Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1907-10-16
GREAT FUTURE FOR ADOPTED CITY.
Cal plain Silbaugh Writes of Seattle and
the Growing. Booming West.

SEATTLE WASHINGTON, Oct. z, 1907.
EDITOR CENSOR: Some time ago |
gave you few facts concerning Puget
Sound. | told you that at some future
time | would write you letter concern
ing Seattle, but other things have pre-
vented my starting att up to this time
Mr.. Stoddard, the great traveller and
lecturer, stated few years ago, that
in his opinion there would be three
great cities in the United States, name
": New York, Chicago and Seattle,
and keen observers who have seen the
Queen City are quite generally of the
opinion that this will be one of the
great cities of the future. In the first
place this is very attractive country,
and statistics tells us that but one per
cent. of the people who come here to
lice ever return east to make il their
home again. There are four great
cities in the far west namely: Los
Angeles, San Francisco, Portland and
Seattle, and Seattle has pushed by
most of them, and is gradually over
taking the others. Seattle now has a
population Of 24l, $50 and her business
and population are both growing enor-
mously. There are SO many reasons
for Seattle's phenomenal growth that
hardly know where to begin in a letter
as short as this one necessarily must be.
In the first place, think what is known
here, and fairly well of the country, as
the Seattle spirit" has had a good
deal to do with it, almost every one that
lives here is an enthusiast, loyal, and
really seems to feel that Seattle has
all other towns distanced. Men of
mems and standing in the business
world have unbounded confidence in
Seattle's future, and never hesitate to
invest in real estate or in business in
terprise. This will make a town. Dur
ing the panic the bankers hung to-
gether, and the banks pulled through
without failure, and this spirit of har-
mony and united action has done much
during the years IN building up Seattle.
When anything is wrong they get busy
and correct it. Last summer the coni-
mission men combined and raised the
price of vegetables, and the newspapers,
chamber of commerce and city council
promptly took up the matter and es-
tablished a public market where the
consumer could buy vegetables direct
without any middlemen's profit. The
coal trust has been exactIng extortiOn-
ate prices and the citizens have taken
up the matter and organized company
10 handle coal without profit, and this
ought TO reduce the price at least one
third to the consumer. | cite these as
few of the many examples that have
come under my notice during my brief
stay here, where determined and
united effort have been made to give
the citizens a chance TO reap the nigh
.est benefits that the natural resources
of this country entities them.
Seattle is the business center for the
great lumber industry of western Wash
ington. There are in the state about
800 saw mills and shingle mills, with a
capacity of about 1000, 900 feet Of
lumber, a little more than this of
shingles Mines and mining IS one Of
the chief industries of Washington.
Coal fields Of Washington cover an area
Of several thousand square miles, and
it is Of "A very good quality. Seattle
has almost unlimited water power,
and about 300 manufacturers, with a
capital Of about $2D, 600 900 invested.
The city owns Is own electric lights,
and city water system. The water sur
ply is obtained from the Cedar River
where il emerges from the mountain
and the quality can not be excelied on
this continent as any one who has ever
been in Seattle will bear witness. j
was told by a man well informed that
no city in the United States of the
same size has as mary resources as the
city Of Seattle, ard | believe this TO be
trut. If we had no other resource the
Alapka trade alone would make her a
crre.,t city I Wpuld not vouCh for the
correctness Of it. but ! am told that
A&ska trade Is only two per cent. less
than all The South American countries,