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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1903)
THE MORNINjG OREGONIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1903. FROM PORTLAND TO THE SEA REGULATOR LINE STEAMERS How the Great Lower Columbia Waterway Mas Been Improved, and Its Channel Deepened. BETWEEN1 THE foundation for practically all of Portland's commercial greatness, past, present and future, lies in the magnificent waterway that connects this city with the high seas and the markets of the world. The metropolis of the state grew up, not by chance or by any arti ficial trade conlitlons, but by reason of her matchless location, where the waters of one of the great rivers of the world could float to her whirves commerce from the most remote corners of the globe. The final decision of trade to make this point the seaport of the Columbia Basin was not arrived at without experiment with other points along the river. There Is no sentiment in business, and wherever there is anything to be gained by a change of location, business is quick to scent the ad vantage and go after it. Over 40 year ago, the troublesome bar at St. Helens caused the Pacific Mall to abandon Portland and attempt to make St. Helens the head of navigation on the river. Later a similar attempt was made at Columbia City, and even Kalama as pired to be the great seaport of the river. Astoria periodically made an effort at wheat exporting, but at none of these way ports along the river was It possible to halt the stream of oversei trade which surged as far Inland as steam and sail could push the white-winged argosies. The bars in the river were a serious dis advantage to the business, but in spite of the obstacles it has always been found more economical to bring ship to cargo than to take cargo to ship. The experi ence of St. Helens, Kalama, Columbia City and other aspirants for seaport hon ors failed to check the growth of Port land In the slightest degree, but It served to call her attention to the obstacles In the river, and In due season the matter of removing these obstacles was begun. This work Is not yet finished, but It has resulted In deepening the channel between Portland and the sea from 14 and 15 feet to 23 and 24 feet St Helens bar, which caused the Pacific Mall to make that point the head of navigation, has vanished and the largest ships afloat could now pass over it without touching bottom. A table printed In another column shows In a striking manner what has been ac complished in deepening the channel. Thirty years ago, the average net tonnage of the Portland grain fleet was 673, while the average carrying capacity of the small fleet of ships which carried wheat from Portland was but 33,615 bushels. Ten years later the size of the vessels had increased to an average net register of 1432 tons, while the average amount of cargo car ried by the ten largest ships in the trade was but 75.390 bushels. About that time Portland began earnest work for the Im provement of her river channel, and as the depth gradually increased the size of the vessels coming to the river increased in proportion. In 1892 the channel was sufficiently deep to admit of the passage of a ship of over 2400 tons net register, and the average net register of the 10 largest vessels In the 1902 grain fleet was 2013 tons, while the cargoes of the big 10 averaged 114,393 bushels. The gain of 1892 over the previous 10 years was striking, and to some it seemed that the limit had been reached, but the year Just closed shows that the gain in the last decade has been greater than that of the preceding decade, for the grain ships have increased in size until the 10 largest showed an average of 2653 tons net register, with an average carrying capacity of 16L.309 bushels. President W. S. Sibson, of the Portland Grain Company, the dean of all grain ex porters in the Pacific Northwest, at a re cent banquet at the Arlington Club made a very interesting allusion to the wonder ful changes that have taken place in this river and the commerce it annually bears to the sea. In responding . to the toast "Queenstown for Orders" he spoke In part as follows: Briefly, and without tiring you with statistics and firures. I wish to brine before you the part that Portland and Oreeori have in the tremendous commerce that "Queenstown for orders" brines to mind. Our share of this commerce, within .my own recollection, was at one time carried In small vessels whose loaded draft was only 16 to 17, or, perhaps, at the greatest, 18 feet Even such ships then had to lichter on steamboats or barges a large portion of their careo, for in those days 15 feet or thereabouts was a good depth of water at many places between Portland and the sea. I remember when about 1,000,000 bushels In wheat and flour and an occasional lumber and salmon carco was considered a good showing for a season's foreign business. I can recall when a few old-fashioned dark and Inconven ient docks on the west side of the Willamette, south of Couch street accommodated the ex port and imsort business of Portland. I re member once belne told by a prominent river pilot that within a few years from the time be spoke the Columbia Blver from Astoria to Portland would be closed to navigation except for small coasting schooners. Think for a moment of the changes since the time of which I speak! Look at the ships and steamers now here and that visit our harbor each year! Look at the long line of modern wharves, lumber mills, flouring mills, shops, factories, railroad yards, warehouses, etc., that now line both banks of the river for miles on both sides. Consider that-during the harvest year ending last July, Portland exported In wheat and flour alone 17,000,000 bushels, be sides barley, salmon, oats, hops, forage and other products, that about 1,000,000 tons of logs were brought by water to the sawmills at Port land. And these products were distributed to the world by vessels, some of which were the largest saillnc. shins afloat and by steamers whose size and capacity would have been re garded as an Impossibility three decades ago. And yet I venture to say the volume of our trade is only in Its Infancy, and that few among us, even the most optimistic, can grasp what the future contains fqr this growing city and ' lto. Much has been done, many ob stacles have been overcome, and great credit is due for the conditions which exist today, but we all know and realize that these condil tions are by no means perfect and while great progress has been made, there Is still much to be done. Our surroundings are still chang ing, new developments are transpiring. Popu lation Is Increasing, new markets are opening, neighboring ports' are growing, pushing and gaining In strength, and Portland must keep pace. Situated at the head of deep-water naviga tion, and with snch an empire tributary to her wharves, there Is practically no limit to the possibilities of the future. It has been demonstrated, and has. in fact become an axiom of commerce, that "'It is cheaper to bring the ship to the produce than to take the nroduce to the ehln." TVer cannot and must not be satisfied with 22 or even 25 feet of water from Portland to the sea. There must eventually be no such limit to the draft at which vessels can safely and expeditiously come and go to1 and from our docks. It be hooves every business man, every taxpayer, legislator, voter and commercial body every citizen Interested in the growth, welfare and development of our city and trade and of the. country on which we depend to work and to keep working to improve, open and keep open the noble river and Its tributaries which we possess, not only from Portland to the sea, but also from Portland to the headwaters of Tlver navigation in the Interior. These remarkable changes, taking place during the business career of e citizen still In the prime of life, prove beyond doubt that as Mr. Sibson says, "there Is practically no limit to the possibilities of the future." The Government has at times been niggardly in its appropriations for the improvement of this great com mercial highway, but the citizens of Port land have responded liberally, and the Port of Portland Commission has Just completed the. largest' river dredge in the United States, and by the close of an other year will have the channel In euch shape that SOOO-ton vessels can go to and fro between Portland and Astoria with greater ease than the 500-tonners of 30 years ago. St Helens bar has been wiped out of existence, and Walker's Island, which In the old dayB was a close second for St Helens as a disturbing element In river navigation no longer causes trou ble for the deepest-draft ships. IXiring the past year the worst trouble has been many years before the actual Improve ment In the river was noticeable. As the channel began to deepen, It was quickly apparent that work at the bar was neces sary, the delays below Astoria being much greater than at any point on the river. The first appropriation for this Improve ment was secured In 1SS4, the sum of $100, 000 being available that year. "With this sum, preliminary work was commenced on encountered at Reeders, about 20 miles ' 'b ColumoIa River Jetty, a work which below Portland. This trouble has been i s eessful that in less than 10 jvuo me ucyin oi water on tne oar had been Increased more than 10 feet The I appropriation of 18S4 was followed In 1SS5 by one of J1S7.500. in 1SSS by 5500.000, Fcb- largely the result of an attempt to build a. channel across the current There has also been some minor delays to the deep est draft ships at Rainier, Slaughters, Doublebowers and Pillar Rock. Even under these conditions, however, the experience of some of the largest ves sels that ever came here have this sea son proved that the volume of water In the river is sufficient for the largest ship afloat, if it is only confined in the proper channels. Early In October, on the low est stage of water of the season, and be fore the channel had been dredged out at Reeders, the British steamship Lime Branch, carrying over 7000 tons dead weight, made the run from Portland to Astoria drawing 22 feet of water. This draft on a smaller craft of narrower build would not have been so remarkable, but the Lime Branch is a vessel 400 feet long VALUES OF LIVESTOCK. The value of the livestock of Oregon is $31,000,000. The sales of stock and wool for 1902 amounted to SS.000.000, or nearly 30 per cent of the value of. the stock carried over for working, breeding and dairying purposes for the ensuing year. In this mild climate there la very little loss of young stock and the per cent of increase is rela tively large. The eastern portion of the state Is particularly adapted to stockralslng. where cheap range Is necessary, but the industry is also very profitable In the "Willamette Valley, where there Is no public range, and In the Coast re gion, where pasturage conditions are unexcelled. The amall valleys In the mountainous districts are especially adapted to stockralslng, for no fencing is required. and over 50 feet wide across her flat bot tom. She is a turret steamer, square built, and in taking her through to Astoria, it was much the same as pushing a vast square box 400 feet long, 53 feet wide and 22 feet deep, over the 100-mile course. "While the most effective work now be ing done on the river is by, the Port of j i-ortiana, acting In a measure under In structions from the Government engi neers, the Government dredge "W. S. L.add has been of material assistance In deep ening the channel at some of the high spots. Much has been said by the ene mies of 'the Columbia River improvements against the expenditures that have been made for bringing this channel up from Its old 15 feet scant to 23 to 24 feet depth, and from the amount of protest that is made by some of the Puget Sound papers, the Inference might be drawn that these expenditures amounted to millions an nually. As a matter of fact, the Govern ment appropriations for the Improvement of the Columbia and "Willamette Rivers between Portland and the sea, exclusive of the Jetty work at Fort Stevens, for over 34 years have amounted in the ag gregate to but $1,555,366. The appropria tions In detail for that period were as fol lows: Lower "Willamette Act of Juno 23, 186o March 2, 1S67 July 25. 186S April 10. 18G9 ... July 11, 1870 June 10, 1872 ruary, 1890, $75,000; September, 1890, $475,000; July, 1S92, $350,000; August, 1S94, $33S,1S0, a total of $2,025,650. From this appropria tion $50,000 was transferred In 1S96 to the credit of the Improvement of the river below Tongue Point, leaving the actttal amount used for the Jetty up to 1S36, $1,975,680. The Jetty .showed Its greatest results about 1894, but the channel re mained In good shape until about three years ago, when the necessity for ex tending It became apparent An emergency annronrlatlon of rcavom was secured In June, 1900, and In June, 1902, a further appropriation of $500,000 was secured. The success attendant on the original work on the jetty makes it practically a certainty that the contem plated extension will not only restoro the 30-foot channel of 1834-95 but will show still greater results. As to the benefits arising from the expenditure of this money, it Is probable that no other Government work ever attempted has brought larger financial returns to the producers of the country. "When the work of improvement began, shipowners demanded and received a differential of 10 shillings per ton against the Columbia River, claiming this differential on ac- j count of the delays to which their ves- ! sels were subjected at the mouth of the river. The foreign commerce of the port at that time frequently ran up to 500,000 tons per year, so that In effect the pro- i ducers were forced to pay something like . $1,250,000 per year more for getting their produce on the high seas than was paid . by the Californians, who at that time were our chief trade competitors. j Within five years after the effect of the ' jetty began to be felt this 10-shJHIng differential had shrunk to 4 shillings, then to 2s 6d, and Anally disappeared altogether. In fact for the past three years ships have been chartered "to ar rive, wnn tne option of Portland, San Francisco or Puget Sound, at exactly the same rate for either port The bar at present has shoaled up quite ma terially, but with liberal appropriations can easily be put In flrst-class condition again. Every dollar that has been ex pended on the Columbia River has re turned to the producers of the Columbia Basin at least $5. The time Is not far distant when the expenditure will be reduced to a nominal yearly sum for maintenance of the permanent improve ments made, and the largest ships afloat can come and go with no delays of any kind. PORTLANDTHE DALLES , Cape Horn Moffett's Hot Springs Cascade Locks St. Martin's Hot Springs Stevenson White Salmon Bingen Lyle , The Dalles Oak -St. Wharf SPEED AND COMFORT ECONOMY AND -PLEASURE VIA THE REGULATOR LINE BOATS STOP AL ALL WAY LANDINGS Map of the Middle and Upper Columbia River GOLDEN DALE Jtw. On. I I X fe- l.l ir las I I x a, gsQtMwzocr vs Vi m husbands vc.. YAV 'MT CAMAS r BoKskMOSlR- V ADAMS PRAIRIE 'straights W VYv" Str&IiTLAKE underwoods A ( I t .iV?i-S 1- s s 1j3m,l.t - "1 rifLcASCADE LOCKS old OAwsoAf itrr 1 BOSEWLLE i Mosouro szjwoHt WARRENDALC- , 4AvSir?S5s V$t"GOWApS CANNZtt jf r -rSaAfjm' rvx -v Wkicz. tnomah FALLS Wr ST HELENS PRoeBsrJfW cfatrr i 3t tra lis ash PORTLAND 'STvfOiNS UflNTON Oak-Street Wharf Dally (Except Sunday), 7 A. M. A tour of the Pacific Coast is not com plete unless the vis itor makes a trip on the Columbia river via the Regulator Line Steamers be tween PORTLAND and THE DALLES Oak-St Wharf Connecting at ;Lyle with the Columbia River & Northern Railroad for all Klickitat Valley points, and at The Dalles with the Ore gon Railroad & Nav igation Co. for the Inland Empire.' BOTH FREIGHT AND PASSENGER RUFUS MALLORY, President PHONE MAIN 914. H. C CAMPBELL, General Manager 15,000 30.000 21.000 13,365 31.000 50,000 Tot $ 160.365 Lower Willamette from Portland to the sea- March 3, 1S73 .i June 23. 1S7-5 March 3. 1S7G .-. August 14. 1S76 ' June IS, 187S . " March 3, 1873 20.000 20.000 20.000 i 20.000 i 30,000 45.000 Total j 155(0()o Lower Willamette and Columbia from Portland to the ' $ea, including bar at mouth of Columbia- June 14, 1SS0 j March 3. 18S1 August 2. OS82 45.000 45.000 100,000 Total -. j 190(ooo Columbia and Lower Willamette below Portland, Or. July o. IBM j August 5. 1E86 August 11; 1SSS September IS. 1890 ... July 13, 1892 August 18. 1894 June 3, 189C March 3. 1899 June 13, 1902 100.000 75.000 100,000 100.000 150.000 50.000 100,000 150,000 225.000 Total 51,050.000 Grand total, 1866 to 1902 1,555,365 The early appropriations were so small, and the equipment for handling them to the best advantage so limited, that It was DIAMOND "W" Canned Fruits Canned Vegetables CANNED Extracts Flour -Catsup Olives, etc. ARE MUCH THEBEST WADHAMS & CO. WHOLESALE DISTRIBUTERS PORTLAND OREGON Tie Ford-Wilson Auction Co. GENERAL AUCTIONEERS AND COMMISSION MERCHANTS Household Fufnlture and Bankrupt Stocks or Merchandise of Any Description Bought and Sold SALESROOMS AND OFFICE, 182 FIRST STREET, Orcsron Plione South 201. PORTLAND, O REG OX. CARRIAGES WAGONS HARNESS ONLY EXCLUSIVE VEHICLE HOUSE IN THE'NOSTH WEST. 328-334 & MORRISON ST. Psrtland. Que. COLUMBIA ENGINEERING WORKS THE MODERN, ELECTRICALLY-DRIVEN SHOP OF THE NORTHWEST QrnialtW MARINE, SAWMILL AND OpcLldlUCb. LOGGING MACHINERY We are now Installing our Steel Plant and solicit your inquiries on high-grade Steel Castings. OFFICE AND WORKS, TENTH AND JOHNSON STS., PORTLAND," OR. J. A. MARSHALL R. A. MARSHALL MARSHALL BROS 2 Chamber of Commerce, Portland, Or. ' ,. Oregon Phone South 3091 Cement Cont ractors Cement Sidewalks Garden Walks Walls, Coping Curbs, Driveways Steps, Concrete Foundations Basement Floors Stone Caskets Vaults, etc. WHITE OR COLORED WORK We are specially prepared to handle contracts of sidewalking large tracts of land and heavy concrete work. MODERN METHODS EMPLOYED, AND ALL WORK GUARANYEED - t to- tt