Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1871-03-11
IYNPIA, SATURDAY MORNING, MAR. II, 1871.
Lands for Railroads.
at our risk.

Some of our subscribers find fault with
Us for devoting so much attention to the
railroad question, and except to the man.
ner of our advocacy of donations of land to
the railroad company to secure terminal
point at Olympia. We can assure these
grumblers that they mistake and misrepre-
sent our motives very materially when they
ascribe our position to any other cause
than a sincere desire to subscrve the best
interests Of the citizens of the community
with whom VIC have cast our lot. We are
no advocate Of monopoly, nor subsidized
organ Of any corporate company. 1t is
not for the benefit of the railroad company
that our sympathies and our labors are en-.
listed, but for the advantages which may
accrue to the people from that company.
The questions which We have presented
in this connection no way affect the special
privileges Of the company or the primary
rights of the people. We have simply re.
garded the questions involved in a propo-
sition pending between two parties entirely
Independent of each other-thc citizens Of
Olympia on the one side and the railroad
company on the other-without any obi
cations on either side to accept the propo.
sition of the other; the citizens of Olym-
pia are not bound to donate cent to the
railroad, and the railroad company is not
bound to give Olympia railroad conncc-
tion. The only practical question is-Will
the citizens of Olympia accept or reject
the only conditions upon which railroad
connection can be secured to this place !?
Every man of ordinary intelligence knows
that railroad connection would increase
the commercial value of all real estate
in or contiguous to the town many fold
There is not a man among those who cavil
at donating, owning real estate to be af-
fected by the railroad, who does not place a
higher value upon his property in conse-
quence of the prospect. lie excuses him.
self by various pretexts from donating to
the object, but is very ready to profit by
the donations of others. This is mean and
dishonest; it is taking dishonorable ad-
vantage of circumstances to lay his neigh.
bors under contribution to himself; or,
failing in that, sacrificing the interests of
the whole community to his own inordinate
greed.
One of these cavillers who assumes to
represent "G40 Acres" finds in the Tri-
bune sympathetic medium of commune
cation with the public, and says: II will
not, you may be assured, give all my
property. or any of it, to benefit my
neighbors at my expense" That is
just precisely what he is not asked to do
He is only asked to donate for his own
benefit, and only so much as would be his
equal share for the common benefits to be
derived from it. This pretcxt that he will
not donate lest perchancc some other per-
son who did not donate would be benefited
thereby, is too transparent to conceal the
selfish designs he charges upon others.
No property-holder is required to give a
cent to the railroad, or to contribute an
acre Of his land without a valuable consid.
alton for the same; the proposition is
merely to concede portion of the land for
such Improvements as would make the
portion retained much more valuable than
the whole would be without them. tits a
fair and legitimate business transaction
which no one will deny would be greatly
to the advantage Of every real estate owner,
if carried ont. and can only be defeated by
the greed and selfshness of some who de.
sare to share the profits without contribu-
ting to the object, thus meanly appropria.
ting to themselves the contributions of
their more liberal neighbors. Men of
such character would rob contribution
box for charity fund if they could do SO
without detection.