The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1894-06-02
TROOPS SHOULD BE "uAssEpy

have something to say in favor of tn,
abandonment OF Forts Sherman, Spo
kane and Walla Walia for the purpose O
"massing" the troops of these posts a
that city in one large garrison. The pa
pers endeavor to point out the inaccessi
bilitytO of the present posts in case i,
should be necessary to order troops out
on short notice. and in doing so they do
not hesitate to resort to the most unfair
means, even STOPPING to the grossest
kind of misrepresentation. As an illus
tration Of this, the following paragraph
from an article which recently appeared
in the Chronicle, is submitted to our
readers:
The fact is, that not only Fort sher.
man but Fort Spokane as well is in an
out Of the way place. Fort sherman is
about 30 miles to the east, at the termi-
nus OF . branch line OF the Northern
Pacific railroad. There is only one wav
OF lnSress and egress affording a practi-
Cal means OF transporting men and sup
pines, and under ordinary circumstances
there 10 liable to be unavoidable DELAY
on account OF insufficient railway equip
ment.
So far as Fort Sherman is concerned
the above is q malicious falsehood, as a
whole. and the Chronicle editor knows
it-or, if he does not know it, he had
better come up here and spend few
days in getting acquainted with our
transportation facilities. Compare the
above statements with the facts. Cpur
d'Alene is on a branch line OF the North
ern Pacific, as stated, but it is only II
miles from the main line at Hauser
Junction, and 81 miles from Spokane
distances so short that, as practical ex.
perience has demonstrated, a special 1
train can be run in here when necessary
before the troops can possibly be got in
readiness to move after receiving orders.
We have, also, on the lake three large
steamers-the George Cakes, the Koo-
fenai and the st. Joseph-either one of
which could land all the troops from
Fort Sherman at Harrison on the Union
Pacific road within two hours, or at Old
Mission on the Missoula branch OF the
Northern Pacific within three hours at.
ter receiving orders. The Great North
ern railroad also passes through thi.
county and could be reached at Sand
Point within three hours. The pos.ibil-
lty OF an emergency arising where any /
quicker movement Of troops would be ,
necessary is SO remote as to be unworthy I
OF consideration. Il
Spokane's arguments are OF the lamest /
sort. Her newspapers should be in bet G
Ter business than that of attempting to /
cripple q neighboring town whose mer- :
chants and citizens contribute thousands t
Of dollars annually to her business insti- d
tutions. Its poor rule that won't 5
work two ways" and ii Spokane sees fit a
10 continue this line OF policy our people
will retaliate by purchasing their goods
in st. Paul, Minneapolis and Chicago,
where they can gave money and have n
better stocks to select from. The way Z
o build up the city OF Spokane is to en- Il
courage the interests OF the surrounding a
ountry and its towns, and the sooner
he falls city realizes this fact and acts o.
ccordingly the better it will be for her. 81
he idea OF establishing a military post k
t Spokane was Matched in the interest al
real estate spectators, assisted by Ell
ieneral Carlin, who is heavy owner OF Ell
roperty near the proposed site and who al
rostituted his official position for per- al
'nal gain. II the troops are to be al
lassed at all, they should be massed at OF
t. Sherman, admittedly the most beau r
ful and most healthful post in the Uni be
ID States, according to official records he
I'D the evidence of army officers whose tn
'servation in ouch matters has been Ill
ltsnsive. Sc