838 



WASHINGTON TERRITORY. 



of 24,213 over the census returns of 1887. The 

 assessed valuation of the Territory for 1888 ex- 

 hibits an increase of $23,058,443 over 188T, the 

 total valuation being $84,621,182. This large 

 increase is partially due to the assessment of 

 railroad property for ad-valorem taxation for 

 the first time. During the year 137 miles of 

 new railroad have been constructed, the total 

 mileage in October being 1,197 miles. 



Coal. For the year ending Sept. 30, the to- 

 tal coal-product of the Territory is estimated 

 at 1,133,801 tons, against 525,705 tons for the 

 year preceding. The mines having the largest 

 yield are as follow : Roslyn, 234,201 tons; Car- 

 bon Hill, 203,702 tons ; Black Diamond, 186,- 

 522 tons; Franklin, 182,921 tons; Newcastle, 

 158,134 tons. 



Charities. A small appropriation was made 

 by the Legislature of 1885-'86 for the main- 

 tenance of a school for defective youth, and a 

 small class of unfortunates that had been as- 

 sembled at Tacoma were removed to Vancou- 

 ver and adopted as wards of the Territory. 

 Through the liberality of citizens of Vancou- 

 ver, a farm was purchased and some buildings 

 erected thereon for the accommodation of this 

 school, and the small appropriation was made 

 to serve. By a bill approved Jan. 26, 1888, an 

 appropriation of $30,000 was made for a build- 

 ing for this school, and an act approved Jan. 

 28, 1888, appropriated $12,000 for maintenance. 

 The building was in process of construction dur- 

 ing the year. 



Militia. By the militia act of this year, above 

 referred to, the National Guard of the Territo- 

 ry was placed upon a secure basis. The troops 

 have been provided with uniforms and armo- 

 ries, and the regiments with colors, and the 

 service thus being made more attractive, the 

 companies were immediately recruited up to 

 the maximum. The force now consists of two 

 regiments of infantry and a troop of cavalry, 

 in all 750 officers and men. 



The Chinese. How strong a feeling exists in 

 the Territory against Chinese labor was shown 

 by an incident in Pierce County. The hop- 

 fields in this county are extensive, and when 

 the season for gathering the crop came, it was 

 found that the labor of Indians and others 

 heretofore employed in this work could not be 

 obtained. It was proposed by some of the 

 hop-growers to import Chinese laborers from 

 Portland, Oregon. Rumors of the fact at once 

 .created excitement, especially in the city of Ta- 

 -coma, where a large public meeting was held to 

 consider the situation. Among the resolutions 

 adopted by this meeting were the following: 



That the public-school board is most respectfully 

 requested to grant applicant children leave of absence 

 to enable them to go to the hop-fields. 



That a committee of five members be appointed in 

 each ward and precinct to take applications, both from 

 employers and employes, to facilitate exchange be- 

 tween' both parties. 



That under no consideration nor in any emergency 

 will we consent to the reintrpduction of Chinese into 

 Pierce County, and that we will use every legal means 

 to prevent the same. 



The immediate result was that white people, 

 who had hitherto considered hop-picking as 

 fit only for Indians and foreigners, readily of- 

 fered their services to the growers, and the 

 crop was gathered without the aid of Chinese. 



Local Option. The Supreme Court of the 

 Territory rendered a decision in January, de- 

 claring that the local-option law passed in 1886 

 was unconstitutional and void. Two of the 

 judges based their opinion on the ground that 

 it delegated legislative power to local bodies, 

 while a third, rejecting this reason, decided 

 that the authority given by the act had by its 

 terms been granted to no legally constituted 

 local officials or bodies. The fourth judge dis- 

 sented from these views. 



Woman Snffrage. In August the Territorial 

 Supreme Court unanimously decided that the 

 woman-suffrage law of 1888 was unconstitu- 

 tional, as it had two years before decided re- 

 garding a similar law of the Legislature of 

 1886 The decision recites that the Legislature 

 of the Territory has only such power as is 

 given it by the organic act and other acts of 

 Congress, and the question, therefore, turns 

 upon the construction of the word "citizen" 

 in that act. The court finds that the use of 

 that term was to indicate males only. Section 

 1,859 refers to "male citizens" and the court 

 reasons that in all places where the mere word 

 citizen is used it means "male citizen." They 

 find that the Constitution of the United States 

 and all laws of Congress were made with the 

 purpose and intention of males alone exercising 

 the right of franchise. 



Political. On Sept. 4 a Democratic Territorial 

 Convention met at Spokane Falls, and re- 

 nominated Delegate Charles S. Voorhees for 

 Congress. J. J. Hunt was nominated for Briga- 

 dier-General of the Territorial militia, and Hil- 

 lory Butler for Adjutant-General. The plat- 

 form adopted contains the following: 



That we are opposed to the un-American policy of 

 interfering with or destroying any now legally exist- 

 ing private or public business interests, by 'sumptuary 

 laws or otherwise, without just compensation and due 

 process of law. 



The Republican Territorial Convention met 

 at Ellensburg on Sept. 11, and nominated 

 John B. Allen for Delegate, A. P. Curry for 

 Brigadier-General, and R. G. OBrien for Ad- 

 jutant-General. Its platform contains the fol- 

 lowing : 



We arraign the Democratic Administration for its 

 failure to place an adequate force on the frontier of 

 Washington Territory to prevent the unlawful entry 

 of Chinese. 



We heartily advocate the forfeiture of all unearned 

 land grants within our Territory, and their restriction 

 to the use of actual settlers, and we demand the im- 

 mediate passage of the Dolph Bill declaring forfeiture 

 of that portion of the grant to the Northern Pacific 

 Railway Company between Wallula and Portland. 



We are in favor of legislation establishing the eight- 

 hour system for the working of mines, and prohibit- 

 ing the employment of child labor therein, and we 

 disapprove of the introduction of armed men for tb'- 

 purpose of intimidating and humiliating laborers in 

 mines, mills, etc. 



