The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1905-07-01
LEWIS And CLARK
EXPOSITION
A GREAT CREDIT TO pORTI.ANn
AND THE NORTHWEST
Location Superb-Washington Build
Ing and Exhibits One of the Chief
Attracttons-Gover Exhibit
of Great Interest and Value.
editorial Correspondence

editorial Correspondence
PORTLAND, Ore, June -"Where
rolls the Oregon" now, century
! after Lewis and Clarke first set foot
upon its shores, many sounds are
heard besides its own dashings. If
Washington Irving could write an
other Astoria in our day and gen
GRAFTON he would paint graphic
word picture Of the changes which a
hundred years have wrought in the
great valley of the Columbia and es-
pecially in Portland, its metropolis.
There are few, if any, finer cities of
equal size on the continent than this.
Its location is superb, and the sordid
greed of commercialism has not been
permitted to unnecessarily mar its
natural beauties. The streets are of
good width, well paved and well kept
and in the residence sections they
are bordered by trees which wonder
fully enhance their beauty. There
are countless fine homes set in the
midst of spacious grounds. Decid-
uous and evergreen trees, hedges,
foliage and Towering plants and vines
are abundant in all parts Of the city
outside the business district, and just
now there are roses, roses every
where. In the business section the
modern "sky scraper" has not yet
made its appearance and there are
not nearly as many fine business
blocks as there are in Seattle. The
hustling ''Seattle spirit" is not so
much in evidence as In the chief city
of the Sound and there is scarce a
touch of the frontier to remind one
of it's far western location. There is
an air of solidity and conservatism
about it that makes it seem more
eastern than western, and if it could
be transplanted in its entirety to
Massachusetts and set down along
side of Boston it would not seem out
of place. If Seattle, on the contrary,
should line up anywhere on the New
England coast where it might become
a competitor Of Boston, the Seattle
spirit would soon make the Boston
ians so ill at ease that they would
wish they might lock up their com
mereial laurels in safe deposit vaults.
But what about the Fair? Is it
really worth coming $50 miles to see?
/ say $50 miles because that is about
the distance from San Juan county
here and am writing principally for
San Juan readers.
It is really a fine exhibition on
nothing like so grand scale, OF
course, as the Worlds fair at Chi
cago or the ST. Louis exposition, but
well worth a long journey to visit.
The natural beauties of the location
are far superior to those of either OF
the wonderous exhibitions mentioned
and the very finest taste has been
exercised in the Improvement OF the
grounds and the erection OF the
10
buildings. The land area is l81 acres
and the water about 22O acres. The
vast and varied resources OF the
Pacific coast and Rocky mountain
states are so splendidly displayed
that they cannot but excite wonder
ment in the mind Of any intelligent
beholder, even though he has him
self spent years in the northwest and
considers himself well posted as to
the sources of its natural wea. tn.
The Oriental exhibits compare very
favorably with those made at Chic
ago and st. Louis. The European
and other cotinental countries are,
Of course, not so generally or exten-
sively represented, but as much is
shown from them as the average vls-
| itor has time to give more than 9
passing glance to-
The government exhibits occupy 2
beautiful group Of buildings on the
Guild's lake peninsular. All depart
ments are represented in = wonder
fully interesting and Instructive man
ner The natural inquiries Of VS.
|itors are anticipated and answered