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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1883)
September, 1883. THE WEST SHORE. 203 belter class of residences are located nearer the elevated suburbs on the west and south, ami it will be butt few years before the hills will be covered with hnndmme villas and mansions, while trade will occupy all the stieets as far back as Fifth. During the past year Front and First streets have received most embellishment in the way of new business houses. Morrison street has given a strong indication of its future value as a highway of trade, and Second and Third have received a fair share of new structures. The great works of the railroad companies at Albina have caused that suburb to have a heavy growth during the past year, and it is being built up by workmen and people of small means almost exclusively. East Portland has erected several fine buildings, one or two of quite metropolitan dimensions. A fair share of business has been controlled by that portion of the metropolis, and the increasing number of mechanics and people of ordinary means has led to the construction of more small houses, proportionately, than in Portland. Wholesale Tkade. In the extent of her wholesale trade Portland has no rival in the northwest and is only exceeded on the Pacific coast by the great city of San Fiancisco. It is doubtful if any city in the Union does as much jobbing buisncss in propor tinn to the number of its inhabitants; there is certainly none of the same size whose trade ex tends over such a wide extent of territory, Houses long established have become wealthy and powerlul, while new ones with ample capital are annually entering the field, some of them being associates of the most prominent firms of .that city. Heretofore the competition of San Francisco, with her superior railroad advant ages, has been severe, but now Portland is placed on a level with her in every respect, and in certain particulars has special advantages, One very prnmi lent consideration is the fact that, unlike her rival whose neck is under the Iron heel of an arrogant railroad monopoly, Portland is the center of a railroad system whose managers believe in the "live and let live " policy, who think that in the multiplication of trade and sub stantial growth of the country through which their lines pais they will find the greatest present and future prosperity. With an overlaad route under such management and with ample rail and river transportation lines branching out from the city in all directions, Portland need fear little from San Francisco. On the contrary, her great rivals in the future will be Minneapolis, St. Paul, Chicago, Milwaukee, and other eastern jobbing cities, over which she certainly possesses advant ages in Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and whom she can meet on an equal footing in Moo tana. The wholesale trade of the city reached the enormous total of $40,000,000 in 1882, and the rate of increase for the present season will bring the total sales for 1883 op to $50,000,000. In 18S1 St. Paul with population of 75,835 did a wholesale business of but $66,618,494. and Minneapolis with a population of 78,105, sold $60,331,000 worth of goods, being but little more than half the amount per capita sold by the met chants of this city. It is as idle to talk of trans ferring the great wholesale trade of Portland to some other point in the northwest as it would . hsv been few yean ago to hire endeavored to take from Chicago its Immense jobbing business and stunt the growth of that sturdy giant of the lakes. It was not an ocean harbor that made Chicago, in fact harbor facilities alone never can create a large city, tt her suerior railroad ad- vantages, enabling her to receive and manufacture goods at a minimum price and then scatter them over a vast and populous territory to better ad vantage than any of her numerous rivals. In respect to her railroad advantages, Poitlaml has the same supeilority In the northwest that Chi cago possesses in the great region known until a few years ago as "The West," and the result It that her present enormous jobbing trade will in, crease yearly until it reaches an amount that would now be looked upen as fabulous. In the matter of fruit, vegetables, fish and dairy products, the Tact is well known that the market tu lie tup, plied from this city has now become widely ex tended, and we can but urge upon our people the necessityof their employing the magnificent natuial advantages we possess to keep this market sup, plied. To do to Is to follow a sure road to wealth. The field is as 0rn to all new-comers as to the older residents. COMMKKCK. Commerce has been the life and vigor of Port' land. Situated at the head of practical deep water navigation, she hat received and forwarded the great bulk of the products seeking or leaving the Columbia river. In this there have been many would-be rivals, but all have been outlived or distanced. Milwaukie, Vancouver, St. Helens, Kalama and half a doien more, have sought to usurp the place in vain. Astoria, at the very gateway of the Columbia but cut off from the in terior by high mountain ranges,' sees the river's commerce pass her by and seek the docks of this city, because It is the best receiving and dislribul ing point for the tributary country. The com merceof the Columbia has been a gradual growth from year to year, beginning with the annual receipt of supplies and shipment of furs by the Hudson's Hay Co., and swelling to the grand totals of i88j. For the past thirty years the great bulk of it has been handled in Portland its growth W been Portland t growth with It increasing volume the city has enlarged In weallh. trade and population. To accomplish this, much money has been r spended in maintaining free and open channel from the cily't wharves to tin ocean, a d there is nothing more artain than the fact that such a channel will always be kept open at anr expense t for If the business men of Ih elty have been enterprising and energetic enough to do so In their efforts to build up 1 Iran ami commerce, It would be folly lo expect them lo abandon it now that an enormous and growing mmmtrr haa become firmly established. N practical business man, In fact no one but dreamer or one whose wishes sired the thought, could believe that the commerce of this region can bt entirely diverted from tin well-defined channel through which it has been pawing for years. That a few other points will la the future draw portion of certain classes of product! thai have hitherto been shipped from thit city, and by railroad convenience will be rendered more at ccsaibl foe shipping purpose lo small area considered wholly tributary lo Portland, Is trot beyond quesil, but that fart will have small lnrlune m "he great fulum trade and commerce now handled by this city, and it is vet unceitaln whether those limited local advantages will not he outweighed by the even greater advantages of association with the gieal bnlk of commerce and of following the long estab lished courses of trade as they exist at present. The commercial supremacy of Portland will not lie seriously disputed for many years lo come, not until her nianufactuiimr intereatt will have firmly established her position as the great me- tromlls of the northwest. Tha commerce of the Columbia river in iSSj, nesrly all of which was handled at Portland, may be summarised at fol lows 1 Value of foreign linxirlt $'J 1, I do mestic imports, $Jl, 107,865, nf which $1,097,551 went to Astoria 1 total value of imports $ J S, I JX, 981 1 total value of exports $15,560,931, of which $5,866,135 were domestic and $),oM797 foreign. The largest single article of export was wheal, amounting to $$,757,100 and being carried In 136 vessels. The nest Item is Jj.ojl, 611 of salmon, the greater portion of which was packed and ahied at Astoria, Flour follows with $1,902,556, and wool with $1,395,681, tha remaining Ileitis being much smaller In quanllty, the largest being woolen goods, hops and lumlwr. T1t..r itt.l nut nf ih filumlila river tin - 1 vessels with a registered tonnage of 4J5.455. 36a vessels entered with a tonnage of 45 1. I'M The Increase In both ImiM.rts and exports will bt very matked at I In end ul ih present year, though In future many things that now reach us liy sea will com by rail over Iht Northern I a- clfic. Ship lliui.nimi. Of Ih meat fleet of rlvar craft that ply on lh waters of the Columbia and lh Willamalte, and I dry number far Into the hundreds, ih greater portion havt been built at or near Portland, though no regular ship yatd tslslt here or el any other point on the Columbia. Steam letatla of many kinds, from tin llltl river lug to th palatial steamer that was lh only meant of con veyance up and down th Columbia until year ago, hav been constructed on Ih llvr bank, and Ihry will bear th most critical ln.clUn. At torn point large ocean vessels will In Hi future b built, and Portland certainly pusses many advantages that can not be overlooked. The first Hep In thit direction hat been taken ly Ih Oregon Railway end Navigation Co., whiih ownt mtny luge ocean ami liver tteanwts. In th construction of an immense dry duck on Ih river hank In the suburban town of Albina. Formerly th only day dock on Ih coast In which larg steamers and tailing vessels could b repaired was It San Francisco, ami at consequent vettclt reaching th coast tiler a long voyage and needing repairs, wet compelled lo put Into Sat) Francisco harbor whether bound f thai port 0 not This hat been very detrimental to me commercial Interestt of thit city ami In iMl Mr. Vtllard determined lo remedy th evil by building her an Immens dry dock. Thit I now nmUr construction by Ih O. K. N. Co., ami when completed will Iw 410 leet long. It) wid ami JO deep. In addition lo repairing lit own VMMrlt, ih eotmitny will do t generaf ditrklng ami pairing Utineta for ih eftrHnntn.lali.Mi of vessels e king this port. At ll will be the largest ov enienl to th Pacific ocean shipping, ll will no doubt attract many vessels, and will, It M hoped, bt th nucleus aUxtt which will spring up exlen stvt repairing and ship building ntf pits.