The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-03-10
Great Northern Will Build It's
Ocean Liners Here.
LARGE DRY DOCK TO BE ADDED
President Hill Decides That IL II
Cheaper 80 Bsiid Than Hwy. and
VIII Make This Port the Greatest
G0assracfi~n Headquarters ON
she Coast, with . Drydeek That
VIII Osereome the Present Lack.

Gradually the immense projects Presi-
dent Hill, Of the Great Northern. las IN
sfew for building up Seattle are being
discovered # was learned yesterday that
he viii not only put the Hire 90 steam"
ships written Of i'm the osf-intelligeneef
while he vas nere, but that the steam
si1ips will be baia ia seattle. and that
this port 1iH be improved ~ the largest
siip~buiiding plant on the Coast. and have
= dry-dock fully as large as the govern
ment station ri Erafnerton-
with this news comes further cofsfr-
matIcn OF fhe poxt-Iuteilfgencer stale
usent that the lire 10 the Orient would
be lusii at once. Notwithstanding the at
ternptS To dlsparage the autnentiesty O.
the announcement
II was 1T nrs: believed that tha Pa
cite liners would les constructed at some
OF the Eastern plants bat there we're 80
many we'll founded objections TO this plan
that IL WAS finally abandoned shortly be-
fore Mr.. Hi left the East for Seattle on
his last trip. u was realized that the
vessels could he built cheaper In the East,
on account Of being near the iron fields
and having torg.estabished plants, but
the expense Of bringing the steamers
around Cape Horn would he so great as
10 kfYset the original saving. and there
would be no facilities here for handling
the ships when IL should be necessary 10
put them in a drydock.
II will lie cheaper for the Great North
ern than any other Coast company To
get the iron and steel To be used in build
img vessels That railway runs direct
between Seattle and Duluth and Superior.
across Minnesota from tsrookstoD. and
from the head Of Lake Superior has line
OF steamships running To Clese-
land ard Buffalo. which are
within short distance OF the
huge rolling mills OF Pfttsburg and
other places i'm the main iron and steel
manufacturing districts or the country
so the matter of transporting material
would be IA comparatively small item
making IL possini. 20 construct iron yes
sells in Seattle much cheaper than In San
Francisco the home OF the Union Iron
Works
IL IS the Intention that the steamships
OF the Scatfle-OrieDtai fleet shall be SUI
perior To any smiling in the Pacific. not
excepting the liners that run between
San Francisco and the Orient and Aus
tralia: they will be OF greater capacity
and superior In freight and passenger ae-
eornmodations. How many Will be In the
service cannot be learned. but there Will
be enough Ia make frequent connection
between here and Japan and China, be-
aides supplying the Nladisostok trade
The building plant will &c located near
Smitn's cove as near the present docks
and other improvements there as posi-
bic. In addition To all facilities tur turn
Ing out AS large steamships as are found
In any waters. there will be the usual
complement uf shops. and a dry dock
without az. equal on the Coast. for the
accommodation of merchantmen.
IL Is said that the lack OF a dry-dock
on the northwestern coast Of the United
States was what finally inpssilea MIR. Hill
10 decide to do hts own building. Owing
10 the action 81 q .iZenS or Tacoma In per-
suading the government 10 refuse to do
a commercial business its dry-doc, at
Rrcmerton in tho hope OF getting more
business for the Quatermassef affair. all
large vessels that need repairs here
forced tn go 10 Esqu!mait. in British Co
iumhia rs the slnarterinast.r dock IL too
weak for them 10 afford the risk. This Is
shown in the Nippon Yusen kaisha which
has several timea been forced 10 send its
large vessels ~ the foreign part. when
there had been n safe dock here, it
would have been favored.