The Curse of California

“The Curse of California” by G. Frederick Keller, published in The Wasp, 19th of August 1882, vol 9, No 316, pp. 520-521. Photo by Rick MacPherson of poster in Oakland Museum, California.

This is only a quick overview for now.

The Curse of California, Southern Pacific Railway.

“Somewhere from within the blank mugs of those railroad barons (or in spite of them) projects the image of the modern faceless corporation… the behemoth, unique, beyond the limit, extension of man.” — Eva’s Outlaws: Californian Train Robbers, “Railroad Monopoly as The Octopus”, published 30th of April 2009.

The text below and accompanying image (external link) is from: National Humanities Center, “The Image of the Octopus, six drawings, 1882-1909” (PDF). 

Nob Hill: the neighborhood of the San Francisco powered elite, showing Mansion of Charles Croker (Southern Pacific Railway magnate).

Wheat Export

Wheat Ware House

U.S. Bonds

Mark Hopkins & Leland Stanford (Southern Pacific Railway magnates)

Stage Lines

Lumber Dealers

Wine

Fruit Growers

“Killed by the Railroad Monster”

FREIGHT

Mussel Slough: 1880 shoot out between farmers and federal marshals overland disputes with the Southern Pacific Railway; climax of the 1901 Frank Norris novel The Octopus.

The Farmers

Mining

Cartoon shows the devil (shown as half man, half goat) using a trident to fish an octopus labled “Curtis Lie” out of a “Pool of Deparavity.” A basket full of octopuses, one labled “Gaston B. Means Lie,” sit on the bank behind him. The devil, disgusted, cries out, “Faugh!” The sensational event of 1932 was the kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby. Many people attemped to cash in on the investigation including John Hughes Curtis and Gaston B. Means, each of whom claimed falsely that they were in contact with the kidnappers. Both men were subsequently convicted and served prison terms. Pease suggests that preying on the hopes and fears of the Lindbergh family was a crime despised even by the devil.

Quote and image from Library of Congress: “From the Lowest Depths” http://loc.gov/pictures/item/2007675309/ (Accessed 5th June 2010).

Artist:  Lute Pease, published in 1932