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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1908)
INVESTORS' AND HOMESEEKERS' EDITION, - . ' THIRD SECTION ' -iSfe PAGES . 17 TO 24 PUBLISHC8 FULL ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT jirEEaQ Uj COVERS THE MORNING FIELD ON THE LOWER COLUMBIA 33rd YEAR, NO. 47 ASTORIA, OREGON, SUNDAY FEBRUARY 23, 1908 PRICE FIFTEEN CENTS Astoria- Sea - amid Flail Teirmiinial What Our Rating Is as the Greatest Fresh Water Harbor in the United States. The city ami port of Atorla will, in the early future, occupy a fur dif ferent relation to the vat territory comprehenlvely referred to an the "Northwest," and including, of coure, the magnificent Columbia Basin, than it hat in the past, for the limple rea son that the immense, dual interest known a the Northern Pacific Rail road Company and the Great North ern Railroad Company, under the leadership and control of Jamet J. Hill, the arch-expansionist and Indus trial builder of the age, have come into intimate touch with Astoria, an the second of their sea -board ter minal, the Puget Sound terminal o( those road having served them in thii relation to date. The important connection having been made indis pensable by the construction of the Portland & Seattle railway down the north bank of the Columbia river, from Kenncwick to Portland; and the purchase, outright, of the Astoria ' & Columbia River Railroad running ! from Astoria to Portland thus giving j the Hill system an interrupted, down grade, water-level haul of nearly 5(Kt miles, direct from Spokane to the Pacific. The great genius who designed this masterstroke not only secured an other sea board outlet for his im mense transcontinental traffic, but opened another and better and quicker channel for the export grain trade of the Northwest, and put this vast commodity five days nearer its Oriental and European ports of desti nation. With this direct and easy grade to and through the vast Inland Empire, to the Middle West, and the East, Mr. Mill secured a masterful grip on the incalculable shipping business of the fast developing lumber industry of this section, yet almost virgin, and of inestimable resource; an element of business that will send his trains hastward as heavily laden with long haul freights at they came westward with; no light consideration in long distance transportation calculations. And to accomplish this successful ill usion and permanent control of ter ritory supposed to be dedicate to the interests of another huge railway sys tem, the Southern Pacific Company, Mr. Mill hat spent $40,000,000; a fact that forbids all idea of relinquish ment of so large an enterprise, and assures its fulfillment at the earliest possible hour, The plain motive and plan of the Hill interests is further evidenced by the purchase of immense water frontages on the harbor at Astoria, for docks, terminals, shops and eleva tors, has wrought the double advant age of forcing the Southern Pacific Company to get in on the same lines and secure bay-frontage and terminal facilities nearly as good, and quite as extensive as those made by the Hill interests. Thus Astoria is made doubly important as the tea-terminus of two great agencies: a position, that sooner, or later, will place her in the foremost ranks of the marine and rail metropoli of the country. Heretofore she has been a mere outpost and tea-gate for the com merce of Portland, the metropolis of Oregon; and even in this negative relation, has not been made of use to the extent her superb marine posi- Ycung't and Lewis and Clark rivers, and known as Young't Bay, The northern harbor it immense and beautiful and contains 150 square miles of water crossed in all direc tions by numerous and available chan nels ranging in depth from 25 to 50 feet, the city channels being the deepest; while Young't Bay, which it but 10 tquare ntilet In scope, hat fine useable channels all over it; and the shores of both bays are easily amenable to the construction and maintenance of docks, warehouses, elevators and all the faclitiet incident to a huge commercial traffic. The famout Columbia bar bean aknost due west from the city and it plainly ditcernable from the lower levels in any tort of clear weather! ficed at timet when itt possessors are disposed to take extraordinary chance with the tides and currents. At the same headquarter! alluded to, are also congregated another group of pilots who take over the vessels brought in from tea by the bar men, and are banded in what is called the Columbia River Pilots' Association ,and all up-river craft are guided to their destinations by these men, who are equally fortunate in the safe disposition made of their valu able charges. The waterfront of Astoria it lined with tcoret of fine dockt, notable among them being the Astoria & Co lumbia River Railroad docks; the Oregon Railway & Navigation docks (Continued on page 19.) Astoria's Rail Connection With the Inland Empire Via the S. P.&S. and A. & C. R. R. James J. Hill, as president of the Creat Northern Railway Company and of the Northern Pacific Railway conceived the idea of linking the wheat fields of the Inland Empire of the Northwest with tide-water, minus the herculean grades that have stag gered those great roads ever since they reached it, and the fullest ex pression of that idea is found in the "Spokane, Portland & Seattle Rail way," otherwise known to all men a Hit "North Bank" road; the road that i 1 1 r i . iv-'lk - ' i n t m km i j , f ,-.mt tt m . i -? tn mumm t- ..i "' f V si " f' .v ..-.il few. ,-j.s - " -. - ''1 im:.r tz? TYPE OF VESSELS TO BE SEEN IN ASTORIA HARBOR. tiou justicd; Portland cherishing so poignant a dread of Astoria's maritime advantage, as to force the shipping that Portland could not handle, from Iter confined harbor on the Willamette to the docks and channels of Ptigct Sound, 350 miles away, But, despite all barriers, Astoria has done no inconsiderable shipping of her own, as the tables of figures on this page, courteously compiled by the customs officials at this port, will testify. The tables cover a per iod of 16 months prior to November 1st, last and are absolutely reliable. Astoria itself is situated upon a lofty peninsula, with the great har bor formed by the mouth of the mighty Columbia flanking it on the north, while its southern lines bear upon the snug and sheltered bay formed by the confluence of the being but 11 milcj away. The ship ping destined for this port and all points on the Columbia between As toria and Portland, is handled with wonderful success, so far as accidents are concerned, by a group of nine bar pilots belonging to what is known as the Columbia Bar Pilots' Associa tion, which possesses one of the finest pilot boats in the country and main tains its headquarter office in the city. These men have made the port famous in its immunity from peril and dis aster so far as their work has been able to accomplish the fine record; and this despite the fact, that this bar, as yet unserved by the enormous government jetty now building, is considered one of the dangerous ele ments of the Pacific Coast. The loss record for the bar and bay is practi cally nil, though human life is sacri- Summary of Coastwise Entrances and Clearances at Astoria, Oregon, For 16 Months Prior to November, 1907. July .... Aug. ... Sept. ... Oct Nov. .,, Dec. ... Jan Feb March .. April ... May .... June ,,. uly .... Aug. ... Sept. ... Oct TotaT7 H a B M 71 69 69 81 77 71 68 68 79 84 91 98 109 114 106 94 1372 li 16 291 27 28 31 22 34 341 20 16 27 11 13 15 11 101 3341 34 o 0 67 68 82 78 69 781 79 75; 88 91 '98 95 115 110 94 13481 J5 191 36 22 26 31 29 19 26 26 5 23 lSi 9 10 14 9 319 66 C o a o M 6 a 80,535 76,865 72,809 88,135 95,840 92,484 102.961 120,783 98,273 111,976 122,550 116,422 144,029 122,873 128,448 112,195 1,687,178 i f! 2a a a W.5P s 26568 33,120 20,929 43,105 23,788 37,522 6,733 6,465 12,554; 27,259 17,983 12,359 17,156 5,723 19,030 26,335 337,079 C a S 3 W 'C B 9,469 20.682 24,220 26,649 27,028 18,837 29,641 17,780 15,587 12,094 20,273 7,346 6.826 10,792 7,335 6,035 260,6161 u j a e 5,683 6,120 4,361 7,961 21,188 25,66 "i746 4,619 2,262 1,465 81,763 i U 'C v o B H 79,7091 75,962 73,191 88.765 1017S66 91,037 112,203 120,618 98,497 113,887 127.324 115,279 149,162 124,806 130,260 112,573 1,716,1391 Z u v a HCmj 35374 16,663 19,380 28,918 14,744 23,422 6,733 6,465 4,810 22,063 8,648 13,248 17.156 5,575 19,030 22,405 265,134 ? s H 11,2861 24,897 17,399 25,023 10,731 25,775 18,338 18,305 23,219 17,101 16,729 12,754 5,463 6,422 8,004 6,041 247,487 o O S Hd.t3 ENTRANCES AND CLEARANCES OF VESSELS IN FOREIGN TRADE. Fiscal year ending June 30, 1907, and subsequent four months. These vessels entered from, and cleared directly to, foreign countries, from Astoria: Entries Clearances Tonnage Tonnage July 6 17,126 Tj 707 Aug. 7 9,734 3 ' 5,295 Sept. 8 16,178 - ..... Oct. 18 39,633 - iov. 6 13,465 Dec. 10 21,995 - ..... an. 10 22.914 - -fcb. 11 25,150 Mar. 10 18,330 4 6,663 Apr. 4 8,516 4 8,381 May 4 8,757 2 5.247 June 5 13,948 3 9,183 fuly 2 6,174 2 2,005 Aug. 9 19,047 3 1,713 Sept. 5 12,124 1 596 Oct. 10 23,204 1 2,543 125 276,295 24 42,333 ' All vessels arriving from a foreign port wnether bound tor Astoria or is to traverse the Snake and Colum bia rivert on their northern marges from the easterly limits of the grain world of Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon to the sea-terminals of tht Columbia and Puget Sound. The present scope of the road is as follows: From Spokane to Portland, via Pasco, Kennewick and Vancouver (at which latter place it connects with the N. P. road for Seattle, via Kalama); and from Port land it will use the tracks of the N. P. as far as Coble, continuing itt tea board run over the south bank lines of the Astoria & Columbia River Rail road (which last year became a Spo kane, Portland & Seattle dependency of the most important quality), to the City of Astoria, 11 miles from the Pacific Ocean. When it is remembered that the right-of-way mileage from Kalama. along the north bank of the Colum bia, to Frankfort, immediately oppo site this city, has already been ac quired by the Hill interests, it will be seen that those interests have ab sorbed the lower Columbia absolute ly, on both banks, west of Portland, and conjecture alone may supply the cardinal reason for such strategic acquisition. Moving southwesterly out of Spo kane, the S. P. & S, swings down through a vast wheat and stock area between the Spokane lines of the Northern Pacific and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation Company, . touching the Snake river at a point on the Columbia nearly opposite Sins mons on the O. R. & N., and almost immediately forming a junction with its own spur running up the Snake as far as Texas City, opposite Riparia. The line continues on down the north bank of the Snake to its confluence with the Columbia at Ainsworth, and from there utilizes the tracks of the N. P. into Pasco, crossing the Colum bia into Kennewick for its straight away flight down the north shore ot that river to Vancouver, whence it re- crosses the Columbia, and is bridged iver the Willamette to a final Port land connection with the Northern Pacific line from Coble on the out skirts of the Oregon metropolis. The Spokane-Portland run covering 339 miles, or, practically, 80 miles less than the O. R. .& N. takes in making the traverse; and the Spokane-Astori to destination The majority of the foreign vessels that entered here were destined to Portland. This explains the great ditterence between the num ber of entrances and clearances, as these vessels that went to Portland cleared from there. ENTRANCES AND CLEARANCES OF "VESSELS COASTWISE. Summary for fiscal year ending June 30, 1907, and four subsequent months, of entrances and clearances of vessels coastwise at the Port of Astoria, Ore. Entries Total entries, American steam vessels 1 362 41 . -1 .... 1. aau vessels " " Foreign steam vessels... " sail vessel 334 88 39 2,062 2,299 5,925 36,998 7,860 18,167 'l"746 6,346 2,262 2,298 85,953 " " All coastwise vessels ....... Clearances Total clearances, American steam vessels " " " sail vessels " " Foreign steam vessels " ' " sail vessels " " All coastwise vessels , 1,779 Tonnag i Entered Tonnage entered, American steam vessels 1687178 " " '.' sail vessels 260)614 Foreign steam vessels 337,079 , " " " sail vessels 81,763 " " All coastwise vessels 2,366,634 Tonnage Cleared s Tonnage cleared, American steam vessels 1,716139 " " " sail vessels 247,487 Foreign steam vessels....... 265,134 " " " sail vessels 85,953 rust "iinuvt uvutiu ivi jr&aivi ia vi ! . . . Portland, must enter here, and after i run 18 accompiisnea m Wl miles, entry she is given a permit to proceed i saving of 190 miles between the two cmes, neretotore existant. There is nothing in railway con struction west of the Rocky Moun tains to match the quality of building that has been devoted to this enter prise; and little, if anything to sur pass it, east of those mountains. The road will cost, when finished, close upon $40,000,000, and the most pro-: found scrutiny of the work will not evoke a gainsaying whisper against such an estimate. The primary max im of reducing distances was re ligiously adhered to in the surveys finally adopted by the projectors, and this has been followed up by the next tremendous obligation of cleaving to the water-level grade of the line for its entire mileage with such an ex actitude as to give it a uniform lift of 2-10 of 1 per cent south and west of Kennewick and but little more beyond; a condition that makes it pre-eminently, the master-system of transportation on this coast, there being no known parallel for such an achievement anywhere on the Pacific slope for such distances. The altitude of the lines above the Columbia has been kept at 10 feet above the high water mark registered, for the Columbia flood of 1894, the highest ever known, and frees it from all possible danger of inundation at any point The road between Vancouver and Kennewick is, at this writing,practi cally finished, there being but eight 1,823 1,357 319 66 37 All coastwise vessels ..............2,314,713