, 1884-01-19

ROCHESTER, n. V, Jan. ., 1884.
MR.. EDITOR Whoever heard Of
the edItOrOf lively paper in grow
ing town that had anything to do
except answer questions, and give
Information to an ignorant public :?
Surely no one else has 50 strong a
grip on the wand Of the spirit Of
Progress, or is so ready to use it.
Therefore it is editor l dare ask for
information.
city have the western fever, that
fever that knows no ctiILS, at this
end Of the route, at least, and haying
exhausted orr supply of Northern
Pacific documents, are anxious for
some personal information from n
reliable source. Hence again / ad-
dress an editor! That the Spokane
river is merely tributary of the
Fountain Of Youth which has finally
been located in Eastern Washington
some of us doubt, but, although
without any question, lineal de-
scendents Of the first great navigator,
Noah, we cannot live by water alone.
We must occasionally have the earth
under our feet as well as the heavens
above our heads, and so we are moved
to inquire how near you, are to unOC-
Cupied lands, either Government or
Railroad, also what land is worth by
the acre within your city limits.
How about schools ? for our families
contain some children whose educa-
tiOn has not yet progressed far be-
yOnd the three RS, "Readin',
'Ritin' and 'Rithmetic." For what
wares is there n demand in your
market? Have brains any money
value, or does muscle rule the day I?
What chance for moderate capital
aside from farming? Can houses
be had until such time as we could
build? Is timber at hand, and
should we bring first-ClasS Carpen-
ter. Could he find plenty Of work at
good wages, after our building was
completed Is domestic help OBJ
tainable at any price, or must one
import ones servants with oneself /?
Are the "nOblc red men of the for
est" in the habit of descending
quietly at midnight and possessing
themselves Of desirable scalps And
is one apt to meet grizzly bear at
the street corner rery often? When
it's wet, is it very wet and when
it's dry, is it hOrrid ? As to the peo-
pie | have no inquiries to make,
since | find human nature pretty
much the same everywhere, but It
is safe to infer that only those who
possess the sterling qualities of
"push" and energy will come in and
possess 50 distant a land though it
be a veritable Canaan.
May l hope for "a reply from the
genial editor" of the REVIEW ?
--'. J. w. WAKELEE.
The above letter of inquiry has the
advantage Of frethness and pith and
we take the trouble to publish it in
order to answer some of the ques-
tiOns propounded, the same that are
frequently asked US though the me-
dunn of the mail even though not
crouched in such neat phrazeOlOgy.
Passing over the early part of the
communication we reach the first
question:
JuxtapOsition Of lands-There are
unOccupied lands, both railroad and
Government, within a short distance
of Spokane Falls. Most Of the best
government land has been taken up
in the immediate vicinity Of the city,
but a few miles out there still re-
mains plenty of tillable lard, Ipartic-
ularly so in the Colville and Big
Bend sections. There is also a great
deal Of railroad lands still vacant in
Eastern Washington.
Value-'what land is worth by
the acre within your city limits. +"
Well that depends on the location.
There are locations within the city
limits where an acre could probably
be purchased for from 50, 900 to So, 900,
and other portions where 100000
would not touch that amount ofland.
Schools-Weh hatter ourselves with
the idea that the educational iacili-
ties Of Spokane Falls are equal in
every respect to any city in the ter
ritory. A large public school build