The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-01-16
THE PROGRESS OF wAsHlSGToN.
1t Is Graphically Described by Scat
tleite to His Old Friends.

tleite to His Old Friends.
The Akron. O.. Beacon and Republican of
December 90 published an interesting
letter from George W. Hummer, manager
of the Denny Clay Company. who was
formerly newspaper man at Axiom. At
ter complimenting the paper on lis indus
try he speaks with high praise OF the Sc
attic papers, and goes on to speak of the
change from the boom times on tie Sound
thus:
People now come here to stay. ghey buy
property for legitimate purposes; thes improve
it: they branch out into business: theT flourish
and are happy. The day was when zeal estate
was the stock in trade, when the public mind
was so orazed over real estate transactions that
the sharpers found the ever greedy american
easy prey. Why, all that was Necessary was to
survey some favorably located spoE, lay out
streets and stake off 25xll0 foot lots. make a
"daub" picture of the new town, hang the
"painting" up on a street corner an. rake in
the coin. Many men got rich In a fe;g months
in this way and set many otheys wild.
1t prompted many to represent to. Eastern
friends and money lenders that any Investment
In real estate here would at least doubEa in from
thirty to sixty days. In scores of cases this was
ne. But the bottom was finally reached, the
wind went out OF the balloon and 1t contracted
more rapidly than il had expanded, ana the last
chap toinvest al high fgur found els vaua-
ton to be lower than the first man Fad paid
As child tires OF u new toy, so this business
played out. real estate has come near.sr to its
level in the financial stream and Investments
today are absolutely sale If the RICH. kind of
purchases are made
After some remarks on the wisdom of
not expecting to make a large profit on
real estate in a few months, he goes on:
While all that have said is entci..g i still
adhere to my former proposition that Iso man in
the East should give upa certainty fer an I'M
certainty without investigating for: himself.
This community is growing rapidly; AID Wash
Ington viii in due course of time stand in tine
front rank in the list of states, considezed from
any poin, you please. But during thE- term of
upbuilding lie partakes of pioneering. though
the real pioneers here would laugh st me for
saying this now, with so much of civilization
and the most modern conveniences ard inven-
tons III use in our cities Yet l tell You truth
fully that unless you can take some moaey with
you DO not go into a new country4-and the
more you have the better it will be for you
All classes of labor for which lhere is
any demand can be had in abundance
here Yet it is here, like in Ill other
places. Good men are usually not long unem-
pioycd, though have known capable raer who
wanted Office positions to be compelled to ac-
cept the rougher class of labor 1 hava known
OF families coming here with only a few dollars
on hand and such in some cases have suffered
for a time, while Others have been NOE fortu-
nate. But while il i true that in the cides some
lines OF trade are surfeited in labor tsiere are
tread acres aud forests here that invite the
honest and earnest toiler if he content him.
SELL with the life that comes In beating back the
army of trees or bringing under cultivation the
fruitful earth. In score OF cases thess settlers
have made small fortunes in the way o. rapidly
increasing valuations of their lands. :
After giving some figures on the growth
of this city and state. he says:
But with all the golden opportunities here in
the way of homesteads, timber or mineral
claims which he who will may take uL and By
honest effort justly own, there is hindgance in
the way of unsurveyed lands that to say mind
greatly retards population in the now teahroken
districts. In many places even the t,wnship
lines not defined; in fact, no suGzey has
been made. These lands. in great part are de-
sirable, and people are anxious to take them IN,
and III many instances do "squat" upon them,
giving such settlers prior right;when TIE lands
are formally opened or surveyed by the United
States government. But here is where tne trou-
bic comes in. Men enter upon these lads, and
complying with the law, clear I'D positions of
their claim in too nlenv cases s5nly TO
find that when their boundary lixes are
run that the work performed gas on
land that is thrown upon their: neigh
boris claim. II said neigh Dor is able b.: is CON-
PEELED to pay for such improvements, put fire..
quently-and think as a rule-but few of these
settlers have any ready money. The govern
menrs policy Is TO hold their lands fog actual
settlers and prevent them from falling into the
hands Of specu iaiors and real estate sharks and
20 do this adopts the plan OF hav !ng the settlers
come in before the surveys are made: There
may be some good in this method. bg. il does
seem as though the township lines sn:u ld be
run, that the settlers could have SONS, sort of
guide 10 go by II "ouii, however, surprise
you IL you could see how thickly many portions
OF the state are settled even on these uus1ryeved
lands, and how these people live, out know
from personal contact with quite q nuus,er that
they much happier than are the People In
the crowded cities of the East.