The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1911-06-02

The building OF an iron or steel smell
ter at Leavenworth has been more or
less OF a puzzle to many of our own
people, while the country at large has
taken little if any interest in the an
nouncement. This is scarcely 10 be
wondered at. Iron and steel plants on
the Pacific coast have in the past been
unsuccessful for various reasons, not the
least OF which was that they have been
promoted by spectators whose princi-
pal object seems to have been to sell
stock and work the stockholders rather
than to make steel and iron. The Echo
has in the past made frequent mention
of the Washington Steel and from Com
pany and what it was doing, as matter
of news. 1t has always been the policy
of this paper to withhold Endorsement
Of any project until it could assure itself
that the enterprise was along legitimate
lines and that its promoters were enti-
tied to the confidence and respect of
the public. The project of the Wash
ington Steel and Iron Company has now
progressed far enough so that we may
tell the result of our investigations,
which have been as thorough as it was
found possible to make them, covering
period of more than six months.
1t is now some nine months since
the announcement was first made by the
Washington Steel and Iron Company,
corporation with its head Office in Spo-
kane, that it had decided to build a
steel smelling plant at Leavenworth.
The announcement, while it sounded
good, was accepted by many as an i'm
practical scheme-either the dream OF
visionary or the scheme OF Walling-
ford. There are still some who have
no faith in the enterprise and do not
hesitate to scoff at the idea of steel
plant at a small inland town. There are
others, though, among these the writer,
who said little for a time, other than
that he wished the enterprise success
and that he followed the uniform Gus
tom Of helping in every way in his
power all legitimate movements that
had for their object the development Of
the resources of this country.
Dropping now the impersonal for the
personal pronoun, l have learned from
experience that a proposition that may
appear to me to be wholly impracticable
and visionary may to another, who has
given the matter thought and honest
investigation, seem perfectly reasonable
and entirely practical. For this reason
I withheld positive opinion until such
time as I could make an investigation
OF, not only the merits and character Of
the promoters, but also the possibilities
Of their making success of the steel
industry at this place.
l have ever been suspicious Of your
smooth, oily-tongued, well-dressed, we'll
fed promoter, who goes about the coun-
try talking glibly and volubly about his
enterprise and gets in with certain
prominent local men who, for consid-
Grafton, of which the public knows moth
ing, is willing to help boost good
thing" along. Usually the local club
of boosters is approached for an indorse-
ment and the gift OF a tract OF land as
an Offset against locating GREAT EN-
TERPRISE in the town. Quite often
the public is entirely uninformed OF the
real parties behind the scheme, but
meets only the very smooth agent Of
the promoters, who themselves are too
great and have too much business to
devote any time to small undertakings
that involve only few paltry millions
OF dollars. After the first and second
stages of the proceedings have passed