Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1889-07-19
Some Railroad Details.

man extensively acquainted With Che
halls county and the railroad situation,
a representative OF the OLYMPIAN came
in possession OF the following items of
interest. One hundred passengers per
day, on fair average, are passing over
the railroad from kamilchie to the be-
ginning of the stage route. These are
not all from Olympia, nor do they all
seek places of destination in the vicin-
ity of Gray's Harbor, hut they repre-
sent the general trend OF travel from
the upper Sound to various portions
of Chehalis county. On the compile
ton OF standard-guage read between
Olympia and Gray's Harbor, both pas
senger and freight traffic would be
doubled in less than a year. And
when the timber interest is taken into
consideration, the monthly receipts Of
such road would be greater than the
monthly receipts of the present
Olympia & Chehalis Valley railroad.
The building of the road would
absolutely require a standard-guage
road to connect with the great
continental trunks. The inflow
of business into Olympia would ne
cessitate this. In less than twelve
month from the completion of the
road line of passenger steamers
would complete the route between this
city and San Francisco, thus making
this the great line of popular travel
from Puget Sound to the metropolis of
California. Practically, and as a mat
ter Of fact, Columbia river bar would
have no more terrors for timid people
for it would be given the eternal go-by
by everything save heavy freighting
and its own local passenger traffic.
Many people in this city and Cheha-
lis are at loss to understand why the
opening of the Olympia & Gray's Har-
Dor railroad would inaugurate SO large
a business as some of its enthusiastic
projectors have assumed that it would
do. The extension and completion OF
the Olympia and San Francisco pas
senger route, via Gray's Harbor, ex.
plains it all. Hence it will be seen
that We are not only tapping the Che.
halls valley country but we are actually
tapping all that portion of California
of which the harbor of San Francisco
is the natural outlet. Thus the bust.
ness that would ultimately accrue to
Olympia wonld be but the the grand
resultant of three independent in.
exhaustible sources of trade, viz: the
connection with trans-continental
trunks, the Chehalis country proper,
and the San Francisco passenger traffic.
In the late discussion of the merits OF
our proposed road, due regard has not
been paid to the latter of these advan-
tages. The testimony of experienced
ship-masters is on record that Gray's
Harbor has as safe an entrance as the
mouth of the Columbia river. This
testimony is all the more valuable
when it is remembered that the former
is, as yet, little better than in a state
of nature, and when it receives one.
tenth of the improvement that has
been bestowed on the Columbia bar il
will rate - one of the finest harbora
in the world.
1 The people of the entire Chehalis
valley are no less hopeful and enthusi.
astic in regard to our proposed rail.
road than are Olympians themselves,
and they stand ready to do more than
their share towards this enterprise.
| The gentleman above referred to is
intimately conversant with the nature
of the country through which the line
viii be located, and he affirms that
every mile of the road will pay az
soon ~ completed, and, in his judg.
ment there is no railroad route Of
similar length in the world which at.
lords 20 great inducements to capital.
lists ~ the one in question. While
other Sound points are ready and anx.
ious to build this road to their own
borders and reap the rich harvests il
will yield, Olympia still occupies the
position of party having the refusal
of big bonanza, and the good sense
of its people ought not to suffer them
to longer halt between two opinions
Now is the time to work, while the
lamp holds out to burn. A few
months will determine the question
when the die will be cast and the
metal cold.