The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-06-29
seapofts Of
the Northwest
continued from Yesterday

tahlished under the same cOnultioh0 "
slow water transportation and limited
development contiguous to the rivers az
Portland In their cases a longer inter-
val Of time elapsed before railways
great river lows modified transportation
methods. Many of those ports had hall
as MANY centuries under the old condl-
tons as Portland has had years. NO
one will refuse to admit the d~esirability
Of quickly serving the wants OF a com
munity, or the desirability Of reaching
a radlal point Of transportation iacii-
flies. These objects, under old condi-
tons, were secured by going up the
rivers. and there the vessels went.
The draught of vessels in former
DAYS was much less than now. Com
p~etltion in ocean service had not forced
the building OF vessels Of great tonnage
Telegraph lines. ocean cables, and
ocean steamers had not created the de-
mand for quick transportation, n for
quick and frequent sales which are the
life of commerce today. Capital Is praeti-
cally multiplied by these, and 1t is
dangerous in many commodities to have
delays, owing to quicker fluctuations OF
prices. In former days a ship owner
or conslgnor sent his vessel off, not ex-
pecting TO hear from 1t or to negotiate
upon it's cargo for many months. In
such long voyages, a few days more or
less spent in penetrating inland counted
as nothing.
Facilities for obtaining fresh water for
long cruises were 80 poor at river points
that vessel often sailed sixty or sew
enty miles up a river solely TO take
water. Not over sixty years ago, YES
sells used to go up the Hudson as far
as Poughkeepsie for water only, even
when their cargoes were delivered at
New York.
Protection from hostile vessels, espe-
cially in a continent so much divided
politically as Europe, was essential to
safety. Tristan pirates, Spanish ar
madas, and other hostile fleets and
vessels threatened or were constantly
destroying commerce on the open seas.
AT the present day, no commercial port
fears to locate at the coast for such
reasons. Long range guns, armored
fleets, deep draught Of war vessels, and
torpedoes have moved the defended line
off shore and many miles to seawnrd.
National and political conditions in
some cases absolutely forbade anything
hut the present inland location; and also
made the coastwise tonnage an insight
ncant item.
At many OF these inland uorts, these
rivers are lined with marshes below
these cities, which would have pre-
vented the selection of a site carer the
coast, even II other reasons had not
prevented.
The concentration of a large number
of tonnage feeders from many dlrec-
lions and from long distances, and con-
versely the radiation of n large number
Of carriers to all directions and to
long distances, together with the pro-
cess of breaking bulk at the central
point, are admitted at the present day
to be essential to u great mart Of trade,
as distinguished from a mere shipping
point The buying, selling, exchanging,
Of commodities VIII almost invariably
be done most extensively where topo-
graphical reasons compel cargces to
break bulk. A small difference of trans
portation saved is of little effective I'M
p~ortance compared with consid sratlons
of concentration and enforced breaking
of bulk. In any examinations of sea-
ports, II is convenient to call the con-
centrated lines OF transportation, rad
lals," irrespective Of the direction of
the tonnage movement In the detail
examination Of seaports, for convenience
the term Concentration OF radials'' will
be used.
A seacoas location for a seaport is
the natural location for securing the
greatest possible tonnage. This Is n
simple mathematical necessity. Any yes
sci going inland runs past a tonnage
producing and receiving area, The
ocean vessel can handle the tonnage
for such an area only by having this
tcnrege take a course against It's de-
sired direction, While such an area is
a wilderness and not productive, the
vessel may run past It, but the pressure
against this operation and It's undeslr-
ability will Increase every hour. A sea
port" on the great lakes would compel
vessels TO steam past vast areas Of
valuable tonnage, would reduce the size
Of possible consignments OF any one
article, and put the merchant at a dis
advantage much greater than any mere
transportation saving would compensate
for. Land IS what produces tonnage,
and any port that aspires to be al
mart Of trade should keep all the land
behlnd Il and tributary to IT. Foreign
land and land along the coast also pro-
duce tonnage. and the foreign land and
coastwise radials will have their say.
as well rs the landwlse radlals, The
great value OF these radials and the
great consideration that must be paid
10 them, are well brought out by al
pronounced advocate OF inland ports. In
c paper advocating them. He says;
"san Francisco has a position much
like that OF New York. II being the CEN
tire Of an extensive roast system. Asl
the little parts bring their tributes To-
the mart. they must find a harbor as
near at hand as possible"
These coastwise radials. owing 70 the