Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1894-03-15
NOW FOR ADVANCEMENT.

Slowly but surely the impcdiments to
the settlement of Chehalis county are
being removed. One by one the obstruc-
tons which have checked its growth are
cleared away, and we are getting very
near position to "know where we are
at" The action OF the taxpayers in
taking determined stand for the reduc
ton Of expenses is the first great step,
for the fact Of high taxes is OF itself 4 Diet
riment to the development Of any COM
munity. Following close upon this has
been the granting OF patents to the North
ern Pacific for 7S,2S7 acres OF land in the
indemnity strip, and for l07 ,767 acres in
the regular grant, in Chehalis county,
notice OF which was last week sent by the
interior department to the LEGAL land office
at Olympia.
One great drawback has been the un
certainty respecting the title to these
lands, and while the granting of these
patents will be IL disappointment to many
who have taken their chances upon the
outcome being different, and have filed
on these lands and made improvements
thereon, yet the mere settling Of the ques-
ton will give an impetus toward natural
and permanent improvement, rather than
to the speculative which has character
lied that Of this uncertain period. In
this respect the county and the commu-
u;tv will In r,ont yo;rarc Tho cott1orS
may not be able to purchase these lands
rs cheaply as they could from the govern
ment; on the other hand from plain
business point Of view the railroad cannot
afford to be extortionatc and unreason-
able with them. The life OF Il railroad
depends not upon what it can extort
from settler for land, but upon what it
can extort from him for carrying his pro-
duce year after year, and for this reason
railroads are usually reasonable in their
demands for land, for the very purpose of
encouraging settlement, in fact as a rule
they will sell their land on ten years
time, while the government requires cash.
That the Settlers League is entitled to
much OF the credit for the settling OF this
question there is no doubt. BY their con-
tinued agitation they have compelled the
railroad company to pay the fees and take
the patents out of the land department.
where they have lain for some time, and
give them into the county for assessing.
We believe these patents cover practic-
ally all of the indemnity strip which the
railroad company claims, but if not the
Settlers Lesgue can by their continued
agitation COMPEL them to produce pat
ents for the balance. One thing is certain
NO one need now hesitate to purchase
these lands from the railroad company,
% the government has by these patents
guaranteed the title, and if for any reason
the patents should be declared illegal.
which is very doubtful the government
would be compelled to protect innocent
purchasers.
We are glad the question has been set
tied, and though it is to certain extent
against the settlers, yet we believe it to
be much better for the county to have it
settled this way than not at all. Because
this paper few months ago cautioned
The settlers not to allow false hopes to be
raised, it was accused OF working against
The settlers in the interest of the railroad
company. The columns OF this paper
show that it is working only for the inter-
,sts OF the community, and the matter is
,nly referred to in order to show that We
we're in the right AS stated in the be-
thinning of this article the clouds are lift
ng, and the county and community are
cry near to that solid, substantial basis
pom which will be built great prosper
/ sy. 1t remains only for the people to
/ uild, they have the building in their
1 wn hands.