A scarce separately issued 19th-century offprint on railroad transportation rates in Calfornia.
After providing a concise history of land development in California from the mission forward, especially the consolidation of large landholdings, the author proceeds to focus on details of railroad rates, particularly as they concern fruit shipped from California to eastern markets. Weighs a range of economic interests and opportunities, including the railroad companies, large landholders, and small farmers. Even pointing to a little-known fact that California was importing much produce from the eastern states: "The California small farm owners are not quite living up to their opportunities for supplying our local markets.... last year there was brought, by rail lines, from the East into the Pacific Coast States, practially all of it into California, 39,945,000 pounds or about 2000 ten-ton carloads, of stock-farm and poultry-yard products."
"The particular points of the subject matter covered by this discussion relate to the question as to whether or not California railway rates tend to promote land monopoly, and to the effect of the policy governing railway rates upon the growth of Placer County."
Originally presented to the Technical Society of the Pacific Coast, October 5, 1894.