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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1895)
THE HLOBISISG- OREGCXSIXAjS", -ETTESDAY, JA2sTJAHy 1. 1895. ASTORIA BY THE SEA! Xiie Only Deep-Water Seaport?n ttie State of Oregrori. AT THE MOUTH OF-THE GREAT COLUMBIA RIVER There Is 2Co Deep-Water Seaport In Southern. Washineton- .Astoria's IJarlaor Is the 3iIost Accessible on the Coast North of San Francisco. steadily increasing; and all railroads reaching: cedar districts on this coast do a lucrative business in hauling; shingles to the Eastern markets. large quantities of spruce and other timber are manufactured into pulp near Astoria and shipped to the various paper mills of the country. This industry must necessarily attain greater development as the supply of timber in less thickly timbered districts becomes exhausted. It would be almost impossi ble to ascertain the amount of merchanta ble timber in Clatsop county, but a fair idea may be formed from the fact that of the 900 square miles in the county fully TOO axe covered with timber, and conserva tive estimates place the average amount of timber on each square mile at 02,000,000 feet. SI1IPPIXG FACILITIES. Une- (Thls article was written by the Astoria Chamber of Commerce.) 9mm STORIA Is situated at the mouth of the Columbia riv er, a stream dis charging into the Pacific ocean near ly or quite as much water as the Mississippi pours into the Gulf of Mexico, of country greater in extent than the entire area of the New England states. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, "West Virginia and Ohio combined, or about 250.000 square miles. In a word. It is computed that the Columbia watershed t overs an area equal to one-sixth of that of the whole of the United States. For hundreds of miles inland from Its mouth (with the exception of obstructions at the Cascades and The Dalles, which are already under course of removal by the general government) this magnificent river affords free navigation for river steamers, by which the diversified products of the immense section of country tributary to it may be conveyed either to market for home consumption or to Astoria, at the mouth of the river, for shipment to for t ign or domestic ports. Prom the point where the Columbia of The Oregonian: "Astoria is the sea port of Oregon; it always will be the sea port of Oregon; nature has so ordered it that this state can have no other great seaport, no other considerable seaport. We shall not get the best results from shipping the products of the Columbia watershed to the sea until cars may go through to Astoria without transhipment and rehandling of their contents. Then we shall have an advantage in the com mon railway rate to the seaboard, for there will be no account of river charges thereafter, though many ships may still go to Portland. But till this shall be ac complished there will always be ground of discrim'nation against this route which will be necessary to meet and cover through various methods. "The Astoria railroad, therefore, will be quite as advantageous to Portland as to Astoria more so, indeed, because of Port land's larger aggregate interest. "It is not a Portland scheme nor an As toria scheme, but an Oregon scheme using the term Oregon in the large sense for merly embraced in the geographical ex pression, when Oregon included the Pa cific Northwest of the United States. "There is no more a Columbia bar; soon the Cascades of the Columbia will not ex ist; not distant Is the triumph over the rapids at The Dalles, and similar triumphs far in the interior will be recorded. We shall have the Columbia river railway to For Cheapness and Dispatch quilled Jn the World. LTHOUGH the shipping inter ests of the Columbia river have steadily Increased since the construction of the government jetty, and the resultant deep ening of the channel at the en trance of the river, the com- f$tmRtl$ pletlon of a line of railroad S$s frora Astoria to a connection with any of the lines tapping the great wheat-producing regions of Ore gon and Washington must necessarily bring about a development in this direc tion not to be otherwise accomplished. The advantages possessed by Astoria over Sound ports are so marked that they have only to be pointed out. For Astoria it is asserted that she must become the principal seaport of the Co lumbia watershed as soon as railway con nections place her in a position to become the point of exchange of products between land and water, and that, Instead of ship ping to foreign ports 5,000,000 bushels of wheat (the amount of wheat shipments from the Columbia river at the present time) she will ship the total amount ex ported, or 15,000,000 bushels. The laws of commerce demand that first-class seaports shall be located as near the, ocean as pos sible, for the reason that such a seaport adds to the value of the products in the producers hands by reducing the expense of reaching the world's markets. This is especially plain when it is known that Astoria will be made a common point with any seaport In the Northwest upon the completion of a railroad from Astoria to connect with any of the trunk lines. For the fiscal year ending June SO last, S3 board, and has so much less mileage to the coast to pay freight on, that it can afford shipment by ocea"hHoEnrope. When the Nicaragua canal Is opened. It may even compete with some areas now ship ping to the Atlantic, in the Atlantic coast markets. In this tonnage stream we find the Columh'a route centrally'Iocated, with a counterpart In the Columbia river to the water route to New York, and with a sat isfactory coast port at Astoria.- "Although railroad lines on the north of this stream may seek a simple shipping outlet on the Sound, ultimately they must all seek the centrally located commercial port on the coast, just as the Canadian Pacific on the north and the Baltimore on the south seek New York, Irrespective of distance; and, even though deep-water ports are passed In so doing, the central situation, the water routoand the coast location will win the day in the long run." Of the local advantages -of Astoria Sir. Schenck has this to say: "Within the harbor Is found the penin sula formation (in this case double, Smith's point and Tansy point), which by doubling the water line back upon itself concen trates a great frontage within a small area, massing business and securing cheap and quick facilities to such a degree that no mere 'riverside' location can compete with it- Additional to this, there Is the almost equally valuable and somewhat similar feature of great penetration of land by small waterways, giving Invalua ble facilities for transfers from cars or other conveyances to vessels, or the re verse. At all ports where such small rlv ers are found, these waterways will be found crowded with business." and the streets are well lighted by elec tricity and gas. There is a neat theater, capable of seat ing 500 persons. The water works, owned by the munici pality, furnish an abundant supply of pure water, brought from mountain streams distant 14 miles from the city. Although salmon-canning and lumber-manufacturing are at present the staple Industries of Astoria, all other trades are represented. The Astoria iron works has an extensive plant and is well equipped for the manu- ....,,- T ..-111 4T.... Vo. niuin thot -n4K -fha 1 enactment of proper laws for protection of fish and the establishment and mainte nance of hatcheries on an adequate scale the salmon industry may be made per petual, and must always occupy a promi nent place among the attractions to com peting lines of railroad. For the year just closed the total amount of salmon dis tributed from Astoria, including the spring and fall packs on the Columbia and fall packs at different other points tributary to Astoria, was 55S,C0 cases, of which, as ASTOHIA HARBOR, At the Month or the Colombia River The Depth ClVnter. HE distance from sea into the harbor limits. of Astoria is but 10 miles, so that the cost of bringing a vessel in from sea is necessarily less than at any other harbor, accessible to deep-sea ships, on the North Pacific coast. With a straight channel at the entrance to the river, not less than two miles wide, and wltA 30 feet of water at mean low tide, subject to a rise of from six to ten feet at high water, with a fair wind, vessels of large tonnage can often dispense with the aid of a bar tug and safely sail to anchorage in front of the city. Astoria has a water frontage of 5V5 miles, where ships of any draft can lay at j the various wharves or come to an anchor :iS . Portland. Goble, it may bo stated here. is the paint ok the Oregon side ot tbo Columbia river from which all trains ovr the Northern Pacific railroad are ferried across this stream lo Kalama on the op posite shore, from which place cars run to Tacoma and all points cast. Goble is dis tant from Portland about 40 miles, and :t Is afforded direct communication with the latter city by the main line of the North ern Pacific, which makes frequent and regular trips between the two points. Hw sV5Hfcr COURT-STREET HIGH SCHOOL, ASTORIA. facture of steam engines, boilers and other machinery, employing many hands. The Pacific Can Company has a factory here with a capacity of 90.000 cans per day, or over 1500 per day for each hand em ployed. This factory did business during last year to the amount of $230,000. Astoria is the center of business not only for Clatsop county, but for a large district on the north side of the Columbia river. It affords a good market for pro duce raised In the surrounding country. That the supply furnished from this source is not equal to the demand is evidenced by above stated, 4S1.G00 cases comprised the spring pack on the Columbia river. On the basis of 300 cases per carload, the salmon industry of Astoria and tributary points furnishes, therefore, a business of over 1S00 carloads yearly, an Item of Itself sufliciently important to -justify the speedy completion of a railroad arid assist in plac ing Astoria in the rank among the cities of the Pacific coast to which she belongs by reason of the Importance of her diver sified Industries and of her location as a distributing center. With the completion of a railroad to NEKALEM COAL. Vast Deposits ot the Binds Dia monds Near Astoria. HE coal fields of the Nehalcm. distant not over 40 miles from. Astoria, while yet in an ma developed state, give abun dant promise of an apparent ly inexhaustible supply of tha bituminous product. Veins ranging from two to seven feet in thickness have been discovered in different por tions of three townships, and experts pro nounce the samples procured as of a very superior quality. The widest of these veins have been discovered at Onion peak and Necarney mountain, but fromTthe lat ter, all the way to Saddle mountain en couraging indications of a plentiful sup ply have been found. The Necarney moun tain coal will coke, says an eminent au thority, and, if this view proves to be cor rect the discovery is a most valuable one for the iron manufacturer. The extension ot the line of the Astoria & South Coast railway a distance of 15 miles will reach these coal fields and develop them, and not alone make Astoria Independent ot other sources of supply, but place her in a position to enter the coal markets of the Pacific coast as a competitor on excellent terms. DAIRYING INTERESTS. Opportunities for the Dairyman antj the Orchardlst. WING to the handsome profits in the lumber and fishing In dustries, sufficient attention has not been paid by the peo ple of Astoria to agricultural and dairying Interests, al though the business of butter and cheesemaklng has already reached such dimensions that much Is exported. Cool sum mers and mild winters give almost perennial green pas tures, and enable the dairymen to carry on their business economically. Several large dairies and one creamery are now f firr ? C Q C E VH- .. z-jrz !jaj.- ---Ejc-K-agrMV- jjJMv--r3g:3r. zfsg!SrrAL,gL -.-. - -. . .-vri"TrP"u-.fc-r'TkrvJitH.iw jm. -, i iii i i wihi hn !! i ' . ' i i i i i ii nww n A."3warv(ttllfrDnll. 4.. - xomEEDW i ' empties into the Pacific ocean the country It traverses has all the diversified resources of an agricultural, pomological, pastoral, timber and mineral section. For nearly tOO miles inland along its course, the coun try bordering on either-shore of the river is dark with a heavy growth of the very fnest merchantable timber, -while its i aters Are ah e with the unexcelled Chi nook salmon and numerous other varie ties of food fishes, the whole now consti tuting one of Astoria's staple Industries, gllng employment to an army of fisher men and necessitating the disbursement in this one industry alone of more than V jJO.OOO annually. A single glance at the geographical posi tion of the city of Astoria, distant only 10 miles from the Pacific ocean, should be hjfilnent to convince the most incredulous that, if the chief seaport ot the products of the Columbia liver basin must be at the mouth of the great river of the West, Astoria's location Is altogether unap proachable. It may truly be said, without fdr of successful contradiction, that on t' e Paclrtc coust north ot San Francisco there is but one seaport, and that one is Astoria. Tacoma and Seattle, on Pugot sound, are only inland seaports, over 100 miles from the ocean. BID'SEYE VIEW OF HSTOfclfl, SHOWING THE WRTES pOflT HJ4D TflE 0$EGOfl COSST IiliSlE. Astoria, which will place our railway common point at the seaboard." THE LUMBER INDUSTRY. "Vaxt and Almost Untouched Forests of Splendid Varieties of Timber. i. HE practically inexhaustible supply of timber In Clatsop county, all of which must of necessity be brought to As toria for shipment, either by sea or rail, to the coast and Eastern markets, consists of Douglas fir, more com monly called Oregon pine, cedar, spruce, larch, maple and hemlock. These varie ties are found in a district of several hun dreds of square miles in extent, and with in easy access of one or the other of the 8 foreign vessels, of an aggregate tonnage of 102,773, cleared from the port of Astoria. During the same time 426 coastwise ves sels, of an aggregate tonnage of 403,431, cleared. The exports from the Columbia river for the fiscal year of 1S93-94, as shown by the custom-house records, were as fol lows: Wheat-5.5SS.6SS bushels. Flour 2S6.74S barrels. Lumber 940.000 feet. Salmon 11,721 cases. Value-$4.000,000. As coastwise vessels are not required by law to file a manifest of cargo Tvith the customs authorities, lumber exports do not ot course include shipments coastwise, and for that reason convey no adequate idea of the volume of the lumber industry. The above showing, it must be remem- TIIE JETTY. n Vsrfr ESU The Grent Impro-v rn:rn( at the Month of the River. HIS important work was com menced by the government in 185. and is now nearlng com- -g. . j juruoit. j. ik? want oi cntteu J3'' I States engineers who devised the plm. of Its construction estimated Its cost Vit about $3,000,009. but nature itself has so ably assisted in crowning w4h success the brilliant conception and design of the engineers that it will be fin ished at u cost of $1,000 less than the C'.s.n.al estimate. The boneitcial effect of the construction cf tine jetty has met the most sanguine expectations of Us projectors. The jetty has been extended more than four miles seaward in a northwesterly direction, start irg from the south bank, thus virtually contracting the immense body of water dotting out of the mouth of the river into a space of less than four miles, instead of c ht miles as lormerly. The substantial result Is that the width of the river whore It debouches into the open ocean has been rcauoed one-half, and in coseequence a r iraight and open channel to and from the sea. . feet at mesa low water, and from C7 to 40 feet deep (according to the tide) at I sh water, has been create, and any r uiber of ships of largest sice can now i.e in abreast; in fact, the bar has vir t r : ceasd to exist. This jetty makes Astoria a seaport of the r- t magnitude. There is an open.strMsfet, v..ve and deep ohunel. through which eri vessel may eater as easily us into any ha-bor in the world. As heretofore stated in a previous issue i CVSTOX-KOrSE AXD POSTOFF1CE. ASTORIA. Pitto ZyJ. H.Sralt. small rivers which penetrate the interior of the county and empty themselves into th Columbia river at or near Astoria. At the jK-esect time there at three saw mills i Astoria, with a daily capacity of MA.0O) feet. Three other mills are.situated at points near by. and two of large capac ity are in operation on the Washington side of the Columbia opposite Astoria. Host of the output of these mills goes to market by water transportation, but with the completion of a line of railroad to transcontinental connection the market oast of the Cascade mountains will be brought within reach, and thebuatoers In railroad transportation will bemlted only by the demand. The demand for cedar shingles Js ajso bered, was made during a period of the greatest business stagnation ever noted in the Northwest. The following extract, taken from an article written by ilr. Archibald A. Schenck, civil engineer of the New York Central railroad, and an eminent author ity on railroad matters, will strengthen Astoria's claims at the present time for the attention of the world as the most promising point of the West. Sir. Schenck says: "In the Pacific Northwest are vast pro ductive areas la Northern Oregon. Wash ington and Idaho. They are capable of I furnishing an immense export of grain, J cattle and wool. The tonnage is so much ' nearer the coast than the Atlantic sea- in the stream. Extending the line around Smith's point and along Young's bay. It has a total water frontage of more than 13 miles within the city limits that may be utilized, affording unequalcd facilities for commerce, manufacturing and shipbuild ing. NO TEREDO. Entire Freedom From the Ravajjs tf Tula Dextrnctlvo Worm. HOUGH situated so closa to the open ocean, Astoria has the special, exclusive and de cided advantage of being a fresh-water harbor, a bless ing duly appreciated by every salt-water navigator bringing his ship's barnacle-covered bottom Into port. That destructive pest, the teredo, or pile worm, cannot exist in Astoria harbor. Piling on the water front of Astoria driven 30 or 40 years ago Is to day sound and In serviceable condition. The ravages of the teredo upon wharves and logs at salt-water ports can be par tially estimated when it is stated that Seattle, on Puget sound, is about to in augurate work on a ship canal which will connect the waters of the Sound with Lake Washington, a body of fresh water to the east of that city. It is estimated this work will involve the expenditure of possibly I3.0C0.000. While the benefits of this canal will not be confined altogether to freedom from the teredo, yet the rav ages of this destroying worm proves one of the strongest arguments for the inaugu ration of work en the Lake Washington canal. It Is a saving of time and money to shipowners to have the vast accumula tion of barnacles and other marine growths incident to a long sea voyage, and col lected below the water line of their ves sels, as effectually cleared oft as though they had been scraped in a drydock. This beneficial result accrues to every ship that visits Astoria, the only fresh-water sea port on the Pacific coast. BUSINESS ASPECT. The Backs and Commercial Hon sex of the City. STORIA at present supports a population of 10,000. It has two national banks and one savings bank, telegraph, tele phone and district messenger ; offices, and two daily and three weekly papers. It Is the county seat and an incorpo rated city, with mayor, city couDcil, and an efficient corps of municipal officers. It has the most efficient volunteer fire department in the West, con sisting of one hook-and-ladder and three steam fire engine companies Here is the United States customs port for the district of Oregon. The govern ment has erected a substantial stone edi fice for the use ot customs and postoiQce officials. The city has free postal deliv ery, over two miles of steam motor line and two mile3 of electric street railway. the fact that many tons of hay, besides vegetables, fruit and other productions, arc Imported yearly. Practical and expe rienced gardeners and small fruitraisers are needed. There is also a splendid open ing at Astoria for a hemlock tanning ex tract factory, a flour mill, a furniture fac tory, several more saw mills and other fac tories, and especially there is every need ed facility at hand for a drydock and for shipbuilding. The annual consumption of 50,000 boxes of tin-plate demands and would support a fair-sized Un-platc factory at this point. SALMON INDUSTRY. Tha Aunnal Ontpat ot the Various Columbia River Canneries. 3TORIA is the headquarters of the salmon-packing industry of the Northwest, and dis tributes yearly the entire pack of the Columbia river, amounting to almost 500,000 cases and valued at 53,000,000 and consuming 50,000 boxes of tin-plate. Formerly the great er proportion of the pack was shipped for- transcontinental connection, Astoria will I maintained In the vicinity of Astoria, and at once uecome a iormioaoie competitor for the handling of the Alaska salmon pack, averaging over 750,000 cases yearly. At present the bulk of this business is con trolled in San Francisco, but Astoria's ad vantage geographically places her in a po sition to bid on more than even terms against her California rival. The estab lishment of a regular and frequent steam er service between Astoria and Alaskan points offers to capital Inducements which will readily command attention.- A RAILROAD ASSURED. Work on the New Line to Be Com menced in April. N the future prosperity of Asto ria no single factor will play such an important part as di rect railroad connection with the leading centers of popula tion In the Northwest and with the East. By the terms of an agreement made on Decem ber 1 last, Astoria is now as sured of the early completion of a road which will afford that place all the advantages of a direct w2ms0K&f&- .: h &c o a l e"'r "J ASTORIA'S COAL FIELDS: eign, but as the peerless qualities of the royal chinook became more generally rec ognized the home demand increased corre spondingly, and now almost the entire papk finds a ready sale in the United States, and is shipped East over the differ ent railroads, via Tacoma and Portland. In wages and supplies the amount paid out by the canners In Astoria for each , would insure the city a railroad. On De 3 up about 5L500,- j cember 1 last a contract was finally mad( season's operations foots 000. The remarkable increase in the do mestic demand for Columbia river salmon and the consequent increase of the busi ness In inland transportation furnished by the salmon-packing industry, will beshown by the fact that in 1S82 nearly 400.0C0 cases were shipped direct to the United King- J dom, as compared with but 1L72S cases in 5i-.j out oi tne total spring pacic oi lai.ww connectioa with Portland and the other leading cities of Oregon and Washington, and the active work on the construction of the line will commence before April 1 next. The enterprising people of Astoria have always been ready to lend every encour agement and support to any proposition coming from responsible parties that made between E. L. Bonrer and A. B. Ham mond, responsible capitalists, and a sub sidy committee of Astoria. Messrs. Bon ner and Hammond agred in consideration of valuable subsidies, to be given them on the completion of the line, to build a rail road frbm Astoria to a connection with the Northern Pacific at or near Goble. cr with some other railroad running cars into j coast, if not in the world. machinery is being put in place for an other creamery. The marsh lands along the Columbia are exceedingly rich, and frequently yield two crops of hay yearly. Five tons of timothy per acre is not an unusual crop for these lands. Fruitraising has been, almost entirely neglected in Clatsop county, and thou sands of dollars are annually sent away by Astoria merchants for fruits that could have been grown in the immediate vicin ity of the city. Small fruits, berries and vegetables of all descriptions attain per fection both In size and quality, and hops have done well wherever experiments in growing them have been made. No better field is now open to the orchardist than that of growing berries and fruit. AS A SUMMER RESORT Astoria' Advantages Are Unequalcd The Heavy- Tonrlst Travel. HE Astoria & South Coast Railway closely connects .As toria with the well-known and favorite seaside resorts, extending for 20 mile3 along the sea beach from Point Ad ams to Tillamook head. Not less than from 10,000 to 13,00l excursionists visit the beach every summer to enjoy the delightful pleasures of sea bathing, hunting and fishing facilities afforded in the vicinity. Grimes' hotel, the Seaside house and Gearhart Park hotel, all located In close proximity to the beach, are crowded with guests during the season, while many fam ilies pitch their tents and others have erected substantial cottages for them selves. The sandy beach is smooth as a billiard table, and the water deepens so gradually that with proper precaution there is absolutely no danger. RELIGIOUS A?D EDUCATIONAL. The Schools and Churches of the City by the Sea. STORIA has four graded schools, employing 23 teach ers. The high school connect ed with these I? noted for Its efficiency. It has an excel lent public free reading-room in connection with a library association containing hun dreds of volumes of standard works by the best authors, which are being added to pe riodically. The various se cret and fraternal and benevolent societies are well reprosented. There are 11 organ ized churches, representing, as many dif ferent religious denominations. A well-organized chamber of commerca has for 23 years existed in Astoria, ana has been a powerful factor in securing government aid to all the important pub lic works that have tended to make tho seaport of Astoria what It really 13 today, the best and safest seaport on tho Paclfio