The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-06-26
x [S'Elli|
A Comp sOn Of Inland With
Coast HarbOrS.
SOME COMMON ERRORS EXPOSED
The Enormous Cost Of Maintaining
Deep Water Navigation
to Portland.
SOME COMMON ERRORS EXPOSED

II Is the purpose to publish the ar
ticle written by Mr.. Archibald a
schenck entitled THE Commercial sea
norts of the Northwest" in full, com
mencing with the portion following, an
continuing an installment from day u
day until its entire publication shal
have been completed:
The world has been and Is beint
enormously taxed every year through {
few mistaken Idels concerning CONNER
cIal seaports. one Of these Is that sucf
a commercial port is merely a shipping
point, and that relative costs OF trans
portatlon decide its growth and suprem'
acy. The higher idea of illness for be
ing a great mart Of trade, a great com
mercial exchange, is overlooked, aho
the only thing considered Is, now iai
inland can ocean vessels be induced tC
come. All that railways have sought In
many cases has been the nearest por'
at which they may get rid Of their ton
mage.
"A BeCOHu tIiOI 10 III uooaAiiho $500
an ocean vessel when on inland rivers
or canals furnishes the anne cheap form
Of TRANSFORMATION, or approximately so,
that 1t does on the free ocean.
A third error is In assuming that be-
cause large ports exist inland, they are
not expensive errors, and may be du-
plicated.
A fourth error Is in assuming that
such large inland %seaports as do exist,
so b2ist In rivalry with a well defined
natural harbor, OF distinct harbor fea-
lures, further down the river.
These general statements outline the
examination proposed In this paper.
Although the paper treats primarily
Of commercial seaports Of the Pacific
Northwest, In reply to the views Of
advocates OF inland seaports there, II
necessarily includes a somewhat extend
ed examination of the seaports Of the
world generally.
II is noted that those whose views
this paper Is intended to meet, are
personally interested In the ports which
each one argues In favor Of. One Is In
tercsted by his WI professional resi-
dence and by that Of his relatives cSs''
Gated at his expense; another Is FL eX-
pert employed by q railway w'ich mas
cast it's fortunes with, anh expended
IT'S RESOURCES upon an Inland terminal
another ~ an expert for q proposed sys-
tenn Of ship canals 1iis personai inter-
est IN the subject OF discussion IS as 1t
should be. The most complete work of
gathering statistics OF ftudying mater
inl developments, and Ct intense and
prolonged thought upon such subjects
whether manufacturing, conmereill, ag-
rlcultural, or Of investment Is gener-
ally found among those deeply and per-
sonally interested. In any paper or
treatise, sufficient credit for intelligence
and independent judgment may be
given the reader. All that can be done
by u writer is to devote time and labor,
such as each reader cannot give, to
gathering facts and eollating ideas In
compact form.
The advocates Of an Inland location
have somewhat blinded their readers
to the question at issue by citing n
large number Of intended ports that
have failed of great success. both in
land and coast, creating the impression
by the hasty recital OF them that all the
failures were not due to being inland.
All the small ports between Baltimore
and New Orleans, lying entirely outside
the great lines of tonnage movement,
are called IN to confuse the real issue
Some ports as yet without transcontA
mental railways, or even local railways,
are cited to prove the necessity Of in
land location. Mere riverside deepwater
absolutely without distinctive
harbor or terminal features, are called
to fortlfy the inland theory.
For those readers to whom the recon-
.mendation of a manager Of t%ransporta- :
don lines Is preferred to a detail ex-
animation Of the case, we quote the :
made to the writer by the =
viee-presldent OF one of the greatest :
transatlantic lines, He says;
In our opinion II Is undesirable. ex- !
rept In the case OF n very old and con-
inland port, to send a steamer q
inland for cargo
The seaport question In the Pacific '
appears to be a triangular
light between Puget Sound CTacoma and :
seattlel Portland, at the head of nayl- :
CATION OF the Willamette river oot of
The Columbia river, and Astoria, at .
Ihe mouth OF the Columbia river, '
Tacoma claims that she has all she :
needs In her railway line and In her :
water route to the ocean. '
Portland has a railway, but Is not =
with her inland water route. 4
Astoria has the ocean at hand. but .
SKIS FOR a railway and for an open Co =
umbia river for light draught vessels. :
Portland bases her claim Of future r
supremacy upon her being inland nearer 4
he producer and at the head OF nayi- +
on her claimed position as a y
adlal centre OF railways. and on the Il
'rowth she has already secured. E
Astoria has a harhor that the United r
government has secured an en- II
rance to, by an expenditure OF 1000 u
90 upon the jetty at the mouth OF the b
'olumbla, This harbor is magnificent n
p size and character; Of ample working b
DOM for vessels Of the largest size: OF n
length and concsntration OF water 7