, 1883-11-03
Water Transportation.

tSN YEARS since aru tue S'AoHS'>
/ river was alive with steamboats, osrryirs
freight and passengers. it was then called
even BY railroad men, "the natural high
way TO the sea " To-day it IL deserted
and craft Of any kind is looked u on
with curiosity. There are immense
stretches Of water in this river suitable
for navigation, and the only real obstacles
are between Cello and the Dalles and be-
tween the upper and lower Cascades; at
| the latter hundred. Of thousands Of dol
lars have been fritsered away by the gen.
ersl government in building locks; had
the money been iudiciously expended the
work weuld have been completed yesrs
since, and then probably operations would
have been commenced on the greater
york At the DAlles.
The following article from the Portland
Commercial Herald, is to the point:
III IS Impossible new to get cars to
transport the crop. What sill it be rext
yearl The authorities of York state have
been warned sith respect to the inten-
lions of the rsl,road corporations concern
ing the Erie canal How much more i'm
portant to al wesi Of the Rocky noun
tsins that they feel concerned with res
pee, 90 the Columbia riveri Now that
the railway is finished ws sea that it is
impossible to carry away Present surplus
productions of the land. In this respect
the value Of the river is practically with.
or; limit, were ii Improved. But who is
70 make the efort which will secure more
ready mesrs for the completion Of i'm
provaments begun, and Inaugurating 9TH
ers equally ss ,mportantl Not the Olym-
pia ass"mbiy, which is supposed to be a
body il tho interest of railways Not
Waila Walla county, which has bsen pro-
missed railroad sJsMection with the sound
via Saoqua!mie er some other imaginable
pass through the iulpenetrable barriers of
the Cascade rarge. Wasco aud Umat,lls
counties are practically tied up by the de-
cision Of the secretary of the interior in
Consequence Of the conflict concerning the
grant, and the Umatilla Indian reserva-
tion, thus preventing any considerable |
influence" from centering therein to |
start very much OF river BOOM Every |
one must admit that there is no more |
COMPARISON between the Columbus river |
and its tributaries frnm Lewiston to the |
sea. and the Eris canal, than the, 6 Is be-
tween a trout brook and the Mississippi
Taere is practically 10 limit TO the re-
sources of the Columbia river for trans
portation purposes, with needed improve
ments at the Dalles and he Cascades,
and We are not over sanguine when We |
assert that if II were opened as it would |
be upon proper presentation to Congress,
il would be able 10 do much more than /,
three fifths Of all the inland business of \
that great interior basin. The ice inter- !
ruptioa in winter would be lar less than ,
that OF the Eris canal The statement is
published that Mr. Willard has practically
arranged for the construction of a nTm- \
Der Of steamers of unusually heavy ton
mage and great speed, to operate in con-
n.ction with the Northern Pacific from
Superior City and Duluth to Buffalo and !
by this means overcome the cost OF trans |
porta,ion Of grain from the line of that !
rad By way OF Chicago and thence east.
Ii is also asserted that the Willard interest |
has been quietly obtaining control Of the
New York, West shore and Buffalo, thus
giving, during the season OF navigation,
through freight from the Pacific coast to
the esss The lakes are closed weeks and |
months, where the Columbis only closes
for days; and if ii is true that Mr.. VII |
lard seriously entertains such ideas as are |
indicated abnve, the greater the necessity |
for active movement to secure uninter- 1
rHp:ed communication by river from
Lewiston to tbs sea