The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-09-15
Are Needed Here as Well as
Railroads.
ASTORIA THE ONLY TOWN
In Europe or America Without
Proper Means of Cleaning and
Repairing Vessels.

Yesterday morning early Mi. L. b. See
ley, manager, and e. w. Creighton, treas
urer, of the Columbia River and Puget
Sound Navigation Company, arrived on
the Bailey Gatzert and had with them
as guests Capt. j. E. Lombard, of Port
land, and Capt r. S. Alexander, TO San
Francisco. In the morning they made
a visit to the jetty on the steamer Queen,
and after lunch took the same steamer
for a trip to Tongue Point
To an Astorian representative Capt.
Alexander, of San Francisco. said: "Hav-
ing been for years extensively engaged
in ship building and ship repairing /
naturally take the most interest in salt
water affairs although ! am not actively
engaged in business, as my sons run the
yards now.
81 am much impressed with the i'm
provements in your port since l was here
last, some years ago, and with your rail-
road building you seem to be on the
eve of great prosperity. l notice one
thing, however, which you still lack and
which you have long needed, and that
Is a dry dock. In my travels in Europe
ship masters and shipping firms tell me
that 1t Is worth more to go to the Col
umbia river than to any other port on the
Pacific coast because of the lack OF
facilities for Cleaning and painting the
hulls of vessels. In these days of great
iron ships 1t is necessary at the end OF
each voyage to clean the dirt and bar
nacles off the bottoms of these ships and
to repaint them and if 1t can be done
when the voyage is only half over ali
the better. Iron ships will get foul and
when there Is no way of taking them
out of the water 1t is bad They also
used to be afraid Of the bar at the mouth
of the river but they now all thorough
ly understand that there Is no bar but
the lack of a dry dock Is a serious mat
ter. Ninety-nine vessels which come into
your hlaT'bor may be all right, but the
enc hundredth will need extensive re-
pairs, and as I said before nearly all
iron ships need cleaning and painting. l
don't know of any port in the United
States or Europe, with waters of such
Importance without a dry dock. No doubt
you win soon have one now in the wake
OF the railroad. When improvements
once commence have noticed that they
all come at once. Probably the railroad
will not be completed before dry dock
elevators and warehouses wiz be under
construction"
How Is business In San Franclsco?"
General business in San Francisco Is
rather quiet just now. We have plenty
of money and nothing to draw 1t out at
present"
"Is 1t true, as reported in the eastern
and many of the western papers, that the
Southern Pacific Devil Fish" has already
gobbled up your pet railroad, the San
Joaquin Valley, and thus foiled your
pans of becoming Independent in trans
portation matters?"
1T most certainly is not. / am ac-
quainted personally with the Spreckes
and the other men who have put their
money and brains into the new railroad,
and after the promises made to the public
they would not allow their names TO be
used in such a manner and disgrace them
selves and their associates by selling out
to the enemy. Besides, the Southern Pa
cific has about al 1t wants to handle
in looking after its own improvements
and taking care OF It's own business,
without buying new and expensive prop
erty like this"
'It is stated that J. s. Leeds was forced
out of the Merchants Traffic Association
because OF the failure OF his pet scheme,
the Valley road. and its falling into the
hands of the Southern Pacific, and that
fis successor was appointed from the
Southern Pacific general traffic Office and
in the interest OF that corporation to
the detrlment or the merchants whose
very object in the association was pro-
lection against the Southern Pacific. How
do you reconcile the statementg
There were rea9ons for Mr.. Leeds
change. but not the ones alleged in the
press And in selecting his successor the
merchants chose a man TO handle traffic
matters who was familiar with the sub
Ject. You do not hire a blacksmith TO
mend your watch II the Southern Pa
cific had such man in their employ
and the Merchants Association cou,d
afford TO pay him more for his skin than
the railroad, what Is there strange IN
the appointment"
Capt. Alexander Il a most Interesting
talker and II Is to be hoped that his IDEAS
about dry docxs will soon be realized In
astoria.
fhe entire party returned 70 Portland
lzs- night az II e'e.0ck on the Telephone.