Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1869-10-02
SATURDAY MORNING, OCT. ,, 1869
A Manifest Injustice.

A few weeks ago we made passing allu-
sion to the report of Mr.. Claxton, of the
Cooke exploring party, and stated that
while it appeared to be decidedly favorable
to the immediate construction of the
Northern road and valuable aid as such,
to enlist the attention of Eastern capital
lists. it did manifest injustice to some por-
tons of the Sound country. Mr.. Claxton
committed a gricvous error when he gave
publicity to his impressions of rival parts
of the Sound, derived from brief stay of
but few hours at either point. The
judgment passed upon Olympia is founded
upon just such an opportunity of gaining
information. lie says:
9 Reaching Olympia. the capital Of WASH
ngton Territory, on Thursday evening, July
Sth, we went on board our steamer that night,
and sailed before morning
lie then gives it as his deliberate opin-
iou that
'slts situation is not in all respects favora-
bic for permanent growth. The tides here
rise from SlAtccu IT, twenty lccl, anu III tHc
Spring land in other seasons under the in!iu-
cncc of northcrly winds) the water comes up
and covers quite large portion Of the city site.
AT low tide only the lisheSt draugh. boats can
come in or go out nor does this seem to be II
difficulty which can readily be overcome by
dredging or by building long wharvcs. The
climate here is milder in winter and colder in
summer than ihat of Portland indeed so cool
i'll summer that all the grains and fruits requir.
ing great heat cannot be successfully cnlti-
waited"
Now all this is simply absurd. Sopal-
pablo was the error that We had regarded
it as unworthy of serious consideration, UNI
til some of our citizens urged that We cor.
rect, as far as it might be in our power to
do so, the unfavorablc impression which
might be induced elsewhere by such
glaring misstatcment Men of quite as
much intellect as Mr.. Claxton, who have
tarried with us as many days as Claxton
did hours, have expressed contrary be-
lief as to the eligibility of this site for fil-
ture growth. AS that gentleman expresses
the opinion that the mud-hats present an
obstruction to navigation which cannot
readily be overcome by building long
wharves," We wish he had also given the
process of rcasonim" by which he had
:rliycd at such Il conclusion. We have
not been able to discover Il single plausible
argument in support of it. Deep water
at the lowest stage of tide can be reached
within 5000 feet of the water front, and
before six months from now, wharf of
that length will be nearly, if not quite,
completed. The future city can be built
upon made" ground, at about the same
cost for a site that stumps can be removed
and grade established at some of the
points to which Mr.. Claxton gives deci.
ded preference.
The last sentence of the above quotation
is even more Objectionable than what pre-
cedes it, conveying the impression that but
few of the fruits and cereals can be sue
cessfully cultivated here. The fact is, all
the products raised at any otherplace west
the mountains thrive equally as we'll here.
Most of the fruits grow in the greatest
abundance, and to greater perfection than
they do in many of the Eastern States.
This much we say, not to enlightcn our
home readers, but that it may, in some
measure find circulation among those who
have seen and heard but little of our local
surroundings.