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In his pampWet entitled "What Calif ornians Want," Mr. Wallace
M. Alexander President of the San Francisco Chamber of Com
merce, reminds his readers that the of f ices of the Southern Pa
cific Company are at San Francisco, Some 76 San Francisco busi
ness men proceed by special train to Klamath Falls and are greeted
with these lines in The Evening Herald, published at Klamath
FallMOctober 21, 1922: v w ,
"OREGON'S 'LOST ' PROVINCE' GREETS HER RELATIONS BY
MARRIAGE Klanmth County one
'Oregon through the misfortune of birth and affiliated to California by
lnarriaer today welcomes the San Francisco chamber of commerce trade
excursion."
On October 23, 1922, the same paper has this to say:
' ' "STATE LINE IS ERASED BY. BAY CITY VISITORS ANNEXA
TION' OF KLAMATH TO CALIFORNIA FOLLOWS MEET WITH SAN 1
FRANCISCANS. Bent, broken and finally obliterated, the California
Oregon etaie Hoe' no longer exists in Klamath County. In its stead the 76
members of the Sdn. Francisco chatnber-of commerce trade expansion ex-J
. cursion established bonds of friendship binding -Klamath County together
with JNorthexn California,"
The SouOiem .Pacific Company iwill use all the endorsements of its ab
solute' and despotic control of Western Oregon and California by news
papers, individuals and Chambers of Commerce, it has gathered together
regardless of expense, to induce the Commission to disregard - the" decision . .
of the Supreme Court and allow it to continue to operate the Central Pa-
cif ic lines under lease. The scheduled hearings on the unmerger we were '
told would be held in Portland and elsewhere on the coast this, fall will Bot
take place there evidently was no- foundation for such statements. ,
Does anyone think San Francisco is making this effort for the
benefit of Oregon or of Portland? They tell you, however, that the
Southern Pacific will complete the Natron cut-off and then Port
land will have the business,. Some weeks ago the Southern Pacific
Company filed a petition before the Interstate Commerce Commis
sion concluding with this prayer: H
( . . ' I'TVHEREFORE, Applicant prays that the Interstate Commerce Com-
. -mission make an order authorizing the Southern Pacific Company to ac
. , : quire control of the Central Pacific Railway .Company to the following ex- i
tehtind by the following means: (a) by leaseuHtil Pecember 31, 19841
I r subiect to termination byvorder of the Interstate Commerce Commission if 1
con- 1
solidation when promulgated, under Section 5 of the Interstate Commerce
Act as amended, and (b) by ownership of all the outstanding capital stock 1 V
of the Central Pacific Railway Company during the continuance of such
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, be just and equitable and in the public interest.
The San Francisco people have intervened in this proceeding to
assist the Southern Pacific Company in its effort to obtain from
the Interstate Commerce Commission the order prayed for. Is San
Francisco's effort made for the benefit of Oregon or of Portland?
Why isn't Portland's Chamber equally ? busy in Oregon's interest?
Read the following observation from The Eugene Daily Guard,
and then express yourself to the Portland Chamber of Commerce:
The Southern Pacific Company, after spending enough money to make
a good start on construction of the Natron cut-off in propaganda against .
the supreme court unmerger decree, has at last laid its cards on the table.
It desires only to lease the Central Pacific lines until such a time as the
Interstate Commerce Commission develops an indefinite plan of grouping
all the great railroads of the country into a number of systems, based on
efflciency,cf service and competition, as suggested in Each-Cummins rail
road act might be advisable, although-no authority is vested in the com
' mission for enforcing such consolidations. '
Pacific, backed by the endorsements' i has bought and paid fori is that the
company will have an excellent reason for not buflding the Natron-cutoff,
Springfield shops or anything else, probably for years to come, i As lessees
only of the Central Pacific lines, it will be argued, it would be the height of
folly to spend millions in permanent improvements upon these projects.
Meanwhile the Interstate Commerce Commission will proceed; perhaps for
years, to investigate and hold hearings upon the f easibility; of consolidating
the railroads of the country into a few big systems, a scheme that': may, - i
never materialize. ' 1 ' Y- ' :r
. Th only conclusion to be, drawn is that the Southern Pacific Company -in
setting aside the decision of the; court, if its campaign to that end sue-,
v,wui5, nui iuig wkww uji rrcsicm uicguu u&uvu uteut ill, pitsw jwiosi-'1 .
patihg every hope bf railroad developjnent that our people hve eY icher- ' '-
ished. i Can you beat it?T J ' " j - '
Some weeks ago a committee of '.the' Portland Cliamber, of Com
merce comprised of the following representative men: H. Van
Duzer, Chairman, Manager Inman-Poulsen Company; CD. Brunn,
President Blake-McFall Company; Emery Olmstead, President
Northwestern National Bank; L. A. Lewis, President Allen &
jjjewis; Nathan Straussl4 member of firm of Fleischner Mayer &
Company; George lawrence Jr., Secretary and Treasurer The
George Lawrence Company; Ira F. Powers, President Ira F. Pow
ers Furniture Company, and F, A. Nitchy,f Manager of Crane
Company, returned a unanimous report recommending - -.-
. I "1 . That the influence of tire Portland Chamber of Commerce be ex-
- j , erted to maintain the independence of the Central Pacific in the grouping
i -to be made by the Interstate Commerce Commission or the slower court,
; ! whichevef is to have the jurisdiction, as we believe that such an independ-" t
ent line will be for the best interests of the state o$! Oregon. - We feel that ' ;
. i with such, an independent and competihg line entering the ifeUte, traffic.
arrangements can be had that will , insure the comrfetion of the Ontario- 4
Crane line of the Union Pacific as well as connect up the klamatH and
Southeastern portions of the state, including an extension south from Bend, :
in such a manner as to aid materially in their long retarded development,
the present time,! an independent Central Pacific from Ogden to Eugene,
there are opened up possibilities of future development and competition in
" both Eastern Oregon and the Wfllamette Valley. ! s - ,
, "2. That the influence of the' Cnamoeryof Commerce alsc ie exerted ' .
to the end that" the main line of the Southern Pacific north and south, i. e ' -r
. San Francisco to Portland, should be continued as a unit and such disposi-'
tion of those properties of the Central Pacific in Northern California be had ' '
as to insure -this condition. ;)v K . - - , , . ;
r Are these recommendations to be carried out in the interest of '
the state and in disregard of every other consideration?.
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1 Why. do. the.-direetbrs of bur "Chamber hesitate to adopt this re
port and work as strongly for Oregon as the San Francisco Cham-,
ber has for California?
f:;
C. F. SWIGERT,
A. H. AVERIIlii
Ex-Presidents, Portland'
. Chamber of Commerce.
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