Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1882-08-11
TnE COLUMBIA River.

lot have played his cards in vain
Y. Y. SsH.
TnE COLUMBIA RIVER.
A fortnight since the editorial para
zraph following appeared in these COL
INNS:
According to the Astorian. the United
States force engaged in scraping the
Columbia River bar have suspended
heir efforts, the results not being
wholly satisfactory. This goes to cor
roborate the assertion of last year,
made by the New York Sun, that the
Treasury of the United States might be
into the sea at that point with
out making the least appreciable ef-
feet.
To which the Historian now comes
back at Us with the reply below:
THIS, firm the Seattle PosT-ISTEILI-
oESCEB is "a little more than kin and
less than kind" Our northern contem-
porary ia prone TO seize on too slight
pretext to slur at the efforts made TO
improve the entrance to the Columbia.
As for quoting the absurd utterances OF
New York papers, the fact but proves
that the Seattle paper only shares IN the
ignorance that prompted the assertion.
The osr-lNTELIIGESCER must also
know that We have always been candid
about statements, and If any attempt
was made TO . prove. and was unsuc-
cessful: il any vessel had any difhculty
in eoress or ingress; if anything oc-
CARED on or in relation to the bar that
would demonstrate the necessity of Its
ilnproycment, We have always published
it without the slightest attempt to cloak
or conceal the real facts OF the case.
So in this instance. Lieut.. Buchanan's
late attempt was a partial failure. we
are s0rry-in one sense because any
improvement, however ephemerai, Is an
improvement, and yet. 1t goes to demon
strate one Interchangeable fact, VIZ: that
the only way to improve the Columnia
bar il to narrow the enhance. Now the
importance of the Columbia IL sufflclent
reason for such work, and no amount OF
sneers from New York papers or inter
ested, csptious remarks from rival
points can do more than delay such
work.
The Historian of n day or two before
gave editorial space to the article fol-
lowing. written presumably by some one
IN Portland, but deemed by that Journal
worthy of commendatiOn:
Now that the General Government
has appropriated one hundred thousand
dollars for the improvement Of the
Columbia river and bar, the question
now arises, what are the engineers going
10 do with it? 1t is fact known to the
old pilots on the river that there ia less
water ON tho river bars than there was
before tho U. s. A. had anything to do
with them. They have thrown away
few thousands on the bar this season
without doing any good. and proven to
with common sense that scrap
ing is not success. Columbia river
bar cannot be improved short of mil
lion of dollars and it is useless to throw
away any more money ON 1t until an ap-
can he secured that will do
some good. In the meantime dredger
can be built similar to tho one now
building in San Francisco, that will re-
move 1000 cubic yards pr hour. With
a machine Of such n design, the river
can be kept open to Astoria SO that
ship eau load to twenty feet the year
round There should be no more
thrown away on 'surveys, wing
dams, fancy yachts and picnic parties.
rs the people take no stock In anything
of the kind, hut want the money used
where it will do the most good.
Our Astoria contemporary has never
been upbraided by US for cloaking the
and dangers to navigation
in the river or ON the bar. In fact, it
has ever been frank in the matter, and
We believe has been as truthful as the
at its command has war
ranted. Its explanation on this score is
quite unnecessary.
The fact remains, though, that the
of the Columbia, from the
mouth Of tho Willamette to the ocean,
is annually becoming more difficult and
Il is known also that these
difficulties and dangers must 60 ON in
creasing indefinitely in the future, and
with accelerated speed il the history of
The past may be taken as guide.
The Columbia river is a great high
way Of trade. The commerce Of 20O, O00
people already passes over it, and ere
many years the number will be increased
10 100000. It is Of Importance TO
The people Of the whole country that the
river be kept open, and be made a.
available as possible to the wants Of the
vast country il drains. Still. there is a
limit 10 efforts in this direction, and that
limit Is reached when experiments call
ing for expenditures Of millions of dol
lars of Government money are pro-
posed. There is nothing positive that
any course whatever will more than tenn
porarily facilitate ito navigation, while it
il quite positive that millions
will be wanted to do what
ever is done, and that no i'm
provement can be permanent. Every
thing SO far tried has failed. Our posi-
Fion IN the matter Is simply this: I'm
prove the navigation Of the rivsr il i'm
provsment il possible, but IL impossible
don't dump the Treasury Of the United
States there In the vain endeavof.
The Columbia river will perhaps ever
b open TO vessels Of q light draft, and
With q commerce Of that kind our
friends Of Astoria and Portland must
b content. As long AZ they content
themselves with crafts drawing from
twelve 10 eighteen fest Of vatsr they can
carry on their trade. but whom they try
70 got thirty-foot ship over . twenty
foot bar they viii mako . dismal fail
ure.
Another thing ID 10 b considered in
this connection, and that u that while
river improvements are highly impor-
tant they are not % essential a in
times past. The chanes has bean made
BY railroads. II u safs 70 aassrt that
with lines Of railroad to California.
the coast ports Of Oregon and Puget
Sound. and with only fair and sum-
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