Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1889-09-20
The Capital Site.
No Location i'm the State That Can
Eqult II.

The voters OF the new State who have
never visited Olympia will naturally like
to know something OF the site she has to
offer for the Capitol building. They have
heard OF the offers of rival cities of acres
upon acres of land for Capitol site
they have seen. perhaps, photographs or
highly colore1 pictures of some of these
sites, with beautifully laid out grounds,
magnificent walks and drives, fountains
playing, street-cars running in all direc-
tons in word, magnificent locations
in photographs. But it must be remem-
bered that all these beauties and a.trac-
tons are things GO in the future" which
in more than one case the nature OF the
soil and the climate of the country will
make it impossible to realize. Olympia
site is on hill of easy ascent, sur
rounded by beautiful park in which
large trees are nor growing. The grounds
extend to the water front, and the waters
of the Sound form their western bound
airy. They were donated to the State or
Territory for Capitol purposes by Mr.. +.
Sylvester, and will revert back to his
heirs if the Capitol is removed. They
are valued at 100000, which is far more
than any two sites offered by other cities
are worth in the market today. The
view from Capitol Hill has already been
. described in other ticles in this supple
ment. Judge Sturdevant OF Columbia
county, one OF the delegates to the Con
stitutional Convention, declared it the
best site for a Capitol and the most beau
tiiul view in the State, an opinion in
which the majority of his fellow dele
gates openly agreed. From the front
porch the view extends over the city,
Budd's Inlet, the forests, the suburban
residences. for miles in all directions. 1t
is view which cannot be equaled any
where in the State.
Some capital is sought 10 be made by
rival cities in the present contest out of
the fact that they have offered this or
| that sum OF money toward the erection
OF a Capitol building, etc. They hope by
this means to catch the vote OF the citi-
zen who is not well acquainted with the
provisions of the Enabling Act by which
the new States are admitted into the
Union. Section IL of that Act provides
"Ls.i upon the admission of each of said
States into the Union, in accordance with
| tho - At
(32, 900 acres) of the unappropriated pub
lie lands within said States, to be Sc
lected and located in legal subdivisions,
as provided in Section 10 by this Act,
shall be, and are hereby, granted to said
States for the purpose of erecting public
buildings at the Capital of said States
for legislative, executive and judicial
purposes" To this very liberal grant
which in itself would be sufficient to
erect all necessary buildings without the
raising Of cent for that purpose by tax
alton, Section II of the Enabling Act
adds Zone hundred thousand acres for
public buildings at the State Capital, in
addition to the grant heretofore made for
that purpose" As the school lands are
to be sold for not less than $40 per acre,
and these 49,, 900 acres for public build
ings are to be the pick Of the lands in
the State, it is safe to estimate that
Washington has the equivalent of one
million dollars with which to erect her
public buildings at the Capital, and will
not need any donation or bonus from
this or that city.