The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1881-11-04
TETTER FROM PORTLAND.

self from the great railroad operators
of the east by his incessant gabble
From the time he landed here 9
month ago and received the suhmis
sion and alteration Of the Portland
Board of Trade, until be left the state
his course has been marked by =
diarrhea of speech making. 1t is ~,
old saving '.that he who talks much
performs little" We may all be, dis
appointed in Mr.. Willard in this re-
spect, but he certainly differs greatly
from the really great railroad opera.
tors, Tom Scott, Vanderbilt, Gould
and Huntington.
He has en,leavored to puff and
please every point, which leads some
people to feel that he cannot be qaite
fsinccrc. Willard il smart enough TO
see that he has difficnlt role TO play.
His monopoly is pressing hard on the
people, and the evidence of a gener-
al rebellion is apparent on all sides.
He doubtless also sees that he cannot
promise any relief and stick 10 his
promise.
His grand system of six thonsani
miles is go:t II mp on scale Of mag
mficcnce which is fifty years I'm adj
vance of the ability ot the country 10
support it. lie is increasing his cap
ital stocks and mortgage bonds at
such rate. by the incorporation OF
improvement companies, construction
companies, grand trans.continental
grabbing companies, that the de-
mands upon him for interrs, and div
idends must s"niIer or later involve
his whole scheme in collapse. While
he is paying ont his money now it is
high fun ''tor the bows" bit after
awhile 'sit will he death on the
frogs"
While here Willard did not hesitate
TO give to Portland business men
some plain talk about their selfis'-
ness in refusing to assist the level.
opmenl OF the country. The fact liz
Portland has never spent dollar to
open interior lines of communication.
hut has :.set down on the farmers of
Oregon rather as, an incubus than a
help. Now they are confronted with
the fact, that il not soon remediel,
the sand bars in the river will shut
ont the ships from her docks. And
it ia very serious question TOO.
This ciiv II one hundred and twelve
miles from the ocean, and it il very
certain tina. to keep op"n ship
channel TO the sea, the time is not far
distant when the gefater part of this
entire distance. must be kept open by
dredging. This will he an enormous
job.
The dredging Of the river St. Law
renee and Of the Clyde TO Gla>g gov,
have been referred to as examples 10
prove that the Columbia can also be
kept open by dredging. But these
are not parallel cases. Glasgow is
only fifteen miles from the open sea,
and dredging that short distance is
but short job compared with this
in the Columbia and the Willamette.
And the dredging of the ST. Law
renee had only to make channel in
the natural, not the filed up bed, Of
the river. And then this dredged
channel OF the St. Lawrence is not
reflIed by sediment annually, as in
the Columbia. for the Great Lakes
furnish inextinguishable settling res
ervoirs for the sediment which might
otherwise be carried 10 their great
draining outle'. | say this out of no
unfriendliness to Portland, bnt it il
the truth, and all the speeches of
Willard or Capt Gorringe either can
not refi,,e it.
Wizards speeches has not helped
the real estate market. AMI it is a
liula singular. Real estate agents
tell me that the market IL very quiet,
anil that not near AZ many sales are
male now as one year ago. The ex-
pl ,nation can ON Y be found IN the
slow growthof the country, the very
few people who come here with mon
ey, an the well settlel CONVICTION il,
the minds of all the old Oregonians
that there are not people enough here
to justify the "boom''' which Willard |
and his trans-continental stockhoId-
ers are endeavoriny to-work up.
The success of Col. Hogg is n very
event to every friend of
Oregon. The people want to Dee n
strong competing line To the east. and
they don't want to- be reduced to the
dead level of nnvarying monopoly. |
Tn, "a NJ III, V;tlc.Js.