Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/628

 604 SAN FRANCISCO street railroads, with 45 m. of track. About 50 ocean steamers run from the port in regular lines to Japan, Australia, Panama, Mexico, Vic- toria, 'and domestic ports in Oregon and Cali- fornia, and a score of light steamers to vari- ous ports on the inland waters that have their outlet at the Golden Gate. In 1874 San Fran- cisco exported $30,000,000 of treasure, inclu- ding $20,000,000 to New York, $8,000,000 to China, $437,000 to Central America, $400,000 to Peru, $184,000 to England, and $41,000 to Japan. The merchandise exports by sea in the same period were valued at $27,000,000, in- cluding $16,000,000 to Great Britain, $1,668,- 000 to China, $690,000 to Japan, $1,000,000 to Mexico, $453,000 to Central America, $340,- 000 to Peru, $450,000 to the Hawaiian islands, $290,000 to the Society islands, $382,000 to Australia, $137,000 to New Zealand, $693,000 to British Columbia, $560,000 to France, $339,- 000 t) Germany, $1,195,000 to Russian ports in Asia, and $196,000 to the East Indies. The value of the principal articles of export was as follows: wheat (500,000 tons), $14,- 000,000 ; flour, $2,900,000 ; barley, $289,000 ; oats, $131,000; wines, $600,000 ; quicksilver, $711,000. There were also exported 18,000 tons of wool. The imports by sea included 261,000,000 ft. of lumber, 18,000 boxes of can- dles, 60,000 barrels of cement, 37,000 tons of English coal, 189,000 tons of Australian coal, 15,000 tons of Cumberland coal, 51,000 tons of Vancouver island coal, 11,000,000 Ibs. of coffee, 34,000,000 Ibs. of rice, 8,000,000 Ibs. of tea, 71,000,000 Ibs. of sugar, 355,000 fire brick, 28,000 boxes of fresh Oregon apples, 16,000 boxes of raisins, 214,000 kegs of nails, 805,000 cases of coal oil, and 34,000 cases, 8,000 baskets, and 15,000 casks (various sizes) of wine. The imports by rail were also large, and included some of the same classes of ar- ticles. The number of sea-going vessels that arrived was 4,204, with an aggregate measure- ment of 1,553,000 tons, of which nearly half came from Europe and New York. The sum of $7,898,000 was paid for federal duties, and $2,488,000 for internal revenue duties. The coinage was $27,000,000. The sales of mining stock in the board of brokers amounted to $260,000,000, and of real estate within the limits of the city to $23,000,000. The site and some other circumstances of the city are unfavorable to manufacturing industry, but in the matter of climate and Chinese population, and in some other points, it has great advan- tages ; and it has many important manufac- turing establishments, including woollen and silk mills, and manufactories of watches, car- riages, boots, furniture, candles, acids, soap, wire work, castings of iron and brass, and sil- ver ware. San Francisco is the centre of great wealth and the home of many millionaires. Many of the mines of gold, silver, quicksilver, and coal, the deposits of borax and sulphur, the quarries of granite, marble, trap, slate, and steatite, the mining and irrigating ditches, the railways and macadamized roads, the quartz mills and saw mills, the vineyards, farms, or- chards, and ranches, from Arizona to Idaho, and from the Pacific to the Rocky mountains, are owned here. The wealth of the city prob- ably amounts to $500,000,000; the assessed value of the property within its limits is about half that sum. The capital and deposits of the savings banks are $55,000,000, and of the commercial banks $25,000,000. The city owes much of its prosperity to the Comstock lode in Nevada, which pays about $12,000,000 of an- nual dividends, and yields a considerable profit also upon the sales of mining stock, in which people from all 'parts of the coast speculate. San Francisco is governed by a mayor and a board of supervisors of 12 members (one from each ward), elected for two years. The mem- bers of the board of education (one from each ward) are also elected biennially. The reg- ular police force consists of 150 men. There is a paid fire department, with 11 steam en- gine companies, 5 hose companies, 8 hook and ladder companies, and a fire-alarm telegraph. The annual expenditures of the city govern- ment are $3,500,000, including $650,000 for schools, $400,000 for interest and sinking fund of the debt, $229,000 for street lights, $224,- 000 for the fire department, $190,000 for the police, and as much more for the hospital. The entire debt is $4,162,000, less relatively than that of any other large American city. The taxation for city and state purposes in 1874 amounted to $5,543,000. Among the chari- table institutions are the United States marine hospital, the city hospital, the pest house, the almshouse (all government institutions), the woman's hospital, the lying-in hospital, and the hospitals of the sisters of mercy and of the French and German benevolent societies. There are 87 benevolent societies meeting openly, besides numerous secret societies that are at least partially benevolent in character. The public schools accommodate 30,000 pupils in regular attendance. The mercantile library has 40,000 volumes, the mechanics' institute library 30,000, the odd fellows' library 25,- 000, and the law library 15,000. There are an academy of sciences, a school of design, two medical colleges, and three academic institu- tions. The number of newspapers and period- icals is 75, viz. : 11 daily, 1 tri-weekly, 2 semi- weekly, 40 weekly, 1 bi-weekly, 2 semi-month- ly, and 18 monthly. Of churches, the Metho- dists, Presbyterians, and Catholics have each 13 ; the Baptists, Episcopalians, and Luther- ans each 7 ; the Congregationalists and Jews each 5 ; the Swedenborgians 2 ; and the Unita- rians and Universalists each 1. In seven the German language is used, and the Russian, French, Spanish, and Swedish in one each. The mission of San Francisco de Asis, fre- quently called the mission Dolores, was founded Oct. 9, 1776, by two Franciscan monks, Francis- co Palou and Benito Cambon, natives of Spain. Their establishment grew, and in 1825 it had