The Frankfort roundabout. [volume] (Frankfort, Ky.) 1882-1908, 1890-09-20
Volume XIV.
Concerning the New State
of Washington.
Editor Roundabout:

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Editor Roundabout:
Numerous friends have approached
me many times ever since my return
from Washington, plying me with
questions concerning that country, its
soil, climate, advantages and re-
sources generally. So frequent has
this been the. case that fully deter
mined to answer as best as / could,
through the ROUNDABOUT, long be-
fore this, but one thing and another
has interferred, and l do not even
now feel half equal to the occasion,
nor half as we'll equipped as the char
acter Of the task demands, for 1T
would require condensed volume of
matter from a skillful hand and a
master mind. With only one years
residence there man could scarcely
fortify himself with personal kIowl-
edge, by observation or otherwise,
, sufficiently we'll to impart the infOr-
nation sought. l have refrained from
giving more frequent expression of
my ideas about Washington even
when there, through the ROUNDA-
BOUT, from sense of fear that the
subject would become tiresOme and
cbestnutty to your many readers. l
have discovered since my return that
there are very many besides myself
who take a keen interest in that
country, and it is to such friends and
readers address these lines.
So enthused was I about the coun-
try, such was the impression made
upon me, that it amounted to COM
plete fascination, and nothing but
The distance separating me from it
now could cause me to lose any of it.
/ think I have, in former letters,
pointed out all the excellencies Of
climate, soil, products, minerals, re-
souices and advantages generally,
from every standpoint, as well as I
could command language to describe.
The very first letterI ever wrote to the
ROUNDABOUT I concluded by saying
the wonders of that marvellous coun-
try would never be half told; and Gu
riOusly enough in letter to your
paper from Capt. Sam Swigert, U. S.
A., who is located there, he refers to
my letters complimentary and said
/ had never told the half. Well that
is good and brief way to express it.
A j6ppy combination of natural con-.
dit ms makes the whole country phe-
nomenal in every aspect, yet it is i'm
possible to give anything like an ad-
equate and Intelligent idea Of it as a
whole, without at once distinguish
ing between the east and west Sec
tions formed by the great Cascade
range of mountains extending almost
due south from British Columbia
through the entire State, broken only
at the Dalles Of the mighty Columbia
river, whose serpentine and tortuOus
course measures a distance of three
thousand miles from it's source to it's
These two sections are as different in
to imagine, yet they are both tenn
strong ocean breezes waited over the
warm Japan current in the Pacific,
which sweeps that whole coast from
Alaska to Southern California and
seems to spend more of it's force
along the shores of Washington than
elsewhere. No doubt the broad
valley Of the Columbia forms ready
avenue for the entrance of these
tempering ocean breezes, and it's trib-
uSaries in turn distribute them liber-
ally over the whole country.
The eastern section, which COM
prises about two-thirds of it's area, is
high and dry and exceedingly health
full. The city of Spokane Falls, in
the extreme eastern part, is some
thing like 5000 feet in altitude, higher
than Olympia on Puget Sound. On
the same day people can gather ice
in Spokane Falls, those OF Olympia
can gather rich, fragrant garden
grown flowers.
It derives it's name from it's loca-
ton at the falls of the Spokane river,
where we find the finest water power
in the world.
Taking the two sections together
there is combined every life-sustain-
ing element to meet the needs and
demands of mankind in every posi-
BILE form. Nothing can possibly evil
dence the attractiveness, prosperity
and desirability of a new country bet
ter than the solid fact that the emil
grant population has increased three
hundred thousand in the past ten
years, and that since the first railroad
penetrated that, region few years
ago, there are now 1000 miles built
and enough projected to gridiron the
State from center to circumference. |
These are stupendous results, and
coupled with the fact that it is the
extreme northwest corner Of the |
United States, are enough to create |