Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1863-10-03
SATURDAY MORNING. OCT. 3, 1868,
We Want Enterprise.

we uHt GE6cA VI 1oC'
We have on many occasions shown the
necessity of our people bcstirring themselves
in order to ensure the proper advancement of
the interests Of this portion of the Territory,
but we can see no indication to encourage us
in the task. The conviction becomes strong
er every day, in the minds of those who take
the trouble to consider the matter, that in
stead of advancing in business, wealth and
population, we are indeed losing what we
had gained by the temporary and spasmodic
attempt to build up marts for the exchange
of our resources with the foreign markets.
We have to-day. in this county, less popu-
ton, than we had year ago, and the same
assertion will apply to many other counties
this side of the mountains. Our town has
less number of families than it had twelve
month ago, and still no effort is made to stay
this gradual decrease of the life of our coun-
try by these who should be and are the most in
terestedinits prosperity or decline. The stream
of egrcss still continues, and VIC know not
where it will end, unless our property holders
the class who cannot leave themselves,
and should for that reason be brought TO a
speedy realization of the true position which
matters have assumed - awake from this
worse than Rip Van Wrinkle sleep. They
may awake some fine morning, and find that
the generation to which they belong has en-
tirely passed away, and our Territory
bleak desert surrounded by the thriving and
populous Idaho, Oregon and British Column
bia. While our sister Territory has her rich
minerals as source of employment and
wealth, and Oregon reaps huge share
therefrom, and has her i,nm invested
capital to sustain her, we have shown no dis
position, to develop the resources we have at
our command Wheat. which might be
made the great staple of our Territory. by
the investment of few thousand dollars in
the improvement and opening of roads, has
been imported from California by our mills,
thus sending out of the Territory money for
an article Of home consumption which should
yield US our chief revenue. Many other ar
ticles are being imported which we are
abundantly able to produce, not only for our
own supply. but for export. each Of which is
but vein by which the life blood of our
country is escaping.
During the past eighteen months we have
repeatedly urged the opening Of road
across the Cascade range of mountains, by
which not only immigration could find &C.
cess to the rich agricultural lands bordering
on the rivers which flow into the Sound, but
by which the products Of the eastern portion
of the Territory and the resources of the
mining region can find an outlet in prefer
cnce to the Columbia river, and bencfitting
Oregon monopolies but our task has been
in vain, only eliciting a few oomplacent
grunts from those whose interests we were
endeavoring to advance.
Another indication of the want of enter
prise is the proper sustaining of steamer
on the Sound. We have been without
steam communication with the produce
markets of British Columbia for many weeks
at time, simply because our people have
not sustained and patronized those we had.
Nine-tenths of the support which has been
rendered has been from the shipment Of cat
tie, driven from Oregon through our Terrific
ry, for the Victoria and British Columbia
markets. Still, of course nobody is to
blame. If our merchants prefer to ship
their goods by sail vessels, rather than by
steamers, nobody is to blame, though we
do believe that small percentage Of the
profit realized on grcenbacks, might be very
appropriately invested in sustaining regular
steamer ON the Sound. If DIR leading men
prefer present gain to permanent prosperity,
we have no disposition to urge further what
they are so slow to appreciate. But we can
not see the interests of our people 90 to ruin
without making final effort to avert the ca.
hmity.
r. Springfield paper says that from all
pasts of Illinois Union men write that the
X. C. Cts are arming and drilling for revo.