Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1886-01-29

krtuH SrASp,nn.
| To - stranger ut a business turn, Who
/ may chancc tn spend few weeks In
OLYMPIA II would seem strange that hr
would hear uo Hllu-iun to the bringing
"i The town into close connection with
ihc h'hhlt- ,allr,. u stretch III country
south aud west ui Puget Sound, eunal la
, extent 4" the state uf Delaware, and
which has lee, ~ open to settlement more
than thirty years. lie has been told
that ~ agricultural resources are greater
than anN other district adjacent to the
sound that tt- forests are practically In.
cNhau-iihlc, and vet. after this long p.,-
tiu,l nu better facilities for intercomnllI-
ui,atiun cNi-l. than the ordinary wagon
toad II - true that within the past ten
wears several preliminary surveys have
been ran down the valley, hut so far no
grading has hccn done IL II surprising
that thr r.'cnt organization of u new
company iu build the long delayed road
has not ~ vet cliritcd even passing mo-
ticr irom either nl our local papers? 'ris
said that Portland men are behind the
hcW movement and that they mean bust
ness. We hope II IL true. Most assured
" olympia viii uilcr every needed fscil-
nv thHt can reasonably bc required. Let
the owners ni deep water frontage ON
bath riIrS ul the hay oiicr sufficient
ground iur depot and wharvcs free oi
cost. II makes hut little difference
which side first obtains road. Others
will SON follow, and both sides of the
hnrhur built up. II IL reported that in a
quiet way. surveying parties have re-
Gently been nj work ca the Cowlitz Pass
route. The Oregon short Line has been
building toward Puget Sound for some
i"ur 80 iiv" years past, and as the lease
of the Oregon Railway and Navigation
tumpnny's line by the Northern Pacific
aud Oregon short Line. appears To- bc
not con~ummatcd after all, what could
lic more likely or rcasnna lie than that
they should nov commence anew 10
complete their line to- the Sound. While
building down Snake river past Lewis
ton. they might also commence AT this
end, thus working both ways. and by
that means tu complete through line be-
hc.urc the Northern racihc could finish
the Cascade tunnel. A. is we'll known.
the tow'iN or packwood Pass requires
~ tunnel, and the grades are more IA
Nurablr than any other pass north uf the
toiumhia river. lBut leaving this di-
gresslun, !, would pay 10 commence the
Gray y iiarbor rad at the present time
t"r logging purposes alone, for twenty
miles out the road would reach timber
enough to pay operating expenses and
earn u considerable amount over for
construction beyond Further on, the
logs might l.. dumped into the thehalis
ia time ui high water. aud ~ on down
the valley. increasing its operations 40 the
road would soon pay iOr itself. IL may
hc thought that the trade of the valley
will 20 the other way and not toward the
Sound, but tha, view is erroneous for
farm products Will always be worth more
here than In Portland or san Francisco.
They arr worth more now, and the same
causes will exist. AMI in an increasing
ratio ~ our populous ccntcrs grow into
large cities The Tacoma Leiysr claims
that that city Ia twenty-five years more
viii have loo. .Wn inhabitants. What our
population will amount Ia in that time
We do not say. hut II u place like Ia
coma, iha, depends Tor harbor on a
mere side pocket II the open, wide, deep
Sound, fast filling up with river sedi-
mrnt, swept back and forth by strong
tidal currents. and with no secure
anchorage during strong gales, can
grow NJ that rate, then indeed Olympia
with her quiet, snug harbor, sufficiently
extensive for all commercial purposes,
and from poin, in which railroads can
radiatc IN all directions, surely she
10y that time ought Ia be- equally ~ pop.
ulnus ~ Tacoma IL likely 10 bc with all
her seeming advantages. y.