The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1890-03-22
THE DALLEs TO TYDEw1TER.

THE DALLES TO TIDEW6TER.
The Importance of an open river is
apparent to any one when the vast
amount of produce shipped to and
from this city every year is taken into
consideration. The bare figures may
be bewildering, and an illustration, the
facts of which are well known, may
serve our purpose better. For in
stance, we were talking with farmer
to-day, who has been raising grain for
the past seventeen years. He says his
land has yielded from 20 to 40 bushels
of wheat to the acre, and he has 100
acres under cultivation. The freight
charged him has been II cents
bushel for transportation of his grain
from The Dalles to Portland, or be
has paid to the o. r. & N. Co. at the
lowest estimate 81 40 per acre annu-
ally on every acre of land he has sown
in wheat-$24O on his 100 acres, and
for the II years $4,000. In other
words this transportation company has
charged him $1,000 for lease of the
land for II years, clear title to which
he has received from the United States
government. He has paid to the rail
road company every year double the
amount he has paid in taxes to the
state, county and city This gentle
man is only one of thousand or more
farmers who have been forced to bear
equal burdens, and our merchants
have paid heavier charges on goods.
OF course if our portion of country
was not extremely wealthy it would
have been impoverished long years
since; but our business men and pro-
ducers have manage to pay these taxes
to a monopoly, and yet prosper. Ac-
cording to the statistics, carefully
gathered for the last New Years edl-
ton of the TINES -MoUNTAINEER, the
export of wheat in 1883 was $4,000
tons, on which was charged 81 a ton
for transportation to Portland-$4S,-
900. For $1,000 two flat boats
could be built in this city, which would
be competent to float our wheat out
put to the Locks, and ten drays could
haul this to the lower landing at a
cost of $4,000. From that point river
boats would take the wheat either to
Astorla or Portland for 81 ton, or
$4,000. Allowing the same price
for transportation between The Dalles
and the Locks and we have: For car
rying grain, $4,000; flat boats.
$1,000; cost of drayage, $4,000. Total,
$4,000, against $4,000, leaving
a balance in favor of the people of
Wasco county of $4,000 for that
year alone. This multiplied by "a,
the number of years this productive
region has been leased to the produc-
ers, will give the enormous amount
paid for the privilege Of farming these
lands. Aside from the grain export,
in the single season of 1888 there were
100000 pounds of wool handled in
this cIty-we again take the figures
from the New Years edition of the
TIMES -MouNTA1NEER referred to-and
fully one-half cent a pound, or $780,
600, could have been saved on the
shipment of this product alone in
single pear. To be added to these
figures is the amount paid for mer-
chandise to supply the demands of the
surrounding country, and our business
men carry as large stocks as any in the
state outside OF Portland. If our
people will carefully consider the enor-
nous amount they are paying the rail-
road. company for the privilege of
farming, raising sheep and cattle, and
selling goods every year, we believe
that everyone will be convinced of the
necessity of forming Peoples Trans
portation Company Immediately. Ma
ture has done everything desired IN
the magnificent stream that flows past
our doors, and if We do not possess the
grit and enterprise to relieve ourselves
from the grinding monopoly we should
hear our chains patiently and never
murmur or complain.