St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-08

of the Journey is reached the fourth
day, and YOU are in Portland. What
change from all you have been seeing
what reStfulness, what Arcadian Sug-
gestiOns, after SO much newneSs to light
upon this old-fashioned town of beauti-
full homes. You have reached the Occi-
dent, and in it have found the luxurious
comfort of the Orient. Your first i'm.
pressionS of Portland awaken sense OF
gratitude that you have reached such
charming resting spot. after your long
journey through the undeveloped part
of America. l will not attempt to speak
of the business of Portland, for that is
the last thing to engage the attention of
visitor. In fact, it hardly occurs to
you that Portland has any business,
everything moves along so nolseleSsly,
and without apparent effort on the part
of anybody. Yet there must be business
here, and great deal of it. Situated
at the confluence Of thu two principal
rivers of the Pacific Northwest, and in
the heart of one of the most product re
agricultural regions in the world, 1t
would be impossible for Portland not to
occupy a position of the highest COM
mercial importance. The flags of all
nations flying from vessels in the port
indicate it. The
Wares of All Countries
of the world are for sale in the shops.
You are constantly running against
people of all natiOnalitieS. The great
warehouses and wholesale blocks along
the river front tell the story of inter-
national trade and commerce. And yet
during my several days Sojourn III the
city never heard Portland man dis
cuss business affairs, nor did see one
that seemed to be in the least bit of q
hurry. Portland is a city of $4,000 souls,
and every man, woman and child in the
town seems to be perfectly satisfied
with his or her condition. | never
expect to see such another air OF
thorough contentment this side OF
heaven. The Portland folks are not
lazy, as some OF their rivals say OF
them; they are simply satisfied with
what they have got. Nor do blame
them. 1t is Il city where wealth runs
riot, city of homes that would adorn
paradise, city to which commerce pays
tribute without the asking. and where
the only vile thing to be found is the
pig-tailed Chinaman. L can't under
stand why the POrtlanderS did not exert
energy enough to keep the Chinese out
of the best business portion of the city.
They are here more numerOuSly, in
proportion to the city's population, than
in San Francisco. and thousand times
more aggressive. They will have to go
In time, and the sooner they go the bet
ter for PQrtland'S future. In seeking
an explanation for the marvellous pros
perity and conservatism which char
acterize Portland affairs l found two
causes. One is the natural advantages
of which | have Spoken-itS location
near the junction of the Willamette
and Columbia rivers and its SalubrIOuS
climate. The other is the preponder-
ance of the Hebraic element.
The Hebrews.
mainly constitute the wealth of the
city and are the active, governing force
in both business and municipal affairs.
They dominate local politics, and, as a
result, Portland is one of the best gov
erned cities in the world. Honesty,
economy and efficiency are the dis
tinguishing features in Portland'S mu-
uicipal administration. As to Port
lands future? Well, that doesn't adj
nit of much speculation. 1t is too
clearly in sight to be guessing at prob
abilities. Nothing can restrain its
growth except to perform the impossi-
Bile feat of closing the mouth OF the
Columbia river. Still, if some of the
goaheadiveness now being exhibited on
Puget Sound should be exercised in the
Willamette valley, this generation
would see Portland rise to point of
commercial grandeur surprising every
thing on the Pacific coast. But as things
continue to go at this free and easy
pace Portland must attain its ultimate
destiny by slow stages.
AS pleasant place as Portland is to
tarry and to revel iD the righteousness
of its semi-trOpical conditions, we must
move on to scenes of more activity and
where affairs are more in consonance
with the progressive spirit of the age.
The Puget Sound country is where one
finds the progressive pioneer in the
zenith of his glory. They are what
might properly be denOminated race
of city builders. Follow the shore line
of the Sound and you will find that al
most every day witnesses the birth OF
some new townsite. Nor does it stop
at mapping out the townsite. One day
the site is located and the next day the
sound of the hammer is heard where the
builder is at work. The third day there
is an electric motor or cable line IN
operation, and by the end of the week
agents are on their way
To China and Japan
to establish commercial relations be-
tween those countries and the new city.
1t is mighty dull week that doesn't see
new city arise on Puget Sound. Our
friends in st. Paul and Minneapolis
imagine that they know something
fusion. They haven't mastered the first
principles Of it, as compared with Puget
Sound operations. Nor is it all buster
out here either. There are square cash
transactions of mammoth proportions,
deals that would make millionalre'S
head swim, and yet it occurs to me that
they are banking very largely on flu
lures. Still they are futures that JUS
tify the risks. Those of us who are &C
customed to boom periods and to prac-
tees adopted by the boomer are always
prepared to make due allowance for
stories that come from doomed sections.
Hence, l came out here prepared to dis
count fully One-half of all that had
heard of this Puget Sound country.
But in all candor | must say that L
found an agreeable surprise in store for
me. 1t is the single instance where
everything came up to representation.
The resources of the new state of Wash
ington are practically unlimited. The
vast area of timber of the finest quality
living west of the Cascade mountains is
ample to supply the world for great
many years. And when the timber is
cleared off, the land is of ineXhaustible
fertility, finely adapted to both cereal
and fruit production. The hills are
storehouses of mineral wealth, con-
tanning the precious ores, coal and iron:
The climate is not altogether the ideal
one that it has been pictured, and yet
it is 50 much better than the average
American climate one can be content
with it. The unequal distribution of
Dampness and Dryness
is the main fault, and yet the weather
is never severely cold nor excessively
hot God never blessed country with
purer water or in greater abundance.
So taking everything into considera-
ton, there is not a more favored coun-
try on the face of the earth than that
strip of land lying between the Cascade
range and the Pacific ocean, extending
from the British line on the north to the
mouth Of the Sacramento valley on the
south. Are there no drawbacks? Yes.
One is visible in the present disposition
to have everything run to city building,