The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-07-03

ana not Wy AZ
river full Of destructive forces for deer
channels that are unnatural = tho
rivers regimen Portland mrzt nave
aver n thousand million dollars Of live
. nror,ertv to aid here in defending her
commerce, before she can duplicate
I what Manchester or Glasgow have DONE
1. and must then do 1t by a canal.
The North American ports cited as
~fayoring q theory of inland locations
are philadelphia, Baltimore, Montreal,
/, and New Orleans.
These ports were located and attained
a very large growth under the ola
commercial and transportation cpndi-
lions already referee to.
Philadelphia is most naturally located
10 suit the water route conditions ana
limited areas developed thereby close
70 the waterways. 1t is the best radial
point OF the Delaware and Schnylklll
basins. and by these and a series Oh
canals. was a point of greater radial
centration than was New YorkCity. The
city is located at the first or lowermost
mint of this sort, and OF concentrated
,va.,r frontage, that vessels found In
coming ND the river. The development
Of railways, making possible a concen-
tration of radials more to the past
ward at New York. moved the CONNER
c,al supremacy coastward. Prior to 1876,
tbe pennsylvania Railroad company.
hacked by It's great control OF tonnage
and its five hundred millions 9f capital'
undertake. to secure commercial SUI
nremacy permanently for Philadelphia.
This great CORPORATION worked in har-
mony with the general government TO
his end. The United States engineers
IN charge of the Delaware river m
-nrovements. the United States engineer
in charge Of the Fourth Lighthouse
district. and the railway officials, gave
their best efforts in harmony towards
the desired end. There was an excellent
channel of 25 feet at low water, ana OF
over 20 feet at high water. successive
pairs Of range lights brought the vessel
from below Listens Tree up to the
river MS easily by night as it could come
by day. The Pennsylvania railroad
built wharves and great wheat ele-
vators and other facilities at Girard1s
Point and elsewhere. 1t established al
line of steamers direct to Europe. Yet
in a few years that company was
to move to New York. Its ele-l
vators and wharves were left standing
idle and rotting. The machinery In
was, in a quiet fashion not IN
tended to arouse Philadelphia's fears,
offered for sale to certain parties. Who
v e today passes by boat along Phila-
delphia's lower water front, where for
eign vessels are supposed to lie, VIII
see the wharves for such vessels al
deserted. Perhaps steamer Tor
will be lying there. President
Roberts, of the Pennsylvania road, In
his address to the stockholders, March
1892, spoke as follows:
''Some years ago you established a
steamship company, the American
Steamship, Company, fostered by your
corporation in which you took four
sevenths of the original stock, after
ward increasing that from time to timc
you had nearly 81, 200, 900, invested
In the capital stock Of that steamship
company.
That ST. 200 900 has been totally sunk.
In addition to that, this company has
faithfully paid the obligations all these
years at the date of their maturity, so
that they have paid in the neighbor-
hood Of 49, 500, 900, more as a contrlbu-
ton on the part of your corporation to
endeavor to build up the m of
this port, not an lliberal contribution, :
and ore which has given the managers
Of your corporation some anxiety as to
Il vas right or proper, but
right or not, 1t has all gone"
This is the sort of a port upon which :
Portland, much more feeble than older
Philadelphia and without vast anthra-
cite fields and manufacturing establish :
ments to assist, bases her hopes Of COM
supremacy. A more exhaustlve
test than was made at Philadelphia. 1t
difficult TO imagine.
In 1890 the foreign export and import o
Of New York amounted to {
Il. GAG, 555 tons, and of Philadelphia, only
1885, 66 tons,
The expenditure Of the Pennsylvania
road was on q river already. having a :
channel at high water, and was
IN addition to all government expendi-
lures. Portland, in the face of such a
complete test of the demerlts of inland
navigation, endeavors to induce con-
to spend what will amount to
several millions on river Improvement,
although no railway with a fourth Of
he Pennsylvania roads tonnage stands
to expend large sums to utilize
he Improvement 1t is certainly wiser
o await full development of transported
Ion lines to the coast at the Columbla's
mouth, or at least one railway. before
{ Is decided to attempt an Improvement
u the river that may be needless.