The Fight for Seattle’s Railroad Future

An ex-member of Congress, writing from Washington, expresses his support for Seattle’s position against the Northern Pacific Railroad monopoly. He argues that the public interest has long been held captive by men who care only for the accumulation of dollars at any sacrifice of principle. He notes that the press in the Pacific Northwest, particularly from Seattle to Salt Lake, holds a powerful influence in determining the success of Senator Mitchell’s bill. This bill, if passed, would restore vast quantities of land to settlement that have been held by a soulless corporation for eight years. We are not opposed to any railroad enterprise, but we oppose subsidies without guarantees to a company which has once misused and forfeited its franchises. The rivalry between companies will certainly secure the building of a railroad to the most available ocean port, which all know to be at Seattle. The fact that an attempted rivalry of a town by the aid of a railroad terminus resulted in that town having a population of less than 150, while Seattle increased its population by more than 2,000, proves beyond peradventure the place designated by natural laws for the commercial metropolis. Unscrupulous speculation may delay, but it cannot defeat this end.