The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1910-10-21
SAMUEL HILL RAPS
RAILROADS
SPEECH AT GoLDENDALE FRIDAY
NIGHT CAUSES sENsA-
TIoN.


cessions, They Will Seriously
Consider Taking Over Properties
Themselves.
Seattle, Oct. 1.-THE Times prints
the following dispatch from Golden.
dale, Wash:
Samuel Hill, son-in-law of James J.
Hill, and for years a prominent figure
in the railroad world, created sensa.
ton here Friday night in speech de-
nouncing the management of the
Great Northern, the Northern Pacific
and Hartman lines, for a policy that
has retarded the development OF
Washington and Oregon.
Mr.. Hills speech came at the close
of a meeting of the Southwestern De-
velopment League, to which delegates
had been sent from all towns in the
southwestern part of the state, Port
land, Seattle and Tacoma. Mr.. Hill,
who resides in Seattle, attended the
meeting as honorary president of the
state Good Roads Association. and as
the head of the Maryhill Land Com
pany, which is developing about 5000
acres of land in this county.
In his speech, Mr.. Hill declared that
Capitalization of control in the Pacific
roads among Eastern capitalists, who
had no conception of the Western
country and no interest in the develop
ment either of Washington or Ore
gon, was responsible for retarding the
growth of these states.
Mr.. Hill declared that the wave of
insurgency, which had spread through
this country, is traceable to the fact
that railroad and other public service
corporations have refused to listen to
pleas of the public for fair deal. Mr..
Hill charged that failure of railroads
in this stae to encourage development
is responsible for much of the unrest
shown by the people.
May Force Public Control.
Unless the railroads will manifest a
deeper interest in the welfare of the
people of the Northwest, Mr.. Hill de-
clared that it would be necessary for
the legislatures of Oregon and Wash
ington to enlarge the powers of their
railroad commissions and to compel
the roads to give attention to the needs
of the two states. Mr.. Hill asserted
that unless this is done and remedies
can be had through the railroad COM
missions, the people must seriously
consider proposition to take over the
transcontinental lines themselves.
The speech of MT. Hill created ire
mendous sensation among the dele
gates to the development leagues
meeting and among the people who at
tended the closing session. Aside from
his relationship to the chairman of the
board of directors for the Great North
ern, Mr.. Hill is an old railroad man
himself and leader in the good roads
movement, not only in this state, but
throughout the country. He has been
one of the prime movers in the organi-
cation of the International Good Roads
Congress and was speaking officially
in his denunciation of the railroads OF
the Northwest.
Samuel Hill has filed practically
every important post with the Great
Northern and is intimately acquainted
with that roads policy. He interested
James J. Hill in the good roads move
ment and has induced the Great North
ern's chief to give closer personal at
tention to all development movements
in the territory traversed by that road.
Big Man in Great Northern.
During the time he was identified
with the Great Northern Mr.. Hill rose
to the general management of the
Montana lines, and at one time was re-
garded as the principal operating OFF,
cial of the Great Northern. He was
the purchaser of the Minneapolis ter
minals and the inspiration of the
scheme for joint terminal facilities in
the Twin Cities.
When Samuel Hill quit the railroad
service to come to the coast he aban-
doned all connections with the Great
Northern. Mr.. Hills first work in the
West was the reorganization Of the Sc
attic gas plant, and until he closed out
his gas plant interests was not active
" identified with other interests in the
state. Since then, however, Mr.. Hill
has become one of the most extensive
land owners in Washington.
For several years Samuel Hill has
been on the brink of an open rupture
with high railroad officials OF lines IN
washington and Oregon. Mr.. Hill has
insisted that the railroads were not
manifesting any interest in the perma-
lnent development of the state, and that
they should do SO, because the railroad
interests are dependent wholly upon
| the success OF the agricultural dis
tricts.
Fight on Younger Hill.
It is an open secret in railroad cir-