Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-20

| |Z/>/I//Z/| tHe states Oh w ASH
| /#[X1/ ington and Oregon
| 4" Said he to me last
night:
IF you will imagine man going to bed
expecting the sheriff to set him out next
! morning and awaking to find his pockets
| full OF money and everything free. you will
| nave the condition of a large number of
| our people. A year ago the times were
hard NOW there is so much money that
| the people hardly know what to do with it.
Our crops in Washington this year have
| brought US in something like $4,000 900.
/ This means more than 800 for every man.
woman and child in the state. On the av-
eraSe it amounts to more than $500 a fam
lily. Think of a state where every family
has an average bank account of $500, and
you get some idea of Washington today
In some of our counties the average is even
higher than this. In Whitman county it is
| estimated that the crops have brought in a
sum equal to $3.50 for every man, woman
and child there. This would be $3.50 per
family There are about $4,000 people in
| that county, so you see what an enor-
nous amount it is"
Fifty Million Dollars From the Soil.
Where does all the money come from,
| senatCr?"
L lie L nave Deel speaking OF IS
| from the soil alone. A great deal of it
came from wheat. l know one man who
| got 100000 for his wheat crop. That man
| last year was thinking of selling his farm
to pay the mortgages on it. He did not ex-
| pect it to bring much more than his in
debtedness. He has now paid all that he
owes and has money in the bank. In the
county OF Sherman, Oregon there are only
seven hAlndred voters, and that county pro-
TaT Z htcb AI- Of l,.r
year. We have part of the Pacific
northwest which we call the finland en-
pre- This comprises part of Oregon
part of Washington and one or two coun-
ties in Idaho. That region alone produced
| more than 42,000.000 bushels of wheat this
summer, and it has all been sold at good
prices
How about the other crops senator?"
Everything has done WE'LL said Senator
Wilson I'VE have had big crops of barley,
oats and hops, and have gotten high prices
for everything. Washington is, you know,
| one of the greatest hop-raising countries of
the world. The vines have been loaded and
the crop has sold we'll"
Lumber In the Northwest.
How about the lumber market?'
'"rhe lumber men are making money all
| over the west We have in Oregon and
Washington the bulk of the best lumber of
| the country. We are now exporting millions
| of dollars worth of 1t every year. The Ium-
| Der is shipped by sea to South America.
| Asia and Europe and around the Horn to
| the United States. Our shingle trade has
| rever been So good. We sent $4,000 1000
| shingles east last September, enough to
| give five Shingles to every inhabitant of the
United States. In the last nine months we
have sent about seven times that many.
| AS result of the grain and lumber ship
| ments, the railroads have had more than
| they could do There is no lack of work in
Washington row. l am told that S10,000,0O0
| VIII be paid in wages for lumber men and
wood workers this year.
A True Fish Story.
| "How about the fish,
1.-The salmon crop this year has been ex-
| ceptionaly large. We have pulled $5,0O0,0O0
out OF the water and Oregon has also done
| an enormous business of the same kind.
There are salmon canneries all the riv
| ers about Puget Sound and the Colurs-
| bia river. There are SO many salmon in
some parts of the Columbia river that they
use fish wheels to catch them. These
wheels are something like the water
wheels of grist mill, save that they
| have wire basket nets attached to the outer
| rim of the wheel, so that they strike the
water, and, going down, scoop up the sal
mon which are ming up the river. AS
| the wheel turns it throws the fish into
| chute which carries them off into boat.
Sometimes tons Of fish ere caught in this
way and heard of one instance of scow
which was attached to such fish wheel
and left over night. In the morning it was
found that so many fish had been run into
the scow through the chute that the weight
had sunk the scow."
How about your towns and cities, sena-
tor? Are they growing?"
Il think they will begin to grow from
| row on. The smaller towns have been
hard times / live in Spokane. We put up
500 new houses there this year. ranging
in price from $4,000 down.
Fresh News From the k1Onilil<e.
"How about Seattle and Tacoma?'
'"They are both in good. healthy condi-
ton. The discovery of gold in the Klon-
eike has put new. life into them. Three
fourths of all the men who go to Alaska
get their outfits in these towns. Every
steamship line which goes there has its
headquarters on Puget sound, and goods
of all kinds are being manufactured there
for the gold miners Everything in the
way of vessel that will float has been
loaded with goods and taken up to Alaska
Great preparations are being made for
next spring. and these cities are having a
prosperity such as they have never had
before
Are there many people in Seattle who
have not been able to leave for Alaska %
NO. i think most of those who wanted
to go have been able to get away some way
or other. Such as have been stopped are
row waiting the coming of spring in Alas
ka. We have number of boats preparing
to start out next year. One company Of
fers to take man to Dawson City from
Seattle and to give him fun outfit, in
GLIDING one years supplies, for 5000. An
other steamship line advertises to leave
Seattle about June 10, and every ten days
after that. Passages are already being
engaged on these boats"
One Hundred thousand Gold Miners.
Have YOU any idea how many Deonle
will go to the Klondike next year,"
"Of course such an estimate would be to
a large extent guess work. Still. from the
| letters We get at Puget sound we can form
Some idea. think there is no doubt but
that there will be 100000. have just
heard that something like $1,000 miners will
go from Colorado alone. All Of the west