The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1881-10-21
The Willard Monopoly Refuse to
Ship certain kinds Of Goods to
Corvallis Merchants.

During the years past the severai
transportation companies have never
refused to carry up and down the
valley such articles of merchandise
% the people or the merchants want
cd. But lately great change has
taken place. Since last year both
railroads running sontf from Portland
on either side of the river, and also
the steamboat lines on the river, have
all been purchased by and controlled
by the Willard monopoly. Since
which time if freight is rendered them
for transport they receive it or reject
It as they see proper. They know
they are violating the laws OF COM
mon carriers in doing SO, but they
very we'll know that parties offering
freish to be carried can i'll afford To
10 to law with them, aid thus they
putthe law at defiance.
During the last few months this
monopoly has refused to convey the
article of powder from Portland to
the merchants of Corvallis TO he
used in the ordinary course of trade.
as they have always bought and sold
it before. At the same time we are
-creditably informed that to no other
place on either Of their railroads do
they refuse to carry this article OF
merchandise. To be sure powder is
an article that We can not eat or wear
and while by its use the convenience
of every person in the county is ben
e6tted, yet our people can do with
out it. But this is not the point ex-
actly. If this monopoly which now
has every man woman and child i'll
Oregon and Washington Ty. within
the grasp of its iron fangs can refuse
to carry powder when rendered to
them in the ordinary course of trade
with equal propriety they can refuse
to transport wheat, oats, sugar, cot
fee or merchandise of any kind. 1t
may be said that they will not refuse
to carry this class of articles perhaps
they may not, yet there is hardly
any person that would have believed
that this company would have re-
fused to carry 80 common an article
of merchandise as powder, until after
such refusal it became an actual fact.
This transaction Enthusiastically proves
that the people Of Oregon are bound
hand and foot by the fetters of this
gigantic, relentless and crushing
monopoly; that the business prosper
ity of our state depends wholly upcn
cheir actions. That by single word
or the stroke of q pen they can make
the whole vast amount of produce in
this valley worth its actual value in
as its value is in other
parts of the world, or not worth n !
cent. They can refuse to carry the
produce of this valley to market, and
also refuse to bring any article of
merchandise in return, and thus force
tlie people to haul it by wagon and
team as they did when transportation
lines in Oregon We're in their infancy.
Or what they would more likely do
than anything else is to put frcigh,
30 high that the producer could
realize nothing for his labor, and SO
that the articles consumed wonl1
cost more than any man could afford
TO ray for them.
We do not mean to say that these
things will happen, but We put them
IN this shape to impress upon the
minds of the people the nature of the
monster in whose power they are,
arfd also TO show with what case the,
can oppress the people without the
least chance of helping themselves.
The people of Oregon want conpeti
ton in this line of industry. They |
want an outlet to the sea by the way |
Of Yaquina bay, with the Oregon |
Pacific ra ailroad extending from that
farbor across the valley throa.h
Eastern Oregon by way of Boise
City to connect with the Union Pa
eifc railroad. This will put MS in
with the rest of the
world with all the advantages of
trans-continental railroad line, which
will be the shortest and cheapest
route of all, besides giving us the |
advantage of seaport town at Ya-
quina bay near at hand. This is the
one and only relief for the people of
the Willamette valley and Eastern
Oregon, aud until this improvement
is completed, we must necessarily
remain in a state of continual bond
age to the Willard monopoly.
On the first of October Chief of Construc-