, 1889-08-15
THE OLYMPIANS.
Ex-Mayor Low of Brooklyn Gives
His Opinions and Advice
to the Delegates.
Judge Turner of Spokane Highly
Commended by His Brother
Delegates.
The Convention Still wrangling
Over the Underwater and
Harbor Lands.
IsPEorAL TELEGRAM TO THE REVIEW j

OLYMPIA, Aug. 14-Talk consumed
the time of the session to-day and moth
ing was done but talk. The everlasting q
tide land and harbor question, the bug,
bear of the convention, came up this
morning. AS will be seen by the detail
ed report the friends of the new state
succeeded ir practically establishing by
a legislative commission a harbor area
before each of the large cities of the
sound from so to 600 feet between ordi-
nary high tide and ordinary low tide.
This area is TO be held and owned by the
state forever. The article is not entirely
sure of passage, yet 1t is like Moham-
med's coffin, suspended in the air twixt
heaven and earth.
The lobbyists were out in force
during the debate. Seated in
q room of Convention hall, they watched
with interest the changing results of the
various propositions. The majority was
defeated by a substitute by Griffitts.
Weir of Port Townsend, who had been
absent on leave for some time and who
didn't arrive until after noon, made n
long and earnest speech about the tide
lands, the longest yet made in the con-
yention. He offered his minority report
as a substitute for the majority report.
He pleaded for the rights of
THE OLD PIONEERS
who had settled on the tide lands. but
when Turner secured the floor and read
Hagiginps 4 -.
United States showing that the state
and the state only, held sovereignty over
ITS harbors and tide lands, the cold facts
OF the supreme court law of the land
were sufficient to turn the tide in favor
of the harbor area.
The debate of to-day was earnest, elo.
quent, sarcastic and laughable, and in
some cases absurd, but good -natured
throughout, Among those who listened
TO it were Judge Frank Allyn and Mrs.
Allyn, and ex-Mayor Low of Brooklyn
and Mrs. Low The latter couple have
been on
TRIP TO ALASKA
and will leave tomorrow for Tacoma
and Seattle. The young ex-mayor is a
handsome, smooth-faced, portly man
and an interesting talker. He was stop.
ping at the Pacific hotel in Spokane
when the recent fire occurred there. Mr.
Low was most interested in
the harbor debate, and said
this evening that he hoped
the young and growing state would keep
the ownership of its tide lands in front
of the large cities forever i'm the state
by constitutional enactment, and not
allow them 10 become cause for a
squabble before succeeding legislatures
which would become fruitful source OF
corruption. He instanced the city of
Brooklyn, which owns no water front.
Brooklyn, he said, was compelled to buy
one or two wharves at ain enormous
price in order to break up monopoly
In wharfage, and he was sure il the tide
lands and wharyes we've sold TO private
parties the time would come in few
years when the growing cities of the
Sound would be compelled to buy them
back. New York draws large income
from its Wharfage rents, and in but few
instances have any of the docks been
sold.
Mayor Low also mentioned the indis.
criminate granting of franchises by the
growing cities of the territory. Fran.
chises which would be
WORTH MILLIONS
in few years he said are given away
for nothing, when they should be a
source OF revenue to the municipalities.