC" ·-r--:..;.• v .1\.:.. • _..::J -"'-' The Southern California Bulletin. Boston: Alfred Nudge & Son, Printer, ------May-1888. ------·--

Southern California Illustrated. Los Angeles: Geo. Rice Publisher, -----·----1883. -~------

Southern California Tourists 1 Guide Dook. Los Angeles: Geo. E. Rice / ------~--[~188~3".-----·-·------

South2rn ?aci·F·ic Company. Calforn-ia for Health, Pleasure and Profit. San Francisco: 1894-.------·------·----- 119

Souther·n Pacific Company. In Semi-Tropical California_. Los Angeles: 1893. Sunkist Recipes. California Fruit Growers Exchange. Los Angeles: ---T§T6-.-·

Sunny Southern California. Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Los Angeles: Geo. Rice and Sons, 1910. Sunset. A Magazine of the Border. November, 1901. Vol. VIII, No. 1.

Truman, Benjamin Cummings. California Imorints, Los Angeles, _1896_. Los Angeles: Geo. Rice-ana Sons, 1896. Uncle Sam's Lands in Southern California and How to Acquire Them. Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. 1912.

Articles Batman, Richard Dale. "The Founding of the Hollyv10od Motion Picture Industry." Journal of the Hest 10, no. 4 (October 1971).

Ca11enback, Ernest. 11 How the tbvies Came to Holly~·.;ood." Fortnight. I'lV lf''jC:t.::) . (J ...i ·.,; ,}~ •

Cu'lton, Donald R. 11 Los Angeles 'CH·izen fixit' Charles Dwight t1i1'ial~d, / City Booster and ProgrEssive Reformer~.~~ Calif2.!:_nia Hi...?..!E.Y'Y· Summer· 1978.

Guinn, James ~i. ilThe Great Real Estate Boom of 11387. !I Histor~ical Society of Southern California. Annual publication I {1890) :B-21.

Hartwel'i, Dickso'1, "Biilion-Ool:ar Orange Squeeze. 11 Liber·~y_ (September 7, 1946):20.

Henry, Su$an. ~~colonial Homen Printer'S as Prototype: Toward a Model for the Stud.:,.· of M·fnorit·ies. 11 Jourr.al'lsm History 3, no. 1 ~ • 1 07(" . . Spnng ,_,;J. Los Angeles Express. Clipping ffiarked August 1885. California Scrc:..ptio-or~-T6 ~ Hu:1tington Library.

~lacfar·la.ne, Peter Clark. 11 The City P.dver~tisino Built. 11 Cc)Fiier's LV / (June 26, 1915):11,28-32.- -

!~cFie, Maynard. 11 The Gay Nineties. 11 A paper read at the Sunset Club, October 27, 1944. Published by the Club as a contribution to the histm~y of Los Angeles and Southern California. 120

Stanton, \!Jalter. nMovie Pre-History." Fi'lms in Review. June--July, 1965.

Harner, Cha.rles Dudley. 11 The Golden Hespeddes,u AtlE.ntic Month]y LXI, 1888.

Theses and Dissertations

Beach, FrankL. 11 The Transformation of California, 1900-1920: The 1 Effects of the Westward Movement on Ca 1 iforrli a s Gt~ov.;th and Oeve·lopment in the Progressive Period. 11 Ph.D. dissertation, University of Californ·ia at Berkeley, 1963.

Hart. Jack Robert. "The~ Infor·mation Empire: A. History of the Los Angeles Times From the Era of Personnl Journalism to the Advent of the f'iulti~-Media Communications Corporat·ion. 11 Ph.D. dissertation~ Urriversity of Wisconsin-Madison, 1975.

Jacobs, Josepfrine Kingsbur,y. nsl!ilkist /-\dvertising. 11 Ph.D. disserta­ tion, University of California, Los Angeles, 1966.

11 11 r~eyer, /rlbert lJ. History of the California Fruit Growers Exchange. Ph.D. d·issertat·ion, The Johns Hopkins University, 1950.

Miller, Richard Coi'.ne"l!y. "Otis and His T·imes.·!l Ph.D. dissertation, Univer·sity of Califor·nia, BerkelEy,-1961.

St=mton, Jamt~S Rt.Jsse1l. "A Study of Public Relations ·in the ~1iami 1 Land Boom of the 1920s. I' f•laster s thesis, University of Florida, 1974.

Washington, t'ianda. 11 Press !\gentry and the Emel~gence of Daniel Boone as an Amer-ican Folk Hero," fvl.A. thesis, University of Wisconsin, 1973.

Billhgton, Ray ft.11en. ~~~~Jcrds That Won the ~~est. 11 Jl.ddress to Pub.iic Rf.:lations Soc·iety of r..merica, 18 Noverr1bei~ 1963.

California Fruit Growers Exchange Annual Report, 1914. Unpaginated. Sunkist Archives.

"'HiB5 Repor·t of the Immigration Associat-ion ot California. 11 Califat'nia Pa.tron, 5 December 1885. Clipping, Cal·ifornia Scrapbookl6-,---·· HunfTi1gton Library.

Fourth Annual Rf:port of the Los Ange 1es Board of Tr·ade. Los Ange 1es: Times-Mirror Print, 1886. 1. '-''"i

McMillen, D. F. 11 75th Anniversa.ry Talk to the Southern Califrlrr.ia Historical Society~l· 1968. Sunkist A:~chives.

Southern Pacific Public Relations Department. nThe Role of Central Pacific and Southern Pacific in Developing California and the \~est. 11 July 1971. U1emorand~!m.)

Yeatman, W. 11 A Study of Population Trends ·in Los Angeles and the Nation ... Los Angeles Citizens Committee for City and County Consolidation, 1933. ·APPENDIX A

Key Historical t>lilestones Affect'ing Los Angeles Promotional Campaigns, 1885-1915

1885 Santa Fe Railway reaches Los Angeles~·,beginning of competition between Southern Pacific Railroad and Santa Fe to attract p~ssengers to southern California. Southern California Immigration Association founded. Charles Lummis named editor of Los Angeles Times. 1886-88 Los Angeles real estate boom. 1888 Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce revived to counteract recession caused by decline of real estate vr>.lues.

1890 Oil discoveries in Los Angeles put to commercial use. 1893 Panic of 1893--mild in los Angeles due to continuing growth of population.

1900 Automobile Club of Southern California established. 1904 Substantial oil deposits under development. 1907 First national Sunkist advertising campaign.

1909~11 Motion picture film producers and directors begin mova to Los Angeles. ·:91 0 Hn llywood annexed to Los .l\nge 1es. 1913 Owens Valley Aqueduct brings suffi:ient water, cheap electric powcl~ to Los /-\nge 1es.

'19"!t1 Horld ~Jar I starts. Declin•~ of French motion picture industry. Hollywood films gain in popularity. 1915 Woodrow Wilson elected. Anti-trust legislat on enacted-­ strengthens Los Angeles film industry by leg timizing independent producers.

122 APPENDIX B

Excerpts from promotional literature of se1ected public relations campaigns covered in this thesis.

123 124 .

.J--f'. )>

Raymond Hotel pamph 1et, 1886 Southern Pacific Railroad .pamphlet, 1907 126

State booster pamphlet, 1893. 127

,-

1 f '

I,

. , I I

i I

I - Union Pacifi~ Railroad pamphlet ___ __· ------J 128

Southern Pacific Railroad pamphlet, 1915.

130 Sunkist Recipe Booklet, c. 1900 '.< ~-~-:~·-·~_.;~··.·..... :.:·:~--,~.,.::~-.>:"'.:~--:~: ~--·· <~~· · ... - .. ~- .. ·,._-: ~-~·-.~ ... :~~-; ~7--'r'" ~-~---~ .-.-·-t.·. ..~ ii;~,Ji.;l~::,~_,>,~ii;.,;~i.0~;21..~~2j~,;;.;;h,;L~£0~;;;,;£co.LC';"'.«.'"""''"1( 1 \ ~

Sunset Magazine, 1903

ti

By ARTHUR I~KERSLEY

December 1903 r'\J 0 state ~n the tmion offers greakr va­ c.ount'-:; or. if .he is in sc;.!dt cf graces that wili j_ '(j ricty of scenery for the automobile tour­ te5l the hil!-c:imbing powers of his machine, or ist than Californie1. In the in:crior valleys nf deep sa.n<.l that will try his temper and pa­ he can Jlnd great stretches of level road on tience. he can find these things too. 1-Te way whic~ he ·.vi1i oe tempt-::d-forg,~tting that thete tour throuf!,h the •·edwoods of lvfcndocinc, v.-ind are such things as speed limits---to "le;_ her out" his way among the si.1gar-pincs of Siskiyou for an exhilarating sp;n. In winter and spring he or the giant trees of Mariposa grove. The may run :\long highways bordered fl~r mile Yosemite has been entered se"era! times by after mile with orch:uds in ali the glory of full man in the riwtor-car. At Monterey the seven­ bloom. In '-''J;mner he may trav'?rse ro<.!ds which teen-mile dtive aiong the shore of the Pacific parallel vast gr2.in 5.e:ds growing yellow for the furnishes a series of marine vie\\'S that for sheer harvest, and in autumn he may see almost natural beauty can hardly be surpassed any­ ~very pmduct of temperate or semi-tropical where in the world. dimes \n the perfection of rnalurity. If he is a A motorist who traveled about fifteen lover of mountain 5ccncry, be c:m find the hundred miles in his Packard touring car in Coast Ranze or the Sierras m almost every South em California reports: 132

LONG KNOWN AS

fi~mei~ica)ls Gl~t;atest VVintei'l)

... IS THE ...

I II !I II

I'!l Clear, dry days, cool nights, no sunstroke or tornados. Magnificent beach, island and mountain resorts, including Shasta region, I Lake County and the Springs, Lake Tahoe, I Yosemite Valley, Kings River Canyon, Big l I' Trees, Kern River Canyon, San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz 1\-Iountains, Del Monte, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Santa Monica, Long Beach and Catalina, beE;idcs I I! II il Excellent shooting and fishing. Best sn> II camping-ground in the world. }<'or Iitc il I· abatit the resorts and i11formation cone. , II the journey address or call ori any li l