Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-05-07
HO for the Coal Fields.

lished notice, the Directors Of the
Olympia and Tenino Railroad, ac-
companied by the President, the
Secretary and few members of the
Board. of Trade, went ont to Tenino,
and thence, on foot over a broken
country, to the coal mine opened
some years since by ex-(rov. Salo-
mon and Col. Bee. The object of
The visit was to thoroughly examine
the mine and determine, if possible,
ats availability as a feeder to the
business of the o. g. 7. Railroad, in
case it could be purchased or leased
at paying figures and successfully
worked. So far as relates to its
completion and practicaloperation,
the railroad has now, for more THAI
wear, fully discharged the obliea-
tons imposed upon it, and by vlr-
tue of which it received the bonded
aid of the county.
But the road, as yet, has no OBJ
iectiye point other than the mere
junction with that division of the
Northern Pacific which spans our
Territory from kalama to New Ia
coma. In densely populated coun-
trv. say as one of The Atlantic States,
the mail eerNice receipts AID local
traffic alone, would support the
road. besides afforaing a respectable
dividend to the stockholders. But
1t must be remembered that we are
living in sparsely settled country,
where LEGAL trade goes but s very lit
tie way towards compensatinS such
enterprises as necessitate tie outlay
of large sums of money to &c: them
into being, to say nothing of a con-
slant expense attending their opera
ton. The people of Thurston coun-
ty are justly entitled to great praise
for their indomilable will and ener-
gy in pushing to speedy and hon
orable eonsummation such a work as
the Olympia and Tenino Railroad.
But the road is not a chameleon; it
cannot live and thrive Npon air
alone, and hence it beh0oves our
people to put forth all reasonable
efforts to open up an objective, bust
ness point which shall ia all time
insuye.a safe aud unfailing source of
profitable trade.
With the view of securing such a
desideratum as this, the railroad
officials, generously aided by the
Board of Trade, have lately imposed
upon themselves the task of either
locking up and opening new coal
mine, or utilizing to the pIait of all
concerned some mine already known
and situated within a suitable dis
lance of the southern terminus of
the road ca it now exists.
That coal is found in paying nuan,i-
ties in and about the hills surround
ing Tenino prairie, there is not the
slightest question. This opinion was
freely discussed and acquiescsd in
by several veteran coal miners and
experts, who, by special invitation,
accompanied the expedition Of last
Friday. 1t is useless to dilate more
on this subject. The needs of ,our
railroad are known to the people in
town ard country, and as it appears
to us, it becomes everybody, SO far
in him lies, to do something, towards
ministering to these wants. The
finder of 1ich and convenient coal
vein will be fortusate individual,
and will be promptly remunerated
for all the time and labor he may
have expended in bringing to light
such valuable discovery. Now WHO
will be the happy iudiHadual? Who
xill embalm his name forever by
being the first to announce the dis
coxery OF the precious fossilized car
bon SO essential to our present re-
qnirements? Instead of ali speaking
at once. let everybody assume the
role of prospector, and our word for
it, we shall not be kept long in un.
pleasant suspense. We are living
in a country rich in minerals. We
have geological reason to be assured
that both coal and iron exist in
abundance under our feet. Oace
more We ask. Who will be the fortu-
nate iiscoyaferS