Year: 1875




Seattle. ". T.. New. Is. ls35.


Dismemberment Of the Terri.


tory.


Brother Newell of the Walla Walla
Statesman. wants divorce. That is. he
10 at outs with Washington Territory
and has taken . fancy to Oregon. Sach
fancies sometimes seize old men, and
can almost always be attributed, as in
this instance, to unfounded jealousy,
or . morbid, restless. unreasoning
desire for chAnge-inarmities from
which the venerable editor is not entire
" exempt in his personal relations; a..
for example. it was not great while
since rue ored that he desired to change
his present residence and business from
Walls Valla, where he has been remark
ably successful and prosperous some
other field where his chances Of success
would be greatly diminished, to which
change his fancy. not his reason. led
him. All of his arguments in favor OF
divorcing his county from Washington
Territory and annexing it to Oregon. are
of fsnciful character. The suggestion
that tho people of Puget Sound are in
The least degree Indifferent or hostile to
The interests of that section Of the Terri
tory lying east of the mountains. is
pureiy fanciful, without a single fact at
-its base. No two sections of . common
wealth were more indisolubly joined to-
eether in common sympathy. growing
out of reciprocal interests. No public
measure is held paramount by the uni
ted people of Puget Sound to that Of
establishing facilities of commercial in
tereourss between these two sections,
and nothing would more greatly add to
the prosperity of both in the interchange
of commodities Of which each has an
abundance in part and each deficient in
part. The people Of Walla Walla have
the finest gram on the Continent, with
a great deficiency of timber. fael and
market facilities. The people of Puget
Sound have inexhaustible forests and
coal fields bordering upon ocean ports
convenient to the commerce of the
world. and are bending all their ener-
pies and limited resources to establish
ing railroad connection between these
two sections, which will be of as great ad-
vantage to Walla Walla as to this section.
The construction of this road is but
question of time in the near future. A
line of railroad commanding such an
interchange of trade is not now unoc-
cupied in the world, and cannot much
longer fail TO command the attention of
capital and enterprise. The cotton of
the Statesman, in his own restless and
unhappy frame Of mind. is seeking to
divert the attention of the people Of that
section TO the Columbia River route,
now and heretofore, controlled by q
monopoly which almost exhausts and
.absorbs the profits of all the productive
labor OF the people, and for which there
Il no remedy but an unparalleled ap-
preparation from Congress, which it is
folly to expect. to be followed by years
of labor to make it available; and when
all this is accomplished they have access
only to hazardous and expensive sea-
port, closed to them for a portion of
every year. Long before this will or
can be done. the people of Eastern
Washington will have direct railroad
communication with their own seaport
on Puget Sound, where they will not
only find ready and productive mar
ket for their wheat, but an abundant and
cheap supply of lumber and fuel which
they cannot procure from any other
source.


But the most impraeticable and sense
less of all these suggestions is that of
political alliance as remedy Of COM
mercial ills; that if that section belon-
ged to Oregon, the Portland monopo-
lists would relax their grasp upon the
throats Of the people; that Portland
merchants would sell them goods cheap |
or and Portland bankers let them have
money at nominal rates of interest.
Commerce and capital have no soul or
sentiment; where patriotism and pride
come in, trade ceases its vocation, which |
is to make money. Merchants, ban
kers and monopolists may personally |
have patriotic, benevolent and senti- |
mental emotions. but they cesse to be
business men when they allow this ma
ture to interfere with their bargains. 1t
10 folly to believe that the merchants OF
Portland would not do as much to Sc
cure the trade of the residents Of this
Territory as they wonld 20 secure the
trade of residents of their own State.
The people generally in their political
associstions are actuated by digerent
sentiments.