Chapter II: The Balance-Sheet

Let us now take a glance at the _pros_ and _cons_ of California in statistical form. I have said that the State is bankrupt, that she has never returned an equivalent for the labor and money invested in her, and that she has been represented to be a great deal more than she is in reality--all of which I now reiterate, and shall endeavor to demonstrate. To make out a perfect and complete account-current, or balance-sheet, exhibiting the State’s entire gains and losses of time, labor, life, money, etc., would require such a profound knowledge of financial affairs, and of political economy, that it would puzzle Adam Smith himself; we will not, therefore, attempt accuracy or exactness, but, having sufficient data to sustain us in our position, we will proceed to make it known.

Without charging California with any of the enormous expenses of the Mexican war, or the check given to the increase of population which that war occasioned, we will simply make her debtor for the amount of purchase-money that was paid for her, and for the various sums it has cost to control, manage and maintain her since. And, to avoid that complication and multiplicity of entries that would inevitably result from an introduction of all the individuals, parties or countries that have had dealings with the State, and as a matter of convenience, we will assume that there shall be but two parties recognized in the transaction, one of debit and one of credit--California and the United States. This will be treating the subject as a matter of dollars and cents, and will enable us to see how much has been made or lost, as the case may be, out of this Eureka venture or speculation.

In the first place, then, California is debtor to the United States for her quota of the amount of purchase-money paid to Mexico for herself and for New Mexico, including contingent fund absorbed by Mexican claimants, as per agreement at the treaty of Guadaloupe Hidalgo, $10,000,000. In the next place, let us see how much she is indebted to the United States for labor. At the present time, her population is estimated at about two hundred and fifty thousand. It is but little greater now than it was in 1849. In ’51 and ’52 it was larger than it was or has been at any preceding or subsequent period. It would probably be fair to estimate the average population at two hundred and fifty thousand for the last six years; of this number, it is supposed that from thirty to thirty-five thousand are women and children, who have become residents of the State within the last three or four years. Admitting, then, that there are thirty-five thousand women and children, and deducting this number from two hundred and fifty thousand, we have a balance of two hundred and fifteen thousand men, whose service for six years, at say $225 per annum for each man, amounts to $290,230,000. The outfits and passage of these men--to say nothing of the women and children--cost, at the lowest calculation, $200 per head; so we find that the expense of transporting the actual laborers alone has been at least $43,000,000. We may afford to let this latter amount rest as it is; but when we take into consideration the fact that the steamers are continually crowded with persons returning from California, and that their places are filled by new emigrants, who have to purchase new passage-tickets and new outfits, it is quite obvious that the figures express much less than the real amount. The above sums added together constitute the United States’ charge against California. We will add them together, and then compare the total sum with the amount of gold that has been produced in California.

Original cost of the country $10,000,000 Labor 290,230,000 Outfits and transportation 43,000,000 ----------- Grand total $343,130,000

Thus we see California is debtor to the United States three hundred and forty-three millions two hundred and thirty thousand dollars. Now let us examine the account which California brings as an offset to this amount. The entire yield of the mines up to the present time, January, 1855, has been about two hundred and forty-five millions of dollars. And this is all. We cannot credit her with any thing else that would not be equipoised or balanced by the capital, whether owned or borrowed, brought hither from various parts of the world, and invested in business and improvements, and about which nothing has been said in the bill of charges. Here, then, is the sum and substance of the whole matter:

The United States account against California. $343,230,000
California’s account against the United States. 245,000,000
----------
Deficit. $98,230,000

And now let us see how much money has been lost in and about California by casualties, accidents and mismanagement. The reader shall judge whether any part of the amount should be charged to the State. As for us, we shall simply feel it our duty to furnish the statistics. In regard to the expenses of Fremont’s Battalion, of the Army of Occupation in ’47 and ’48, and of the wars since waged against the Indians--amounting in all to several millions of dollars, we will say nothing.

In the annexed table is an account of the various fires that have occurred throughout the State. It will be perceived that the date of occurrence and amount of property destroyed are both given.

FIRES IN CALIFORNIA.

Fire in San Francisco, December 24, 1849 $1,000,000
“ “ May 4, 1850 3,500,000
“ “ June 14, 1850 3,000,000
“ “ September 17, 1850 450,000
“ “ December 14, 1850 1,000,000
“ “ May 3, 1851 12,000,000
“ “ June 22, 1851 3,000,000
“ “ November 9, 1852 125,000
“ “ Sundry fires in 1853 265,000
Fire in Sacramento, November 2, 1852 10,000,000
“ Sonora, June 18, 1852 2,500,000
“ “ October 14, 1853 300,000
“ “ November 2, 1853 50,000
“ Stockton, May 6, 1851 3,000,000
“ Marysville, August 30, 1851 500,000
“ “ September 10, 1851 80,000
“ “ November 7, 1852 150,000
“ Shasta, February 8, 1853 225,000
“ Nevada, March 10, 1851 200,000
“ Weaverville, March 7, 1853 125,000
Sundry fires in different parts of the State,
dates unobtainable 4,400,000
----------
$45,870,000

Freshets and inundations, in the Sacramento and San
Joaquin valleys, have swept off or destroyed one
million five hundred thousand dollars worth of
property within the last six years $1,500,000

The following sailing vessels and steamers have been wrecked upon the coast within the same period:

SAILING VESSELS--SOME WITH CARGOES.

Ship Tonquin--December, 1849 }
“ Crownprincessen--February, 1850 }
“ Utica--July, 1850 }
“ Somerset--December, 1850 }
“ Oxford--July, 1852 }
“ Aberdeen--July, 1853 }$2,300,000
“ Carrier Pigeon--June, 1853 }
“ Eclipse--October, 1853 }
“ Jenny Lind--December, 1853 }
“ San Francisco--February, 1854 }

STEAMERS.

Commodore Preble--May 3, 1850 $ 50,000 Union--July 5, 1851 150,000 Chesapeake--October, 1851 50,000 Sea Gull--January 26, 1852 50,000 Gen. Warren--January 31, 1852 50,000 North America--February 27, 1852 150,000 Pioneer--August 17, 1852 250,000 City of Pittsburg--October 24, 1852 250,000 Independence--February 16, 1853 70,000 Tennessee--March 6, 1853 300,000 S. S. Lewis--April 9, 1853 150,000 Washington--1853 40,000 Commodore Stockton--1852 60,000 Winfield Scott--December 2, 1853 290,000 Sundry steamers and sailers, the names of which have been misplaced 850,000 --------- $2,760,000

The present public debt of the State--entailed upon the
people by one of the most imbecile and dissolute
legislatures that were ever assembled in an enlightened
country--is three millions of dollars $3,000,000

The debts of the three principal cities are as follows:
The total amount of the indebtedness of San Francisco
is $3,342,000. The debt of the city of Sacramento
amounts to $1,500,000. The entire debt of
the city of Marysville amounts to over $70,000 $4,912,000
-----------
Total $60,342,000

RECAPITULATION.

Fires $45,870,000 Freshets 1,500,000 Shipping 5,060,000 State debt 3,000,000 City debt 4,912,000 ----------- $60,342,000

These figures show the amount of property that has been destroyed, or the amount of losses that have been sustained in California, by accidents, mishaps and mismanagement, within the last six years. I will, moreover, give a list of lives lost by violent measures during the same period:

Murders 4,200 Suicides 1,400 Insanity, (produced by disappointment and misfortune) 1,700 Wrecked and perished on the way per sailing vessels and steamers 2,200 Killed by Indians and died of starvation per overland route 1,600 Perished in the mines and mountains of the State for want of medical attention and food, and by the hands of the Indians 5,300 ------ Total 16,400

It may be urged that the State ought not to be held accountable for any number of these sixteen thousand four hundred unfortunates, who, for the lack of law and order in a majority of the cases, lost their lives by violent means. We leave the question entirely with the reader. It may also be urged that the State ought not to be charged with any part of the extraordinary losses by fire and shipwreck, notwithstanding foreign capitalists were the principal sufferers in both cases. This question we also submit to the decision of the reader.

But I deem it unnecessary to dwell on this part of my subject. In presenting the foregoing calculations, it has been my aim to show that California is a country of unparalleled casualties and catastrophes, and to direct attention to the immense losses which have been sustained in opening its mines of wealth. A large number of people, it seems, have got into the habit of estimating the gains without taking into consideration the cost or losses at all; and there are those, no doubt, who will attempt to find fault with the account which I have drawn up between California and the United States. Though that account is in the main correct, I admit that slight errors may here and there exist; for, as I remarked at the outset, the debits and credits are so numerous, and of such an intricate nature, that it would be impossible to arrive at the exact amounts without the greatest research and elaboration. If I have succeeded in undeceiving those who have heretofore regarded California as an unincumbered God-send, my object has been attained. I have endeavored to show that, though there has been a great deal of gold obtained in the country, it is not all clear gain, and that notwithstanding there are large deposits of pure metal, there are also huge masses of dross. Shallow enthusiasts have asserted that the United States would have become bankrupt two or three years ago, had it not been for the discovery of gold in California. A more preposterous opinion was never entertained. Equally as much wisdom might be found in the assertion that Great Britain would have been sold by the sheriff, if gold had not been discovered in Australia. As a further proof of the beggarly condition of the country, it may not be amiss to remark that, during the last session of Congress, the general government appropriated upwards of four millions of dollars for the relief and benefit of California; and her senators and representatives are still clamoring for additional favors.

For the benefit of the reader, and in confirmation of statements made in this chapter relative to the past and present of California, I give the following extract from the _Louisville Journal_, to which my attention has been called since the foregoing calculations and statistics were prepared.

COST OF CALIFORNIA GOLD.

“For the information of those persons who believe that the United States thus far have been benefited by the discovery of gold in California, we propose to submit a few remarks and calculations.

“After the close of the Mexican war and the cession by treaty to us of Upper California, the world was astonished by the announcement, toward the close of 1848 or the beginning of 1849, that immense deposits of gold had been discovered in that country. As soon as the truth of this report was established, vast numbers of persons, young and old, flocked to that country. There was a perfect stampede of people from every State in the Union. Property was sacrificed to raise money with which to reach this Eldorado, where fortunes for all were supposed to be awaiting the mere effort to gather them. The first injurious effect on the country was the sudden withdrawal of so much labor from the channels of production; it was mainly, too, that description most needed here--that is, agricultural labor.

“We are not in possession of the statistics requisite to determine with exactness the number of persons who have been taken from the old States and have gone to California. The population of that State now exceeds two hundred thousand. But as there is a constant stream of people always _in transitu_, either going to or leaving that country, the number of people withdrawn from the business of productive labor largely exceeds the population of that State. It is not our purpose to over-estimate the amount of labor that has been withdrawn from the old States, but we feel satisfied that it will be under rather than over the mark to say that from 1849 to 1854, each year inclusive, there has been an average of 150,000 persons who have been during that time either in California or on their way going or returning. The time is six years for 150,000 persons, or one year for 900,000 persons.

“Now, if we estimate the average value of this labor at $25 per month each, or $300 per year, we have ($270,000,000) two hundred and seventy millions of dollars as the value of the labor taken from the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains and placed on its western side. In addition to this, it cost on an average $200 per head as the expenses of the removal from one country to the other. This makes ($180,000,000) one hundred and eighty millions of dollars as the cost of removal. The sums together make the sum total of ($450,000,000) four hundred and fifty millions of dollars drained from the eastern side of the United States. To ascertain the amount of the gold obtained from that country, we propose to take the gold coinage of the mint. This coinage was in--

1849 $ 9,007,761 1850 31,981,738 1851 62,614,492 1852 56,846,187 1853 46,998,945 1854, estimated 42,000,000 ------------ Total coinage $249,349,123

“As these figures make the sum total of _all_ the gold coined at the mint, and a portion of it is known to have been obtained from other sources than California, the credit will rather be in excess than too small; but still we propose to add to this amount twenty millions more as an allowance for unminted gold sold to workers in jewelry and plate and which has been consumed in the arts. The statement will then stand thus:

CALIFORNIA, Dr.
To labor and outfits $ 450,000,000
Credit by product of gold coin and nature 269,349,223
------------
Dr. balance $ 180,650,877

“_This shows that there is a balance due us in lost labor and capital of over one hundred and eighty millions of dollars._

“So far as California is concerned, it is probable that this deficiency is replaced there by the value of property, real and personal, which the labor taken from this region of country has produced there.

“The injurious effect of this vast emigration has been felt in the undue stimulus it has given to the prices of produce, induced by diminished production and increased demand.

“Another bad effect of this gold crop has been the influence it has exerted in stimulating excessive importations of foreign goods, In the last six years the imports will exceed the exports three hundred and three millions of dollars. Commencing in 1849 with an import trade of only seven millions of nominal balance against this country, it rapidly increased, until, in each of the past two years, it has exceeded sixty millions of dollars.”