The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-08-24
A BOSTON SOCIETY
1t Seeks Information as to AS
tOria's Resources.
PLANS TO ASSIST MANKIND
To Cure Intemperarce Must Better
Mans Social and Physical
Condition.
PLANS TO ASSIST MANKIND

A medium sized, slender man, with
black hair and closely cropped beard,
slightly tinged with gray, dark brown
piercing eyes and prepossessinS appear
ance, yesterday introduced himself TO
an Historian representative as Mr..
George F. Ormsby, of Boston, and
made some inquiries as to the resources
of Astoria and the immediate surround
ing country.
In the course of conversation Mr.. Orms-
by revealed the fact that he is represent
ing the Sociological and Reform League
of Boston The aims of the society are
to better the condition of mankind coop
ed up in the crowded cities of the East
and give them an opportunity to work
out their own salvation by the invest
ment Of capital on right lines and to plant
these people where the returns from
their labor will not only give them a
good living, but enable them to perhaps
return the capital first invested by the
society In extreme cases 1t is expected
to donate locations to parties without
the hope of the recovery of the original
expense.
Mr.. Ormsby states that the original
aim of the society was the supprcssing
of intemperance but that they found that
cate the principles Of temperance and
bring about any great numbers Of per-
manent reforms in this respect without
combining the social Improvement Of the
people they were attempting to reach.
To do this the surroundings of the man
sought to be benefited must be changed
and he must be put in a position to earn
an independent living instead of a hap
hazard existence in the over-crowded
districts of the East.
To accomplish these results the society
turned to the vast resources of the un-
developed West, and the object of Mr..
Ormsbys present trip is to gather such
information as to the advantages of the
Pacific Coast as will enable the society
to locate people here in such position and
on such lands as will permit them to
make decent living and become irde-
pendent citizens without struggling quite
so hard as they have been compelled to
do in the past for a mere existence. He
has visited the Sound, the Willamette
and Clatsop plains and says that ne has
seen much that has astonished lin in
the West which would not have been
believed had he not seen with his own
eyes.
In answer to pointed questions put by
Mr.. Ormsby Astoria's advantages were
set forth. Its facilities as seaport and
manufacturing center were dwelt upon
at length and the reasons explained,
which win make 1t large commercial
point in the near future. The effects Of
the building of the Astoria-Goble road
were dwelt upon. The resources of the
timber preserves of the Nehalem and the
dairy country of the Columbia valley
were pointed out as they exist today and
the possibilities Of the future demonstrat-
ed. 1t was shown that thousands of half
starved farmers of the New England
I ills would be only too glad to bring
their thrift and energy to such u cohn-
try If they only knew that the same
labor as is expended upon their rocky
farms in the east applied to the fields
and forests of Oregon would make them
rich in a few years..
Mr.. Ormsby asked about the foreign
traffic which Is now and might be in the
future handled from this port and why
1t should be possible to do the foreign
shipping here rather than on the Sound or
at Portland.
The natural geographical and physical
advantages of the port of Astoria were
so clearly defined that the gentleman
could only acknowledge that its prospects
were certainly the brightest and justified
by the facts apparent to the satisfaction
OF all.
After some further interesting talk and
the careful preservation of the informa-
tion obtained, Mr.. Ormsby departed for
Portland and will return to the east with
his report.