Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1886-04-16
RAILROAD TO COOS.

~ 40 lIOW Il ScLtt6u 1dCb tldG lHO
steamships of the o. r. & N Co., will
not drain Western Oregon Of its pro-
ducts, nor will they supply it with
freights as they have done in years
gone by. Already the Yaquina route
IS doing an immense freight business.
From Yreka in California to Salem
Oregon freights now are delivered at
points between these two cities dis
tance of three hundred and fifty miles
over the Yaquina route in Benton
county. Nearly all the groceries and
heavy goods that are used in the cities
of the Willamette south of and in
cluding Salem purchased in San Fran
cisco brought over this new and cheap
route, and in less time than it takes on
the old route by the way Of the Col
umbia river. And this is but the be-
ginning of the business that is being
built up by this new enterprise. The
o. R. d n. Co, will have the monopoly
no longer Not only are the freights
less, but the time saved is one third
over the Yaquina route as against the
Columbia. But why should Southern
Oregon go via Yaquina when there is
a far better harbor at Coos Bay. The
Yaquina is depending largely on South
ern Oregon for support when in point
of fact, the most feasible and profitable
route lays between Roseburg and Coos
Bay. Roseburg would become the
junction and distributing depot for
freights, east and west and for the
north and the souths The entire
Southern Oregon and the Northern
California trade should come over the
route from Coos Bay to Roseburg
We include in this market the entire
Southeastern and middle Oregon.
Were railroad built from Coos Bay
to Roseburg it would drain country
as large as New England, and that
too without rival. It would be half
of the State or Territory that would
sustain this Coos bay route And as
population would come in following
the railroad trade and traffic would
be built up that we would find in no
other part of Oregon. Consider for a
moment that there would be traffic
both ways over this road. Coos, Cur
ry and Douglas counties can produce
more traffic in every thing to be found
in Oregon than all the other counties
put together. No other counties have
the coal as extensively distributed
among them as these counties. No
other counties have the white cedar
and myrtle timber that are found in
these counties. And we may add the
hemlock, spruce, ash and alder. The
best article of fir is found here also.
More than this there is large and in
creasing population in Coos and Curry
counties, And they are the only coast
counties in Oregon where there is
large population or any at all scarcely.
These three counties are capable of
sustaining one hundred thousand pop
ulation. There is one State in the
union no larger than either Douglas
or Coos counties that sustains popu-
lation of four hundred and fifty thou
sand. It is marked all over with rail |
road tracks. Is there any reason why |
a route that of itself can furnish no
traffic whatever to support it should be
sustained by those who would patron
ize a railroad to Coos Bay if built and
that too over self sustaining route
independent in that particu
lar? But with the addition of outside
traffic how much more strongly the ar
gument comes that there should be
railroad to Coos Bay for the benefit of
Southern Oregon. PUSH.