Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-11-09
MORE CONCERNING TACOMA.

WICHITA, Kan, Nov. 8.
To the Editor Of the Daily Eagle.
In your issue of October 81 appears
letter written by Mr.. W. 81. Grattan, Of
Tacoma, w. T., witten October 10, in re-
ply to letter ofmy own from the same
place, and published in the EAGLE on
October 9, and in which Mr.. Grattan
says, amongs other things, that1 willfully
misrepresented that city. My letter re-
ferred to was one OF series, written
personally to my friends. This series be-
gan with Salt Lake City and ended with
San Diego, and very imperfectly de-
scribes something of what saw during
a six weeks trip, and extending, on the
Pacific coast, from British Columbia to
the Mexican line.
Seven days of this time, Gnstead of
few hours) were spent in Tacoma. From
that city three letters were written, only
the first of which was published in the
EAGLE. Not one of them was addressed
to the EAGLE or any other paper, and
either one would be doubly incomplete
without the other.
The entire lot did not claim to be full
description of the city, and the object of
my visit was not, as newspaper cores
pondent, to boom that or any other city,
as Mr.. Grattan seems to think l was
bound to do. But inf those letters / did
refer to the many advantages
that Tacoma possessed over other
cities, among which were its broad
and finely graded streets, its wide and
durable walks and terraced slopes and
its numerous elegant and costly build
ings, both public and private, long rows
of which / stated to be in various stages
of completion. The number of its
churches and schools were noted; the alb
sence Of the heather Chinee as well as of
the low quarter usually SO conspicuous
in seaport town were mentioned.
Its harbor was carefully noted and its
entire ''water front" visited, with the
many large saw mills, together with the
only Puget sound the world contains,
was described from Olympia to the sea
in the same necessarily brief way.
My wonder at the magnitude Of the
salmon fisheries interests, both on Puget
sound and the Columbia river, were also
mentioned. The beauty of Mount
Tacoma, or Rainier, together with the
tall evergreen timber everywhere sur
rounding the waters of the sound |
found time to note only too imperfectly.
Last but not least were the people / met
mentioned, among whom were the in
comparable j. NJ. Steele, whose
heart is SO large as to shelter the entire
Wichita delegation; Mr.. Brokaw, whose
friendship to the writer has lasted many
years and whose knowledge of Washing
ton Territory is unquestioned. Mr.. Hell
Ter, whose every acquaintance is his
friend. and even Mr.. Gratten, while l
was present, saw fit to treat me with
kindness, and if they observed any little
popularity in my appearance suggestive
of vermin, they had the good breeding
to not speak Of it or were not as familiar
with vermin as Mr.. G., and no one
seemed to regard me as the second sad
eyed, NANCY man from Wichita.
If these other letters were not offered
for publication it was not from a desire
to iniure Tacoma, but from knowledge
that they were SO imperfectly written as
to be of little interest to the public, to-
gether with the fact that until the re-
ceipt of the EAGLE of October 81 l have
been ignorant of the now patent fact
that / have in moment and without
knowing it, forever destroyed the entire
future prospects of the great city of
Tacoma.
l am not yet convinced that the few
statements | then made were exagger-
ated, and yet believe the same stumps
and mud flats will remain to greet the
visitor long after the polished and gen.
tlemanly Grattan has turned up his toes
and gone to his doubtful reward as prom
ised to all men of his class. AS to his
humorous references to myself L hardly
care to reply, as | do not believe it would
interest the readers of the EAGLE, but
will say to Mr.. Grattan that We cannot
all present the elegant personal address
that will alone enable us to gain admit
lance to the best hotels or seats at the
banquets ne describes, neither do we all
care to pose with him, as prohibitionists,
before an audience where our records
are both so well known as ours both are
to the people of Wichita, and IN regard
to Tacoma's free liquors to which he
alludes, his letter indicates that he has
once more found it.
Very respectfully,
+. K. APPLEBY.