March of Progress, The (1945)

[Music] la [Music] once upon a time when the Don brought their culture and the Ripple of their silver tongue to the golden land of California great herds of Longhorn cattle roamed where populous cities now stand cities that grew up around Pueblo which had in turn been nurtured by the [Music] missions life in Spanish California was leisurely engaged a warm-hearted people in a kind and bountiful land expressed themselves in colorful fiestas where to lilting Tunes lovely Senoritas and dashing caberos danced the exciting steps of old Castile then gold was discovered in the rich Hills of California and as the news traveled far and wide a new chapter was written in the colorful story of our state the Pastoral life of the Henda became submerged in the fierce competition of the mining camp and the light tap of dancing feet gave way to the scrape of miners boots as men from all walks of life and from every quarter of the globe follow the paths of the pioneers and beat new trails of their own in their search for the stuff from which Dreams Are [Music] Made they also came by sea in sailing ships Around the Horn with the light of Adventure in their eyes and the Gold Fever in their veins some one some lost and went their way but many stayed and helped to build the new Empire in the West San Francisco mushroomed from a quiet Trading Post into a Boom Town there was mud in the streets but there was gold to spend it bought the glitter of excitement and extravagant gayety was the order of the [Music] day fortunes were made and lost Lady Luck was courted in all her forms and some who had never gone to the diggings had more gold than those who had it was a gay life and there were songs to Be Sung so win or lose what did it matter well maybe you'd strike it rich [Music] tomorrow San Francisco survived the gold rush and by 193 had acquired dignity without losing her glamour hitchhikers rode on the backs of cars and the automobile drivers showed a fine inde pendant Spirit look out ladies careful there partner the general idea seems to have been to get as much excitement as possible out of a ride but with iron hats and steel nerves the majority of the mortaring public survived one another's efforts there's one of the Jive hounds of the [Music] period then suddenly [Music] [Music] [Music] San Francisco Choice Port of the Seven Seas fabulous City that saw the birth of millionaires and characters who were to brighten the pages of History they prostrate this rare old film shows Market Street after the last of the fires were out a shambles of collapsed and blackened buildings dust from the rubble of world famous landmarks filled the air Telegraph service was set up in tents along the street to carry news and personal messages from the scene of one of the worst disasters in the history of the country and the people of San Francisco a people who were to rebuild their City to a statue of world prominence chose to do their walking in the street rather than risk injury from the still falling masonry thousands of San franciscans found a Haven and new homes in the East Bay where one of the West's most colorful characters borax Smith of 20 Mule Team Fame had come to found the key rout to provide transportation adequate to the needs of this area in which he saw such tremendous possibilities the heart of Oakland Lam Square looked like this at the time but Lake Meritt and the 12th Street Dam presented this scene of isolation horse cars were still plotting along when borx Smith took over and downtown streets were always thick with either mud or dust this was the view at Broadway and 40th Street and this was the Waterfront here we have uh sorry wrong picture the Berkeley campus presented a foral la appearance despite the Glamour Girls in the foreground but with a new era of transportation and the influx of people from San Francisco development progressed in Leaps and Bounds until the brightest dream of Francis Marian Smith was more than realized Transportation along which clows the lifeblood of modern civilization had indeed brought growth and progress and The Sunny Side Of The Bay took its rightful place as one of the leading communities of the [Music] nation transportation to San Francisco was by ferry a convivial mode of travel that particularly in the evening had elements of fantasy and generated a sense of ADV Venture that even the meek could enjoy many a commuter dreamed secret dreams when the blown spray wet his cheeks and his soul soared to the undulation of these charm to the Bay Area then came the bridge one of the engineering wonders of the world when at the opening ceremonies Governor Mariam cut the golden link and the silver chain and the cars of the official party sped across this Mighty span it symbolized another Triumph for courage and Enterprise another step in the parade of progress the bridge was built with a second level to accommodate the most modern Interurban trains and operation anywhere controlled at each end of the bridge by a tower that houses the switches relays and circuits that make up the nerve centers of one of the most efficient Train control systems in existence with safety devices that are the product of the the most modern engineering genius from the tower window the dispatcher can identify the trains as they enter or clear the Oakland yards on the NX board the route of each train is set and the flashing lights provide Visual Evidence of the progress of every train at every moment everywhere on the bridge everything is automatic activated by a button in the tower the gears were in the switch mechanism the switch is thrown and the train speeds on its predetermined [Music] course in the metropolitan area the train draws its power from overhead wire through a Pantagraph but on the bridge the power is picked up from a third rail and so a shoe which has been folded against the side of the train is [Music] tripped and The Pantagraph lowers automatically inside the cab the motorman controls the speed of his train in response to the panel which indicates 35 M an hour at this point this indicator is part of an elaborate safety system worked by means of electrical impulses carried through the rails if the motormen were to disregard the speed indicated on the panel control of the train would be automatically taken away from him there has never been a train Collision on the bridge since they began to use it in 19 39 the belt indicates a change of speed watch closely and you will see the indicator dropped at 25 mph if he gets too close to the preceding train he is automatically sto and that's nice to know in a fog which sometimes Creeps in on the San Francisco side approaching the terminal where the air is fragrant with a smell of spice and roasting coffee the speak speed drops from 17 to 11 [Music] mph besides the obvious business of collecting fairs running motor coaches street cars and trains there's a whole lot that goes on behind the scenes and the system as big as this one road beds and tracks have to be maintained and hundreds of men with a variety of skills are employed throughout the year on this phase of the operation [Music] alone there are the machine shops with their great lades and the expert machinists who keep a transit system running there are furnaces in which metal is heated and under the masterful guidance of men beaten into the Thousand and One things needed this is sort of a square roundhouse it's part of the car shop shops which covers acres and employs Carpenters upholsterers metal workers and electricians besides the machinists and mechanics who make a complete check of every car every 48 hours and do little jobs like screwing up the [Music] wheels this is part of one of the garages where the motor coaches are checked every 24 hours and completely serviced every 500 [Music] Miles washing is made easier when you have a deal like this and you'd be surprised how dirty they get after being on the road all day or would you things have to be kept looking fresh there's a certain pride in the fact that this is one of the few locally owned locally managed transit systems in the country geared to the needs and dedicated to the service of the East Bay Key System became one of the largest single businesses in the area key system and the colorful Progressive communities it serves had come of age [Music] and then Pearl Harbor I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday December 7th 1941 a state of War has existed between the United States and the Japanese [Applause] empire the country accepted the challenge a new Temple came into our lives and the Great East Bay with its unparal Harbor and Factory site became a keystone in Uncle Sam's arsenal of democracy local labor supported by the thousands who PED in from every state in the Union to help responded with a spirit that smashed production records wide open many Key System employees like everyone else were called into the armed services and so in an area of critical labor shortages this company became the first in the country to train women to help in the vital task of carrying people on their everyday Affairs to and from their work schools and churches in an area that suddenly acquired several hundred thousands of new population these girls serve their country in the necessary field of [Music] Transportation it took manpower to build the senu of war and transportation to get them on the job but the equipment that had served the needs of our community in peace time became overburdened and sadly inadequate to the demands of war the Richmond Shipyard Railway is a good example of the way initiative and no how licked one of the country's naughtiest transportation problems the road was built and run by Key System for the United States Maritime commission but new cars steel rails were impossible to get so into its building went rails resurrected from scrap heaps and old spikes salvaged and straightened the cars that served a life time on the old New York elevator but with everything on Wheels being pressed into service they carry The Men Who Built the ships that took the stuff to the boys who finished the job but with all the extra work Key System couldn't neglect its regular job thousands of people who had been able to jump in the family car well you remember gas [Music] rationing and there are two more good-look customers do you know in one War year the motor coaches alone carried more than 71 million people what's that they were all in your coach those were the [Music] days and then there were life's little surprises I tell you public transportation was more important than ever Army and Navy bases covered the area and in Peak months as many as 1,7 8,000 men per month removed to and from the Treasure Island Navy base [Music] alone and these activities didn't stop for the daylight hours a 24-hour working schedule required transportation to fit so the tools of Peace were stretched a little further to meet the needs of war and went on working through the night serving a thriving area of homes and industries from Richmond on the North to Hayward in the East with 83 interlocking Transit lines now we can rededicate ourselves to the greater task of building a lasting peace we know what our job is to serve this great area better than ever to play our part in its growth and progress and we shall do it to the utmost of our [Music] ability unfortunately a normal ideal condition doesn't form like a beautiful cloud and settle down on us [Music] overnight but there's time to catch up on the gossip and chewing comes back of course there are still some bottlenecks and some some rubber [Music] necks and well despite everything the traffic keeps moving but people can set their watches by the trans Bay trains as they go [Music] by [Applause] [Applause] our commuters get one of the most exciting rides in the world and boy what a view there's that spice and coffee smell [Music] again one of the busiest inter city transit lines in the world safely delivers another trainload of passengers to the busiest terminal in America well so much for the past and the present now what about tomorrow on the drafting Boards of the engineers and and designers plans are already taking shape for a fleet of motor coaches and trolley coaches that will match the future planned for this greater East Bay H some of the boys are pretty far ahead we're aiming at Perfection and plan to give you the smoothest swiftest safest Transportation possible we're going to go ahead and show you he hey Doc hey hey Doc I there m key who invited you come on now get out get out possible designs of future trans bade trains are being studied they will be set upon by hey hey dog hey hey Doc I want to will you please stop interrupting go on get out before I have to use the fce water cute little curses me inside where they have the parts you sit down on there's going to be something that you won't hey dog hey hey dog I want all right Mac you win go ahead folks folks it's going to be wonderful we're going to have television shower baths Floor shows free meals and well we'll [Music] watch it's cozy isn't it just a minute mck hey hey hey hey what's the idea hey put me down everything is going to be wonderful all right but let's not exaggerate but really folks the future does look mighty bright [Applause] h