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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 1891)
112 WEST SHORE. THE CONSOLIDATION BILL. The citlieni of Multnomah may be a little slow boat awakening to the importance of projected enterprise; or, rather, ft Urge namber of them may bve been ilow In the put, but ny one who donbt their present ac tivity bu only to attend a meeting like that held at the tabernacle on last Saturday evening, to be convinced that the term "mossbsck" fail to fit the Oregonian of the period with it former aptitude. The meeting wai a router of the old-faihloned campaign tort, and waa called to order by our efficient mayor, Hon. Van DeLaehmntt, a man noted for hi partiality to public enterprliea, aa well aa nil deep regard for ahrewd women, rapid boraea and Our d'Alene minea. Oor mayor know the value of a bueineea proportion and pup the lna and outi of it at a glance. Like all men of affair who have made It their buiinet to handle and amaa great fortune, Mayor DeLasbmutt ee trength In consolidation, progrea In expanalon and power in nnlon. A few year ago Portland waa a provincial town, East Portland an un important ubnrb and Alblna a howling wildernea. Of course we bad the old 0. B. N. company among u), with it noble representative of grit and gc-aheadltlvenea like Captain Ainsworth and Thompson, Meiaer. Couch, Klander, Dekum, Thompson, Lewi, Ladd, the Corbett, Falling, and a score of other active financier, whoa enterprise brought them coin and curse, property and vituperation, and In the end Immense riches. But the vim of these men was in a great measure gone when their vast personal and corporate accumulations crowned their far-aeeing effort with triumph. Our mayor belong to a somewhat younger coterie of enterprising men than those Just quoted, but UIih widely awake as any of them concern ing all matters pertaining to the future of Oregon, and he bad the history of the state's past and present realities before him when he mounted the boards and In a stirring ipeech set the walla of the tabernacle to ringing with an ar dor of enthusiasm that In no wise cooled when Hon. John McCraken followed with courtly style and persuasive speech, showing that a a member of the Oregon legislature he waa holding bis power fully up to the high standard required of him by Multnomah'e taxpayer. Th Incubating metroolli ita serenely at the bead of tidewater navi gation, near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette, creating a focal center of commercial promise and gigantic probabilities, of which, at this early period in the progress of electrified and steel-belted Oregon, It Is hard ly possible to frame a prophecy big enough to fit the outlook. Colonel McCraken has watched the triplet villages that grace the evergreen shores of the Willamette from the daya of Dr. HcLoughlln' vigorous prime, and the date ol hi own boyhood, to these times of rush and roar and competi tion and trickery, all of which belong to the feverish, formative period tint may make or mar the fortunea of a mighty commonwealth. I.Ike all the other builnes men of these busy times, whose breadth of comprehension led them to the mass meeting to make speeches, clap bands or clatter canes, heels or umbrella, the colonel favored the consolidation of the three cities, and he made hla Influence felt a h contrasted the quietude and provincial lam of th past with Uil modern era, when ocean and river eteamer vie with local and transcontinental railwaye In feeding the growing metropolis, and motor vl with trolley-way In relegating Ue born-car Period ox rait daya of (lie receded put. But why dwell upon the masa meeting at the tabernacle, which was only a prelude to the work In hand at Salem? There are too many enterprising men Interested in the great scheme of con solidation to msk personal mention of the fortieth of them a possibility. 8ulllo It to lay that a delegation ol Multnonians, filling two Pullman cars and extending Into th day coaches, left Portland on the morning ol the tenth, charged by th eager multitude left behind them with th Important duty ol checkmating the political boasUm, of which, as these lines are pen ciled, It Is not yet certaln-thongh we ho to th contraiy-tliey are not lo remain th victim for an Indefinite period. Coniplcuou among these gentlemen were Hon. M. C. George, collossal, graclou and lofclcal ; Ueorge B. Msrkle, Kiq., whoie financial acumen la sufficiently expansive to per celv tli whole situation at a glance, and whose volubility never fails him at a critical moment; HoD-isorg II. Williams, whose advancing years add dignity to a demeanor hover undignified; representative of th Went r'noai, Orvowtiaii, Murrain and other clly pal, Including those of East Portland and Albino, the whole forming a Jolly, argumentative, but by no means noisy, crowd, which reached the capital city in gay good humor, and proved to their recalcitrant representatives, aa thsy marched to the stile house in a body, that they had no Intention ol ubmltUng tamely to th dic tation of obstructionist, at who bidding it was openly alleged audacious filibustering to defeat consolidation was going on. A meeting of th citlsena' consolidation committee was called at the li brary of th stat capital at 1:30 o'clock, and Hon. George II. Williams waa made chairman and Herbert Bradley (ecretary. Messers. Beach, Lorn bard and Walker war appointed a committee to Invite the Multnomah del egation to a coherence, to which tin Honorable cam, with th on excep tion ol Mr. J. B. Montgomery, who i. unfortunately, ill at bom. Two o'clock was tli hour appointed (or eclal consideration of th consolidation , i: in thA wav in the couchant form of bill, but there was an ""."L ?) get the bill, with it Bany rfZZ Tby obstructionist, that some of Multno when, it was confidently expectea oy metropoiitan ,nd mah, taw- who avor th rea U of poliun city would be gone. Many v, o were the expresses of " of pabUc bills, departed Multnomah county , Jop ya V J dU' The passage of the amended East Portland charter bill wa. considered . JJom n , one serious obstacle, over which grave legislator, won d a good omen, as o nmv(A iminlMDg th, ,w.p vote asscbod I boys. waP must go to press before the complexi-yof the fight, u im prognosticate the final vote is reached, it is only possiDie a w whether success shall booed for triumph of the consolidation bill. But, whether success enau crow! th movement now or not, it is quite certain that on U to. cosmopoli ten cUyb born, which it is in the power of the present legislature to cre ate th great state of Oregon must sit supinely fa th. .waddling clothe, of b.b'3, looking on in puerile helplessness while Seattle enlarge her bor- of her suburban enterprise in the lap of Puya flop ready to begin, wi tl . confi. d n begotten of consolidated opportunities, the steep ascent of Mount Rat n er In the meanlime, Olympia, having embraced Tamwater Swan Town and both .ides of the headwaters of Fuget sound, is rapidly forging ahead while Yakima and Ellensburgh are fast coming together after the STi Minneapolis and Saint Paul; and Spokane Fall, profiting by th. example of Chicago, is ready to receive within her chartered environment every village that bobs up its head beyond her borders and coquettiahly whu ners Let me come in." It rests with the legislature and governor of Ore 1 to decide whether or not we are to have a single metropolitan city in the state belore the close of this generation. With Portland enlarged to in elude her sister towns, we shall, at one successful stroke of public policy, secure advantages that other cities, such as The Dalle., Grant'. Pas. and scores of other local centers will be proud to emulate. Abigail Scott Duniway. The new Spokane smelter Ib now practically completed. The only work that remains to be done is the connecting of the blast pipes, and the laying ol the railroad track. It is pronounced by smelter men who have visited It as being the equal in every respect to the big smelter of Colorado. The Blue Bell mine, on the east side of Kootenai lake, .end. out flatter ing reports through its manager. Davelopment work has been done to the extent that 600 tons of ore are now taken out daily at a net profit of $20 per ton. Ben Tibby, ol Butte, has been secured as general manager ol the mine and its smelting works. The Badger mine at Gem, on Canon creek in the Occur d'Alene country, is another example of extensive development paying big dividends. This mine was originally bonded for 00,000 by seven Helena capitalists. A year ago this month it was accepted. During the paBt year it has paid for itself and produced (100,000 net profit. At present there is enough ore in tight to last a year without further development work. The ore is silver and lead, and the present rate of work makes the mine clear (35,000 per month profit. Its ore is shipped to the Globs smelter at Denver. Spotane Spoktiman. Although it has been kept secret and 1 still trying to be, we have known for several days that coal of good quality baa been discovered near the Deschutes. On M. D. Adams', place, near the head of the grade the other side of the Deschutes free bridge is a well. It has been noticed for some time that when the water got low in this well stock refused to drink it. The Adams boys concluded to examine into it, anc in cutting through ft ledge of red rock, discovered an excellent quality of coal. It is impossible to say yet how valuable their find is as they have not cat through the vein, but the coal is there and tests show that it burns freely. This is the most lmortant discovery ever made in this section, if the quantity is there, and there seems to be no doubt of It. The Dalttt Chronicle. A national guard bill has passed the senate in Idaho and will doubtless become a law. Although the (50,000 appropriation for the first year will not accomplish much towards the equipment and maintenance of the guard, the passage of the law lays the foundation for an effective service in the fu ture. The military spirit I rife in the state and several new companies are being mustered In. gon. A new sash and door factory has been located in North Yamhill, Ore-