Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1871-01-14
War Tp,y oyTs-The Yreka

WBAT THEY SAY oF ts-Ibe reka
Cal Uaioa gives the following as the
experiences Of ci;iscn cf that town Sho
had ls,e!y visited the Sosnd:
Oar townsrAn. John Cl.lAsd, Esqr. has
r,,urrea frus bis visit 10 the tvnssss Of the
great Northern PAei6c Railroad. We believe
he did ~, inves: very largely IN town lots.
Tn. reason for this. we understand, was not
because he Was unable 10 find anybody " Hing
10 sell. GA the contrary he found the people
along the Sound the most accommodating set
in this r.spc,t he had ever met. In fact he
could find nobody hut what had corner lots
which they were willing TO dispose Of to stran-
gers Another peculiarly Of these trafiickers
in town lo,s-and everybody on Puget Sound
is an operator in first class unimprovei city
p,operty--is that the property which they offer
for sale is not only situated in the particular
town which il destined TO enjoy the distinction
of being the terminus Of the great trans-con.
tinental railroad, but in that particular quarter
of the town which is certain to derive the
greatest advantages from the road. Aud il
the newly arrived seeker after town property
is not satisfied with the particular town where
lie happeDs to be, or the particular lots offered
him, the accommodating operators are sci !om
uonplussed by this circumstance. They usually
u
town some 80 or 40 miles distant, which has
about an equal chance to be selected as the
terminus. In fact, says the town lot man, g if
this town is not selected, that one will be If
and if-that one will be the terminus beyond
doubt! On the whole, if l was going to pur-
chase don't know but would rather risk it
there than here" So it goes 0d infnitum.
There is an infinite number Of town sites on
the Sound, the inhabitants of each Of which
insist that their location offers superior in
ducements for the terminus, and that therefore,
it must be located there. The conclusion to
which Mr.. Clcland came was that he knew no
better where the terminus wonld be, after
spending weeks in travelling over the country,
than he did before leaving Yreka. He eonclu-
ded therefore TO wait before investing in town
lots.
Our Yreka visitor has manifestly exer.
csed the travellers license to +" draw a long
bow" The statement that everybody
on Puget Sound is an operator in first class
unimprovei city property" is gross
cxaggeration. There is no growing COM
munity upon the Pacific coast which can
not show more spectators in town lots in
proportion to population. Instead of ian
infinite number" there are not half dozen
inhabited towns on the Sound eligible to
railroad connection, and these are all pros
rcring on legitimate business, and home
stead lots may be procured in either of
them at their intrinsic instead of their
speculative value in anticipation of tn,
railroad. 1t is true there are several towns
on paper, like Puget City"-commonly
called i" Ios'em"-which have no other
than speculative value, and no present
inhabitants. IF the Yreka man was Of.
fcred corner lots in either of these embryo
cities, he certainly must have been mistaken
for greenhorn." The truth is, that by
far the greater proportion Of the operations
in unimproved city property upon the
Sound, has been carried on by the innu
merablc land spectators in Portland. The
mania has not cropped out in virulent
form here yet, and VIC therefore think this
good time to invest.