, 1881-01-01
Then and Now.


['sW.sHr>lrox STArESuAS, an an ed''o-
rial PUBLISHED y. { oh. ia4'i, r'c''''a's
his aavru;ur,s IN maxim. a crip through
the ny,,cr couu'ry. $ N!cGsrr-v."'Niy, and
,adrr the above Il. ton, ls,c''Irs the
fffu11 A. e..y: SIX years .g", rhls
country Was described as barren H:ld'
nnft ior the home :: ;he wirre n'li, aud
beyond the tIch Of civilization. f'-'fay
Ne see on eg.gy ha:.d, rv'dene',' / clsii-
nlri.n and progress. Stca'"t"''' p."~
+, ,lrr Id int, conveying Heei!ythei
hundreds Il passengers, -" route I" ana
from the rich mi' ing county beyond.
and therr We are met t,y line stages
to convey Us t" this city, town iuniher-
m, lis one tiuusl:iG inhabitants and H.
valinr in population and business unPor-
. ,a.es any point in the territor. No
ole who visited the country SIN years
avo. could IN VI. wIidest a.Iuinl'. have
predict.d that such city would h-H eA-
i,t-d to-day. The contrast Is crr:arniy
great; Vet iudciH. the :ntnre ~ the
past. !. lnay with certainty he sad that
the day oi our PROSPERITY /, ju'f dtHiln5.
Situa.ed ss ". are It. the nidst al arch
agricultural country, and "n the crect
rout.. b. the rich minin. districts 10 the
nor, , and eastward. We have every assu
ranc.. that whatever advantage dher
nn:nts mny possess, W.lla Walla IS not
not hehinl them in any essential rarticu
, lw
This was IN Dee ISL, when 'he Pa
cI6e Coast was afflicted with the gold fe-
yer. created by the rich di>coveris Of au-
;iferoUs gravel in the OrD FImo 'nd Sal
m,n river countries which yie!'ed from
on.-r;shth ounce To- loo ouuces"f dust
rer dav 10 the hand; the 'irich sricultu-
raj district sruken Of was conhed e1-
clusively to those narrow tnps "t
bottom lands, skir:ins The numerous
streams im;crscct!ng the Wa.la Va!!a Val
I lev, Old Fort Walla Walla, ma Wallu-
IA. was then the head Of navigation, from
wh.nc, passengers We're c"nvegd L" TINS
cry by stage Walia Walla VI then, rs
nov, the great centre Of CIVILIZATION and
commerce for the whole Of the sst region
which comprised the then boudaTies OF
Washington Territory. Evcr IN those
ea:ly DAYS, this city hal "pulatI"n
of | 900 souls, and in the two lbscquent
decades the country has 'ev",ted from
the position Of a mere wints quarters
and supply depot for minin and iron
! tier populati9n I'LL it has aained the
hich position Of being one Of te most ex-
tensive and prolific asrcu!tEll regions
in the vas. dominIons Of lie United
States. To-day Walla Wall has 5000
inhabitants: her position is uique as the
largest city between P"rtlsi anil Salt
Lake. Washington Teriitor, much cur
, tu,led In dimensions, IS toy Knocking
at the door Of the Union nth satisfac-
!. tory prospects of her speedy ;lniSsion as
one OF the sisterho"d Of State
! Ii is well 10 take Retrospective glance
a, the past, for it shows mthat what
were formerly deemed inapoibilIties are
now accomplished facts; e frontier
trading post has developednto 4 great
city, which will soon be conmtcl 10y the
iron bands OF civilization withie CONNER
cal centers # the Atlantic Al the wave
washed shores Of the Paciti Oceans; 4
score cf towns have sprun. III existence
and even Importance where rmeriy one
sutiiccd: but In spite Of all unpetition,
tn, city IF Walla Walla hasnore than
kept pace with the progress the cnun-
try, for nature has eunspired make her
location the natural Rendezvous and dis
tributin. point for all The Va SCOPE OF
country drained by the UppeColumbia
and its tributaries. Mr.. Villa has pre-
dicted that IN five years our CT will con-
tain fifteen Thousand miabitas, nor VIII
this estimate seem improbablen 4 study
Of the extent aud resources I the cOun-
try through which railroads e ROW be
ing built When the ditfera railroad
systems ROW in course OF cunsuction are
completed and cheap and rap transit is
an accomplished fact. manuftories for
the utilization Of our home -odnctions
and resources viii be inaugated, and
Walla Walla, and the adjace country
will resound with the busy hu Of human
industry, and Our city viii bee nucleus
of lis accruins wealth. And lother de.
cade viii see IL