Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-19
WHERE CITIES GROW.
A Bird's-Eye View of 0regon's Busy
and Great Metropolis.
A TYPE OF WESTERN PROGRESS.
The Nations Greatness Asserting Itself on
the Northern Pacific Slope.
WONDERFUL GROWTH OF CITIES THERE
CORRESPONDENCE OF THE D1spATcH.l

CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DIsPATcH.l
PORTLAND, ORE, April lit is an old
saying that "cities are notmade, they grow. u
The truth Of this remark is certainly proved
by the history of each great city Of the world
for cities are but centers of trade and arise
simply as the supply of demand. Like all
growing things, cities are subject to infex,
ible natural laws, which can no more be al
fectei by the inclination and perversity Of
man than can the mighty river be turned
from its course to suit his caprices. Man
may retard or advance the growth and sue
cess of town, but only temporarily. 1t is
beyond his strength to permanently affect it.
The location calls for the town, and man,
equal to the emergency, builds it.
The towns of the Northwest are 80 strik-
ingly different in characteristics that the
eccentricity of one city is no indicator of the
peculiarities of another. Here are towns 20
years old-others scarcely six months; but
already progressive and fourishing. Visit
the West one year, and some spot, barren
tract of land, you will find, if you come II
months later, is covered with pretty, per-
haps costly houses and handsome public
buildings; while here and there a spire
points like an index finger heavenward in
silent witness Of the flight of time, and in
testimony of Western progress. Ay, rub
your eyes, my friend, and question the
soundness of your wits. Facts do not lie.
Here is whole town built while you were
napping-no mirage. All through Wash
ington and Oregon these pretty little towns
springing up from day to day, like buds in
the spring time. While much interest Gen.
ters in these little towns, some day to be
cities, yet the larger towns demand the con-
siderate attention of the thoughtful traveller
and financier. Chief among these latter,
stands Portland-the metropolis of the
Pacific Northwest.
AN IMPOSING CITY.
The city is situated on the Willamette
river, near its confluence with the Colum-
bia. Seen from an eminence in its vicifty,
back of the town, the entire view is most
imposing. Portland, as the name testines,
is seaport, admitting deep sea vessels of
all sizes and classes and at all seasons. Since
the first settlement of the country the place
has been, as now, the principal port of i'm
port and export, the trade and manufactur-
l.
When first l looked upon Portland from
the brow of this hill, it seemed as though
nature had never before so beautifully
blended her own handiwork with that of
man. The river, like tinted ribbon,
stretched its sinuous course, embraved with
many querl, dimpled with, many holm.
Like fleets of water lilies nestled the snowy
ships upon the pellucid mirror. Here and
there from some projecting haze the trees
cast reflected and nemorous shade, which
seemed to fairly intensity the beauty and
distinctness of their LEAKAGE. One would
almost fancy for the moment that he had
wandered into region of perpetual sum-
mer, untouched by the breath of hyems,
that is, until he paused to look upon the city
at his feet. Portland forbids any revelling of
fancy-it is too sternly prosaic-too much of
a money-getting, bread winning mart. ''The
dollar OF our daddies' Is the vital question
considered here. Sentiment takes a seat in
the hindermost row. Practically gives
poetry an Icarian tumble 1t is rather of
the vast mass of surging, struggling human
ity in this city of 100000 that we must
think than of the beauty of wave and sky,
the loyeliness that dwells IN the turn of o
leaf and the closing of flower.
A LUsTY AMERICAN INFANT.
Though as the years of city and human
life are numbered, Portland is still in its
infancy, it has attained position as regards
wealth and the resources of trade, which in
proportion to Its numbers is unrivaled
throughout the length and breadth of our
Union. The people of Portland are fond Of
claiming that their city contains more
millionaires, in proportion to population,
than any other city in the world. More than
three score millionaires either reside or have
their business headquarters here. The city
has also the finest public buildings, with the
exception of those to be found in San Fran
cisco, taken as a class, for city of its size,
of any town on the two hemispheres. The
wealth of the city is doubtless due chiefly to
its location. Its seaport advantages, its
trade, manufacturing and transportation ia
cilities are unequaled. These advantages
dependent upon natural resources, are OF
course stable and not apt to vacillate, SO
that the chances for the city's growth are al
most unlimited.
In the days of Oregon's early history,
when the State was dotted by no town or
city, and not even the semblance of village
marked the site where Portland now stands,
the owners of trading vessel, who had
cargo of general merchandise to sell, in seek
ing a point where their wares might best be
disposed of, to the scattered settlers along
the Pacific coast, brought their vessel into
the Columbia river, entering the stream as
far as navigation would permit. When the
vessel refused to go further, they landed
and built small store on the edge of the
river, where their cargo was sold. The fol-
lowing year they brought larger stores and
were speedily followed by other vessels.
T .. L
built up. This trading point became the
nucleus of the city of Portland. On the
site of this first small store, to-day stands
public rows of buildings in the entire city.
COULD NOT BE sTRANGLED.
Portland has had many rivals but she has
pushe ed them all to the wall. Upon the
neck of many struggling and ambitious
towns she has put her imperial foot, and
held them subject to her will. Claiming
her divine right by precedence, she rules as
she was born to do. Previous to the build
ing of railroads, the owners of line of
steamers plying between San Francisco and
Portland, with the true spirit of Inerciless
seeing that their line gave Port
land her only means of communication with
the outside world, laid out a new town and
refused to run their steamers into Portland.
In this new town large wharves and vast
warehouses were built, and many predicted
Portland's prospects as laid on the shelf.
But the strange tide which determines the
affairs of town, did not set in toward the
newly laid-out city. People left only to
return to Portland. At length weary of
with a fate that seemed de-
to down" them, tbs owners of
the steamship line returned to the wharves
at Portland, and since that time the city
has continued to grow with varying but un-
interrupted prosperity.
In the summer of 1883 the first railroad to
enter Portland was completed-the North
ern Pacifc-which gave the city access, by
rail, to all parts of the United States. It
now has three transcontinental lines, each