The Portland daily press., 1896-09-18
WILL BE LIVELY WINTER
For Grand Trunk and Steamship
Lines.


ing to be Ready for Use by Christmas
Exports From Portland Will be Largest
Ever Known.
The coming winter promises to be a
lively one for the Grand Trunk railroad
and the English steamers. The indications
now point to the largest expectation of
cattle, apples, grain and produce that
this port has ever seen while English
steamer service will be the best that has
ever been scheduled for Portland. There
will be at least four steamers week
leaving Portland for Bristol, London,
Liverpool and Glasgow, and among the
vessels which will sail 10 and from this
port are some of the largest and best
which are engaged in the carrying trade
between this country and England.
The Canadian apple crop has been
fully az large as that of this country and
the apple buyers of England are making
preparations to ship Immense Quanti-
ties of this fruit from Portland during
the coming season.
The cattle shipments will also be as
large as in former years if not lnrger
than ever before and with the increased
facilities of the Grand Trunk for hand
ling cattle these shipments will form no
small item of the exports from Portland.
1t is hoped that the big grain elevator
will be completed in time to be of SER
vice this season and If 1T is the grain
shipments will be the largest ever before
known here.
Owing to the condition of business
in this country and the fact that this Ia
the Presidential year the importations
Of the coming winter to the United
States are not expected to be up to the
ususal mark. but the importations to
Canada from England are expected to
increase greatly this season and this
will have Its effect on helping the busl-
ness of this city as large crews of steve
dores will be needed in handling the
goods brought over by the steamers.
1t seems as if the merits and advan-
tages OF this porU have at last been roog-
nized by the commercial world and a
year of unprecedented prosperity may
be looked for in Portland with unlimit-
ed possibilities for the future.
THE GRAIN ELEVATOR.
Work was commenced yesterday on
clearing away the ground on which the
new elevator with capacity of 1000, :
600 bushels, is to be built, preparatory
to thu putting up of the foundations.
The elevator will occupy position
between sheds Nos. and and the
small buildings which stand on the
site and which have been used as off,
ces by the Grand Trunk and steamship
companies have been moved further to
the west and some distance beyond the
place where the elevator ia to stand. One
of these buildings will be used as the
office ct W. II. Ward & Co., of Lowell
who have taken the contract to put in
the foundations. The contractors had
moving the buildings and clearing away
the site. The work of excavating for the
foundations will commence on Mon.
day and will be pushed night and day by
three crews working eight hours each
until the work is completed. Six big
electric lights will be put in position
over the site and the hight crews will
be able to work as fast as the day
crews. The big machines which are
to be used in driving the spiling for the
foundation will arrive ON Monday and
be set up at once. In some parts of the
site an immense number of spiles will
be required to support the weighty ele-
vator owing to the soft bottom which is
found, but other parts Of the site Will
not require as many. The elevator will
te 221 feet long by 9S feet wide and
adjoining it will be an engine room Sc
by 40 with tall brick chimney annexed
to 1t. The foundations will be support
struoted of concrete.
Surveying the ground yesterday with
Mr.. j. s. Metoalf of Chicago one Of the
engineers who is looking after the Grand
Trunk 3 interests and an assistant en-
gineer of Contractor Ward, who will put
in the foundation, a PRESS reporter
expressed doubt that the elevator could
be completed in season for use this win
ter. Mr.. Metcalf, who is typical speci-
men of a wide-awake and hustling Vest
erner, laughed away the newspaper mans
doubts and said: "Why, my dear sir,
you can do anything with money. One
of the biggest grain elevators in Chica-
go today owned by Mr.. Armour, VINO is
known everywhere as one of the largest
beef men in the world, was built in just
42 days. The speed with which that i'm
mense elevator was put up surprised the
world Mr.. Armour oornered the wheat
market and those who were not in the
deal with him, in turn corner ed the els-
vators, intending to squeeze some of
Armour's profits out Of him. Armour
couldn't begin to store the grain he con-
trolled. He had to have elevators, but
he couldn't get one for love or money.
He sent for two Of the'fnest elevator con-
tractors in the world and told them
that unless he could build an elevator
inside OF 90 days he would lose millions
of dollars. To build an elevator in this
short space of time seemed an impossi-