, 1882-01-20
PUGET SOUND ARGUS.
NECESSITY OF 1 CHARGE,

manner We reproduce them il"
full:
Ten 20 one the resistance OF Port
laud ,o the plain edicto Of natur"
viii ultimately bring that proud III.
tie own to grief. 1t aspjIes and
c Mm, TO he the focus of the North
west: and, To be sure, If it could prop
ely Ice 50 who would object? but
how can it properly be so, consider
inE our present standpoint: This Is
no Joke, nor is it the bitterness OF
envy, nor the promptings of the
urern eyed monster. There is mat
ter of fac, about 1t and prelude to
some worthy considerations, appeal.
ING to the welfare Of Portland mer
chants AS we'll as to that Of the ships
winch they force over numerous mud
ha,s and most dangerous sand bar,
spectle~haunred from the bones OF
many Il devoted craft.
The main proposition asserts the
necessity of abandoning the CoIum
b'a river west of KaIama, and adopt
ing Puget Sound as an outlet Tor
,he products Of Idaho, Oregon,
Washington aud all the regions trib
u,ary To the western end of tn"
Northern Pacific Rtiiroad. By tn
Columbia river the ri,k and expense
are too great, and IN the present sea
son have been so seriously aGLra>at
cd that it is doubtful i, any OF the
ships which have experienced the
trials in question will ever return
Many of these ship masters hav"
openly declared to this effect. o
tie other hand, Puget Sound is con
nected with the wheat fields of the
Northwest by steamboat and raj,
and is the deepest, safest aud in all
respects the best harbor in the
world.
A ship came from New York to
New Tacoma, with iron for the Nor
thern Pacific railroad. Her master
being an enterprising business man
and quick of motion, slipped in for
a wheat charter before the Portland
real estate interest had time to thiuk
about it, much less to organize for
is defeat. The facility, smoothncoo
aud ght expense with which the
cargo was brought from Portland by
river 40 miles, and by rail l0j miles,
and put into that ships bottom with
out damage, permitting the ship to
reach the sea without delay, demon
strated the vast superiority of this
route over hat OF the Columbia
river west of Kalama, but instead OF
operating to second the good advice
of Mr.. Willard in he minds of Ports
land people, its effect was to arouse
them to action 90 remedy the ire
mediable difficulties of their outlet
To the sea. They held grand coun
Gil, collected some hundreds of dol
lars, and sent his Honor, the Mayor,
to Washington for appropriations,
the meanwhile continuing to patron
ize their outlet, or rather continuing
10 force ship mast RS to patronlz" it,
instead Of hajling the incoming
ships in the oiling with this message:
'Our outlet, as you see, is in a sorry
predicament; please 90 hence 10
New Tacoma, where we will meet
You by rail with a cargo Of grain,
and where you viii arrive without
encountering the obst cles, dangers
and expense that beset us here
And with what result? With the
result that has become renowned the
world over. Week after week and
month after month heavily laden
ships to the number of from twelve
to twenty have stood at anchor at
Bakers bay, inside the bar, waiting
and watching for chance to slip ont
between two winds, forbidden by
the huge breakers that would dash
them to pieces against the bottom,
whilst on the outside of the bar
beating about, weather worn, large
fleet awaiting lnIling Of the temp
est 20 cross in. Lately, one of these
ships, the Ne'uvius, after being
tossed about for twenty three days
and severely damaged, hoisted sail
and came to Puget Sound, and it
would not surprise US if others
would follow suit.
The data is not accessible so far as
we know for a very careful estimate
Of the loss to shipping due to such
detention during the pr. sent season,
but it would not probably be an ex
aggeration to assume as an average
that twenty vessels Of 1900 tons each
have sustained detention in the Co.
lumbia river for three months. The
expenses added to the interest on
the value OF ship and cargo will show