 The Romance of the Ranchos. Los Angeles, 1822, Americanville's first church. Los Angeles, 1845, Pueblo named capital of California. Los Angeles, 1887, greatest land boom of history reaches peaks. The title insurance and trust company of Los Angeles presents the Romance of the Ranchos, a weekly dramatization of the highlights from the colorful history of our Southland. Each week our wandering vocero Frank Graham returns to tell another true story of the early days of Southern California. In a matter of months, we Americans must equip ourselves to conquer enemies who have been arming themselves for years. We can do this through our purchases of war savings bonds and stamps. This money will come back to us later with substantial interest, so it's an investment in our own financial future as well as in democracy. But the need now is urgent, so buy a war savings bond tomorrow. Now here to tell us the story is our wandering vocero Frank Graham. Buenas noches, señoras y señores. Tonight we're going to recreate some of the highlights from the growth of the world's newest metropolis, the fastest growing large city of the world, a city which was until 65 years ago, a sleepy backward village. Yes, I mean our own city of Los Angeles. Let's go back through the years and watch the Pueblo grow into one of the first cities of America. It's a story filled with the romance of the Ranchos. The first white men to set foot on the site of Los Angeles were of the party of Gaspar de Porto La, who was sent from Mexico to explore the possibilities of colonizing Alta, California. When they arrived in the banks of the Los Angeles River, they found an Indian village called Yangna, situated near the present North Broadway Viaduct. That then was the first village of Los Angeles, and Father Crespi, the historian of the party, praised the spot as an excellent site for a mission. Later, the site was overlooked in establishing the nearby mission San Gabriel, but Crespi's report made an impression on Felipe de Neve, the new governor of the province, and about the year 1780, he formulated a plan. See, come in. You are standing for me, your Excellency? See Lieutenant, I'm going to send you on an important mission. A mission? Where your Excellency? To Mexico. Sonora. All the way down there. See, and it is very important. You are going to do some recruiting. Recruiting. You mean we are going to need an army here? We are going to fight some? No, no Lieutenant. You are not going to recruit an army? No. Then what? I'm sending you down to recruit 24 families of farmers. Farmers? What in the world do we want with farmers, your Excellency? There are no farmers in Alta, California. Only soldiers and priests. See, and there is just the trouble. Here we pretend we are colonizing a new land, and we have no real settlers, farmers, and tradesmen at all. Yeah, but what will they do? Where will they be stationed? The missions are full of Indians, the presidios are soldiers. See, but the pueblos. What pueblos? The pueblos we will found. They shall soon become thriving little towns. See, and they shall supply the missions and the presidios with all the things they need. No longer must we wait for ships from Mexico. You mean you are actually going to start pueblos here? Absolutely. Already settlers are coming for San Jose. You will recruit others for a sight in the south, at the river Porciuncuna, near Midian San Gabriel. But we shall never get them to come to this wilderness. See, I think so. For we shall give them free land, theirs to hold for themselves and their children. So long as they shall obey the laws and apply themselves, and we shall give them implements and a yearly wage until they are able to support themselves. Your Excellency, you think it will work? I am sure of it, Lieutenant. You shall see it. Someday you shall be proud to say that you have helped to found this new pueblos. Firesighted Governor Neve took the first steps toward Aros Angles of the day. But he found settlers reluctant to pioneer a barren new country, and only eleven families were finally brought from Mexico. And they were a far from impressive group, being composed mostly of mestizos and mulatos. But the Governor was determined, so on September 4th, 1781, he led the little procession across the plains from San Gabriel Mission, to the barren little plaza which had been marked off as the site for the pueblos. There, after mass had been said, the Governor rose. Firesanos, we have said prayers for the success of this new venture we here found. I have no doubt that they shall have effect. But upon you, forty-four souls, eleven men, eleven women, and twenty-two children falls the burden of making this venture a success of building on this beautiful spot a thriving, prosperous pueblos. It is your burden and your honor to make the town we found here a service to the glory of God and to the crowd. For on what you do here, rest the success or failure of our entire plan of colonizing Alta California. So build well for yourselves, your children, and for future generations. If you do, who can foretell the glorious future for this pueblo we now found? El pueblo de nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciuncula. And so Los Angles became one of the few cities of the world which didn't just grow. It was actually founded from nothing. Governor De Neve's plan was a brilliant success. But it was in spite of the pioneer settlers rather than because of them. For the most part, they were a lazy, shiftless group. Not too happy about their situation and not too anxious to build beyond their immediate needs. As time went on and more responsible settlers drifted in, the tide changed. But even as late as 1820, the little town had a population of only 650, and the devoutly religious Californianos didn't even have a church. They journeyed miles to St. Gabriel or forced the Padres to make the long trek in to conduct mass in the plaza. About 1814, the church had been started, but the citizens couldn't seem to finish the job. So it was big news when the pueblos heard. See, I'll tell you what he saw. The church will soon be finished the way this Americano's worked. The Americano? What is this Americano? Ah, nobody knows. He speaks a strange language. It comes from some far-off country. Nobody knows. Nobody can understand him. But how did he get here? He was sailing with the privateer, Bouchard. He was captured at the Ortega Rancho by Sergeant Lugo. He's a prisoner. And he directs the work on a church? See! But this senor is a devil with his work. Already has accomplished more than we have in seven years. He cuts down the trees. So, whack! Then he trims them into a beam. So, whack, whack! Then he holds them to the church and puts them in place. So, presto! The church, it is almost finished. Caramba! He is a strange man. I see. But just think, we shall have our church. The Padres say, if the money holds out, we shall dedicate it perhaps in December. But in spite of the yeoman work of the first American to reach California, Joseph Chapman, the money didn't hold out. And it became necessary to raise more. It was then that the residents of the Pueblo heard. The Padres say it is up to us if the church is to be finished this year. We must do our part, they say. So, they want us to work on it too, no? Gee! Will I not have enough work for my own to do? I don't care if the church is never finished. The Padres have no right to ask us the citizens- Wait, mi amigo, wait. They do not wish us to work. They have donated some brandy. They ask us to give a fiesta, sell the brandy for five cents a drink, and make enough money to build a church. Brandy? Well, why didn't you say so? See, of course. Cool, my friend. We must tell everybody. Everybody must help to build a church. See, with a brandy fiesta. And after seven years, the church was finally dedicated in December of 1822. And that same church of our Lady, the Queen of the Angels, is still in use. 120 years later on the Plaza of Los Angeles. Now, with the disintegration of Spain's colonial possessions, Mexico became a republic, and California had a new allegiance. This meant little to the Pueblo, but it affected the surrounding country mightily. For within a few years, the missions were secularized, and then began the wholesale granting of great ranchos. Ranchos which rapidly became the center of business, as well as social life for Southern California. And the sleepy little Pueblo was left far behind. It became the place of business for the pioneer Americans, like Juan Temple, Abel Stearns, Benjamin Wilson, Hugo Reed, William Workman, and John Rowland. But most of them, too, soon deserted the town for rental life. Los Angeles was noted cheaply as a hotbed for revolutionists. The dissatisfaction with Mexican rule was centered in Los Angeles, and it was there that the climax came in 1845 in the halls of the city council. To all this, a young Tomiento, the only lawful assembly in California, still functioning, hereby declares Mitchell Torrena deposed as governor. Others is expulsion from the department about the California, and appoints Don Pio Pico as governor with Los Angeles as the capital. But, senor, how can we do this? Mitchell Torrena at the gates of the city and with an army. See, and we have an army to meet him. We shall defeat him and drive him out. The Angelenos made good their boast. Mitchell Torrena was deposed. Pio Pico was governor, and Los Angeles was the capital. All was accomplished by the bloodless battle of Cahuenga. Los Angeles's reign as capital of the province was to be short-lived. For within a year, the first tremors of coming war hit the Pueblo, and soon Pico's government had fled. Los Angeles was in the hands of Commodore Stockton's American forces. But the Pueblo was to see much excitement before the conquest of California was complete. For Stockton, forgetting the Angelenos fondness for revolt, left the Pueblo in charge of a small American garrison. And soon, one thing led to another, and a fiery young man by the name of Sir Bulavarela touched off the fuse. My proclamation, we have stood enough from these foreigners. I have demanded that the Americanos leave the city at once. And if they do not go peacefully, then we shall put them out by force. 300 Californians rallied behind Varela, and a full-dress revolt was on. One which was to last until it was finally crushed by the combined armies of Stockton and Carney at the battles of San Gabriel and La Mesa. Then once more, the Pueblo relaxed into its same sleepy composure. Though nominally American, it was to remain the lazy Mexican village for three decades more. The gold rush in the north brought a temporary boom in cattle prices, but it also brought troubles. I say it's the duty of every man to get out and vote on this tomorrow. She, she, senor. But which side do we vote for? Holy smokes, man. There's only one side to vote for. Separation, of course. Separation? You mean a southern California should be separated from northern California? Of course. Like Senator Andreas Pico says in his bill, he's going to make the southern counties a territory of Colorado. But, senor, you think this is wise? Of course it's wise. Just look at us. We have farmers down here, ranchers, cattlemen. What do we get from this state? Nothing. And yet with less than half as many people, we pay twice as much in taxes as those dead blasted northerners. We pay it all. And they get it all. It ain't right. This here bill's going to fix things. We're going to have a separate state. Thus started an agitation for the division of northern and southern California. It was to have its echoes throughout the whole history of the territory. But it came to no avail, even though the people of the Southland voted overwhelmingly in favor of it. But when the bill was received in Washington in 1859, the Civil War clouds already hung heavy over the nation's capital and in the congressional committee. Now, what about this bill to divide California into two states? Well, what about it? It's tabled and it's going to stay tabled. But why? Because it's perfectly plain to see that this is a trick of those southerners. I don't quite see what you mean. Well, look, it's plain enough. We all know those southern Californians are mostly Democrats and southerners. Well, if we give them that separate state, that means there'll be two more senators in Congress. Southern senators, sir. And two more southern senators will give them a majority. You see what that would mean to the slavery question? Oh, yes, yes, of course. Bury that bill and bury it as deeply as you can. And so state division was buried for all time. The Civil War struck, and though California remained loyal to the Union, it was much bitter feeling. Many exciting scenes in the Pueblo streets during those war days. But the great majority of the population was Mexican and utterly indifferent to the gringos war, and so no serious clashes took place. And the Pueblo went its sleepy way for another decade. One effect of the gold rush had been to flood the Southland with desperadoes of all types. And from 1850 to 1870, Los Angeles was known as the toughest town on the frontier. At times, murders averaged at least one a day, and caused not a ripple of excitement. Winchings by the vigilantes was the usual course of justice, and they were plentiful. The wave of lawlessness finally culminated in a riot so wild that it shocked the whole nation, and by the intense reaction to it, finally brought law and order to Los Angeles. One day, in 1871... Men! Men! Thank what you're doing! You can't do this! Stop! Please stop! Calm down! Tom, what is it? What is it, Tom? What's happening? Thank God you're here, Harry. Maybe you can help me stop them. But what is it? What are they doing? Oh, it's the Chinaman. A Chinaman shot and killed Robert Thompson. What? And this mob is out to lynch every Chinaman they can get their hands on. Oh, God, no! Yes, they've already hung several. Now they've got four more cundits in that house. Tom! Tom, they've got it! They've got it! They're dragging them away! Stop! Stop, you men! You can't do this! Those men are innocent! They haven't done a thing! This is murder! You can't do it! Oh, we can, huh? Listen here, mister. You better get out of our way, or you'll go up right alongside of us. They're gonna see that justice is done. But you can't do this, man! Tom, be quiet. You can't stop this mob. You'll only get hurt. Now come on, let's get out of here. Well, those poor devils. This is a day of shame that Los Angeles will never live down. Yes, of course, you're right, but we... All of us respectable citizens have got to see that this can never happen again. Los Angeles will never be a decent place to live. Let us suppose that you're interested in buying a home. You see a house and lot that you like. You decide to buy it. You consult your real estate broker. He has it listed as belonging to Mr. Jones. But how do you know that Mr. Jones actually owns it? How can you tell what rights or claims or interests in that house and lot may belong to some other individual or corporation or municipality? How do you know what mortgages or judgments are leans of record on the property? How do you know who has a right of way of record across the lot? In theory, at least, you could establish all these and other necessary facts for yourself by personally examining hundreds of documents on file and as many as 50 different public offices. But it would take you weeks or months and involve heavy expense. And when you got through, you would not have positive assurance that you had examined all the instruments or that some of those which you did examine had not been improperly or fraudulently executed. The title insurance and trust company of Los Angeles will do all this work for you in a fraction of the time and for a fraction of the cost. And it will then ensure the completeness and accuracy of its findings up to the minute. That is title insurance. If you invest in land, it is neither economical nor quite safe to overlook the protection of title insurance. The shocking Chinese massacre ended an era in the history of Los Angeles and now the Pueblo settled soably to the task of becoming an American city. Already, many present-day institutions had had this thought. In 1851... Well, land sakes, what do you think of that? A newspaper, an honest to goodness newspaper, and all our own, why we're getting to be real certified. The first newspaper, the Los Angeles Star, began publication. In 1855... The first public school was opened on the corner of second and spring and Don Vicente Lugo's gift of his townhouse made possible the start of St. Vincent's College. Now Loyola University. In 1859... Well, will you look at that? Who in the world could ever read that many books? The first library association was started. Later, in 1872, the public library was founded. In 1860... The first telegraph line reached the city, flashing news of the Civil War. In 1868... Step right up, ladies and gentlemen. The firm of Downey and Hayward is now open for business. We keep your money safe or lend you some if you need it. The first bank came into existence in Los Angeles. The town was growing and leaving behind a sleepy Mexican village. But there were still less than 10,000 residents on September the 6th, 1876, when the most important event of the town's history took place. One more good whack-a-do, General. All right, then. Here it is. There it is. The railroad's finished. All right, boys. Bring the train on over. Well, there she is. The Southern Pacific's through. Yep. At last, Los Angeles has a rail connection with the east. What a great day. But it still makes me mad to think about that. They weren't going to let us include Los Angeles on the line. We had to pay half a million dollars to get this railroad. Well, same after all. Los Angeles is just a little town. They don't know what we know that she's going to grow to be an important city. You bet your life she is. Why, I bet someday Los Angeles will have, well, maybe even 100,000 population. 100,000 population. It seemed far off in those days. But Los Angeles was an amazing city, more amazing than her own residents realized. With the coming of the railroad began a growth which was to transform the town and to obliterate forever the sleepy little Mexican village. It was slow at first and the population was only 11,000 in 1880. But in 1886, after the Santa Fe had put its line through, the boom started. George, what the world's going on here? Thank goodness you're here, sir. I can't handle a crowd like this. I'm a hotel clerk, not a side show, Barkin. What are they after? Rooms. All of them want rooms. They came in on the five o'clock from the east. Who mean all these people came in on the train today? These and a hundred more. Five trains full of them. All coming to Santa Fe. But I don't understand what's causing all this. The fares. The two railroads are having a rate war. All these people came out here from Kansas City for one dollar a piece. One dollar. The fantastically low train fares poured thousands of eager home seekers into Southern California in one of the wildest land booms the world has ever seen. Landowners were in clover and prices soared. Yes, sir. It's two acres of the finest land you've ever seen. Close to town, perfect for building a rock. Never mind. Never mind. You said enough for me. I'm bid 1,000. Don't bother with that, Parker. Why, I paid half that for my place in line at many a sale. I'll give 3,000 for it. But Ben, what are you doing? That land ain't worth more than a couple hundred at the most. Yes, that's what it used to be. But not now. By the way, these prices are gone. I'll resell this land for three times as much. Speculation began to take the place of home buying and prices skyrocketed. 60 new cities were laid out in Los Angeles County. According to one historian, there were enough subdivisions to accommodate 10 million people, enough syndicates to manage the affairs of the nation. This unhealthy state of affairs reached a peak in 1887. Suddenly, the bottom dropped out. The panic which followed drove many settlers away. But when the smoke was cleared away, the population of Los Angeles had still jumped to over 50,000 and a group of leading citizens gathered to take stock of the situation. In spite of the ill effects of this boom, it is supreme evidence that we have a city here that people would like to live in. There's no reason in the world why we can't make Los Angeles one of the important cities of the nation. Our job now is to attract men and money, not for speculation, but for farming and industry. That's right, and we'll do it. We have plenty to advertise besides our climate. We'll get out circulars and letters. Yes, maybe even send back east a train load of our prized oranges and other agricultural products. We'll show them that they can make a good living in Southern California. That's right, and for that reason, I propose a reform and organization to promote the civic welfare of Los Angeles. Thus, to combat the bad publicity of the land boom and to encourage a more responsible immigration to California was formed the organization which is now the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Later, in 1921, the All Year Club was formed to promote the summer tourist migration. And it was largely through the efforts of these two organizations that the phenomenal growth of the city took place. In 10 years, the population doubled to over 100,000. And now, because of the need for water, many smaller communities joined Los Angeles. In 1895. Highland Park. 1899. Garbanzer and University District. 1909. Wilmington and San Pedro and the Harbor District. 1915. Most of San Fernando Valley. And with the development of the Great Harbor, Los Angeles became an important seaport, too. And one of the first cities in the nation. Now, came the growth which so amazed the whole world. In 1910, the population was 319,000. An increase of 212 percent. 1920. 576,000. An increase of 80 percent. 1930. 1,238,000. An increase of 115 percent. 1940. 1,505,000 in the city. Fifth largest city in the United States. And in greater Los Angeles, 2,785,000 people lived. Today, 1942, the figure is probably nearer 3 million. Los Angeles is indeed one of the great cities of the nation and the world. But population figures are not the only ones to back up that proud post. Los Angeles is the first city in America in the production of aircraft, motion pictures, oil, and the shipments of citrus fruits. It is fourth in the manufacture of clothes and furniture. Until the war, it was the second city in the manufacture of tires and assembly of automobiles. Among the great industrial cities of the nation, it ranks fifth. Yet, only 65 years ago, when the first railroad came through, it was still a sleepy little village of about 10,000 souls, mostly Mexicans. Such is the progress of our Southland and such is the romance of the Ranchos. Frank Graham will return to the microphone in a moment to give you a preview of next week's true story. Whenever an estate is administered upon, a certain part of it must go for the payment of taxes, probate, and other expenses. The amount by which such costs will shrink the estate can vary widely depending upon the terms of the will and the estate plan. The trust department of the Title Insurance and Trust Company maintains an estate planning division, a primary function of which is the avoidance of unnecessary shrinkage of estates through inheritance. The capable and experienced officers of this division will work with you and your attorney without obligation in developing a plan for your estate, which may benefit both you and your family. A letter or a telephone call to the Title Insurance and Trust Company of Los Angles will bring you complete information about this and other services of its trust department. And now, Frank, what's the story for next week? Next week, we're going to trace the history of transportation in the Southland. From ox carts to the modern airliners, it's a story of progress that touches on many dramatic and colorful scenes. I know you'll enjoy it. So, until next week, this is your Wondering Vaquero, Frank Graham, saying, Hasta la vista, señoras y señores. The romance of the run shows, a presentation of the Title Insurance and Trust Company of Los Angles, featuring Frank Graham as the Wondering Vaquero is dramatized by John Dunkel and produced by Ted Bliss, with special music arranged by Gaylord Carter. Bob LeMond speaking. Good night. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System.