[On the occasion of the completion of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Ry., connecting Portland with British Columbia, Mr. Hill delivered three noteworthy addresses at Portland, November 6, 1908, at Tacoma November 9 and Seattle November 10. The speech at Portland was an earnest plea for a more intelligent and economical cultivation and conservation of the vast agricultural resources of the Pacific northwest; the other two related largely to the part played by the railways in the development of that territory. The portions of these addresses which follow are taken from the full reports which appeared in the Seattle and Tacoma newspapers the next days.] MR. HILL AT SEATTLE. After Mr. Hill had been introduced and warmly applauded as the "Empire Builder," who had been intimately associated with the development of the northern tier of states from the Lakes to the Pacific Ocean, and he had acknowledged his obligation to the indomitable spirit of Seattle and its people, he began his address by disclaiming the ownership of the Great Northern railway. "Fifteen thousand people own it." said he. "The average holding is about 120 shares. Over 6,000 women are owners in the Great Northern railway, and I have to manage their affairs." Then he proceeded: "It is three years since I was here, and I never expected that three months would pass without my coming to Seattle, but three years have passed and what do I find? I think the city in three years has doubled. I think it has doubled in everything that goes to make a city. Just look at the streets lined with commercial houses which would be a credit to any city in the world. It is far beyond what I expected to find, and I think that Seattle has a future. Seattle is entitled to her growth, and if the same spirit that has moved her citizens in the past continues, if the mantle of the older men falls on the shoulders of the younger men, Seattle cannot help but thrive. You have behind you one of the richest states in the Union; one of the very richest. * * * * * DEVELOPMENT OF RAILWAYS. "Now, to come back to the relation of the railway to the development of the country. Next to the cultivation of the soil itself, in the amount of money invested and in the importance to all the people, is the railway property of this country. It is on a little different basis, I am sorry to say, from the general attitude of the public, from any other property. From what Judge Burke says as to the Golden Rule, if you can have it fairly applied, it would make our hearts glad.