The Great Road War: How Kitsap County Bribed Its Way to Steal Seattle’s Trade

The Great Scheme: But the Olympic People Will Continue Trade Whither It Seems Best.

OLALLA, Kitsap County, Jan. 18 — To the Editor: I had the following paragraph in the Tacoma Ledger of May last: Wheelwright, of the chamber of commerce, has volunteered to enable the settlers on and near Olalla creek, Kitsap county, to make a connection with the road to be built by the county commissioners to the pier and Kitsap county line. The contributors were Thompson, Pratt & Co., W. Anderson, Merchants National bank, General J.W. Sprague, Thomas A. Mumford, Alton Mason, Frank Hall, James Wilson, Jr., Bruce Linn. The money was forwarded to H.E. Knappell, at Olalla, who has been duly appointed a supervisor of the work, and it cannot be long before Olalla and Light Harbor will be united by a good wagon road, greatly shortening the distance to Tacoma, there diverting to this market the trade of that extensive farming colony.

This is only true as to the collection of $100 to build a road in Kitsap county, but the mill commissioners of Pierce county have been over to the Harbor and laid out a road in Pierce county to connect with the Kitsap road, and have appropriated $500 out of the road fund to finish it through, with the promise of more if they can only 'catch Seattle's bald-headed' and capture the Olalla country trade.

Now I have just seen the last issue of the paper which heartily approves this achievement. If the people here are a set of blockheads... let us go to Tacoma to buy a cow — here we are in the swamps three miles from Olalla, landing with remains of our horses' visages, put up your team or tie it to a tree; then get a 'wrench' rope, unless you want to wait for some chance beast, then pull out nine miles to Tacoma; then, of course, we will be met by the chamber of commerce and receive an act of welcome from the editor of the Ledger.

Please say to the merchants that they hope this great achievement covers the face of the Tacoma chamber of commerce. Just what we want is a better road at the head of Olalla creek by the landing at Olalla, and we want steamboat connection so that we can take the steamer one day and come back the next, and then have to lay over three or four in town before we can get home. When this is accomplished I hardly think it will be necessary for 'the merchants' to go get our notations of trade.

And right here let me call your readers that in the middle part of Pierce and in the northern part of Kitsap counties lies a large district of the finest agricultural and fruit land known in Washington Territory, and that it is fast filling up with a class of hardy pioneers, who will make such profits as to render the Light Harbor enterprise to the contrary Y'are.

REV. URE