The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-08-08
MAKING A CITY.

MAKING A CITY.
Near the mouth OF the Columbia
river is Portland, Oregon's chief city
and a good town as such sleepy, old
fashioned places go nowadays. North
of it is located Seattle, the bustling,
progressive, nervous young giant that
aspires to be the greatest and most
prosperous port on the Pacific. It
is succeeding in it's aspiration and
threatens to before long leave all 9TH
/ er competitors, including San Fran
cisco, far behind.
Recently n Of Portland's newspa-
pers sent a. man to investigate the
cause OF Seattle's advancement and
prosperity. He made his report. It
Seattle business men was due all the
city's growth an. gain over Portland.
In their success there was much, he
said, to be taken to heart by the men
of other cities. While he did not men,
ton names, it is hard to resist the be-
lief that he did not mean among the
rest u w town of Billings.
After pointing out that the boom
ers of Seattle have worked without
great capital at command and that
they have been compelled to make
their money as they went along; have
been forced to forge Seattle to the
front against adverse influences and
that it has been a battle Of young men
against older men elsewhere who had
immensely more capital, he says:
These young men have done we'll.
They have built a city upon the ruins
of fire and financial depression. They
have somewhat to show for their eff
forts.
These young fellows, too, are hos
pitable fellows. They never miss an
opportunity to show off their town
to a visitor. Drop into Seattle for a
few hours, and the chances are two to
one that within the end of one of
those hours you will be seated in a
rubber-tired buggy being driven about
the place to- see what Seattle is do
ing to work out her commercial sal
walton.
"They are enthusiastic people, and
loyal to their town. They look at you
with blank amazement when, having
conceded several points CT superiority
for Seattle v e Portland, you in turn
cite some obvious advantage possess
ed by the Oregon metropolis. The idea
is %unspoken, yet expressed by manner
and ccuntenance: You do not really
mean that Portland has one point of
excellence that Seattle has not in
greater degree!
"The future is glorious to the ex-
pectaticn of the Seattleite. He be-
lieves that when God made the uni
verse He planned some temporary
towns farther osuth, permitted them
to exist for a season, but intended and
intends to move them all up to Seat
tie, and wipe them from the map.
these young men believe this, and
they would be disappointed were a
guest to suggest otherwise.
1T is obvious, however, that these
young men are doing excellently in the
apbuilding of a great commercial
mart. They are full ofCife. They are
possessed of enthusiasm. They be-
lieve in their town and they believe
in themselves. They have a faith
that becomes knowledge, and they go
out to conquer for Seattle and for Seat
tie people, with a courage that COM
pels admiration from any one. who
comes here to see this City of Des-
tiny"
Here is a lesson for the business
men ct Billings and those who are in
a position to advance the city's inter-
ests and by SO doing at the same time
advance their own interests. Let
them study well what the Portland
mar has to say of his n%eighbors to
the north and make sensible, practi-
cal application of it. The Seattle men
have discovered the way to build up a
city. The method is not copyrighted
and may be applied by all who will.