The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-08-10
NEW TACOMA,
A Young Metropolis of the Pacific.
Bidding for a. Railroad Terminus.
IGOR espondence sALr LAKE HnRALD ]
NEW TACOMA, w. t.

1
Puget Sound takes hand, I do not
feel particularly interested. The
people here think they have the best
of ii; Seattle has pre-empted the
terminus; Stella ;Com has at least
one enthusiastic believer in its lOca-
ton at that point; Port Townsend is
very confident that it can't go south
of its precincts, and there are half a
dozen northern points whose people
fee ! sure that their country possesses
the Site where the me -rop0liS of the
Pacific will be located. This termi-
nus question is the BITE nOiT of
Sound intercourse. Especially be-
tween Seattle and New Tacoma the
battle wags fercely. While the
latter has already an actual railroad
nearly completed to Portland, the
former is promised an early connec-
tiOn with the same, and upon this,
and its respectable start in business
ahead of its rivals, the Seattlers pro-
feSs great faith in their ability to
corral about everything desirable in
the way of trade and commerce. To
simple justice even on the Sound,
save in this single matter of the
railroad terminus. and it is only
justice for a disintereSted observer
to admit that Seattle stands at pres
ent, in point of actual accomplish
mentS and enterprise, head and
shoulders above all her rivals
She controls the local steamboat
traffic Of the Sound, and has man
aged to establish considerable
manufacturing establishments, does
a large wholesale business, and ex-
ercises her prer0gatiye as leader by
an interminable clatter Of tongues,
of which depreciation of this city
constituted the main feature.
On the other hand New Tacoma,
though her aspirations and hopes
of reciprocity are old in point of
years, her business activity and en-
terprise are confined to a few
months. Seattle has been gradually
strengthening her position and
gathering in the Sound trade
for long time, while this place APP
pears to have been patiently wait
ing to see what the railroad would
do for it. At last it appears to have
awakened to the fact that all the
railroads and fine harbOrs and
natural facilities can instill life and
confer greatness upon a city, whose
people fail to put their own shoIl-
ders TO the wheel. and for two years
past a business boom of consider
able proportions has been expert
enced. There has never been. "a
doubt since 1873, that the railroad
WOu d give all the prominent points
on the SOurd whatever facilities
they might desire with the outside
world. 1t is sufficient for these cor
poratiOnS that they are railroad and
mot city builders. Great cities are
lfeundednOn a variety of cOnsidera-
tIons, and through many cOntribut-
ing agencies, the chief of
which are the enterprise of their
people and the ieht location. Now
a-days the latter consideration
does not appear to be so important
as formerly as distances count for
little in the manipulation and con-
troll Of the facilities for transpo.ta-
ton. 1t is almost certain that
Chicago's position might have been
held by some other point on Lake
Michigan but for circumstances
mainly determined by her builders
and settlers. The same may be
said of Salt Lake City. Ii great
rivers are not always made to run
by great cities, as some one
facillously remarked, it is generally
through the determination. energy
and foresight of a community that
metropolitan greatness is attained.
New Tacoma has some natural
advantages beyond the possession of
railroad facilities. She has deep
water at ner shores too deep her
rivals say: plenty # room on the
fats east and south to build business
blocks adjacent TO tide water; some
agricultural country as fine scenery
as can be hal anywhere. a sub
stantial backbone high and dry for
residences, with Old Mount RevieT
in the southwest rising above the
coast range like a giant, with his
great white sides and summit, the
wonder Of the world. Here is ex-
cuse enough, it seems to me, for the
ambition of New Tacoma, were it
ten times as great as it is. But this
is not all. There are improvements,
car shops and an iron foundry, saw
mills, and q few manufactOries,
churches and stores, and a good
many dwelling houses. Building
is progressing on a considerable
scale, and public and private
works employ a large number
of workmen. General grain ships
are contracted to load with wheat
at the warehouses for European
points, this fall, and a warehouse Is
being built to store the grain. Ore
gon vessels are always loading lura-
Der for the sea islands, or for Eu-
rope, and q large increase in this
trade is looked for.
The city is a quiet one; 1.-THE p0Pu-
Iation, largely composed Of old
timers on the Pacific Coast, many
OF them of eastern origin, is daily
| increasing though Seattle manages