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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1877)
8 THE WEST SHOKE. September. COMMERCE-ITS INFLUENCE AND POWER. bV W. ft LKONAHI). Commerce is King, says Carlyle, the great English philosopher and political economist, the truth of which can but 1- admitted by all men, for it is the grott power next to Christianity which holds in check the ambitious and pass ion of nations. It develops agricul ture and manufactures; stimulates tiic construction of railroad, canals and all Industrial enterprises; increases popula tion by affording it employment) pro motes the growth of great cities; en COuragea and fosters the arts and scien ces, and docs everything to strengthen the bunds of man's brotherhood. With out commerce our great forests and al most illimitable fields would have re in lined in idleness; for unless the proil v ts of man and man be brought to gether in barter and exchange, indi gence, barbarism and social declension are unavoidable. Trade is an instinct of the animal man, and unless there lie opportunity for its indulgence, he sinks t the level of other animals, Well has it then been said to be the " Golden Girdle of the Globe;" and referring to its achievement! the poet has beautb fully declared ' Hit (UuihUn hVt llinlr tliiwcm I i 'Nil Hi(ilN ol BJkUonif nut (tin BXblHIltlWI 1 1 ' l'i urn III lit'r tap all Ki'ius In NiarklliiK KIIOW0N." Without commerce what would be Otir great cities and towns? Simply lb lent communities of living dead people. Take away the music of machinery, tho presence of the railroad, the activity of steamboat levees, the rattling roll of wagons, drayi and carts, the busy hur rying t" and fro ui hundreds and thou carried her trade, her arts and her sci ences with her arms, then do we note pacification and prosperity for Com merce is also, as the sun, beneath whose broad and genial smiles the seeds of suc cess and plenty germinate and blossom and fructify. Or take Britain, a still more applicable illustration. To what cause does she owe her unexampled pitch in the scale of wealth, power and civilization? Is it to military general ship or superior conquering battalions? By no means. England, may with far greater pride, boast that her success is due only to that pervading spirit of commercial activity that has marked her policy and characterized her mode until now her provinces seem like a mighty garden strewn over with cities, palaces, villages and country seats, for she "has dot ted the globe with her pos sessions and military posts, whose m o r n i n g (1 r u m-hcat, f 0 1 1 0 w i ng the sun and k e e ping C 0 in p a n y with the hours, circles the earth daily with one continu ous and un li r o k e n strain of the martial airs ut'Kngland." mam Nor can llu- audi mixing ami commingling In the , unitedsiates turbulonco of trade, ami what would Invincible do iiic reuitf alienee deeper than death ami ruder than discord would pervade everything. A nameless Inac tivity would curdle the blood of ever' ouet for what is more miserable to con lompUitfl than a community of unem- fl KNOB ployed people? Where would be the need of your splendid warehouses and year elegant and costly salesrooms? Temples, minus their presiding deity minus commerce! the genu foci. Ad ipose and sapient seniors, dapper and business-like juniors; figure wise ac countants lively, pushing salesmen nnd bronzed and stalwart porters all dispensed w ith M Othello's occupation "' M c "'"I"tc the The tword, then, destroys. Commerce ' h,n" CMljrte. was right-" Com- , builds up, The sword of the Romans inerca is king. wM likc the r,lmc of ErMtnitu .,, We may mark the progress ol na-, destroyed a temple lie had not the cun- i. ns ni icvcuicn tacts, not oy ttieir gio- nlng to build. The commerce of the American is most Uod-like. (br it is in anus, so co ii stdored) attribute its career of en lightenment, refine m e n t and broad, generous, uncontractcd hap piness, to any other thing other than its powerful and conquering trade and self- sustenance, By g most liberal encour agement of commerce, hy prodigality In stimulation of the interchange of commodities, who will say that our na tion has not become more to the pres ent age than was Rome to the by -gone centuries when she ruled the world. n us conquest ol arms, not by then fc Is of valor, not by the lands they have overcome and the thrones they have made subservient to their own su it mm force; but by the extension of th tt great civilier, Commerce, into the b nindarlea of the conquered j r 0 v 1 n c e I, Science, anil Art and Literature are but lh handmaidens of Trade, loi were it not for its Incab ( ulable aid the ' monument! of human grandeur" would not only perish, but, In .1 ed would never have bad th n birth. We may draw i stance In the Roman Kmplre, a dominion whose hlston more or teas. Is fa miliar to everyone. Do we Ji .1 hei most stable success s when the s word-, of ha ( !a s.ii-, her Pomptyi and It i Si niios, hke the hi i se of (he meteoi , w ( p t!-. sky of htunanlty, or when the torches of Iter ml v:: cing legion were !.tt mr in the lands of hei me attest Moi but when she creative. Creative ol happiness, of power, of Influence, of Inestimable good. Truly, truly, Carlyle uttered wisdom " COMM BRC8 is Kino!" Coming, then, to consider the rela tion that it bears towards one of the most important sections of the Union; the development that has thus far been made of its powers; the capabilities for future extension; the facilities for its successful conduct; the natural and ar tificial means it employs; the auxilia ries, direct and indirect, it brings to aid it; we at once, and most sensibly, real ize the immensity of the subject, its al most inexhaustible food for reflection, and sigh for a pen far worthier the theme. Oregon! Glorious Oregon! a land rightly taking front rank among the fairest beneath the sun; with a clime gentle and inviting; a land dotted with smiling villages and beautiful towns; a land whose fertile fields and arable ! plains can produce almost everything that can' tempt the I palate of m an cer talnly, eve rything that Is absolutely i needful and of utility a ; land tracked a nd inter- j s e c t e d by clear and bright and swift -rolling j s t reams; with moun tains nnd bills teaming With mineral a b u ndance, which does not lie buried much be neath the ken of man, but seeming ly wearied of lethargy has .outcrop ped and is now sunning its wondrous richness un gathered. Its geographical advantages are peerless. It is the choicest section, taken as a whole, of the Union; its me tropolis is known throughout the whole world as being one of the "most beauti ful cities, while its locality must place I it at the intersection ol converging and diverging railroads railroads coming and going In all directions, will make it the focal point between North and South; and with the grand Northern Pacific route terminating here another w ill have been added to her already nu merous advantages, thus rendering her a great central emporium for the distri bution of products to the North, South and Bast This destiny we believe is inevitable. It is the glorious necessity of physical geography. It is the lavish favor of a provident God. It is the Oregon ami California Stags Route. A VIEW ON mi COLUMBIA RtVEtt I ISTUS ROCK IX THE DISTANCE. boast and pride of the native citizen, and the wonder and admiration of vis itors and strangers. What land has called forth more encomia, either for its lovely climate or fertile soil; for its mineral stores or its agricultural advan tages; for its varied and picturesque landscapes, or its marvelously excellent topography ; for the thrifty, industrious, enterprising spirit of its business men, or the genial, hospitable welcomings of its inhabitants, and yet, scarcely the half has been told. The compliments have rarely been extravagant, more fre quently understating the actual tacts. Indeed, it is so dotted with the treas ures of nature and art and the wonders of industry, that a man has only to use his eyes and he grows accomplished. Oregon has a fame abroad, but no one tells the story of her latent, or even de veloped wealth as it is, and as it is seen by the intelligent eye on a liberal sur vey. And yet what marvelous chan ges have been -wrought. Fifty years ago and the solitude of these surround ing plains was unbroken hy the sound of the white man's voice. Thirty years ago and the pioneer struggles with the Indians came, when the watch-dog was stationed sentinel at the harvest field; when the trusty rifle went as regularly to the field as the plow, when the ear of the herdsman was ever on the alert, listening for danger, and the silent foot steps of the stealthy foe, and when the return to his lodge at night was the oc casion for recounting the perilous ad ventures of the day, and the rendering of thanks to the Great Father of all for his protecting mercies. But quite re cently and the winding trail led one from one trading post to another, where some hardy adventurer had planted himself far In advance of civilization, for the purpose of traffic and gain with the native tribes. The waters of our beautiful Columbia shimmered beneath the laughing beams of a Summer's sky, hearing on their bosoms the red man's canoe, but they contributed aught to the comfort of civilized man. Our broad acres, blooming in all the loveli ness of wild and uncultured charms, pre sented their virgin bosoms to the sun, having wearily awaited, during the long lapse of ages, the fructifying hand of the husbandman. Time, since then, we say, has wrought many changes, not only in our social and domestic relations, but in the phys ical aspect of the country. The prai ries have been brought under cultiva tion, the rivers spanned with bridges, and their waters utilized in various ways; cities and towns have sprung up In every quarter, and the sound of the mechanics' hammer, the rattle and whir of machinery keep quick-measured time with the rumbling wheels and clank ol" engines. The spire of the church points its mute, yet suggestive finger, heaven ward; the school and col lege meets us a familiar friend, on every street. Our surplus products crowd the warehouse and weigh down the car. We are no longer compelled to toil unceasing ly "from early morn till dewy eve," to procure a bare subsistence; but have time for relaxation ; for men tal improvement; for " ele gant leisure;" while our ta bles groan with plenty, and w-e stand erect in every pres ence with a feeling of com petence and independence. These results have been achieved by no magical or supernatural influence; na ture has not stepped aside from the beaten track to work these changes; no good genii have come from