THE HORNING ' OREGONIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1903.
things the moist climate of the -western
counties holds special hazards. For ex
ample; fruits of many lclnds grow in per-,
fection, but for some of the more delicate
kinds the production Is not dependable
season in and season out. Oftentimes the
rains persist so late in the Spring as to
wash the blossoms from the trees, and
come so early In the Fall as to cause the
fruit to rot before It Is ripe for harvest.
It is found, too, that some of our more
tender fruits, while more luscious than
the fruits of California, have not the
toughness of skin and strength of fiber
which enable them to be transported long
distances to market. Fruits -we shall
always, have in great quantity and in the
finest quality for home consumption, and
of some sorts more particularly apples J der the conditions which prevail in Ore
and pears we shall continue to supply the j gon will probably come through Individual
general markets; but fruit will not be
with us as it is with California, a lead
ing commercial staple and one of the
chief bases of our industrial life.
And something of what is here said with
respect to fruit applies equally to many
field and garden products. Owing to the
great rainfall of Western Oregon about
equal to that of the South of England
there is a handicap upon whatever calls
for a long growing 'season. In four years
out of five, the best results may be at
tained, but the occasional adverse season
Involves production In uncertainties, hold
the farmer In that anxious state betwixt
hope and doubt, and serving to destroy
the dependability upon which commercial
prestige and certainty of profit "depend.
In the long run every productive coun
try comes to place Its chief reliance upon
those special lines of production in which
the natural conditions work with and sup
port the efforts of the farmer. It will be
so here. The -people of "Western Oregon
will not abandon the wide range which
their Industry lias undertaken, but they
will more and more concentrate their
efforts upon those things in which they
find help rather than hindrance in the
climate. Much rainmakes much grass.
And much grass Is a certain foundation
for animal husbandry.. For livestock and
its products tho demand is Insatiate. Do
mestic animals1 thrive in all the weathers
known to this country, and its long sea
son of rain puts no limitation upon the
labors of the stock business. The stock
industry is one in which our working
season covers or may be made to cover
cvnry day In the year, and to which our
moist climate is not a drawback, but. on
the other hand an amazing aid. And un
der these conditions it is not surprising
that energy and capital are seeking t
business.
Within the past five years the number
of cows in the "Valley has been more thanj
doubled. Lands long cropped to wheat
with poor returns have been given to pas
ture and have advanced in value. Forage
crops, of which until lately even our most
progressive agriculture knew nothing, are
being widely cultivatedv and as the capa
bilities of the country for feed production
develop there is a natural disposition to
multiply the numbers and the variety of
herds. It is found that there is more
profit in feeding the grain product of a
Willamette Valley farm than In selling it
In the market j
The livestock industry brings a multi
tude of profitable side industries Into the
country. The creamery has transformed
our' dairy practice, and Is giving to Ore
gon a commercial reputation. The cheese
factory is another source of large profit.
Western Oregon Is counted on nowadays
as a source of beef supply. The country
lor the first time In Its history produces
more hogs than it consumes. In brief,
the livestock Industry has become one of
the large interests of the country: 'and
under .this industry, which Is -making
constant and heavy" advances; the- country
Is more prosperous than It has been at
any other period In Its history. It has
found a department of production In
which the supply can never crowd the de
mand; to which it is specially adapted by
nature. In which Its working season Is not
curtailed 'by the earllness, the lateness
nor the persistence of the Oregon mists.
The region east of the Cascade Moun
tains is essentially a stock country. Its
conditions, while In many respects con
trasting with those of Western Oregon,
are' similar In this sense, namely, that
they admirably serve the purposes of the
stockman. The open-range methods of
stockkeeplng are fast giving way to do
mestic methods, and as the new condi
tion succeeds the old the proportions- of
the industry increase both as to the num
bers of animals maintained and to the
value of their annual products.
IRRIGATION MOVEMENT.
A Thing- of "Very Great Promise to
Orecon.
CLOSELY allied with matters above
discussed is the interest of irrigation,
to which popular attention has been
directed very especially by recent events.
The subject is still new in Oregon, for
.until very recently it has been a common
opinion that Oregon has about as muck
use for irrigation as a coach for a fifth
wheel. In truth, it has been a boast with
us when recounting the advantages of our
country that it was a land In which "the
Almighty attended to the irrigation." But
we grow wiser as we grow in age and
experience.
Even yet the public mind does not grasp
the relation of irrigation practice to the
naturally over-moist region of Western
Oregon. It is not yet understood that In
irrigation that is, in the artificial con
trol of the water resources of the country
there lies the possibility of extending
'our too short working season in the
Spring by relieving the lands of their
superabundant moisture and in the Sum
mer and Fall by purveying water in time
to give the farmer a chance to get at his
Fall work before the Fall storms make
cultivation impossible. A few. Indeed,
understand It, but the greater many have
not yet discovered that Irrigation (so
broadened as to include drainage) is tho
means by which the best possible results
are to be got out of this wet country,
with its naturally restricted working sea
son. But advanced agricultural science
sees the condition clearly anvls preach
ing the doctrine of artificial corfol of tho
water supply, with an emphasis bound,
sooner or later to be reflected In a vastly
enlarged productive capacity throughout
the Willamette Valley.
Popular interest in irrigation Just now
relates cnlefly to the country east of the
Cascade Mountains, where a limited prac
tice under Individual initiative is already
working marvels. A few small and pri
vate ditch systems, in conjunction with
the alfalfa plant, have within half a dozen
years revolutionized the great stock in
dustry of the eastern country. The once
dreaded Winter season has been robbed
of Its terrors lor stockmen; and more, the
feed-yielding capability of the so-called
range country has been more than dou
bled. "Very considerable areas of land
barren for nine months of each year un
der natural conditions have been made
splendidly productive; and lands once re
garded as uninhabitable lor stock during
half of each season are now regions of
abundance all the year round. A single
enterprise during the past Summer has
ore than doubled the bay-producing
Jeapablllty of Lake County.
' And what has thus been achieved by
?
detached and individual enterprise is but
a suggestion of what may be done by or
ganized effort. It i3 seen that the thirsty
plains and hillsides of Eastern Oregon
may In large measure be redeemed by
water, and it is suddenly discovered that
the streams which have for ages been
running to waste may be made the
sources of profit, and, in connection with
the adjacent dry country, the basis of an
almost unlimited progress. It is tho"dawn
ing upon the public mind of these great
facts in relation to the country east of
the mountains that has stimulated inter
est in irrigation and which has made a
concerted movement for the general pro-
j motion of irrigation possible.
The larger development of Irrigation ua
and relatively small enterprises, through
the conservation of the drainage of small
watersheds and Its application to small
tracts; and It has,recently been suggested
by a careful observer that a time will soon
come when the elevated and uncultlvable
tracts of Eastern Oregon will be more
valuable for watershed than they have
ever been for range. Every farmer will
have his small reservoir supplied from" an
area of hill land, from which seasonably
he will flood his cultivated lands, and in
the aggregate the tracts thus served will
be greater by far than those redeemed by
wholesale process. One of the good re
sults of irrigation agitation at this time
will be to spread the knowledge of irri
gation methods and to show to individual
owners of small tracts the opportunities
for irrigation, which, though now unseen,
are really at the door of nearly every
Eastern Oregon landowner.
Irrigation projects upon a large scale
have been instituted under the Carey law
In Central Oregon particularly in the re
gion of the Upper Deschutes some five or
six companies being already in that field.
They have made a claim to several hun
dred thousand acres of land in the aggre
gate and are planning to "cover" them
with water to be drawn from the Des
chutes River. Questions have been raised
as to the capability and good faith of
some of these companies, and in the minds
of many there exists a doubt if their op
erations will come to anything of any real
account in the development of the coun
try. Up to this time tho Interior Depart- .
ment nt Washington has not confirmed
the contracts entered into on the part of
the state, and until this Is done matters
must rest In abeyance. Partisans of the
irrigation exploiters are active in ' their
behalf and are prepared, so it Is alleged,
to demonstrate their preparation for the
business they have undertaken. The
whole matter Is involved in some confu
sion and not a little acrimony, and nobody
Is able to say what the end will be.
Great hopes are founded in many quar
ters upon the plans of the Government
under the irrigation law enacted last year.
Of the fund already on hand Oregon Is
equitably entitled to approximately $1,000.
000. and it Is presumed that this amount
or something like it will be expended here
If a suitable situation can be found for It.
There are Intimations that the Govern
ment agents would like to operate In the
district of the Upper Deschutes, and on
the part of many It is feared that they
will be hindered from so doing by the
operations of the private companies to
which reference has Just been made. What
will come out of It is only to "be conjec
tured: possibly a great National work;
possibly nothing at 'all.
But whether much or little results from
these large projects, the state is certain
to make large progress during the next
few years through irrigation enterprises
pursued on a small and Individual scale.
Where every hillside may be made to yield
-water, where small irrigation sites aro
everywhere, and where every piece of land
can be made with artificial moisture to
double or treble Its productiveness, there
must before long be a great general de
velopment. It has. indeed, already begun
In all parts of Oregon, in the semi-arid
region east of the Cascade Mountains, and
each season witnesses as a result of It a
large increase in the productive power of
tho country.
THE MOVEMENT IN TIMBER.
Consolidation of Holdings Preparing:
"Way for Great Activity.
THE timber industry. In Its contrast of
earlier and later phases, illustrates
several facts in the progress of the coun
try worth while to consider. Prior to 1S97
a very large proportion of the native for
est resource of the country had become
personally appropriated that is, much of
our forested land was in private hands.
But it was for the greater part in small
and Individual holdings. Milling opera
tions were relatively on a small basis,
because, with all our wealth of timber.'
tho supply of logs was uncertain both, as
to quantity and as to' price. Furthermore,
the Eastern market for lumber was
largely unavailable, owing, to the lack of
understanding and good faith between the
several railroad companies whose lines
had to be used to reach the Eastern cen
ters. It was a situation in which the ele
ments of successful operation were either
uncertain or positively at odds. And, as
might have been expected, the lumbering"
industry languished or was pursued only
upon a relatively small scale.
Lumbering on a scale at once large and
economical and large operations are es
sential to economy is the business of con
solidated capital. It calls lor a great man
ufacturing plant. It must command either
extensivemarketconnectlons In the East or
a fleet of boats to operate by sea or both.
It must build and operate railroads Into
the forest districts for its supply of raw
material. Its first essential, it will be
seen, is command of a vast timber supply.
No greater business folly could be con
ceived than the creation of these essen
tial and costly facilities without a basis
In the ownership of a timber field suffi
cient to Bupply manufacturing operations
for a long series of years. The great bar
in times past to lumbering operations on
a great scale was the infinitely divided
ownership of the timber resource on the
one hand and on the other the lack of
co-ordination among the connecting rail
road lines leading to the Eastern markets.
Almost for the lifetime of a generation
our most Immediate, obvious and avail
able resource of a large kind lay rela
tively idje, not so much for the want of
capital as lor the lack of the spirit which
brings together and turns to co-operative
action and to profitable nccount all the
available resources of community life and
power. And the recent activity in lum
bering, while to a -considerable extent,
unquestionably, stimulated by outside con
ditions, follows the acquisition of our
timber fields in largo areas by associa
tions of capitalists, and such combina
tions among railroads as enable a single
management to make and maintain rates
for through carriage of the lumber prod
uct from the producing centers on the
Coast to the. consuming markets in the
East.
No other department of our Industry,
perhtpa, illustrates more obviously the
truth'that Oregon is .still in the making,
than tin present, active market lor tim
ber lands.. There Is scarcely a forested
district in the country In' which large
-buyers are -not operating. In the Nehalera
country, in Tillamook, in the timber fields
of Clatsop and Columbia Counties, in the
Mount St. Helens district, in the Cascade
Mountains, In the Klickitat, m the-Blue
Mountains, In far-away Klamath every
where it is tho same. The timber re
source of the country is being consolidat
ed and is getting into the hands of men of
large capital. This is essentially a pro
gressive movement, for it Is a movement
preliminary to development of lumbering
operations on a very large scale. The
men who are putting great sums Into for
est lands are of course ' counting on get
ting it out with a profit, and the only way
to do this is to put thfc wheels of manufac
turing lndustry'a'nd of transportation into
motion. That we are upon the eve of a
widespread development of the lumbering
Industry Is an assurance of the timber
buying operations of the past two years,
for It is only by. practical lumbering op
erations that those who have been invest
ing heavily can get their money back.
RIVER NAVIGATION SYSTEM.
An Immediate Resource and a Pow
erful Lever In Portland' Ilandn.
PORTLAND has had and continues to
have far more cause for immediate
concern about the river channels which
connect her with the productive country
of the. interior basin than with those lead
ing to the sea. The latter, under the In
fluences exerted by a pressing commerce
and with the arrangements already made
by the City of Portland, will take care of
themselves are in fact already working
toward a satisfactory and permanent con
clusion. But energy Is required to bring
about the work through which the Infer
ior basin is to be freed from the oppres
sion of arbitrary and unnatural agree
ments between transportation agencies.
Already one of the two great barriers to
navigation of the Upper Columbia River
the Cascade rapids has been nullified, but
there remains to be accomplished a great
er work which will open a way for steam
boats through the obstruction of the
dalles. Against ihls proposal, which calls
for a great sum of money, and to which
only the resources of the general Govern
ment are adequate, It Is argued that where
railroads and rivers run parallel the traf
fic commonly takes the former; and as a
matter of fact this must be admitted to
be true. But while this Is true. It Is
further to be said that to gain this com
petitive traffic the railroads Invariably
make rates . below the level of their
charges where the conditions are not com
petitive, thus giving to shippers a great
and tangible advantage in the form of
reduced freight rates. That the Colum
bia River under any possible conditions 1
will in fact carry any great proportion
of the traffic- of tho Interior basin is to
be doubted.. But it is not to be doubted
that an open river available to competi
tive operatlons--would exert a powerful
influence upon the policy of the railroads
operating In the interior basin; that it
would In fact break down the system un
der which the several transportation com
panies now dlvido the traffic of tho coun
try at rates which permit a considerable
proportion of It to go by an unnatural
and costly route over the summit of the
Cascade Mountains.
It goes without saying that any rate
which permits commodities to be trans
ported at a profit to the carrier over a
route which In Its course lifts a full mile
above the terminal levels, is excessive,
when a water-level route Is available.
Mr. James J. -Hill,- the eminent railroad
man, is authority for the common-sense
statement that the producers of a coun
try have a right to demand a freight
rate based upon the shortest haul and the
most economical route in other words,
the most level route and this being so.
the producers of the interior basin aro
clearly charged too much. That the sys
tem will be changed that the charge will
be adjusted upon the shortest route and
the easiest grades Is in the nature of
things not to be expected until the pos
sible advantage of the Columbia River
shall be made available. Clearly, the best
hope of the Interior basin Is the open
river; and the instinct which leads its
people to urge and continue unceasingly
to urge this -work-Is a sound one.
The work accomplished at the Cascades,
while only half effective until the further
and greater work at The Dalles shall bo
achieved, demonstrates conclusively the
value of operations lopking to the exten
sion of river navigation. It Is true that
tho railroad -carries many times -over the
amount of business carried by the steam
boat lines which operate between Portland
and The Dalle?, but- business originating
or terminating at" The Dalles is done at
rates influenced by the river competition,
and the whole territory tributary to the
river system enjoys an advantage which
contributes greatly to Its 'prosperity. In
effect, the -basin' -of the Lower Columbia
and the Willamette Rivers, with access by
water, to Portland, has by the Govern
ment work at the Cascades been extend
ed to Include the. whble region tributary to
the. river between .the Cascades and The
Dalles. Already.-it means much prac
tically to .the immediate country, while Its
possibilities of -advantage are great be
yond calculation. '
This last feature of the situation is Just
now being illustrated with Interesting em
nhasls by the construction by a Portland
company of a railrtfad into the Klickitat
Valley, connecting -with Portlarid by
means of river navigation. The Klickitat
country -lies east of The Dalles obstruc
tlon, but It is connected with the Colum
bia River . at a' point below The Dalles
by the Canyon of the Klickitat River. It
is through this canyon that a railroad is
now being constructed, to connect as
above stated with a line of steamboats
operating through tne Cascades Locks
between The Dalles and Portland. Of
course, but for the Government work
which haB made - the navigation of the
Cascades rapids possible, this enterprise
would never have' been., thought of and
the. Klickitat ..Valley would have been left
for another, Indefinite period .-to pioneer
devices and 'to limited conditions.
This Klickitat enterprise Is a thing
almost .startling in what it suggests to the
capital and Initiative of Portland. There
lies a great thotigh.all.but unoccupied em
pire in Central .and Southeastern Oregon
which the established railroads have not
attempter to entcrc preferring to suit their,
own convenience, than to consult the gen
eral interests of., development and pro
gress. And when In- their own time this
inland empire shall .be tapped, It will be
at such points and with such purposes as
the professional- railroad builders shall
consider most advantageous for their own
interest Portland, long and naturally so
licitous for this wprkof development, has.
been told in so many words that she must
wait upon tho jpleasure of the railroad
men; and the assurance of the latter has
been based upon thejr control of the only
pass through the Columbia River gate
way. But, If the Klickitat country can
be brought to a connection with Port
land by an independent line of railway
co-operating . with river navigation, why
cannot Central and Southeastern Oregon
make use of .tbesatae facility? The weak
point In the railroad monopoly is made
clear, for with the river open even so farj
as The Dalles .there Is a nay by which
the -arrogaae- of the railroad people may
defied. The fact is one of prodigious I
ilflcance; and It Is permanently to be '
significan
so, sin.ee connection with the river at once
selves, all difficulties about terminal facil
ities. It is the "terminal" club with which
bigT&ilroads usually beat the life out of
little ones: but there can be no oppres
sion no swallowing of small fry by
whales where there Is a possible connection-
with" river navigation, with Its free
access to the city front of Portland.
These considerations are here dealt with
at some length because they exhibit con
ditions and possibilities Important In any
study .of the development and progress- of
the country.
i BAR AND RIYER CHANNELS.
Conditions of Portland's
niKhvray to the Sea.
Water
THE only questionable circumstances
relative to Portland's commercial po
sition have been the conditions at the
Columbia River bar and the channels
between the river's mouth and the city.
Interested misrepresentation has greatly
exaggerated the difficulties of the situa
tion, but nobody can deny that there
is in it a basis for adverse criticism. In
earlier times both the bar and the river
channels were matters of small, consc
ience, but as tho traffic of the country
increased and as the. fashion in ships grew
larger, it was found that the conditions
would have to be artificially Improved.
Fortunately, no problem was or Is In
vdlved In the matter. The channel of -the
Columbia bar has a width of eight miles,
and it is a mere .matter of Investment
artificially to limit the breadth of this
flood and thus to Increase Its depth and
the rapidity of Its flow and by the latter
means to Increase its scouring power.
The National Government has undertaken
this work, and while Its processes are
slow they are likewise sure. That in time
it will bo complete and that a permanent
depth sufficient to any possible demand
of commerce will bo established, no dis
interested person questions. In the mean
time, even with the conditions at the bar
at their worst, commerce Is not suffering.
Vessels of ordinary tvne freelv nom nnr!
go, with no further Inconvenience than 1 1Iberal PUcv Poking to promotion of the
that Involved in waiting upon the tides, I Interests of the country through lmml
ttnd even the larger ships of Pacific com- I sratlon. The Harriman combination main
merce safely pass the bar at favorable talns Qn Immigration office at Chicago
seasons. The record of losses does not and br means ot regularly employed
Indicate that the Columbia River bar Is Q5cnts drums up Immigration business a
a dangerous one. More care is. of neces- sPecIes enterprise Impracticable under
slty, given to the business of navigation at ! the old svstero-
the Columbia River entrance than at the ' Oregon has not given her voice for rail-
entrance to San Francisco Bay or Puget !
Sound, but this Is of itself wholesome.
and its result is seen in the rarity of accl
dents, either to life or shipping.
Such difficulties as have been encoun
tered in the navigation of the river chan- !
ncis. between the Columbia bar and the
City of Portland are annoying rather than
dangerous. Delays there have been at
times, but no ship Is ever lost or dam
aged in these calm waters. Furthermore,
Portland has taken upon herself the care
of these channels, and under a system of
special taxation provides for such work
as maintaining at all times, excepting a
few weeks each year, of the very lowest
water, ample shlnroom for a distance of
im n . .1.1. ,
uijiuiiuiii:i liv ujuua. J- siup V.-UUUUV1
of sufficient depth to float any ship known i
to commerce Is In process of construction; J
and already the work Is sufficiently ad-
vane eu to relieve any but an adversely
inieresicu mina or tne suentest rorebon-
w I
ing.. in brief, the hazards of the Colum-i
ma iivcr Dar ana oi tne cnanneis Between have been too far away from the sources
Portland and the ocean have been more ; ot population. People coming westward
In, the nature of a bugabop than a.real-j nave found It eaBler and cheaper to set-Hy-a
bugaboo- wh!chrhasr troubled the tJe ln Kansas, Nebraska" and Minnesota
shipping Interest of Portland and the gen- j tnan to como on to the Coast. Many, too.
erai world of commerce far less than the .
imagination
rivals. -
of ambitious commercial
THE RAILROAD COMBINATIONS.
Some , of Their Immediate Effects
llelpful to Local Interests.
WHATEVER may be the, ultimate
effects of the teccnt combination of
railroad-interests, It is fair" to say that ln
some. ways up to the present time they
have worked to the advantage of Port
land.. For example, prior to the past
year and a half, the policy of the South
ern - Pacific Company, which operates ;
several lines of railroad ln Western
Oregon", was to divert Eastern business
in" so far as it could to tho California
faia' rbute. This was, under 'the circum
stances, natural enough. The lines con
necting California with the East were
otfned by the same company, and freight
routed that way contributed to Its reve
nues, while freight from Western Qregon
points routed by way of Portland and the
direct line to the East contributed to the
advantage of the Union Pacific Company.
By -'the combination of these Interests, It
became l consideration to divert the
Westcrh" Oregon business to the. shortest
arid , easiest route and that means the
route by way of Portland, instead of the
route by way of San Francisco. Today,
all '.Eastern freights originating in West
ehf Oregon go through the Portland gate-
COUNTIES.
Baef'(a) .
Benton
Clkck&mas
Clarkjb) ..
Cltftsop. ....
Columbia .
Coos .......
CrodR" (o) .
uurry
Douglas
aun&m" v v
Grant fe)
Harney (e") '..
jackjon-;(f"i
Josepbir.w,(f)
Klamatli g)
Lake'fg)
.Lifin'e
Lihbpln (n)
Lewis (b)
Llnh
Malheur (a)
Marlon
Morr6w (h) .
Multnomah
P61K
Sherman (1)
Tillamook
Umatilla (J)....
'Umpqua (k) .........
Union (I)
WallowA (1)
Wasco (m)
Washington
WHeeler (b)
Yamhill
Total
(a) Malheur organized from part of Baker In 18S7.
b) Now ln State of Washington.
fe) Organized frcm part of Wasco ln 18S2.
(d) Organized from parts of Umatilla and Wasco In 1S85.
(e) Harney organized frqm part or Grant in 1SS9.
cf) Part of Jackson annexed to Josephine since 1880.
(s) Klamath organized from part of Lake In 18S2.
(nj organizca irom part or Umatilla
tl) Organized from part of Wasco.
Farts taken to form Gilliam and
. (kl Given to uougias in 1562.
(1) Wallowa organized from part of Union in 1SS7.
(m) Parts taken to form Crook ln 1SS2, Gilliam in 18S5, and Sherman" in 1SS9.
- (n) Organized from Benton ln 1S93. .....
,- (0) Organized from parts of Grant. Crook and Gilliam In 1899.
way as a result of the railroad combina
tion; Again, ln times past it has been diffi
cult to make and maintain agreements
between the several, railroad companies
as to through rates for Pacific and trans-Pacific-
freights, for no sooner was an
agreement made than one or more of its
links.- would fall through misunderstand
ing or lack of good faith. The comblna-
tion has changed this, for the arrange
ment by which many companies co-op
erate in the transcontinental haul is sub
ject "to a single wM-rthe traffic director
of the combine and once fixed it has the
admirable quality of staying fixed. This
is a point of special value in connection
with Immigration rates to the Coast.
Again and again rates have been agreed
upon by representatives of component
lines, only to be broken whenever the in
terest or the whim of any one of them
chanced to run counter to the terms and
conditions of the contract.
Under some principle not easily compre
hensible to the lay mind it has" not in the
past been possible to get common rates
for Immigrants to any but general points
like Portland, Tacoma, San Francisco or
Seattle. Immigrants coming here were
required to pay local rates If they wished
to look about the country, and this fact
has been one of special disadvantage; first.
It rendered It difficult and costly for the
intending settler to examine the country;
second, it promoted unsatisfactory set
tlements too often ending in disgust with
the country. But no matter what argu
ments were presented, it was found prac
tically impossible' to secure more favor
able terms from the railroads. If ont
was willing to extend the common-point
rate, with stop-over privilege, another
would object; and when such an arrange
ment was once or twice effected tempo
rarily, something soon happened to nul
lify It and defeat Its purpose.
Under the combine, the desired arrange
ment was immediately put into effect and
has been retained, with every indication
that it will be permanent. Immigrants
now leaving Missouri River points are
ticketed via Portland to Ashland, with
privilege of stopping at one or twenty in
termediate points, at pleasure that Is,
they may go through almost to the Cali
fornia lino if they wish and look over the
country in detail as they go. This means
much to the southern part of the state
and to the upper parts of. the Willamette
Valley, which are getting a good share
of the incoming population, whereas, un
der the old rule, they rarely saw an immi
grant; and it should further be- added
! that with the through line in Its own
nanus tne combine has adoptea a most
road combination; In too many ways her
Interests aro menaced by It. The general
sentiment of the state Is instinctively
against It, for It Is felt that the powers
which hold it are too great for the per-
manent safet ot the country. But at the
same time It must be confessed that at
some points It serves the immediate In
terest of the country better than the old
system.
GROWTH IN POPULATION.
Its Distribution Tlironprh the Past
Hnlf-Ccntury-.
T"HE crrowth of the Pacific States in
population has been relatively slow-
that Is, the progress of the country has
not been comparable with the growth of
the regions nearer the center of the
tt.u..i e rr-ui i t. i
uuiicu xiaks iiao uccu uuc lu hhj
geographical facts of our situation. We
ArMifoit h nh-niiitA nnt!nn tmm
old connections involved in distance. And
for a long period before the connecting
lines of railroad were built the Journey
was extremely difficult, and ln most cases
practically an Impossibility, on the score
of cost.-
Orcgon has been slow of growth with
tho rest of the Coast. Her first direct
line of railroad was not ln operation until
1893, and there were special reasons why
It at first contributed more largely to
populate the State of Washington than
Oregon. The westward movement always
suffers ln depressed seasons, and while,
since the days - of the railroad,' a great
body of new population has come Into the
country, there have been times, as
in
1S93-4-5, when there was almost no Im
migrant movement. Within the past 18
months the movement has been more
rapid than at any -time ln the history of
the country. The transcontinental rail
roads have been making commendable ef
forts to advertise the country and bring
In new population, and very great things
have come out of it. Within the 90 days
for which a special Immigrant rate was
made last Spring, a total of about 22.000
hom'eseekers came into the two States of
Oregon and Washington, and the move
ment continues at a rate of several thou
sand persons each month. The general
growth of population in the State of Ore
gon is shown In the following statement,
covering by decadc3 the period since 1S30.
The figures have been compiled from the
United States Census reports:
1550.
1SC0.
1S70. 1SS0. 1S90. 1900.
2,804 ASK 6,764 15.594
4.5S4 6,403 8,650 6.7C6
B-,993 9.260 15.233 19.6CS
i,255 "7,222 "16016 "12,765
863 2.042 5.191 6.237
1,644 4,834 8.874 10.324
3,244 4.519
504 1.21S 1.709 1.S6S
6.066 9.596 11.S64 14.565
3,800 3,201
2,251 4,303 5.030 E.94S
'2.559 2.593
4.778 8.154 1L453 13.633
1.204 2.4S5 4.S78 7.517
- 2.444 5.106
2. SOI 2.604 2.S47
6.42C 9,411 15.19S 19.601
! I ....... 3,575
"S.ni 12676 'Ts2G3 'is'&O!
I 2,601 4.302
9,965 14.576 22.934 27,713
I 4.203 1,161
11,510 25,203 74.8S4 103,167
4.701- 6,601 7.S58 10.075
1.792 3,477
4fr 970 2,932 4.471
2,915- 9.607 13,381, 19.398
2,652 6.650 i2.044 '16.076
3.661 5,538
2.500 11.120 9.183 13.481
,4.261 7.0S2 11,972. -14,457
2,443
5.012 . 7.947. 10.692. 13.470
90.923 174.768 313,764 417,308
S14
1,859
643
462
3,074
3.466
"498
632
445
293
3.203
3.736
1.(23
4.7S0
"6772
70S8
i'.isi
3.625
"558" I
'-994 1
2,749
1,031
95
i,250
1.639
2.S01
3.245
.2.652
1.519
13234
52.4GC
in 18S5.
Morrow In 1SS5. '
MEASURES OF PROGRESS.
Gro-irth of the State Illustrated by
Agricultural Statistics,
THER interesting measures of the
progress of Oregon are afforded by
the census returns covering general agri
cultural Interests. Zt could be wished that
they were more In detail and more sys
tematic in method; but with their many?
deficiencies they ire still all we have. The
figures following have been worked out of.
the official reports for a long series of
years. They are not presented as an ex
position of the industrial conditions of the
country only as . indicating the propor
tions and periods of its internal industrial
development. The following" table sets
forth the relative values of farm-property
by decades, during the fifty years begin
ning in 1850 and ending with the last
enumeration in 1S90:
Value of !m-
pleraents Value of
and machinery. livestock.
1SS0 J 1S3.423 $ 1.876.193
1860 ; 952,313 v 5.946,255
1S70 1.253,717 6.S2S.675
IS80 2.SS6.173 13.EOS.392
1890 -i.5K.770 22.WS.830
1000 6.505.725 33.917.04S
The following table indicates the num
bers of domestic animals In the country
at the six census periods during the past
50 years, and it is given here as a measure
of the state's development: "
9 o
3 1
&2
1850...
8.466'8114
9.427 24.183 30.235
15.3SS
86.052
I860...
37.7S2I7463I 52.170 03.4921 81.G1S
1S70...
54.233I2444 I 48.335 69.431 119.455! 318.123
1SS0...
46.S4SI4122I 59.540 352.601I156.222I1.0S3.162
1S90.
ri55.115i3144 114.156t403.3432OS.259ll,7$O.312
1900. ... i295.GS3! .. . . l22,447577.S56i2S1.416i3,149,952
Still another measure ef the industrial
movement of the state s afforded by the
following statement (complied from the
National census reports) of farm valua
tions frcm 1850 to 1900, inclusive:
Farm valuations
Farm Lands, fences
valuations, and buildings.
150 4.90S.7S2 $ 2.S49.170
1S60 22.039.161 15.200.593
1S70 30.475.3S1 22.352.989
1SS0 '. 73.673.140 56.90S.573
1S30 143.O24.S0O 115.S13.2W
1900 172.761,287 132,337.514
The number and valuation of farms ln
Oregon In XsvJ is reported by the National
census as follows:
No. of farms 33,837
With housB 34.976
Acreage 10.071.3SS
Acreage improved 3.32S.303
Value farm property J172.761.2S7
Land and implements, except
brlldlngs 113.137.S20
Valuo of buildings 19,199.694
Value Implements and machinery 6.506.723
Value of livestock 33,917,048
ORGANIZATION OF TRADE.
Strong: ln Its Traditions, Its Capital,
Its Energies and Its 3Ien.
CROM the beginnings of organized com-
1 merclal operations in the Pacific North
west there has never been a time when
Portland has not been pre-eminently the
-business capital of the country. Before
there were a thousand people In Port
land there was established here a body
of business men of which Hon. H. W.
Corbett Is a surviving representative
figure, strong In character and business
experience and in established credit in
the Eastern cities from which they came.
They were not mere transient adventur
ers, but men who had come literally to
grow up with the country. All at first
were general retail dealers, but as the
city emerged from the village they
drifted into specialties and from, special
ties into consolidations devoted to the
wholesale exploitation of particular
branches of mercantile trade. Before Ihe
pioneer era was past the trade of Port
land had become a complete and very
strong organism, with every essential line
represented and supported by experience.
personal force and abundant capital and
with a credit in the great markets which
has never yet been impaired.
From the beginning the mercantile or
ganization of Portland has been a strong
one.- and broadly speaking the strong men
of the community have been merchants.
Circumstances have combined to stimu
late the mercantile spirit of the com
munlty; and to this day Its tone, tem
per and ambitions reflect the mercantile
spirit. Even the social habit of the city
illustrates this fact. The clubs of Port
land are essentially associations of mer
chants, and wherever citizens are gath
ered together there, ln four cases out of
five, the talk Is that of business men. So
positive Is the business spirit of the city
that It has not developed among its own
sons the material for its own professional
equipment. Its lawyers and. doctors have
sprung largely from the rural popula
tlon of the country or have come into the
country as immigrants from the East.
Whatever of general criticism may be
urged against Portland, nothing can be
said In disparagement of her mercantile
energy. Rival cities have at some other
points claimed superiority above Portland
but nobody has even pretended to rival
Portland as a center of trade, for in this
department she has stood so far ahead
of ail other cities as to outdo them all
In the amount of capital employed and
In the volume of transactions. How
much of the general pre-eminence of
Portland has been due to her mercantile
activity it Is not possible to estimate
with any approach to accuracy, but there
can be no question that it has been the
backbone of her life, the condition which
has made every other condition subor
dinate. Today the trade organization of Port
land is not second in Its capital, its per
sonal strength or Its general power to
that of any other city of equal popula
tion In tho country or of any country.
It Is complete ln that It covers the whole
field of mercantile activity and strong In
that every line, is well backed and soundly
established in the field of our general
activities. Portland sells more commodi
ties ln the State .of Washington than are
sold in the aggregate by the three Wash
ington cities; she sells more to Idaho than
are sold by the cities of that state: and
to a very considerable extent, her opera
tions extend to' Alaska, British Colum
bia and Montana. In some large lines
of trade calling for very great capital
nbtably the dry goods trade Portland has
the only houses whose scale of opera
tions entitles them to standing among
the largo mercantile organizations of the
country.
In. half a. century Portland has accu
mulated a great capital. Her rich men
are many so many that she Is said to
have more millionaires than any other
community of equal numbers in the United
States. And much of this great accu
mulatlon Is of late years going into what
may be called outside ventures. It Is
hardly possible to go anywhere in the
States of Oregon, Washington or Idaho
without encountering traces of iPortland
capital and enterprise. Portland is very
actively engaged in developing the mln
ing resources of Southern and Eastern
Oregon; Portland capital is at work in
the orchards of Josephine County and in
the creameries of Tillamook: Portland
capital Is tr;lldlng a railroad Into the
Klickitat Valley In Washington: Port
land capital is establishing irrigation
works ln various parts of Eastern Ore
gon; Portland capital is back of the .trade
of many parts of Eastern Washing
ton; Portland capital Is the basis of
much of the banking business of the coun
try, including the strongest financial in
stitution In the City of Seattle.
There Is a reason in the nature of
things and quite independent of the tLmrC-
clal and personal strength of the city
why Portland should have and hold the
mercantile supremacy of the Pacific
Northwest. It is that Portland sits at
a. point easily and naturally accessible
from all parts of the country. There is
a limited district which is immediately
tributary to the cities o Puget Sound,
another little district which is accessible
to Spokane, there are" other little die-
trlcts which lie convenient to San Fran
cisco: but Portland is convenient to them
all. As It Is the one point in the coun
try where the products of all the coun
try can be most easily and cheaply
massed, so it is the point which by all
the country can be most easily and cheap
ly reached.
The-business strength of Portland, both
actual and relative, increases year by
year. Of late years she has begun to
supplement her purely mercantile opera
tions with home manufacture, and while
this movement Is not intrinsically a great
one it is worth attention as a beginning:
and as illustrating a tendency of t Im
portant significance. In the close "compe
titions of modern trade it is oftentimes
essential that there should be a close al
liance between the forces of manufacture
and the- forces of distribution. Nowhere
is this better understood than ln Port
land; and the practice of the larger mer
chants of the city Is turning it to a
.resource for" the employment of surplus
capital.
There Is every reason to believe that
the great prestige which Portland has
so long enjoyed as a wholesale "center
will be permanently retained. She has
today every condition and advantage for
trade that she ever had. Every step in
the progress of the country Is a fresh
enlargement of the field of her oppor
tunity. Her energy and her capital are
dependable - resources and there Is no
sign of failure of her leadership of strong
business men.
NATURAL PRODUCTIVE CENTER.
"Wliy Portland Is and Must Remain
Business Headqnnrtcrs of Oregon,
PORTLAND is the place accessible to the
ships' of commerce where the produc
tions ot the Pacific Northwest can be most
easy and cheaply massed. This state
ment summarizes the geographical advan- 1
tages of the city and explains Its contin
ued leadership of the business and com
merce of the country. A glance at the
map will show why this Is so. Portland
lies at the extreme north end of the
Willamette Valley at the point where the
river becomes deep enough for commercial
uses. Portland lies, too, at the point
where the only level route leading from
the great Columbia River Basin ap
proaches navigable water. The meeting
of the Willamette and the Columbia Riv
ers at tidewater Is in effect the junction
of the two great valley systems of the
Northwest. There is no productive re
gion which has not or may not have a
level road Into Portland; and this is true
of no other"' city in the Northwest. Port
land lies, too, ln the general geographical
center of the country, nearer In miles to
more sections of productive country than
any other point.
These considerations make it plain why
Portland has always been and continues
to be the headquarters of every enter
prise to which the country as a whole
stands related. For example, the milling
business, far and away the greatest of all
our secondary enterprises, is carried on
at a score or more points, its agents
are In every district which yields wheat
and Jts mills are almost as numerous at
Portland, at Dayton, at Walla Walla, at
Seattle, at Tacoma and at many other
places. But its headquarters is Portland
and its product goes for the most part
from the Colunibia River gateway. A
smaller and more local example 13 af
forded by the creamery business. Local
creameries are now established every
where ln the country. There are 50 in
the little coast district about Tillamook
Bay and double that number in other
parts of the state. And their general
center is at Portland and for two rea
sons. First, all lines of transportatloa
lead to Portland; second, It is only in
Portland that general agencies of distri
bution are to be found. Other points aro
limited In . their capability 6t buying to
the local consumptive aemana. ai x-on-inj
tviio iAni dpmnnfl Is irreater than
elsewhere and when it. is supplied there j
1111 t ' . I. ln-mrvA sM. etrtA rtamflnrf
SUM rcmuiua ma ""B i
which seeks Its supplies in tne .rortiana
market.
These Instances illustrate a fact of tho
widest significance a fact which is bound
to be reflected In every phase of the
development and progress of the country.
Every advance In any line of Industry
calling for a general headquarters either
for Its sunnly or for the marketing of
Its product must contribute something to
the business activities of Portland. We
are Just now, for example, developing
a great business in the line of animal
products. Our supply of the raw ma
terials for. packing-house operations 13
expanding so rapidly that there must soon
be established' new facilities on a Very
great scale. The matter has been much
discussed in all its phases and as a re
sult there Is but one opinion, namely,
that Portland is the only possible point
for such an establishment.
The significance of this situation calls
for no interpretation. It Justifies every
hope that has been placed on the future r
of the city; it makes It certain that JustV.
in proportion as the Pacific Northwest
advances materially so will the fortunea
of Portland advance. There is no pos
sible divorce of the Interests of the city
and of the country, for their mutual
dependence is no accident but a conse
quence of natural conditions wnicn win
not change. Of course. Portland's accu
mulated capital Is a large factor In tho
present activities which mark the opera
tions of the city: but that capital is of
itself a local product. It has grown out of
the conditions which still exist and which
must always control the general business
and commercial operations ot the codntry.
MUCH LAND YET LEFT.
.1
Great Extent of the Pnbllc Domain
ln Orepron. '
The State ot Oregon contains 61.277.440
acres of land, and of this 25,000.000 acres
Is still in the public domain. During the
past year 25,000 people have come to Ore
gon to make their homes. From every
county in the state reports are received
to the effect that the transfers of real
estate are more numerous and the values
involved are greater than they have ever
been before. While the price of land has
not yet undergone a very marked advance,
real estate is active and values will in
crease. General Frelgbt and Passenger Agent
W. E. Coman, of the Southern Pacific
Company, says that he considers either
farm or city property In Oregon, as the
safest Investment a man could make at
the present time. He feels certain that
there will bo a very material advance in.
the market value of real property in this
state ln the next two or three years.
Irrigation was the foundation of, the
wealth of Egypt. It will also make East
ern' Oregon one of the most prosperous
sections of the United States.