Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-03-14
STATE OF WASHINGTON.
Her Resources as Narrated by Hon.
Henry B. Clifford : p
In Music Hail. Bostop ssJanuAry
18th, 1890.

dcnry 3. CuHOr4 s-.,-
In Music Hail. Bostoe s4January
18th, 1900.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
1t is with peculiar pleasure and
gratitude that look upon this sea of
intelligent faces, and it would bc an
insincerity were / not to acknowledge
that the numerical vastness of this
audience surprises me. 1t is evident
that there are many in this city in
tcrested in the future. of the great
Northwest. 1t is very gratifying to
appear before such an asseirblage of
the wealth and culture OF historic Bos-
ton, and in my discourse this even
ing, l shall cndeavor to repay you
at least in part, by giving an i'm
partial delineation OF the wonderful
resources OF the State of Washington.
l am hopeful that my treatment OF
this fruitful subject will be interesting
and instructive to those who have
done me the honor OF accepting the
invitation to be present.
In ages TO come, the nineteenth
century will be marked in history as
the century of advance; of broad
ideas, great inventions and generous
feelings; and in the constellation of
years that constitute it, the decade
that ended on the 3lst of December
last will stand boldly out as the one in
which the greatest strides were taken
toward the equalization of the rights
OF man and the emancipation of think
ing minds from the slavery of ancient
superstition-in reality, as the era OF
the broadest conceptions.
1t is grand retrospect! Many arc
the brilliant achievements of the vari-
Gus nations. We gaze with pride on
the North and South American con-
tincnts. and from the Behring Seas
to the Straits of Magellan we see true
advancement towards the grandest ef-
forts OF civilization,-the desire to re-
spect the rights of man. In fact,
these two continents are now practi.
cally the land of the people, each land
and nation subject to the will of the
majority, and all are Republics. The
last to throw off the ancient traditions
of monarchical adherence has been
Brazil. We see change for the bet
ter in the Old World. A gratifying
spectacle presents itself in Germany
freedom of speech is no longer sup
pressed, and Bismarck, the Iron Chan
cellOr, greets in the Courts and Coun-
ellis OF the Empire the editors who a
few years ago were condemned to
prison for the expression of their
honest thoughts. We see the Shah OF
Persia mitigating the cruelties to his
prisoners and opening wide the gates
OF his empire to progress and commu-
nication with mercantile powers. Sc
elusive Japan issues its new constitu-
ton, that is destined to bring about
great material prosperity to the Land
of the Rising Sun. We see the walls
of China battered down by the adj
vance OF civilization, and those people
OF ancient lineage now hear the shrill
shrek of the locomotive. A change
is seen in Russia, in Turkey, and
even the dark continent of Africa Las
at last opened her portals to explora-
ton and science. All nations seem
anxious to advance and display the
beauties and wealth of their posses
sions, that reciprocal relations may be
brought about. The same desire actu-
ates myself and the constituency of
the new State of Washington; for this
reason l am before this august assem-
blage.
If our Plymouth fathers, who, tiring
OF Britain's oppression, embarked with
their lives and fortunes upon the rest
less waves and finally landed upon your
historic rock, could have sent word to
their friends in England that they
had discovered such a country as this,
the announcement would have caused
thousands of suffering humanity to
flee to these shores; but in those days
of tyranny and absence of steam and
electricity, the transmission of news
was slow,-so that America grew only
as years made it possible for the
thousands to come. Now behold the
change! To-day report is circulated
regarding some new Ell Dorado, and
tomorrow the telegraph or the rail
confirms or denies it, and we actually
can do in an hour that which required
a year TO accomplish a century ago.
Knowing that you can readily in
ves;igate the claims made for our fair
State, and desiring to effect in a year
that which the slow process of time
would only give us in ten years, we
take this means of asking you to
study the advantages of the North
west, with q view of enlisting your in
terest and support. Of course in a
single evening it is impossible to tell
the whole story. / can only lay be-
fore you the principal facts, and trust
that you will be led to fuller study
OF the subject. And while shall ell
deavor to illustrate it from an impair
tial standpoint, / must say that even
the eloquence of a Demosthenes could
not do it full justice; even a Henry
Clay would find it hard to picture the
grand possibilities of our State, and
none but an Ingersoll is capable of por