Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-07-18

:. S'oA - wears. ue TACT IS f0ai
tue want Of faith IL the cause of failure
10 most everything. There eertainl,
nAs oNea want Of faith in tse
Northern Pacific Railroad Company
mere never has been minute wher
the Northern Pacific Railroad COMPANY
Guild have gone on when they have no,
besn doing 30. They coald m, 90;
money from 1873 to 1879. The Norta-
ern Pacific Railroad was blamed 70,
the calamity which CINE upon the
country, simply because Jey Cooke was
the man who went first, and the North
ern Pacific Railroad WAS the Crea,
cause of the calamity of everybody slse.
Between 1873 and 1879 there never vas
= minute Of waiting when tn. Northern
Pacific Railroad was able to build.
Finally Mr.. Billings, With the en.husi
asm that IL characteristics OF him. took
hold OF 1t. Ii 10 pretty well known that
every president of the Northern Pacific
X ilroao has been an enthusiastic man
whether II be Mr.. Cas=, or Mr.. Billings,
or Mr.. Wright, or Mr.. Willard. | am
afraid shall be left behiud. The fact
is, that the first minute that ANYBODY
would lend any money upon the North
srn Pacific bonds Mr. Billings nepotia-
ted the Pend d'Oreille bonds, and took
large part himself, and also Mr..
Wright, notwithstanding he fosters Ia
coma lauRhterl |, and also the Missouri
division. and finally, IN 1879, the couu-
try being sufficiently recovered to fur
nlsh the money. things were procared
that were wanted. aud a great MANY
things that were not wanted, aud con
seqgently there IL trouble again. The
trouble IL here-lf | WAS A member of
Congress ! might say, when | came to
reason that inasmQch as the land grant
mad not been resu med before, that the
Government has not seen a ruiBute that
the Northern Pacific Railroad could
have built the road any foster than il
has been built. Now, in 1879. ufhv did
not Congress Intervene. and not sit still
until the road Was done? Some will
say, Well, yen have been putting in
your millions, some sixty of them,
under a misrepresentation Of what your
rights were. 10 be sure we have kept
quiet 30 you won d do it. We thought
We would get the road built little fast
or than by telling Won you were making
a mistake. Nov that We have got the
road done, Mr.. Henley has recommend
- "a oAh w thb OCtNccu tue
Missouri Rivor and the Columbia. Bot
they have not done 1t. nor is Congress
going to resume any lands eo-terminus
With any road built. Hence, il there
Was no other reason | would build as
much road this year. IL we could get the
money, as Is possible. When Congress
comes together again IN December they
are not going to be in any more rush to
forfeit lands or to resume lands upon
roads that are built than thew we're last
winter. ihey~Ill talk about II in the
spring, but there Is not a Congressman
and there is not a gentleman anywhere
who will look into this thing and see it
correctly and say that il would be Judi
cious and wise for Congress to resume
the lands unless they want to stop the
building of the Cascade division alto
gether. OF coHr 9 / understand that
some gentlemen IN Seattle think that if
the Northern Pacific was out of the way
else would build it quicker.
Seeing, as do, that the future of Puget
Sound is intimately connected with the
railroad across the Cascades. ] would
urge whether it would not be unwise to
throw away a pleasant position and to
trust to some one to take 1t up, under
other and worse circumstances, to carry
it through. The Northern Pacific Rail
road IL in a position where, undoubtedly
aud professedly, Congress is ready at
any moment, you might say. to forfeit
it's grant. and it was only by building as
quickly as We could advisably and pos
sibly do IL that We could defer their ac-
ton. At all events there will be such a
showing made at tae opening of Con
gress next December that when
wishes to raise the question,
We shall go down to Washington and
say. Gentlemen have we not shown
energy since you we're here last July ?"
IL We have not, they will say We will
nave to suffer the consequences. |
think. however, we will be in a position
where they will say, II you want that
road 20 be built sooner than it can in
aRy other way, You had better let the
Northern Pacific go ahead and do it."
| have exposed all our positions. III
there IL anybody opposing, yoa know
Just what our weak points are. My
strong point Ia, first, in oar position.
We have great many weak points,
is, perhaps We have /; GER
tainly | have exposed our position so
that If anybody sees weak point he
could attack 10. | hope to- have the
pleasure of meeting the editors OF the
Posi- lSTELLIaESCER. and also the edi-
tors of the other papers in the town.
This paper was placed in my hands.
Ii IL marked Jnly 18th. l will read
these words, Mr.. Harris IL mistaken;
ifty miles of the Cascade brancl are
not built" Well, now. 10 the Secretary
# the Interior and the President of the
Uaited STAGES say il is. and ac 'ept it. il
would DO Just a. we'll for the Northern
Pacific IA If WAS not mistaken; and
when atterward the next twenty five
miles are built and they accept that,
md there isa continuous track over
there. and We get through 20 that point.
not m stakeu. We think that there il
uiI,s on the Yakisis and % miles on
his side. II I am mistake n, thu road
will serve the same purp bss as II WAS
NJ. Therefore | may rest the case
= ght there.
'.Sone time in the d N fu'nre thesA
q lal roads may be extended ov,r the
mountains aud continuous line oper
ued. That event will occur when COM
petition ar Legislation compels, not be
fore" There am willing to sav that
the Posi-. ISrEILIaEScER IL mistaken, or
that the Interior Department will state
whether or not there IA not line detin-
itely located and fled in that Depart
ment. | am greatly mistaken IL IL is
not there. because 10 WAS sent by ex-
press a. Was tsld two months ago, or
three months. IL viii he found there. |
have no doubt All legislation compels
il now. and think that legislation
conpcls IL in this sense. Congress can
resume any land undoubtedly and
adopt some agent to build any road. Ii
We have not built in that sense. legisla-
ton IL compelling that nov. / am urg
inc the only way We can hold the grant;
that il, to go ahead and prose
cute the work With all the vi3or that
ANYBODY else would, aud l think We
will prosecute IL With great deal more
vioor than anybody else would. The
cost of building = tunnel across the
Cascade mountains and the cost OF the
bridge across the Columbia river at
Ainsworth. and the whole cost OF the
grade and finishing the tunnels on the
Cascade division | think Is about rs
OO0. 600. and we are dependent on the
market for money. Two years ago We
coald get money very much easter than
ve can now. OF course 10 Is not help
ING us any in negotiating that the ques-
ton of the grant was raised last winter.
There ia only one contingency that Is