Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1863-10-17
A Practical View.

disparagempnt of the country in which live
than myself Though rude and superficial in
nv sketch, | shall cndeavor not to fall short
of truth and candor.
Sketches of country and Of natural re.
sources have too often been ligh-drawn and
fanciful They have often einanated from
men of no observation, or such observation as
was taken from stages or steam boats, or from
those who have arcely stepped beyond the
suburbs of the village in which they live,
and who, writing under the stimulating ef-
ftcts of gool dinner, or an eXhilarating
glass of wine or brandy, gave full scope to
their fancy, which carried them from the real
into the IDEAL and instead of giving a fair and
impartial real account, they have given an
ideal one--onp perhaps suited to fancy, purse.
or position-which has too often deceived and
occasionpd the sore disappointment of the
poor Immigrant travelling west.
/Washington Territory is plainly on the de-
cline 1t is folly to disguise the fact Farms,
stock and town property have sometime been
steadily depreciating in value, and the inhab:
itants have been growing poorer Farms and
town property are scarcely worth the cost OF
the improvements that have been made on
them. There is. indeed, large amount of
real estate that can not be sold at any price.
Men everywhere seeing their property wan
ing in this general depreciation, have be-
come dishrar,cnrd and many will leave for
more promising field where property has
real tangible value. and where industry is bet
ter rewarded Labor has, to a great extent.
been misapplird. The grav"lly portion of
of the Territory has yielded poor return
for the labor that has been rut rpon it. Very
many have lost their labor entirely. and sunk
their money in the cultivation Of the soil. in
building houses and fences. Some farms are
already deserted more will he, This portion
of the Territory is fit only for herds OF shorp,
and the sooner it is abandoned to this kind of
stock the better it will be for those that are
now farming it for living. 1t will support
n large number of sheep, and in this way con.
tribute to the real and permanent growth of
the country. There will always be demand
for mutton. for it is n good, substantial article
of diet Wool will always be good article
of export, good material for manufacture,
and, rs such, will he good element in the
growth Of our Territory.
The rich lands of Washington Territory
consist of river bottoms. swalrs and tide flats,
swamps and beds of lakes. Thu SO are, for
the most part. covered with timber or brush.
To convert these into arabic fields will re-
quirc an outlay as well as nssiduous labor,
which makes them somewhat inaccessible to
the pUor man at the present time. In the
primitive stages of farm cut out of the tim
Der, the first, and sometimes second crop. must
necessarily be vegetables, for which there
is now little or no market. Upon these the
poor man must rely for his support in the
further prosecution of his labors, and If these
cannot be sold he must abandon his work.
say then in order to cut farms ont Of the
timber, we must create demand for all kinds
of produce. The market should b. made
first, and the country next. This would in
duce and enable tho man without means to
make his farm. and his farm when made.
would be good investment. The problem is
to create a market.
Tho numbering interest and or fisheries
are two important elements in our growth,
but they are mere elements. They will come
very short of building up metropolis which
will be a market for this whole country. 1t
is the trade Of large extent of country that
makes a city. and sustains it. 1t is not Cal
ifornia alone that makes San Francisco but
it is the trade of Oregon, Washington ana
other Territories. The same is true with all
the large eastern cities. Bordering States
are tributary TO them.
{ The counhy west Of the Cascade range in
Washington will never build up city upon
the Sound. We must bring in trade from
abroad. We should cut tho bars Of nature
that have imprisoned IFS so long, and rendered
the Sound to majority Of the inhabitants
almost worthless sheet Of water. We can
scarcely reali ze, when we consider the condi-
tion Of things around us, that VIZ are living
upon one of the best ha,bors in the world
equal in extent to the Mediterranean. and sur
passing it in the safety of its navigation. in
the number, capacity and security of its bays,
and more accessible in the trade of Asia than
any harbor on the Pacific coast. The Sound
is the natural head, aud should be the real
head of the upper Pacific Place the i'm
porter upon the Sound with full assortment
Of goods Mt San Francisco prices. and connect
the Sound with the Columbia river by rail
road. and Oregon and all the country east of
Sound. Commerce, to the amount of mill
ions. would flow in. Another San Francisco
would spring up. The Sound would whiten
with the commerce of every nation. The
country would wake up with active life. The
forests would disappear before an active and
industrious population. The barren wastes
would be converted into green fields The
river bottoms would pour forth their itch and
harvests. The face of nature rs
we'll ms society would change. Portland is
without doubt looking this way with jeal-
GUS eye. but if rail road was built. she
could not compete with us. She would have
wealth and Influenza To start in