Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1895)
0bmm$ J THIRD PKRT PHGES 25 TO 32 ' " VOL. XXXIU. PORTLA3TD. OBEGOK, TUESDAY, J-AJSTUABX 1, 189o. "NO. 10.996. wNpmm THE PORT OF PORTLAND Improvements Made ii tlie ATillarn ette and. Colu.rn.lDia Rivers. WIDE AND DEEP CHANNEL OPEN TO THE SEA Prestige .of Portlarjd. as a FresJh Water Seaport Tlrje "Cast Srjippirigf Interests. THE BIG JETTY AT THE MOUTH OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER Inauguration of "Work on the System of Elver improvements Satisfactory 22esults Already Obtainccl Money Spent by "Portland and the National Government; O effort In the line cf river and harbor 1m- j provement has ever f been followed by more successful re sults than the one made by the Port of Portland commission to secure a channel from Portland to the sea, a distance of more than 100 miles, that would allow vessels of deep draft to come to this port at all seasons of the year -without lighter ing "Prt-rtlnTlfVc hnr. w . 5 bor today, as the di rect result of the work done under the clrcction of this commission and the 1 nlted States engineer corps, is as easily readied by vessels of deep draft as is the wide and deep estuary of San Fran t Isco bay. When it is stated that a wide and deep channel is now maintained from Portland to the sea without difficulty at even the lowest stages of water, the im portance of the Columbia and Willamette rivers as an open highway can be fully appreciated, and the class of vessels that now regularly frequent this port estab lishes Portland's claim as one of the lead ing seaport cities of the coast. The work of the government in con structing a jetty at the mouth of the Co lumbia river, a work which is fully de scribed in a subsequent part of this ar ticle, has resulted In making a perfectly straight channel through the entrance of a mean depth of 31 feet at the lowest tide. Vessels easily enter this channel and sail into the harbor at Astoria without the aid of tugs, and the Tegular lines of steam ships which ply between Portland and San Francisco run practically on railroad time between the two ports throughout the year. Within the past two years Portland lmK twvin jvlslfed bv the Baltimore and " harIeston. two of the largest crulsersof the United States navy, and It Is not an uncommon sight to see a four-masted ship anchored in the river In front of the city's docks. At the lowest stages of water ships of from 2500 to 2700 tons register are towed from Portland's docks to the sea fully laden. The permanence of the im provements made in the river channel between Portland and the sea is fully assured, and with the advantages of a fresh water harbor within easy communi cating distance of the great producing areas of the Pacific Northwest. Portland's supremacy as a seaport will never be questioned. The record of the Improvement work on the Willamette and Columbia rivers ex tends back over a period of 50 years. The .nauguratlon of work on the improvement of the channel at the entrance to the Co lumbia river followed at a much later period. This improvement from its im portance, however, will naturally claim first attention In the present article, and the following full account of the work of luildlng the great jetty at the Columbia's mouth will impart some valuable informa tion on the general system of improve ments inaugurated on the Columbia and Willamette rivers from Portland to the sea. THE COUl.MM.VS MOUTH. The Great .Ictty nml Other Govern ment Improvement. .HE Columbia river enters the Pacific ocean between Point Adams, a jutting headland of the Oregon coast, and Cape Disappointment, a projection from the coast line of Wash ington. Cape Disappointment is a rocky headland which at tains a height of about 200 feet, while Point Adams is a low, changeable, sandy spit running out into the ocean. The distance between the two points across the Columbia's mouth is about six miles. The Columbia river has long T?cf"i recognized as one of the chief har burs of the Pacific coast. Before the corn- to any great harbor on either the Pacific or Atlantic coast line of the "United States. ' In December, 1882, a memorial was' sent to congress by the Astoria chamber of commerce, stating that a number of ships were lying inside the mouth of the Co lumbia awaiting a favorable opportunity to go to sea. The memorial conveyed the additional information that four of these ships had already been detained at Asto ria for over a month, watching for favor able winds and tides which would -allow them to cross out o er the bar safely, and that such delays were not unusual for vessels of a draft of 20 feet and over. This memorial followed the Inspection made by the board of United States en gineers who had visited the mouth of the Columbia river in the fall of that" year, in conformity with an act of congress the engineers down the coast as far as Tillamook head and Necanicum creek, and inland toward Lewis & Clarke river and In other directions. The results of these numerous examinations were not satis factory. Good rock was found at Tilla mook head and near Lewis & Clarke river, but the llrst cost of building a line of rail road to these quarries was great, and such a line could only be operated on an expensive basis. The attempt to secure land delivery of rock was finally aban doned and recourse was once more had to delivery by barges. The third appropriation for the prosecu tion of this work was made in August, 1SS3. The total amount of money appro priated for building the jetty up to that time was 37,300, which was spent In four years, or at the rate of about 570,000 a year. With such limited appropriations the progress of the work was necessarily slow, but better headway was made than even the engineers had hoped for. The amount of the appropriation of August, 1SSS, was 5300,000. After that time ample funds were provided for carrying on the work without interruption until April 1 of last year, when work was entirely suspended only to be resumed on August 20 following. The total amount appropriated since August, 1888, for this work has been 51.738,000, an average of about J230.000 a year. This in clude3the 5500,000 appropriation mentioned above. , .After the first big appropriation of 500, OOO'was made, the plant for building the jetty was greatly improved. The govern ment steamer Cascades was repaired and put to work towing rock barges between the quarry and Astoria. A first-class steam tug, the George H. Mendel!, was built to tow the barges from Astoria down to the jetty. The number of rock barges was increased to 10, the equipment of loco motives to five, and the number of dump cars "to 62. A work shop 30x100 feet was built and equipped, and in this shop was constructed all th? rolling stock .for the work, except tho locomotives and the dump car and flat car used in the con struction of the jetty at Coos bay. All the repairs of the extensive plant at the jetty have also been done in this shop. A new receiving wharf with Increased facilities for handling material was built, and additional sidetracks and storage platforms put in. Everything connected JETTY AT THE COLUMBIA'S 210UTH, CAPE DISAPP0ISTHENT.1N DISTANCE. which provided for a full examination of the channels at the entrance. This board of engineers subsequently submitted a re with the work of building the jetty was now in successful operation, and the plant was pushed to its full capacity. the most-economical manner possible. Tl!e",materia"ls'for the jetty have been carried along the line of the work as con struction progressed, on a tramway sup ported on piles. This tramway was built about 2S feet above the level of low tide. On this tramway was built a double track of a three-foot gauge road, the tracks being 13 feet above the centers. The tram way, it wants to be explained. Is only a temporary structure, and was to be used only for the transportation of materials of construction along the line of the pro posed jetty. 1IOAV IT IS CONSTRUCTED. Transporting: the Material Out Along: the Jetty. EV -r iU port in which they outlined a plan with I thus- allowing the work to be handled in estimates ot cost lor mailing permanent Improvements at the. Colombia's mouth, and this report, with some modifications, was afterward adopted. The project of the examining engineers provided for a channel at the entrance of the river, on which a depth of SO feet should be maintained at low tide. This channel was to be made by concentrating the water flowing out through the en trance, and thus increasing the resultant currents to such a degree as would as sure the desired depth at all seasons of the year. The jetty which the engineers proposed to build at the Columbia's mouth was to be a single low-tide jetty starting from Fort Stevens, on the south cape, and extending in a westerly direction out across Clatsop spit, a distance of four and one half miles, more or less, as cir cumstances might require. This jetty would thus reach to a point about three miles south of Cape Disappointment. It was to be constructed of stone resting upon a mattress foundation about 40 feet wide and from 2 to five feet thick, the stone to extend to the level of mean low water. The cost of this jetty, when com pleted, was estimated to be 3,710,000. The first appropriation for the inaugu ration of work on the jetty was made in the river and harbor bill of July, 1SS4. The amount first appropriated was 5100,000. Soon after this appropriation was made, preliminary work was commenced. Con tracts for material were made, and part of the plant for carrying on the work was gotten together. The old military post at Fort Stevens, with all its build ings, was turned over to the engineer de partment for the use of the department during the progress of work on this great Improvement. Active work was commenced in April, 18S3. The receiving wharf, shore tracks of the jetty and storage platform were constructed and part of the jetty itself was built. Work continued until the end of October in that" year, by which time over 1500 feet of the jetty "was under con struction. The entire amount of 100.000 first appro priated had practically all been expended in prosecuting this work, and operations were not again resumed until September, meneement of the work of Improving the entrance to the river Inaugurated by the j 1SSS. The second appropriation gave the - raj ffl teftyy' i SECTION OF JETTY NEAR SHORE. gDvernment, the channels over the bar sum of SS7.f for resuming work on the were capricious In location and variable . jetty. in depth. The depth of the main chan i.l ranged from 18 to S feet. The number of these channels varied from one to throe, and in location nearly 1S dcg. from Cape Disappointment to Point Adams. Inlays to shipping entering or departing "rom the river were frequent, and the oi :mb4t river bar was something of a I -gbear to masters of sailing vessels. IOay this old order ef things is entirely . .aised. The construction of the jetty n the Columbia's mouth 1ms resulted in ' establishment of one straight chan ic on which, as stated before, there is tunt&lned at the shoalest places a mean i t ;th of $1 feet at low tide, and this chan-J.-J js as easily entered as the entrance During the fall and winter of 1SS6-S7 an active search was made by the engineers for a suitable stone supply. It was hoped to open a, quarry from which cars could be run direct to the jetty. The delivery of stone by bargss was not considered satis factory by the engineers. Shipping stone for this work by barges necessitated two handlings, and the tide currents and roughness of the water at the jetty land log was a fruitful source of annoyance and delay, and with barges It was neces sary to entirely suspend operations on the jetty for five or six months out of the year. Reconnaissances for stonewere made by BE mattress wcrk of the jetty- has a uniform width of 40 feet throughout Its entire length. This consists of two classes of mats, center and side, each 20 feet wide and placed close together. All the mats were constructed of fir or willow brush, the center mats being generally five feet thick and 64 feet long, and the side mats 2" feet thick and 20 feet long. The center mats were built di rectly under the tramway tracks upon a grillage of poles, suspended by means of ropes fastened to the stringers of the tracks. The side mats were built on the shore platforms, placed upon specially constructed cars provided with rollers, taken out on the tramway and dumped off the cars Into the water and then sunk to the bottom by the weight of a liberal amount of small rocks thrown upon them. The layer of mats forms the foundation on. which the rock is subsequently dumped. The mean depths in which the mats were placed for the whole jetty was 15& feet below low water; the greatest depths at which these mats rest being 2S feet and In the shallowest places they are eight feet below the surface. The rock for this work was all pur chased by contract, and it has been ob tained from quarries along the Columbia river above Vancouver, and on the banks of the Willamette river above Oswego. Both of these quarries are distant more than 100 miles from the jetty. The rock was loaded on government barges at the quarries by the contractor, and then towed by the government boat, three barges in each tow, to Astoria. Between Astona and the jetty a steam tug was used for towing. Discharging three barge loads of rock, aggregating about 1000 tons, was a fair day's work. This supply, how ever, was not always up to the handling capacity of the plant at the jety. The average annual amount of rock received at the jetty aggregated from 130,000 to 150.000 tons. By July, 1891, the tramway tracks had been extended out the required length, and the jetty was built up to the height of mean low tide according to the original project by January of the following year. The total expenditure up to this time had amounted to less than 1,500,000. In view of the fact that more or less settling must n time take pface along the entire line of the jetty, it was deemed advisable to pile the rock to a height of at least three feet above the low-water plane. An estimate for the completion of the jetty to a uniform height of four feet above low water was then made, and the most of the additional four feet was found to bring the total cost of completing the jetty up to 1.862,500. The engineers observed during the prog ress of the work on the jetty, while rais ing it to a height of four feet above low water, that the tide would rush across the line of the jetty while It was above the level of the rock, and in consequence It prevented the sand in many places from accumulating to the height desired. This greatly endangered the life of the jetty itself. As the work of building the jetty to a height of four feet above low water ne&red completion, there still remained reasonable doubts regarding the advisabil ity of limiting its height to four feet. It was evident that raising the Jetty above the level of mean low water, which had already been done, was followed by good results. The currents had been prevented by this work from washing away the sand in the vicinity of the jetty, and this sand had been more largely diverted to places where It would tend to produce" the results aimed for by the engineers. The engin eers had every reason to believe that If this process could be continued, the In creased accumulations of sand on both sides of the jetty would ada greatly to Its safety. In the early part of 1893 a board of en gineers was appointed for the purpose of considering the results obtained and the importance of data collected from the construction of the work, and to report upon the matter of the completion of the enterprise. The board made its report under date of May 27 of that year. It recommended that to give greater perma nency to the sand and to increase the quantity of sand deposited that might aci cumulate in the vicinity of the north side of the jetty, which it seemed to him was the direction from which danger would most likely be apprehended, four low groins or spurs should be built out from the main jetty, from three-fourths of a mile to 1 1-3 miles apart, and that these spurs should be from 500 to 1000 feet long. Regarding the jetty itself, it was recom mended that when it was completed tne rock at the shore end.- should be 12 feet above low water, and should! slope thence to 10 feet above atrVl.S miles out, and thence to four feetiabove low water at the outer end. .' The above recommedations were ap proved, and the work, is; now being carried to its final completlcnin. .accordance with this report of the engineers. The neces sary money to finish the work was appro priated in the last river and harbor bill. The fouf low groins are now practically completed. More than 2 miles of the jetty from Its outer and inshore has been raised to the required height, and about 70,000 tons of rock will. suffice to complete the remaining part of-the work. In connection with work on the jetty 3000 feet of shore revetment will be con structed, this being a continuation of the jetty, running up stream above the wharves and towards the eastern limit of the reservation. The estimated cost of this revetment 13 about 60,000. It is ex pected that after the final completion of the jetty work there will remain on hand an unexpended balance of about 70,000 from the appropriations made by congress. The total cost of the completed jetty, in cluding this 70,000, will then have been 2,025,680, the total amount appropriated. This Is 1,6S4,320 less than the original es timate of the cost of a low-tide jetty at this point. In the construction of'.the tramway out over the jetty there were used over 400,000 lineal feet of piling and nearly 3,000,000 feet of timber. In the mattress work and groins were used 22.000 feet of brush fas cines. The amount of rock received from all sources since the commencement of the work In 1SS5 has been about 750,000 tons, and It is estimated that It will re quire about 120,000 tons more to complete the work. The cost of the tramway per lineal foot was about 6. This Includes all cost of re pairs and of putting the mattress work in place. The cost of this mattress was about 5 a cord. The contract price of the rock delivered aboard the government barges at the quarry has varied from 80 .cents per ton to 48 cents a. ton, tne lattegprice being tne amount paid at thr'fefsenV time. 'This rock has Deen" placed lrftjie Jetty for less than 1 25 a ton. This Includes the first cost of the rock, towing, handling and re pairs to the plant, but the cost of the plant Itself Is not taken into account. The average cost of towing the rock from the quarry to the jetty and returning the empty barges has been less than 21 cents a ton. This is not figured on the basis of the cost of the plant, but it does allow for repairs and all Incidental expenses of maintenance. The work on the jetty has all been done by hired labor, with the plant owned by the government, and with materials pur chased by contract in the open market. Thi3 certainly appears to be the most ad vantageous and practical method of car rying on great public works of this char acter. It Is of advantage to the govern ment, and it effects a saving where ample funds for prosecuting the work are pro vided over the old methods, permits the work to progress rapidly and Insures more perfect control of operations. During the time work has been pushed on the jetty it has been necessary to sus pend operations for about six weeks each year on account of inclement weather, and to permit a thorough repairing of the extensive plant for the active resumption of work In the early spring; The jetty has now for several years past successfully withstood the most violent storms, and though the seas at times would run nearly as high as the tracks of the tramway, no damage has been done to the jetty, ex cept the-washlng away of a. portion of, the top rocks on the last half mile of the work. During the storms of the winter of 1893-94 about 2000 feet of the track near the outer end of the tramway were swept awray. Thl3 left about S00 feet of track at the extreme end of the jetty standing, and this portion of the track has not since been disturbed by the waves. The progress of work on the jetty has marked great changes in the shapes and positions of the spits and sandbars in and about the mouth of the river. All these changes have been in the interests of navigation. The great middle sands at the mouth of the river have been removed by the erosive action of the waters, and this has left a straight out-and-ln channel for deep-draft vessels with a depth of 31 feet, at mean low water. The old north and south channels have been closed, and the changes on Clatsop spit are favorable to the stability of the jetty, offering, as they do, a resistance to the waves and cur rents, which checks the sand in Its pass age across the spit and causes it to ac cumulate on both sides. These accumula tions spread out for a considerable dis tance from the jetty and cause the heavy waves to break and lose a large part of their force before reaching it. As long as this accumulating process can be main tained with the consequent increase in the height of these acumulatlons the more hopes will the engineers entertain of the permanent results of the work. The jetty, as it stands today, has ac complished one of the great objects for which it was built. It has contracted the waters which pass in and out of the Co lumbia river, and this has Insured a suffi cient current to keep a navigable channel of a depth of 31 feet at low water through this entrance. depend upon the amount of this sana that J principally in small amounts and the may accumulate here. I most the engineers In charge of spending In the latter part of 1892 extensive sur veys were made of the sand spits on each side of the jetty to determine the extent and amount of sand which had accumu lated as the result of the construction of the jetty. The survey of 1SS3, which was made just before work was commenced, was used for a comparison. It was found that on the north, or river, side of the jetty, over the area between the jetty and the 21-foot curve, averaging about one-half mile in width and containing over 1500 acres, there had been an average fill of 45 feet, or something over 10,000.000 cubic yards of sand. The fill was greatest near the jetty. The sands bare at low tide on this side of the jetty covered 257 acres. On the south side of the jetty the great exchanges were naturally to be looked for. The accumulations of sand were there very large. "Within the area formed by the Point Adams shore, the jetty, and a line drawn from tho outer end of the jetty to the shore, about 14 miles south of the Point Adams light, comprising about 3000 acres, there had been an aver age deposit of five feet, or more than 23,000,000 cubic yards, and the sand-spit bare at low water measured nearly 1300 acres. The raising of the jetty to nearly the height contemplated by the engineers has greatly augmented the accumulation of sand. The spit on the south side of the jetty has greatly increased in area, and large portions of it are now nearly seven feet above low water. The sand has filled close up to the jetty, and in places it en tirely covers the rocks. On the north side the results have been equally as satis factory. The deposit of sand accumulated on both sides of the jetty amounts to one third of the total accumulations here at the present time. At low tide it Is now possible to walk on the bare sands from a point about one mile from the foot of the jetty to a point near its extreme end. This accumulation of sand Is constantly going on year by year, thus greatly strengthening the jetty, and the engineers believe that the per manency of the Improvement Is now as- this money could attempt was to remove the accumulations of sand in the shoalest places of the channel, a work that af forded no relief beyond the year in which the dredging was done. Major Handbury, in his report of 1S91, showed clearly the evil effects of the gov ernment's policy of attempting to main tain a. channel from Portland to the sea. In 1SS7, as stated in this report, it was estimated that the removal of 50,000 cubic yards of material from what was known as Swan Island bar would insure a chan nel through these shoals of a depth of IS feet, and 100 feet in width. Up to 1891 fully 250,000 cubic yards of material had been removed from this bar by the United States dredge, in addition to which the city of Portland had removed 50,000 cubic yards from the same bar. This dredging had been done at a cost of 150,00). In 1877 the board of engineers had estimated that the cost of closing the chute be hind Swan island by constructing a dike to a height of two feet above mean low water would be 51,000. Had the report of these engineers been acted upon, the great expense of dredging the bar opposite the island would have been avoided. This same policy was pursued in deepening the channel over all the other shoals of the river, and probably enough money was spent in this way to have secured a permanent channel of good depth from Portland to Astoria. The government engineers had for years recommended a line of permanent im provements in the river. These Improve ments, the recommendation went on to say, should be in the nature of dikes and jetties, to be placed in the river at places of advantage, with the view of confining the flow In the river to narrow channels over the shoal places and thus afford a sufficient current to keep these shoals thoroughly sluiced out. In 1877, the government finally accepted the recommendations of the engineers, and a plan was outlined which contem plated establishing and maintaining a depth of 20 feet of water at the low stages of the river from Portland to the STEAM DREDGE IT. S. LADD. TO MAINTAIN THE DEPTH. The Permanent Feature of the Ina provement of the Jetty. n""""""""" His aim or tne engineers Ill LUUCUUuiij, ..llC JCllJT WtU not only to make a deep chan nel at the entrance to the Co lumbia river, but also to main tain the depth of water In this channel after it had once been formed. The jetty Is a long, thin, narrow backbone of solid material, against which the forces in action at the mouth of the river have accumulated large quantities of shifting sand. This sand has tended to break the force of the waves and to thus protect the Jetty. The safety of the jetty and the per manence of the present favorable condi tion of the jetty channel over the bar will X M sured, and that the depth of water in the channel over the entrance will never be less than It is today, vthere are now hut three great harbors on lthe Pacific coasU Thee are at San t Francisco, the mouth of the Columbia river and Puget sound. The distance be tween San Francisco and Cape Flattery at the entrance to the straits of Fuca Is about 770 miles. The Columbia river Is the only harbor of the first magnitude on the entire coast between San Fran cisco and Cape Flattery. The opening of the Columbia river to vessels of the greatest draft makes this river an available harbor of refuge for all vessels seeking a port. In case of war this harbor would be a most impor tant point of rendezous for an enemy's fleet. From here an enemy with a strong fleet might strike Portland (if he could obtain control of the river), Puget sound ports, or the California coast points. Or he might fit out an expedition here for the conquest of the Interior. The government has foreseen this contingency, and the mouth of the Columbia river has already been visited by a board of engineers with a view of designing and locating suitable batteries for the protection of this road stead in case of war. The coast repre sentatives acknowledge the Importance of constructing these fortifications at the mouth of the Columbia and this work will doubtless be undertaken by the govern ment when a plan for coast defenses has been fully outlined. rORTLAXD TO' THE SEA, Improvement of the River Channel Over Tills Course. EFORE the extensive work of Improving the Willamette and Columbia rivers from Portland to the sea was inaugurated there existed at some half doz en points along this part of the course of these two rivers shoals, or bars, which were serious obstructions to easy navigation. At these shoal spots the waters of the Colum bia spread out to great widths. The lessening of the current of the stream in these bays al lowed sands to deposit on the bed of the river In the chan- "" nel. and it was these deposits that were responsible for the bars re ferred to. The distance from Portland to the mouth of the Willamette river is 12 miles. From the point where the waters of the Willamette and Columbia rivers join to the mouth of the latter stream, the dis tance is 98 miles. Along this entire course of 110 miles, except at the few shoal places in the two rivers, the depth of water ranges from 40 to 90 feet. For the distance from Portland to the sea the total fall Is less than seven feet. At the lowest stages of water in the Willamette river the tide affects the river at Portland about two feet. Prior to 1S66 soundings made in the channel between Portland and the sea showed a depth of from 10 to 15 feet at the shoalest places. This, of course, was at low stages of water and at low tide. Be fore that time no attempt had been made to Increase the depth of water over these shoals. As a result of these obstructions, both Inward and outward bound vessels were compelled to lighter a portion of their cargoes. This involved annoyance to masters, as well as delays and extra expense. It soon became evident to the ship-owners who frequented this river that a per manent channel of sufficient depth to permit vessels of deep draft to come to Portland at all seasons of the year could only be secured by an expenditure of large sums of money. The first appro priation for this work was made by con gress June 23, 18S6. This was followed by other appropriations from time to time, and the work done by the government on the rivers resulted in some substantial Improvement. Up to 1877 congress had appropriated 240,363 for improving the Willamette and Columbia rivers, between Portland and the sea, and this money had all been spent in the prosecution of this important work. All the money made in these appropria tions was spent in dredging. The amount appropriated was wholly inadequate to insureany permanent improvement to the channel. The appropriations were made sea. The plan of improvements contem plated permanent construction work to protect the banks of the river, jetties and dikes, and to cut off as far as possible the flow of waters into the sloughs and force this water into the main channel. As a temporary expedient dredging was to be continued at some of the shoalest places, with the view of affording Imme diate relief to shipping. ' Between 1877 and 1891 congress appro priated 640,000 for the work of improving the Willamette and Columbia rivers be low Portland. Numerous bank revet ments were constructed, sloughs and aux iliary channels were closed, dikes and jetties were erected at various places where needed along the rivers. In the Willamette river, dikes were constructed across the head of Swan island chute, at the head of Willamette slough, to con trol the amount of water passing into that channel, and also along the left bank of the river from that point to its mouth, to prevent erosion and consequent ex cessive widening of the river. These im provements were also built across the sloughs and channels at the junction of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, to control the waters of both rivers at that point. In the Columbia, improvements were made at St. Helen's, Burke slough and Martin's slough. As a result of these improvements, supplemented by consider able dredging, a depth of 19 feet at low stages of the river was obtained by 1&91. During the latter year the original pro ject of improvement made In 1877 was ex tended to its present broad scope. This proposed the construction of additional dikes, and It was hoped that on the com pletion of these dikes, with a fair amount of dredging, 25 feet could be maintained in the river from Portland to the sea at the lowest stage of water. Since 1S91, when the work was first undertaken in a vigorous manner by the city of Portland, the government has completed the great work at the mouth of the Willamette, a dike at Martin's island has been constructed, the dike at St. Helen's extended, other dikes and re vetments repaired, the channels of both the Willamette and Columbia had been dredged at various points along their course and snags had been removed wherever they were a menace to navi gation. The great flood of last year resulted m the formation of new shoals below ceding, made the amount available for this work for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1SS5, 34.723. Tho estimated amount re quired for the completion of the work of improving these rivers as now planned, a work that will Insure a depth of 23 feet from Portland to the sea at the lowest stages of water, is 166.130. Thl3 amount the engineers estimate can be profitably expended on the Improvement work of the rivers during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1836. Major James C. Post Is at the present time the government engineer In charge of all the river and harbor Improvements in this district. It is due to the courtesy of Major Post that The Oregonian has been enabled to obtain much of the data for the present article. Major Thomas H. Handbury was in charge of this dis trict till November CO, '1893. when Lieu tenant Harry Taylor assumed temporary charge, a responsibility he held until he was relieved by Major Post, on Feb ruary 19 last. Colonel G. H. Mendell, or the army corps, is division engineer of this district. Appropriations made by the national government for the improvement of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, between Portland and the sea, exclusive of the sums appropriated for the construction of the jetty at the mouth of the Columbia, are as follows: June 23. 1866 (lower Willamette)..? 15,000 March 2. 1867 30,000 July 25, 1868 (allotted) 21.000 April 10. 1863 (allotted) 13,363 July 11. 1S70 31.000 June 10, 1S72 50,000 March 3, 1873 20,000 June 23, 1874 20.000 March 3, 1875 20,000 August 14. 1876 20.000 June IS. 1878 30,000 March 3, 1S79 43,000 June 14. 1SS0 43.000 March 3. 1SS1 45,000 August 2. 18S2 100,001 July 5, 1884 100,000 August 5. 1SS6 75,000 August 11, 1SSS 100.0CU September 19, 1S90 100.000 July 13, 1892 150,000 August 17, 1894 50,000 Total appropriation 51,0S0,363 TORT OF PORTLAND. What the Efforts of This Commission! Have Accomplished. BOUT the middle of August, 1S90. the Union Pacific Railroad Company, which conducted at that time most of the tow ing and lightering business on the lower Willamette anil Columbia rivers, began to re fuse to take vessels drawing more than 1S feet of water from the Portland docks for Astoria. The principal ob struction in the river chan nel at that time was at Swan island bar. The last government appropriation had been exhausted and there were no availa ble funds from which to provide for im provements to the river channel between Portland and Astoria. In this crisis the Portland Chamber oC Commerce was aroused to action. The chamber borrowed the city dredge and proceeded to cut a channel through Swan island bar. This work was prosecuted vigorously for a period of two months under the supervision of the chamber, who bore all the expense of operating- the dredge. The amount of material dredged out of the channel on this bar wts 21,840 cubic yards, and this resulted in opening a channel through the bar, which would float vessels of any draft that visited this port. The people of Portland were thus brought to realize the importance of se curing and maintaining a channel of good depth between this city and Astoria. They realized further that if such a chan nel was to be secured within a reasonable length of time the expense of making it must be borne by tho city. A bill was introduced in the following session of the legislature which authorized the Incorpo ration of the commission known as the Port of Portland. This bill was passed without any important modifications and it became a law on February 18, 1S91. Following the passage of the act came the question of its constitutionality. A suit was brought to settle this matter. The supreme court. In a lengthy decision, declared the bill constitutional and valid. As soon as this decision was rendered tho commission made every preparation to commence work on the proposed Improve ments. The act creating the Port of Portland defined its limits as Including all that part of Multnomah county which lies west of the east boundary line of the Willam ette meridian and south of the north boundary line of township 1, north of the Base Line. This includes the entire city of Portland and vicinity. The assessed valuation of the property within this district is now about 44,000,000. The act further declared that the object and purpose of the corporation was to Im prove the Willamette and Columbia rivers between Portland and the sea, with the view of maintaining a ship chan nel of adequate width and of a depth of 25 feet at the shoalest places during tho lowest stages of water. The commission was also given full control over both rivers so far as It was in the power oC the state to grant such control. To enable the commission to carry the terms of this act into effect the Port of Portland was authorized to raise money by the issue of bonds to the amount of 500,000. These bonds were to run for 30 years and were to draw 5 per cent interest per annum. Tho commission was further authorized to levy annually a special tax SUOBE END OP THE JETTY. Walker's island in the Columbia river. on all property within it3 district which Through these fahoals the government has dredged a channel 250 feet wide and which carries a depth of 23 feet at mean low water. During the past year the United States has also dredged a channel 200 feet wide and 22 feet deep through the shoul at Pillar Rock in the Columbia, and the engineers are now engaged in opening a channel of the same depth at Postoffice bar in the Willamette. The last appropriation for the improve ment of the lower Willamette and Colum bia rivers was made by congress August 17, 1894. The amount of the appropriation was 50,000. This, together with an avail- l able balance of $-1725, made July 1 pre- is by law taxable for state and county purposes, to mee interest on the bonds and ' other fixed charges. This regular annual tax, however, was not to exceed three-twentieths of one per cent, and this specially high tax was only to be levied in cases of unusual emergency. The oidi nary tax levied by the committee, it was stipulated, should not exceed one-twentieth of one per cent- The proceeds from the sale of the bonds were to be used only for the purpose of making- and main taining a channel of the required depth in the rivers below Portland, while the money raised by special taxation could be used In pushing temporary work on the f 1 fl M A