Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-10-25

pearod befote N andi<uoe here r2o1
the day Of bis uouiuAt5ou.
Ths speaker begin With 3 1racefal
rresRuitiou Of H. rreoence Of ne ~
dieA. II - t1s Er1e 1iuos ha said. n
The history Of the Territory that . can
didAte for Congress could address sucn
an audieucs IN il entirsty a. fellow
cifixsns- He had . plain subject 20
taik upon be would treat il in . plain
way. We st00d today IN the shadow OF
crisis porfeutious 80 the welfare OF
this TERRITORY. We were upon the
thrtshaid Of statehood. The great
osershadovine question presented to
the people vas Is 10 whether Waehing-
ton should take her place among the
States a. free and independent uasu-
bef. or chained to the ear wheels OF .
railroad corporation - the galley slaves
we're chained 20 the cars Of the con-
dusrinq chiefs of old The speaker
dwelt upon the spirit Of liberty mani
fesfed In the Amsricsn people at the
tins Of the declarAtion IT indepeud-
ence, and said he had been for thirty
days entreating the people ia this Ter
rifory 70 End strength 10 oppose the
encroachmenss Of corporate power
upon their liberties, e. the fathers found
strength 90 resist the monarchisal op-
pressions Of hundred years ago. The
people stood tonight in the shadow of Q
possible and probable destruction of
their free institutions Never. in his
Judgment, since 1756 had been presented
4 declaration Of human rights more
fraught with veal or wse than the plat
form adopted in that hail by the Demo-
cratic Territorial Convention. In that
platform could be found all Of general
good for the people Of the Territory
that will be presented for many years.
The mission and purpose Of the Demo
cratic party was to unQirth the saddles
which the Northern Pacific Company
had placed upon the backs Of the pe0-
ole. A mention of the names OF Cieve-
land and Hendricks by the speaker was
received with shouts Of applause.
Mr.. Voorhees, discussed the planks of
the Democratic Territorial platform
ssriatim and at length. He placed him
self squarely upon every one of them.
He compared them 10 the Republican
resolutions and showed how that ia
their platform the second plank upon
forfeiture completely nullified the first
and rice versa, making result absolute
ly without significance. He read the
form of land sale contract in use by the
Northern Pacific Company mp TO Sep
tember Of this year, when ON the eve of
election, and to soften the popular
clamor, they thought best TO change il
Withholding from the purchaser every
right except to keep the fence mp, which
it compelled, and to cultivate the soil 30
that the railroad could get the biggest
share of his crop for carrying it to mar
ket. Mr.. Voorhees, did not believe that
the people we're willing TO trust in the
hands of a corporation which had
shown such disposition to abuse the
power they held, an increase of that
power over their destinies. The system
Of those contracts was far worse than
the system of entail which fell under
the blows of Thomas jefferson.
This recent oonces sion, or alleged
concession, to new purchasers There
are no purchasers now just about cleo
ton time, when the company has a
great stale to play for, exemplified the
old proverb that when the devil was
sick, the devil a monk would be; when
the devil got we'll the devil monk was
he."
Mr.. Voorhees, dilated upon the rapidly
growing evil of enormous land holdings
in the United Sta ties by foreign absentee
landlords aud great corporations-the
system W1ich has been the great curse
OF the old countries. As an example of
such system building up in our midst,
he told that Chicago syndicate headed
by Marshall Field, owned $4,000 acres
in Whitman County. purchased of the
Northern Pacific Company. The com.
pany had just the same quality of right
to sell those lands as the Devil had to
offer the earth to our Savior. He read
Government statistics 1870 to 1880,
showing the rapid decrease of small
holdings and the increase of large ones,
and pictured the direful consequences
of such progress IL not soon stopped.
As to the railroad across the Cascades
We all wanted it. 1t was the outgrowth
Of that desire which had caused the
Democratic party to declare for the for
fixture of the Cascade lands. He told
of the progress of railroad building in
the Northwest without land grant aid
the o. Il. q N. roads of 700 miles. much
built across the land grant of another
corporation, 81 miles at an expense
equal TO that of the construction OF the
entire Cascade branch; the Utah North
ern, the Oregon Short Line, built
through difficult routes without any
bonus of land.
Mr.. Voorhees, made brief personal
statement substantially the same as
this papers answer Monday TO the
charge by the Union that he had done
wrong in compromising the Whitman
County railroad land tax case at 5000.
The County Commissioners had made
that compromise upon his advice after
full investigation of the subject and
discovery that owing to defects in the
making no OF the tax lists, there were
no legal merits in the peoples case. He
challenged ths fullest investigation of
this matter aud of all his acts.
Speaking OF the railroad tax exemp-
ton law passed by the last Legislature,
Mr.. Voorhees, said: Il ask the people,
| if they do not ses tic TO send me To Goa
gress, 90 send to the Legislature those
who will erase that blot and stain from
the statute books of the Territory"
He pledged himself heartily aud un-
equlvoeally for the admission of Wash
ington Territory and Northern Idaho
under the name OF Washingtou-to help
bring 10 into the Union as free and in
dependent State, and not rs an append
| age to the Northern Pacific Railroad.
He announced himself sauarely for
woman suffrage. He stood there to
protest against the di.fvanchisemeut OF
any man or woman in the United States.
This sketch OF Mr.. Voorhees, rem srks
does them feeble Justice. To have given
ia full his argument upon any one OF toe
Important propositions advanced would
have occupied more spacs than We are
able 10 devote 10 the whole. His speech
was frequently interrupted by bursts
Of applause, and created a fine impress
sion that will tell at the polls.
Hon. N. I. Cation followed in brief
speech, which was we'll received. his
announcement that he bad experienced
change of heart on the woman suf-
frage question brought down the house.
Thus closed Que OF the grandest politi-
GAL meetings ever held in walla Walla
conuty-in the ferritory.-Joarnai.