Kootenai County Republican. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1899-1903, 1901-10-25

future y! scdIupOlHf ~ ID uuihs ChUU-
mon for a stranger to ask s'what will
sustain your town after the CONNER
cial timber has been cut from your
!andsy" Since our virgin forests are
us yet practically untouched this
should be a small source OF worry to
those who know something of the ex-
tent Of these forests. Standpoint will
be many years older before the TIM
Der resources Of this section begin to
show signs Of exhaustion. Neycrthc-
less it will do no harm To answer this
the imagination very far TO do so. In
the first place attention may be called
to the fact that this is not a new ques
ton, but was asked 30 or 40 years ago
in the pine timber belts of Northern
Michigan, wisconsin and Minnesota.
We have no knowledge OF how it was
answered in those sections at that
time, but where the commercial tim
Der has disappeared, the cities and
towns of those sections continue to
flourish and prosper. Pine lands that
were considered SO worthless that lum-
Der companies did nat take the trou-
BILE to accept deeds after the timber
had been cut off, have been converted
into beautiful and productive farms,
and the real and lasting resource of
those sections has been found to exist
In the soil 1t can he truthfully
stated that the conditions here are
similar, with some clearly apparent
advantages, to those which were pres
ent In the eastern timber belts 80 or
10 years ago. These advantages are
found first In the presence Of valleys
and meadows, where agricultural in
dustry has not been neglected nor the
development of the soil retarded on
account Of the presence Of timber.
Some Of the most fertile soil in exis-
tence has been found IN these untim,
bered spots, which Is attested by the
many beautiful and productive farms
that have already been established
and are fast making their owners
wealthy. The second advantage is
found in our IMMORAL resource. The
extent and importance OF this re.
source Is most difficult to estimate,
but this much is known; a little
prospecting and a few Thousand dol.
lars expended In development work
have demonstrated that large bodies
Of valuable ore lie within Il very few
miles of Standpoint. This resource
alone may, within short time, prove
sufficient to sustain town many times
the present size Ut Standpoint: ant
there are those who believe that thi,
section will some day become as fla
nous for its mineral as the Occur e.
Alene country. The third advantag,
which we claim for this section Owe
the timber belts In the same latitud,
in The east, Is really the most import
ant. This advantage lies in our eli
mate. There is no comparison what
ever between the climate of Northern
Idaho and that of the eastern state
In the same latitude, and the peopl
who come here from those sections ar
constantly remarking on our ''perpet
nal" summer No estimate can b
placed ON the value of this advantage
which makes Northern Idaho a mos
desirable place TO live and its tillahl
soil Il vertible garden spot. Becaus
of these advantages the lands whic
are now covered with virgin forests {
commercial timber Of the finest qua
ity will be most valuable for agrlcu1
tural purposes after the timber Ia
been cut of. oh, no; We do not ca
pect our timber resource To last foi
ever, but just Icing enough to give Il
start in other directions, and il
coming In mighty handy, because tn
wherewlth To develop our more i'm
portant and lasting resources can b
speedily realized from that sourc,
Last, but not least, Standpoint is si
uated on a body OF water which is de.
tined 10 become famous as IA locatio
for summer resorts. For grandeur ,
scenery It's shore line can not he @,
eelled. and Standpoint is situate
where the best views of Pend d
Oreille lake can be had.