Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-08-08
Things we Saw.


- Ii'ObSSN UP, ~ seo VI Iduu
develops various phases of human
character, or rather portrays i'll
deeper coloring those peculiarities
of disposition which constitute per
sonal individuality. The man OF
genial temperament here appears at
his best. He seems to derive per-
!etual glow from passing events and
to impart much of his good nature
TO those with whom he is thrown for
the time in close companionship
The Grabbed individual is very apt 10
intensity bis acerbity; the ompous
man to assume higher tread; the
autocrat, to domineer, while the
truly modest man shrinks ili"n back
seat and takes notes for iu,, uction
and profit.
We had one of these au ucratic
passengers aboard the tram which
has been immorialized in these col
umns. He came on at Helena, or
some other station, and was
/ travelling to the land of the Ieal 4"
according to bis showinS-Chicago.
He was a Doctor Somebody, and
owned, or professed to own, consid-
cradle real estate in the city Of
muddy water and smokey atmos-
phcre. He had been on short
visit to Puget Sound, and had taken
it all in. What he did not know
about our Territory was not worthy
of serious thought. He talked loud
and in dogmatic tones, and every
body Of course listened, as in duty
bound. He first gave his opinion of
the Walla Walla valley, which he
declared to be a region of sand hills,
the soil unfit for cultivation and the
seasons subject to drouth. 1t Was
equally unfit for farming or gazing.
He would not give one of his Illinois
farms for the whole country. There
being no bunch-gras knights pres
ent. his opinion of course passed
unchallensed. Warming up to the
work, he next proceeded to demol-
ish Puget Sound. "Tbere is moth
ing there" he loudly asserted, for
a man Of business. The only pro-
duct it claims is lumber, and it is of
inferior quality, full of pitch and
knots, and cannot be sold for the
cost of production"
But" interposed the modest pas
senger, cit seems to have been in
steady demand great many years,
and a large fleet of vessels have
been employed to carry it to many
home and foreign ports, while CO.
lossal fortunes have been made by
some of our nillmen in that bus
mess"
"All bosh!" exclaimed the CAPT.
talist frOIA Chicago. "Those who
have not seen our Eastern lumber,
and our manner of doing business,
are not competent TO express an
opinion on the subject.
How long were you on the
Sound and what mills did you visit p
the modest man with faltering &C.
cents inquired.
Two weeks, and l did not visit
any of your internal windwills," was
the explosive bomb which fell in re-
ply, driving the quiet man still
further into his corner.
The Chicago capitalist having thus
summarily ended the controversy on
that subject, then proceeded to de-
molish the Northern Pacific Rail
road. He didn't want any OF it in
his'n. :" 1t will never pay" he Of
firmed. Chicago is the western
limit Of civilization. The N. p.
bankrupted Willard, but he is a fool.
When he took his titled excursion
party on a campaign drunk across
the continent, he ought to have had
every engine under steam, every car
filled with the country's products;
steam whizzing and whistles blow
ing snd bells ringing. Instead OF
that he had every train switched off
to give the dukes and dudes q clear
track, and every rod of their Journey
was marked by empty champagne
bottles. The staid German capital
sits took alarm at this hieh-pressure
method of doing business, unloaded
their stock, and covered Willard out
OF sight.
-" That's SO" remarked one OF the
listeners, "for I read word for word
in the papers, just as the doctor has
described it."
This quiet shot knocked the doc.
tor out of time, nor did he recover to
reply to the query by another tor
menter.
Say, Doctor, why didn't you go
on that excursion 2" With O glare
that would have paralized most inter-
neddlers the Doctor departed for the
smoking car.
This incident is not overdrawn,
nor is it the only instance wherein
the srossest Misrepresentation were