8 n r-x.v.?:cjr:OT okegokian, iportland, September - 21; 1913.
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Graceful Highway, Now Assuming Definite
Form, Will Awaken Portland and River
Towns the Scenic Marvels of the Lower
Columbia Vast Fanning Country Will Be
Opened to Settlement Completion of
Boulevard Will Mark Realization of Years
of Effort and Will Be One of Western Ore
gon's Greatest Assets.
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A
WIDE, graceful trunk highway
from Portland to the sea along
the south bank of the Columbia
River; another highway- of the same
sort down the seashore to TCehalem
City; still another leading back through
Clatsop, Columbia, Washington and
Multnomah counties to Portland: Ipng,
well graded feeder roads draining to
the trunk highways from all parts of
Northwestern Oregon. These are the
arts of a wonderful highway system
which Is to be Oregon's within the
next few years.
Sounds like a tremendous under
taking at first, doesn't It? But It Is
thoroughly practicable, roadbiiilders say.
and It is only a matter of time until It
will be an absolute necessity to open
up to the markets of the world one of
the richest agricultural and dairying
countries In the United States and to
open up to the tourist, and the autoist
a country rich In scenic marvels.
The first unit of the big project, the
highway down the Columbia from
Portland to the sea, seems almost a
certainty for the near future. Behind
it now are the roadbuilders, the busi
ness men. the farmers and the good
roads enthusiasts of Portland and a
score -or more towns and communities
between Portland and the sea. Money
ls beineT raised to pay the cost of the
survey of the route In Columbia Coun
ty. With this settled, the way will be
clear for the tax levies and bond Issues
which will bs necessary along the line
in the three counties to put the high
way through.
The commercial feature of the high
way la considered the real important
factor, although the aoenle and tourist
feature Is not being overlooked. The
real need and the real hope is to have
a trunk highway extending' on an easy
grade down through the fertile valleys
of the Iower Columbia to tap the mar
velous districts which await only the
touch of the plow and the harrow to
make them lands of plenty. Without
the highway they are of little value.
With the yawning; market in Portland
open to them by way of a good road
they will become among the most val
uabla farming districts In the state.
The Increase in the value of farm land
will pay three or four times the cost
of the highway.
Deer Island, Caples, Reuben, Goble.
Rainier, Hudson, Ladu, Maygers. Quin
cy, Inglis to Clatskanie down to As
toria, and from there westerly to War
ren ton and south to Nehalem. At pres
ent there is a road as far as Clatskanie,
but it is practically impassable at cer
tain points during the Winter months.
An occasional automobile makes - the
trip In dry weather, but it is consid
ered difficult and unpleasant as wall
as unsafe.
From Portland to the city limits of
Multnomah County, a distance of 18
miles, the road is in good condition.
From that point the road is in fair con-
ditlon clear through to St. Helens.
From St. Helens the road extends to
Columbia City, a distance of three
miles. A turn is made there and the
course leads down in to the (Deer Island
country, where natural beauties and
wonders abound. The road at present
winds 'through dense forests, carpeted
with ferns and moss, with here and
there a small creek trickling over the
rocks and clay. It is the plan to ex
tend a straight road through this dis
trict, eliminating many sharp curves
and bends which are a ' part of the
winding road of the present.
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The Columbia Highway alone is not
expected to bring about all the marvel
ous changes, but it will be the founds.
tion. Of great benefit also to the vast
districts will be the feeder roads which
will drain from the valleys down into
the trunk way, much the same as riv
ulets drain down into a river. The
trunk, highway is the first considera
tion, the feeders being secondary. They
will spring up in thousands as soon as
they can get an outlet to a market.
The Columbia Highway as tenta
tively planned will be one of the most
wonderful roads in the country. Ulti
mate plans call for a highway 24 feet
in width, of permanent material.
graded down to as near level as prac
ticable. anX laid out as straight as pos
sible from Portland down through the
forests, the hills, the tidelands, the
valleys and the mountains of the plo
turesque Lower Columbia to Astoria,
and from there down the beach through
Gearhart and Seaside to Nehalem City.
For the present it is planned to con
struct th roa of macadam, leaving
tie paving for future consideration.
The highway will lead from Portland
northerly over the LJnnton road
through LJnnton, Holbrook. Scappoose,
Warren and Houlton to St. Helens,
From Deer Island the road now leads
to Goble. a distance of six miles. . The
way here is very poor, being practi
cally Impassable after a rain of any
consequence. The entire new road from
Portland to Goble will be on a water
level. It being possible to avoid all hills
and uplands with a proper survey.
At Goble the road now leaves the Co
lumbia River and goes back into the
woods over a hill and divide, a distance
of ten miles, to Rainier. It is neces
sary to go ten miles to get from Goble
to Rainier, a distance in a straight line
of five miles or less. Instead of fol
lowing the old course, the new high
way will follow along the river bank.
rising to a height of about 200 feet on
a 4 per cent grade. A mile or two of
the construction here will be very ex
pensive. A series of bluffs, over which
the road will have to pass, are directly
across the Columbia from Carroll's
Point, where the State of Washington
recently completed a road over almost
the same size and variety of hills for
110.000. .
From Rainier the present road now
proceeds up an S per cent grade In a
roundabout way through Delena, in the
hills far back from the river, and then
circles back to the river at Maygera
A good survey would shorten the dis
tance a great deal. The new highway
between Rainier and Maygers will con
tinue along the river, encountering
nothing steeper than a 4 per cent grade.
In the uplands about Goble, Rainier
and Maygers beautiful views of the
Columbia River and the valleys and i
mountains of Oregon and Washington!
can be had, ln'addition to unusual nat-i
ural beauties in the forests and woods
through which the road winds. From
Maygers the road at present runs to
jQuincy en countering' steep hill a All
through this country the road are. fair
ly good In dry weather, but are bn-i
passable In- wet weathar.
At Clatskanie the ' present road
branches off to the south, leaving the
river and mounting the divide between
the Columbia and the Nehalem rivers
at an elevation of about 1200 feet. " It
extends to Mist and from there to As
toria. A road which Is in fair condi
tion extends down the river from Clat
skanie to Wauna. a distance of 18 miles.
The new highway between Clatskanie
and Astoria, wui not branch oC atClaV
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the Columbia, passing "through some
rough country, but encountering no
heavy grades. It will go through the
towns of Marshland, Westport, Wauna.
Albert, Blind Slough, Knappa. Swensen
and Fern Hill. Roadbuilders of Astoria
have already started construction on
a stretch of. 38 miles of the road be
tween Astoria and Clatskanie. which, is
in good shape where finished. ' .
. The. greatest country along the. road
to .be developed Is that between Clxt-
land is to be found there which is suit
able for agriculture, yet It stands idle
for want of transportation facilities.
Small roads are possible, but they are
worthless to this district without an
arterial way to the markets. Fruit ex
perts say that the hills back of Goble,
Maygers and Clatskanie are as good for
fruit growing as the hills and valleys
of Hood River. ' Vast stretches of dairy
land are found-about Maygers, Clat
skanie - aniA'Ajstoria. ... Thousands' of
opment between Clatskanie and As
toria. One company is now reclaiming
12,000 acres near Maygers and the
work is thoroughly successful. There
is much more of the same class of land
available. : . . .. .
There are also soma large timber
Interests ' In ' the , district. " Near the
mouth' of the Columbia, within the
range of the new highway, are some
of the ' largest lumber camps in the
world, which .would be. a great attrao-
From Astoria the highway will ex
tend westerly across Young's Bay to
Warrenton and from there south to
Gearhart and Seaside, a distance of 20
miles. The road from Astoria to War
renton is already built and it is said
to be in excellent shape. There is now
a road to Seaside through Gdarhart, but
it is said to be poorly laid out and
would not do for the arterial highway.
The road from Astoria to Seaside will
be a part of the. Columbia highway,
but will be known as the Coast high-
-way. It will serve a large dairying and
agricultural district as well as a dis-'
trict with every advantage for Sum
mer beach resorts.
The Coast highway will extend from
Seaside south over tho Elk Creek Road
to the head of Cannon beach, where it
Is possible to drive on the sandy beach
at the head of the breakers for many
miles. This beach road has been said
by State Highway. Engineer Bowlby to
be the most wonderful road in the
country. It is resurfaced by tire .ocean
twice a day.
Commencing at Nehalem the second
great" arterial highway will extend up
through -the wonderful Interior country
of Northwestern Oregon. Leaving r.elia
lem the highway will run in a north
easterly direction through the pictur
esque and fertile Nehalem Valley of
Mist. From there it will be possible to
branch off and go either to Clatskanie
to Join with the Columbia River high
way or to Pittsburg, and from there
to St. Helens or continue on the Ne
halem Valley road to Portland, by way
of Buxton, Banks and Hillsboro. Event
ually this boulevard will extend be
yond Nehalem, perhaps across the bay
and down into Tillamook. On the Coast
highway there are only three miles of
road to be built to connect up a straight
and perfect highway extending a dis
tance of more than 100 miles.
There re parts of the Nehalem Val
ley highway which are in good shape
at present, but there are otner pans
which are almost Impassable. Nearly
the entire route Is through country of
wonderful beauty. Graceful valleys.
low rounding hills covered with forests.
wide rivers, picturesque farms fringed
with forests and rugged mountains,
mv ud a combination of natural
beauty hard to excel. These are to be
found all the way from Portland to
the sea on any of the proposed trunk
highways.
From a commercial standpoint the
district cannot be excelled by any other
part of the state. Vast valleys, long
sloping sidehills and extensive uplands
need only the touch of the magic high
way wand to cause them to blossom
forth with abundanoe.
first to lay macadam only. The f!r?t
ambition of the roadbuilders will be
to get a grade as near perfect as pra
tical and lay the macadam base so thnt
it will never have to be disturbed
With this done the base is always there
for the laying of a redress pavement
3"eeder roads draining into the trunk
highways will come quickly with th
completion of the Columbia trunk
These roads will lead from the furix
to the main highway and the main
highway will lead directly to the mar
ket. The road will open up transporta
tion facilities to competition. Auti
trucks will call at farms for milk.
cream and produce, as in England, anil
dolivor supplies to the farmer. Persona
interested in the Columbia project say
that the time Is not far distant when
huge sight-seeing automobiles will be
plying alon the principal highways of
the country competing with trains.
This has been the experience In Eng
land and other foreign countries and
it is said It will come in this country.
Already Portland has one auto bus
line running to St. Helens, along the
first part of the new highway. This
line carries passengers in competitien.
with the railroads at a rate of 3 1-3
cent a mile, and It Is said to be a prof
ltable business for those operating the
machines.
Those who are already supportlna
the arterial highway system point to
the success of the good roads built la
California. In addition to opening up,
scenic routes for tourists and travelers,
the roads opened the gates for agricul
tural and general farming growth.
which has meant hundreds of millions
of dollars to California. The oppor
tunities for both scenery and resources
in California are said to be far out
classed in every way by the scenery
and the resources of the lower Cali
fornia, where is to be the beautiful new
trunk highway.
Ways to Foil Tobacco
Estimates or approximations of the
probable cost of the Columbia River
highway fix the sum at $1,000,000. This
cost would mean the establishment of
the road on a grade not to exceed 4
per cent at any place, with a heavy
macadam or crushed rock base. In
other words, the road with a paved
wearing surface It feet In width could
be built from Portland to the sea, an
approximate distance of 100 miles, for
11,000,000. , v
The cast of the highway will not be
Maeterlinck has discovered s, sub
stitute for tobacco. Some years ago.
according to his eulogist, Gerard Harry,
he was unable to work without the
inspiration of his pipe. "If he has not
overcome the need, he has outflanked
it Smoking, he noticed, had lost its
virtue as a stimulant, and Instead of
rousing the brain to activity, as at
first, had come to disturb its functions:
so now, in lieu of ordinary tobacco, he
fills his bowl with a denlcotinized
preparation, tasteless Indeed, but
harmless. His pipe Is still always
alight when the pen is busy, but it Is
hardly more now than an lnnooent
subterfuge Intended to cheat and so
satisfy an irresistible mechanical crav
ing."
That mechanical craving that Mae
terlinck got over is a common one. My
own father with a twist toward
horses used to walk about with a bit
of straw in his mouth. I have trav
eled across the Atlantic with -a man
who could not get along without a
"cold elsar" and the one lasted him
from Liverpool to New York. And
these notes are written by a smoker
with a eold pipe In his mouth. I want
a pipe, but the tobacco In It amounts
to about a quarter of as ounce J