The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-08-02
TWAS BUT A DREAM.
Editor Astorian:-

now when roads are to be discussed.
You see in knocking about the worlt
On my dream. you know I dropped
into place on the coast where the peo
pie had thrifty village, and lived most
ly by fishing. The place was in Pata,
gonia, perhaps, but I am not sure, fol
it was dream, anyway. There was a
fine harbor, and ships came and went
and fishing boats by the thousands
could be seen. fitting back and forth on
the water. Large piles of fine looking
fish were thrown from the boats onto
wharfs under sheds, where busy peo-
pie took them and cut them up and
preserved them for the markets of the
world.
In talking with the people l learned
that this village was expected by its
inhabitants to become, at some future
day, great city; and all the land
around the village was held for sale at
q very high price, on account of this
expectation. A great many of the peo-
pie were not doing anything but live on
expectations; were not even fishing, In
fact, but were letting people that lived
in other places monopolize that business,
and much of the thrift saw displayed
l learned was due to the influx of this
outside element during the fishing sea-
son. After that season passed, all was
dead till it's annual return.
The expectations on which these peo-
pie lived were based, so it seemed, on
good, sound facts, for all the interior
of the country back of their fine harbor
was very rich in everything that went
TO build up fine trade with the world,
and as trade is the one thing more than
another which builds up city, and as
this place is the point best suited to
this trade with the world at large, and
The place to which it must come event.
ually, why, as a matter Of course this
is to be, must be, and certainly will be
O large city-in the future.
1 learned that this harbor had existed
q long time, so had the village by its
side. The conditions that went to make
1t a great city had also existed long
time, and while other places, less ia
vored, had grown to cities of import
ance, by trade, this place remained still
a fishing hamlet Why, inquired, is it
thus?
1 learned that the trade that was
destined to make this the one important
fo1
building up grand places at unnatural
points. | learned also that large cap
italists were expected, in the near fu-
ture, to come and build a railroad to
one of these cities, to which trade had
been diverted, and by this means, all
the trade not digested by this city could
pass on down this channel and nourish
and build up the fishing hamlet and
make 1t the equal, or may be the SUI
perior of the city.
1 inquired why they did not have
the capitalists tap the trade at its
source instead of taking it second hand,
and was told that this other city would
not let any one take the trade that
way, but it was hoped that she would
not object to taking what she left r
learned also that after the hamlet
should have grown to large proportions
by means of this second hand trade,
that first-class trade was expected to
flow into it because of some kind of
graviation, after which the place would
grow and swell so fast that it would
be hard to keep up with it,
BY looking around, found the place
had no way Of reaching any of the
land trade so near to her, not even a
wagon road; but the city she hoped to
rival was pushing out roads and Gre
a.ing channels by means of which trade
flowed into it, gradually leaving less
for the hamlet. And in my dream
these roads Of the city seemed to be-
come like the arms of an octopus, reach
irg in all directions. and gradually get
ting one sucker after another attached
to different sources Of trade, till at last
one arm was flung over the fishing bus
mess, the main source of life of the
hamlet, and then there was channel |
of trade open, but the life giving cur
rent flowed toward the city.
l inquired why it was that they never
built roads, and learned that the ex-
ouse was, (or one of the many that
they did not have money, 1. e., energy.
I was also told that as this was the
right and proper place for trade, that
all farmers and people living away
from that point were out of luck. and
should take steps to build roads into this
pace so as to be able to trade in it.
Why did not the farmers do 1t? Well, T
1t seems that a class of people exist
everywhere that live by increment;
number of this sort of people held the
land for miles around, or a large part
Of them. I found that 1t worked very
well for one or two men to own few
lcres in the country which they never
went near, or lot or so in town that
they kept for a dumping ground for
their energetic neighbors; in such cases
the increment was something.
But when sixteen twentieths OF the
land, or lots are thus owned it is a
iampener upon the energy Of the four
bona fide settlers. resulting in moss.
So in order to build roads it was neces-
sary to have some sort Of method Of
emuscation. which, under the condi-
lions was hard to get. It seems that
each farmer would have been willing to (
build roads, more. even, than his share. '