The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-03-25
An OPEN RIVER.

From all parts of the country tributary
to the Columbia river from Walla Walla
to Astoria come the cry for an open
river. The action of the Oregon legisla-
ton in appropriating 100000 for the
portage railway at the Cascades has only
helped to swell the volume and intensity
of this cry. The most important and
hopeful action yet taken is that of the
merchants and citizens of Portland,
when on last Friday evening they issued
a call for meeting to be held in Port
land on the Sth of April of the repre-
sentatives from the districts most in
terested for Consultation and if possible
devising some effective means by which,
at least, a temporary mode eofovercoming of
the Instructions may be accomplished. }"
In view of the fact that an open river is
a pet scheme of the governor, it has
been suggested that he might be induced
to call special meeting Of the legislature
to make an appropriation for the work.
We think the idea is a foolish one, for
no assurance that the members, if con-
vened at the call of the governor, would
consent to make the needed appropria-
tion. The same influence that was at
work to defeat the Raley bill, during the
last session would be revived. If it did
not switch them off on a scow, something
equally effective would be resorted to /;
and in the second place there is not the
least likelihood that the governor would
consent to a special session; and we
don't blame him. He had enough of
the last, and he has no great love for
legislatures anyhow. The present agita-
ton will have affected much good if steps
are taken in the near future to ascertain
the cost of constructing a portage road
on the Oregon side. If this had been
done before the meeting of the
last legislature and it had been found
by any reliable authority to be imprac-
ticable, the people would now be salts
fed. The thoughtless unofficial remark
of a man who had never, by his own
confession, surveyed the road, was grasp
ed at and used to defeat the measure
while its friends, having no available fig
ures to offset the absurd idea that the
road would cost a million, were helpless
and it would have been the same if some
one had said it would cost five millions
We have been repeatedly assured by
men who are familiar with every inch OF
the way, between Cello and The Dalles
that there is no good reason why the
road should cost even as much as was
~, ha Dola H.;
o. r. & n. company surveyed road
wholly south of the present tract and
actually expended sixteen to twenty
thousand dollars on its construction, and
afterwards for some reason abandoned
1t. There is no man living capable o1
believing that the road would cost $780,
600 mile, Mr.. Mccoy to the contrary
Notwithstanding. So besides we are
well assured, both from personal know
ledge and from that of all who are famil-
lar with the country back of the Colum-
bia that perfectly feasible roadway
can be found by following up Fifteen
Mile to near d. J. Cooper's ranch then
crossing ii low pass in the hills and re.
turn to the Columbia at the mouth of the
Deschutes river. The route would, ot
course be longer than by way of the Col
umbia but it could be built, we are
assured, at comparatively little cost
Whatever may be done at the coming
meeting in Portland, we hope thorough
examination of the Oregon side will be
made before it is pronounced impracti
cable to build a road there. The advan.
tages that Oregon would derive from q
portage road around the dalles would be
greatly increased by having it built or
this side of the river.