, 1873-09-18

The same comparison applies to all the
old Northwestern States with navigable
waters to the ocean furnished by the
great rivers in one direction and the
great chain of lakes on the other, all of
which are f1anked by railroads on either
side-some Of them by several compet-
ing lines.
The Statesman says: "We have east
of the mountains an area OF country
equal to three or four good sized States,
and with the improvements here sug-
gested we Can safely Calculate that in
side of ten years the Columbia River
Basin will number population of half
a million souls" That proposition we
do not dispute; but how will it be with
out "the improvements here suggest
ed?"--of which there is not the least
shadow Of probability for the next ten
wears. Then without the railroad the
people of that section would remain
"bottled up" as at present, and, as has
been before remarked, "the more land
they cultivated the poorer they would
become. " and this vast and surprisingly
rich section would remain almost use
less, except to enrich greedy and
unrelenting monopoly which at present
absorbs nearly all the profits of labor
devoted to production. a less Congress
ional appr opriation to the railroad than
would be required to open The river
would insure its completion in two
years instead of ten; would be in the
line of Congressional precedents, which
the other is not, and much more likely
10 be obtained il asked for by our peo
pie in the name of, and under the control
Of the Territorial authorities. Oregon
has all eady had four large lands grants
and several large appropriations for
WORKS of internal improvements, while
Washington has had none. The pro-
posed improvement Of the Columbia
river would inure almost exclusively to
the benefit Of Oregon, and but little If
any advantage to Washington Territory.
Of course we do not expect any Govern
ment aid in the building our railroad,
but we regard it as an absolute certainty
that Congress will not concede another
large subsidy to Oregon and utterly ig-
more our vastly superior claims.
The Statesman in its argumant only
considers the single article of wheat,
which is now the predominant interest
in its neighborhood, without giving any
attention to the interchange of comodi-
ties for which the railroad opens g wide
field and the river route nothing. At
the present time the stock raisers east
of the mountains find the best market
for their beeves and mutton sheep on
Puget Sound, by long, circuitous and
very expensive route Of transportation.
| This trade extends all over the Sound,
through British Columbia and as far
north as Alaska. The great portion of
the flour and grain consumed here are
brought mere from Oregon and Calitor-
MIA, our cured Eeats from Chicago and
Kansas City, and much of our butter
end cheese from the Eastern States. A
considerable portion cf last winter our
family table was supplied with butter
made in Wisconsin-transported 1900
miles by railroad and 1000 miles by
water. Large quantities of -four are
now shipped from San Francisco to ia
pan and China. and that trade is rapidly
increasing. Seattle is 500 miles nearer
to that trade than San Francisco, which
will make wheat delivered here for
transhipmens more valuable than there,
and secure cheap teas, rice and Chinese
goods in rnturn. By the railroad the
peeple east of the mountains will get
what is tie chiefest need of that prairie
country lumber and coal, Of which
there are inexhaustible supplies at this
end of the route; and with unrivalied
manufacturing facilities, including coal,
iron, lumber, valuable wood of great va
riety for manufacturing purposes. and
abundant water power, it will be but
short time after the road is opened be-
fore we can give them home market
for their wool, and furnish them with
household furniture and farming imple-
ments, all manufactured here at much
less cost than they can be imported.
There is no other portion of the world
where two sections in such close prox-
unity could receive and confer greater
advantages by uniting in common inter-
est.
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