The morning Astorian., February 23, 1908, INVESTORS' AND HOMESEEKERS' EDITION, FOURTH SECTION, Page 29, Image 29

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1908.
THE MORNING ASTOIMAX. ASTORIA, OREGON.
2a
Columbia River Jetty, One of the
: World's Created Engineering Works.
ONK of the great national niurino projects is afoot at tho mouth
of tho Columbia river, on tho southerly margin of tho harbor of
Astoria, rooted at a point just north of Fort Stevens, on Clatsop Spit,
which Involve, first ami last, about $0,000,000 of money, and stupen
doim supplies of iimtcrinl, beside tho employment of a big force of men,
killed and unskilled, namely, the jetty that !h to ho concentrato tho
enormous outflow of tho mighty river that it power and volumno shall
oour tho sea-bar of tho river to a channel depth thut shall offer no
impediment to tho largest draft vessels of tho world; and gradually,
year by year, this hugo work in going forward with notable and demon
strable success.
Upon a brush-mattress, seven and one-piartcr miles in length, with
I northwesterly trend, there has already been deposited 1,957,503 torn
of rook taken from tho great quarries of tho lower Columbia valley,
and barged, to tho shoro-end of tho jetty, whence it is distributed over
tho exact lines of tho project, by trains on a track laid upon tho hugo
and norrow trestles that reach to the outer-most end, in tho blue depths
of the Pacific
Tho work is under tho direction and control of the United States
engineering department, Lieutenant-Colonel S. W. ltoessler, corps of
engineers, U. S. A., in charge of tho district in which this, and other
large improvements lie. And to date, including tho pending appropria
tion of $1,700,000, there has been $5,054,0(X) appropriated to this mam
moth task.
At the shore-point of tho jetty proper there is established, in the
most permanent fashion possible, an immense depot for supplies, which
comprehends a system of docks, mochine shops, carpentering and mill
ing plants, store houses, train yards and sheds, boarding houses, offices,
and all essential conveniences for tho despatch of the vast undertaking.
It is a busy spot, swarming with life and activity and is crammed with
all manner of devices for tho handiest handling of tho almost incal
culable mass of material used in the work. The yards of tho big termi
nal are crowded with derricks, flatcars, huge mosses of piling, locomo
tives, and all tho impedimenta incident to the approved plans of opera
tion; and tho engineering department is now at work preporing to
deliver 4000 tons of m-k a duy, during tho ycor 1008 and to this end
will at once construct four more hugo derricks for use at the delivery
point on tho docks, making 12 of these powerful and scrvicablo instru
ments, each with a capacity for the lifting of from 350 to 400 tons per
day. And in this same behalf, the shops are oil busy with the new
order for 110 additional flutcors (making over 270 in all), for the rapid
hauling of rock to tho sea-end of the jetty, now five and one-half miles
to seaward-, to which distance the rock-base has been carried and now
stands well above low-water mark, for the full width of the trestle all
the way.
The rock work will bo extended about one-half mile further out to a
height of about low mean water; and it is proposed, in 11)08, to build
up tho outer one-half mile of rock, ond to extend the enrockraent as far
as the amount of rock received will allow, probably not less than one
half mile; this will leave but one-half or three-quarters of a mile of
the prescriptive length of the jetty to be built.
During tho post year the sands have built out along tho jetty, j
upon tho north side, which is now bare, at low water, for a distance or
over four miles, on invaluable protection to that portion of the jetty.
So far, this winter there has been, practically, no loss of trestle, always
a menace ond deterrent in the work of construction, and should the
trestle remain intact for the balance of this season, it will enable the
work to bo pushed vigorously next Rummer, to a point thot will have
marked cITect on the bar; for the reason that the efficiency of the jetty
increases very rapidly, in proportion to its nearness to the bar; in fact,
every inch gained is a factor for success.
It is authoritatively stated at jetty headquarters, that the width of
tho crest of the bar, between the inside and outside 25-foot contours,
has decreased in tho lost six years, from 3000 feet to nothing-thot is,
there are several channels now broken through the crest of tho bar,
with over 25 feet of depth at mean low water. The movement of sand
on the bar between the years 190G and 1907 amounted to 44,000,000
cubic yards, of which 21,000,000 were scoured off, and 13,000,000 cubic
yards deposited at other points. The narrowing of the bar has now
changed conditions to such an extent that some practical benefit would
probably be derived from dredging. These figures, gleaned directly
at fountain head of operations, are very encouraging to the people of
the States of Oregon and Washington, and especially to tho Oregonians,
il y - i
f I .
the attention, of the touring stranger in Astoria is always turned, and a
visit there is always compensating to the last degree, since it is s whole
sale exposition of the unlimited lengths to which Uncle Sam goes when
he starts in to do a big thing for his people; and interest that is
amplified to downright delight, bolstered as it always is by the unending
courtesy and consideration shown to visitors by the officers and men in
charge of, and responsible for the huge and important undertaking.
G. T. MOORE RESIDENCE, WARRENTON.
time, and wrought on increose of channel-way on the bar to 30 available;
feet; but in 1897 this 30-foot channel had widened considerably, and in,
1898 it commenced to deteriorate, and this deterioration continued!
until 1902, when only 21 feet of water were available at mean low
water, there being three channels of this depth. This necessitated the!
new project, and the larger, and since the commencement of the new j
work, the benefits have been as set forth herein. The cost of the jetty,
in 1896, upon the close of the original plan, was $1,958,000 carefully
expended; since which the sum of $1,396,000 has been put into the
enterprise, and it is confidently hoped that the pending appropriation
of $1,700,000 will accomplish all that is desired, and in permanent
fashion. In default of this, the project will be carried on so as to in
clude the original incorporation of the north jetty, which will not be of
so great a cost, provided the depths to be filled off the Washington
coast shall not be excessive.
The increased cost at the south jetty is due largely to the cutting
out ahead of tho jetty, which hos occurred to such an extent, that that
portion of the jetty built sinee 1905, is located in a depth of from 45
to 55 feet of water, which means a very heavy enrockment on a base of
130 feet in width and requires an enormous amount of stone.
The men who, for the post 22 years have had charge of this immense
and baffling task, hove given devoted care and attention to the under
taking in all its multifarious detail and have saved the work, from year
to year, from the annihilative effect of storms and tides, to the good of
the main projwt, are all well known engineering officers of the nation,
to-wit: Colonel George E. Mendel, Colonel Powell, Colonel Ilanbury,
Colonel Post, Major Lansrford, and last, and as capable and earnest asi
tho best of them, Colonel Rocsslcr. Assistant Engineer G. B. Hegardt,
served on this work for 16 years, up to May, 1905, and was succeeded
by the present incumbent, Assistant Engineer Gerald Bagnall, who
came from the Columbia river service ond now has to do with both
tho river projects and the great jetty. lie has immediate custody of ;
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WARREN RESIDENCE. WARRENTON.
ALONG THE UNE OF THE S. F. & S. R. R.
whose commerce will receive tremendous impetus from the successful
completion of this work.
There is comprehended in the general scheme of jetty work here,
another jetty, to run out into the sea, from North Head, on the Wash
ington shore, for a distance of two and one-half miles, if the same shall
bo deemed necessary, after the great work on the south has been
finished. The jetty dealt with in this article, has been amplified during
the years, by the introduction of four groin-jetties, jutting out from
the north side of the main line, and are said to be of very material
assistance in the accumulation and holding of the sands bulking about
the structure. ' .11
This jetty-work is to be a history-maker in the commercial annals
of the Northwest, since the original conception involved only the work
Anna n f iflflfi. and which has been extended, with most encouraging
results ever since. The original work proved very successful for a
the work, the property, the personnel and the pay-roll, and is intimately
familiar with the oldest and the latest detail of it all, and is invaluable
to his chief and the Government. He is there constantly, rarely leaving
his post save for a day. He has from 2o0 to 300 men under him the year
round, and to oversee the various departments is an Herculean labor
that will not cease for an hour until the last pile is driven and the last
ton of rock is cast into the sea at the end of the jetty. He has to look
out for the care and maintenance of 20 miles of jetty trackage, hun
dreds of cars, 13 locomotives, and two huge pile-driving machines,
besides all the shops, quarters, and offices of the plant, and keep the
voluminous records of it all, in the rigid line and method demanded by
the Government. The work of a day on this jetty is done in eight hours,
in accordance with the limits set by law for all Government work, but
it is apparent that the system is not at all popular with either the men
nor the officers at that plant. The pay-roll aggregates from $13,000 to
$15,000 per month. The eight-hour law is peculiarly a handicap in the
race with the ubiquitous toredo, the sea insect that eats into all the wood
work that has a bearing upon the salt waters of the Pacific; and in
this relation it is an endless and enormous impediment to rapid. pro
gress. This deadly nuisance will eat into an unprotected pile in one
vear and utterly destroy it in two years; and has to be counted relig
iously in the computations inseparable from the progress of the work.
The men in all departments of labor, inside and outside the shops, would
be glad to have longer hours, more work and larger wages; so that the
toredo and labor hour are no inconsiderable disadvantage in the pro
cesses there. The short day, rigorously imposed, interferes with the
delivery of the great rock-tonnage, with the pile-driving, and cripples
the barge-service, to an exasperating degree, and it is said that an effort
will be made to have the operations at the jetty classed, by Congress, as
emergency work, and made amenable to the longer system of hours.
The great shops at Fort Stevens serve not only the jetty here with
the finished materials incident to the work in hand, but also does the
same service for the fortifications at the mouth of the Columbia, as
well as the nearby Governmental enterprises, such as the jetties at the
mouth of Gray's Harbor, on the Washington, coast, for which they are
now. turning out a long line of rock-cars; thus saving largely in time
and money on all sides and expediting the work of all concerned.
The jetty is another of the profoundly interesting points to which
J. LINDENBERGER
(INCORPORATED)
Astoria, - - Oregon
Exporter and Packer of
Frozen and Salt
ALMO.N
HEAD OFFICE
BERLIN, GERMANY
BRANCH
HAMBURG and GEESTEMUENDE, GERMANY
AND NEW YORK CITY
Complete Ice Plant and Cold Storage
THE ELK SALOON
JACOB BASSHART, Proprietor
Warrenton,
Oregon
mm . J IS, immr
n- .. ' p !
Visitors to Warrenton can find good bars accommo
dations for driving teams, riding horses, etc.,
adjoining the above Saloon.
TO BE
AND
HAPPY
GAY
Til ' F;"x '
! : i - ft
1 ....
Means not only good things to eat, but
also the best of things to drink, and the
best of all good drinks is . .
McDermott Bros.
Rye and Burbon Whiskies
CHOICE WINES AND CHAMPAGNES
Warrenton, - - - Oregon