The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1905-08-02
Voice Of
the People
Yakima's Opportunity.


To the Editor OF The Herald
In my talk with your reporter, a
few days ago. the essential points
of which you very kindly tried to
publish in the last issue of your
valuable paper. I seem to have failed
to impress him with what. to my
mind, are the most important facts
in relation to this electric railroad
business.
] contend that it takes business
to make city; that that which will
make for business must he de-
sirable, and that the thing which
will make for the most business
must be most desirable and should
be sought after and secured by the
city If it is possible to secure it.
In this case the city has one thing
of value to offer to a suburban cleo
trio road company. and that is a fran
chise TO construct and operate cleo
trio railroads in the streets of the
city.
Such a franchise. if taken by
itself. could not at the present time
be valuable, but it would be valuable
taken in connection with a system of
suburban lines, and when the city
is five times as large as it is now. it
will be a very valuable thing in itself.
The thing for the city to ask just
now is: Where is new and addition
al business to be had?
Every valley in which the Donald
company proposes to build roads is
now tributar yto North Yakima, and
because of physical reasons, must
always remain so. The products of
the farms of the NatcheZ, Cowitche,
Ahtanum and Mckee valleys can not
be taken out of these valleys to any
market except through North Yaki-
ma or YAKIMA City, while below
Union zap lies the vast and wonder
full fruit country of the county which
Is not by nature made tributary to
North Yakima at all. When the
Indian reservation is thrown open,
the products and business of this sec
ton will exceed that of all the val
leys above the Gap put together. A
goodly portion of this business can
be secured by the city of North
Yakima and must be secured by it
or the city can never attain the size
and Importance to which ii can and
should legitimately aspire.
The question now is: Does North
Yakima want this business? There
Is just one way in which it can be had,
and that is by system of electric
railroads running from North Yaki-
ma directly through the whole
region, and it strikes me that fran
chise to use the streets of the city
for railroad purposes should be
granted only upon condition that the
company securing such franchise
should build line to the valley be-
low the Gap as one of its very first
branches and extend them as fast as
practicable, until all the important
points in this territory have been
reached and made tributary to the
city of North Yakima You must
understand that at present North
Yakima has absolutely no strings
upon this business at all We sell
nothing in North Yakima and simply
go there to buy goods and do orr
banking. Our shipping is all done
from the stations along the n. p.
r. r. in this valley and we sell our
products in the Puget Sound cities
or in the east-wherever we can find
market. AS soon as adequate
mercantile and banking institutions
are established here. if nothing is
done to counteract it. all business
with this section will be lost to North
Yakima--and no one will drive
throuhg the dust and mudholes and
over the rocks in our abominable
roads to North Yakima for amuse-
ment, for there is no fun in It,
have been doing ii for fifteen years,
and | know whereof | speak.
The Republic says that Mr.. Donaic
asserts that to build a line of road
into this section at present woulG
not be good business" I believe
that that is a very great mistake. |
believe that line from North Yaki-
ma to eight or ten miles below Zil-
lab. where it would reach the Sun
nyside branch which the n p r. r.
is to build, would be as good IA pay
ing line from the very start. as could
be built, and that it would eventual
ly be the best paying branch of any
system of roads that could be built
from North Yakima. and worth more
to the city than all the rest of the
roads put together.
This stub road, which the y. p.
is to build, | suppose you know. does
not come into any of the fruit sec
tion of this region at all; it runs
from a point two or three miles be-
low Toppenish, passing entirely be-
low the fruit section, through The
hay fields to Sunnyside. Whether