The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1893-12-08
Settlement of the State.


changes from all parts of the state
have begun to discuss the Importance
of attracting immigration to our
farming sections. The other day a
gentleman called at the Telegraph
office to say that he was going back to
his home in the south and would like
some statistical and other information
to take with HIM. "For," he said.
"the number of enquiries that are
made of me by letter is surprisiFg
and | know that when l 60 back hqme
hundreds of people will be seeking in
formation. You know" he added,
"that where 1 came from people do
not know much about Washington. !"
He might have made his observation
much more sweeping, for it is fact
that comparatively few people in the
east know anything about our state.
A pretty good way for us to test the
ideas which eastern people have of
this state is to put on our thinking
caps and see how much we know, that
is, know in practical business way,
about states which we have never
visited. We have vague general idea
of them, but we cannot give practical
details, which person contemplating
settlement in one of them would like
to have. And if this is true of the
older states, how much truer it must
be of Washington, which is the new
est of them all, and about which the
misconception of the people have been
varied and in many cases ridiculous.
The people of the state can do much
to correct these erroneous impressions
by sending back to their former homes
their local newspaper from time to
time.
Certainly the state needs settlers
Our cities need farming communities
around them. All the land between
the Cascades and the Sound, all that
splendid valley in southwestern Wash
ington between the Cascades and the
coast range, all that rich region lying
southwest and north the Olympics,
all the islands in the Sound ought to
be filled with settlers. There is, at a
low estimate, 100000 acres of arabic
land in Western Washington. Much
of it is of the highest fertility and all
of it of good quality. 1t is noteworthy
that such old settled states as Conecti-
cut, louisiana, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts,, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, South Carolina, Vermont and
West Virginia have less land under
cultivation than might be profita-
bly, cultivated in wastern Washington.
Vermont has about three-ffths the
area in improved farms which might
be cultivated in western Washington.
The value of the farm products of
of Vermont in 1890 was $22,OO0,O0O.
At the same rate per acre western
Washington, if all it's arabic land was
utilized, would produce crops to the
value of $50, 100000. But the average
fertility Of western Washington is
higher than that of Vermont, and
owing to the length of the season and
the milder temperature much more
can be raised from an acre than in
New England states. WHAT differ
ence these two considerations would
make we do not know, but we are sat-
isfied that to put the approximate
value of the crops of western Wash
ington, if all its arabic land was uti-
lized, at $5O,OO0,OOO is to keep well
within the mark. This is only $40 an
acre, and most people will think that
much too low an average, but of course
this includes land in pasture as we'll
as land in crop. These figures help us
to form some idea of what we may ex-
pect in western Washington when the
settlement of its farming lands has
made the progress which it is reason
able to look for. AS to eastern Wash
ington, that is capable of an agricultu-
raj development which will make it
the wonder of this wonderful country
Seattle Telegraph.