The Owyhee nugget. ([Silver City], Idaho) 1905-1984, 1905-08-18
SEATTLE.

Am ng the cities visited by the men,
bers of the Idaho Press Association,
during its trip, last month, none of
them left deeper impression on the
mind of the writer, for energy and
progressiveness, than the city of Seat
tie, Washington. Located upon Puget
sound, whore nearly two hundred miles
of inland waters furnish the largest
and one of the best protected harbors
in the world, which the largest vessels
afioat enter through the strait Juan de
Fuca, it occupies a position to com
mand the commerce of the Pacific, with
a better assurance of control of this
great and rapidly growing trade than
any rival city on the Pacific coast.
This assurance comes from the fact
that Puget sound is two or three days
by sailing vessels and at least one day
by steamships, nearer Honolulu, Japan
and the Orient, than any other safe
harbor on our Pacific coast, and is
made so by the prevailing trade winds
and by the Japanese current. Vessels
sailing from points lower down the
coast swing this far northward and
gain time thereby. to take advantage
of these conditions. Seattle is also al
most day by rail nearer the Atlantic
than are other coast cities This ad-
vantage of one or more days counts
immensely in the aggregate of great
commercial transactions. The great
trans-continental railways all appreci-
ate this, and three of the great lines
already make Seattle their principal
western terminal, and others are seek
ing to gain the same advantage James
j. Hills Pacific steamship line, with
several of the largest and fastest
freight carrying vessels afloat OH any
sea, has established its docks at this,
through which all it's traffic comes and
goes.
From the beginning of the opening
of the gold fields of Alaska, Seattle has
been the leading supply city of that
great aud rapidly developing country
and its banking and trading metropolis
Almost all of Alaska's gold is shipped
to that city, and nearly all its travel is
to and from that point where the great
er portion of the supplies are procured.
The commission houses of Seattle han
die nearly all of the North Pacific fish
cries products, which themselves con-
stitute most important item of COM
merce. The lumber and timber ship
ments from Puget sound points, Great
ing vast industry and employing an
army of people, centers in Seattle and
nearly all the foreign shipments are
controlled from there.
With all these great commercial adj
vantages, backed by country of won
derful resources, in mines, timber and
agriculture, behind it, what wonder is
it that Seattle has attracted people
whose enterprise is boundless and
whose energy is limitless. This is to
be seen in the rapid growth of the city.
which, in its youthful vigor, sixteen
years ago, was nearly destroyed by fire,
but amidst the expiring embers hum
bred pile drivers we're at work on new
docks, hills began to be torn down to
fill in lower ground, and a city with
massive warehouses, palatial stores
and business buildings, fine public
school and church edifices, sumptuous
hotels, miles and miles of we'll paved
streets and street railways, elegant
homes, beautiful pnblic parks, and an
air of hurry and hustle prevailing
everywhere among its 10000 inhabi-
tants. And what wonder, with the en-
ergy of such people 81 like Seattle"
said lady with our party, "because |
like city where the people do things"
When the worlds financial center
shifts again, as it has shifted within
the last half century, from Amsterdam
to London, thence to New York, look
for it in Seattle, the city which will
dominate the commerce of the Pacific
ocean, soon to outgrow that of all
other seas.
Santa Monica BY thu Sea.