The Chamber of Commerce Backs the Seattle, Walla Walla and Baker City Railroad
A new report argues that the construction of a cross-state railroad is essential to securing Seattle's industrial future.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Some time ago, Judge Jacobs, A. S. Miller, and John Collins, members of the Chamber of Commerce in this city, were appointed a committee to confer with the Directors of the Seattle, Walla Walla and Baker City Railroad Company. The report, signed by Judge Jacobs and A. S. Miller, treats of the reasons why the bituminous coal fields directly east of this city should be tributary to Seattle. It details that $135,000 has already been secured toward the $300,000 required for the first forty-mile section. The report argues that this section would be one of the best-paying roads in the United States, given the lumber and coal interests involved. Furthermore, it highlights vast quantities of magnetic iron ores, gypsum, and marble located along the projected route, noting that the circulating medium of a nation is often in direct proportion to the iron it manufactures. The Chamber concludes that the construction of such a road, by whomsoever built, is a matter of the first importance to the future prosperity and growth of the city.
“The report argues that this road, with its ultimate distribution, by whomsoever built, must, in the very nature of the case, be a matter of the very first importance to the people of this city.”
This 1883 report highlights the long-standing Seattle obsession with 'boosterism' and industrial infrastructure as the key to civic dominance. The focus on coal, iron, and a rail line to Eastern Washington set the stage for Seattle's evolution into a regional transit hub—a struggle for connectivity that continues to define the city's growth today.
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