Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1871-01-14
OLYMPIA, SATURDAY MORNING, JIM. u, 1871
Olympia Branch Railroad.

In this paper will be found memorial
to Congress praying for grant Of the
mud fats fronting the town Of Olympia to
the " Olympia Branch Railroad Company"
Some Of our citizens object to this disposal
Of these fats on the ground that they Of
right belong to the town, are the common
property Of the citizens, and shoull only
DO subject to their disposal. We are not
disposed to controvcrt the principle Of this
objection any more than we arc to contest
the-theory that sail men are created equal"
rs an abstract proposition; but would SIM
ply suggest that it is as impracticable to
maintain the theory in practice in one case
as the other. All government necessarily
implies an inequality of power between the
governing and the governed not in strict
accordance with the theory of natural
equality; the reservation in the case CT
popular government recognizing consent
Of the governed as its basis, while requir.
ing conditional surrender of individual
rights for the public veal. Governments
.re instituted and laws are framed for the
protection Of minoritics no less than ma
jorities. The minority have the same in
herent right to govern that the majority
have; yet the necessities of government
demand acquiescence by the former in the
will Of the latter. The majority abuses
this power when exercising it in partial
and arbitrary manner, and that makes just
cause Of complaint; the minority no less
abuses the benefits of free government when
it offers factious opposition based upon no
better consideration than the abstract the
DRY Of natural rights. The theorist will
tell you that man has natural right to
an equal share in the clements of life
air, water and land-and their spontaneous
productions, and that no man has natural
right to mouopolize an undue share Of
these to the exclusion of any other from
an equal use; and who can gainsay this
proposition? Yet all will admit that it is
utterly impracticable as theory of govern
ment The men who object to having
their property taxed for the common bene-
1T, only because it would be an infractiou
Of their patural rights, and thus violativc
Of the principle of equal protection, most
certainly would not consent to share their
accumulated acres, to which all men have
an equal inherent right, with the landless
who are deprived by law Of their natural
Inheritance. These examples fully illus
trate the utter impracticability Of carrying
on government, or even maintaining the
rights Of property upon abstract theories
Of natural rights.
In the matter under consideration the
proposition is to conccde valueless public
property for valuable public considcra-
ton, and the sole objection offered to the
concession is, that it violates certain
principle or theory of government Of no
practical utility as applied to the present
case. The property proposed to be conced-
ed is now al obstacle rather than an ad.
vantage to the prosperity of the town; it
is not, nor can it be made available for any
practical purpose but by such improve
ments as these DIRECTORS deny the right of
the municipality to make, or to coucedc
to private corporation to make. : Such a
theory as this, if carried into practical ef-
feet, would put an end to all public i'm
provements of every character; no fran
ehises could be granted to private corpora
lions on account of the special privileges
thus conferred, and no capitalists would
i6vest in public enterprises without such
franchises.
The Olympia Branch Railroad Company,
composed Of many Of our most trustworthy
and responsible citizens, organized under
tho gcncral conviction that Olympia could
hare no connection with the Northorn Pa
elf, RiiIroal unless the citizcus aud prop