Indiana daily times., 1921-09-30
SEATTLE In
LONG STRIDE
OF RECOVERY
Ship Building Activity
Source Of Wartime
Prosperity.
COMMERCE GAINS
Cost of Living Light,
Labor Conditions
I Improve.
Special to Indiana Daily Times
md Philadelphia Public Ledger.
BY RICHARD SPILLANE


md Philadelphia Public Ledger.
BY RICHARD SPILLANE
SEATTLE, Wash. Sept. 3O.-Seat-
tie, like Rome, sits Oh seven hills.
Any one desirous OF taking a primary
course in mountain climbing can get
it here. Puget Sound IS the front
yard Of the city and Lake Washing
ton its rear-salt water and tidal
forces on one side and still water
and great beauty Of landscape on the
other. A ship canal joins the sound
and the lake, part Of its route being
Through Lake Union. OF in the dis
5tance is Mt. Rainier, tallest noun
40 IN the Republic, snow-capped
majestic.
eattleites like to refer to their
- as the New York of the West.
as some of the spirit and color Of
great metropolis.
<kE1 the war period Seattle was tre-
spusly active Here was the center
- Cden ship building, together with a
<< ~ bra BILE construction Of steel ships.
H4$ks five Of the wooden ships lsshed
x5<~f& side are anchored in Lake Union
= Iute evidence Of the waste of that
- Of vessel. The great shipyards are
go except for repair work. The large
SXrces employed in rush orders in the
spruce and fir forests are scattered. Ocean
commerce has had a severe depression
PRONOUNCED RECOVERY
FROM DEPRESSION.
From all these elements It would seem
as If Seattle should be pretty hard hit.
The impression outside is that Seattle is
suffering from flying too high and falling
very low. Unquestionably the city few
high but from the depression that fol
lowed there has been a pronounced re
coverv. Unemployment estimates range
from 5000 to 1900, which isn't high IN
these times for a city Of 315,000 people.
Investigation shows business generally
to be in a healthy and improving state
If there is anything the matter with Sc
attle It is not apparent.
There is a great diversity o. industries
-shipyards, dry docks, foundrles'
snelters. packing houses, osnneries, -four
mills, tool machine making plants, clay
products, textile mills, rope cordage
shoe factories, furniture works, soap
plants. boiler works and scores Of other
establishments.
There is nothing Ike the normal
amount Of trans Pacific commerce.. but
there are signs Of It picking up. Cargoes
Of silk are coming once more and six
specials are running on express train
schedule across the continent. lmpor-
tation OF soy beans for the soay making
concerns Of the Middle West are assuming
considerable dimensions. Douglas fir IS
going to Asia in big quantities.
IMPROVEMENT
IN SHIPPING.
The great piers that are the pride of
Seattle have comparatively few vessels
taking or discharging cargoes, but there
are more vessels in service no" than
Nsssouye months ago and shipping men re-
port slow but steady improvement in
both the coastwise and overseas traffic.
One thing noticeable to 8 visitor from
the East is that the cost Of living is
much lower on the Pacific coast than the
Atlantic seaboard The bungalow type
Of house predominates. It sells and rents
at prices that surprise the easterner.
Foodstuffs, particularly fruits and
vegetables, are cheap and very cheap,
according to eastern standards. The pub
lie markets are much better conducted
than those east Of the AIlegha1ies.
The explanation for low rents IS prob
ably cheap IuElber and plenty Of land.
The explanations Of cheap fruits and
vegetables is the immense production
here.
But wages are not low.
LABOR SITUATION
SHOWS CHANGE.
Anna reurTw q TFablA Cha0NA has
come in the labor situation. Seattle got
considerable notoriety as an l. W. W.
hotbed Today the open shop rules even on
the waterfront Reports from the lum
ber districts are that in some instances
workers voted a reduction in wages so
the plants could compete with Eastern
and Southern lumber despite the very
high railroad rates.
As TO local conditions irdustrially,
financially, commercially and otherwise,
the following is a digest Of a statement
made to your representative by II. z. |
Erling, vice president OF the Chicago, !
milwaukee & Puget Sound Railway Z.
G. Anderson, president Of the Western
Dry Goods Company; A. B. Stewart,
president Of the Stewart & Holmes,
Wholesale Druggists; d. z. Frederick. |
president Of the Frederick & Nelson Com
pany, one of the largest department
stores on the coast; Z. G. AcNicken, gen
eral passenger agent Admiral Line, run
ming ships to Alaska, Asia and coast
wise; 2. L. Carey, Northern Pacific
Railway; Judge George T. Donworth
Nathan Eekstein, largest grocery whole
saler in the Northwest; John P. Hart
man, lawyer and farmer; E. II. Thomas.
Puget Sound Power and Light Company
". II. Clist, building contractor; W. I.
Rhodes, department store, and Hans
Peterson, contractor.
Drugs-sales 755 per cent below last
year in volume and IS per cent below in
dollars August showed 10 per cent bet
Continued on Psxe FifteenN