Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1890-01-10

to the question OF whether the sun Is
shining forth in all its glory, or
whether it is hidden from view by
clouds dropping moisture on the land
beneath. The City Council of Olym-
pia has provided in grading the streets
for the peculiarities OF the climate and
have had a heavy top dressing of
gravel put over the natural earth Of
the streets of a quantity that quickly
solidifies and forms perfect roadbed,
while the crown has been raised suffi-
ciently in the center to drain the
streets into bitches which have been
formed against the curbs of the side
walks. When the streets have all
been finished Olympia will be one of
the cleanest cities on the Pacific coast
and one of the best drained It's rcpu-
tation for general healthfulness is es-
tablished so we'll that it has already
become a resort for people living in
other parts of Puget Sound to escape
to when any unusual amount of epi-
denies prevail. There is no malaria
in Olympia. The air is pure, uncon-
taminated by germs of disease, and is
fresh, healthful and life-giving. These
facts have been we'll recognized by the
me mbers of all the Legislatures that
have ever met in Olympia and by the
members of the late Constitutional
Convention who have, when possible,
been accompanied by their wives and
families while attending to the public
business.
Olympia is accessible from all parts
of the State, and has every facility for
cheap, rapid and pleasant transit.
Palatial steamers ply between Olympia
and Tacoma and Seattle on the one
route, to which have lately been added
those two magnificent vessels, the T.
J. Potter and the Sehome, and others
travel on the up-Sound route to Ka-
milchie, where connection is made by
the newly completed Puget Sound and
Gray's Harbor Railroad for the great
Gray's Harbor country, and on another
route for Shelton, the Puget Sound
terminus of the Mason County Cen
trail Railway and of the Satsop rail-
way. Early this year the Olympia e.
Chehalis Valley Railway will be con-
verted from narrow gauge to stand
ard gauge railway, and through cars
can then be run from all parts of the
country to Olympia. Besides these,
standard gauge railways will shortly
be built from Olympia to Montesano,
via Black river; to Gray's HarbOr, via
Mud Bay; to Tacoma, via the Ms
qually river; to Yakima, via the Cow
litz pass (incomparably the best in the
Cascade range; to Portland, via Van
couver; to Port Townsend, via Mud
bay; to Kamilcl,ie, connecting with
the Puget Sound and Gray's .Harbor
railway, and to Centralia direct.
These will make of Olympia one OF
the greatest railway centers in the Pa
cific Northwest, and while she is lit
tie west of the geographical center she
is near the center of population, and
even now far more accessible from all
parts of the State than any other town
mentioned as candidate for the
State capital, according to the state
ment Of its citizens.
The present capital city is by no
means 80 dull and lifeless as its de-
tractors would have people believe.
There are located there now three
sawmills, each of which has . large
and profitable business, planning mill,
sash and door factory, two furniture
factories, two -four mills, two shingle
mills and wooden pipe factory, which
last year manufactured over 200 miles
of thin-shelled pipe from yellow fir.
These pipes are firm and strong, and
when wound round with iron or steel
bands, though the shell is but an inch
in thickness, they will stand greater
pressure than heavy cast iron. They
are the only thin-shelled wooden pipes
manufactured in the United States.
The demand for these pipes for under
ground conduits is now so large that
the facilities for manufacturing them
have had to be enlarged. Other in
dustries are about to be established,
and as soon as the gauge of the Olym-
pia & Chehalis Valley railway has been
changed to the standard of the United
States, SO that the manufactures of
the city can be shipped from Olympia
to all parts of the country without the
necessity of transshipping at Tenino,
as at present, the number OF manu-
factories will be very largely increased.
At Tumwater, where was the original
settlement here, there is magnificent
water power, one of the most valuable
in the State, affOrding at all times TO-
GOO horsepower. These beautiful
falls, at the point where the Deschutes
river descends at three leaps into the
bay from total hight of eighty-seven
feet, are the admiration of all who
visit the capital city, and will before
long be turned to account by enter
prising men, who will employ hund-
reds of mechanics and factory hands
and make the neighborhood one of the
busiest manufacturing centers ON Pu-
get Sound. This, too, owing to the
nature of the ground, can easily be
done without marring in any way the
beauty of the falls.
But besides that, Olympia has a
large manufacturing power and many
manufactures. She has also consider
able commerce. The country in the
neighborhood is generally we'll settled,
and the farmers are well to do and
have comfortable, well-furnished
houses in which they take delight.