The Washington herald., 1915-09-05
LOOPING NORTH AMERICA
W--SEVEN STEPS TO GREATNESS

dens around it, and on top OF the no.
tel is a huge. octagonal dining room
with wide windows all around it.
know of no other dining room in the
| world where there is such wonderful
| view. At your feet the city falls
| down step by step to The great harbor
| with its wooded islands and head
| lands. On two sides. snowcapped
mountain ranges. the Olympic and the
| Cascades, fringe the horizon. while
i half dozen fresh water lakes stretch
! their arms through the country back
of the city. These lakes are only a
few feet above sea level, but are OF
the purest fresh water. So good is the
| Seattle water that the steamship COM
panies load their boats here with wa
ter to use all up and down the long
Pacific seaboard.
Seated opposite me at one of the
window tables, enjoying the view, was
Maj Hempill, formerly of the Eng
| lish East Indian service, but now a
| loyal American and A devoted Seattle
| lite.
Perhaps the most remarkable thing
about thisaplace." said he. lis that
there is absolutely nobody out of en-
ployment. There is always work for
everybody. Also there is no leisure
class. Everybody works and while
| there are many wealthy people here
there are no idle rich. An idler would
be despised and almost ostracized.
There is very little crime, very little
! drunkenness in spite of the fact that
the State has voted to be prohibition
beginning with the first of next year.
There is a spirit Of patriotism and
stalwart Americanism in this part of
the country that is inspiring. To my
mind. the real force of Americanism.
which in short time will make this
the greatest country in the world. Is
now most in evidence out here. This
Northwest is now to the rest of the
country what New England was a
century ago. It's new. virile. honest
and steadfast. 1t has that optimism.
enthusiasm and compelling force which
only youth possesses. Everybody sue
ceeds according to his endeavors. We
don't know what hard times are"
l believe this too. The city looks It.
AS, for instance, there is a large de-
partment store that would rank high
in New York or Chicago, we'll stock
two proprietors Same over from Swe-
den a few years ago as emigrants
without dollar to their names, no
friends, no education. They worked
on ranches or at anything until one
started a little secondhand furniture
store. He sent for his friend, who could
write better, and they became part
ners. Today they are merchant princes.
This all happened since we began to
head letters nineteen hundred. No
streak of luck, no boom. just straight
sticking to business.
l asked one of the leading business
men in Seattle what was the vital
topic here and he answered.:
Alaska. We are the port of Alaska.
its clearing house, and it means a
great future. Alaska now has a pop
ulation of only $4,000. and it can sup
port a million. While there is lot
of good farming land there the sea-
son is too short to make raising grain
for export feasible. 1t can raise
enough for home support. however.
The big exports are the mineral
wealth, which has only been scratched.
and the fisheries. The timber is out
of the question. There is no big tim
ber in Alaska to begin with and we
supply of il around here"
II San Franrisrn whom any one
wants to take a trip. he goes to Hon
olulu. To Fasteners going to Hon
olulu seems like going to the end of
the earth. Not SO in San Francisco.
They think no more of it than New
Workers do of going to Atlantic City
or Chicagoans to French Lick. Now
up in Seattle they go to Alaska in
stead. Everybody has been or intends
to go to Alaska. It's as popular as
going to hear Billy Sunday and no.
body looks on it as a hard trip at all
Neither is IT. There are excellent
steamer accommodations and thou