The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-04-02
RICH PRIZEI
HERE
NEW YORK FINANCIAL PA
PER DISCUSSES STATE
ADVANTAGES
savs Washington Has More Pros
meets for Advancement Than
Any Other Section of United
States-Seattle Designated as
LOGICAL Economic Center.

That there is no state in the Union
PROGRESSING as rapidly as Washington
and that Seattle is the economic CEN
tar of the West toward which moneyed
non of the East are looking, and
n-bicb railroad magnates are bending
Ivory effort to reach in order to share
in the business now developing, and
ornected to develop, is the gist of a
long article published in the Wall
STREET Journal under date of March 10.
The article has to do particularly with
tbp conte It between Hill and Hartman
interests in Washington. After dis
cnssing the large sums of money the
Hartman system will spend to reach
Seattle, it says:
"But the prize sought for is rich.
II is probably safe to say that no
state in all the Union is Progressing
as fast as the state of Washington, and
# is almost a unanimous opinion
amongst railroad men in the West,
whether or not they have lines in the
state of Washington, that this parti-
cular country has more prospects for
big advancement and big traffic de-
velopment in the next decade than any
othsr state in the Union. And what
holds true of Washington, holds equal
" true of Seattle, which is going
ahead at rapid rate. For in the
opinion of students of the economic
situation in the West, Seattle is des-
tined to become another, if not a
greater, San Francisco.
''Not only is Washington itself one
of the richest agricultural states in the
Union, but along the eastern slope,
where the Northern Pacific now runs,
and where the UnionsPacific will run,
there stands between 100000, OOO,0 600
and 400. 900, 900, 900 feet of lumber.
''The Hill lines have received there
in the past more lumber than they
could possibly haul out During a
large part of the past decade, west
bound business to Washington has been
light. But there has been large in
crease in population and the state is
becoming great distributing field
for the manufactured products of the
Middle West.
Says Seattle Is Logical Center
THE center of this distributing
field is Seattle. Merchants and job
bers of Seattle can send their stuff 400
miles east to Spokane, and even be-
yond that, and throughout the state of
Washington distribute their goods and
successfully compete with Spokane.
In fact it was in this very question
that the recent controversy arose,
which was settled by the recent decis-
ion of the interstate commerce COM
mission in the famous Spokane rate
case. 1t still leaves Seattle in a posi-
ton to compete with Spokane in the
very territory of Spokane
There is no doubt that the Union
Pacific will divide with the Hill lines
its portion Of the enormous Washing
ton business. Its new line from Seattle
to Portland and from Portland along
the south bank of the Columbia river,
over the Oregon Railroad & Naviga-
ton Company and southwark to the
main lines Of the Union Pacific at
Granger, will, unless operating stand
ards 60 down, constitute the cheapest
line from the standpoint of cost to
the railroad. of any of the transconti-
mental lines; and Judging by operating
results today, there is much more
money Oh the same volume of traffic
LOT the Union Pacific in it's long haul
business from Washington to the East
and vice versa, than there is for any
competitor,
Similarly, the Union Pacific, with
lts lines through Nevada, Utah, Col
orado, and thence in network
tnroughout the Middle West, has dis
Tloutlng facilities for the products Of
washington equalled by nc: other trans
continental line. And with it's affil-
lated subsidiary lines it can gather up
ana deliver in Washington the pro.
uucts OF manufacture which that state
requires from the Middle West and
East. -
s25,OO0,OOO Already Expended
Inc statement is made that the Har-
n oman M road has already expended 81 o.
ovo'ooo around Puget sound and else
s s,iere Ior terminal facilities, and that
s-V'ooo, 700 more will be spent in de-
seloping these properties and in con-
9nructlng a line of railroad between
Portland and Seattle.
The new line which the Hartman
people will build to Puget sound, ''con-
,lnues the article, will closely paral-
.el the Northern Pacific, and, in fact,
ior Large part of the way the two
aines Will be between Portland and Sc
a1tle within eyesight.
The cost of the new line will be
very large. Terminal facilities of the
oA'enslve kind that the Hartman roads
i0Uulr9 will oon g. nnn nnn TIL 4,