, 1883-09-20
Puget Sound VS.. Portland.

Walla Walls must go TO the fresh
water sea port, arguing:
1T is predicted that when the Cas-
cade division of the Northern Pacific
is constructed, Puget Sound will be
nearer Walla Walla than Portland.
Is this true? In horizontal miles,
yes; but in eqUated railroad miles for
freight and passengers no. From Wal
la Walla to Portland the grade is con
tinuously descending in the valleys OF
natural water courses. The undu-
lations in this descent are not mate.
rial rs against the general PROPOSE
ton Any line to reach the Sound
except via Portland must climb the
ridge of the Cascade mountains"
1t repeats the assertion made in
Walla Walla last spring by Mr.. Vii
lard that the tunnel through the Cas-
cade mountains Will cost S5,OOO.OOO,
and asserts that going to Puget
Sound by the mountain route Is not
simply riding over a railroad with
one per cent. grades, but means seal
ing a golden wall of S5,0O0,OOO, and
that Mr.. Wizards customers will, OF
course, pay for the luxury"
But with all these drawbacks, and
they are all the Oregonian could
gather together, we still believe that
when the road and tunnel are finish
ed the great bulk of the produce OF
Eastern Washington and Oregon will
go to market by that route. For
this belief there are several reasons.
In the first place we hope that the
Oregonian is not SO foolish az to be-
lieve that the Northern Pacific is
going to e1pend 81 100000 on a bridge
across the Willamette, nearly g.
100000 on the observation-disclosures Sec
ton, $5O0,000 on ferry boat to be
used at Kalama and ultimately 81
100000 on a bridge over the Colum-
bia river at that point, because there
is no other use for company money
If the company intended that the
produce of the Columbia Basin was
to be loaded in deep sea going vessels
at docks on the Willamette it would
have made the western terminus Of
the road on the east bank of that
river. For a dozen years the North
ern Pacific has operated LOG miles of
improbable road To expect it to
build 40 miles more road, an expen
sive transfer boat and costly bridge
without the hope Of q profitable bus
mess is the inspiration worthy of the
most narrow minded man in the fresh
water sea port. 1t will be wonderful
if the great bulk of produce Of the
Willamette valley is not carried on
cars through Portland to Puget
Sound, there to be loaded in "ships
that pillow the main"
Admitting, for the sake Of argu-
ment, that owing to the greater grade
on the mountain route the distance
to Puget Sound and Portland is
equalized, and that interest has to be
paid on the cost Of the tunnel, the
mountain route will still be the most
profitable one for the company to
operate, because its cars will have
return loads of lumber, GOAL, lime,
fish, etc, from Puget Sound, none Of
which can be obtained at Portland.
The merest novice in railroading
knows that the road having work for
its rolling stock in both directions on
its line is the one it pays to operate,
other things being equal.
By chartering deep sea going YES
sells to carry rails and other material
to Tacoma, for $3.50 per ton less than
the same ships could be sent to Port
land, the Northern Pacific practically
demonstrated that Puget Sound is
the favorite and consequently the
cheapest route.
Taking the reduced freights asked
to and from Puget Sound, and the
freights which would be paid on coal,
lumber and lime shipped over the
mountain route to the interior, and
excluding the necessity for obtaining
income from the $50 miles of road
from Portland to Tacoma, the VII
lamette Bridge and the Columbia
Ferry, and it becomes evident that
the mountain route will, in fnacial
view, more than equal the Portland
route. One thing is certain, Port
land will have to offer greater in
ducements in the future than it ever
has in the past to secure any large
share of the trade of Walla Walla
and the rest OF the interior.