The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1897-12-14
ACROSS THE BORDER LrxE.

ACROSS THE BORDER LIxE.
Upon returning from British Columbia,
after a1moGt Z years absence from the
United States. have been asked t. give
the result Of my observations.
What have I learned In British Colum-
hias Well. many things. How to become
. batter Anssieaa Is enc thing: how to
smoke . pipe. anothsr. Seriously. how
ever, one does feel Ike indulging in spread
eAgieian after . long absence from his
country and returning - II nv way OF such
. port - Seattle. ana seeing At glance
uf& activity and eaassarise; and, @ 10
enterprise. let me tell you that II can only
be realised by those who have had oppor-
<unities OF comparison For instance. In
thu leading cities Of British Columbia
vancouver and ylcteria-there are mer-
chants and boards Of trade. There are.
toe. newspapeys: but here all similarity
ends The bone Of ccntsntion IL. We knew.
the Alaskan-Hlondiks trade. which the
merchants Of British Columbia have not
even the facilities Tor supplying. and their
sfDerts TO de- 20 are now incipient True.
there are establishments pretending to
''sutft" bat the aumhss which lesitiasats-
II may claim 70 d. % y sxtrsnely limited.
Oas must buy this article here. that there.
send to this city for one thing. and 70
another FOR something else.
unhesitatingiy declare that IN Oh Of the
province Of British Columbia there does
not exist 10 Per cent. OF the real Quitting
establishments that exist right here IN Sc
sttls, and this 10 even admitted. Tho
speeious argument used TO induce the ven
turesome to buy their goods on Canadian
territory Is the cid. vermont argument Of
duty, which IL at once explained by the
reply that goods are purchased here so
much cheaper. Then the Information dis
seminated by the boards Of trade Is very
mea2er and the amount of money ex-
pended for the purpose proportionate.
The newspapers themselves seem to be
hampered by-well. let W say 'innocuous
desuetude." Not one journal IN British Co
lumbia, the best. nearest place to outfit"
the place to sail from for the Klondike."
has approached the Post-Intelligencer In
disseminating the information it has about
the unknown gold fields. Your issues have
been ADD are appreciated and the increase
Of your subscription Is apparent. for
there ia not q place Of resort where it 10
not to be found. The special Klondiks
edition 10 still In demand, and as the news
dealers could not furnish them C'sold
out'). we had to send over here direct.
It IL necessary for the arrivals from Eng
land. Australia and other countries to
learn that Seattle Is the place Of places for
them to buy, and your Journal 10 doing
good work.
Another thing which impresses the stran-
ger in British Columbia is its excellent
order and its system Of administering JUS
tice. In the arst place, lat me say that all
officials hold their positions during good
behavior and are carefully selected. The
habo. 90 common here, would net remain
ia one of their cities forty-eight hours; a
policeman would politely inform him that
he was an undesirable citizen" and then,
IL this hint was net effective. he would re-
ceive summons to appear before the
magistrate within twenty-four hours. His
appearance would result In his being
placed in q chain-gang; 30 he moves on
and dares not return, for by disobeying
the summons he has become adjudged
guilty OF contempt Of court. Juries are Inn
paneled In most serious cases within fifteen
court, from whom twelve are selected. and
10 questions as to bias prejudice and the
like asked. Immediately after conviction
comes sentence. comparatively severe,
and prompt TRANSFORMATION 70 the psnitsp-
tiary. An appeal lies to the privy council
and ID an expensive luxury.
Divorces. alb vinouio. are granted by the
Dominion parliament only-another ex-
pensiFe luxury-whiie the courts grant sep
aration mensa ct thoro. The social
evir' is under control, and none OF the
members OF the class constituting 1t are
permitted to stand on the streets and con-
verse or TO ogie passers-by, for they are
promptly charged with vasrancy and pun
ished accordingly.
Last and, BY far, not least, the mines de-
serve notice. There are some very few,
which are developed and paying dividends,
but their number does not exceed score.
While most of the claims are not worked
because their owners lack the means to
do So Under the mining laws any person,
upon payment Of a fee OF S. is issued
miners license, and he becomes entitled
to locate as many mines as he chooses. The
government exacts tl00 worth of develop
ment work within a year Of location or
payment of $io0: but, owing to the imper-
lection OF the system and the strong feel
ing against jumping" many possibly
good mines win remain unknown fer IN
tndshnite Period Of time- Hardly any man
Of business has not an interest In some
"mine" which he knows is q good thing"
and his opinion Is based upon piece of
rock-outcropping-an an assay In some
instances, as high as he Is willing TO pay
for 1t. The province lacks practical miners.
and nov, owing TO the Alaskan fever, 1t
Is safe to assert that these who possess
experience can get ''gruhstakes'' from
ssndiaases Ths speculation in stocks has
not attained any perceptible hold, although
several wildcat schemes have been fioated.
All In all, British Columbia. so far az min
ing Is concerned, is in its infancy. Min
eral aeounds generally, but 1t is question
able as to whether In paying quantities or
not. Time will tell. MICH.