The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1893-04-15
Astoria's Future
As a Seaport.

Astoria should always feel proud of
the favoied position she holds as a
deep water seaport. Nothing can de-
prive her Of that distinction. So long as
there is commerce between nations, so
long will the harbor that is deep and
spacious. attract to its wharves the
largest ships and steamers. The inn
mense steamers Of 10000 tons and up
wards, can, in fact, only frequent ports
like New York and Astoria, where the
erosion of rivers and other causes have
formed vast basins in which the worlds
fleets might conveniently assemble.
The Southern Pacific railroad has re-
Gently recognized the importance Of a
deep water port on the Texan coast by
the purchase Of the San Antonio and
Arkansas Pass railroad. This railroad
terminates near the port of Corpus
Christie, which is not far from the Mex
lean border. 1t provides the great
Southern Pacific system with an outlet
for all the products that it can gather
for shipment or the Atlantic coast, in
its long pathway from Ogden and Port
land to San Francisco, and thence
through the most productive regions Of
California to the fertile plains of Texas.
1t is noteworthy that the Southern Pa
cifc has sought and obtained the near
est deep water port it could acquire on
the Atlantic seaboard. It has already
large interests at New Orleans and at
Newport News, Virginia, which has a
noble harbor, but commerce forbids that
a railway should haul goods some hum
dreds of miles when there Is a port at
hand where they can be shipped to
home or foreign ports at the low rates
that pertain to water transportation.
The application of this circumstance
to Astoria is clear. The Union Pacific
and the other railroads approaching
the coast through Wyoming and Utah
will find 1t to be to their interest to
head for Astoria, which is the nearest
deep water port that they can reach
north of San Francisco. Every mile
that they deviate from that objective
point, places them at a disadvantage
in competing with the two rivals, the
Northern Pacific and the Great North
ern, each of which are already at deep
water, in the Sound.
The rivalry Of the southern ports
Galveston, Velasco and Arkansas Pass,
has ELECTED some statements that bear
on the interests of Oregon and Wash
ington. Thus Mr.. Street, who has stud
led the relative Importance of inland
and deep water cities, says:
There are dozens and dozens Of rail-
road centers in the United States, but
only a few of them have passed the
so, 900 limit, and all of them must for
ever pc subservient to the gorging trade
of the deep water points where capital
and population have made and are maxi
ing such enormous economies in labor,
in living expenses. in facilities for in
terchange of products, Inc conditions
for negotiating new enterprises and car
rying on old ones. Railroads alone will
not make great cities. 1t is not in the
nature of things that they should.
The foregoing statement has been
verified in the growth of San Francisco,
and will as surely be verified in the
growth of Astoria when railroad COM
munication, combined with river and
ocean traffic shall put her On a level,
as regards commercial facilities, with
the California metropolis.
We meet also with a quotation from
a writer in Bradstreet's which y
"A study Of the population of the cities
Of the United States indicates that deep
water navigation is the father of com-
greatness"
Again, we are told in a document
published in the interest of velasco
that:
THE vast territory tributary to a
port where vessels of deep draught can
and load and unload without tho
cost, danger and delay of lighterage
md the immense product of the terri
DRY west Of the Mississippi river, cry
ng for an outlet to the sea, will cause
he thinking men to realize that the
where a deep water harbor and
Met is already a fact, there must a
great city grow up. The port of Gal
,eston alone, with only 10 IA feet of
water, did a business last year $500
# 1873, 766, 0S6. At Galveston large yes
must lie outside the bar five to
light miles from the city to complete
heir lading." Il
The n in which all this applies
Astoria is obvious. So is the appli-
of the following extract from the
anne document: \
THE $4,000, 900 bushels of corn raised
n Texas in 1888, sold for $1,000, 900
more money than the 10000, 900 bushels
in Kansas in the same year.
Proximity to markets was worth $11,-
100, 900 to Texas farmers.
WORLDS FAIR TRAVELLERS WILL
HAVE IT. /
The public demand throug service (
When travelling. 1t is old fashioned to {
change cars" On the through, solid {
-estibuled trains of the Chicago, Union
pacific & Northwestern line from or ,
O Chicago, Omaha and intermediate ,