Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937, January 01, 1914, SECTION THREE, Page 7, Image 39

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    TOE MOItXIXG OREGOXrAX, THURSDAY, JANUARY 1, 1914.
MILLIONS ARE SPENT ON BETTERMENTS
BY NORTH BANK AND OREGON ELECTRIC
Double Tracking Between Portland and Garden Home, Beginning of Work on Portland Freight and Warehouse
Terminals, and Pills and Bridges on Spokane Lino Mark Year's Development.
BELENS,.0R
9
By W. 1. Skinner, Truffle) Manaccr.
MERE cataloguing of the numerous
betterment projects carried on
by the affiliated lines of the Spo
kane, Portland ct Seattle Railway system
during the past year, when rolled
Into aggregate figures and statis
tics, after all, con
vey but a compara
tively small concep
tion of the amount
of energies and cash
f '-XT";' invoivea in me out-
. lay-
gramme of develop-
A 2j" ment of facilities of
1 V , the Spokane, Port
f & JF i land & Seattle, the
Oregon Trunk, the
Oregon Electric and
United Railway has
been pressed with
all the dispatch possible.
Of Immediate moment and of great
est Interest to Portland is the beginning
of actual construction work on the East
Portland freight and warehouse termin
als and the building of & spur track a
mile Jn length Into the new Indus
trial section of the East Side along
the south side of Sullivan's Gulch.
This track starts at East Third street,
near the Burnslde street viaduct, and
extends to East Eighteenth street.
This work Is already well under way.
Several hundred thousand dollars' ex
penditure has been authorized for new
trackage, fills and yards. Boehmer
(fc Hughes, of Spokane, are the con
tractors on this undertaking. This
Improvement opens up a new Indus
trial section to convenient transpor
tation facilities. East Portland has
W. D. Skinner.
experienced a pronounced spurt of
commercial energy since the work was
Instituted.
The details for the freight terminals
and yards have been pretty well worked
out and it is generally expected that
early In the new year the work on these
huge buildings will be contracted. The
new freight and warehouse system on
the East Side makes available for a
variety of commercial uses, many tracts
of property hitherto not provided with
adequate railway facilities.
In round numbers $1,000,000 of track
and bridge betterments have been made
on the North Bank Road, Portland to
Spokane. On the Spokane division, in
the city limits of Spokane, at Box Can
yon and Wilson canyon and other
points on Snake River, 180,000 In con
tracts were awarded for bridges and
culverts. At a' number of places along
the Columbia River, the work of mak
ing fills has been steadily prosecuted.
Natural crushed rock, the ideal ballast
ing material, called by construction en
gineers "cliff droppings," has been
hauled by hundreds of thousands of
yards by two gravel trains from the
loading place at the base of a moun
tain of this material near Cooks. "Wash.,
and many sloughs and trestles have
been converted into solid rock road
beds. One of these fills west of Lyle,
across an arm of a slough-lake, border
ing on the Columbia, is one mile In
length. East of Pasco, small canyons,
or draws, where wooden trestles, with
concrete culverts, were put in when
the line was built have been filled with
rock.
One of the Interesting' construction
operations carried on by the company
is the North Bank dredging outfit up
the Columbia. This is a huge sand
dredger which pumps sand from the
river shoals into huge bulkheads built
under the trestle-work. After the sand
packs, forming; the foundation bed, the
crushed rock by thousands of tons is
dumped In, the completed process re
sulting finally In an Ideal, safe road
bed, the track being imbedded in
crushed rock.
General improvement work on the Ore
gon Electric and United Railways has
consisted of ballasting and dressing the
main line with river gravel between
Portland and Eugene; erection of new
stations and freight houses and sta
tion and yardage additions at many
points. The Orenco-Helvetla cutoff,
connecting . the United and Oregon
Electric for freight movement, was
completed and opened for use.
The big work on the Oregon Electric,
however, which will run to about 1800.-
000, or thereabouts, has been the double
tracking of the main line from Portland
to Garden Home. The entrance into the
city, through the southern section has,
practically been rebuilt. The main
line has-been straightened, a compara
tively small curvature between Garden
Home and Multnomah having been
eliminated and two enormous fills
made. The largest of these is a solid
earth fill 95 feet in height at Its ex
treme. As a preliminary to this fill a
giant 5000 concrete culvert was con
structed in the bottom of the canyon.
Two wooden trestles have been aban
doned at this point. The transforming
of the line from 600 to 1200 volts has
been a part of this improvement. An
other valuable feature of the better
ment has been the abandonment of the
street grade and the approach of the
Jefferson street station on elevated
tracks for a distance of several blocks
over private right of way. "Very mate
rial improvement in time schedules and
efficiency of train operation will be
made possible by these changes.
COOS BAY ROAD UNDER WAY
Willamette Pacific Building From Eugene to Rich District on Coast Which
Has Long Awaited Transportation Facilities.
By D. W. Campbell. Superintendent Bouth-
era Pacinc Company.
NO MORE important Tallway de
velopment has ever been under
taken In Oregon than was wit
nessed In 1913, when the Southern Pa
clflo Company started from Eugene to
Coos Bay with the construction of the
Willamette Pacific Railway. Almost
unnoticed In this land of big things,
it has quietly begun the opening up of
a district larger and. richer than the
combined wealth of a quarter of a doz
en of Eastern states which might be
grouped for comparison. Its completion
elves the Southern Pacific three lines
from the Interior to the Pacific" Ocean,
and three cross-valley lines of import
ance: The Willamette Pacific from a
connection with the Natron line to
Coos Bay, the Salem, Falls City &
Western from Sllverton to Black Rock,
and the Corvallls & Eastern from Al
bany to Yaqulna Bay.
While the pioneers of the Coos Bay
country in Southwestern Oregon sought
gold in its shifting sands, their suc
cessors have found larger wealth by
harvesting salmon from Its waters,
timber from its hills, coal from be
neath the earth's surface, and In util
izing green grass the year around in
keeping a flow of milk that has made
Coos County prominent In the produc
tion of dairy products.
Aside from the encouragement of the
investment of capital In its Industries
and the construction and operation of
a 27-mlle railroad between Marshfield
and Myrtle Point, the Southern Pa
cific Company has not until 1S13 been
able to begin the execution of Its
plans to give Coos Bay a standard rail
road connection with a transconti
nental line. The Southern Pacific 18
now pushing the construction of Us
Willamette Paclflo Railway from Eu
gene to Coos Bay, a distance of 125
miles and will have the road In opera
tion before the expiration of 1914.
Deemed of foremost importance In its
scheme for giving all of Its Oregon
territory adequate transportation fa
cilities, the Southern Pacific has given
precedence to the construction of the
Willamette Pacific and its electrical
operations in the Willamette Valley.
Starting at Eugene, the Willamette
Pacific strikes west toward the Coast
Range, 26 miles of the road now be
ing completed. In Its approach to the
mountains It traverses a rolling and
rich agricultural district, the valleys
being highly cultivated, and the slight
ly timbered, hills forming most Invit
ing prospects for the Industry of the
homebullder.
Avoiding grades and difficulties of
Winter operation of railroads In moun
tainous countries, the . Willamette Pa
cific burrows under the Coast Range in
making use of the great Notl tunnel.
2480 feet In length and all completed,
and emerges upon the Siuslaw River.
Passing down that stream to Acme,
Florence and Marshfield, the new road
crosses the Smith and Umpqua rivers
en route and affords shipping facilities
to a large area of the lower water
sheds. Porter Bros., contractors,
have established grading camps at in
tervals from Coos Bay to the Notl
tunnel, and it may be said that work on
all parts of the western slope Is now
in progress. The construction of this
road requires the building of so many
steel bridges that the laying of rails
can only proceed from bridge to bridge,
ballasting operations keeping close be
hind the tracklayers..
The completion and opening of the
Willamette Paclflo Railway means that
the lumber mills of that section will
secure better facilities In marketing
the 100,000,000,000 feet of logs standing
on the hills adjacent to Coos Bay, that
the coal from its mines can be placed
within the reach of the Coast cities,
that its fisheries will be available to
market, that its unexcelled dairy lands
will be more generally used and their
products find more ready sale, and that
within a short time the Coos Bay coun
try will be rivaling the Willamette
Valley In the value of les output ot
the farm. Its cheap logged off lands
and burns are already In demand.
HILL BUILDS FAST VESSELS
Two $2,600,000 Steamers Are Being Constructed to Run From Columbia
River to San Francisco Next Year.
STEAMSHIP service between Port
land, Astoria and San Francisco
will be inaugurated by the Spo
kane, Portland & Seattle Railway -and
Billed Hill interests on January 1, 1915,
on a schedule faster than that now
maintained by the fastest trains.
Two giant steamers now are being
built for this service In the Cramps
shipbuilding yards at Philadelphia.
They will be among the first vessels to
pass through the Panama Canal.
While the northern terminus of this
new steamship line will be Astoria,
Portland will receive the direct bene
fits of the service. The Hill officials
plan to operate a fast train service be
tween Portland and Astoria to connect
at the Astoria docks with the steamers.
The present track between Portland and
Astoria will be improved and reballast
ed so as to permit a three-hour run.
Passengers will board the trains at
Portland, run to the docks at Astoria
and step right from the trains onto the
boats.
North-bound, a. similar- service will
be provided. The trains will wait at
the docks to receive passengers and
start on the run to Portland as soon
as possible after the steamers dock.
TheBe vessels will be the largest of
the kind on the Pacific Coast. Each
will be the exact duplicate of the oth
er. The contract cost is $3,500,000 each.
They will be of 12,000 tons displace
ment and have a cargo capacity of 1500
tons. They will have accommodations
for 800 passengers, of whom 450 will
be first class, 200 second class and 150
third class or steerage. Extra berths
will be available In the event that tne
third-class traffic demands them, mak
ing the aggregate passenger capacity
possibly 1000. They will be 625 feet
long, 63 feet beam and have a draft of
21 feet.
The guaranteed speed, according to
contract, will be 23 knots an hour. Par
sons' Improved turbine engines will
supply the power. TKey will be oil
burners. While each vessel will have
12 boilers, the speed requirements will
be met with only 10 boilers, keeping
two boilers constantly In reserve.
According to this schedule It will be
possible to make the run between As
toria and San . Francisco In 22 hours.
With a three-hour train service be
tween Portland and Astoria this will
make the combination rail and water
run between Portland and San Fran
cisco 25 hours. This is more than two
hours faster than the time of the fast
est trains now in operation.
While plans for the immediate future
provide for Astoria as the northern
terminus, it Is possible that eventually
the steamers will run to Portland.
The Hill system plans to handle both
transcontinental and local traffic by
means of these steamers. While the
vessels will be operated as a part of
the Spokane, Portland & Seattle or
North Bank system, they will have di
rect relations with the Great Northern
and the Northern Pacific, which roads
are the joint owners of the North Bank.
By means of the Burlington system,
which is owned jointly by the Great
Northern and Northern Pacific, agents
for this steamship line will be able to
solicit business as far east as Chicago.
It is understood that a special effort
will be made to make fast freight serv
ice one of the magnets with which to
attract future business.
Headquarters for the steamer line
will be established in Portland.
ELECTRIC LINES ARE READY
Service Soon Will Be Established on First Links of Portland, Eugene &
Eastern System in Willamette Valley.
By Mark Woodruff.
COINCIDENT with the advent of
1914 will come the beginning of
interurban electric railway oper
ations fathered by the Southern Pa
cific Company In the lower Willam
ette Valley through its associate, the
Portland, Eugene & Eastern Railway
Company, and which may reasonably be
expected to be followed by a splendid
activity In the rich .districts to be
served by the red cars of the "Willam
ette Valley Line."
Of the 350-mtle system projected by
the company of which Robert E. Stra
horn Is president, 104 miles will have
been completed before the end of
January, the "Juice" turned onto the
wires and the first trains will have
Xr-n welcomed as they passed through
the various cities between Portland and
McMinnvllle along the East Side di
vision and back by way of Newberg
and Oswego. Known as the "McMinn
vllle Loop," and composed of the old
Yamhill and West Side steam lines ot
the Southern Pacific Company, the first
unit of operation of the big interurban
system is equipped with cars, electric
locomotives for moving freight trains,
sidetracks and station facilities for
handling the enormous business to be
expected from a district that produces
from $123 to $440 an acre each year,
and where other thousands of farmers
may find Ideal surroundings, profits
and those comforts which come as- a
result of Intimate contact with a great
city.
Projected only two years ago, the
history of 1913 will record .the Port
land, Eugene & Eastern as having ex
tended transportation to two Import
ant districts of the Willamette Valley
which have heretofore been without
railway facilities, the opening of a
great bridge which for the first time
connected the east and west sides of
the valley, the establishment of shops
at Beaverton, the extension of the Wil
lamette Falls Railway, and the prac
tical rebuilding of the old West Side
steam system for use as electric roads.
On Its route to St. Joseph Junction
and McMinnvllle the West 'Side Inter
urban line will proceed out Fourth
street, passing through Beaverton,
Hlllsboro, Forest Grove and other im
portant towns, while the Yamhill In
terurban division will be diverted from
Fourth street to Jefferson street, and
will then skirt along the bank of the
Willamette River to Oswego, thence
to St. Joseph and McMinnvllle. At Mc
Minnvllle, Hlllsboro, Forest Grove and
Newberg Improved terminals are pro
vided, tracks having been extended di
rectly through those cities, while the
highly Improved suburban residence
district to the south secures a service
it has long desired. '
The activity of the Portland, Eugene
& Eastern which attracted first public
attention In 1913 was the opening of
the $300,000 steel bridge at Salem. From
the opening of operation on the Salem,
Falls City & Western Railroad the
Salem terminal had been on the west
side of the river. The road was ac
quired by the Portland, Eugene & East
ern, and on March 15 the new bridge
was opened with the daughter of Gov
ernor West scattering roses from the
prow of the engine.
Of the new' construction carried on
by the company during the year, the
opening of the Monroe and Molalla di
visions is of unmistakable Importance
as destined to contribute to the sub
stantial development of sections of the
Willamette Valley which have hereto
fore enjoyed slow growth because of
their Isolation.
Until the Monroe division was com
pleted, Corvallls had been practically
the southern end of railroad operations
in the Valley on the west side of the
river. The P. E. & E. acquired the
Corvallls & Alsea railroad and its de
crepit equipment, and Immediately be
gan Its reconstruction between Cor
vallls, Alpine and Bellefountaln, a total
of 36 miles. The road was then pushed
south to Eugene, a distance of 23 miles,
and on September 8 hundreds of citi
zens stood in a pouring rain as the
golden spike was driven. This road not
only gives through transportation be
tween Portland and Eugene on the
West Side, but opens a country be
tween Corvallls find the ROUthArn tAr.
minal that is potential in the home-
uunaing pians of those who hope for
a populous Western Oregon. It is a
land of sparse settlement, little tim
ber, big farms and rare opportunities. .
Of equal Importance la tha ii.mli
line from Canby to Molalla, on the east
Biue ot tne great "breadbasket." which
was opened September 19, and has since
enjoyed a remarkable run of business
in nananng tne crops that have Strug
gled with bad roads In seeking- mr
ket. The people along the Molalla
wo. neo. u years lor transportation.
Portland Summers Cooler
Than Coast Resorts
Weather More Comfortable Than at
Atlantic Watering Places Wen.
ther of 1013 Favorable.
K. A. lieaut.
By E. A. Beats, District Forecaster.
THE weather In Oregon during 1913
was on the whole favorable for
crops, construction work and the
transportation Interests. The Winter
was colder than usual and more snow
fell In the mountains than for several
years oacK. Tne
Spring also was
cool and the season
in April was ten
days late. This
backwardness was
welcomed by the
fruitmen, as It held
back the bloom on
fruit trees until the
greatest danger of
frost had passed,
and the crop, while
perhaps not so
large as a year ago,
matured in excel
lent shape under the
favorable conditions
that prevailed during the Summer and
Fall.
The excess of snow in Winter and
the backwardness of the Spring caused
river men and farmers on. the bottom
lands to fear the annual rise in the
Columbia River would be disastrous,
but fortunately the melting of the
snow took place so gradulally that no
very high water occurred, and the
property- loss was Insignificant.
The Summer months were warm
with an excess of rainfall, which fell
opportunely and was of great benefit
to late crops and pastures. The Fall
months were pleasant until near the
close of November, when stormy weath
er set In that lasted a week. The
storms caused unusually high tides,
but casualties to shipping were few.
Portland Is in latitude 45 degrees 32
minutes north, and New York Ctiy Is
In latitude 40 degrees 43 minutes north,
or. In other words, Portland is nearly
300 miles farther north than New York
City. The mean temperature of Port
land is 53 degrees and the mean tem
perature of New York City Is 52 de
grees. The rainfall Is nearly the same
in both cities, being. 43. 97 inches in.
New York City and 44.38 Inches lu
DEEP WATER AND RAILROAD CONNECTIONS
An Ideal Location for Manufacturing Plants, Business Houses and Homes
Mar
- 4 . -- t
3- -
"V" JET.
chas. r. Mccormick & co.
' J WHOLESALE LUMBER, MANTJTACTUREBS AND STEAMSHIP OPERATORS
Offices at St. Helens, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.
WE SHIP 200,000,000 FEET ANNUALLY
AGENTS FOR
. ST- HELENS LUMBER CO.
Manufacturers of Douglas Fir Lumber.
We operate our own logging camps
and are in position to handle long tim
bers and export orders on short notioa.
Ajonual capacity 100,000,000.
ST. HELENS SHIPBUILDING CO.
Shipbuilding and general repair work.
. We build and ' repair anything from a
small launch to a large ocean-steamer.
ST. HELENS CRESOTING CO.
Creosoted lumber, large timbers, ties and
piling. Annual capacity 50,000,000 feet.
One of the largest and most modern
creosote plants in the world. Rail and
cargo shipments.
OPERATE STEAMSHIPS
"Multnomah" "Willamette" "Shoshone" "J. B. Stetson"
'fKlamath" "Yosemite" "Celilo" "Francis H. Leggett"
FRANK BOLLAM, PORTLAND PASSENGER AGENT, in D. & R. G. Ticket Office. 124 Third Street
"Temple E. Dorr'
"Nehalem"
Portland; the difference being less than
one-half of an Inch. From these data
one might suppose the climate of the
two cities was similar, but there Is a
great difference mainly in favor -of
qualities that tend to make Portland
the more agreeable place of the two in
which to . live.
The mean temperature for the Sum
mer months in New York City is 72 de
grees, while In Portland it is 65 de
grees. Portland therefore averages
daily. 7 degrees cooler than New York
City In the Summer months. The mean
temperature for the Winter months in
New York City Is 32 degrees, while in
Portland for the same months the mean
temperature Is 41 degrees, which means
that it averages In Winter 9 degrees
warmer every day in Portland as com
pared with New York City. This ad
vantage of having warmer Winters
and cooler Summers can hardly be suf
ficiently appreciated when one stops to
consider how the poorly clad suffer
from the cold of Winter, and all In our
large cities are affected by the heat of
Summer.
The Summer mean temperature of 65
degrees In Portland is cooler than in a
number of famous Summer resorts on
the Atlantic Coast, notably Asbary
Park with a Summer mean tempera
ture of 71 degrees, Atlantic City 70
degrees, Narragansett Pier 68 degrees,
and Block Island 66 degrees.
The following table shows the salient
features In temperature, precipitation
and wind at Portland for 12 months
ending November 30, 1913:
Month.
Temperature, In
degrees Fahrenheit.
December, 1912.....
January, 1313....
February, 1013......
March, 1913
April, 1813
May, 1913....
June, 1913
July. 1913
August. 1913
September. 1913....
October. 1913.......
November, 1913
Sums and means...
88.. 2
139.7
44.6
51.0'
57.6
412.9
kS7.8
!8.6:
62.1
63. 2
47.6
02.91
O
,5
I?
B
2-3
: 3
-t-O.2
0.9
1.6
1.7
0.8
1.6
1.5
2.7
1.8
0.1
2.0
O f9Sit81
301
22
2 til
29
36
41
47
61
5
4
88
I .'14
t22
Precipitation,
In Inches.
2 c
S3
3
: 3
T
4.60 T
1.14 1.2
. O.lllOO.O
k
1
27j.01-0.6'
9 1.13
25-4.04
282.94
1)1.63
5:4.24
11 0.24J O. SO'OO. 0
16'0. 7610. 11100.0
SO2. 5810. 74'00. 0
6 3.62 0. 07100. 0
14-5. 391 1 .OS 00.01 201
S40.831 8.6512.615tfl
.73 Ott.O
2.4B 00.0
Number
ot days
21
20
101
18
16
12
16
5
7
11
2
2
8
B
7
ii
13
14
7
3!
o a
el
9 D
ii
271 SW
25ISW
OB
20 In
11 NW
121NW
14NW
7imv
4jNW
6 NW
ISfNW
20SE
82108170NW
Highest. tJuly. tt-owest. January.
EQUITABLE SAVINGS
and LOAN ASSOCIATION
240-242 Stark Street, Portland, Oregon,
offers investors a guarantee o f 5 per cent upon prepaid la
vestments, with full participation In surplus profits.
Borrowers repay In monthly Installments, thus compound
ing; and Increasing the earnings for Investors. .
Assets over S2,ft00,000.06.
Returned to Investors. $3,500,000.00.
Loans in force over 62,700,000.00. '
Securities over $7,000,000.00
Chas. K. Ladd, President.
Edw. Cooklngham. Vice-President.
Theodore B. Wilcox. Vice-President.
F. McKercher, Secretary.
The SIGN OF QUALITY
EVERYTHING
IN
LOGGING
EQUIPMENT
BOILERS '
ENGINES
ELECTRICAL
EQUIPMENT
WIRE ,
ROPE
jy v
A)wv
BROWN-CQ.
EVERYTHING
IN
CONTRACTORS'
EQUIPMENT
FROM
PUMPS
TO
LOCOMOTIVES
MACHINE
TOOLS
NEW
and
RELAYING
RAILS
We carry the largest stock of these lines on the
Coast. Consult us for prices on new and rebuilt
machinery. Catalogues sent upon request.
Scandinavian-American Bank
Cor. Morrison and Park Streeta
A GENERAL BANKING AND TRUST BUSINESS
4
Paid on Savings Accounts
C. F. Hendricltsen, Pres. Anthon Eckem, Cashier.
Will T. Wright, Vlce-Pres. O. C Bortimeyer, Asa't Cashier.
P. K. Enebo, Ass't Cashier.
Oaa Saturday Evralnaja. 8 to 8 1
A. Gleblsch, 672 Halaer Strean,
Paone East 33S.
F1. Joplln, 673 Claekamaa Street
Phone Eaat 141.
GlEBISCH & JOPLIN
GENERAL CONTRACTORS
ALl KINDS OF" HARD-SURFACE PAVEMENTS.
STREET, RAILROAD AND GENERAL. TEAM WORK. REINFORCED
CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION A SPECIA ITT.
Office
08-410 ROTH CHI LI J BUILDING
Fourth and Washington Sta.
PHONES
MAIN 1JS AND HOME A 148.
OREGON SHEET METAL WORKS
Wm. F. Mau
MANUFACTURERS OF
HOTEL, RESTAURANT AND BOAT SUPPLIES,? RANGES. BAKE
OVENS, STEAM TABLES, SINKS AND DISHWASHERS,
BOILERS AND URNS.
RETINTING. HEATING AND VENTILATING.
TIN, BRASS AND COPPER WORK OUR SPECIALTY".
Paonea A 2146, Main 2146. Realdence Phone B S18S.
146 FRONT STREET, PORTLAND, OREGON.
American Can
Company
TIN CANS
and Sheet Ivletal Packages
PLAIN AND LITHOGRAPHED
MARION VERSTEEO
Pnone East 2510
G. N. VERSTEEO
Phone Eaat 2U51
Versteeg Brothers Brick Co.
BRICK
Thlrtr-Thlrd and Thompaon Sta.
Phone Eaat 4474
PORTLAND, OREGON
-T-X