The Tide Land Grab: How Seattle's Future Was Sold Before It Was Even a State

At Whatcom, Tacoma and other points on the Sound tide-land grabbers are almost as active as at Seattle. They have located 'oyster claims' by the score and planted forests of piles in the hope of acquiring claims to preference in case these lands are sold when the territory becomes a state.

This rush comes as the political machinery for admission is finally turning. At Washington yesterday the house of representatives adopted the report of the conference committee by which the territories of Washington, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota will be enabled to come into the Union within the present year. Only the approval of the president is now lacking and this he cannot withhold.

Indeed it may be regarded as settled that statehood is at hand at last. If, as we cannot doubt, the president approve the bill, we shall have an election on the 7th of May for members of a convention which will meet on the 4th of July to prepare a state constitution. This instrument will be submitted to the people's vote on the 1st of October, and if it shall be approved the territory will be admitted by executive proclamation.

But alongside this political milestone lies a critical economic battle. An important consideration respecting the tide land dispute is if a matter of great importance that no disposition of these lands be made which will not involve a harmonious improvement of the city front, suitable to the necessities of port of transshipment. At San Francisco where the docks are built after a uniform plan, easy and cheap transfer of goods from one dock to another is secured by a passage-way between the docks and the adjacent private warehouses.

The way is not only open but the business of transfer is facilitated by a double-track railroad operated solely for the convenience of shippers. It will readily be seen how such a plan affords advantages as compared with a go-as-you-please no-system under which each water front owner or lessee builds after a plan of his own without reference to connection with other docks along the same waterfront.

San Francisco does a heavy business in the way of transshipment. Large quantities of Chinese goods, the whole product of the North Pacific whaling fleet, the product of the Alaska seal fisheries, with salmon from the Columbia river and grain from Washington Territory and Oregon these goods in vast quantity go to San Francisco for transshipment by rail or ocean. And there they find the dockage arrangements admirably adapted to the necessities of the business.

In competing for the business of the Pacific, as we shall in a short time, it will be very important to have every possible advantage and among these a systematic dockage system is a matter not to be passed over as trivial. Our chief competition for general commerce will be with San Francisco and we should make transshipment here as easy, expeditious and cheap as there a matter impossible to secure excepting by a uniform dockage system.