The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1888-10-09
YOUR OPINION Is ASKED.
Is This of Any Interest To You7


How Astoria Loses Its Rightful Commerce.
The harbor is full OF ships; they
line the docks, are in the stream, and
give the port a busy appearance. It
is noticeable this season that the
class of vessels coming here to load
are larger than in former years. In
stead of barks of 800 and 1000 tons
burthen, there are several from 1900
to 2,200 tons. The Lancaster Castle,
when loaded, will carry away about
3,4OO tons, about as heavy cargo as
ever went out of the river.
The reasons advanced for the in
crease in the size of the vessels, for
the influx of larger tonnage, are two:
one is that the Columbia bar is being
SO improved by the jetty that they
can more readily than formerly secure
safe ingress and egress. But that is
hardly tenable. A vessel drawing %
feet under the usual favorable cir
cumstances need have no fear of the
bar, and % feet is more than the reg
ular draft Of vessels this way.
Perhaps the truest reason for the
increased tonnage of the vessels here
this year is that the charges and ex-
penses count up so much that it does
not pay ship owners to send vessels
of small tonnage here. At any rate
it is evident that when the fall feet
headed this way, Columbia river
freights were so low that large vessels
were listed. Since they have become
due and are arriving freights have
taken a big advance. Some of the
vessels are getting only 33s, while the
Andreta, which will take nearly 5000
tons, is reported to get Ats Cd.
There is considerable delay in re-
ceiving wheat and loading vessels
here. While the Portland ware
houses are crammed full of wheat and
trains from Oregon and Washington
are loaded with west bound grain to
Portland, vessels are lying here day
after day waiting for wheat to COM
plete their cargo. They are not al
lowed to load in the stream; they
must go alongside the docks, and
there isn't room there for the number
of vessels in port.
The supply of barges and towboats
does not appear to be equal to the
demand. Whether this is accidental
or not it works an injury to the port
and is detrimental to the shipping in
terests of the river.
This is an old story, but the exist
ing condition of affairs calls for COM
ment.
The o. r. & N. steamers to San
Francisco get $3.50 ton to take wheat
to that port where freights rule
usually los or $3.50 ton higher than
they do here. Right here seems to be
where interests clash. 1t is to the
interest of the farmer, the produc er
the shipper, the broker, the property
owner the worker in Astoria. the mer-
chants of Astoria, to have the grain
loaded here.' 1t is to the interest of the
o. R. & N. Co., to have the grain 60
in the holds of its San Francisco
steamers. If there didn't a vessel
come here at all, it would be all the
better for the o. r. & N. Co.
Here are few facts: The Historian
doesn't cite them in any spirit of hos
tility to the o. r. & N. Co., but
simply to show how the thing works,
and how this system inures to our
injury.
During last season the o. r. & N.
steamers took to San Francisco close
on to eighty thousand tons of wheat,
that ought to have been loaded here
on deep seagoing vessels, but which
cleared foreign from San Francisco.
AS things go, that $4,000 tons would
have loaded forty vessels that didn't
come here. These forty vessels would
have disbursed quarter of a million
dollars in the Columbia river; this
$3.50, 900 would have been largely spent
in Astoria; clothing, meat, groceries,
provisions, ship chandlery and sup
plies, outfitting, repairs, longshore-
mems wages; the paying out of say
half of that-S125,000-in O little
town like this, would have been quite
an item. But the wheat went to San
Francisco. 1t is going to San Fran
cisco all the time. 1t looks as
though the o. r. & N. Co., wasn't
losing much sleep over the fact that
shipping is almost at dead lock as
to facilities here, while grain is still
poured in a steady stream to San
Francisco at the profitable, rate Of
$3.50 ton and Astoria is left suck
ing the posterior receptacle of the
lacteal fluid.
There is little use in kicking; the
o. r. & N. Co. have the works; they
control the whole business from the
mountains to the sea, and little be,
yond it with "off shore towage."
The question is what are you going
to do about it?" The solution of the
problem is very plain one; an open
river, and that alone will do it.
| With an open river and grain load
ing here, as it should, instead of al
San Francisco, Astoria would have
| 10000 people here inside of five years.
| There is an association meets in
Portland to-day whose motto is
IAN open river" Let us see what
they do.