The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-06-12
WHY AND WHEREFORE
Good Reasons Given for Build
ing the Railroad.
a PROMINENT CITIZEN SPEAKS
Hammond Will Surely Do His Part
If Astoria Does Hers-"He
Who Runs May Read"
Astoria, Ore, June 10, 1896.

Astoria, Ore, June 10, 1895
Editor Astorian:-
The question is asked, "Wtl Hammond
build the Astoria and GoIble railroadT'
I presume that there is not man In
the United States who knows more Of
the map Of the Pacific coast than does
M Hammond He knows that there is
not another all rail water level route
from the Pacific ocean to the east be-
tween San Diego and Shka, except by
way of the great Columbia river; he
knows the value of level routes as com,
pared with mountainous ones; that 45-
ton locomotive hill haul forty loaded
cars from Walla Walla 10 Astoria at
a speed of thirty miles an hour; that the
whole east of the mountainous country
of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and
a part of British Columbia, Is tributary
to, and q part Of the great basin Of the
Columbia river. The o. r. & N. rail-
road, now running from Portland
through this Columbia valley eastward,
has branch roads leading to various i'm
portant points and is a competitor of the
Northern Pacific road to Puget sound
from the same territory. 1t is now a
demonstrated fact that the Northern Pa
cific cannot compete with the o. r. & N.
In carrying the vast amount of wheat
valley, because the Northern Pacific is
compelled to haul its freight over the
Cascade mountains for 150 miles on grades
that require two S04ton locomotives to
handle ten loaded cars, through tun-
mel that cost $30O0,00O. Now compare the
wear OF steel rails on these steep grades
and curves and the cost Of fuel and eX-
ira men with the fact that the o. r. &
N has none of these conditions to con-
tend with in handling its trains from the
great wheat fields, and see where 1t lands
you.
Another great difficulty in shipping
grain via Puget sound is that when you
are at Seattle or Tacoma you are 150
miles from the ocean at the straits of
Fuca, and when tug takes hold Of a
Ship at the straits of Fuca she dare not
let go of that ship until reaching Tacoma
or Seattle on account of there being no
anchorage on Puget sound, SO that when
Ship is being taken to or from sea the
tug cannot let 20 all that long distance.
There is another little matter in comec-
tion with shipping alt Puget sound, and
that is the teredo that eats UP piling al
most as fast as 1t can be put In. Pilns
will not last lctgsr than fifteen months
in safety for warehouse purposes on
Puget sound. Ali these things that 1
speak of are matters that men and money
cannot change, and no man Is more con-
versant with all these facts than Mr..
Hammond.
Every vessel that carries grain to Eu-
rope from Puget sound has to sail six
hundred miles further than from the
Columbia river, and the most dangerous
and costly part of the voyage is the tow
ing on the sound and the fogs at the
CT To Of xuall A1aaae
in the shipping season.
Grain shipped from Eastern Oregon and
Washington via the Columbia river route
to Astoria saves 900 miles in the distance
to Europe and III handled in bulk will
save to the farmer the cost of sacks and
the waste of grain the farmer has to
lose.
Astoria has some wonderful advantages
over all other ports on the Pacific ocean;
first, she is a fresh water port second
the mouth of the Columbia river, or en-
trance to the harhor, has channel two
miles wide, nearly straight to the sea,
which has thlrty-three feet of water at
low tide; third, there are no teredos to
eat the piling, and piles never rot below
medium high water; fourth, no rise of
water in the Columbia river ever affects
the height of the tide at the wharves
CIV <AobNAuot HAWls tfliJ NNSSSA NOiihh5 AiilO
the river that wants TO clean the bar
nacles from her bottom can go on the
sands at high tide and when the tide is
out can scrape her bottoms, or do any
temporary repairing, almost as well as
In a dry dock: sixth, the harbor is land
locked and affords perfect protection to
vessels
No man knows better than Mr.. Ham
mond does that the mouth of the Column
bla river Is a better entrance than San
Francisco is a safer entrance than Puget
sound is nearer Hong Kong than San
Francisco by 600 miles, and than Puget
sound by 200 miles. From New York, by
way of the Columbia river to Hong
Kong is from two Ito four days nearer
than via either San Francisco or Puget
sound, and Is the natural route for trans
pacific transcontinental freight and pas,
sengers. These facts can be easily sub
stantiated by consulting a good atlas and
a chart of the ocean currents.
No intelligent man who will thoroughly
investigate this whole matter can doubt
for one moment that Mr.. Hammond Will
build the Astoria and Goble railroad,
provided the people of Astoria have the
energy, courage and Judgment to carry
out the letter of their agreement with
him, and feel like saying that they will
certainly do 1t. ]. C. TRULLINGER.