A FORTY TOOT CHANN
L OVER TH E BAR
OF THE COLUMBIA
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II IIMIIH 'II - "
Ports of Columbia Committee Makes Marked Progress in
Execution of Its Plans to Make Columbia River
One of the Big Waterways of Trade,
By Marshall N. Dana.
THE mighty Columbia bursts asunder two mountain ranges in its race to
the sea, but it has a bar at its mouth.
In its current mingle the streams of two nations, but its forward
sweep has not dislodged the commerce checking obstruction.
The grain that might grow on the plains it drains could feed the millions,
bat people to plant the crops will wait the opening Of the door to the
world's markets.
The food from the farms of the lands it waters might make high cost
of living a vague memory, but not until the flood flows free into the deeps
of the sea.
. On the slopes of its watershed stand titanic forests for the building of
factories, cities and ships, but of value' in futures only until the way of
water transportation is clear.
Powerful dredges must tear through the sand and silt; rock built Jetties
must narrow the.Dreadth of the river's mouth and correspondingly deepen
Its channel.
Modern commerce carriers must hear the news of developing resources
and aggressive improvement policy and prepare to usehe facilities of deep
ened channel apd public water terminals.
Factories must be built on the banks of the river to transform raw ma
terials into finished products and thus enhance values.
, The unused millions of water horsepower must be transformed into "elec
trical current for the operation of industries.
, Locks and dams must sacrifice the wiia beauty of the upper Columbia
Cascades in the interest of navigation and electric power.
-Where-4an4s-Jack nature$LProvtsion for sufficient water their fertility
must be artificially aided by irrigation.
Problems of production present themselves wherever, in all the region,
utilization of resources and cultivation of land is proposed; the educational
agencies of the states must systematically demonstrate solutions of these
problems.
Transportation by water Is not sufficient without transportation by rail
and by wagon roadj ana the three must. pe... efficiently related.
All of these thines have Drorer art in creatine a crreat harbor, in indue
Ing a great agricultural and industrial development, In weaving a complete
transportation system, m permanently estamisning a country. , i ney are the
Inseparable units of progress
r
1 a -..'m i. i i .i "TV x IK.
Dredge to Begin Work Soon
on Bar at Harbor's.
Entrance,
Bnflt ! to WboU Oonununlty.
Men must be had who can grasp In all
Its Immensity the corelated scheme that
must be evolved, who can outline the
work to he done" and fufnlsh the plan
of procedure, and all without taint of
selfishness except It be that generous
selfishness which practically appreci
ates that where the majority benefits
most the Individual prospers more
greatly.
Perhaps all of the preceding seem but
high sounding phrases. They represent
the -ideal but an Ideal that must ulti
mately be realised because the reason
for the realisation exists.
If a manufacturer goes Into business
he builds his plant big enough to pro-
duce In greatest volume and most eco
nomically his particular commodity. He
regulates volume of output by the de
mand. The same measure must apply
to the plan of the Columbia district
because Its permanency depends on the
industry and prosperity of Its people.
And tha realiaatlon of the work to be
dons Is becoming a part of the present.
How else would there have sprung Into
existence almost over night an organisa
tion, lanrer than any other of Its kind
' knowji, dedicated to a single unit of
betterment the removal of the bar at
the mouth of the river!
As suggested, development, docks. In
dustry, wait on the deepening of the
channel at the river's mouth. It will be
of small avail to create a 80 foot chan
nel from Portland to the sea unless
there be a correspondingly deep passage
over the bar. The channel will nowhere
be better than Its shallowest portion. Of
what advantage will It be to create at
Portland or Astoria great water termi
nals unless there be at the mouth of the
- river such exit and extrance for modern
steamships "as their great draft war
rants? Amount of rtderal Aid tought,
'The Ports of Columbia committer has
definitely programmed Its campaign. It
asks congress to appropriate l,500,ono
for a dredge ehtttfl to the wonderful
"Leviathan" of th port of" T-tverpool:
to appropriate 12.000,000 Instead of
" ..40,000 first reoommended for the
north jetty at the mouth of the Co-
' lumbla. and to plae the jetty work on a
continuing contract basis. It was the
representations made by a special com
mittee of the' Ports of Columbia oom
mittee that Induced the Port Commls-
, sions of Portland and Astoria to set
aside a total of ISOO.OOO In aid of the
' government's work at .the mouth of the
river, so that work on the jetty might
not "cease between the .time when the,
present appropriation should bo ex
hausted and the next appropriation be
come available.
The committee believes in the effect
iveness of dredging.' Tht Chinook's work
on the bar during 80 double shift work-
ii : ing days fn the summer of 1 91 . fur
nished a demonstration of Its value.
' Across tb ba.r dlaune t nearly
mile, the dredger made a channel 700
feet wide with a minimum depth of 28
feet which the current has since made
deeper Instead of shallower as was
expected.
BiM the most startling arguments in
favoe of dredging are 'furnished by
oUierJ great ports.
On,T the Mersey bar at the Port of
Liverpool dredging that deepened the
channel from 11 to SO feet at dead low
water brought to docks costing $190,
000,000 a business for the last fiscal
year , that totaled the Immense sum of
$1,667,000,000.
The foreign commerce of all the ports
of the United States during the fiscal
year totaled $4,000,000,000, and New
York's share was $2,000,000,000, . yet
New York's channel was entirely made
by dredging.
Hamburg, on the river Elbe, had a,
commerce for the fiscal year of $1,657.
000,000, only made possible by continu
ous dredging.
The , Columbia furnishes the only
water grade route in the United States
from the interior, to the Paclflo ocean.
Its watershed includes British Colum
bia, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada.
Wyoming, Oregon, Washington.
Not long ago a grain broker of three
Canadian provinces was here, saying
that five cents a bushercould be saved
on Canadian grain routed down the Co
lumbia river for transshipment via the
Panama canal. . A Missoula, Mont., bus
iness man has estimated not only a
broadened market, but a proportionate
saving In transportation- of grain. Esti
mates have been made that open trans
portation would increase the value of
the government timber holdings in the
northwest $60,000,000 in five years, and
private holdings $90,000,000 in the same
period, A saving of 10 cents a box on
apples routed via the canal from the
nsrfhw.est, out of the Columbia, has
been estimated..
Increase Depends on Deeper ChannsL
, But all of these items of reversed
traffic movement and Increased com
merce depend on the deeping of the
bar channel.
The $875,000,000 Invested In the Pan
ama canal will mean less In benefits to
the Pactfte northwest If Its greatest
port is not fully opened.
But the need of the deepened channel,
and the volume of the accelerated com
merce It ts estimated at $160,000,000
a year with a 40 foot channel oVer the
bar- cannot help be recognised. The
16,000 members of the Ports of Co
lumbia committee will clamor for It.
The industrial, agricultural and lumber
ing Interests are dependent upon, it It
Is a task big enough for the nation to
perform and to benefit from.
The time will come-when one may
sail without waiting for tide or calm
weather In the largest snip over the
bar and .into .the Columbia.
The green valleys or tne lower Co
lumbia and the Willamette may be suo-
oeeded by the browner, plateaus of the pie.
w nr A.RSHFIELD, Or., Dec. 0. The
lyl prospects for substantial and last
ing improvement of the harbor of
Coos Bay are better now than ever
before. During the past year important
step, have been taken to better the
harbor, which is regarded as the most
valuable natural resource of the Coos
Bay country.
The commissioners of the Port of
Coos Bay floated a $300,000 bond Issue.
Of this amount at least $200,000 Is to
be expended on a project to maka a
channel 200 feet wide and IS feet deep
at mean lower low tide from the C. A.
Smith mill, at the head of the bay, to
the ocean. To carry out this plan the
port entered Into contract with the
Pilar Qahh4 n,1tfi Jl- T)A Z3U.
Ing company and that firm Is now at
work in the bay. The dredge Seattl
was brought here by the company and
is carrying out the project under the
supervision of the- port engineer.
The government engineers announce
that the government dredge Oregon,
which was formerly used here and
which is now in Yaqulna bay, will be
returned to Coos Bay ariy in February.
If there are no government funds avail
able for tlie operation of this dredge
the port commission will likely furnish
money to keep the dredge in operation
and assist In the work inside the bay.
The port commission has levied the
annual port tax which will bring suffi
cient money to pay the interest on the
honds and leave about $9000 for current
expenses.
The improvement of the bar will be
taken up by the government, congress
several years ago having appropriated
$350,000 for a bar dredge and money
for its maintenance. There have been
long delays in receiving the bar dredge
at Coos Bay but it Is now promised
that It will arrive shortly after the
first of the year. The dredge built for
Coos Bay Is the Colonel P. S. Mi tenia.
While the dredge as a means of im
proving the bar Is welcomed It has al
ways been held locally that what is
needed is the repair of the north Jetty
at the entrance of the harbor. This Jetty
is practically demolished. The people
wanted the Jetty lhiproved and the
dredge as a supplemental means of im
provement. Now that the dredge is to
come every effort of the Coos Bay in
terests is being directed toward the Im
provement of the Jetty which was In
cluded In one of the projects recom
mended by' the government engineers to
congress. Committees will be sent from
this locality to Washington to urge the
rebuilding of the Jetty.
Improvements have also been made on
the Coqullle river, the other ocean outlet
of Coos county. Work has been done by
the Port of Coqullle which has jurisdic
tion on tho upper river and for the
purpose of Improving tht bar and the
lower waters of the river the Port of
Bandon has been organized. The port
organlaztlon will be taken through tne
courts to make certain of its validity
and then the port commission expects le
levy tax and float a bond issue to raise
money for harbor work.
Dur -ng the past year rocks have been
blasted out of the lower river and
dredging done and other Improvements
made which better the condition of the
harbor for the increasing traffic.
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UTAM
Top, left to right Looking towards the mouth of the Columbia river at
Astoria; rocky gorge of the Columbia river, near The Dalles.
Center, left to right Bar dredge Chinook; Dr. Alfred Kinney of As
toria, chairman of the Porta of the Columbia committee.
Bottom Map showing Immense area drained by the Columbia.
RESUMPTION OF NAVIGATION
ON UPPERCOLUMBIAASSURED
Completion of Celilo Canaf Will Remove Natural Barrier and
Render Stream Navigable Without Interruption
From Its Mouth to Priest Rapids.
ware carried by them during 1864, be
tween Celilo and Lewis ton.
And the far and rates were not small
either. For lnetanoe a charge of $90
per ton for freight from Portland to
"Lewis ton waa made and the; fare wae-
22. To Umatilla freights cost $45 per
ton and the f arewas 10.
But at this point navigation bega
to deollne. In June of "61 the Okanogan
was taken over Celilo falls to the mld-
j die river and in June of 1870 two chere
followed.
I Casoade Locks Begun.
I In 1873 the government began the
I work of. improving the upper river by
removing dangerous rocks (a work only
recently resumed) and the oontructlon
of the Cascade Locks was started.
Although several of the olJer boats
were rebuilt and renamed and three 3r
four new ones were built, navigation of
the upper Columbia practically ceased
in 1888 when the O. R. & N. complete!
its railroad line from Wallula to Port
land. The steamers) that remained on the
upper river either were aent to the mid
dle and lower river or to the Snake to
operate between Rlparta and Lewlston
where there was no railroad at that
I time.
An attempt waa made to revive upper
river traffio during the years 1881-93
when a company built a portage on the
Washington shore between the foot of
The Dalles rapids and ColumbuSi but
one of Its steamers, the FreJ K. Bill-
upper river. Uninterrupted traffic Will
ply both up, and down from Portland,
the great manufacturing and distribut
ing, center. The reclamation of the
Deschutes basin, the cnrBltgatlon of the
upper Columbia and the Snake will be
accomplished, the products of the vast
country Will be broui(ht by boats and
trains to the seaboard and the Imports
of the region will be carried back by
the same means. -Ji. greater clvlllsakton
than the world has yrt seen may' be
established, and a more prosperous peo-
THE history of navigation on tha
Columbia river above The Dalles
is a story of endeavor, whion.
starting ambitiously in the days
when the Argonauts eearched the wet
for gold, grew less with passing decades
until about a year ago the last line of
regular steamers finally tied up an J
the Opper reach of the great stream
was deserted, Its surface unbroken save
by the riffles of its own current. Cte
sharp prow of an occasional launch, or
the broad bow of sluggish ferry boat.
But there ar reasons for this condi
tion, and among them four big ones
a railroad on the north shore, a rail
road on the south shore, long stretcher
of fertile, but undeveloped country, and
lastly the greatest barrier of thorn all.
Celilo falls and t;ie rapids neiow them
The last reason, soon will cease to exist.
With the completion of the Celilo canal,
now under construction, the obstruction
which has always dammed the stream
to navigation will have been removed.
The river will be open and water crart
will be free to operate from Its mouth
to Priest Rapids,
Beginning of JUver Traffio.
From the date of its discovery In
May of 1798. to 1860, navigation of the
Columbia river was confined -to tho
ktream below the CasoaJes and most
of it was between Portland and the eea.
Sailing vessels jeld undisputed sway
until 1836 when tbe Beaver, the first
steam vessel to ply the current, entere.1
tbe Columbia. From that date on traffic
on the lower river grew..
The Invasion of the upper river be
gan In 1851 when the Jason P. Flint,
plied for one year between the Cascades
and The Dalles. Business way not good
and it returned to the , lower river in
1862.
In 18E8 and '5T, respectively,'; the
steamers Mary and Hassalo were built
at tha Casoades and tne steamer IJaho
at the upper Cascades in 1360. They
traveled between The Dalles and the
Cascades.
' Meanwhile the steamer Colonel
Wright, built at Celilo In 1858. under
took to ply the upper river. Freight
from points above Celilo was brought to
a landing near the falls and transported
to The Dalle, thence to another beat
which took them to the Cascades whert
a portage was made on a wooden tram
way to a third vessel which carried
them through to their destination on
the lower river.
It was an expensive process. How-,
ever, business was profitable and the
Colonel Wright In 1880 made another
bit of history when It entered the Snake
river, traversed it as far as the Clear
water then made a 87 mile Journey up
the latter stream. This same year Lew
lston, Idaho, at the' confluence Of the
Snake and Clearwater, was founded.
The stampede to the Salmon river
mines In Idaho, in 1802 required greater
transportation facilities. And as a re
sult four new steamers appeared on the
upper river run. They were the Okano
gan, Tenino, Bpray and Cascadllla. Al
did an Immense business. Freight was
refused and each vessel carried hardly
less than 200 passengers each trip. The
Tenino, for Instance on a single trip
from Celilo to Lewlston, carried passen
gers to fares amounting to almost
$11,000.
In '88 the steamers Webfoot and
Nes Perce, Chief and a small propeller
boat Celilo were added to ths upper
river fleet. The Nes Peroe Chief, elont
that year brought down approximately
$400,000 in gold dust from the Salmon
river -country.
The following year saw a couple more
steamers plying the upper-river. Thy .
wre the Yakima and Owyhee, built like
the most of the others at Celilo. That
a good business was done by the big
fleet is evidenced by the fact that 38.000
passengers and 21,884 tons of freight
',- ,-.'s-..",:"--.'.v-'-. r.v. '''.--'v:!:' 'Aaa i;'
ings, wa wrecked and the company
went into the receiver's hands.
The Cascade canaj was opened to
navigation In 1896. giving continuous
navigation from the sea to the foot of
i-Flve Mile rsplds abors-The rllea.
The construction of the Portage rail-
I road around the Celilo obstructions by
the state of Oregon followed. It was
completed- wt08 nd: two, small steam-
ers operated in connection with the
portage until 1908 when the Open River
Transportation company built two
larger steamboats. .
The company managed to secure
enough freight to keep things going
for a year or so, but the completion
of the North Bank railroad along the
Columbia, In 1908 bad Us effect and
finally these boats ware oompelled to
tie up anJ the upper Columbia since
then has been virtually abandoned. -
The Celilo canal la peering comple
tion, and when It la opened, a eontlnil
ous waterway will obtain from Priest
Rapids to the sea. and tbe upper Co-'
lumbla will finally ooroe Into Its own.
Some Population Comparisons. ;
In 1840 Portland had a population of
8878, Chicago 199,280, St Louis 180
773, and Ban Francisco 88,802. At that
date San Francisco was twenty times
as large as Portland. Today It Is sot
quite twloe as large.
The Oregon grape was designated as
the state flower by the legislature of
1898.
The Bank of Personal Service
The Reason for Our Steady Growth
Our directors are men prominent In the business,
professional and public life of Portland.
Our officers have had long financial and. banking
experience.
Our clerks are competent and courteous. ' . ,
This . explains the perfect banking service we ren
der our depositors. ; t
We are fully equipped to handle all branches Of
Commercial business. f , ,
Our savings department pays Vfo -Interest.
We Invite your patronage. ' '
MERCHANTS
Under - Government Supervision.
Founded 1886. , Washington and Fourth Streets.
if'