Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1897-03-12

likewise remaining the samc-$5OO,-
600 The report WAS adopted. 1t is
believed that this amount will enable
the State to begin work on the super
structure and place it in such an adj
vanced state that the next Legislature
will complete it, if. indeed, the capitol
fund, through returned prosperity, is
not able to take care Of itself before
that time. S1i,
What has got into our neighbors of
other parts of the State that they
should treat the State capital so I'M
Justly, is beyond mortal ken. The
fact alone is known that many of the
peoples representatives come to the
Legislative halls prcjudiccd against
our town and her people, and deter
mined to Illustrate, by every means in
their power, any and all measures that
that might secure for her an even and
equable start for the enjoyment of
those political benefits that should be
distributed without partiality or favor.
Very early in our history as COM
monwealth, at time when Thurston
county had the largest representation
in the Legislature, when she paid the
larger proportion of the taxes, when
she was the business center of the
western part of the State, the policy of
Live and let live" was outlined and
inaugurated by her people. Appro-
priations were made for public build
ings all over the Territory; King was
given an opportunity to squander Il
munificcnt land grant upon Seattle
high-school, yclept a University +;
Pierce spent hundreds of thousands of
dollars for building and maintaining
her hearts delight, model insane
asylum; Walla Walla "took in," with
Thurston's consent, the profitable To-
cal institution, the Penitentiary, and
Clarke, Chehalis, Spokane, Whatcom
and other counties apportioned out all
the other good things for their mutual
benefit. Some of these goodies"
were divided, to make them 60 round,
and we find three normal schools, two
insane asylums, and division of other
institutions into tid-bits that would
afford mOrsel to each and every as
piring constituency. So far, impair
TALLY seems to have prevailed, and all
along Thurston was content with being
the Territorial capital, with the tacit
understanding that she should be the
permanent seat of government when
Statehood should come. This agree
ment was fulfilled when in 1890 the
people voted more than two to one,
that the capitol should be permanently
located and built at Olympia.
At this date there seems to have
been sown the spark of discord, that
has been famed into fame of per-
sistent opposition and. resentment, by
the unfortunate policy of delay pur-
sued by Gov. McGraw. Had not the
disappointment of rival candidates for
the location been prolonged by this
course; had the work been prosecuted
with ordinary business sagacity and
vigor; had the autocrat at the head of
the commission had any disposition to
advance the work, the warrants would
have been negotiated. the money
raised and the capitol to-day approach
ing state of completion. There is no
doubt of this, as will appear on ref1ec-
ton. The Objectionable feature of the
warrants, the failure to provide a
stated time for payment of interest,
applied to all other State warrants
and they passed at premium of two
and even three per cent, and in 1891
nobody doubted but that 1872 900 acres
of Uncle Sans domain was ample Sc
curity for the loan OF million dollars
and eight per cent. per annum inter-
est. The Governors delay in approx
ing the bill, his hesitancy in appoint
ing the commission, his change of its
members, his interposition of difficult
ties necessitating the courts "vexa-
tious delay" his systematic application
Of the means for How Not to Do 1t,
until the gold-standard grip paralyzed
every industry and obliterated prop
erty values, all had the effect to pro-
duce the feeling which now confronts
us.
1t may be that the people of this
county have not been quite as sub
servient to the beck and nod of the
Legislative Solons as they were under
Territorial days; it is barely possible
that their joints are not quite as supple
and their bow not quite as profound as
of yore; it may even be possible that
they did not consider it requisite to
cringe and fawn before their equals
that thrift might follow fawning,"
when they presented so reasonable a
proposition as that the State should
temporarily guarantee interest on half
the amount of money originally con-
templated for building capitol, while
representatives from the larger coun-
ties had their arms up to the elbows
in the State sack to abstract susten-
ance for their pet institutions as a
gift and not loan to be paid from the
pockets of labor.
1t may be barely possible that Olym-
mia from sfrnas Of circums stances is