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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1903)
8 . THE MORNING OREGONIAN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1903. RAILROADS OF THE STATE Great Increase of Freight and Passen ger Traffic During the Year. THE mileage o steam railroads op erating in the "'State of Oregon as common carriers is as follows: Southern Pacific - GG3 Oregon Railroad & H evlgatlon 53S CorvaUls & Eastern .'. 142 Astoria & Columbia River 63 Columbia Southern 70 Sumpter Valley 4G Washington & Columbia River 45 Coos Bay, Roseburg & Eastern 29 Oregon Short Line 15 Oregon & Southeastern..... I. 15 Rogue River Valley 0 Goble, Xchalem & Pacific 5 Columbia & Jiehalem Valley..1,. 4 Independence & Monmouth....; 3 Total .1607 Freight Cars Handled. The following figures show the number of freight cars handled by the Northern Pacific Terminal Company In the past three years, the O. R. & N.'s grain traf fic and a material part of the business of the Southern Pacific not getting in this report: 1900. S.259 7.004 1001. 8.405 7.938 0.704 9.795 9,903 0,430 1M17 10.992 12.029 10.CSS 9,514 1902. 0,254 8.41S 9.C0D 10.147 10.602 10.C20 11.983 12,180 12.321 13.888 11.607 10,000 January ..... February ilarch S.777 April 9.208 May 9,851 June 9,590 July 9,038 August 10,818 September 11.805 October 11.622 November 9,997. December 9,219 Totals 110,374 119,630 130.979 Estimated. It is proper to note in this connection that the gain in tonnage is greater than these figures show, for the reason that the size of cars is constantly increasing and the proportion of empty cars handled is less and less. It is also to be observed that the Terminal Company does not han dle more than 75 per cent of the cars that come to Portland. Volume of Passenger Traffic. The following figures, showing the num ber of pieces of baggage handled at the ! Portland Union Dopot for three years past, Indicate roughly the Increase of pas senger traffic at Portland, though they leave out of consideration the East Port land depot and the Jefferson-street sta tion of the Southern Pacific: 1900. 1001. January 21.000 24.004 February 22,891 22,504 March 30,190 30.271 April 29.480 33,814 May 33.540 37.592 June 31.200 41.50S July 33.570 43.65S August 47.5S4 47.095 September 46,400 47,331 October 35.056 37.973 November 34.769 39,191 3ecembcr 27.410 31,750 1902. 23.052 S5!Sl7 30.324 30,682 40.638 4S.0C1 57.104 56.4S0 J 45.201 I 30.382 35.000 Total 303,831 437,471 470,099 Estimated. YEAR OF RAILROAD PROSPERITY. JVeir Mileage Immediately Tributary to Portland Developments. TT BOUT 1ES miles of new railroad have Jr beyi put in operation in the past year or are now in an advanced stage of con struction In Oregon or in territory trib utary to' Portland. The longest new line is that of the Columbia River & Northern, from Lyle to Goldendale, in Klickitat County, "Wash., a dis tance of 42 miles. The grade is fin ished and rails are now laid for about a third of the way, and the work is proceeding satisfactorily. All the ' rails are on hand and rolling stock is delivered and ready for immediate use. The next longest stretch is that of the Washington i & Oregon Railroad, which was absorbed j by the Northern Pacific a few months ' ago. That line is 20 miles long, between J Kalama and Vancouver, on the Washing- ! ton side of the Columbia River. It is to cross the Columbia at "Vancouver and j enter Portland, giving the Northern Pa- ciflc better facilities than it now has for 1-eaching this city. The Portland, Van- j couver & Yakima has built and put in operation 16 miles of new tranv. nonaot. ing a region of heavy timber and giving it an outlet to the Columbia River. -The Oregon & Southeastern Railroad Iras built 15 miles of Tallroad from Cottage Grove, in Lane County, southeastward toward the Bohemia mining district, and Is push ing on toward the mines. The Klamath Hake Railway Company is building up the Klamath River to the timber district on the west side 'of Klamath Lake, Ore gon. Fifteen miles of that line are com pleted, on the California side of the state . " Photo by George M. Veister line, and twice as many miles remain to be built, the work being now under way. Nine miles of railroad arc under construc tion between Dallas and Falls City, Polk County,, by the Salem, Falls City & West ern Company. Another logging railroad four miles long has been put in operation in Columbia County, by the Columbia & Nehalem Valley Company. The O. R. & N. extension to St. Johns, five miles, and Its Covello branch, in Washington, 12 miles, . were opened in the year. Then there are 40 miles of trolley line now un der way from Portland to a point on the Upper Clackamas River, by the Oregon Water Power & Railway Company. The Columbia Southern Extension Rail- I way Company has completed a survey I and definite location of a line from Shan- j iko, the present southern terminus of the ! Columbia Southern Railroad in Wasco County, southerly to Bend, on the Des- j chutes River, in Crook County, a dis tance of 100 miles. It Is expected that a railroad will be built on that route the coming year. The Northern Pacific has surveyed across from the Yakima Valley to the Columbia River at the moutti of , the Klickitat, and announced Its purpose ' to build a railroad there this year. The j Southern Pacific Company has had engl- j neers recently In the field making what It j calls a study, having reference to the j building of a bridge across the Willamette j River near Oswego, for the purpose of let- 1 ting the West Side lines of the company Into the terminal yards of Portland with- j out the necessity for traversing the steep grade on Fourth street, which has also t come to be one of the central business ' streets of the town. Building of a bridge j there would involve construction of a ! dozen miles or more of new railroad across ' Tualatin Pialn in order that all the West Side lines might get the benefit of the new route. Oil for locomotive fuel has been intro duced on the Columbia Southern and Is found to give satisfaction. Its special ad vantage Is apparent In the latter part of ; the Summer. This road runs through a ' dry grain country, and after the grain j has ripened destructive fires are easily set I by sparks from wood or coal fuel. That trouble Is entirely obviated by using oil j for fuel. The Southern Pacific is also j making preparations for using fuel "oil at ' the southern end of its Oregon lines, j tanks for storing it having been erected at Ashland, Hornbrook, Edgewood and Dunsmulr. The past year has witnessed notable re ductions of railroad charges In Oregon. July 1 local passenger rates were reduced 25 per cent on the Oregon lines of the Southern Pacific. All stations on these lines were made Pacific Northwest com mon points for transcontinental passen ger business, beginning with the season of cheap rates last Spring. Before that passengers were delivered in Portland and the local rate from here to the point of destination, if It -should be between Portland and the California boundary, was required extra. This tended to keep homescekers out of tho Willamette Valley and Southern Oregon, giving other ' sections an undue advantage in the mat ter of obtaining settlers. A 10 per cent reduction in grain rates from the Interior Columbia Basin to tidewater -went into effect August 1, saying more than 5350.000 a year to the producers. A number of other adjustments have been made, among them the recent reduction of distributive rates from the Coast cities to points as far east" as the Idaho border, Tvhlch en ables the Coast jobbers to handle a larger share of the business of that region. All the railroads have had an excep tionally prosperous year. No Important official changes were made except that R. B. Miller, who had been for eight months general freight and passenger agent of the Southern Pacific's Oregon lines, became general freight agent of the O. R. & N.; and W. E. Coman, who had for eight months been assistant general freight agent of the O. R. & N., was promoted to the position of general freight and passenger agent of the Southern. Pa cific's Oregon lines. The Oregon railroads have given spe cial attention to the matter of advertis ing the resources of tho state among Eastern people ipterested in bettering their condition. The Harrlman lines last Summer organized a regular immigration bureau, with headquarters in Chicago end trustworthy agents distributing informa tion about this country in the Central and HARVESTING A CROP Upper Mississippi Valley States. Results aro already perceptible, and there Is as surance that large numbers of useful cit izens will make their homes In Oregon as a result of this propaganda. 0. R. & N.'S IMPROVEMENT. Better and Safer Road and a Larger DusLncas at Less Cost. THE O. R. & N. has continued In the past year the Improvements that have characterized its policy for five years past In that period something like 55.000, 000 has been put into new rolling stock and improvement of the physical condi tion . of the road. Fifty miles of track have been changed, so that ES00 degrees of curvature, the equivalent of nearly 17 full circles, have been eliminated, the maximum curves reduced from 10 degrees to 6, and the maximum grades reduced from 48 to 25 feet to the mile. Nine miles of bridges have been replaced with solid earth and rock fills, and more than half a mile of wooden bridges have been re placed with steel. Many miles of track have been ballasted, and general improve ments have been extensive. In the past year two extensions of the O. R. & N. have been completed, though much of the work on them was done in the preceding season. These are the St. Johns extension from Alblna, five miles long, and the Covello extension in Wash ington, from Dayton to Turner, a dis tance of 12 miles. Through the latter half of the past year the O. R. & N. Co. has had engineers on the route of the pro posed extension up the Snake River from Rlparia to Lewiston, Idaho, where every thing la In readiness for building as soon as the Harrlman and Hill lines compose their differences. The distance is 7S miles. The route lies on the north bank of the Snake River to its junction with the Clear water, where a bridge will cross the lat ter stream to the City of Lewiston. Mr. Harrlman announced last May that that road would be built, but since then. It Is understood, difficulties havo arisen that have prevented agreement between the Union Pacific and the Northern Pacific, and the matter Is still delayed. It Is said, however, that construction of the Lewis ton line is sure to proceed soon. The changes of line of the O. R. & N. In tho past year have Included the rebuild ing of a little more than half a mile at Bridal Veil, the change of seven miles be tween Rowena and The Dalles and of about nine miles between Echo and a point a mile east of Yoakum, in Umatilla County. On the Rowena change 28 curves were taken out, a total of 902 degrees of curvature being eliminated. The maxi mum curve Is reduced from 10 to 4 de grees, the distance Is shortened 1000 feet and 60' feet of rise and fall are eliminated. In the Umatilla County change 24 curves, embracing S0G degrees of curvature, w,ere taken out, 60 feet of rise and fall were eliminated and 1540 feet of distance was saved in the nine miles. These are the more notable Improvements of the year, though on all parts of the line, in both Oregon and Washington, everything has been done to keep the road up to the highest standard of efficiency. Traffic handled by the O. R. & N. Co. in 1902 was greater in volume and yielded larger revenue than ior any previous year In the history of the road. And the per centage of increase In passenger earnings has been greater than that of freight Increase. This has been largely due to the movement of settlers Into the Pacific Northwest, though the disposition to travel has been notable among all classes of people. But.the movement to Oregon was never before so strong. This state has been much neglected because railroad interests In states north and south of Oregon led them to advertise their advan tages widely and to get settlers and tour ists In great numbers, while Oregon was comparatively unknown. Within the past year the Harrlman lines havo organized and set in operation a system of adver .tlBlng that has begun to show results. Oregon, bo long neglected, will come in for a special harvest from this work. General Passenger Agent Craig, of the O. R. & N. Co., has been one of the most active and persistent advocates of this plan, and he has had prominent part In getting the matter in its present promis ing shape. To get immigration for Ore gon is now a definite part of the O. R. & OF STRAWBERRIES AT N. policy, as a part of the Harrlman sys tem of transportation lines. It Is estimated that the O. R. & N. trains brought 20,000 homeseekers Into Oregon In the past year. The fact that the company took an active interest in getting Immigration for Oregon materially Increased its passenger lists; and then the position of the Union Pacific as the most direct transcontinental route to this state had Its effect on business. Freights have been active all tho year. The lumber trade has been the largest Oregon ever knew, and at no time In the year has there been avallablo all the cars desired to move the business. No special hardship has come from this fact, for the manufacturers gauged their output by the amount of stuff they were able to get de livered, not selling beyond whai they could get to market. But If there had ! been facilities for shipping, the lumber I output would have been larger. The movement of grain has been compara tively easy this season. Livestock has I crowded somewhat at times. Merchan i dlse shipments were heavy throughout j the year. The only notable reduction In j freight rates was on ,graln from the in- Iterlor Columbia Basin to tidewater, all the railroads joining In a tariff showing a 10 per cent reduction. This went Into effect August 1, In time to catch all the season's grain. i No change has come Into the transcon . tlnental affiliations of the O. R. & N. In j the past year. The property Is owned I and controlled by the Union Pacific and is a part of the great Harrlman comblna ' tlon of transportation lines. Tho O. R. f & N. operates 1140 miles of railroad and 1035 miles of water lines; less than 100 . miles of the rail lines of which are In the State of Idaho, the remainder being in Oregon and Washington and upon the high sea between the Columbia River and Sin Francisco Bay. The headquarters of the company Is In Portland, A. L. Mohler being president and general manager, R. B. Miller general freight agent, A. L. Craig general passenger agent, J. P. O'Brien general superintendent and W. H. Kennedy chief engineer. Besides steamers on the Columbia, WI1 j lamette and Snake Rivers, the O. R. & N. j operates two steamships on the ocean line i to San Francisco. The Portland & Aslat j 1c Steamship Company, which operates a regular line of steamships between Port- land and the Orient, is an allied cor I poratlon. having Its headquarters also in Portland. SOUTHERN PACIFIC'S NEW POLICY. Developing; the Country and Getting on Good Terms With People. THE Southern Pacific has devoted much attention in the past year to the indus trial development of the country served by Its Oregon lines. General Freight and Passenger Agent Coman has given a great deal of his time and energy to- the intro duction of new methods for Industries already established and to planting new Industries in the field. The creamery business, which has grown up in the past three or four years under the encourage ment of the Southern Pacific, has become a notable feature of Western Oregon. In cidental to thlsthe company this year offered special inducements to the intro duction of pure-bred stock. Efforts have no1so been directed to finding markets for tne productions of . the Willamette Val ley and Southern Oregon; not that there wa's no local demand, but the company believed sharper competition among buy ers In Its field would prove a great Incent ive to production, the truth of which theory has been already proved. The larger the volume of productions, the more business for the railroad, and as that Is tho railroad's mission on earth to get. and do a carrying business the promotion of Industrial development along legitimate lines is the most effeqtlve way to bring permanent prosperity. to the rail road. It is already demonstrated that this Is a paying policy. Bu a few years ago the Southern Pacific in Oregon was not looked upon as specially enterprising, and the whole country had a reputation for ultra-conservatism. With tho changed at titude of the railroad the people havo taken new energy and are making great progress In all lines. Dairying and lum bering are notable examples of this new HOOD RIVER. THE development, but In all branches of pro ductive Industry a more progressive spirit Is manifest. Adjustments of rates have been made, and arrangements for car rying Eastern shipments through Port land have been a factor in materially im proving the service. The local passenger rates were reduced from 4 to 3 cents a mile last July. All Southern Pacific sta tions in Oregon have common rates with Portland for passengers from the Mis souri River and beyond. There has been generous response to the invitation o horaeseekera from the East to settle in Western Oregon, and it Is estimated that fully 25,000 have established new homes in this section of the state in the past year. Never before did points south of Port land have common rates with Portland for homeseekers and tourists. The change that has brought new llfo Into Western Oregon Is partly duo to the Harrlman consolidation, by which the Southern Pacific and Union Pacific sys tems were brought Into one railroad fam ily. This made practicable the common rates and the routing of Western Oregon transcontinental business through Port land on a water grade instead of climbing the two difficult ranges of the Slsklyous and the Sierra Nevadas with it. The O. R. & N. and the Oregon lines of the Southern Pacific are now operated In harmony, having common .interests to serve and a common control at the top, though separate sets of officers to man- j age them locally. Richard Koehler is I manager of the Southern Pacific's Oregon j lines, reaching southward to Dunsmulr, ' CaI.; W. E. Coman Is general freight and passenger agent, L. R. Fields Is superln intendent, and W. A. Grondahl Is chief engineer. The Oregon lines of the Southern Pa cific comprise 745 miles of track. The main stem leaves the Sacramento divis ion at Dunsmulr, Cal., and reaches through to Portland, passing down the cast side of the Willamette River, the total distance being 449 miles. Of this S2 miles are in California, however. From Woodburn a line extends around the east rim of the Willamette Valley to Natron, a distance of 93 miles. From Springfield, near Natron, a branch reaches eastward into tho timber 16 miles. Another branch extends from Albany to Lebanon, a dis tance of 11 miles. On the west side of the Willamette the West Side division reaches from Portland southward to Corvallls, 97 miles, and the Yamhill division also goes southward from Portland to Alrlle, a dis tance of 79 miles. All this track is of standard gauge. No new road has been built by the Southern Pacific in this state In the past year, though three short connecting lines are now under construction. Much has been done in the way "of general Improve ments, however, many miles of track have been ballasted and preparations have been made for laying 76 miles of SO-pound rails In Southern Oregon in the Spring. These rails are coming from Belgium by sailing vessels direct to Portland. The company has filled several trestles and bridges, has replaced wooden structures with steel, has added greatly to the capacity of its shops In Portland and otherwise Improved the efficiency of its property. This work will proceed to greater exten In the com ing few years than it has heretofore, un til the whole property shall be practically renewed in line with modern railroad standards. Southern Pacific business in Oregon for the year just ended far surpassed that of any other year, both in volume of traf fic and In money receipts, notwithstand ing a reduction of one-fourth In local passenger rates and concessions in freights. There Is an excellent feeling between the railroad and Its patrons and every confidence in the future. There is assurance of greater growth coming. than this oldest Settled part of Oregon has yet known. NORTHERN PACIFIC AGGRESS1YE.- Thirty Miles of Wevr Tract: on the Columbia More Planned. I has put In operation 30 miles of new track between Kalama and Vancouver, Wash. Most of the construction of that line was done last year under the cor porate name of tho Washington & Ore gon Railroad, but subsequently the North- ANNUAL OUTPUT IS em Pacific came openly Into possession of that company. Tho bridge across Lewis River has just been completed for the passage of trains. In connection with ' that road the Northern Pacific has an- nounced plans for bridging the Columbia I River at Vancouver and building across the peninsula to Portland. A tunnel through the backbone of the peninsula and another bridge across the Willam ette constitute a part of this plan. It Is said that the Northern Pacific has ac quired the Portland, Vancouver & Yak ima Railroad, reaching northeastward from Vancouver a distance of 32 miles. Sixteen miles of that road were built In the past year, taking It Into a-valuable timber belt. Northern Pacific surveyors ; have within the past three months lo cated a line across the country from the i Yakima Valley to the Columbia River at uic iiiuuiu ul i. ue iviicuuii, una rresment Mellen has given out the positive state ment that his company would build on that route. "The work of laying heavier rails and ballasting the track has been prosecuted through the year on the Cascades divis ion of the Northern Pacific, reaching from Ellensburg to Portland, and sthe road la In bettej physical condition than ever be fore. The company is also better sup plied with rolling stock, but as in the case of other railroads in the Northwest, there have not been cars and engines enough to move promptly the business that offered. The past year has been the most prosperous In the history of the Northern Pacific. For the first time the road operated three through passenger trains dally between Portland and the East, two running through to St. Paul and one going down over the Burlington to St. Louis. Besides these a local train gave special accommodation to traffic be tween Portland and Puget Sound, making connections with branches for South Bend and Gray's Harbor points. The movement of Immigration along the Northern Pacific has been notable through a great part of the year. Ore gon has received a considerable share o I the homeseekers moving over that route, j tnougn not so large a share as the State of Washington. As In the case of the Harrlman lines, the Northern Pacific gave all Western Oregon points common ter minal rates. Assistant General Passen ger Agent Charlton, having- charge of this field, estimates that his company carried 6000 homeseekers Into Oregon In the past year. The tourist business has been exceptionally heavy, also, with every promise of a still greater movement of this class of travel the coming year. OREGON'S SMALLER RAILROADS. ! Shared In the General Prosperity j Two Tapping Important Territory. THE minor railroads of Oregon have shared the general prosperity of the state and tho period. The Corvallls & East ern has done a good business without any ' particular change in its character. There has been some talk of extending the line across the mountains to the East,' but no definite move in that direction has been made. The Astoria & Columbia River Railroad has experienced a material ln ' crease In business. It handled a large Summer resort travel, and there was no j disposition to cut the rates to a ruin ous figure, as has been done in previous ' years. Stretching from Lyle, on tho north bank ' of the Columbia River, at the mouth of the Klickitat, to Goldendale, a thriving , town In the center of the rich Valley of the Klickitat, Is a railroad grade 42 miles long. Ralls are now laid on the lower third- of that route, and the work of get ting the track Into Goldendale Is being pushed. This Is an enterprise "organized in Portland last Spring and supported en tirely by Portland capital. It Is the Col umbia River & Northern Railroad. After the railroad enterprise was well organ ized the company purchased a steamer line on the Columbia River, so as to be In position to handle independently the traffic trains might deliver at the bank of the river. This 42 miles of railroad now . nearing completion will drain a highly productive district toward Port land, but It Is chiefly Important because Jt marks the beginning of an era of in dependent development, in which home capital will move confidently to open the ABOUT 80,000 CRATES. adjacent country and relieve the outlying districts of the Isolation in which they have long fretted. Owing to extensive development opera tions on foot in the Valley ot the Des chutes River, there was marked activity in the territory served by the Columbia Southern Railroad. Three large irrigation enterprises have been organized for that section of the state, embracing nearly 190,000 acres of arid land. There has also been unusual demand for the pine timber In that part of Oregon. More than 1,000,000 acres ot public land in the Des chutes Valley have been entered' In the Unlt.ed States Land Offices In small tracts in the past year, and President Lytle, of the Columbia Southern Railroad, esti mates that 2500 settlers have gone Into that valley In the past 12 months. The end of this movement Is not yet in sight, though most of the available public do main has been taken. Nothing to speak of has yet been done with the tracts to be brought under irrigation. Preparations for extending this railroad 100 miles far ther southward are now under way, the definite location of the line having been made and maps filed so as to secure right of way across Government land. The Sumpter Valley Railroad has han dled a large traffic, chiefly composed of timber and mining freight There is prob ability ( that the road will be extended a few miles this year. The Coos Bay, Roseburg & Eastern Railroad has been much talked of In connection with a pro ject for building between Salt Lake City and Coos Bay. for which an Incorporation under the style of the Great Central Rail road Company was made last Spring. Considerable reconnolterlng has been done, and surveyors are now In the field locating the line 'between the present ter minus of the railway at Myrtle Point and Roseburg, the avowed Intention being to begin construction there early In the Spring. It Is proposed to take over the Coos Bay, Roseburg & Eastern and In corporate It In the new .enterprise. Seven miles of the Coos Bay Belt Line, between Empire City and Marshfield, are now under construction. This Is allied with tho Great Central movement, the headquar ters of which Is now located at Roseburg. Oregon railroads have had a generally prosperous year, with more traffic offer ing than they could conveniently handle, and no sign yet appears of a break in this general prosperity. SUBURBAN TROLLEY EXTENSION. Important Feature of Development lor the Portland District. A FEATURE of transportation develop ment that is full of promise to Port land, as well as to the adjacent country, is the extension of trolley lines from this city out into productive territory. In the past year this movement has made consider able progress. The Oregon Water Power & Railway Company has 40 miles of road under construction, reaching to the pro posed power site of the company on the Upper Clackamas River, near Spring water, In Clackamas County, and the West Side & Suburban Company has the preliminary arrangements made for a trolley line between this city and Hllls boro. In Washington County, a distance of about 22 miles. Tho company has a franchise for entering Portland, and it said the road will be built the coming year. So far as actual construction has been done on suburban trolley lines the Ore gon Water Power & Railway Company is entitled to all the credit. It has planned an extensive system of improvements and has progressed so far with them that about six miles of new track has just been put in operation. Several miles more of grade is ready for tracklaylng, and the work Is going forward as rapidly as could be expected at this season of the year. The grade is under contract to be completed by May 15, and it Is designed to have the line in operation by June 1 next. At that time cars will run out over tho present track to Lents. But the plans of the company Include the building of about eight miles of new road this side of Lents, so as to get a more satisfactory entrance into this city. This line will pass up the water front from the Madison-streetbridgo to a point just above Sellwood, there crossing over to Johnson Creek, and con tinuing up that stream to Lents. A two-