The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-10-27
After Many
Years
Puget Sound Climate
And Railroad STOCK
Climate Remained But
Stock Vanished
What Aristotle Knew
About Horses
BY T. 7. SHORT

WHEN counting your blessings
w don't overlook this beautiful
fan weather. There are few To-
calities where the climate Is more
desirable than right here on the
wonderful body of water named
for Peter Puget, a Britisher.
And speaking of climate. the
sslubrity Of the Puget Sound re-
gion was one of the influences
which helped Jay Cooke build up
the financial machine which start
ed the Northern Pacific toward
a Puget Sound terminus at Ia
coma. That we didn't keep II, is
no fault Of one of the country's
most spectacular and successful
promoters of three generations
ago.
Discovery that we had sort Of
meteorological it which would
appeal to frost bitten and sun
scorched fasteners was made by
young Sam Wilkerson, a super
press agent of that period when
the 'robber barons" were just be-
ginning to tap the easy money
springs. Cooke sent wilkerson 10
Puget Sound to spy out the land. 4"
and the story the scouts OF Israel
told about the land flowing with
milk and honey had nothing on
the report Wilkerson made about
Puget Sound. particularly the
climate.
Nothing on the American
continent TO equal IT," he
wrote Cooke. 'The empire OF
the Pacific Is enthroned on
Puget Sound. Jay, we have
got the biggest thing North
ern Pacific) on earth. Our
enterprise II an inexhaustible
gold mine"
Wilkerson was an associate Of
Horace Greeley and Henry Ward
Beecher. and he used them to help
spread the wonderful story of
Puget Sound and sweeten the
path of the promoters who were
selling Cookies railroad stocks and
bonds. The same story, supple
mented by generous blocks of
stock, helped get the Northern
Pacific railroad bill through con-
gress in 1870.
For the enlightenment Of men,
bers Of congress who did not fully
realize the great boon Cooke was
bestowing on the country in pro-
noting construction Of the rail-
road to Puget Sound, a small block
Of stock or a couple of bonds suf-
ficed. But in dealing with men
Of the type of Henry Ward
Beecher and Horace Greeley, who
were not averse to turning an
honest penny but also had ideals,
something else was necessary and
that something was the delight
fully mild climate and ideal liv-
ing conditions on Puget Sound so
geographically described by Sam
Wilkerson.
So, to promote the happi-
ness of the human race, DIR.
Beecher, so the story goes,
accepted" $4,000 worth of
Northern Pacific stock in re-
turn for which he was TO con-
tribute 10 that happiness by
publication Of glowing reports
Of the Puget Sound country
In his Christian Union.
Mr.. Greeley, with the same
thought In mind, accepted"
$4,000 worth of railroad
stock and began telling the
world Of the new paradise on
Puget Sound and advising
young men to ego west"
AS II turned out, a block of
Puget Sound climate proved TO
be of more value than some of
the stock, for Cooke fell upon evil
days and his huge structure, top
heavy as insults many years later,
crashed. The stock disappeared,
but the climate is still here.
OF course, once in a great many
years Dame Natures foot may
slip, and the lilies nesting among
the shrubbery and the rose buds
along the parkway may catch cold,
but when it comes to year in and
year out climate, summer and
winter, with a bunch Of the old
lady's scenery thrown in for good
measure. we've got the world beat.
What we need is another Jay
Cooke To capitalize II.
Coming and Going
For horseback riders: Two Of
the greatest men in history were
good horsemen. Aristotle, the
first school teacher and a great
scientist, taught school out Of
doors. Among other things be re-
CURED his pupils TO ride horseback.
II was Aristotle who taught
Alexander the Great to ride the
horse. Bucephalus. He stood be-
side the corral while Alexander
demonstrated in his first lesson
not too successfully.
Aristotle wrote a book of a
thousand pages on the horse and
said all there was TO say on the
animal that has played such an