The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1889-02-17
STILL EQUTVOCATLNG.

The OregonjGn with characteristic
impudence, attempts, in yesterdays
issue, to discredit the statements of
Messrs Kinney, Case, Devlin and
Trullinger relative to lumber freights
from here by styling the assertions OF
those gentlemen ''disingenuous and
shallow e1pedient."
As usual, the Oregonian is unjust
and insincere; it argues from assump-
tons and ignores facts.
Astorians telegraphed our repre-
sentatives that according TO the pilot
age schedule the sawmills here must
pay an average of seventy cents per
thousand feet on lumber unless re-
duction to and from Astoria is made.
We have taken the trouble since
reading the leader in yesterdays
OTegontGn to look up the matter, and
find that the facts are in exact accord
ance with what our Astoria business
men telegraphed to Salent last Mon
day, and which that mendacious news
paper calls "a disingenious and shall
low expedient."
Here is the gist Of the argument.
Astoria lumber men say that sew
enty cents is the average under the
new rates proposed by Mr.. Holcomt
in his letter to the Oregon legislature
The Or9gonian says that is not so
The Historian says it is SO.
Here is the proof.
The San Francisco Daily CONNER
eial Ne,oS gives the name, load, etc.
of the Pacific coast lumber feet
Cursory examination of the list show
that lumber laden vessels leaving tn,
Columbia river load on an averag,
750 NJ. feet lumber to every 1000 toni
register.
Now according to the reduced rate
proposed by the o. R. & N. Co., yes
sci from 500 to 800 tons will b,
charged $3.50. Such a vessel will car
ry 525 NJ, a charge of IS cents pc
thousand feet. Vessels from 800 Il
1000 tons pay $500; such vessel vii
carry 675 NJ, a charge of IL cents Pc
NJ.
Now the last class of vessels are th,
most frequent to load lumber here.
Is it not clear, therefore, that til,
rate named in the dispatch and de
MED by the Oregonian is the ruling
one?
But the Oregontan may claim tina
the o. R. & Co. has quite recently
charged only 80 cents a thousand feet
It also injects the word "coastwise'
in its article, to imply that that GOV.
ers the whole ground.
The case rests on wider necessities
The Astoria lumber mills have asked
from manager Holcomb fixed rate
on foreign vessels that Astoria mil
men could send to foreign ports
where they charter their vessels
He has not refused, but he has neg
lected to furnish it.
True, the o. r. & n. Co. only
charged 80 cents a thousand on the
Archer, the last foreign clearance
but it is entirely optional whether
the company charges 80 cents or q
dollar.
Here is the point as far as that goes
These vessels are chartered to ar.
rive.
To get vessels at favorable rates
or at rates sufficiently low to handle
mill products, mill men at Astoria
must be able to guarantee certain tow.
age rates.
Up to now they have been able to
do this; under the new regime they
cannot
Astoria is thus placed at a disad.
vantage.
Our mill men may be obliged tc
pay an advance of five shillings for {
foreign charter party.
But what does the OregOnian, ol
the o. r. & n. Co., care for that-as i
is Astoria.
We will do the OregoniGn the credit
OF believing that now that the bill ii
passed and the occasion no longer re
quires that legislators shall be fooled
and hoodwinked by false or specioui
statements, that it will do these Astori'
ans the justice of retracting its hasty
and inchoate statement Of yesterday
in its leading editorial.
TRF PILOT RTTT