The Ship Canal Pitch: Seattle Courts St. Louis Money
A dozen St. Louis investors toured the proposed ship canal, hinting at outside capital for the city's biggest infrastructure dream.
PORTLAND, Or., Feb. 15.—A party of twelve St. Louis capitalists arrived in this city last evening from Seattle in charge of William Gray, assistant freight agent of the Burlington system. The party includes Col. Henry Flad, Julius B. Walsh, Charles Clark, George M. Paschall, Donald Bradford, Henry Semple Ames and Edgar Ames, Maj. J. D. H. Bradford, H. Hoffman, Thomas Dunn, Carl Schraubstaetter and Judge W. F. Doyle. They were met at the Union depot by Mr. Shields, the resident passenger agent, and taken to the Portland Hotel, where they will be quartered during their stay in the city. The party will remain only until this evening, as the members are anxious to reach home by Monday next. They will return by way of the Oregon Railway & Navigation to Billings, Mont., and thence to St. Louis over the Burlington.
Every member of the party is or has been prominently connected with the business interests of St. Louis, and all are seeking investments for capital. Their visit to Seattle was at the invitation of the most prominent men of the state, and was for the purpose of looking over the plans for the Seattle ship canal, with a view of supplying the necessary capital to carry it through. They arrived in Seattle last Thursday and, according to their own accounts, were royally entertained by the citizens of that city. Some of the leading members expressed themselves as very much pleased with what they had seen. Many had never visited the Coast before, and they expressed the greatest wonder and surprise at the climate and resources of the Pacific Northwest.
The visit to Portland is merely an incident of the trip. Several members visited this city years ago and were anxious to see what changes time had wrought, while the others were anxious to see the city so long heralded as the coming metropolis of the Pacific Coast. The stay is to be so short that business men will scarcely have a chance to show their hospitality. However, the visitors will be tendered a luncheon at the Commercial Club and afterward driven over the city.
“Their visit to Seattle was at the invitation of the most prominent men of the state, and was for the purpose of looking over the plans for the Seattle ship canal, with a view of supplying the necessary capital to carry it through.”
Seattle's ship canal was eventually built by the federal government and opened in 1917, but this early visit shows how aggressively the city courted outside capital for big infrastructure. The playbook—private money, public hospitality, and a sales pitch about climate and resources—still defines Seattle's growth politics.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.