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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1917)
THE .MORNING . OREGON! AN, 3I0NDAT, .JANUARY 1, 191T. COMPLETION OF COOS BAY RAILROAD NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT ... . . . New Southern Pacific Branch Gives Transportation to Immense Area o Great Potential Resources Marked Impetus Is Given to Lumbering, Farming, Mining, Stock-Growing and Commerce If V ' i ' ',5 c A lit ,wwV ' vi. . ..--f-"-'.:i-.- f&cz'fi'c Bridge, Otrer- lmpckcca WHAT unquestionably was the a crane with one motion. A vessel distinctive industrial achieve- carrying 2.000.000 feet or more can be ment in Oregon in the year 1916 loaded in a day. . , ,,-. . a,k- At Marshfleld tne road connects with was the completion of the Southern the o,d road Qf the Coos B& Rogc, Pacific's new line to North Bend, burg. & Eastern another Southern Pa Marshfleld and other points on Coos cific subsidiary, extending- from Marsh Bay. The road was opened formally field through the fertile Coquille Val with appropriate formal celebrations ley to Powers, a distance of 45 miles, late in August and has been in success- Powers is a new town, less than two , . . , years old and the site of the newly ful operation ever since. A volume of compfcted Smith-Powers lodging op freight and passenger traffic that is erations. A modern plant is in opera prophetic of a steady future develop- tion there. The product is hauled by ment has been moved over the new line special logging- trains to the Smith almost from the start. min at Marshfleld. The road taps a rich agricultural. .t,Com,Plet'.,4.,0f ttne ilHB.d . . stimulated industry of all kinds in the mineral and timoer district. Its con- Coos Bay dlBtrict. It has cemented struction was started late in the Fall the relations between Portland and the of 1911. Work was continued with- cities and towns of that territory, out interruption until the Toad was Before the railroad was built most completed in, the Summer of last year. All the grading and track work was finished earfy in the year, but opera- HinitiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiimiimiimttiiiiHiiniitiiinitimiHiiiiiiiHiimiinmmiiiiiit! OREUON STATU SCHOOL. FIXD tiou of the line from end to end was 1900..$2.687.604.33 delayed pemlinfr completion of the long bridge across the Siuslaw River, lvlch Dliitrlct In Served. The nw road connects with the Southern acific main line at Eugene and extends due west and southwest a distance of 122 miles to Marshfleld. It pierces the Coast Range with a tun nel about 3000 feet long at Noti, 20 miles west of liugene. On the western slope of the range H traverses a territory that is richly timbered and that contains, also, a wealth of agricultural resources. The country already is productive of Im mense quantities of dairy products and other agricultural output. The pres ence of railroad facilities will increase greatly the volume of this traffic. South of the Siuslaw River the road erves, for many miles, a series of tributaries and estuaries of the ocean. A succession of long trestles span these waterways. 1906.. 4.120.747.69 190i.. 5.429.930.60 1910.. 8,643,700.89 1912..J8, 643.700.89 1914.. S.142.769.48 I 1915.. X.525.213.25 1 4.916.. 9,313.502.95 I nuui.HiHimmnfiiuiiniimiiiiiiiiiiiiiminiiiiMHiHHiniiitminiiiiimiiiuttHiinir of the merchants in the Coos Bay points bought their merchandise and supplies from wholesalers and jobbers at San Francisco. Their only service with the outside world was by means of ' steamships. Connection with San Francisco was easier than with Port land. Impetus Given to Industry. " Now the Portland jobbers are able to ship their goods into North Bend. Marshfleld and other points at a lower cost and in quicker time than their San Francisco competitors. Moreover, the railroad has served to develop some of the principal indus tries. The C. A. Smith Company em ploys at its large mill 400 men. at its Eastside mill 125 men. The payroll for . the large mill is $30,000 a month, for the Eastside mill $7500. The shingle mill employs 15 men, with i payroll of s . . r-i - r r wvt- ... 3- ...M 'is. 5 t S. f I IW:iilUBg ' nJ V " : ZJJT" -w? . . Mao, a fl IV V r-St 5"' A. - 1 Smrh- 1 J 0. , "4w $1500 monthly; the shops employ 15 The richest stand of timber touched men and have $1300 payroll. The Smith-Powers Logging Company maintains six logging camps at Pow ers and one at a point on Coos River, the seven being sufficient to keep both mills operating. The output of the Smith sawmills is 150,000,000 feet an nually in lumber, 28.791,750 shingles, 17.430,000 lath. The steamer Adeline Smith, with a capacity of 1.600,000 feet, carries the major portion of the Smith mill lum ber, hut occasionally other ships are chartered to take special cargoes to Southern California. The Adeline plies to Bay Point, on San Francisco Bay. and the company manufactures its rough lumber there and distributes by the Coos Bay road is in the vicin ity of North Bend and Marshfleld. Some of these tracts have been under devel- 2niiminiiiiiiiiitiiiiitiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittMfitiiiintiiiiiiniHiiiic I OREGO SCHOOL CESl'S 1 . .180.798 1905 153.045 1906 156.466 1907 157.509 1908 160.042 1909 166,649 1910 171.742 1911.. 1912. . 1913. . 1914. . 1915. . 1916.. .197,111 .196.695 .202, 3S9 .205.837 .209,028 jliifumiiaiifmuliiimiiiniiHiuimiiiiiiittiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitinif pment for many years. The sole ( outlet for this traffic heretofore has the lumber from that point. been by water. While most of It will continue to move by water, it will have the additional advantage of rail serv ice for Inland business. The Smith Mill Is Modern. C. A. Smith lumber mill at- 1 . x ... v ..... . . . v ,-.... v .. .jm -y -wf WW- -f-w- Bend Mill & Lumber Company mill at North Bend have daily capacities of 150,000 feet and 100.000 feet, respective ly. The Bay Park mill, at Old North Bend, has 50.000 feet capacity dally. The three mills' capacity is 60.000.000 ' f AAf VO O T 1 v T ll m Kai ra larn 1 a Marshfleld is one of the most modern North Bend output are A. M. Simpson T)la.ntS flf trie Vlnri in triA U-ni-Irl gnrl fnr lha Rnohnaro Ue T Khips an Immense quantity of lumber. Park mill and Yellowstone for the tion. The Buehner mill is supplied UCea7??K'rc73? also from the O. J. Gray logging camp fl fished and turned over to owners are Its facilities for loading lumber from North . Bend 1111 & Lumber Company, with logs by its two camps 'at Alle- ShorG j4cre " onCoos River. Khi,.v.rd at Clarke Com Mm "a FranrTsco the r-ful'Ae6,03 "I .&XX52 Vlf.gLt'ZnFZS?. ' North BnT p..t B are wonderful. An entire carload can xy.i- c..n t. ,j . j V , , . . , ' .. . ... , A it turnH out two veels last Nelson Company, ban Francisco. Inner be Picked up bv means of a swin and Vr.eA uu ' . ' eiwmS" J".T.',r Pan3r-.a JJe t'ar!c -I"' 2 V , 7 h on t!,- w.v, The. way are the Oliver Ne!,on. a replica and unloaded br rtwtrlr rr. " v v i . i ii (.tie nvi in jt- i 1 1 u ii i oc uuinuc miii ori t r om t i )ona in aivu vauKimn . . . V - t..-. . I" i I A .. r. .-. . .- ' . ' RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION IN 1916 ACTIVE Completion of Coos Bay Line and Extension of O.-W. R. & N. Branch From Vale Among Most Important Work. prants Pass-Crescent City Road Progresses Other Projects Planned. . RAILROAD construction continued steadily In Oregon during the year 1916, although the aggregate mileage of new roads does not approacji the normal. Construction work last year was grreater than in 1915. however. That year produced the low-water mark, so far as new ranrrtad work is concerned. Vltn a substantial Improvement in 1916 and plans for even more activity In 1917, it Is probable that Oregon soon will regain her place as a scene of great railroad construction activity. The principal unit of new work ac complished in Oregon In 1916 was the completion of the Coos Bay line of the Southern Pacific. The actual con struction of this project was spread through a period of four or five years, beginning in the Fall of 1911. It was virtually completed In 1915. but a largo amount of trestle work remained to be ' done at the begintiing of the last year. All this was finisfted early In the sea son, and the railroad was thrown open for actual operation late In August. Previous to that time, however, trains operated over various units of the line. Traffic found Its way in and out of the Coos Bay district uninterruptedly as soon as this partial service was started. Grants Pass I.lne Extended. Another enterprise of large im portance in the western part of the ftate was the work on the proposed line between Grants Pass, Or., and Cres cent City. Cal. Early in the year this project became the scene of vigorous activity. Twohy Bros., the well-known railroad contractors of Portland, are the people behind it. They have plans for an early extension of the line across the state border into California, with a. terminus at Crescent City, where an . ample tidewater harbor is available. The Grants Pass-Crescent City line first was conceived more than 15 years ago. Its construction was attempted by various railroad interests, none of which ever made a successful start at actual construction work. Four or five years ago the citizens of Grants Pass voted to bond them selves for $200,000 with which to build the first unit. They sold the bonds and built about 15 miles of first-class road. It is In successful operation. Subse quently Twohy Bros, and their asso ciates became interested and arranged to finance the enterprise further. They demonstrated their good faith by build ing about 10 miles of extension to the municipal line. . Both units now are operated as one. Plans virtually have been completed for an extension of 35 or 40 miles early this year. . The road taps the Illinois Valley, a territory that is rich in agri cultural, timber and mineral resources Within the last year farmers along the route Tave started to grow sugar beets, and a big sugar factory has been built to handle their products. This factory is on the line of the new road, about one mile from Grants Pass. Additional enterprises of this kind are probable, as the sugar- beet culture has proved successful. Rich District t Be Tapped. A source of even greater revenue than the sugar beets, perhaps, are the Immense mineral deposits in Western Josephine and E stern Curry counties. Three or four mines now are in active operation there. They are heavy cop per producers. Copper now is com manding a high' price on account of its demand for military uses in Europe. It is intended to extend the road at least as far as tne copper mines within the uiew year. The mines alone will furnish an enormous tonnage. Besides that an Immense area of heavy timber lies adjacent and will furnish traffic for years to come. The land is rich in agricultural resources, and its de velopment has been retarded only by the lack of adequate transportation fa cilities. The railroad doubtless will open this territory to hundreds of farm settlers. Another Southern Oregon road that may be built in 1917 is that projected by the Kendall Bros., well-known tim ber and mill operators of Roseburg. The citizens of Roseburg have granted them a franchise for their enterprise and have guaranteed them some sub stantial financial aid-through a bond issue. The validity of this issue has been upheld in the courts. Construc tion work, it Is expected, will be under way some time this year. While the line is intended primarily as a timber carrier, it will serve the agricultural and commercial needs of the com munity as well, and eventually may become an important factor in develop ing that part of the xtate. The territory In the immediate vicin ity of Portland also has been the scene of some railroad activity in the last few months, although it has not added to the total rail mileage of the state. The Southern Pacific has been enraKcd in electrifying Its line between Whiteson and Corvallls, a distance of 43 miles. The work will be finished within the next three months, and the electric service probably will be started about April 1. . This will provide the Southern Pa cific with a complete electric service from Portland to Corvallis. with an alternate electric route between Port land and McMinnville. The McMinnville "loop" has been In operation for three years. Two dis tinct lines are in use between those two points one via Oswego and Newberg and the other via Hillsboro and For est Grove. The electrification extends south to WhiteSon, a distance of three miles beyond McMinnville. Terminal facilities at Whiteson are inadequate. 'Passengers are required to change there from the steam to the electric trains, and vice versa. The Southern Pacific has been de sirous : extending che electric line logs from McDonald and Vaughan and to Corvallls ever since the McMinn ville loop was completed. Some de lays were experienced in getting fran chises in the various towns. This situation has been overcome. Work on the rails,' poles and wires has been tinder way tor the last six months. The necessary machinery for the gen- erator stations now is on the way from the Eastern manufacturers. It will arrive here within a few weeks. As soon as it is installed and tested the line will be ready for service. O.-W. K. A X. Hxtends Line. In Eastern Oregon the O.-W. R. & N. Company completed the extension of its line from Vale to Crane' Creek Gap, a distance of 127 miles. Most of the road was built In the two years pre ceding the last, but much work re mained to be done last year. This was done and the line was thrown open for use. It now is in successful operation. It connects with the main line of the L'nlon Pacific system at Ontario. ' The new road approaches the eastern limits of the famous Harney Valley, rich in . agriculture and livestock. Heretofore the country has been de voted almost exclusively to stockgrow lnr. With the advent of the railroad some of this land doubtless will be thrown open to the settler. Already scores of families have flocked. In. It was the original Intention' of the Union Pacific interests to extend this road to a connection with the exist ing line terminating at Bend, but this plan was abandoned, pending develop ment of the territory already opened. The most ambitious railroad project prosecuted in Oregon during the last year is the Oregon, California & East ern, of which Robert E. Strahorn is the directing genius. This road is planned to connect all the existing railroads in Central Oregon. It will provide an outlet for an immense area now entirely without railroad facilities. Mr. Strahorn caused surveys of the entire project to be completed last year. The undertaking has progressed to a point that makes actual construc tion work the next stefv Some of this work will be star-tea early this year. Besides the municipal bond issues the people of the Central Oregon towns have subscribed individually. Business men and bankers of Portland will be invited to give some financial assist ance within the next few months. of tha Stanwood. being double-end type, with cabin in center of vessel: the Horace Baxter, building for the J.-H. Baxter Company. Sun Francisco, a duplicate of Port Angeles, excepting 10 feet shorter; a 65-foot vessel for the C. A. Smith Company, to be usel as 'parkaee" carrier, that is. loaded WOOLEN PLANTS HAVE PROSPEROUS YEAR Each of Six Mills Crowded to Capacity to Fill Orders Oregon Fabrics Now Sold in Every State in Union Qual ity of Products Ranks "With Best. NIXETEEN-SIXTEEX w is a banner year for the woolen mills of Ore gon. Each of the six plants in the state has been crowded to capacity In turning out orders. The Portland Woolen Mills added to their equipment half a dozen times during the year and still are unable to fill orders for their products. The Pendleton Woolen Mills, the Oregon City Woolen Mills, the Wil bur Wolen -Mills at West stayton. the Brownsville Woolen Mills and the Thomas Kay plant at Salem all report all the business they can take care of. and some of them have had to turn down business because of limitations of their plants. Because of the great domestic de mand for woolen fabrics, the Oregon made woolens have gone into every state In the Union. The opportunity was presented to the Oregon mills when the Eastern plants began to turn their attention to' war orders. The quality of Oregon woolens Is becom ing recognized as the equal to that of any Eastern product. In many cases the Oregon product Is superior. A market. Nation-wide, is being built up and it will be the aim of the Oregon manufacturers not only to hold the trade but to extend it. , Mills Goinx at Top Speed. In pointing out the opportunities for the Oregon woolen manufacturers. A. IU Jacobs, president of the Oregon City Mills", says: "With every woolen mill in the state working at top speed to try and make a bole In the immense orders that are' on file, Oregon never before had such an opportunity to let the world know the merit of our merchandise. Many of the Eastern mills are devoting most of their efforts towards filling huge war contracts, and the merchants of the country are buying woolen goods for the most part wherever they can. . "Naturally, our compan. wliicli for many years has maintained a National selling organization, is securing a large amount of domestic business. Every loom in our mill is working to full ca pacity and we are enjoying the largest . business in our history. 1 believe that the merchandise situation of today of fers a far greter opportunity than Just filling all the orders we can. and looking only at immediate profits. This unprecedented condition has done whnt, many manufacturers would be willing to invest a great deal of money PORTLAND OK KIT I At RI'ILUIXG PERMITS UV VKAHM. Year. Permits. Valuation. lnor, ;.3ix $ 4. im. 3?s : 1906..; 3.166 .!0'J.032 1907 3.(9' 9.44S.9V.1 1908...... 4.S49 10.40S.151 1909 4.739 13.4S1.3S0 1S10 fi.523 ZU.e6.2n2 ; 1911 7.S87 19.1T2.370 1912 8.224 14. (752.071 1913 6.710 12.956.915 1914 5.959 S. 334. 075 1915 4.623 4.S95.345 1916' .4.507 6.i9.14i December total estimated In 1916 figures. inin wbw in advertising to accomplish. Millions of American people will wear Oregon made woolen goods this year for the first time. Blankets, mackinaws. auto mobile robes, flannel shirts, men's and women's Vlothing will be made from Oregon wool, and a great many of the garments actually manufactured here. "The great question is willj the thousands of merchants who are buy ing Oregon-made woolens this year, and the millions of people who are wearing them, be sufficiently Impressed with the quality of our goods to de mand them after former competition returns? We' must find some way of thoroughly identifying Oregon-made woolens, and insure that at least a part of this great demand of today will be continued in the future. This is the same problem, only smaller and more readily apparent, as that which the entire industry of the fnited States will face when the present world war ends. Oreicon Opportunity Seen. "Though Oregon is a considerable distance from the largest centers of population, modern merchandising and transportation h.v lareelv overcome the handicap. If woolen goods can be made as cheaply, if not cheaper, in Oregon than in the EafSt there is noth ing that should prevent Oregon from greatly increasing her woolen industry. A great deal of tne wool is grown here tn the Northwest. Our own mill has an advantageous manufacturing site, and we have one thing that is the greatest asset to the woolen industry an inex haustible supply of good water. The word "good" hardly covers this, be cause the water here seems to possess a peculiar quality which is necessaVy in scouring and cleansing the wool. "The point that I have made about the necessity of identifying Oregon made woolens now so that the con sumer will continue to wear them, is being recognized by the Oregon City Woolen Mills. For a number of years our lubel has gone on practically every article made by this mill. We have maintained our own selling organiza tion, distributing our goods direct to the retail dealer. We have enlarged our selling territory, and. through the aid of our National sales organization, we have secured a wide distribution in practically every state in the Union. "While we are selling on a National l-.asis. we have not neclected our home demand which has always come first with us. Since the establishment of this mill by pioneers over half a cen tury ago. we have given particular at tention to the needs of the Northwest, bringing out many new ideas in woolen goods for the logger, miner and ranchman."