v^ XT V <* ^. A 4 O -. . . - ^^ .^Jv' A .^' t< & ^"^%^A- ^-^ cV '-^ ^ '^'^ ^^°<. .N^- V- .0 ,♦" «i> * = N ^ <{,'^ %^''^''\^''^ O^ <. ^^ a^ .'^ ^^0^ yestorday Today Tomorrow. % ■^] SEA TTLE- Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow -being the meat of the question, or the facts and statistics show- ing the growth in the past, the might in the present and the promise in the future of SEATTLE— ''The Seaport of Success" Copyrighted 1914 1870 population 1,100 1913 over 300,000 the New York of the Pacific Coast SEA TTLE- Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Seattle, in 1870 a little village of scarcely 1,100 souls; in 1900 an embryonic metropolis struggling to adapt itself to the conditions forced upon it by the development of Alaska and the Northwest; today a prosperous, beautiful and rapidly growing city, with a population of more than 300,000. To the casual observer, Seattle in 1900, resembled nothing so much as the proverbial small boy who has outgrown his clothes. With a business center cut up and hemmed in by hills more than a hundred feet in height, and for that reason confined to portions of but two streets; with its wonderful, land-locked harbor practically undeveloped and wharfage totally inadequate for the already heavy demands of the over-seas and Alaska trade; with railroad terminal facilities unworthy of an inland county-seat; with huts and cow- stables where today are mammoth department stores and sky- scrapers; it required a prophetic eye and an understanding of the Western Spirit, a restless, inexhaustible energy that finds its keenest delight in surmounting the greatest diffi- culties, to foresee the Seattle of today. That there were men possessed of this keen insight into the future, and of a boundless confidence in the wealth and promise of the Sound city, the hub of the great Pacific Northwest, is evidenced by the wonderful changes that have taken place. Today, level streets and handsome office build- ings and hotels have replaced the hills; millions of dollars have been spent and millions more will be spent, to give Seattle harbor and terminal facilities second to none in the world; the debris from the regrading of the hills has been used to fill in the tide-flats, making of them manufacturing sites sufficient for the factories of a Pittsburg; today Seattle holds the key to the trans-Pacific trade. Today, Seattle presents a City Beautiful to the new- comer; a city of clean, broad, well-lighted streets, lined with handsome business blocks, theaters and department stores; a city that reminds the visitor of that Atlantic metropolis. New York, whose history of ultimate supremacy on the Atlantic Coast will undoubtedly be repeated in Seattle; a fS70 ^9t3 JAN 14 1914 ©CI.A3C1580 ^^ city majestic in its present glory and pregnant with the possibilities o£ tomorrow. Yesterday, a mere huddle o£ poorly built-shacks, sheltering a handful o£ hardy pioneers; today a mighty city, with a population of more than three hundred thousand; tomorrow, one of the five great cities of the country. Nowhere in all the world is the real value of accumulated "tomorrows" better understood and appreciated than in the Pacific Northwest, and in Seattle, the focal point for all the wealth of this great country, the Gateway to Alaska and the Orient, and the Queen City of what, to quote ex-Presi- dent Roosevelt, will be the third state in the Union, this understanding of how tomorrow influences the business of today, finds its fullest expression, A business may be built upon the personality of a single individual, but a city represents the combined judgments of hundreds of thousands of individuals. Behind it is their united energy and capital, and their confidence in its future determines its growth and prosperity. Primarily, a city is a corporate body of people, and realty values in any city are directly proportionate to its population. A presentation in condensed form of Seattle's assets, her peculiarly stategic location, her marvellous growth, and her resources, together with a conservative estimate of what the future will bring forth, affords, therefore, a proper viewpoint from which to consider Seattle realty as an investment. Situated on Elliott Bay, a branch of Puget Sound, the great land-locked arm of the Pacific, and bordering on the fresh-water lakes, Lake Union and Lake Washington, which are connected by a canal with the waters of the bay, Seattle occupies a most commanding position. Seattle is two days nearer to the Oriental ports than San Francisco, and 470 miles nearer to the Great Lakes at Duluth. From Seattle to Chicago the distance is 163 miles less than from San Francisco. Time is the essence of the contract for freight delivery with the shipper and the consignee, and this condition will enter into consideration to the advantage of Seattle with the completion of the Panama Canal. From New York, vessels will traverse 4,465 miles to Honolulu; 10,046 miles to Yokohama, and 11,607 miles to Hong Kong; in comparison with 2,410 miles, 4.240 miles, and 5,380 miles respectively, from Puget Sound. These advantages enjoyed by Seattle cannot but be of the greatest benefit in the future development of her trade with the Far East. Her proximity to Alaska and the Orient insures Seattle an ever-increasing volume of business with those countries, and the opening of the Panama Canal will unquestionably afford a tremend- tomorrow one of the five great cities of the country the logical receiving and shipping port Seattle should have 500,000 in 1915 Seattle's site wisely chosen ous impetus to trade and development in Seattle and the Northwest. Reasoning in accordance with the fallacious method of procedure usually followed — the consideration of effects, rather than the seeking of the cause — let us consider briefly the history of Seattle's growth as shown by her population. Reduced to even figures, the following table shows Seat- tle's growth and gain in population during the past forty- three years: Year. Population. 1870 1,100 1880 - 3,500 1890 42,800 1900 80,000 1905 160,000 1910.. 237,200 1913 301,700 It is interesting to note, that although Seattle made her greatest gain in population during the decade between 1900 and 1910, she has gained almost as much in the past three years as in the five years preceding 1910. Taking the record as a whole, and bearing in mind the periods of national depression which prevailed in '93, '97 and 1907 and the far from satisfactory business conditions that have obtained during the past two years, it must be evident to even the most skeptical, that the city's continued growth is certain and irresistible. There is no possible line of reasoning which can deny to Seattle a population of approximately half a million in 1915 — the date of the opening of the Panama Canal — and what effect this growth will have on Seattle realty values is merely a matter of mathematics. The growth of a city depends upon the country tributary to it in so far as its natural resources and population are con- cerned, its location as a receiving and distributing center, and its accessibility by both land and water. When the early pioneers selected Seattle's present site as their home little did they realize how wisely they had chosen. Seattle has a vast empire behind it; while at its elbow to the North, the Alaskan treasure houses are but waiting the touch of progress to pour into the city's lap a stream of wealth many times greater than even their present gigantic sum; to the westward lies the Orient with its countless hordes, who are but beginning to appreciate the products of the more civilized countries of the Occident. The great wheat fields of Eastern Washington must find their outlet through Seattle ; the vast lumber industry of the State uses this port for its shipments by water to all parts of the globe. And this commerce will double and treble in volume with the opening of the Panama Canal. The thou- sands and thousands of acres of rich agricultural land now idle, will be occupied and placed upon a producing basis by hundreds of thousands of immigrants attracted by the oppor- tunities of the Northwest and brought here via the Panama Canal. Emigration from the Eastern States will play its part too, and in the next five years, little, if any, of the more desirable agricultural land in the States of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana will be unoccupied. Seattle has grown — beyond even the dreams of the wildest visionary of fifteen years ago — and without the aid of what is usually considered essential to the growth of a city, a densely populated surrounding country. Its continued and increased rate of growth is certain and irresistible. Many men of national and international reputation have predicted for Seattle a great future. Andrew Carnegie said the great cities of this country would be New York, Chicago and Seattle. And Seattle is attaining that destiny far more rapidly than the outsider can realize. Seattle has tributary to it a far greater and better timber belt, far more prolific wheat fields and agricultural lands than that which established a population of approximately 600,000 for St. Paul, Minneapolis and Duluth. The yield per acre of Washington's volcanic ash lands is almost double that of the Mississippi Valley farms, while the fame of her apples ha:s gone abroad to every corner of the globe. Mining, principally, established a city of more than 200,000 at Denver, yet Seattle has a mining territory tributary to it, in the Northwestern States and Alaska, many times richer than that of Denver. The list of mineral wealth includes gold, copper, silver and practically all the metals, and coal, many of the mines being within fifty miles of the city. More than $215,000,000 worth of gold has been received at the United States Assay Office since its establishment in 1908. Beyond all question, Seattle's greatest asset, for her future, is her harbor. It enjoys the distinction of being one of the freest, if not the very freest, port in the world. With a depth within anchorage limits of from 25 to 35 fathoms, with an extreme range in the rise and fall of tide of 17 feet; with a present shore line of 12 miles, which is soon to be increased by an additional ten miles on the Duwamish River, at an expense of $1,300,000, and by a further increase of 15 miles on the shores of Lake Union and Lake Washington; by the completion of the Lake Washington Canal at an expense of $3,625,000; with the addition of 17,511 feet of dock frontage at an expense of $6,300,000, for which bonds have been voted, Panama Canal will boost Seattle's shipping a rich empire tributary to Seattle Seattle preparing for opening of Panama Canal fresh water harbor will be ready or a total of almost forty miles of dockage; Seattle, the little hamlet with its single saw-mill and half dozen stores of the yesterday of fifty years ago, is about to become an immense sea-port, rivaling in size and amount of tonnage handled, such famous ports as New York, Hamburg, Liverpool and Marsailles. Grain elevators with a capacity of 775,000 bushels; oil docks having a storage capacity of 187,500 barrels; four float- ing dry-docks with a combined lifting capacity of 22,900 tons, the largest being of 12,000 tons capacity; these are part of Seattle's present equipment for handling the ever-increas- ing volume of her shipping. Nearby is the Bremerton Navy Yard, one of the eight under Federal jurisdiction, and one which ranks high in importance as a naval base. At the Navy Yard the United States Government has two dry-docks, one of which is 650 feet long and 90 feet wide. The other, but recently com- pleted by the Government, is 863 feet in length, 153 feet wide and 47 feet in depth. It will easily accommodate a vessel 800 feet in length and whose draught is not more than 40 feet, or in other words, any vessel afloat, except the greatest of the Atlantic liners, and ensures to Seattle, dockage facilities unequalled on the Pacific Coast. The larger of the two Navy Yard docks is constructed with a concrete foundation and a granite basin, and represents an expenditure of nearly $2,000,000. The use of these Government dry-docks is ex- tended to merchant vessels. In connection with Seattle's wonderful harbor, the canal connecting Lake Union and Lake Washington must be taken into consideration, as well as the developments on Elliott Bay proper. The completion of the canal, which will be effected in 1915, will give to Seattle a total water frontage of over 150 miles, of which more than 50 miles will be readily available for docks. As evidence of the magnitude of the undertaking, it is worth noting that included in the items of expense is a concrete lock, the second largest in the world, and which is being constructed by the Government at an expense of $2,275,000. With the completion and opening of the canal, Seattle challenges the world to show another sea- port that offers a land-locked, fresh water harbor, some thirty miles long and five miles wide. Among other things for which this fresh-water harbor will be prized by deep-water mariners, is the fact that fresh water kills and destroys barnacles, and the various forms of marine growth that adhere to the bottoms and sides of vessels, necessitating frequent docking and scraping. With the opening of the Panama Canal, there is every reason to expect an enormous increase in Seattle's shipping, and it is essential that she be prepared to take the fullest advantage of the natural facilities which she possesses. With this end in view, the Port Commission voted in March, 1912, $8,100,000 for the construction of wharves, etc., including $5,000,000 for the acquisition of a site and the erection of six concrete docks, each 1,400 feet in length and 150 feet wide, forming as a whole a unit very similar to, and in fact patterned after, the Bush Terminals of Brooklyn. Other docks, warehouses, etc., are in process of construction and under construction, on Lake Washington, Lake Union, the Duwamish River and the East Waterway. To the effect the opening of the Panama Canal will have upon the population, industries and wealth of Seattle, no human being can place a limit. From the British Isles and from every corner of Europe, thousands of immigrants will pour into the Northwest. Associations are already formed, and others are in the process of formation, among the Scan- dinavian, Swiss and German-born residents of Seattle and Washington, having for their purpose the promotion of immigration from their respective native lands to the North- west immediately following the opening of the Panama Canal and the establishment of cheap, all-water routes to Seattle, the port of entry to the richest, most promising section of the United States. A large proportion of these countless thousands of immi- grants will remain in and about Seattle, creating an active demand for tenements, apartment houses and residential property of every description; supplying the need for labor in the many manufactories of the city and those projected industries, involving the expenditure of millions, which are waiting but the magic touch of "The Water Haul from Coast to Coast" before they shed the chrysalis of promise, and emerge full-fledged manufacturing plants; and adding to the city's visible wealth the major portion of the millions of dollars that will be paid them in wages. Others of these newly-made Americans will turn to the soil, and under their tillage and watchful care, the famous Logged-Off Lands of Washington will come into their own, and double or treble the agricultural wealth of the state. The opening of the Panama Canal must inevitably in- crease Seattle's foreign as well as her domestic traffic. It will be the means of establishing new steamship lines, as well as diverting to Seattle some of the lines at present plying from European ports. It will open channels of trade beyond estimation. An eminent authority on traffic matters is of the opinion that a single class of Seattle's exports — timber big docks are being built immigrants from Europe will come to Seattle increased trade with foreign countries more steamship lines to Seattle products — to the United Kingdom alone, will increase 200 to 300 per cent, to say nothing of corresponding increases in other products and the tremendous volume of new business that will be developed between Seattle and other European countries and with the states situated on the Atlantic Coast, the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River, One effect of the opening of the Panama Canal will be, in all probability, to turn the shipments of the immense fruit and grain crops of interior Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana, through Seattle and thence to the eastern parts of the United States and Europe, by an all-water route, at a much lower freight cost than is possible at present. Merchandise from Europe and the eastern portions of the United States will be obtained at a much lower cost for freight, thus enabling Seattle merchants and manufacturers to compete on more favorable terms with the business houses of the Middle West. Commerce of all kinds, both export and import, will receive a tremendous impetus with the com- pletion of the Panama Canal in 1915, and the preparations now being made by the city of Seattle will enable it to take its rightful place for all time among the greatest sea-ports of the world. Vessels now coming to Seattle in ballast will bring instead, cargoes of value to the manufacturer, such as mahogany and other hard woods from South America. There is no ques- tion but that the opening of the canal will be the most aus- picious happening for the West since the discovery of gold in California. It will bring population and increase trade. It will open up a new world of commerce and manufacture and inaugurate new industries, and Seattle, The Sea Port of Success, is today making giant preparations for the enor- mous business and growth that must come tomorrow. Con- sidering all that the canal means to Seattle in the way of population, commerce, wealth and power, we cannot but para- phrase the crytic utterance of a certain French king — "After the canal, the deluge," for it can bring to Seattle nothing less than a veritable deluge of prosperity. The logical point to which to turn from the consideration of Seattle's harbor and the influence of the Panama Canal upon her shipping and commerce, is to her facilities for water transportation. At the present time fifty-seven water lines, domestic and foreign, are plying out of Seattle to all parts of the glebe. Of the forty-nine various steam lines, three ply between Seattle and European ports via the Straits of Magellan; one to the ports of Europe via the Suez; one to Australia; two to the Hawaiian Islands; five to British Columbia; eleven to Alaska; four to the Orient; three to California; one to New York via the Straits o£ Magellan; one to New York via the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; and the remainder to local and coast-wise points. Definite advices and unconfirmed rumors are received almost daily to the effect that this or that great steamship company will establish service to Seattle when once the Panama Canal is put into operation. Among the latest and most authentic instances, is the Hamburg-American, which will inaugurate a regular service to this port in 1915. While water transportation is undoubtedly the oldest chan- nel by which the commerce of the world has been moved, its sister, the railroad, the forerunner of all genuine civiliza- tion, has played, and will play, a part of incalculable im- portance in the history of Seattle's growth. Today, four trans-continental railroads serve Seattle over their own tracks, five others send through equipment into the city, and still others are planning ways and means of entering Seattle. The first are the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company; the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul; the Northern Pacific; and the Great Northern. The Canadian Pacific, the Burlington, the Soo, the Southern Pacific and the Chicago & North-Western operate through equipment in and out of the city. The Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk systems operate large steamers to their own piers from a connection with their railway lines. Two handsome terminal stations, magnificent examples of all that is modern in railway passenger station construc- tion, have been erected and are used jointly by the Great Northern and Northern Pacific; and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Naviga- tion Company. The passenger traffic records show that 2,527,650 persons entered Seattle by rail during 1912. Seattle is well provided with railroad facilities. There is regular and direct connection to all points over the lines named above. The interurban and city lines are among the best in the country. One line operates to Tacoma, over 30 miles to the south; two lines run to Renton, a coal-mining center, 13 miles southeast of Seattle; and another runs to Everett, 30 miles north of the city. The street car system in the city has an aggregate length of 227 miles, rendering all localities easy of access. If the over-worked and much abused euphemism, "Where Rail Meets Sail," were ever justified, surely it is in the his- tory of Seattle's transportation facilities. Of almost equal importance with Seattle's advantages in rail and water transportation are her many sources of power. Tremendous energy is stored in the hills adjacent Seattle to become a greater railroad center "where rail meets sail" hydro-electric power supplies Seattle big coal mines near Seattle to the city. Its accessibility and the relatively small charge made for service will play an important part in the indus- trial development of this western city. The enormous volume of hydro-electric horse power within a fifty-mile radius of Seattle, and developed to but a slight portion of its possible volume, has never been even approximately estimated. Suffice it to say that to date every possible demand for power has been met, while new sources of supply are easily available and greatly augmented power might be derived from streams and falls already utilized in part. Three electric light and power companies serve the city, among them a municipal plant, by no means the largest of the three, that offers at present approximately 250,000 horse- power. A minimum rate of about ^c per kilowatt hour establishes the truthfulness of Seattle's claim to have the cheapest electric power for manufacturing purposes in the United States. The Electric City will be another name for the Seattle of the future. Nature has done much to provide the raw material, the unequalled geographical location, the sources of unlimited power, and the city has captains of industry, backed by capital, who foresee its great opportunities and are taking time by the forelock. Seattle has advantages over Niagara in power possibilities, over Pittsburg in its facilities for shipment, and over New York in its nearness to countries in the market for articles it can supply. Another item of the greatest importance to Seattle and closely allied with the problem of power, is its coal deposits. While the introduction and use of fuel-oil has wielded an enormous influence on the coal industry, and thereby ex- tended the period that shall intervene before the coal de- posits of the world are exhausted, Washington has, at its present or even with increased use, a supply of coal ample for centuries to come. No one can as yet predict with cer- tainty the extent of its coal fields, but even were they ex- hausted, Washington's next door neighbor, Alaska, stands ready, with its enormous deposits, to fill any order. During the year 1912, the coal mines of the state, west of the Cascades and near Seattle, produced some two million odd tons, having an approximate value of $5,500,000. Nearly all of the coal-bearing lands of the state lie west of the Cascades, and they add a by no means inconsiderable amount to Seattle's wealth and her promise for the future. The manufacture of coke also plays an important part in the economic history of the city, and is an industry which is as 10 yet in its infancy; approximately 50,000 tons, with a value of about $271,000, being produced, however, during 1912. To the analytical mind the question inevitably presents itself, what conditions, other than the wonderful provisions of Nature, have caused the phenomenal growth in the popu- lation of Seattle and what are the other assets and industrial conditions on which the city depends for its future. The answer is found in the history of her trade relations with other countries, the scope and magnitude of her manufactur- ing enterprises, and the tremendous awakening along all industrial lines that awaits the entire Pacific Coast upon the completion of the Panama Canal. Seattle's first industry was a saw-mill, and in the future, as in the past, lumber and its allied industries will play a big part in the prosperity of the city. Though more than half a century has passed since the inauguration of this initial manufacturing plant, producing barely enough lum- ber for the needs of the settlers of the Puget Sound country, timber products are today one of the greatest sources of Seattle's wealth, while just across the Sound from where a totem pole marks, in Pioneer Square, the site of the first saw-mill in the Northwest, are the famous Port Blakely Mills, the largest in the world. Exclusive of the great Port Blakely Mill, there are located in Seattle 63 plants devoted to the production of lumber and lumber products, having an invested capital of $7,720,000, paying annually in wages $2,222,000 and shipping by water in 1912 forest products having a value of $1,467,076, to which must be added rail shipments from Seattle to the approximate value of $2,595,000. ' Two of the mills on Elliott Bay have a cutting capacity of 125,000 feet each per ten-hour day. Many of the smaller mills along the bay have daily capacities of 50,000 feet, while several of the mills on the Lake Washington Canal have an output of from 50,000 to 120,000 feet per day. Further evidence of the gigantic proportions of the Washington lumber industry is found in the facts that the mills of the state shipped by rail, during 1911, 85,421 car- loads of lumber, having at a low estimate a value of $25,- 926,300, and 33,708 carloads of shingles, whose estimated value was $11,797,800; and while complete statistics of rail shipments for 1912 are not available, it is everywhere con- ceded that they greatly exceeded the figures for 1911 because of the improved conditions of the lumber market,, and the fact that water shipments for 1912 show an increase over those of 1911 of about 44 per cent. One-third of the mer- chantable timber of the country is contained in the forests of the Northwest. Seattle has many other assets lumber industry a big factor 11 Esheries a big industry salmon canneries employ 30,000 What the lumber shipments of Seattle will be during the years to come after 1915 no man can say, but it is ridicu- lously conservative to state that they will increase tenfold. The fact must not be overlooked, that in addition to the great increase which is bound to come in the amount of foreign shipments, the opening of the canal will permit Washington lumber manufacturers to ship by water at lower freight rates and so compete on more favorable terms with other lumber producing centers for the trade of the Atlantic Coast and Gulf of Mexico ports. One of the most vital factors in the growth and success of Seattle is the fishing industry. Of its many branches, the most important is the salmon packing and its allied trades. Practically the entire salmon pack of Alaska and Puget Sound is handled and financed through Seattle. Some idea of its magnitude may be gained from the fact that shipments of canned salmon to foreign countries, amounted to $1,599,- 993, the total water shipments being $2,241,402, in 1912, and while figures for rail shipments are not obtainable, it is cer- tain that they must have exceeded the value of the water shipments many times. This contention is supported by the fact that but 321,592 cases were moved by water out of a total pack for the year, in Alaska and Puget Sound, of 4,476,254 cases, practically all of which moved from Seattle. For the season which has just closed, 1913, no authentic figures are as yet obtainable, but the fixgures of 1912 will be greatly surpassed for the reasons that 1913 was what is known locally as a "big year," a name derived from the fact that the sock-eye salmon enter the Sound but once in every four years, and because, in anticipation of the "big year," all of the canneries on Puget Sound and Alaskan waters increased their equipment and many new traps and canneries were put into operation for the first time. The annual expenditure in the salmon canning industry on the Coast reaches $30,300,000, of which $5,600,000 is paid out for labor. In the value of its product salmon canning is exceeded by one industry only — lumber. It gives direct employment to 30,000, and indirectly employs many addi- tional thousands who are engaged in the production of sup- plies which the business must have. Mild-cured salmon, another important product of the fish- ing industry, is handled principally through Seattle, the larger concerns in this line of business making this city their headquarters. To the salmon trade must be added the enormous volume of business produced by the fresh fish concerns which em- ploy a large fleet of vessels, including over one hundred motor schooners, plying to the halibut and cod banks off 12 Cape Flattery and the Alaskan Coast. Fresh salmon, her- ring, black cod, halibut and other fish are delivered daily to the dealers. Almost the entire shell-fish pack of Puget Sound, including oysters, clams, shrimps, etc., is handled through Seattle. Whaling companies operating in Alaskan waters have their headquarters here, and their catch is brought to Seattle for distribution. Salt fish and miscellane- ous fishery products add their quota to the total value of the industry. These facts and figures present in some degree the vol- ume and importance of the fishing industry to Seattle. The demand is not only large, but steadily increasing, and do- mestic shipments of fish from Seattle, by express and freight, constitute a large proportion of the business done by the railroads. The inter-mountain and middle West states rely upon Washington fisheries for their fresh fish, while the canned product is on the shelves of practically every store in the country which caters to the food purchasing public. Although but an infant, having its inception in 1908, the increase in the number and output of plants engaged in the m.anufacture of cement seems almost phenomenal. At pres- ent the daily production is about 6,000 barrels and a large increase is predicted for the immediate future. The beds or quarries of lime-rock and clay from which the raw ma- terial is secured, are some distance north of the city, but the business is financed in Seattle and the general offices are located here. In this age of concrete construction the vital importance of the cement industry to Seattle is becoming more generally appreciated and new plants are being erected and put into operation from time to time. Unquestionably this branch of Seattle's business will benefit to a great de- gree by the operation of the Panama Canal, and will show an even greater increase in volume during the next ten years. Exclusive of the coal, lumber, fishing and cement in- dustries, there are in Seattle other manufactories to the number of approximately 750, having an invested capital of $40,280,000, an annual output of close to $54,000,000, and employing some 15,000 men to whom $9,780,000 are paid yearly in wages. To this may be added factories which are in the course of construction, or which have advanced be- yond the stage of mere theoretical and conditional projects, representing an investment of approximately $3,700,000, of- fering employment to over 2,000 persons and carrying with them an annual payroll of more than $300,000. . Included in the list of Seattle's present industries are Bread and Bakery Goods, Brick and Tile, Butter, Cheese and Condensed Milk, Canning and Preserving, Carriages, demand for fish on the increase 750 other manufactories 13 big shipments of Hour Alaska a big asset to Seattle Wagons and Materials, Men's Clothing including Shirts, Confectionery, Copper, Tin and Sheet Iron, Flourmill and Gristmill Products, Foundries and Machine Shops, Fur Goods, Furniture and Refrigerators, Leather Gloves and Mittens, Ice Manufacturers, Boot and Shoe Manufacturers, Woolen Mills, Matches, Women's Wash Dresses, Sweaters, Oil Refinery, Shipbuilding Plants, Canning Machinery, Gas Engine Works, Coke Furnace and Gas Plant, many miscel- laneous manufacturing concerns of less individual impor- tance, and one of the largest wood-pipe factories in the world. There are also five breweries, the largest of which has over 450 employes, a paid-up capital of $3,000,000, an annual pay- roll of $500,000, and an annual output of 402,000 barrels of 31 gallons each, of which it exports 12,000 barrels. The im- portance of flour in the list of Seattle's products is evidenced by the exports for the year 1912, amounting to 1,617,116 barrels, having a" total value of $6,994,680. A comparison of this with the total amount of flour exported from the entire United States during the same period, 11,006,487 barrels, throws a very favorable light upon the showing made by the Port of Seattle in the amount and value of the exports of one of its home manufactured products. Dairy farming, to which Washington is so well adapted by reasons of soil and climatic conditions, will be one of the big industries of the state in the very near future, and its value to Seattle has already found expression in the establishment of huge condenseries, among them the largest in the world, having their general offices in this city. The importance of Alaska's share in the development of Seattle can scarcely be overestimated. Beginning with the arrival of the S. S. Portland in 1897 with the first Alaskan gold, there has been an ever-increasing flow of wealth to Seattle from Alaskan and Bering Sea ports. The discovery and development of Alaska's mineral, marine, and as circum- stances now seem to indicate, agricultural resources, have given and will give to Seattle an incalculable amount of wealth and business. Alaska, the country that was thought high-priced at less than $8,000,000 by our statesmen, when Russia offered it for sale at the close of the Civil War, and which has sent $210,407,068 in gold to the Seattle Assay Office alone, from the time of its opening in 1908 up to 1912, and which pro- duced uncounted millions of the precious metal prior to 1908, and which is still yielding millions of the world's standard of wealth annually, has other products, any one of which is worth more in any year than the purchase price of 14 the entire territory, is one of Seattle's best customers. The exports from Seattle to Alaskan and Bering Sea ports in 1912 amounted to $12,181,975 and $3,077,086 respectively. They buy largely of every product manufactured on Elliott Bay, grown in Washington, or brought in by the wholesalers. Some idea of the part Seattle plays in the world's com- merce as a distributing center and exporter may be gained from the following table : 1912 1912 Country. Exports. Imports. British Columbia $ 7,850,098 $ 1,697,698 The Orient - - 9,780,579 22,565,324 British Isles — 2,196,921 525,085 Germany 322,114 297,841 South America 714,710 152,205 Australia .- - - 202,068 34,158 Mexico - - 30,128 69,653 Siberia 35,602 Africa 72,348 Philippines 1,671,570 1,517,827 Hawaiian Islands 1,436,404 225,911 Coastwise and Local - 19,533,281 11,413,700 Alaska - 12,181,975 9,389,803 Bering Sea 3,077,086 Other Countries 323,982 $59,204,884 $62,220,291 Total of Exports and Imports by water alone, from Seattle in 1912, $121,425,175. Shipments by rail from Seattle in 1912 show a total of 2,208,855 tons in-bound and 826,626 tons out-bound, the value of which, in the almost total absence of authoritative sta- tistics, cannot be even approximated. And this total of 3,035,481 tons of freight in and out of Seattle by rail alone, is exclusive of all merchandise, both foreign and domestic, originating outside of Seattle and consigned via the city to other points. The passenger traffic records show that 3,489,291 persons arrived in Seattle by water during 1912 and that 2,527,650 entered by rail during the same period. The facts and figures we have presented for your consid- eration have shown Seattle's resources, have shown logically and conclusively that Seattle will become the New York of the Pacific Coast, and it remains for us to place before you the conditions which establish its right to the title of "The City of Homes." To the West rise the snow-capped peaks of the Olympic range, roseate in the rays of the setting sun, gleaming like Seattle's world commerce today large Seattle the city of homes 15 splendid water system cheapest electric power in country polished steel in the clear light of early morn; to the South, giant Rainier, "The Mountain that Was God," to quote the Indian myth, lifts his glacier-clad sides 14,531 feet above the sea, the highest mountain within the United States proper; to the East, the eternal snow fields of the Cascades complete the silver frame of snow-tipped mountain peaks that hem in the city. Seattle's water supply, installed at a cost of $11,395,997, is on a par with that of any municipality in the country. The supply is brought from the Cedar River, in the foot- hills of the Cascades, a distance of twenty-eight miles, by gravitation to the distributing reservoirs, which have a stor- age capacity of 270,102,000 gallons. The daily capacity of the Cedar River plant is 68,000,000 gallons and the average daily consumption of the city is 30,000,000. The water is con- veyed direct to the reservoirs and stand-pipes, from which extend 540 miles of water mains to the different sections of the city. At the highest rate charged for water in Seattle, its cost amounts to half a cent per fifty-two gallon barrel. Its purity is beyond suspicion, and the supply is unfailing. The business section of this city is also piped with high- pressure mains, affording additional protection against fire. Seattle has a most equable climate, with no extremes of heat or cold. The summers are cool or moderately warm, and the winters are mild. There is little, if any, snow fall except in the mountains. In summer the temperature rarely reaches 90 degrees, and zero weather is unrecorded in the city. The weather bureau records show an annual mean temperature of 51.4 degrees, ranging from 40.6 in January to 64.7 degrees in August. The annual average rainfall of Seattle is 35.88 inches. Beyond all question Seattle has the mildest, most equable and most desirable climate of any port in the world in the same North Latitude. Cyclones, blizzards, cloud- bursts and droughts are unknown. Two privately owned and one municipal plant furnish the city with light and power. The municipal plant, put into operation in 1905, at an initial cost of $340,000, has today a valuation of $5,000,000. This city-owned plant, besides fur- nishing light and power, acts as a regulator upon the prices charged for current by the private corporations, and is largely responsible for Seattle's ability to truthfully claim to have the cheapest manufacturing power of any city in the country. Seattle is one of the best lighted cities in the world. The residence section, the parks, the boulevards and the water front are all brilliantly illuminated in keeping with the busi- ness section, in which there are twenty-one miles of cluster lights. 16 I Seattle has 178 miles of paved streets, 121 miles of planked streets, and 617 miles of graded streets. In the business districts and on streets subjected to the heavier forms of traffic, the paving is of vitrified brick and stone blocks, extending from which, as traffic conditions warrant, run the miles of smooth asphalt, heavily based and constantly main- tained in the highest degree of excellence. Since 1904 Seattle has spent $5,440,000 in parks, play- grounds and boulevards, the total area devoted to these pur- poses being 1,803 acres. The whole wonderful system — parks, playgrounds and scenic boulevards — is the working out of a single comprehensive plan. The Park Board's sta- tistics for 1912, covering only the twelve supervised play- grounds, show an aggregate daily attendance of 785,479, of which number 299,300 were under fourteen years of age, and 309,050 were between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one. No city in the country of twice Seattle's population shows such consideration for the care, entertainment and whole- some exercise of its children. It is a matter of record in the Federal census of 1910 that Seattle's death rate of 10.1 is the lowest of any city in the United States. The figures for 1913 show a death rate of but 8.19 per thousand. In its rate of infant mortality Seattle is in a class by itself, the percentage being almost infinitesimal. According to verified statistics, the loss by death in Seattle of children under five years of age is but 189 to the 100,000. With the opening of the school year of 1913-14, the city's record for enrollment was broken by the registration of 27,995 day pupils, to which must be added the six thousand- odd individuals attending night school. The sixty-five grade and six high schools are splendid examples of the most modern ideas in school architecture. Eleven hundred teachers are required for the schools. The appraised valuation of the property of the Seattle School District is $5,455,000, and the schools are supported by the taxation of property having a total assessed valuation of $215,000,000. Leading on from the high schools and amplifying the edu- cational facilities of Seattle is the State University, located in the northeastern part of the city on a campus of 355 acres, amply endowed with state lands and owning some of the most valuable property in the business district of the city, formerly the site of the old Territorial University. Seattle's public library buildings and property are valued at more than one million dollars, a considerable investment for public education and recreation and significant of the rate of community growth in the fact that the investment Millions spent on parks and playgrounds a high standard of schools 17 handsome business blocks churches and schools Seattle a big amusement city was begun only ten years ago. In addition to the main building, the Library Board maintains eight branches and several deposit stations in rented quarters in various neigh- borhoods. Over two hundred thousand volumes are at the command of readers and the number is constantly being increased. Every religious denomination and every form of worship known to civilized peoples is represented in Seattle. Each of the larger divisions of the Christian faith has from four to a dozen or more churches located in various parts of the city. The congregations are large and the edifices in which they assemble are striking examples of church architecture. The benevolent societies, the missionary organizations, and the social gatherings of the people are active in good work and in promoting the best interests of the city as a whole. The secret and benevolent organizations have large mem- berships, and own some magnificent meeting places. Fra- ternalism has a strong hold on the people. It is used to promote the real objects of the different orders, and to work for the common good of the residents of Seattle and vicinity. First and lasting impressions of a city are created by con- ditions disclosed in its business districts. Building for business purposes in Seattle has kept stride with every de- velopment in architecture and represents every sound theory of modern construction. Even the older business buildings, fully occupied for many years, stand as examples of the best that was known at the time of their building. Of the newer structures, from the Joshua Green Block, at Fourth Avenue and Pike Street, a ten-story building, to the forty- two story L. C. Smith Building, located three-quarters of a mile south, and many others of similar character and varying size, it is only necessary to say that they are splendid ex- amples of all that is most modern and approved. Seattle has superior facilities for the accommodation of the traveling public and convention visitors. Its modern, spacious, comfortable hotels are equal to any to be found in the country. Within a radius of a mile there are 10,000 hotel rooms, while 40,000 rooms are within easy car ride of the station. Seattle enters upon its diversions as heartily as it does upon all the serious considerations in which the life and progress of a great city are involved. Five of Seattle's theaters were built for the presentation of the largest at- tractions. Three were built and are managed expressly for the presentation of high-class vaudeville. Nearly one hun- dred, three of their number having a seating capacity of from 18 four hundred to a thousand persons each, are given over to the popular photo-plays Taken as a whole, Seattle's array of play-houses is the finest of any city in the West, and the patronage of play- goers and amusement seekers — a steady and dependable pat- ronage — runs to enormous figures. All of the Seattle thea- ters are comfortable, well-equipped, and adequately protected against accident, fire and panic. The interior of one of the houses — The Orpheum — is conceded to be the best appointed and the most sumptuous of any theater in the United States. As a city of homes Seattle justly claims the attention and excites the admiration of every visitor. In a dozen different districts, giving an outlook over the harbor or the lakes, and not infrequently both, facing either toward the towering Cascade Mountains on the East or the rugged Olympics on the West, are hundreds upon hundreds of beautiful homes, many of them surrounded by spacious grounds, as strong evidence of the home-loving instinct of Seattle people of means as the big buildings down-town are of their commer- cial enterprise. And now the inevitable question presents itself — what has been the effect, in so far as realty values are concerned, of all these gigantic growth, wealth and population-producing influences and conditions? Perhaps the best answer to the query is found in the following article from one of the local papers, by R. W. Hill, probably the foremost authority on real estate values in Seattle: "In searching old records, I recently discovered in my office a relic which I prize highly. It is a map of the central portion of Seattle extending from Massachusetts Street on the south to Mercer on the north, and from the bay front to Lake Washington. Upon this map are certain notations which I made in January, 1903, showing my own appraisals of properties in the various portions of the section covered by this map which was prepared by me at the request of a friend in the East to whom was offered certain properties for sale. The map was returned to me and I have kept it for reference. "On October 20th last, I noted with ink of a different color my ideas as to today's values on the same properties marked as of the former date. To persons whose memories fail them or who never knew the values of property in Seattle ten years ago, these figures make an interesting comparison. TIDE LAND DISTRICT "Beginning with that section of tide lands lying below the G. N. & N. P. depot and extending to Massachusetts Street, were noted 'Railroad Terminals' and factory sites, mills. beautiful scenery surrounds the city tremendous increase in realty values 19 indisputable facts that have been proven residence property greatly increases in value foundries, etc., filled and unfilled tide lands, prices from $2,000 to $20,000 per lot. "Upon the same section the quotations as of this year are $10,000 to $100,000 per lot. Upon the site of the N. P. depot in 1903 was marked 'Site for G. N. & N. P. depot.' Land purchased for $285,000. Alongside of this site today's nota- tion stands 'Site for O.-W. and C. M. & P. S. depot,' pur- chased in 1906 for several million dollars. Upon that section of the business district bounded by a line east and west 120 feet north of Pike Street up to the alley between Fifth and Sixth Avenues and southward to Union Street, thence west- ward to Third Avenue, thence south to Jackson Street, and westward to the bay, was marked, in 1903, 'Primary business district.' Prices range from $1,000 to $2,000 per front foot. SECONDARY BUSINESS "Upon a district extending a few blocks north and east of this primary business section was marked 'Secondary business district.' Prices range from $2,000 to $20,000 per lot. Prices in this section today are $20,000 to $150,00 per lot. "Upon the first hill was indicated in 1903, 'High-class residence property. Prices $4,000 to $5,000 per lot 60x120 feet.' In this section today prices are $10,000 to $30,000 per lot. "Around the Broadway High School in 1903 indicated 'Good residence property.' The notation of this year is 'Secondary business property, held as high as $25,000 per lot.' "On the second hill up to Twentieth Avenue, notation of 1903 was, 'Residence property. Prices $1,000 to $2,000.' To- day prices there are $4,000 to $6,000, with some much higher. "Upon the blank space on the face of the map was made the following notation: MUST BE CIRCUMSCRIBED. " 'On account of the contour of the ground the business district in Seattle must always be circumscribed, and con- sequently prices within this limit will go very high. The district inclosed within the inside lines of this map is nearly all occupied. Prices for land as well as rents are high. Heavy business is beginning to extend into the area marked 'Secondary business district.' With the growth of the city this secondary district is sure to come into demand for busi- ness purposes, and prices which are reasonable now will ad- vance to high figures.' "In October, of this year, this additional remark was made: " 'The notation hereon in red was made by myself January, 1903. Circumscribed area of business property has since been knocked out by regrades and prices then thought high 20 have been so far advanced that figures of that date seem ridiculous from the standpoint of today.' "These comparative figures and statements will be of great interest at the end of another decade, when I propose to view the attitude of today from the standpoint of 1923." Avoiding the presentation of too many unvarnished, and therefore perhaps uninteresting statistics, we will simply state, as an obvious fact, that there has been a corresponding increase in the value of residential property. As we said at the outset, realty values are in direct proportion to a city's population, and since we have demonstrated the tre- mendous increase in values that has taken place in the busi- ness section of Seattle, it is evident that the city has grown in population', it follows that these people must establish residences and it is therefore axiomatic that residential realty values have increased porportionately. From the "Reports on City Real Estate Values," compiled by the Seattle Real Estate Association, we derive the fol- lowing information: The highest price ever paid for prop- erty in Seattle, after deducting the value of the improve- ments, was $4,500 per front foot, which was paid for a loca- tion on Second Avenue. There are twenty city blocks whose value is within 25% of this figure. The net interest paid by fully improved business property on the selling value is 8%. The market value of the best wholesale business property is placed at $1,000 per front foot, this property is located in the neighborhood of Jackson Street and First Avenue South. There are about twenty blocks which are worth within 25% of this price. The best apartment house property is worth about $500 per front foot on what is known as "First Hill," in the vicinity of Madison, Boren and Terry Avenues. There is half a square mile of residence property on Capitol Hill whose value per front foot ranges from $100 to about $75. The best suburban residence property is located in the University and Lake Washington districts and has a value per front foot of about $40. This class of property has electric transportation facilities, is within 30 or 40 minutes or from three to five miles of the center of the city and is reached on a four-cent fare. The market value of the best property for working men's cottages is about $7.50 to $15 per front foot. A presentation in miniature of Seattle's more noticeable activities at present and the latest symptoms of her record- breaking growth, may be considered worth while, inasmuch as they show conditions in the city as they are today. From the local daily press we glean the following inter- esting items: Bank clearings for the month of September business property pays good revenue bank clearings ever increasing 21 great building activity Seattle leads in imports and exports on coast reached $59,085,414, smashing all records. Every day's clear- ings went above the two million mark and the magnificent showing presents Seattle supreme as the commercial giant of the Northwest, no other Pacific Coast city's September re- turns approaching it within five million dollars. Assay Office receipts for the first nine months of 1913 are more than double those of 1912 for the corresponding period, the exact figures being $5,423,676.57 to noon of September 30th. The money order branch of the local postoffice broke all records during the month of September also. During the month a total of $756,457.30 came into Seattle through the govern- men money order department alone — a gain of almost $400,000 over the same month last year. The parcels post department shows a gain of 25^r during the first nine months of 1913 over the corresponding period of 1912. But three cities in the United States outranked Seattle in per cent of gain in building in 1913 to August 1st, Seattle's permits amounting to $7,216,515, and being excelled only by those of Cleveland, Newark and Pittsburgh. The State Bureau of Inspection reports that Seattle's municipally owned property is worth $63,126,115.45, and that her assets exceed her lia- bilities by $45,023,063. Imports and exports show a gain for August, 1913, of $1,558,593 over those of August, 1912. And so the story runs. In practically every phase of its com- mercial activity Seattle shows a surprising increase over the figures of the past. The following editorial from the Seattle Sun is a very fair and unbiased statement of conditions as they exist today and of what may be expected in the future: "What we may expect when we carry out Seattle's com- prehensive port plans is indicated by the government report, which shows that the Washington District for July, in both exports and imports, was ahead of San Francisco. In the same month Puget Sound was surpassed only by New York, Philadelphia, Boston and New Orleans, which means that this port is the fifth port of the country. "Imports for July in the San Francisco district amounted to $4,224,741, as against $4,595,731 for the Washington dis- trict. San Francisco's exports amounted to $3,485,475, and Washington's exports amounted to $4,592,154 for the same month. "The report is significant for the reason that it is the first time in history that this district has led the San Francisco district. "But the real importance of the matter is in the fact that it shows that Seattle is going steadily ahead. San Francisco is a great port and always will be a great port. But the last few years have conclusively demonstrated the fact that 22 Seattle is destined to be the greatest port on the Pacific littoral. The reasons for Seattle's supremacy, of course, are obvious. Seattle is closer to the Orient than any other Pacific Coast city. That means that the great transconti- nental railroads will dump in this city the bulk of the freight consigned to Oriental ports, and also that passengers headed for the Orient will pass through this city. "Moreover, even if we omit the large business of Alaska, which in itself would give us the lead, Seattle is the center of a great industrial and commercial empire; it is in the heart of a marvellously rich section, a center destined to be richer in productiveness than that tributary to San Francisco or any other port on the Pacific. It is logical, therefore, for Seattle to take the lead on this Coast." While the Atlantic seaboard fronts toward a quarter of the world's inhabitants, the Pacific Coast of the United States has one-half of the world's inhabitants on the opposite shore. The awakening of the densely populated Oriental countries to the uses and advantages of modern appliances and products, and the better commercial relations now exist- ing between the countries of the East and the more highly civilized lands of the Occident, have created commerce that has helped to quadruple the shipping of the Port of Seattle, has brought railroads post-haste to the city, have immeasur- ably added to her wealth and population and in the years to come will play an ultra-important part in making Seattle the New York of the Pacific Coast. No imagination is necessary to see Seattle as a city of over 500,000 population in 1915, nor as a city of a million within the ten years following the opening of the Panama Canal. Nor is it a flight of fancy to say that within five years, what are today the outlying districts will then be well within the city's limits and occupied by the homes of prosperous new citizens of this great and growing metropolis. Today a five-mile circle will more than cover the limits of the city, and even today people are looking for homes beyond the city's present bounds. The commerce of the Pacific is in its infancy; manufactur- ing is in its swaddling clothes. Civilization is extending her lines in the East and with man's enlightenment there comes a demand for the products of the more advanced nations. Seattle is the Gateway to the Orient and Alaska, the nearest port of call from the countries with which the greatest volume of business is now transacted, and from whence will come increased trade. The appropriation of approximately $20,000,000 for harbor improvements evidences that the citizens of the Sound City Pacific Coast faces half of world's population $20,000,00 voted for harbor improvements 23 Seattle offers great chance to investor are alive to the necessities o£ the situation. Seattle as a residential, industrial or manufacturing center, has much to recommend it to the individual seeking the ideal home, or to the business man, company or corporation looking for a location where material is available, power abundant and cheap, and transportation by rail or water that is unexcelled. It has even more to commend it to the individual seeking an investment that is at once safe and profitable. Great as has been the increases in population, industry, and realty values during the past fifteen years, they are but indicative of what may be expected to occur in even greater degree during the years to come. The history of New York realty is about to be re-enacted and it is the individual who today purchases Seattle real estate that will profit most by the city's future growth. Never in the history of Seattle was there a more opportune time to invest in city realty or in property lying close to the present corporate limits. Fortunes have been made in the past from Seattle lands when the conditions, both in- ternal and external, were not nearly so favorable as those which exist today. Seattle property offers now to the fore- sighted investor, the maximum of profit at a minimum risk. It is as certain to increase in value as is "the earth to continue in its orbit. Ever since the beginning of history, it has been from the partially developed industries and countries of promise, that the greatest improvements and increases in value have been expected and realized. And it is under these circumstances that the largest number and amount of individual fortunes have been created. Now note this : Whatever the benefits of the Panama Canal are to the world as a whole, they will be most acutely felt and their results most noticeable in Seattle and the North- west, because the completion and operation of the Panama Canal means that Seattle will not only be put upon an equal basis with the other great ports of the world, but because of her present great, and but partly developed, natural, geo- graphical and industrial resources and advantages, Seattle has and will increase its enormous superiority over all other cities of the earth in the struggle for the lion's share of the commerce of the Pacific, the Orient and Alaska, and her realty values will increase in proportion to her growth. [FINIS] P D '9 5. 24 1^! ^MrS /.^^:^v"°o y..^^^-^. co^-^."-o y^\c:.- ^ •^oK ^^-n^, '. 0' •^oK ^^-^^^ 0' ^ °,^ * = "'' A° V "^ .V °^ * = ''° ^0 V, "^ .• <-. *'.. s^ .0 o^ 'o . » * A ^v ^ ^.1, ':^^J^- a:^ -^ » ■a? *<> * » „ - V " • ' ^ • . 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