The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-01-06
FORTHCOMING HERE.
Mr.. E. Y. Smalley on Immigra'
ton to the Northwest.
MANY FROM CENTRAL STATES.
Those Whose Fathers Went West Now
Come Further-New Englanders-
Circulars and Letters.

Circulars and Letters.
Mr.. E. V. Smalley. editor of the North
Wcst Magazine, who is spending few days
IN Seattle, said yesterday in the course OF
conversation on the subject of immigra-
ton to the Northwest: "The most potent
cause of immigration to this region is not
the circulars sent out by the railroads and
various companies, but the letters written
home by those who have already come
here and have been successful. One man
will draw Others after him by sending ac-
counts of what he has seen ard done here.
For example, banker from Littleton. VT,
which Is IN fact q little town, settled IN
Spokane and was prosperous. de was the
means of bringing no less than sixty-nve
more from that same place TO Spokane,
and all of them are doing well.
The railroads. the real estate dealers
and the chambers of commerce send out a
good many pamphlets, but within tbs last
two or three years the newspapers of al
most every town have gotten out special
New Year numbers, which have had wide
circulation in the East and have done not
little to advertise the country. The time
was when the railroads were the main re-
lance for advertising, but now private en-
terprise Is taking large share IN this
work
Then, too, the news of your successful
crops, and this last big wheat yield espe-
cially, is making Washington very favor
ably known in the East. Farmers there
who think they are lucky TO get ten or
twenty bushels from an acre look with
longing eyes toward a country where
thirty, forty or nifty bushels are to be ex-
pected without fail.
The travelling passenger agents of the
trariscontinental lines are doing their best
to encourage immigration, and they are u
very important factor in the calculation.
They go around from town to town in the
East, from city to city, talking with those
who would like to come to the Northwest,
arranging rates, appointing agents and in
general way keeping up an agitation. At
about this time they make their reports to
headquarters as 10 the prospect for the
coming season. They believe that during
the coming spring and summer the rush
to Washington will be as great as it was
last year, and you know the numbers then
were large. So the outlook is highly en-
couraging.
"A fact to be remembered is that hard or
dull times rather encourage than check
emigration. When men in the East are
doing well and financial prospects are
are. But when business reverses come,
then they are anxious TO go West and see
II they cannot better themselves. So | be-
lleye that the stringency in the Eastern
money market will have the effect of driv-
ing many out here who might otherwise
never have thought of coming.
"The quality of immigration is higher
than ever it has been before. Men with
brains and energy are visiting the North
west With view to investing large CAPT
tails and starting big enterprises No
other part of the United States has finer
class of people coming to it, people with
ability to develop the resources.
''Of course representatives are here from
evrry section OF this broad land, and in
deed from every part of the world, but you
will probably ind more from the central
states Indiana, Illinois, Iowa. Minnesota
and Nebraska. There the tradition of
emigration is strong. The fathers of the
present generation came from the far
East and were successful. Now the sons,
proltlng by good example, have less
hesitation about moving than is felt in the
older settled communities on the Atlantic
seaboard. | suppose that within the last
few years no less than ten or twelve
thousand people have left st. Paul and
Minneapolis for this state
1.-The New England element, which is
not inconsiderable, is more likely to gather
III the cities and towns than to scatter on
the ranches. The New England farmer is
having a hard time of 1t, and his children
get Disguised with country life and turn to
the cities.
''It is to be expected that in a state like
this the newcomers should congregate in
the cities. and that the cities should grow
very rapidly. The immigrant stays for
few weeks or months in one of your large
towns, hoping he may find something
n * hs,
city for residence. Meanwhile he is spend
ing money for the beneI.t of Your business
men. After looking about, good many
go to the country on claims or settle in the
smaller villages. This is to the advantage
of Seattle, for the more even the distribu-
ton of the population the more complete
VIII be the development of the country,
and the stronger your cities will be. 4
settler in Spokane or east of the mountains
helps Seattle along.
Formerly Seattle and Tacoma were
the main distributing points for popula-
ton, but with the completion of railway
lines the people start out from the Belling-
ham bay and the Gray's harbor ccnters.
A large number go out from Spokane,
which is the hrst point reached in the
state. but the great majority come through
to Puget sound. The fare is the same to
the Sound, everybody has heard of the
country and everybody wants 90 see it.
After they get here there is backset into
the farming regions and the land east of
the mountains.
''Walla Walla has gained rather less
than any other section, for it is off of the
main line of travel. The Union facinc
lands its passengers at UInatiIla and the
Northern Pacific at Pasco.
'Of the foreign immigration the Sean
dinavian element is the largest. A. John
son & Co. have done good deal in bring
ing Norwegians, Swedes and Danes on
small farms out here. About halt of these
Scandinavians come from Europe, and the
Others from the central states. I saw in
the land office of the Northern Pacihc
railroad the records of a surprisingly large
number of sales of small forty and eighty
acre tracts in the woods 10 this class of
immigrants. They get a small piece,
clear ii and thrive.
1.-The Germans who come out here are