The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-07-07
Seaports of
the Northwest
CONTINUED from Yesterday,

route of the Oregon Railway n Nav
igation Company to Portland. There it
delivered ats export tonnage into ocean
vessels. The rental exacted by the O..
r. and N. Co, the bar at the mouth Of
the Columbia river, the shallow draught
required in vessels intended to come up
the river, and the difficulties of this
river route, were the reasons given for
the abandonment by the Northern Paci-
fc of The o. Il. and N. Co. route, and
fhe construction of the P-asco-Tacoma
route. There is no doubt that the delays
and costs were excessive. Mr.. Geo. S.
Morrison, the expert sent out to examine
the relative costs Of various routes and
the earning capacity Of the same, put
the additional cost to ocean vessels via
the Columbia river route over a Pasco-
Tacoma route at $1.50 per ton at that
time. The o. r. and N. Co.'s capitaliza-
ton and cost of railway lines was ex-
cessive; its apparent earnings, exclu-
sive Of fictitious ones ON construction
material, were not much over three per
cent. The capitalization on which inter-
est was demanded, instead of being
about ten millions for a simple main
line down the Columbia, which was all
the Northern Pacific actually needed,
was over forty millions. "a present
annual rental from the Union Pacific
road of about $500, 900 gave that road a
loss in 1891 of 1884, SOL Had a low
rental for main line only been possible,
tie Northern Pacific road could have
shipped even from Tacoma for less than
the $1.50 mentioned by Mr.. Morrison by
taking it's freight to Portland n
thence the lao miles from Portland to
Kalama, which at the fifty mills per
ton-mile rate figured ON by Mr.. Morrison
would have cost seventy cents. A rival
would have been prevented from taking
the O. r. and N. Co.'S line. The pro
ducts from the Yakima region would
have paid on a longer haul than now,
which they could AVE afforded to DO
being near the ocean by either route
h developed regions at Portland ana
in the Willamette valley would have
been preserved tributary to the road
Upon the removal of the Columbia par
which was being planned, the Northern
Pacific road would have been in posi-
ton to extend to the mouth of the
river, as once planned. A general con-
~solidation of ines and expenditures
would have resulted, in place OF the
unfortunate dissipation of interests ana
expenditures. as now. When the line
was extended to he mouth of the Col
umbia, the cost, as per Mr., Morisons
figures. would have been fifty cents per
ton from Portland. The Northern Pa
ci6c road would have held the North
west tributary to her. The present cir
cuitous route the tonnage takes from
Pasco to Tacoma and thence via the
Sound and southwark, would have been
avoided. A survey was made to reduce
the present needless gradients and to
tighten the curvature of the o. r. and
N. Co.'S line along the Columbia, giving
q cost of about $1,000, ZOO. The improve
ment was based on a manifestly absurd
requirement. of 1000 feet between reverse
curves. All needed changes could have
been made for about $4,000 0 and al
much cheaper route for operating Sc
cured than that over the Cascades TO
Tacoma, and gradients kept under TWEEN
ty-ive feet per mile.
In examining the possible c~oncentra-
ton of feeders we find the Sound coun-
try very weak. 1t is closely walled in
on the east by the great Cascade range.
Each line of railway M crosses the
range by its own separate pass, finds
itself at tide water as soon as it has
reached the foot of it's western graz
dents, with no important extent of pro-
ductive country, except for timber.
portland is also practically walled in
on the east in a similar manner SO
far as productive country is concerned
to the Sound, on reaching tide water,
must either rest content with its own
line, without the radial concentration
necessary to great development of bus
angles to its general course, and sur
rendering its own terminus, must in
crease it's length of haul in seeking the
terminal of a rival having a shorter
route. No radial gathering in of lines
on an equal basis is possible. Hence on
the Sound, the terminal locations and
terminal expenditures are and must be
scattered and wasted over a long ex-
one of the terminals will attain to a
commanding pre-eminence. On the con-
trary, the mouth of the Columbia is far
enough away from the Cascade range
to have railways converge without to
any great extent ~parallelling each other.
A radial is possible in time from the
south coast and California; n via Sa-
lem and Albany from Ogden; one via
Hillsboro, from the Willamette valley;
one via the Nehalem valley. from Port
land; one via the south shore Of the
Columbia, crossing the Willamette near
its mouth. to Astoria; n via Vancou-
yer. from the Yakima country; n from
the Sound, via Kalama; one from the
north coast and Chehalis region, The
fouth coastwise radial is exclusively
controlled by Astoria Much Of the north
coast n some Of the Puget Sound
coast tonnage will be SO controlled The