The Portland daily press., 1895-03-25
OPENED TACOMA.
A Portland Man Who Had Business
Foresight.

Foresight.
City as Wheat Shipping Port and Took
Out the First Cargo-Citizens Offered
Him a House and Lot If He Would Re-
turn and Settle.
Captain Isaac F .Gilkey, of this city, is
perhaps the only man in New England
who can honestly say that he opened up
an important port to a still more impor-
tant branch of commerce. That feat
was accomplished in 1881 by Captain Gil
key, who was then at the port of Ia
coma, in command of the ship Dakota,
built and owned by Hon. William Rogers
of Bath.
| He went to Tacoma with cargo of
railroad iron, and railroad supplies gen.
| orally for the Northern Pacific railroad
then having its terminus there. Among
other things he took out locomotive of
40 tons, and tender, in sections of
course. The work of discharging this
cargo was progressing we'll, and Captain
Gilkey was looking about for return
cargo when the idea struck him that it
would be good thing if he could bring
cargo of grain from Portland, Oregon,
to Tacoma by rail, in that way avoiding
a long delay. and the high port charges
at Portland. He would in that way
| avoid having to take tow down the
sound, then long trip along the coast,
the passage up the Columbia river, and
then the slow prcess of taking in cargo.
He took look at the splendid port of
Tacoma, thought, "The Great Eastern"
could load at this wharf, and made up
his mind that Tacoma, and not Portland
was to be the great grain shipping port.
Portland has practically no harbor.
There is bad bar at the mouth OF the
river, and no deep water close into the
city. Had he taken the Dakota to Port
land he would have been forced to
anchor some 10 or IL miles from the
city, and then to receive his cargo
by lighters, and the work of "lighting
down 1900 tons of grain is slow one,
AASh OAut WOo q pOlu aouOliOu6 IOi
its high charges. Everything was con-
trolled BY monopoly, and had Captain
Gilkey taken the Dakota there he would
have been forced to pay out at
least $4,000. He didn't propose to do it if
it could be helped. He went over to
who were shipping grain. and tried to
get cargo sent by rail to Tacoma. He
struck Portland at time when they
were eager to ship wheat, but then they
did not propose to do it it it was to work
injury to their port. They promptly re-
fused to deliver cargo of wheat at Ta-
coma. Captain Gilkey asked for their
reason, and they frankly said they did
not propose to help open up the port of
Tacoma as grain shipping port. and
to bring it into competition with Port
land. with long lead over Portland on
account of it's better shipping facilities.
Their opposition to the idea of sending
wheat to Tacoma by rail was so strong
that meeting of the Chamber of Com
merce was called, and they voted not to
send cargo of wheat to Tacoma by rail
at any freight and Captain Gilkey went
back to his ship, and then for ten days
thought the matter over. He did not
want to take the Dakota to Portland,
but there seemed to be nothing else to
do. Then he went over to Portland
again with another plan in mind that
he thought might be carried through.
IT, L I
with. him if the agreement entered into
with the rest of the merchants could be
| overcome. That was the English house
OF Balfour, Guthrie & Co., and they were
| very willing to give himsa cargo If he
could suggest plan by which it could
be done outside of the regular and Gus
tomary manner of shipping, which of
course was from the port of Portland.
Captain Gilkey proposed to go very far
in his eagerness to save money by not
going to Portland. Had the house sent
him cargo of wheat they would have
been obliged to assume all risks
while in transit, and to pay all cost of
transportation. In short they would have
been forced to deliver it alongside his
ship at their own risk. What he proposed
was that he should take cargo in the
| customary way, that it as their ware
house at Portland, and himself assume
| all risk while Fin transit, and Fall cost
of transportation. He further agreed
that he would sign the usual terms of
the charter party, he to conform to the
usual charter party terms the same as il
the ship was sactally in the Columbian
river. By making this proposition Bal
four, Guthrie Co.was cleared from their
| agreement with the rest of the shippers,
| and they promptly agreed to give him a
cargo for France at Portland freight
rates. He then had to make terms with
the manager of the railroad, General
| Sprague, who did not at first quite take
in thse situation, and did not fully COM
prehend what would follow the taking
out of one cargo of wheat from Tacoma.
and what vast amount of business was
likely to come to his road. Captain