The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1891-07-31
AN OLD SETTLER.
HE TALKS OF EARLY DAYs-FREIGHT
CHARGES, ETC, ETC.

HE TALKS OF EARLY DAYS-FREIGH1
CHARGES, ETC, ETC.
| A few facts furnished us by one o.
the oldest settlers (Mr. Ashby Pierce,
of this county may help in a measure
to more fully enlighten the people o1
to-day of the Importance of competi
ton in transportation lines, not only
to the farmer but the entire populace
of any state or community. This is
or should be, amongst the most i'm
portant topics of discussions: "Can we
have too many competing lines OF
transportation tor public goodq'' The
history of early days certainly demon.
strate that "competition is the life OF
trade" Therefore the combined eff
forts of the residents of the William.
mette valley should be turned toward
the improvement of the Willamette
| river so as as to make transportation
between Corvallis and Portland pos
sible the whole year round, for the
| navigation of this river was the means
of the first reduction in freight rates
! and is yet the means of making trans
| portation between here and Portland
much cheaper than they would other
wise be.
Mr.. Pierce was born in Harrison
county, Indiana, in 1921, and after
ward he removed with his parents to
Knox county, Ill. In March 1S47, he
Joined Nathanual Browns train and
started for Oregon; arriving in Oregon
City in the fall of the same year. In
1S47 he came to Benton county and
located on the farm now owned by
Caleb Davis, which is some five miles
west of this city. Here he remained
until the year 1S49, when he went to
California in search of gold. He did
not remain there but very short time
however, when he returned to Linn
county and commenced selling goods
for Layton Bros, who were then To-
Gated in the first frame building ever
erected in Albany, and which was
l6x16 feet. At that time Corvallis
had never been thought of. In August
of the same year he became engaged
as clerk for the firm of Hill & Hastings
who were then running a store in log
cabin about one mile below where the
town of Jefferson now stands, on the
Santiam river. In those days all the
goods were hauled from Portland with
OK teams at rate of $l0O per ton, and
in order to get this rate it was neces-
sary to furnish the teams with load
on their return trip, and the modest
little sum of So per bushel was charged
for hauling potatoes from Syracuse to
Oregon City, distance of 65 miles.
In September, 1851, Mr.. Pierce re-
turnnd to Albany and bought out the
store then owned by J. M. Mcconnell.
In the fall of this year the steamer
Cannemah began to navigate the river.
This was the first steamer to make the
voyage up the river, and with this COM
menced the reduction in freight rates.
The first freight hauled by the Can
nemah from Portland to Albany was
charged for at the rate of $50 per ton.
This was reduction of $40 per ton
over the OK team freight line and the
residents in the valley began to look
for better times. Other boats were
finally put on the river so that in a few
years the competition between the
boats brought freight down until dur
ing the year 1870, by having goods
shipped in large lots, it was shipped for
Sc per ton. Then came another COM
peting line; the o. & c. railroad was
built up the valley and freight was then
carried as low as So and 81 per ton, and
it kept coming down step by step until
during the eighties it was carried as
low as ST 50 and So per ton.
The contrast between the prices paid
then and those paid at the present time
is certainly wonderful and should fur
nish conclusive evidence that the more
competition there is in transportation
the better it is for the public in general.
In speaking of the rules of credit in
the early days Mr.. Pierce said: "The
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