Of almost equal importance to the state is its great fleet of local steamers which ply its inland waters, and the numerous electric lines that are rapidly uniting its cities and villages and giving a new and cheap method of migration.  From the city of Spokane and radiating in every direction, electric lines are in operation and more are in course of construction, bringing the most distant points of the great “Inland Empire” into close touch with its metropolis and great distributing center.  On the west side the same thing is true, only in less degree.  Between these two groups of transportation facilities, and the commerce which the union of rail and tidewater has created, the citizens of Washington have found innumerable opportunities of employment.

These opportunities are increasing and broadening every year with the continued development of the state and in multiplied and varied form they await the newcomer who possesses the ability to rise to the demands of the situation.

[Illustration:  Plate No. 23.—­Ferry county views.  Plant of Karamin Lumber Co., Karamin, Ferry County. (1) Track of Spokane & B. C. Railway. (2) Track of Spokane Falls & Northern Ry.]

[Illustration:  Plate No. 24.—­Helphrey Ranch, Curlew, Ferry County.]

[Page 29] opportunities in Washington.

Washington is a land of widely diverging natural conditions.  Its topographical characteristics vary from the low southern exposures of the inland river valleys, where strawberries mature as early as April, to the mountain summits of the Cascades and Olympics, where winter reigns supreme the year round.  Between these extremes may be found every range of climate known to the semi-tropical and temperate zones.

For the Homeseeker.

Our lands include those suitable for the successful raising both of the more tender, as well as the hardier fruits.  Every grain, other than corn, yields splendid results, while the truck gardener, small fruit grower, dairyman, stock raiser and, in fact, every man who aims to secure a living and a competence from some form of farm industry will find, if he looks for it, a spot within the confines of this state that will meet his most exacting requirements.

To insure success in any of the above lines requires pluck, energy, stick-to-it-iveness, a determination to secure desired results, and some capital.  But given these, the man who is looking to Washington as a favored location for the establishment of his household gods need have no fear of the outcome.

Land may be secured suitable for any of the different purposes mentioned, and with proper care it may be made to yield beyond the most sanguine expectations.  A market is ready and waiting to absorb every class of product at profitable prices.  Transportation facilities are already excellent and the millions now being expended in new railway construction through the state give some idea of what the future holds forth in this particular.