12
PHASES OF INDUSTRIAL GROWTH IN THE STATE OF OREGON
S MPSON IS GOOD r- , i UMATILLA W LL
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Hustling Mayor of North Bend
Has Done Much to Build
Up the Town.
YOUNG MEN TO THE FRONT
First Settlers, With Plenty of Money
and Simple Wants, Are Satisfied
to JLIve Off the Interest on
Their Mortgages.
BY W. O. MAC RAE.
NORTH BEND ,Or., May 26. (Staff
Correspondence.) This place is set
tling back to Its bustling "do-lt-now"
air, since the Farmers and Shippers'
Congress. Settling back, not down,
for the people of North. Bend do not
believe In the word down. It is up and
onward for them and this spirit is
backed by men who are keenly alive
and earnest.
A glance at North Bend as you glide
up the bay tells plainly how much
alive they are. The buildings, the
people, the very atmosphere, seems to
spell progressiveness. Then when a
resident says that four years ago there
were only three houses In North Bend
and that it was not until 1902 that the
own actually sprung into being, one
no longer wonders.
North Bend found Itself when L. J.
Simpson came here to take over his
father s business. North Bend was un
til the arrival of Mayor Simpson, now
North Bend is and unless Marshfleld,
Empire City, Benton, Coquille and
Myrtle Point make haste, North Bend,
with Its youthful Mayor, its active and
very much alive citizens, will outstrip
them all In the race for population,
popularity and wealth.
Other Towns In the Raee.
And why shouldn't North Bend be
great? Why shouldn't Marshfleld, Em
pire City, Benton, Coquille and Myrtle
Point all be more flourishing and more
keenly alive than they are, for they
are all backed by the wondrous Coos
Bay country. It would not be fair to
say that these towns are not flourish
ing and show a healthy increase of
wealth and population, for they do, and
what Is better, they will continue to
grow. T6t they will bave to mova
rapidly to keep step with North Bend.
What the Iewis and Clark Exposition
did for Portland, In a smaller scale,
the Shippers and Farmers' Congress
will do for North Bend and the Coos
Bay country. It is true that not all of
the delegates who came from Portland,
Salem, Astoria, Eugene and other Ore
gon towns, saw much of this wonder
fll -rountry. outside of North Bend,
MarshfieUland Empire City. The con
gress was held here and while many
of them took side trips, the most of
them had very little time on their
frauds, so they had to be content with
seeing what they could see and of
listening to those who knew the Coos
Bay 'country and could best tell of its
greatness.
Get In on Ground Floor.
These men were Impressed with what
they saw and heard and they left here
talking and will continue to talk. Others
did the practical thing. They either in
vested on the spot or made arrangements
to Invest. Many of the delegates who
came here to attend the congress were
shrewd business men. All of them had
heard of Coos Bay. Its natural resources
were well known to them, so when they
paw a chance to invest and get In on the
ground floor, they Invested. Others will
follow and unless all signs fail, it will
not be long before the Coos Bay country
will be teeming with business activity.
Forty feet of water In the harbor and
a railroad is the cry of the people here.
Forty feet of water and a railroad they
will have. Forty years has been a long
time to look forward to the building of
a railroad. Men have died and men have
been born since a rajlroad was first
talked of. Even today, among those who
have hoped and lost and hoped again,
there are skeptics who smile and shake
their heads when the talk drifts to rail
roads. These men will believe that the
Coos Bay country is to have a railroad
when they hear the engines whistle and
see the trains go whizzing by.
The cry of 40 feet of water has been
almost as long, yet the realization of the
railroad is at hand, while the 40 feet of
water remains with Congress. Getting
an appropriation for the deepening of the
bay will not be an easy matter. The next
Congress may not grant It. yet the
people of this section will not quit and
they will stay with those who have
charge of Uncle Sam's money bags until
they finally get what they need.
Kith Country Will Be Tapped.
While 40 feet of water and the railroad
is what this country needs, the railroad
I
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will be a great boon. Deep water can
wait for a year or two, for the water
In the bay Is pretty deep as It is. Yet
Coos Bay country must have both and it
is safe to predict right now that it will
have both.
The railroad taps the main, line of the
Southern Pacific at Drain and runB
through a country that is rich almost be
yond Imagination. This railroad will
bring Coos Bay In touch with the out
side world and once this is done then
watch this country grow. Water trans
portation is a great leveler of railroads
when It comes to handling freight, but
it takes the speed of the trains to spread
the people over the country. So with the
railroad to bring the people Into Coos
Bay and to help the development of this
country, those dreams that the early pio
neer had years ago will have been
realized.
Many of those old pioneers have passed,
but still Jn the towns scattered along
Coos Bay and on the farms for which
this section of Oregon Is justly famous
are yet many of those sturdy old path
finders who are looking forward to the
results of the surveys of the Southern
Pacific engineers with as much Interest
as the younger set. who are and have
been booming the Coos Bay country.
Much of the talk Indulged in by the
speakers at the recent convention was
of the possibilities this section of the
State of Oregon afforded the investor and
of the wealth that was In store for those
who came early and have had a hand in
making the country what it is. While it
Is true that to the pioneer such men as
P. B. Marple, of Jacksonville, Or., who,
so history runneth, was the first to or
ganize an exploring expedition in 1860;
Patrick Flanagan and others, were the
early people of Coos Bay, the develop
ment of the country now depends upon
the younger generation, with such men at
Its head as Mayor Simpson.
Coal Found, and Gold.
Mr. Marple came here and organized the
Coos Bay Company, but what brought
him to Coos Bay was a letter from one
of the two dragoons who were ship
wrecked on the sand spit and were a
part of the crew of the dragoon ship Cap
tain Lincoln. In this letter, which was
written In 1852, was the announcement of
the discovery of the vast coal measures
for which Coos County is Justly famous.
In the spring of the same year two half
breed Indians discovered gold as they
were crossing Whisky Run, and to the
camp of Randolph rushed 500 people.
Mrs. Hester M. Lockart, In her remi
niscences of early days, has this to say
of the history of North Bend. She rec
ords that she and Mr. Lockhart arrived
at North Bend October 19. 1853, nearly
three years before Captain Simpson. Mr.
Lockhart was a member of the Coos Bay
Company under Marple. He was allotted
North Bend and put under heavy bonds to
hold the claim for the company, as it
was supposed to be valuable coal land.
But Mr. Lockhart and family returned to
Empire at the time of an Indian scare
and the land was never entered at the
land office until Captain Simpson took
it up.
Vessel AVlth Sawmill Wrecked.
It is now half a century since Captain
A. M. Simpson, then a struggling young
man, now an octogenarian and multi
millionaire, started for North Bend with
his first sawmill. The vessel was wrecked
off the bar, and it was not until 1858 that
the captain succeeded In getting in opera
tion a mill with a capacity of 10,000 feet a
day. That was a small matter compared
with the mills of the company that now
turn out 160,000 feet of lumber dally.
That same year Captain Simpson started
his store which is today the trading depot
of the farmers for many miles around and
does an annual business of $200,000. The
same year of 1858 Captain Simpson, began
shipbuilding and laid the keel of the brig
'Arago,' since changed to a schooner
and still in service, built of the celebrated
Port' Orford white cedar, and until he
was succeeded a short time ago by the
North Bend shipyards, built 66 ocean
going vessels. The other day orders were
received from Captain Simpson to lay the
keel of a steam schooner. Captain Simp
son for many years never parted with
title to any of his North Bend property
and discouraged the building of a town.
It was not until 1902 that Louis Jerome
Simpson, who had succeeded his father in
the management of the Simpson Lumber
Company, started to build a town at
North Bend. Mr. Simpson was born In
1S73. He understands thoroughly the re
sources of Oregon, and has always been
THE MORXIXG
ambitious to see a great city built on
Coos Bay.
Biggest Man in North Bend.
In all of the development of North Bend
he has been an important factor and has
received no small part of Its honors and
financial rewards. He Is Mayor of the
town, postmaster, president of the Bank
of Oregon, president of the Coos Bay
Chamber of Commerce, and a heavy
stockholder In many of its industrial
enterprises.
When Mr. Simpson undertook the build
ing of a town he first secured the Major
Simond tract of about 600 acres adjoining
old North Bend on the Bouth and laid out
6000 lots. He has sold all these but about
1700. He spent $20,000 in grading streets
and in other public improvements. He
paid $25,000 subsidies to manufacturing
plants. He helped build a public wharf
1040 feet long by 80 feet in depth. He has
also reserved a beautiful park of 100 acres,
which covers the northern point of the
peninsula. The trees In this park are just
as nature left them. This park with Its
fine pavilion will some day be donated to
the city with the provision that It shall
always remain a park.
When Grlswold Was In Charge.
Things have not always run here
without a rlpplo and there was a time,
and not so long ago, when the future
of North Bend seemed to have reached
the going back stage. For some rea
Bon, yet unexplained. Captain Simpson
relieved his son Louis of the manage
ment of his vast Interests In North
Bend and he imported In his place M.
C. Griswold, of Portland. In the days
that were most pleasantly spent here
I found no man, woman or child old
enough to speak of affairs that had a
kind word to say for Griswold.
From what has been said of Gris
wold he began at once to undo all that'
THREE
X,. 3. Simpson,
Mayor.
Mayor Simpson had done. He dis
charged employes of the mills that had
been with the company since it began
operation. He shut down mills and
threw men out of employment when
things did not go to suit him. And
then he did a thing which even the
elder Simpson never thought of doing
cut off their credit at the store.
Captain Simpson finally awoke to the
Injustice to which he had subjected his
son and recalled 'Griswold. Then came
the return of Mayor Simpson. The
hearts of everybody were glad and a
great reception was accorded the man
who Is making North Bend and will
be an Important factor in the future
upbuilding of the Coos Bay country.
The man is simply a wonder. He
is charming of personality and the
thing which Impresses him most upon
one is his vast amount of energy and
his great sincerity. His address of
welcome to the visiting delegates was
simple, earnest and brief. It was not
until he made his talk on the resolu
tions passed by the Congress that he
made his greatness felt. He knows
THE
OREGOXIAN, MONDAY,
v.:-:i-:--.i..:.:--:-.y' J v, " - ' ' V-y- VV;; V . '" .T 'jijinl"" t I
THE HARBOR OF NORTH BEND
Oregon as perhaps no other man.
whether he be young or old, knows it,
and best of all, he knows his own
country Coos Bay best.
Great Resources of Coos.
Much has been written about the
resources of the Coos Country, but
again let us tell briefly something
about It. The Coos Country has an
area of 30,866 miles and a population
of about 104,000, less than four people
to the mile. It has 120,080.000,000 of
standing timber, which is about 87
per cent of the standing timber of the
state and 10 per cent of the standing
timber 6f the. United States.
The value of the manufactures... J 8,830,000
Farma 81.10O.0iiO
Livestock 8.400,000
Farm products 6,f.V,000
Orchards 623.000
Number of farms 8.630
Improved acres in farms. 710,000
There are 300 square miles of coal
lands underlaid with 600.000,000
tons of coal, wnich if sold at $1
a ton, would be worth $500,000,000
Timber Is worth $1 per 1000-foot .
stumpagre and would be worth
$72,080,000, wtilcb. would make a
grand total of 620,080,000
These are some of the things in sight.
The Coos Bay Company is also famous
for Its berries, and every year thousands
of tons of wild barries ripen and go to
waste. With the cultivation of berries
and the means of getting them to market,
the Coos country would Boon outstrip
Hood River, for it is said the straw
berries raised in this section of the coun
try have even a better flavor than those
of the famous strawberry belt Hood Riv
er. Then, too, is the dairy Industry.
Will Not Sell, and Will Not Run.
That the congress that has just gone
into history will help every little town
along Coos Bay goes without saying. It
will help them all no, not all it will not
IMPORTANT CITIZENS OF NORTH
Major T". H. Brlgham,
Secretary Chamber of Commerce.
help the stricken Empire City. This beau
tiful townsite, with its almost perfect
harbor, its gaunt and ghostly untenanted,
houses and idle factories is a pathetic
sight. Its growth has been throttled. Its
future practically ruined- and the curse of
the wealth held by a handful of men is
responsible.
Usually the wealth of the men of a
town is its making. Not so with Empire
City. Elijah Smith and perhaps three
other men, all Eastern men of wealth,
own the townsite, the mills in which the
machinery Is slowly rusting and going to
ruin, its buildings that are rottening and
going to decay. They also owned several
thousand acres of valuable timber. These
men) will not sell nor will they run the
mills and manufactories of the town.
Farmers Have Money to Lend.
Where are the places .in the United
States where you can find as many farm
ers who lend money as in the Coos coun
try. The common thing connected with
the farmer Is his mortgages. Here the
rule is reversed. Instead of the farmer
borrowing money, he has it to lend. It Is
TOWN OF NORTH BEJfO, LOOKING NORTH
MAY 28, 1906.
not a case of "I'll give you 10 per cent,
but I'll lend you money on good security
at 10 per cent." This speaks wonders for
the wealth of this section of Oregon, but
at the same time it is a stumbling block
to the upbuilding of the country.
These farmers of wealth came into the
country when it was young and by the
simple process of growing old they grew
rich. They are not seeking investment.
Thejr have all the money they need and
they are old and contented. The wealthy
old tiller of the soil has made his money
without the aid of. a railroad, so, so far
as he is concerned, the railroad can go to.
WTien it comes to putting up money
for bonuses to bring In new industries, or
the giving away of rights of way, he
kicks like a Missouri mule, keeps his
money and his lands and throws cold
water upon all new enterprises. They
stick to what they have like leaches and
only death Jars them loose. The young
men of Coos Bay country have tried to
get the staid old-timer to get in line and
help boom the country, but they have
given it up and are going it alone.
Getting Away From Old-Tlmera.
Captain Simpson for nearly half a cen
tury refused to let go of his property
holdings at North Bend. The confidence
he has In his son Louis has made him
let go and with it began tha birth of
North Bend. If some one could break the
strangle hold of Elijah Smith, Empire
City would grow. Marshfleld is slowly
wiggling from under the grasp of the old
timer. The rapid strides of North Bend
has awakened Marshfleld's young men,
and they are gradually crowding the old
fogies off the "Seats of the Mighty."
Marshfleld is a thriving, bustling little
town. She has been held back by the
bickerings of those in "command," but
they have had their day. Then there is
Coquille, Benton and Myrtle Point. All
BEND
Pells Loggia.
President Chamber of Commerce.
of these towns have their quota of young
blood that are gradually breaking away
from the old order of things. With "these
towns It Is no longer "wait for the rail
road." The old hopeless cry has been
changed. "Make the railroad come to
us."
People of the Coos country are through
asking for things and when they are not
granted sitting patiently by and waiting
until the next asking time. The fighting
blood of its young men has been aroused.
What they want is 40 feet of water in the
bay and a railroad, and they will fight for
it until they get It.
And It Is no wonder that they mean to
fight now. Think of this section of the
state along the Coos Bay, doing the vol
ume of business that the towns do year
ly, only having one mail a day, and that
for months in the year carried by a man
on horseback. Do you wonder that the
cry has gone up from here, "We have been
neglected." Do you wonder that they
have grown tired of asking for things
Which were promised and never done? Do
you wonder now that they are demanding
things?
I. A - " J ;
I I il iMilMiM I
CROPS IN BIKER LOOK WELL
SLIGHT IXJUBT DONE FRUIT BX
FROSTS OF PAST WEEK.
Large Yields of Grain Are Promised,
and Alfalfa Is In Good
Condition.
BAKER CITY, Or., May 27. (Special.)
All signs In Baker County point to abund
ant crops this year, with the exception of
slight Injury to fruit, done by the frosts
of the past week. Over all parts of the
county the farmers are jubilant over the
outlook and there is-every Indication of a
prosperous year. The late frosts, how
ever, did considerable damage to the fruit
in Rye Valley. Baker Valley and around
Richland. At first it was thought that all
the fruit in the Baker Valley had been
killed, but later reports show that it was
Injured only In sections. In Pocahontas
considerable damage was done, but
throughout the rest of Baker Valley and
In Baker City the fruit was but slightly
nipped. There will be a fair crop In Eagle
and Pine Valleys.
Grain is looking fine and' alfalfa is in
good condition. The farmers are express
ing extreme disappointment this year
over the "new f angled" crop report, as
they call It, which the state department is
sending out. They say It is no report at
all and that they are compelled to resort
to the local and state papers for Informa
tion concerning the crop conditions In this
section.
The past week has seen three big irriga
tion companies formed in Baker City for
the purpose of putting water on arid
lands in this valley. The Baker Irrigation
Company now has its Immense ditch com
pleted and is watering several hundred
acres of wheat land this year. Next year
It expects to have about 5000 acres under
cultivation. The ditch is an Immense pro
ject and men have been working on it all
Winter. There remain about 15.000 acres
In the Baker Valley which will produce
good crops If put under Irrigation.
The construction of the railroad down
the Snake River will hasten the industrial
development of the valleys adjacent to
that line. As it is now, all the fruit
raised there must be hauled in wagons to
Baker City, a distance of about 60 miles.
Some of the finest apples grown in Oregon
are raised in these two valleys.- but not
for market, on account of the iong haul
to transportation.
MADE SUCCESS WITH OATS
Garfield, Wash., Man Tells of Re
sults on Rented Farm.
GARFIELD, Wash., May 27. (Special.)
J. Howard, who came here last year
from Moscow, Idaho, and purchased a
home, rented 54 acres last Spring from J.
Cram and sowed it in oats. Mr. Howard
paid a cash rental of $3 per acre for the
land, and last Fall, after selling the crop
for $1 per hundred pounds, found he had
realized from the 64 acres $1000 cash. Mr.
Howard said:
"Had "I kept the crop until March 1
could have sold for from $1.30 t8 $1.40 per
hundred pounds. s year I have Summer-fallowed
the land and will plant the
entire 64 acres to potatoes. I shall not
only raise a big crop of spuds, but the ex
tra cultivation of the land will put it in
prime condition to raise a bumper grain
crop next season."
Old Man Lost In Hills.
EUGENE, Or., May 27. Specials
No favorable report has yet come from
the several search parties who are
looking for J. M. Howell, the man lost
last Sunday on the McKenzle Hills
back of the Lucky Boy power-house in
the Blue River district. Grave fears
are entertained for Mr. Howell, who
was about 75 years old, and who is
known to have heart, trouble. His peo
ple in Eugene think from the evidence
found that he could not have left the
Blue River country, and If he did not
meet with an accident soon-after be
ing lost, he must have succumbed by
this time because of exposure or lack
of food.
HAVE BIG CROP
Large Harvest Assured in
Banner Wheat County
of Oregon.
RAINS DELIGHT FARMERS
Frosts Did Little Harm and Threat
ened Injury by Dry Weather
Is Averted Yield of 42,000,
000 Bushels Is Promised.
PENDLETON. Or., May 27. (Special.)
Umatilla, the banner wheat county of the
state, Is prosperous this season, and will
have happy farmers next Fall. For the
past two weeks rains have been coming v
intermittently, and today the wheat fields
were never In better shape for a large
yield. At the outset of the year, Umatilla
County seemed to be under a hoodoo, but
that has passed, so far as can now ba
Judged. . At first it was too dry, and after
the rains came there were frosts. For a.
time the farmers thought that a large
part of the wheat sown had been killed.
Thousands of acres were reseeded by the
farmers, who found later that the grain
had not been killed, and was In about as
good shape as it was before the freeze.
Thn dry weather came again and the
wheat on the light lands began to show
yellow patches and to curl. But Provi
dence came to the farmers' aid. and since
then an abundance of rain has fallen.
While it is not expected that the bumper
yield of 5.000.000 bushe will be harvested
this year, the farmeis are hopeful that
the normal 4,200,000 bushels will be gath
ered, and many think these figures will be
surpassed. .
Already a Great Wheat Country.
Umatilla is now a great wheat country,
and is destined to be still greater. Tha
county now has approximately 400,000 acres
In wheat, which yields, on an average, 24
bushels to the acre. Some of the best of
this land will yield 50 bushels to the acre.
Practically all the land In the county
capable of raising wheat in paying quan
tities is under cultivation. But when Irri
gation comes the country will see a mar
velous growth. There are thousands of
acres which now are good only for pas
turage which will become paying wheat
fields when water is put on them, even if
only by flood irrigation during the Winter.
At the present time the county is prac
tically destitute of wheat, as 90 per cent
of last year's crop has been sold and
shipped out of the county, either to the
Puget Sound mills, to the East, or to
Portland for export. As yet there is no
activity in the wheat market, as the
growers are not thinking of selling, while
the buyers, contrary to their old custom,
are not trying to buy the crops before
they are cut.
Umatilla County Is a county of big
farms and extensive farming. The man
with a single section of land is rare and
of but little consequence In the general
order of things. It is the big farmer who
counts and his profits In some instances
run into Ave figures each year.
Work of the Big "Combines."
On the large farms the combined steam
harvester has practically superceded the
old separator, and now when harvest be
gins the threshing outfit drives through
the fields cutting and threshing the
wheat, and leaves scattered plies of
straw and far-reaching exapnses of stub
ble. The big "combine," wallowing along
behind a traction engine first cousin to
a locomotive cuts the grain, threshes It,
stacks it and loads it on wagons as it
goes.
The "combines" have brought Joy to the
farmers, for they are cheaper to run than
the old-style thresher, with its big crew
of men. But it has also brought sorrow
to the stockman, who used to depend
upon the straw for his winter's feed. The
old-time straw stacks have disappeared
and in their places are little piles of well
threshed straw, scattered here and there
where the "combine" drops them in its
Journey. If it is picked up and stacked,
as is sometimes done, the chaff has been
wasted and scattered and the shattered
grain and tailings are strewn around the
field in the course of the big emachine.
Guests of President Guode.
OREGON CITY. Or., May 27. (Spe
cial.) President H. W. Goode, of the
new corporation now owning the Ore
gon Water Power & Railway Com
pany lines, accompanied by several
members of the Portland City Council,
arrived here yesterday morning by
special car. Here they Were Joined by
Councilmen Knapp, Justin, Williams,
Straight, Brandt and Logus. of the Ore
gon City Council, and the party, as the
guests of the railway people, visited
the extensive manufacturing plants in
the city and then enjoyed an excursion
to Estacada.
K- JZLr.T In AJ