Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-10-08
POLITICAL.
An open Letter from the Edstsr OF
the Palsuse Gazette.
CoLFAx. W. T.. Sept. q, 1884.

CoLFAx. W. T.. Sept. q, 1884.
EDITOR Posi- -IsrELLIGKxcER
Since the adjournment of the Repub
iican Territorial Convention I haya
watched the columns of your journal
carefully and With deep interest, for ths
reason that expected you 10 give tn,
conditional forfeiture people their hon
est deserts and TO unite with as for th,
ssccess OF the Republican party.
AS you are well aware, there vere ir
the convention factions representine
three different views on the RAILROAD
question. Your people favored abso
lutte and unconditional forfeiture. NJ,
people favored conditional forfeiture
and the third faction objected TO inter
ferin9 with the land grant of the North.
srn Pacific Railroad Company in any
way.
This being the case, IL seems to me
that II any two factions should ioip
hands IN this campaign, they could be
no others than the one represented by
your people and the conditional forfeit
ure faction: certainly neither OF Us can
co operate with the anti i-forfeiture idea.
Our position. as 1 regard it, is simply
this: We want a railroad across che
Cascade Mountains, connecting the
bunch grass region of Eastern Wash.
lngton with tidewater on Puget Sound
We want your coal, lumber, fish, ETC..
and you want our agricultural products.
Wo believe the Northern Pacific more
likely to build this road in the near fn-
ture than any other COMPANY, and for
this reason favor giving it carefully
guarded Inducements to do so. We do
not favor giving it a single acre of land
until the entire road is completed, and
nave taken position whereby the lands
along the division will not be withheld
from settlement pending the completion
OF the road. IL the company does not
carry out our views. then our only hon
est course Is 10 unite with you aud de-
mand absolute and unconditional for
feiture.
IL the non-forfeiture people had car
ried the convention, |, understanding
the various positions of different inter
ests and factions so we'll, could not find
fault with you in giving inactive support
to their nominee. Bat as this was not
the case, and the convention was car
ried by a faction whose views differed
but little from your own, and in view of
the fact that We in a considerable mea-
sure owe our success to the assistance of
your people, we certainly have a right to
expect further assistance from Won in
the campaign and at the polls.
Had majority of the people Of the
Territory expressed themselves in favor
OF absolute forfeiture, euch action would
certainly have called for our endorse
ment; and We, recognizing the rule that
an honest majority should govern, would
gladly and actively have fallen ia line
and supported your nominee and the
platform of the majority.
At the next convention hope to see
the same honest and able war horses
representing King county, and further
hope that there will be no difference be-
tween us then. In the meantime, and
particularly during the present cam
paign, 1 hope Republicans will remen-
ber that each county's representation in
the next convention will depend on it's
majority for Major Armstrong this fall.
l have already written more than
intended, but cannot close without de-
nying absolutely the statement that
Major Armstrong is in sympathy with
the railroad company. he Is an hon
est man, II ever there was one, and the
people on this side of the mountains
will bear me out in the statement that
his word may be depended upon on all
occasions.
The editor of the Yakima Signal has
issued a circular charging Major Arm
strong with deciding certain;oases in the
interest OF the railroad company when
he was acting commissioner. | am not
familiar with the cases, but do know
that the commissioner, setting as a
judge, must make his decisions accord
ing to law, and not according to his
private views of what is right or wrong,
and II Major Armstrong has made de-
eisions in favor of railroad companies,
he was backed up by the law. Very
truly yours, O. b. HOPKINS.