The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-06-01
THE REASON WHY.
How Il II that Seattle has Maintained
her POsltion against Great Odds.

NOR Oo1tIOm 8K8Bu8t ~IG8I OSA08s
Chow is it that Seattle, in spite OF
railroad opposition and discrinin-
alton, has been able to hold the COM
mercial and trade supremacy Of the
Sound, and to maintain her status as
the chief city of the Territory ?"-this
question is asked by every person who
comes to Seattle and sees how the city
has outstriPped all rivals. The an
swer is not found in one circumstance
but in many. First, Seattle holds a
commanding position with reference
to the Puget Sound basin and its trade.
1t is the central point on the Sound
and is the only place that can support
q reasonable claim to that position.
From the entrance of the Sound to
ance il forty miles; from Elliott bay
to Tacoma, in the other direction, it Is
thirty miles; from Elliott bay to
Olympia it is sixty miles. From the
Hoods canal country--in fact, from
nine out of ten points in the product
i've country of the Puget Sound basin
il is nearer in miles to Seattle than to
Tacoma, and in order to get to Tacoma
boat must pass the city front of Sc
attic. Nearly two years ago the editor
of The Orcgonidn wrote as follows.
Seattle has long been the central point
or depot OF the business of Puget Sound.
It owes this partly TO Its position and
partly TO the energy and enterprise of its
citizens Seatfle's position in the business
system OF the Sound country is q founda-
ton OF long growth, the result of natural
forces, aided by the intelligence and spirit
Of the people. Business resting on such
basis is ~ firmly found as q tree that grows
by almost imperceptible accretious through
long periods OF time. Seattle has business
relations with every part of Puget Sound.
From her docks steamboats, run into every
bay. harbor, nook and cove Of the great
estuary. Every town, every sawmill, every
logging camp IL in almost daily communf-
cation with Seattle. Some eighty steam
boats are engaged in this business, and
through them Seattle becomes the radi-
ating point for nearly all the business of
Puget Sound.
This is as true now as then, with the
additional important fact that the de-
velopment Of the past two years has
added its full proportion to the busi-
ness Of Seattle Instead of eight there
are now upwards of one hundred
trading boats which make their head
quarters at Seattle. Indeed, all but
four or five Of the boats which trade
on the Sound consider Seattle their
home port.
AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.
Those who imagine that the Puget
Sound country is a wilderness, pro-
ductive only OF saw logs. have q very
inadequate notion of the situation.
The Sound, with its islands, has
shore-line of nearly 1000 miles, and of
the land abutting upon IL and near at
hand about ten per cent. is OF the kind
called in the Northwest creek bottom
land" All of this is extremely fertile,
while even the densely timbered coun-
try Is valuable for range. and when
cleared OF its timber useful for the
general purposes of agriculture. The
small river valleys are almost innum-
cradle. There is no record by which
il is possible TO show the value of ag
ricultural production in the Sound
basin. but business which supports
the service of over one hundred trad
ing boats, contributes to the support
OF large steamship lines and has been
the greatest feature in the traffic and
development of Seattle, IS no small
thing. In country like Oregon il IL
very natural for people to believe that
industry without wide ranges OF open
tta-AA~ Nat %EAthA4t- t-ssf ~
from the truth One acre of hops viii
employ fifty times as tuuch labor as
one acre OF wheat and the product will
yield fifty or one hundred times as
much money. Value of production
and not number of acres, is he real
test of the agricultural worth OF a
country and OF is capacity TO support
population By this test one acre OF
bottom land in the Puget Sound basin
is equal 20 twenty acres OF wheat land
The agricultural Industry of the Puget
Sound country. already large, is cap
able of being multiplied several times
before al, the land at present available
is brought int use and il vii widen
constantly ss the timber is removed
THE HUMAN ELExESp.
While the resources Of the Puget
Sound basin center mere conveniently
at Seattle than at any other point, the
advantage lin the absence Of the large