The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-02-19
LISTENING TO HILL.
President of the Great Northern
Expresses His Views.
NEED OF STRAIGHT TRACKS.
He Asks That the Bow in the Rams
Parallel, With Few Crossings.


| and Il finally became necessary to throw open
| the doors leading 70 tie corridors. II was no
| ticed that there was rot only ful attendance
/ Of the mem bers OF tie council, but o. nany Of
those who have been nominated FOX thst Office
/ The audience also included most OF the prola-
! ineat men OF the city.
| President Hill, accompanied by Colonel " P
/ Clough and Thomas f. Shepard, arrived soon
| after O'Clock, and was received by Mayor Hall.
| President Miller, OF the board OF aldermen. and
| President Jones, OF the house OF delegates.
The council was represented By Aldermen
| IngFshsn, Pontius, Bogsrdgs, Wilcox. Denny,
| kor3, sweeney: Delegates CoHden, Davis, Kit
| finger, Hsnfo-d, Willis, Hart, Nuidoon, Barnes,
/ Barton, lansing and Furry.
Alderman Miller introduced President Hill in
4 few words.
A map of Seattle had been hung on the wall,
| showing IL eolored lines how the several rail
| road tracks wouf run according 70 franchises
| already granted on Railroad avenue The
| lines established are those OF tee Columbia &
| Puget sound, Oregon Improvement Company,
| Seattle * Montana. Portland & Puget sound,
| Seattle Terminal Railway and Elevator Com
| pany, and, over part, the Northern Pacific
! his has resulted IN q crossing Of the lines so
1 oiteE es 70 becoins q source Of danger
/ and Of serious annoyance 20 the railroads xhen
! they are all in operation. Particularly objsc-
/ Iioasble Is bow il the track OF the Oregon In
avenue and within 4 very short distance re-
crossing al other tracks on the avenue. Il is
to this taai NJ. Hill made specific objection.
Mr.. Hill, who was most heartily welcomed,
apolog!zcd io- lis delay IN arriving ST Seattle,
and CT oace plunged into MS subject. He said:
While il is necessary that our railroad should
nave plenty OF rOogl N which transact ali the
/ business We can bring here, Il no less aeces-
saFy and important for you ana u that all other
| interests BE- carefully served AMI tina, Seattle
anal not be pat IN such position that through
| want OF care or full! knowledge OF the siIEa-
/ ton ana proper appreciation Of the future she
may nm herself bottled up X IS IS neces-
saFy Tor YOU 70 be able 10 take advantage Of Eai-
way That may seek 70 come il the future Is il
Is ioE Us 70 De N position where We shall b {.
/ vel ilacel as any otheE road IL seattle.
We nave abundance OF room Tor terminal IA
| eilites-enougl to do Us for dity yeaFs-51t the
! time may come, and that sOca, when you VIII
have 70 consider Improvements at the northern
en1 OF the oarbor so far as docks are concerned.
II the government should take CD the quest on
OF improving the way to Lake Washington land
Toe matter has already been strongly urged BY
olhee-s 81 the coTernmen;} IL a short time you
VIII see the necessity for improvements up
there Al the south eadthe railway yards may
Dc considered as reasonably well settled We
have room there for 500 or GO ears a day We
are handling between COO and 700 cars a
day ct the Eastern terminal: but We need some
thing more. In Minneapolis We have thirty or
iorty miles OF sidei-ack, in Duluth about
eighteen miles aud in st Paul twenty or twenty
five miles. Between 90. Paul ana Minneapolis
we have four tracks constantly in use day aud
night. There are two other roads with two tracks
each: the time is not lar distant when we viii
need to add two more. Twelve years ago we
only had one track there.
The country behind those cities supplies great
quantities Of grain. You have great masses of
mlnera., but in lumber alone you have more
tonnage standing on the ground than Mime
sofa would produce in Fifty years II every acre
o! her soil was cultivated and each acre gave an
average yield lCheers.1
Your lumber will pay as good rate as grain
rlfw
pressed as 10 our ability 10 carry lumber at 40
cents per hundred ! assure you that is not 4
very low rate, but 1t is rs low we want to
begin on; we think at that rate you can DO a
heavy business. Your prosperity has grown
from your natural resources. II it were not
for that many OF You would long ago have
sought other fields. and at times the place might
have been wiped off the face of the earth. Bat
for these resources You could not have KEEP.
your head above water when you had to stand
alone while -our neigno9rs were being helped.
These considerations have gwen Us more con-
fdeace in the future Of Seattle than all other
things combined. .Cheers.l
NJ. Hill then went on 10 ask il his road was
ready to come in tomorrow, ready TO carry the
city's greatest source Of wealth, how would the
mills reach it with their lumber: He went on to
recommend that there should be q large lumber
yard seattle, easy OF access for all the rail
roads. so that buyers could assemble in Sesttlo
instead Of having 10 go all over The Sound. He
thought it would be better for Seattle and for
the mills, because it would tend 10 reduce ex-
pcnses
lie advised that Seattle Try TO arrange that
lumber be stacked SO that all railroads could
easily reach it and handle it, Every dollar
wasted IN handling was a tar on commerce.
We should not try TO make all the profit on
lumber, but consider the profit 20 be derived by
attracting large numbers of buyers, sellers and
shippers.
Oar part of the business he continued. is
II furnish transportation; We are not III any
other business. We DO not trade in lumber or
rea! estate or town sites, min or anything
tl>e We would rather buy coal than dig II,
but IL we cannot buy II We viii have to do the
best we can Tor ourselves. l consider 1t a
wrong principle for railroads 10 go into private
enterprises. We are only common carriers,
and have no clear title To any other business.
What we want Is 70 get clear access 10 our
terminal grounds. That We must nave. Ii IS
no loss important that the Northern Pacific
should come in under as favorable conditions
as they can fad. We want 70 exchange traffic
with that and with ali other roads We rccoc-
nize all this ami I, 10Y our road, am willing TO
do anything reasonable that VIII accommodate
al parties in interest.
Mr.. Hin suggested that 1t would be good
| plan, II u can be DONE 20 have all the railroad
freight dcpots on the fats east of Railroad
! avenue, with streets between, so that teams
| could take down one load and bring up an
| other and So economic hauling. II costs less
10 hagi ton 100 miles by raj! Than 1--WE miles by
/ road.
The requirements Of the wholesale trade when
I Seattle has population OF 10000, OF even SO
| COO should be torcscen ana provided ior now as
! far as posi- bic. lie thought 1t was nity there
/ was no more room between RAILROAD avenue snd
| deep water but that could not b. changed now
! They mus; remember that the ocean traffic Will
| become FAR more important than the present
Puget sound trade, and provision must be r,s!e
! for IT,
He would be willing to agree :, let ether
/ roads pass over rs through line ~ about ~,
per cent on cost, or PCT cent II there were ,,yo
roads, hut he feared that even four tracks would
! uot accommodate slj the traffic. lie wss will
/ ins - give aA other roads accommodation SO
! long as it did not amount % a blockade
You Will never cease TO regret AMI never -.
/ cover from the INJURY ~ yoa permit any road 10
| pat your business .a1O a 5OSt.c and CO.'S II IN.
! lIauSh;cCl
! Nj. Ill. then devoted considerable attention
! - the bow IN JGe rams horn. and advised
/ that no effort Re spared - s.raiEatea j. AN
we ask s. 81 opportunity tn gather yo,r bps.-
/ ness together. We know that Il we tap tie POOL
! =; s. lowe. po.lt tlan the overflow We can got
/ wate- longer than he can ami get more Of !; -
! tiAUgaterl No did not approve Of a terminal
| sUpsay unless 10 could u assured that Sea,t,a
| would always Coatroi the s;ock aud he gently
| limited 50 re .st0 q the Seattle, Lake shore 1
| Eastern.
| he alluded % the aivisab:,ltv of having
! u"l-n Passenger depot, and again referred 10
/ the necessity ot having the tracks strsiehte9ss
/ out lie tc.t sgrc NJ UsAcs, who was aisu5,.,i
10 take selfish view 50 f4s a. his road uss con
/ cvrnei, oA' Wa always manly ia meeting din
| cU.uc', would eo-o2eraic Ia tais matter.
| seattle must insst uuoa straichtso5r- .ba
lines u ils Is 20 Ia the cad o. cur ilr7l,l if,,
I "a q. sell = -4-.