St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1890-02-20
Obe Californian,
LETTER FROM SPOKANE FALLS.

haDs a letter regarding the new state
of Washington in the far Northwest
NAV interest YOUR readers. When |
came here Dec. 1, the streets were
very muddy and the weather was
quite like ours in the last of October.
About Dec Is the ground froze up
and then came the snow. BY Christ
mas there was good sleighing and
now there is about three feet of snow
inside and outside of the city. 1t has
been good winter weather for the
past month with only few cold
DAYS when the mercury ranged from
10 to % below zero.
Business is called very dull here
but to me it seems quite brisk. Peo-
pie Just tell me to wait until spring
and then | will see the greatest bus1-
ness rush that Spokane Falls has
ever had. | believe them when | see
so many brick blocks, finished for
one or two stories, with temporary
coverings that will be taken off as
soon as warm weather comes. And
ON MANY streets are piles of brick,
granite and lumber lying on the
snow. Until the snow got quite
deep in December there were large
gangs on four streets laying ties Tor
street railways that will be running
all over the city as soon as spring
comes.
If the readers of the Caledonian
were here | should first invite them
to a ride on the electric railway from
Main street to Ross park, a distance
of four miles. This is considered the
very best equipped street car line in
the West and Pullman cars are used
on it. Another electric railway will
soon be built from the city to Lidge-
wood park, about three miles north
of the city, and land is selling well
along the line of the proposed rail
way.
Much money will be spent here this
season in erecting blocks of wood
and brick and grading and opening
new streets There is plenty of help
here now and think more than can
get work, but they will soon be
wanted. Carpenters get from $3.50
to 81 n day, stOnecutters and brick
masons So, painters $3.50 to So and
common labOrers 50 to $3.50 per
dav. Board and room costs So to
SO week l don't think a COM
mon laborer or clerk can save much
more here than he can East. So
don't come here, Young man, expect
inc to find Il soft situation at once
for YOU will be disappointed. If you
have a good situation and are happy
stay where YOU are. But if you dc
come here | think yot will find a stu
alton and get good wages. Success
is only achieved here by hard work
combined with steady habits and
have some doubts with the many at
fractions for spending money whether
YOU will save more here than al
home And, again, l notice that th1:
is bad town for idlers and loafer:
and as the employers easily recog
niZe this class we have quite little
army of loafers who will not worl
as long as they have money to buy
rum The rumseller gives them shell
ter and a cold lunch as long as thu
money lasts; when that is gone they
have no further use for the men
in Barnet, as long as l trusted then
was the best fellow in town blu
when asked for cash down my char
acter, in their opinion, changed ant
they thought me mean enough t.
steal and cheat and lie, and even &C
cused my clerk, the honest deacon
son, of charging them for goods the.
never bought
Most of the merchants here,
think, have large trade and max
money. Rents are high (frOm 81
to $500 per month for stores); he'll
is high, freight is high and goods ar
high. | understand the clothin
stores get from 40 to so per cen
profit on suits and if | am any Judg
| guess they tell the truth. Peopl
have made and are still maxim
money in real estate and rentin
buildings. How long this will last
am not able to say. Perhaps ther
will be a falling off i'll two years, pc
haps in 10 years and possibly tt
city will always grow Like Otht
cities Spokane Falls must see stanC
still sometime, but | am cOnfider
that within three to five years tt
population will reach 100, 900. Re;
estate continues to advance an
but not when | sell. | underStan
there is no better schools in the cOu1
try than here, there are ten or fftee
churches of all denominations and
prosperous and successful y. NJ. c. I
doing a great and good work for tt
field is a large one and there are o.
portunities on every hand to help tt
fallen and those which no other il
stitutiOn can reach. They not on
deserve money but the support fro
every pulpit and every good citizt
who loves order and morality and
law abiding city.
W. 100 1.,,.+a ., ,laIaoro+;C, If We