The west shore., February 01, 1886, Page 42, Image 2

THE WEST SHORE.
42
Tho oxtomtion of railroads, tho gradual reduction in cost
of transportation, and the increasing facilities for hand
ling diwH mi, nil tond to incroaao the demand,
erytliing Iming oomiiderod, it would aeora that ton yearn
henoe the btwf market will not 1e go bully glutted as to
toko all the profit out of the (dock business.
TilB enchantment of distance ia Im-IUt illustrated by
tho many mining excitements tho Pacific Count has wit
iiihmh1 than by any other event in the history of the No
tion. The diHwitioti to believe that tho mines tho most
diHlant and moat difficult to reach are tho richest, Booms
to xi universal. This season Alaska will occupy a largo
share of public attention, simply liecauso its distance and
tho fact that m little is known nlxmt it, combine to charm
tho Imagination and excite tho credulity of th(we who
aeom to 1)0 unwilling to learn a lesson from hiHtory. On
another ago will I hi found a Htotcmcnt of tho mineral re
source of Alaska, and thn nature of tho country in which
they ex int. If, iikjii roading that, any ono shall decide
to paaa by tho numerous mining diHtricta of the Coast,
which are convenient of access and easy to get away from,
and wIiono richness u not a matter of doubt, and seek tho
gold field of Alaska, ho will at leant lo able to start with
aotno idea of tho probable chances formiccoHB and tho na
ture of tho obstacles to 1m encountered. Alaska may,
eventually, prove to Iks tho greatest gold-producing re
gion yet diaeovorod, and, in fact, it now imsum'shcs tho
richest quart mino in tho world; but Bummer ia not
made by a dingle swallow. It ia known xwitively that
placer gold is diffused over a rant region, but its concen
tration iu g(Hil ying quantities in any particular Bxt
ha not yet been ascertained, and until that ia done none
but Mperiouced proajectora, .well aware of tho Bjmcial
iianUliiM they will lie called uixm to endure, and tho un
usually rugginl naturo of the country, ahould venture into
that region. hen it ia known lieyond a doubt that rich
and extensive plaoera have Imcii found, it will bo time
enough for Ion exenonoed men to court tho fickle jad
in that fur region, whore failure moana more than it ever
did in any mining camp on the Pacifio Count
Home of tho decisions made by Land CommiHaioner
Narlu hare rawed conNiderablo commotion in tho Meat,
not alone among "land sharka" and "tiiiilxr thiwes,"
but ainimif lifimyit iiIiLm : i - ,
....... mm iiiiiin-viH imrcniwors as
welt ihe most recent one ()( uto H t,0 r(Twt tmt
the Northern Pacific ha no land grant U-tween Portland
and Paget Hound. The original act of ISM provide
for a main line acros tho (Wades to pU(.et Sound, Rd
author down the Colmnbi. to Portland, a land grant pro
vision acoo.n,nying it Tho act of authorial tho
ftmatruction of a road from lwiand to Puget Sound, but
d.dn.HmUun a land grant clause, and Commissioner
Brki hold, that none waa implied, and that tho former
Brant can not U extend, J to attach to the latter
line, Thn. ia, of courao, . legal question, and if the de
cern of the Umumamonof 1 tntU , &
W. will have to be upon by the Supreme
Court of the United States. In that event, even should
the final decision be favorable to the company and to the
holders of land along this line under purchase from the
Northern Pacific, the' delay and uncertainty of titles must
have a most harmful effect upon Tacoma and other towns
located partially upon railroad land. Few people will in
vest in land with such a cloud upon the title. Should
the final docision be averse to the company and the set
tlers upon the lands, Congress will probably pass an act
relieving innocent purchasers, as much as possible, from
the effects of the decision, either by confirming their titles
or by allowing them an opportunity to purchase again
from tho Government at a nominal prica Such a meas
ure would be but simple justice to bona fide purchasers
from the company. In any event it is a serious compli
cation, and traffic in town lots in towns effected by it will
be at a low ebb until the question is finally determined.
Politics force party men into many inconsistent and
undignified positions, but in spite of this they seem to
worship the party idol with all the blind devotion of the
typical heathen who raged and imagined a vain thing.
An illustration of this is the captious opposition to the
admission of several Territories, now being made in Con
gress by men representing States which, at the time of
their admission, wore much less qualified for Statehood
than these new applicants. They then possessed far less
population, wealth and prospects of rapid and permanent
growth, and, indeed, even now, are threatened with being
soon surpassed by these Territories their representatives
affect to lxk down upon.
The loading Republic of the world, the boasted cham
pion and personification of equal rights and popular gov
ernment, presonta to mankind an elevating example when
it makes the admission of a fully qualified Territory de
pendent upon its possible political action. These men
seem to forgot that States are neither Ethiopians nor
leopards, whose political skins and spots are unchange
able, and that Washington, Dakota and Montana will be
powerful members of the Union when the Republican
and Democratic parties are but a memory. It is of far
more importance to the people of the United State ho1
these aspirants for Statehood stand on the questions of
silver coinogo, tariff, honest government and the protec
tion of the individual from the oppression of monopolies, .
ilmn choir possible temporary attitude toward the two po
litical parties now fighting each other for the spoil of
ollico. Yet, since such is the condition of affairs, it is to
lie IioikhI that tho political scales mav be no evenlv bal
anced by the skillful party manipulators at Washington,
as to give these Territories the recognition they justly
claim. Dakota is Ilonnhlicnn. Mnnfjinn ia Tlamncrntifl.
and Washington may be said to be doubtful, since it
elected a Republican Legislature and a Democratic Dele
gate to Congress. A compromise may be effected by
hich all three may be admitted; giving each party od
btate and a chance to capture the third one, until such
time, haopily not far distant, when live questions, not
kept under by the fast-failing strength of party worship,
shall rise to the surface and change the political charac
ter of them alL