Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-29
SNOW PEAKS AND SEA
Make Portland the Most Picturesque
of American Cities.
A HAVEN FOR THE CHINAMAN.
They Are Tolerated Because They Consent
to Do the Mepial Work.
POPULAR SPORT ALONG, THE BEACH
IcoRREsroNpENcH OF THE D1sp rcv /,

CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DIsPArcH.i
PORTLAND. ORE, June 22-Ifthe great
est commercial advantage which a city can
enjoy is is to be located on large river, it
is equally true that OF all possible aesthetic
advantages no other is equal to that of hav-
ing scenic background of snow mountains
1t is to this that so many cities of France,
Spain, Switzerland and Italy owe their
principal charm. Portland, Tacoma and
Seattle are the three most picturesquely 10
Gated cities in the United States, and OF
these three I would assign the palm to
Portland, from a purely scenic point Of
view. For although Mt. Hood does not
seem quite SO near ard imposing at Port
land as Mount Tacoma does as seen from
Seattle or Tacoma, it must be remembered
that the Portlanders have full size views
from their streets not only OF Hood, but
also of st. Helens,, while the SUBMITS OF
Tacoma, Adams and Jefferson are seen from
the hills which enc;rcle the city. And
while Portland has no Puget Sound, it is
only II miles from the Columbia river,
which is scenically superior even to the
american Mediterranean" as Puget Sound
has been aptly called.
SECOND CITY OF THE COAST.
In a book dated 1855-Thornton's "Ore-
gon and California''-we read that "ships
drawing IL or Il feet OF water ascend the
Willamette to the pleasant and fourishing
village of Portland, II miles below Oregon
City," The pheasant and fourishIng vii
lage" is now a city of at least 60, 900, which
hotly disputes with Los Angeles the honor
hof thn Ia L. d.
cihc coast. The Los Angeles papers claim
10000 for their city, and speak encourage
ingly of Portland as promising city of 40
600, while the Portland paper reverse these
figures. One thing is certain-Portland is
growing very rapidly. She, however, has
never had real "boom," like her Southern
rival, or like Tacoma and Seattle.
Salem, the Oregon capital, has not greatly
outgrown the condition in which it was
found number of years ago by Mr.
Joaquin Miller, who referred to 1t as
"rather thickly settled for the country, yet
far too thinly settled for a city," but Port
land has always gone ahead, thanks to the
TACT that it has been, and still is, the head
quarters for Wholesale supplies, not only in
Oregon, but in Washington and Idaho.
This, combined with the fact that it is the
outlet for one of the richest grain and fruit
States in the Union accounts for the metro
politan aspect. A large and magnificent
hotel has just been completed, one of the
finest and most sensibly constructed in the
country. Cable cars and electric lines have
also been introduced recently, and beside
all these things there is evidence of Port
land Sprosperity in the appearance of the
Daily Oregonian, which Is at present COM
PEELED to add four pages almost every day
to its usual eight pages, just as were the
I.0o Ana los Av1r thn
Southern California.
FRIENDLY TO THE CHINAMAN.
In one respect Portland differs widely
from her rivals in Washington, namely, in
her treatment OF the Chinaman. From
Tacoma the Chinese were driven formally,
lew years ago, by a mob headed by the
Mayor and brass band. Seattle tried the
same game, but there the mob was foiled by
the interference of the Sheriff. Portland,
on the other hand, deals gently with its
1000 Cinnamon because they are found use
full and sometimes Indispensable. A Port
lander has explained this matter as follows:
SIN city where white held cannot be got
at the rate of $50 month for plain cooks
and $40 for chambermaids, Cinnamon at
those prices, either in t. kitchen or over
head, are blessing. Inueed the amicable
relations between the Chinese and the
white here is due largely to tacit agree
ment on division of labor. All over the
city you see that the men employed on
street mending and other public works are
white. Whenever you see pile of cord
wood and a man saving, splitting and
carrying it in, you will find him China
man. When a well-to-do Chinaman wants
drive in hack, a white man sits before
him on the box.
The Chinese have not intruded into any
skilled trades to the exclusion of the whites.
Their BARRIERS shave only their own country
men. Their cobblers confine their mending
to Chinese shoes. Their compositors set only
Chinese type. Their carpenters are en-
ployed on Chinese buildings and cabinet
work exclusively. You will often see
drayman delivering freight with Chinese
helper, or white gardener directing his
Chinese assistant in the use of the hoe and
rake.
HE DON'T WORK FOR NOTHING.
The absurd notion, so prevalent in some
parts of the East, that the Chinaman works
for almost nothing, is quickly dispeiled when
you come to strike bargain with one. II
he is to dig in your garden as common
laborer he stands for his 81 day as firmly
as any white man. He will saw your wood
gladly, but he must have 81 a cord for it, or
81 IS if he also splits it, carries it in and
piles it up in your cellar. In the country
the Cinnamon are even more indispensable
than in the city, and the demand Ior them
during harvesting and hop-picking time is
always greater than the supply. They are
hired through the agency OF Chinese bosses,
who send them wherever they are wanted,
with cooks and general outfit, and pay
them small sum day, keeping the lions
share for themselves. AT other times of the
year the Chinese are employed in making
"clearings" for agricultural purposes.
Oregon has about Is, 00O, 900 acres of tim
ber land with soil that is excellent for
grain or fruit, provided the timber can be
removed. To do this with white labor is SO
expensive as to take away the possible
margin of profit. But the Chinaman does it
for smaller sum, and thus, instead of being
the farm laborer's enemy, he enables him to
earn living on the ground cleared by the
heather. The cost of clearing an acre varies
from $50 to 800.
THE GARDENERS OF THE COAST.
Market gardening in Oregon as in Cali
fornia, is almost entirely in the hands of the
Chinese, and wherever in tine neiyhborhood
of Portland. you see brook large enough to
irritate garden, you Will usually find a
Chinaman in possession of the ground. Even
where the gardens or orchards belong to
Americans, Cinnamon are hired to do most
OF the work. And they do it we'll. with rare |
executions UsuaIlv thpv have a bnt of tbair