Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1912-02-24
Immigration TO
THE NORTH west
THIS TOPIC subject OF AN
INTERESTING ADDRESS
AT TACOMA MEET.
Says over 100000 Persons Were In
duced to Locate in Zone of Plenty"
During Last Ten Years-Tells How It
Was mplished-Problem Now Is
More People and More Money.

Was omplished-Problem Now Is
More People and More Money.
Tacoma, Wash.-Discussing "What
Immigration Has Accomplished for the
North Pacific Country" at the Pacific
Northwest immigration convention in
Tacoma the afternoon of February 21,
Waldo G. Paine, vice president and
traffic manager of the Spokane & Inland
Empire Electric railway system and
president of the Transportation club of
Spokane, said, in part:
Population Doubled in Ten Years.
Census figures taken in 1910 show
that the state of Washington has more
than doubled its entire population since
1900, California has gained a million,
Oregon and Idaho have developed rap
idly and the territory of Alaska and
the province of British Columbia also
made great strides. Briefly stated, be-
tween 2,25O,OOO and 100000 persons
were induced to locate in this zone of
plenty during the last 10 years
" How was it accomplished
" Men with intelligent initiative, SUI
perior enterprise and aggressive activity
started things and put the waking up
process into practical operation.
"What did they do9
Every Community Helped.
''They got together. Practically every
community had a part in this remark
able contest for expansion The live
ones, the real property gatherers, inter
ested others in the climatic and soil
conditions, their big potatoes and other
vegetables, peaches, pears, berries and
melons, their superior wheat, barley,
oats, hay and hops, their live stock,
their fisheries, their minerals, their lum
Der, their undeveloped water powers and
other natural resources, and gradually
but surely evolved a sort of an endless
chain of systematic boosting, in which
the big transportation companies played
prominent parts.
Total Wealth
Substantial cities have been built,
rural communities have been estab-
lished, transportation facilities have
made possible the development by settle
ment of large areas of land formerly
looked upon as worthless; water powers,
idle for centuries, have been harnessed
to turn thousands of wheels to convert
the raw materials of fields, forest and
mines into finished products, with the
result that the total wealth produced in
the four states and the territory of
Alaska and our neighboring province
was a matter of more than 5000, 900 900
in 1871.
The Past a Lesson.
Judging the future by the past and
taking into consideration the fact that
so far we have only scratched the sur
face of our riches, it may be said that
today the North Pacific country is at
the threshold of an era of marvellous
possibilities in growth and development
"a flood in the tide of its progress
when the best thought and energy of it's
people must be devoted solely to the
work at hand if we are to utilize the
great opportunities presented and reap
the rich harvest it promises in adding
TO our population and wealth produc-
tion.
1--WE are living in an age of daring
and tremendous achievement period
that demands the highest constructive
ability. We cannot put too much, stress
upon the Importance of acting conserva-
lively, intelligently and yet, at the same
time, aggressively, in taking advantage
of the many opportunities presented on
all sides for working out a better and
more homogeneous development
Work With Harmony.
But let us first establish harmony
and understanding and community of
plan and operation in this territory of
identical interests, so that all may profit
by united action. The future growth of
the Pacific coast country must neees-
sarily be intensive rather than extern
sive, so that our agricultural develop
ment, the back bone of permanent pros
perity may go on indefinitely.
Chief Problems.
Probably the chief problems of OBJ
vious Importance confronting the west
ern country today are the increasing of
the opportunities for our people to ac
quire homes and making possible
larger acre production of our staple
crops. Then, too, the Pacific country
needs more people and more money. Di-
verting only half of the present tourist
travel from Europe TO the west would
hold in circulation S25O,OOO, 900 now an
nuaily spent abroad by the people of
America, and a wider knowledge of the
west on the part of the people would
compel congress to abandon its long
continued policy of indifference and neg
lect of our public parks and other re-
sources.
Scientists tell us that motion, the
forerunner of modern transportation, is