by Paul R. Spitzzeri
Continuing with our look at some of the early history of Harry Chandler, who amassed a substantial fortune in media with the Los Angeles Times, real estate with a wide variety of holdings in Baja California and large swaths of southern California, and oil, among other ventures, we’ll conclude by covering some of his activities in the first several years of the 1910s, ending with the public announcement in December 1914 of the formation of the Rowland Cattle Company, occupying some 10,000 acres in the Puente and Chino hills ranges, including the Tres Hermanos Ranch, tours of which were recently held.
As the first decade of the 20th century came to a close, a domestic terrorism bombing of the Times headquarters was carried out, killing 21 persons, injuring over 100 and wrecking the structure. When the brothers John and James McNamara were brought to trial, there was a great deal of support among left-leaning persons and union supporters regarding their innocence.
Notably, when one prospective juror turned out to be a long-time supplier for the paper and it was reported that he ran into Chandler on the street and the Times‘ assistant manager and vice-president voiced support that he would be selected and, presumably, provide more likelihood of a conviction of the McNamaras, this angered the presiding judge and the juror candidate was dismissed.
Not long after, Chandler ended being on the venire list, but, when he did not appear at court, apparently thinking he was automatically disqualified as a witness under subpoena, not to mention an officer of the company, the jurist was critical of his absence and demanded he show, though he was, of course, summarily dismissed.
A shock followed when the McNamaras pled guilty and the Los Angeles Tribune of 19 July 1912 reported that, when a plea deal was being discussed, journalist Lincoln Steffens, who was involved to some extent in the matter, stated that,
Harry Chandler, a local newspaper man, became so enthusiastic that he promised to devote his entire time to the matter and he agreed to take it up with the prosecution . . . Mr. Chandler later reported to me that the demands of the prosecution were in excess of the punishment proposed in the agreement and I told Mr. [Clarence] Darrow, [the McNamaras’ lead attorney, who was assisted by local lawyer, Joseph Scott] that I feared J[ames] B. McNamara would have to pay the penalty on the gallows. Mr. Darrow insisted nobody be hanged.
In the end, James, who planted the bomb, died in prison after thirty years, while John served half that time. Meanwhile, other legal issue involving Chandler and Otis concerned a few libel suits, filed because the Times took an aggressive stance when confronting its enemies. In one case, Frank D. Henderson, secretary to Mayor George Alexander, sued because the paper accused him of underhanded doings at City Hall, but the Times leaders were acquitted, though it reported that Chandler was especially anxious and nervous in court.
In spring 1914, Edwin T. Earl, owner of the rival Los Angeles Express and the Tribune and the next-door neighbor of Otis, filed a suit after the Times made damning remarks about a raid in Long Beach against accused homosexuals and Earl took umbrage. It took nearly three years, but Earl, defended by Scott, prevailed in 1917, the year Otis died, and did so on appeal to the California Supreme Court, as well.
It has been stated that Otis had complete editorial control over the Times and that Chandler cared less about journalism and more about business and real estate, though other sources suggest that the latter was dedicated to the Times. In any case, a Tribune cartoon from 1 March 1914 was as clear as could be about that sheet’s views that Otis was “the organ grinder,” meaning that he ran the show at his paper, while Chandler and managing editor Harry Andrews were cast as little dancing monkeys tethered to the “Times Corporation Organ.”
Chandler’s burgeoning business interests included the Carmel Cattle Company at Tejon Ranch, of which more below; the Los Angeles Lumber Company, of which he was president and which included such capitalists as Robert A. Rowan, Stoddard Jess and Henry W. O’Melveny as directors; and the New Midway Oil Company, later part of a larger National Pacific Oil Company. He was also a director of the Automobile Club of Southern California, which was part of his strong interest in transportation-related endeavors.
Another major enterprise was the American Mortgage Company, which had an array of prominent figures including president Dr. Peter Janss of the Janss Investment Company; Jess; banker Isaias W. Hellman; Epes Randolph of the Southern Pacific Railroad; Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Conaty (render unto Caesar, anyone?); oil titan Edward L. Doheny and his former partner Charles Canfield; oilman Daniel Murphy; Broadway Department Store owner Arthur Letts; Rowan; Earl; merchants Hans Jevne and Marco Newmark.
It was, however, in real estate that Chandler had the most involvement and, likely, personal interest. Part three mentioned his vast holdings in Baja California and a smaller property on the California side of the border, with much of the land leased out to cotton farmers in what was much like Southern sharecropping. The Tribune of 12 May 1912 reported on the sale of the massive 276,000 property north of Los Angeles, mostly in Kern County with a small portion in Los Angeles County, called the Tejon Ranchos.
The enormous tract included not quite 200,000 acres embraced by four pre-American land grants, these being the ranchos La Liebre, Castac, Los Alamos and the Tejon—this latter was part-owned by Jonathan Temple before Edward F. Beale acquired it and established a sort of fiefdom there including an Indian reservation. The Workman and Temple family ran livestock through the area on the way to the southern mines during and after the Gold Rush and F.P.F. Temple had half-ownership of the adjacent Rancho San Emigdio. More than 80,000 acres were acquired and added to the broader Tejon property.
While the Times of the same day somewhat coyly only referred to the new owners as the “nervy business men” of the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company, the Tribune pointed out that, among those figures, were Otis and Chandler, as well as Marian Otis-Chandler, Moses H. Sherman, Hobart J. Whitley, and Leslie C. Brand. The discussion at the time included the likelihood of a state highway passing either through the ranch or to the east via Tehachapi Pass (in time, Interstate 5 and California highways 58 and 14 were constructed), as well as the possibilities of railroad development.
As most of the Tejon was thought to be best utilized for livestock grazing, the La Liebre section and the more level portions at the south end of the San Joaquin Valley were eyed for their agricultural potential. There was some mention of mining or quarrying such materials as coal, copper, iron, marble and quartz, while there was speculation about whether oil might be found on portions. In recent years, with the Otis and Chandler families selling their stake nearly three decades ago, the Tejon Ranch Company has had ambitious development of some of the southern valley sections and plans for a city called Centennial in the Los Angeles County portion, with ideas of the conservation of the vast majority of the ranch.
In August 1912, reported the Los Angeles Express of the 13th, “the Southern Pacific [Railroad] has purchased sufficient ocean frontage and mesa ground behind it to fortify that corporation with an enormous harbor of its own,” purportedly to compete with the nearby Port of Los Angeles, which won out over the SP’s Santa Monica holdings in the so-called “Free Harbor Fight” of the 1890s.
While the company was not directly named in the documents, it was stated that agents acted for it in the deal and it was added that “the tract includes 12 miles of ocean frontage between Redondo Beach and San Pedro and the hills adjoining the stretch,” that is, the entirety of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, “according to the reported $2,000,000 transaction.” Much of the land was acquired by the Bixby family, which bought Jonathan Temple’s 27,000-acre Rancho Los Cerritos for just fifty cents an acre in 1866.
The recorded agreement was the sale of a large lot of Rancho Palos Verdes from the Bixbys to Walter F. Fundenberg for $1,825,970, while the latter, a Pittsburgh dentist with regional holdings in Pasadena, Riverside and the Rancho Los Nogales at the southeastern corner of the San Gabriel Valley, then assigned two realtors to sell from 2,000 to 2,500 acres. Then, Chandler and others were reported to have acquired 2,000 acres from the land agents, meaning from Fundenberg, and this spanning from Redondo to near Point Fermin around the peninsula, but “the latter, it is claimed, are mere holders, the final transfer being prospectively to the Southern Pacific company.”
By fall, however, Fundenberg was having trouble meeting the payment schedule and it was arranged to borrow money using his Los Nogales property as collateral and the aforementioned deal threatened to collapse, but a deal was made with eastern investors led by Frank Vanderlip, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and then president of the National City Bank of New York. Some 16,500 acres were purchased for about $1,750,000 and Vanderlip built a series of estate residences near Portuguese Bend, while four cities later came out of the holdings, including Palos Verdes Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates. A prior post here covers some of the 1920s-era history of that area.
Another large-scale project in which Chandler was involved concerned the Los Angeles Investment Company, headed by Charles A. Elder and which had hugely ambitious plans to build many thousands of houses west and south of downtown Los Angeles. The enterprise, however, came to a spectacular implosion which left Elder and another firm figure in legal trouble, something covered in a post here previously, but a rescue effort was undertaken, in which major capitalists like Jess, Rowan, O’Melveny, department store owner David A. Hamburger and Chandler took part.
Because the LAIC purchased some 3,600 acres of the Rancho La Cienega from the daughters and heirs of “Lucky” Baldwin near the hills named for him and a federal grand jury investigation was underway, with receivership also sought, it was decided to send Rowan and Chandler to meet with Anita Baldwin McClaughry and Clara Baldwin Stocker to ask if they would rescind that contract. Eventually, however, matters worked out so that the company rebounded very successfully, which we will look to discuss in a future post.
Then, there was Chandler’s involvement was enormous acreage in the San Fernando Valley, specifically many thousands of acres that were part of the Rancho ex-Mission San Fernando and which was mentioned in part three of this post. To the south were the lands acquired in the late 1860s from Don Pío Pico by Isaac Lankershim and his son-in-law Isaac Van Nuys and which was the holding of their San Fernando Valley Farm Association and the Los Angeles Land and Milling Company.
By early 1911, a Board of Control, including Otis, Sherman, Whitley, Chandler and Otto F. Brant, with William P. Whitsett as sales manager, launched, for the Los Angeles Suburban Homes Company, the first subdivision among 47,000 acres. In the first part of February, an announcement about the Van Nuys and Lankershim Lands was that some $3 million in property was sold to business figures (read: speculators), farmers and orchardists, while $5 million worth remained and the Janss Investment Company hired as general sales agent.
The new townsite of Van Nuys was highlighted, with Whitsett lionized as having “an enviable record for enterprise and success.” Whitley was the general manager and the broad development of the tract was under his supervision including “work pertaining to boulevards, roads, parks, houses, etc.” Sherman Way was touted as “one the notable pieces of road-building in Southern California” with its double-wide roadbed of 14 miles paved with asphalt and lined with cement curbs, as well as landscaped with shrubs and trees. Additionally, the Los Angeles Pacific Company was building a double-track electric streetcar line.
Ads promoted that investors should “Put Your Money in Van Nuys,” which was dubbed “The Town That Was Started Right” and where millions were to be invested in that half-million dollar and automobile speedway (not for racing) which is Sherman Way, the streetcar line of the same cost and a million dollars in houses following half of that in discounts.
Moreover, the firm promoted “thousands of little farms, of which Van Nuys Townsite will be the metropolis.” Twice-daily car trips were scheduled to take interested parties to the site and it was boasted that “for home and business we present the greatest profit-making opportunity in Southern California.” Those going to Whitsett’s downtown office could pick lots with $25 advance payments and then have five days to see the properties and complete the transactions, with the option money returnable if the deals were not consummated.
In March 1912, “the newest town on the Van Nuys-Lankershim lands” was announced at the west end of the valley with a grand opening on the 30th for what was called Owensmouth, now Canoga Park. A “monster free barbecue,” a race on Sherman Way between a car and a plane, and music were to be part of the event, with special streetcar fares on the new line leaving the Pacific Electric’s downtown station on Hill Street.
The town was purported to be “The Guarantee of Success” because of the fact that “men of integrity, financial achievement and great enterprise” marked the Board of Control that developed Van Nuys. Whitley was described as “famous as a developer of lands and builder of beautiful Hollywood and other cities” and it was added that “Owensmouth will be the finished product.” With the Janss firm again as the sales agents, the ad concluded, “Mr. Business Man, Investor or Homeseeker, be sure and come.”
To the north was the portion of the ex-Mission San Fernando ranch that was acquired by Robert Maclay and George K. Porter, with the latter’s cousin, Benjamin later buying large sections. The 16 May 1911 edition of the Times reported that a townsite of up to 400 acres, with a streetcar line to it, was to be built adjoining the town of San Fernando to the south, and this became Pacoima.
The San Fernando Mission Land Company was the owner and its principals included Otis, Chandler, Sherman, Earl, Brand, banker John F. Sartori, utility executive William G. Kerckhoff, San Francisco lumber magnate Andrew B. Hammond, Southern Pacific Vice-President William F. Herrin and streetcar and real estate titan Henry E. Huntington. Brand, Kerckhoff and Sartori were the officers of the streetcar company attached to this development.
The 21 April 1912 issue of the Tribune ran an ad for San Fernando Mission Lands and, in addition to the above-named, principal stockholders included Marian Otis Chandler, her sister Mabel Otis Booth and the Times-Mirror Company, in addition to such figures as attorney and banker Jackson A. Graves, as well as the Southern Pacific. Proclaiming that “The Mission Fathers Knew” the value of the land, the promoters informed readers that this a last chance to buy “citrus lands proven to be the richest and most valuable in Southern California.”
Moreover, the company kept the tract from the market for awhile, “but now-just when the Owens River water is available,” as well as auto and streetcar roads were completed, the time to buy land for raising citrus, alfalfa and other crops was at hand. As mentioned before, the timing of the wealthy capitalists in the syndicate buying San Fernando Valley land and the coming of the Aqueduct is certainly noteworthy, if not a blatant land grab (in the Owens Valley, as well) to reap remarkable profits once the water started to flow.
It was asserted that “every acre in the 16,000 acres of this tract is a money-making acre,” while the lands were touted as “the most beautiful-most productive-most profitable” in this part of the Golden State. Not only that, but it was asserted that a visit would present “a picture that will delight the eye of a painter” and “delight the eye of the investor.”
Pacific Electric cars were to operate to San Fernando within three months, while the incipient completion of the Panama Canal would improve shipments of farm produce at lower cost and higher profits. Los Angeles Aqueduct water was to soon be available (September 1913) and it was stated that “the city [of Los Angeles] is now endeavoring to contract with the purchasers for the sale of this water.”
Because San Fernando was established, there was “no pioneering to be done” with schools, electricity and natural gas in place or soon to be so and a $75,000 hotel to be erected by the company. No down payment was required and those who put in at least $2,000 in improvements did not have to pay anything for a year. This reflected faith in the lands, so readers will assured there was no better guarantee on their purchase.
With general farm lands fetching $300 per acre and citrus property costing up to $500, 25% in cash down and up to three years to pay the rest at 6% interest were the terms if the non-cash option was foregone. Of course, the promise was that the revenue from farms and orchards would be substantial while investors could expect their profits to double as the value of the land skyrocketed—in no small thanks, to that life-giving water that kept the San Fernando Valley on a second tier below the San Gabriel Valley, which had ample natural supplies thanks for the adjoining mountains.
Late in 1914, the formation of the Rowland Cattle Company with ownership of some 10,000 acres in the Puente and Chino hills, with a quarter of that acquired from Fundenberg for the Tres Hermanos Ranch, was announced. At 50 years of age, Chandler was in the highest echelons of Los Angeles society.
We’ll look to continue covering some of his later history in a future post, perhaps in conjunction with Tres Hermanos tours and events, so keep an eye out for that.