The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-09-14
HILLS SOUND ADVICE.
People Should Develop Re-
sources Of the Country.
A CITY MUST HAVE BUSINESS.
Great Northern's President Advises Less
Townsite Plating and More
Actual Development.

In his speech to the Chamber of Com
merce of Fairbaven, last Thursday, Presl-
dent Hill, of the Great Northern railroad,
gave some sound, practical advice to the
people of that city. After praising the
progress made in building the city and re-
ferring to the great natural resources OF
the country behind it, he said:
A city to be worthy OF the must be an
active business center. II must have all the
elements that will employ proftabIy many
people and while you have staked out your city
and made good commencement yOu have here
nli the natural elements that are necessary to
build up great city. You have the great herit-
age OF the timber growing on the west slope.
this will be your first and greatest source oil
wealth. From the manufacture OF this timber
into salable product that may be exchanged
for money, will come your first and your great
eat source of wealth; following that VIII be
your coal and iron. You have undoubtedly an
abundance OF not only good coal, but coal that
Will make what is necessary in this iron or steel
age-whst Will make, and il essential 10 the
manufacturer OF steef-thatis, good cOking coai.
You have an abundance of coal prospects, ana
great many other prospects. The prospects,
while necessary, will not Of themselves bring
people together and afford a profitable hY!ng
for those who want to work city without
wofkingInen would be a great deal like ATtemus
Wards regiment OF brigadier generals. IL might
be a very pleasant association Tor the members
of the regiment, but they would not he as etiec-
tive as the ordinary army organization. There
must bs high pryates in the rear ranks and in
the front ranks, and they must work, and work
with their hands aud their heads, and in order
10 build city and build up state, you mus,
fnd occupation for these men. There is an
abundance on every hand of material that can
BE- turned with intelligent application Of labor
- t.
the country 70 do. The enterprise, the railway
that is in my charge, aud which We are no;y
push ng TO the Coast, depends for ali it's pros
perity upon the product, upon the result OF the
work OF the men who are settling in the country
along our lines.
The work OF opening UP the country depends
upon the people who are in the country.
railroad in the garden of Eden, with nobody
but Adam aud Eve and their little family,
would be a poor investment IL wants people
and it wants intelligent, entcTprising work.
When once "A road comes into a country IL is
there to stay. Il is welded forever to the veal
of the country in which its lines may be
located. 1t cannot be otherwise. Men living
in country, however large their interests may
be- may change-may sell ont and move away.
You may go TO one section Of the country and |
might TO another, but the country is here and
the railway is here, and their prosperity or their
poverty must 20 together, hand in hand
The thing that struck me when ! came here a
year ago was the wonderful energy and the great
amount of enterprise that was given 10 the
location OF new towns. ] believe that every
place where there was quarter or half All acre
cleared had "A name. | have seen that before. !
remember wherein Minnesota streams no
larger than the Nicomekl they mad the head of
navigation. Those streams now, as navigable
streams, are forgotten, and the maps showing
the public levees "reminiscences. The sooner
you get over that the better. The sooner you
make up your minds that city, if il is TO be a
city, must be constituted of people engaged in
making something or In selling something that
somebody else has made, or in buying and cx-
changing, the better for you. Nothing else will
make a city such a. will reflect the results that
you expect or that men who come to a
new country expect 10 realize. You have
here, as said before, everything that is neces-
ssry to build up great city. You have beau
tiiul haTbOr; one that seems accessible to the
largest ships every day or hour in the year.
] think man would be safe ia saying that
there is no place in the United states where
within the same area, nature has done more to
store the earth, both on it's surface and under
its surface, with the natural elements OF wealth
than has been done right here in whatcoIn aud
skagit counties. tAPp!ause.l I have never
seen so much natural wealth. was almost
saving. and / might as we'll say have never
seen moro natural wealth wasted, more nat
ural advantages overlooked When was here
year ago heard a great deal about III pros
poets FOR good coal 10 the east OF you and
within a few miles, ten, fifteen, twenty and
twenty-five miles, and / come back ten or
twelve months after and hear the same story
about good prospects that are over on the diff
fe-cut streams and in the different canyons,
aud | little sorry that there is
not enough enterprise near these prospects
20 open them So that people who come here
could 90 and see them without having To take a
NOR IA ana th4f kgu ms sly I IA
Ia all esrucstncss that IL You viii ind the open
ings, Will send people here who viii open the
mines. II you do not want the chances, why
step aside and let somebody else have them. Il
Is a long distance 10 come, and people do not
ike To give up their business and come SO far
unless you can show them something, and be
lieye u might be shown that you could have
here the largest coal shipping port Oh the Pa
ciic ocean iAppiauscl know something
about coal, and. from what have seen, the best
coal in Washington Is IN the north end. II You
viii make the openings SO that any body who
comes here VIII not have 10 go out and do his
own prospecting, and always assuming that you
DO not want 10 mine il yourselves, | can find
peoule who viii come here and mine that coal
and ship il, and employ all the men necessary
g. handleit. Now If you mine 100000 tons n
year, which would be about 8, 800 tons q day il
would cause the spending OF good deal Of
money right here IN the immediate vicinity, and
il would increase 10 that extent ali The business
done here.
Aud YOU Will pardon me for saying because
believe in being practical, that we are interested
in the growth of the country ana when our line
Is completed our interest in its growth will De
greater than sny other interest coming here,
believe. The country is what builds your city:
without producing community in the country
you have no use for Il city You might build
houses AMI blocks Of houses and put ia electric
lights and gas and modern plumbing, but If the
people were not prosperous not occupied
rrohtably. they would not have use for vour
houses. We might build our railroad here: We
might build large stations. and We might bu :
shops To repair our ears and even build ears. but
unless there WAS something for the cars II DO.
W. have no uSe for them. The thing would
come "a al end Al this country and all it,
natural wealth has been here since Adam was n
little boy, and i might remain here for s.l time
without any cAauge-It Viii remain her, with
out any change except such change a. i
brought about by well-dircCted. cuterpr!siur.
Intelligent efforts. IL takes work always n
bring tne results that build mp new countries
A. Tar Is turning your forests into a direct
source OF wealth by converting them iuto lur-
ber and exchanging II for gold is concerned
that is naturally lilaitcd. is It has been 70 th.
market you could reach by the ocean B,5or.
building or extending oUr lines Of railway il hts
always been our custom 10 carefully cxa,ri.,
every visible source OF tonnage OF the s,fI - AZ
would produce tonnage. II brought under TN.
influence Of Intelligent effort. And i'm cofai~a
here. assure you that before We made m r,,-
minds - build to the Pacific coast we a - I,lsi.
UP our minds, rs far we might with all m.
information we could then Eet that our ,n-C--
prise would DC 3 failure unless We could sur.
oes>iully and probably carry the tonnage RIO