16
THE MORNING ASTGRIAN. ASTORIA, OREGON.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21,' 1008
A
A Pen Pidure of the
Lower Columbia Valley.
This article was recently published
in the Daily States of New Orleans,
written by John H. Whyte, manager
of the Chamber of Commerce in this
city:
"Every State in the Union most
probably excells every other in some
one particular.
It would perhaps be one of the most
interesting features of current litera
ture, that which would set forth in
just what specific agricultural pro
duct, mineral resource, manufacturing
industry or commercial opportunity
any given State excels all the others.
This would be especially interesting
to any individual who might be seek
ing a new business location or the
best place in which to make a certain
investment, and interesting to all good
Americans possessing that commend
able pride which causes them to wish
to be considered well informed con
cerning their own country.
"It has occurred to me that an ar
ticle about Oregon as seen through
the eyes of a former New Orleanian
along the lines just indicated might
pass muster before the respected edi
tor of the States, though armed as I
always knew him to be, with the
most terrible of blue pencils.
"And that blue pencil gives me a
thought to start with not a blue
thought but a thought about most ar
tistic, pleasant things of blue.
"To one who has lived all his life
in the Central or Southern States, as
I have, it is difficult to understand the
color scheme of some of the world's
famous land-scape painters, especially
those of Holland who persist in mak
ing the predominate tone of their
pictures blue.
"The Dutchmen even make blue
chinaware to the exclusion of almost
all other kinds.
"Now for the first time in my life I
understand and appreciate that there
are blue landscapes, intensely blue, and
they are pretty, much prettier in na
ture than blue paintings or a blue
china done in windmills.
"My home is near the crest of a
big hill' from which you can always
see such beautiful and eternally snow
capped mountains as Hood, Pitt,
Adams, Rainier and St Helens; and
from this hill of my domicile though
higher man the greatest elevation ini
Louisiana, I can see the mouth of the
the sun sets exactly in the river's
mouth as seen from my window, and
I consider it a sight worth a trip
across this broad continent to see.
"It is a blue sunset. At least it is
purple just where the sun sinks into
the limitless expanse, with all the
deep valley behind it spreading be
tween the mountain peaks of Wash
ington and Oregon, a blue much bluer
than the thin blue of the sky, as blue
as Dutch China or Dutch pictures.
And it is very beautiful.
"I am sending you an excellent
photograph of the sun setting in the
mouth of the Columbia as I have seen
it, but your imagination must supply
the purple and blue until the expon
ents of the science of photography
have perfected their art to the degree
of reproducing colors through the
camera.
"Blue runs riot in the color scheme
of Oregon. The Columbia River is
from seven to fifteen miles wide in
front of the port of Astoria. From
the tops of the highest mountains on
the Oregon side of the gorge to the
tops of those on the Washington side
in many places it is more than 50
miles. Blue dazzles and bewilders in
all this great valley. Sometimes, in
fact quite often, it is colored just
like the landscapes of the South, but
many, many times can it be seen over
whelmed in blue. Every morning as
I eat my soft boiled eggs and toast,
I sit where I can look out of my din
ing room window down over this
river of blue, and while at first it
seemed very strange, and it took me a
long time to get used to it, I am now
thoroughly convinced that the blue
in the color scheme of nature as it
is applied to Oregon is. not only very
beautiful, but something that should
be pointed out by the close observer
as being of exceptional interest. In
deed this blue color scheme has im
pressed me quite as much as did the
fact that the cisterns were built in the
air in New Orleans, and all grave
yards there were above ground.
Oregon with its two mountain
systems, the Cascades and the Coast
Range, has much of the most beauti
ful scenery in the world, especially
through that part of the mountains
pierced by the matchless Columbia
with its renowned Cascades. It has
valleys more beautiful than any oth
ers in the United States and cele-
mighty Columbia River where it ) brated for their beauty the world
tumbles headlong into the Pacific around, among which may be men
Ocean. During the midsummer months n'oned those of the Willamette, the
Hood, the Rogue and the Nclulcm
Rivers.
"But there is another beautiful sight
in Oregon that can not be seeu under
such favorable conditions anywhere
else. The latitude and the conditions
of the air appear to be just right to
make it possible to get the best sun
set cltcct on the splendid snow
capped mountains.
If one should search the world
over it uugiit not be possible to una
a more sublimely beautiful etlcct in
nature than that produced by ML
Hood immediately after sunset. In
the home of a friend 1 saw a picture
of this dazzling snow peak on which
the sun continues to shine several
minutes alter it has sunk below the
horizon of the rest of the world, and
I thought the artist might possibly be
suffering from an overwrought im
agination, such was the riot of the
colors displayed. But one would no
longer wonder at the impression in
which the artist had attempted to
convey were he to see the original
As seen from a distance, the effect
varies from the livid hue of the light
ning as the sun sinks further and
further down, to the softer radiance
of the aurora borealis.
"Between these there are shaded,
produced with the prismic perfection
of the rainbow, the most brilliant of
purple and crimson and yellow. As
the twilights in this latitude are very
long drawn out, one often times be
ing able to read a newspaper more
than an hour after the sun sets, the
observer has an abundance of time to
enjoy this rare spectacle which grad
ually fades to a pale white finger
pointing silently up among the stars.
"God could have made prettier than
Oregon scenery but many do not be
lieve He ever did.
"There is no climatic excuse here
for a man not to work unless indeed
he is too lazy. I have never seen the
thermometer above 80 degrees in As
toria and in fact it has only been to that
point twice during the summer. In the
winter time it seldom freezes. The
mean temperature during the summer
months is 61 degrees, and during the
winter months 41 degrees, a difference
of only 20 degrees. There are no
mosquitoes, no flies and no malaria or
any other kind of fevers. Longevity
is remarkable. A picture was pub
lished in the Oregonian a few weeks
ago of a man 86 years old crowning
a woman 116 years old as 'Queen of
the Pioneers.'
"Not only does vegetation grow
very large here but people and live
stock also assume exceptionally large
and robust proportions.
"At the Astoria fair early in Sep
tember, as an instance in point, there
TROY LAUNDRY CO.
I N the Troy Laundry, Astoria has one of the best and most up-to-date
plants of any city of its size on the coast. No ex
pense is spared in keeping it a modern plant in every respect.
The latest and most improved laundry machinery and methods
are used and it is conceded by all visiting laundrymen that the
quality ot work turned out by them is equal to the best grade of
work of any laundry on the coast. Special care is given to the
wants of their many patrons, resulting in the rapid increase of
business and the good will and confidence of the Astoria people.
Their pay roll of over $15,000.00 per year is beneficial to the
city as it gives steady employment to between thirty and forty
people. Besides their pay roll a large amount of money is ex
pended monthly for supplies and maintenance. A visit to this
institution is a surprise to those who are not familiar with the
operation of a modorn steam laundry. Visitors are cordially
welcome and shown the different methods used in cleansing their
linen.
ASTORIA,
OREGON
were turnips on exhibition that
weighed 50 pounds, cabbage heads
fully at large, and some of the finest
applet, pears, strawberries, black
berries, loganberries, raspberries,
cherries, and plums that could be col
lected together in one exhibit any
where. ' Potatoes grow so profusely
that farmers have made as much as
$600 an acre raising them. Naturally
where there it so much vegetable
energy there is more than the ordi
nary amount of animal and mental
energy. Salmon weighing lest than
20 pounds are tossed back in the river
by the fishermen who catch them for
the canneries. It is not uncommon to
see fish weighing from 60 to ltX
pounds. Horses and cows and dog
grow larger here than in most other
places. Babies are bigger than they
are in Louisiana and as logical sc
quence to also are the men and
women that grow up from them. I
weighed-in a party, exactly the akidoo
number of grown men, just before wc
took a recent river trip and there
were only two who weighed less than
162 pounds, and I was one of the two
Here I might add parenthetically that
I weigh 15 pounds more than I did
when I left New Orleans on March
22nd, last, ami now tip the scales at
150. In this party of 23 (here were
seven who weighed more than 185
pounds, two that weighed slightly
over 200, and one line young athletic
specimen who weighed 218 without
even the suspicion of stoutness.
"Climatic conditions are such that
one can carry on hard mental work
which Oregon Is noted the world
over and in which the State moot
likely excels. Apples grown in Hood
River Valley have acquired a reputa
tion such that they bring the highest
price of any grown anywhere in the
world. A poor man cannot even
afford to cat them although he may
he fortunate enough to raise them
Genuine Hood River apples are worth
more than California orunues. One
variety, culled the 'Delicious,' sells
here for 30 cents apiece, and is scrv
ed on the tables of the swell Portland
Hotel, at the rate of two for 75 cent
"The Royal Chinook salmon l
found in the highest state of per fee
lion in the Columbia River near As
toria. His royal highness has made
famous both Astoria and Senator
l'ttliou whose home is in Atoiia
since the Senator list established the
custom in Washington of giving a
Chinook fish dinner at the close of
each Senatorial session. But it is
only the native Oregonian who know
the epicurean delights of 'salmon
checks.' As for Oregon's crawfish they
are as large at an Atlantic lobster,
and many fishermen have made small
fortunes catching them, In tome
places in the larger cities, there are
little shops where nothing is served
but Oregon crawfish, and you buy
them by the half-dozen. After yu
cat one portion of course you are at
liberty to call for another and an
other until you eat as many dozen a
you like.
"Another delicacy of which Oregon
boasts that should be mentioned in
"Louis W. Hill, president of the
Great Northern Railroad Co., while
in Astoria lust July, said: 'This it
undoubtedly the place from which tht
grain shipments of the great Colum
bia River Valley will be made. You
have (he situation here unquestion'
uhly for the port of (he future.'
"It was only 65 years ago that New
York began to change into a big city,
The Albany papers ridiculed the ef
forts of what is now the metropolis
and wound up by declaring that New
York harbor could never be more
than a gangway to Albany.
"For the same reason New York
became a great rity, so must there
be a great port in the lower Columbia
Vulley. Both are down grade from
everywhere.
"The Columbia is the nearest port
to the Orient. It is one of the three
great ports em the Pacific Coast and
God will never make any more. At
two thirds of all the people of all tht
world live on the shoret of the Pa
cific the commercial future of this
ocean must become more important
than that of the Atlantic. The com
pletion of the Panama Canal will do
much to enhance the value of Mm I
Pacific commerce. ' L
I he Northwest Is now entering
upon n period of development (hat
will surpass anything hitherto known.
And the most rapid development to
be witnessed in the Northwest, will
come in the lower Columbia Valley
and unless the law of gravitation
ceases to govern the forces of the
earth and it becomes cheaper to send
1 .1
Q
3 NW
t
TO
' s
'i
with the minimum of fatigue, and 1
can scarcely conceive the possibility
of nervous exhaustion in Oregon, es
pecially in the case of an Oregonian
to the manor born, and therefore
who could be reasonably expected to
have a physical constitution as rug
ged as the great mountains and giant
fir tree here abundant. It is worth a
great deal to live in a climate which
affords such advantages for mental
activity, especially when one has
nothing but the product of his mind
to offer in the world's market.
"Very few housekeepers use ice dur
ing the summer months, because there
is no occasion for it. In the larger
cities like Portland and Astoria, al
most ice-cold water clear as crystal
and chemically pure comes direct
from the hydrant and faucets furn
ished by mains that have their source
in the mountain streams.
"There is one extraordinarily beau
tiful feature of Oregon that is first
noted by the stranger and then long
est remembered by them, that of the
roses. There are roses in Dixie and
roses in California, but nowhere are
there roses that will begin to compare
in beauty, odor or profusion with
those of Oregon. And nowhere in
Oregon are roses to be seen in such
luxuriant perfection as in Portland
and Astoria. Portland has assumed
the worthy .title of the 'Rose City' and
each year it holds a' carnival called
the rose feista, In Portland roses
may be seen growing on trees as
high as a house or on bushes below
your hand.
"There are several products for
this connection, is 'razor clams.' But
delicious as they are, 1 prefer digging
for them to eating them. They can
burrow into the sand much faster
than most people can spade.
"As for dairy products, one who has
never tasted Oregon butter, milk or
cheese, docs not know what real good
cow specialties are.
"As for future prospects commer
cially the Columbia River which
drains one-sixth of the total area of
the United States and which is as
much as 15 miles wide at the mouth
is an inspiring theme to railroad build
ers and financiers of the West, and in
fact to those of all parts of the world
who have given the important sub
jeet that attention necessary to in
sure some familiarity. And it has
been a theme calculated to furnish
inspiration for the past many years.
"Thomas Benton while in Congress
in 1850, said, 'The Columbia River
will one day provide the great outlet
to the Pacific Ocean for the entire
western half of the United States.'
"S. H. H. Clark, the father of
American Railroads, said: 'Here will
be built the greatest maritime city on
the Pacific Coast.
"Collis P. Huntington once said
'The mouth of the Columbia River is
the only natural outlet to the Pacific
Northwest'
"Archibald A. Schenck, engineer of
the New York Central Railroad Co.,
has asserted, 'Whoever controls the
railroads to the mouth of the Colum
bia River, will for all time control
the transportation problemt of the
Pacific Northwest'
commerce up hill than down, the
largest city on the Pacific will be
close to the mouth of the greatest
river that flows into the Pacific
Ocean.
"And it is well to remember that
the commerce of the Columbia River
basin is now doubling annually in a
geometrical ratio.
"One in the least wise possessed of
the gift of prescience, in the light of
the statements of the wise men of
finance gone before, and of the facts
of the present day, might say: Stand
ing guard over the majestic port near
the mouth of the only mighty river
that flows into the western ocean,
nature's highway for'an already vast
commerce, a commerce that springs
perennial like the grass of spring, Is
the great Pacific port of the future,
a powerful commercial center brought
into existence tinder the Immutable
laws of trade. Far back in what was
once called the desert, through the
process of irrigation, most communi
ties are springing up where once the
prairie dog and the rattlesnake were
the only inhabitants. And these Irri
gated villages and towns and counties,
the sites of which a few years ago
produced nothing more valuable than
dust storms and northers, throuoh
irrigation and intense cultivation will
soon become the deal daces for hu
man abode. These communities, toon .. 1
to be as thickly populated as the oasis
of the Sahara, will annually pour
down the Columbia millions of dollars
worth of agricultural and manufac
turers products where a few vears
ago there were only dollars worth."