Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1894-03-16
Home Enterprise.

II must I've growing more and more
evident to every candid citizen that it
is iutilc for the people q Olympia to
expect that orr city il going 10 be
reared into metropolitan importance
through outside influence or imported
capital.
There art no available means, now
IN oar midst. sufficient !Dr the estab-
A>hment 81 many OF the coveted man
uiacturIng industries for which we
have lcru supincly waiting 50 long to
CONF rom the other quarters The
WAY t" i.in. gold from the mine is to
dI4 10! II. and 80 il Is u universal prin-
ul.r among men, since the world be-
gan, that to gain any great desidera-
tum We must strive Tor II.
1t Is y surprise to casual visitors
from abroad, and especially those from
the Eastern States, that Olympians
should have allowed the Deschutes
falls. at Tumwater, to run to waste
through all these years. The Des-
chutcs river makes total descent of
between so and 80 ieet from the upper
ledge into the navigable waters of
Puget Sound. Old mill men place the
vertical descent Of the upper rails at
70 feet, the middle falls at lG feet, and
the lower falls at &c feet, while the
rapids may be said to cover descent
OF about 20 feet. Careful estimates
place the volume Of flow at 5000 feet
per minute. One feature Of this water
power never fails to interest the WIS.,
itor from the East, and that is the
rocky nature OF the bottom and walls
Of the river bed. The channel OF the
Deschutes river, for some distance
above and below the falls, is simply a
groove cut out OF the solid rocks of
geological ages. Hence the firm
foundation offered to manufacturers
upon which to erect buildings. The
capitalists of Olympia should ask for
no better opportunity for paying in
vestments than the improvement and
utilization Of this remarkable water
power. If the Deschutes falls were in
one of the manufacturing centers of
the East, a twelvemonth would not
roll away before every foot of available
space on either side OF the water would
be occupied by mills and factories,
while the hum of machinery would be
heard night and day, transforming all
sorts of crude material into new and
beautiful forms to serve the demands
of utility and luxury.
One thing in regard to the character
of these falls should not be forgotten.
The Deschutes river is not dependent
upon the annual rainfall OF the coun-
try, but its supplies are drawn from
the eternal SHOWS and glaciers of our
mountain ranges. Very many water
mills in the older States have to be
shut down during the drouth of sum.
mer for the reason that the water sup
ply is not adequate for the demands
made by the big turbines which drive
the machinery. What oldest inhabit-
ant ever heard of shutting down
Tumwater sawmill or Touring mill on
account of water? Eastern mill and
factory men have frequently gone into
ecstasies while contemplating the falls
at Tumwater from a passing railroad
train, and marveled at the want of en-.
terprise exhibited by those who owned
and could control such boon to hui
man energy and industry. Plainly, it
is home enterprise that we most need,
but how long this sorry state of affairs
will continue, remains for thinking
people OF means to determine.