Morning Oregonian., January 02, 1922, New Year's Edition, Section 3, Page 5, Image 21

. PORTLAND GETS RAILROAD FREIGHT TERMINAL TO COST $2,000,000!
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t j Development of Port Demands Greatly-Expanded Facilities for Growing Commerce and Transportation Chiefs Respond by Selection of Lewis and Clark Fair Site for Huge "Break-Up" Yards.
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By Harry B. Crltchlow.
AFTER years
congestion'.
irs of railroad traffic
brought about by
crowded and inadequate facul
ties, Portland has-been assured a new
freight terminal which will accom
modate all needs of the present and
give room for expansion with the
future growth of commerce and ship
ping. AH of the property has been
purchased for it.
The proposeed terminal will be lo
cated on Guild's lake, the site of the
1905 fair, and ' will .cost, complete, In
the neighborhood of $2,000,000.
.More than a year ago Ma,or George
L. Baker, the city council and the
Portland Chamber of Commerce be
gan an agitation for a new railroad
depot to accommodate passenger traf
fic. This brought on a council of
the chief executives of the Union Pa
cific, Northern Pacific, Great North
ern, Southern Pacific and Spokane,
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BULK GRAIN SHIPMENTS DEVELOPED IN 1921 1
Impetus Comes With Formation of Large Company Which Gives 1,000,000-Bushel Municipal I
j Elevator and Equipment Busy Season American Steamer Takes Out First Such Cargo.
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pvEKORK the beginning of the
esent cereal year, which started
July 1, as cereal years do,
the shipment of grain from Port
land In bulk, as it is handled in the
southern and eastern ports and on the
great lakes, was In its rudimentary
stage', lacking an impetus to break
the custom of sacked handling which
dated from the first wheat crop in the
northwest. This impetus came when
the Gray and Rosen baum grain in-
terests of Chicago and New York
combined to form the Gray-Rosen-oaum
Grain company and selected
Portland as Pacific coast headquar
ters.
A municipal grain elevator with a
capacity of 1,000,000 bushels was built
bythe commission of public docks in
connection with the mammoth rail
and steamship terminal at St. Johns,
Portland, and was completed In time
to handle the 1920 crop, but this crop,
apparently, had little or no use for
the elevatbr. WhlTe the great con
crete structure stood ready, awaiting
only the closing of an electric switch
to set its machinery in motion, the
custom of years prevailed!, and the
grain came to tidewater and was
loaded Into ehips in bags. A few
small shipments of grain passed
through the elevator during the' ce
real year 1920, but only to use the
big structure as a warehouse, for the
wheat was re-sacked before loading.
Primarily it munt be understood
that Portland is the leading grain
skipping port ot th'j Pacific coast and
one of the great grain exporting cen
ters of the world; secondly, it must
4 f be understood that wherever grain is
produced in the United States except
4 v in the northwest, it is handled prin
cipally In bulk that from the mow-
ing of the grain a thousand or more
miles inland to its delivery at some
European port, or wherever It goes.
j the great majority of the grain never
Portland & Seattle railroads here. A
survey of passenger conditions was
made and it resulted in the find
ing that, the unidn depot at the foot
of Sixth street, although perhaps
rather unsightly. Is modern enough to
accommodate all passenger needs for
years to come. It was found, how
ever, that the handling of freight cars
and trains was congested and tha't a
new terminal was needed. The rail
road companies pooled their interests
and decided to build a vast terminal
for exclusive freight purposes.
The companies decided that the
Guild's lake site was the most prom
ising of, any of-the city, and there
they agreed to establish the terminal.
Immediately they were confronted
with the proposition of obtaining the
vacation of certain streets where the
terminal was to be placed. The city
commission, although favorable to the
terminal, found lts.elf unable to force
the closing of these public streets.
""
learns that there are such things as
grain bags. The tremendous distances
of the northwest, coupled with the
lack of transportation facilities in
the early days made the sacking of
grain necessary, for it moved from
the farms to the mills and the sea
port cities in horse-drawn vehicles
over rough roads, or was floated
down the rivers In steamboats. With
the advent of the railroads, the more
economical bulk handling was made,
but the rain . Industry and the bag
business had become inseparable,
with large grain dealers making a
profitable side line of importing and
selling "gunnies."
During recent years, however, a
sentiment In favor of bulk handling.
Lecause of its manifest economy, had
been crowing up among the grain
producers until in many parts of the
northwest the farmers had built co
opeative grain elevators for their
ow n use and prevailed upon the cities
to do the same. Thus, large grain
elevators were built by the munici
palities at Portland, Seattle and Ta
coma. This leads by degrees to 'ortland's
municipal elevator, which was built
amid a storm of protest, kept from
sinking on its base by a clever piece
of engineering, and then stood prac
tically idle for a year after it was
ready for use.
The first cargo of bulk wheat to
be loaded from the Portland elevator
was taken by the American steamer
Abercos, which took 15,699,690 pounds
of bulk wheat faster than grain had
ever been loaded at Portland before,
with the elevator delivering its rated
20.000 bushels per hour from the first
bucketful that went over the belt.
The Abercos was dispatched to Eu
rope by the Gray-Rosenbaum Grain
company, and incidentally this com
pany has supplied all the other car
goes that have been loaded at the
municipal elevator to date..
The first bulk wheat cargo to go
from Portland this year was dis
patched by Kerr, Gifford & Co. in a
British steamer and was loaded at the
TITE
7
At the last session of the legisla
ture K. K. Kubll introduced a bill in
the lower house which enabled the
commission to close streets within
1000 feet of the harbor line. This
passed with little opposition. The
city commissipn then decided to sub
mit to the voters an amendment to
the charter authorizing street vaca
tions for railroad terminal develop
ments. This was placed on the ballot
in the election last spring and was
passed by approximately 11,000 ma
jority. This cleared away the last
legal obstacle and put the proposition
of the establishment of tne proposed
terminal directly up to the railroad
companies themselves.
Throughout the agitation for the
terminal Arthur C. Spencer, general
counsel for the Oregon-Washington
Railroad & Navigation line of the
Cnion Pacific system, has been the
spokesman. One of his statements
regarding the terminal is as follows:
"The pending terminal development
confronts us because ' of the demand
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Globe Grain & Milling company's ele
vator, which Kerr, Gifford & Co. were
operating under lease. This privately
owned elevator is provided with only
one spout, and the steamer had to be
turned to ' bring her various holds
within range of this spout, so the
speed of loading was nothing remark
able, though more rapid than the
usual method of loading sacked grain
by means of electric conveyors.
What bulk grain loading was done
at Portland prior to 1921 was done at
this elevator. According to the best
available authority, the number of
grain cargoes sent out from Portland
In bulk irt all time preceding the use
of the municipal elevator was four.
At least two of these four cargoes
were carried by small steam schoon
ers and went only as far as San Fran
cisco. To return to the municipal elevator,
the steamer Abercos was followed by
the steamer Hanley, another shipping
board vessel. The Hanley took on
75,000 pounds of rye and 11,635.840
pounds of wheat, all in bulk. Then
came the steamer Torrey, a Norwe
gian vessel, and her charterers
smashed traditions twice with one
ship; first by sending a Scandinavian
vessel out in the trans-Pacific trade,
and. second, by sending a cargo of
bulk wheat to Shanghai. China. This
vessel loaded 15,652,529 pounds of
wheat and 87,000 pounds of rye. She
was followed by the steamer Pilar
de Larrinaga, with a cargo of 10,763.
055 pounds of bulk wheat. The final
bulk grain cargo of the calendar year
1921 was listed by the Dutch steamer
Klnderdijk and amounted to 8,950,000
pounds.
The best record made by the Port
land elevator and one that places-it
in the front rank of the grain eleva
tors of the world, was established in
the loading of the steamer Klnderdijk.
with four empty holds to be filled and
four spouts running uninterruptedly.
A cargo of 4000 tons of bulk wheat
was poured into the holds of this ves
sel in five hours and 15 minutes. This
loading is at the rate of 26,666 bushels
31011X1X0 OREGOXIAN,
by the city and the state that we
accommodate at the union passenger
station the passenger trains of the
Great Northern and Spokane. Port
land & Seattle railroads. This we
have been and are positively unable
to do, because of the limited capacity
of the terminal yards.
"In handl'ns the business of its
tenant lines the' Union Pacific system,
the Northern Pacific system .and the
Southern Pacific system, the termi
nal serves and switches to and" from
a total of 110 industries and handled
through its yard from 450 to 625
freight cars a day? Exclusive of the
Spokane, Portland & Seattle and the
Great Northern, it handles In its yard
380 passenger cars a day. Of these,
110 are electric. It therefore appears
that the freight is the heavy end of
the business and the commercial .in
terests of the city will appreciate that
the freight service is as important to
the community as the' passenger, and
cannot be ignored.
"When this demand was made upon
per hour. Really very fast work.
A more representative performance,
i'f a less spectacular one. is shown in
the loading of the steamer Torrey,
into which 157,000 bushels of- bulk
wheat were .loaded in eight hours of
contiguous running, with the usual
difficulties encountered with condi
tions .such that not all of the spouts
from the elevator could be used at
one time.
A number of minor changes in the
belt system of the elevator are
planned by the engineering depart
ment of the commission of public
docks to further Increase the daily
capacity and speed of the loading ap
paratus. The new belt is expected to
make it possible to load bulk wheat
here at a consistent average speed
ot 30.000 bushels per hour, and few,
if any. elevators in the world can sur
pass this figure.
Recognized world authorities in the
grain trade declare that the day of
sacked grain is past, and that the
grain bag is soon to join the cradle
and the threshing floor. Australia
has recently adopted the bulk sys
tem for grain handling throughout
the commonwealth and for exporting,
and the inference is that before many
years all the millions of bushels of
grain moving annually through Port
land to the markets of the world
will be in bulk. If not the largest
point In favor of the bulk method,
at least the one that appeals most
strongly to the farmer is the saving
in the bags he Is not required to buy
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EXPORTS BY COMMODITIES FOR THE FISCAL
YEARS ENDING JUNE 30.
Commodities
Autos and parts
Caustic soda
Coal
Cotton -
Fruits
Hides and pelts
Hops :
Iron and steel manufactures
Lumber
Machinery
Milk, condensed
Paper
Railroad ties '
Salmon, canned
Tinpiate
Wheat-.......:
Wheat flour
Paraf fine
Barley
Miscellaneous
Tallow
Fuel gas and oil
MOXDAY, JANUARY
us, we appropriated a freight track
for passenge ses and have in these
times of subnormal business been
able to handle and are handling two
Great Northern trains in and out of
the st'ation and two Spokane, Port
lands Seattle trains in and out. This
leaves our already congested freight
yard farther restricted and presents
a condition wherein It is entirely out
of the question for us to attempt to
handle the Astoria trains, as was at
first proposed.
"It was therefore decided to add
additional freight tracks to passenger
use, extend tracks and build train
sheds and platforms, while all of the
freight will go to the yards and
their mechanical facilities at Guild's
lake?".
The terminal will be constructed at
an" Initial expense of $1,200,000. It
required approximately $70,000 to ac
quire the properties on which the
terminal is to be established and
$500,000 will be used to establish the
accommodations in trackage and
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RAILROAD INTERESTS TAKE TIMBER OPTIONS
1 Hill Line Officials Make Important Move Toward Development
I gon State Declared to Hold Key to tuture. Lumber operations of wnoie nation. f
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T
HE most important move toward
the development of the potential
resources of Oregon during the
past year was made two months ago
by the Hill railroad interests when
they took options on the Gales Creek
& Wilson River railroad and the Port
land, Astoria '& Pacific line.
For years timber men who own
valuable- tracts along Wilson river
have looked forward to the day when
railroad interests would recognize the
value of a short route to Tillamook
from Portland, construct a line down
the river from Aagaard and thereby
open their timber holdings to the
markets of the world.
Charles Keith, president of the Cen
tral Coal & Coke company of Kan
sas City is the man to whom credit
possibly should be given for opening
the eyes of the St. Paul railroad of
ficials to the possibilities that abound
in the Nehalem and Tillamook coun
tries. Keith, a Southern pine lumber man,
saw the forests of the south rapidly
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1912.
1920.
92 228
227i64
85.388
6,855,507
1921
$ 101.758
""3.675
233.646
155.384
84.993
120.316
1.295.017
6.376.302
1.129.749
482.326
343.366
1,089.797
453.633
44.860
47,057.289
10.328.925
106,414
49.000
674.522
1.000
93 08 4 S
" V.030
217.768
2,999.506
6.304.3O2
891.539
287.598
488.066
614.146
97,392
391.874
6.298.579
16,931,906
5.895.993
3,073,993
22.703
50.360
1,036,909
122 i
2, 1022
equipment to meet the present needs.
Its construction will not only be an
advantage to the now handicapped
railroads, but to the public, as well.
With conditions remaining as they
are. there was of necessity a demand
fcr a separation of at least two of the
railroads from the present pasnger
use of the union station. This would,
as a matter of course, inconvenience
not only the passengers arriving and
departing from the city, but the com
panies as well.
Public convenience demands that
terminals be as close to the business
centers as possible. In a city like
Portland ' where a large portion of
the shipping is carried on by water,
it is necessary that the terminals of
the railroads be adjacent to those of
the port so that there will be little
delay in an interchange of freights.
Ultimately, as Portland grows and
its manufacturing increases, .factories
and warehouses must extend down
the river. Such being the case, no
better site could be chosen for the
disappearing. His eyes turned to
wards the virgin forests of Oregon
and the northwest. David Eccles,
head of the Oregon American Lumber
company, had several years ago pur
chased the Dubolse 27,000-acre tract
on Rock creek in the Nehalem coun
try. His holdings became too exten
sive and it became necessary for him
to part with a portion. Keith be
came the purchaser and for a sum
held to be not less than $7,000,000, the
tract changed hands.
Eccles had started a 37-mile rail
road from Wilkesboro into his tim
ber property. The road had not been
completed. Keith had no desire to
become a railroad operator as his
forte Is the lumber Industry. Ralph
Budd, president of the Great North
ern, was persuaded to come to Port
land and to make an' Investigation
of the proposed line into the so
called Eccles tract of timber.
With Mr. Budd came experienced
engineers and advisors and they made
an exhaustive study of the conditions
that prevailed In the Nehalem coun
try. They also we,re asked to inves
tigate the conditions on the Wilson
river, where thousands ot acres of
untouched timber of a valuable va
riety are to be found. They became
Impressed with the 'possibilities in
this district for future development.
Shortly after the return of Mr.
Budd to St. Paul, Charles Donnelly,
president of the Northern Pacific,
mado a visit to the state. He, too,
went into the same districts that had
been visited by his predecessors and
upon his return to the home office
options were taken on the Gales
Creek & Wilson river and the Eccles
lines.
Immediately after the purchase of
the 27,000-acre tract by Mr. Keith
and his associates, work was started
to complete the grading for the rail
road. It was a part ot the sale agree
ment that the Eccles people should
com'plete the work that they had
started. Men are now at work and
will soon have the line ready lor the
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establishment of a rail terminal than
Guild's lake. For years efforts have
been made to 'make this section a
manufacturing center. To build the
terminal a portion of the lake bed
must bo filled. Eventual growth of
the manufacturing industries of the
city will causo the filling of the entire
lake, so that the space will be avail
able for commercial uses.
When manufacturers come to a city
one of their first observations is made
along the lines of terminal facilities.
They want to know whether rail
equipments are such that their In
coming and outgoing cargoes will be
handled with dispatch. Portland's in
adequate .terminal facilities have al
ways handicapped the commercial ac
tivities of the city. Increased ship
ping by water has demanded the es
tablishment of modern docks that
have gained attention even in foreign
countries. These docks have added to
the trans-Pacific and coast-wise ship
ping of the city. The ocean com
merce, even during this period of de
of Potential Resources of Ore-1
ties and rails on this stretch, Wh'le
the Eccles lino is important, In
that is makes an entry Into the
Rock creek and upper Nehalem river
timber districts and will develop
thousands of feet of timber, it can
not equal in importance the possible
opening of the Wilson river country
through the building of the Gales
Creek & Wilson River railroad.
This line has already been con
structed from Wilkesboro to Aa
gaard, a distance of 14 miles. The
construction of this road opened ap
proximately 1,000,000,000 feet of fine
timber and one small sawmill has al
ready been constructed and is in
operation reducing about 60,000 feet
of lumber daily.
Surveys have been made down the
Wilson river from Aagaard to Tilla
mook bay, a distance of about 35
miles. While the first few miles of
construction would he exceedingly
difficult from the standpoint of an
engineer, the most of the proposed
line would follow the river with a
water grade.
Not alone would the Wilson river
district be opened up for development
of abundant timber resources, but the
building of the line would make pos
sible the operation of immense de
velopments along the Trask river.
It has been estimated that 20,000,
000,000 feet of the most valuable tim
ber in the state is now lying unde
veloped in the country which will be
benefited by. the construction of the
Gales Creek & Wilson River railroad.
. It is evident that the railroad peo
ple who have taken an option on the
line do not intend to stand the en
tire expense of constructing the road.
They realize that by opening the
country for timber development
through the building of their line
they would be increasing the market
value of the timber held In the dis
trict. It is highly probable that the
Hill Interests will either call tfpon
the timber men for a substantial cash
bonus, or will ask them to purchase
bonds to be used for the defraying ot
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pression. Is approximately $..000,MflO
monthly. Improved business condi
tions throughout the northwest will
swell this business. .Manufactured
articles from the east, coining here
by rail for overseas disposition, will
increase the necessity for more ter
minal facilities, and a hundred sub
stantial reasons make necessary the
building of the terminal on Guild's
lake.
All switching will be done In the
new terminal. This will relieve the
congestion now felt In the present
terminal yards. In addition to a score
of tracks for freight-switching and
the making up of trains there will
be mechanical plants and turn tables
of the most n.odcr'n type.
rians and specifications for the
terminal have been drawn and have
been approved by all of the railroad i
lines interested in the proposal. With
business conditions on the upgrade
and new avenues of commercu in
creasing it is evident that work will
soon be started on the project.
the road building expenses. It has
also been suggested that the roads
might even go so far as to ask the
timbermen to make a pool of their
timber, borrow money against this,
and with the funds derived construct
the line
One tninfr that would probably
cause many of the big timber owners
of tho district to hold back and re
frain from entering their money or
their timber Into a pool to aid In tho
construction of the road is tho fact
that they are expecting southern pine
men to come here within a few years
to establish their operations.
These men who have long made
the states of tho south their field for
operations must have a place for fu
ture lumber development. Oregon,
with its thousands of acres of mar
ketable and very valuable timber, is
the logical place for them to come.
Tho timber on the Wilson river will
be greatly desired and tho lumber
men wbo now have possession of it
will be able to ask more substantial
figures than now are possible.
Charles Keith and his associates
have entered the state for tho pur
pose of intensive operation. They
mean to enter into all departments
of the lumbering industry. Mills will,
perhaps, be established in the woods,
near the scenes of the lodging opera
tions. Surplus logs will be sold on
tho markets of Portland and Colum
bia river points. Others will lie mado
into rafts at the Nehalem Room com
pany, on the Columbia, and possibly
shipped to coast points.
The Hill people are well aware that
Oregon Is one of the states which
holds the key to the future timber
operations of the nation. Hero are
timber lands which cannot bo per
ceptibly reduced for generations.
Their lines now extend from the Pa
cific to Chicago. Long hauls is what
they desire. Hy holding tho monopoly
to the rail development of tho vast
timber areas of the Wilson and Ne
halem rivers, and by the establish
ment by private Interests of mills In
these districts, they can load their
cars in the woods and ship direct
over their own lines to point as far
east as Chicago.
Tho development of the two dis
tricts would Rive the Northern Pa
cific and Great Northern transconti
nental lines access to thn ureatpiit
aource for timber tonnage possible.