The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-12-20
HARDLY IN THE CITY.
A Wildcat Addition Scheme
Worked in the East.
FANCY PICTURE OF MERLIN PARK
1t II Shown 1T the EDGE Of thu Ru.;re..
District. Whereas It L. Ten
Miles Away.

Something that looks very much like ssviid-
cat land scheme has just come to light
gentleman In Detroit, . short time since, re-
ceiseo letter signed Henry Smyth, Offering to
trade "a fine block Of 500 lots in the great city
OF seattle" for forty-acre tract in Lansing, or a
haii interest in ii. Accompanying this offer
was a large advertisement of Dillon's Merlin
PARK, containing diagram Of the park, q birds
rom the water. Accompanying these diagrams
are number OF highly coiored and exaggerated
statements. which will be taken up in detail
ia'er. Mr.. smyth's letter is a. follows:
have fine block of 500 lots in the great city
OF seetsle, state Of Washington, magnifcsntly
aiIuateo, overlooking Puget sound, which, a.
you know. il the finest harbcr in the world
These lots all free and clear of encum-
Have .oa .er # 9 sn and @ tor
prices 20 parties in Detroit.
Am going to retain $50 of them: the other $50
! want 70 sell or exchange for my son, who has
become infatuated with Michigan and doesn't
care 70 accompany me to the Coast, when l 20,
Snicn expect TO do soon. and / want to give
nm start in business before leave.
seattle, as you are of course aware, is situated
on fuget sound, of which great herbor il is I'M
Of onE nes OF .es
railway, viz, the Canadian Pacific, Northern
raeinc, Great Northern Pacific and Union Pa
enc, which TACT alone is sufficient guarantee of
us rapid and steady growth.
~ possesses Gil the mineral wealth of the state
Oh r,snnsyivanls and the finest timber in the
Worio-oI which 1t 10 estimated that there is
more than enough to last the whole world a
NE ume-together with the largest sawmills to
Seattle has been selected by the United States
government a. the Pacific coast naval station,
and the sum OF $, DOC, o0o is now being expended
IN the construction OF craving docks there.
They have 100 miles of the best equipped street
railway in the world. All electric, steam and
When was in Seattle there were seventy-iye
miles OF street railway, but a gentleman at pres
ent In this city from there informs me they now
Vessels and steamships are continually arriv-
Ing from every port in the world. There are
I'VE lines OF steamer plying daily between Seat
the year.
Climate is equal to that of the south of Eng
land. Whereas, on the Eastern coast there are
such cities as New York, Boston, Portland. ETC.,
the only other city of any considerable magni-
tuoe upon the West 1s San Francisco, which has
only one line of transcontinensal railway. Port
land, Or. is badly handicapped by the bar near
the mouth OF the Columbia river, which OBJ
structs navigation, and, as the natural trend is
westward, Seattle having been selected by the
TOUR great railway above mentioned as the site
ior great city Its growth must be simply
Send you this day plat showing location of
my lots -,
on the north. west and east by water the natural
growth OF the city will be in q southerly direc-
ton. and this fact insures q rapid increase in
OF the properties you mention, the forty acre
tract, should think, would be very desirable.
and If the gentleman who owns il would care to
make us an exchange We might make a deal
with him. and even should he not care to ex-
change the entire forty acres. it might be ad-
vantageous to him and you, well az to my
son. to trade US a half inteIes, in it.
What are your figures upon the property in
Lansing?
Will require q good house in your city If we
make any deal for acreage. Yours truly.
HENRY SMY1H.
The circular which accompanies the letter
shows by the diagram that Merlin Park is COM
posed of ten blocks, each OF which is subdivided
into thirty 25xl00 foot lots. Eighteen OF these
lots are designated as ''sold," and a Mr.. Dillon,
the former owner, is represented having re-
served one lot in each block for his wife and
family. Five houses are also represented on the
diagram, but crossed out Exactly what this
means is not clear.
The birds eye view of Seattle from Merlin
Park is in many ways a triumph of the imagina-
ton Four lines of railway, two on either side,
run from the park to Seattle, as does also the
Commercial Street Motor railway. The actual
state OF things is quite different. as the motor