The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-09-20
Business Mans Plan to Secure
Them for Seattle.
AL NOW IN MIDDLE WEST.
scheme 20 bring western Terminals
to This City by Orgs Mining stock
Company 10 Construct Belt Line
idea Presented I'm Paper Read
Before Chamber of Commerce
Action Deferred Till Next Meetins
4

The organization Of great stock COM
pany having as its object the securing
for Seattle OF the terminals OF at least
seven great transcontinental railways and
the building Of trunk lines and purchase
Of ground for their use. !s part OF gi-
gantic scheme laid before the Chamber OF
Commerce yesterday.
The proposition was brought TO the no.
tce OF the chamber in paper upon the
subject read by Donald Fletcher. ex-
president Of the Denver Chamber OF COM
MERGE and now a Seattle business man
and member OF the local body. Mr..
F7etcher's paper received careful atten-
tion from the meeting and was followed
by short discussion Of the Importance Of
this project.
The result was the introduction OF a
motion TO create a railroad committee Of
I'VE with a permanent assignment to
work to secure for Seattle the Pacific
coast termini OF the seven railroads In
question and a special duty Of investigat-
Ing Mr.. F1etcher's plan.
Because OF the Importance OF the mat
ter and the necessity for careful consid-
Grafton. the motion was laid on the table
until tho meeting next week.
Mr. F1etcher's paper, which was enti-
tod The Coming of Other Railroads to
Seattle" follows:
Let US assume that We agreed upon
the importance OF these three Facts. nrHf.
that coal sells at g ton higher In San
Francisco than In Seattle because the sup
ply for both IL mined In the suburbs OF
Seattle. 800 miles north OF San Francisco;
second, Seattle Is 300 miles nearer Asiatic
ports than San Francisco. owing TO the
earth's curvature In northern iatitudes.
and third, Seattle IA the gateway to mag.
nincent Alaska, explored and developed
20 only trifing extent Now. with a
handicap on our rivals of both fuel and
distance. running into the. hundreds. and
thousands Of dollars ,ns. each trip III I,
! this age OF very close and economical
competition. Seattle. with not one de-
tcrrent. should soon have all tho Asiatic
trafYlc as well az the Alaskan?
WIN Rival AtlantiC Coast.
THE ablest observers predict that In
the near future the trade Of tho Pacific
viii rival the trade of the Atlantic. We
ind two detrimenss 70 the shipping OF the
Of the Atlantic; the expense Of dry dock
age for cleaning ship bottoms and that
for dock renewals owing 10. the ravases
q the teredo upon the timber piing
at Seattle and at this port only along
the shores of the Pacific. as soon as the
lock and canal being made by the federal
lakes Union and washington. have been
completed. The fresh water of these
lakes VIII kin and slough on barnacies
and scnwee1s and the teredo dies In fresh
water. The shores OF these lakes. east
ward three miles from and parallel with
the salt water Sound. are perfect for
railway termini
New York has forged ahead Of Phlla-
dolphin. Baltimore and Boston largely
because OF the great dockage on both
asies OF the Hudson. Harlem and East
rivers. which surround Manhattan island.
With the completion OF the Lake WASH
inRton canal the port OF Seattle alone
on this continent viii have q greater and
better harbor than New York. Chicago
Rut it's start owing TO the Chicago river,
smaller than our Duwamlsh. Deepened
nHd widened " made n safe shelter In the
early days Then out OF the prairie new
branches were cut. blind slips dug and
water fronts made.
sin Seattle, At this early day In its
history, there ought TO be a way to mako
all railways hero and coming have one
union passenger depot. but owing To the
conhgWation OF the ground there must
necessarily he widely scattered freight de-
pots. A belt line, like those In Chicago
and Kansas city, with reasonable switch
Tag charges. should be provided