The Thankless Grind of Seattle’s Territorial Delegate

There is probably no more onerous and thankless service in the Government than that of a Delegate in Congress for a Territory. He is called upon to represent a greater variety of public interests and urge a larger number of private claims than any Representative, yet he is without a vote. Mr. Jacobs, under some strange delusion, resigned the honorable position of Chief Justice to accept this position of Delegate. That he has failed in his expectations is now manifest throughout this community; but we earnestly insist that he is in no degree at fault, as no man could do more under the circumstances. The popular censure which is expressed in sneers is the result of ignorance of the difficulties of his situation. During the late Congressional vacation, Judge Jacobs has been in Washington alone and single-handed, contesting, inch by inch, the exorbitant demands of the Northern Pacific Railroad Company for lands they had not earned, and defending the rights of settlers to their homes against the claims of that powerful monopoly. Any attempt to depreciate his services is in direct hostility to our own interests.