The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1897-06-17
THE COST OF
TRANSPORTATION
Is the Keynote TO the Prosperity Of
Any Seaport
WORK FOR AsToRIANs TO DO
Chamber oi Commerce Should Keep 0u, Oi
Small Matters San Franriseo's Ekper.
isnee Talk With Hugh Craig.

you can't nov Keep Astoria back"
These were the @oris uttered last night
by Sir Hugh Craig. president OF the
chamber Of commerce Of San Francisco.
ana manager Of the New Zealand In.u-
rance Company
Mr Craig arrived on the belatcd Bailey
datEcrl last evening. for the purpose OF
visiting the city. bu, az he was booked
on tho Frisco steamer ,hls morning had
iittlo opportunity to see anything Of t,.c
town, A special train had been arranged
10 take him to Flavrl nuI tho lower
harbor. but all plans were dIsarrnnged
by tho atcncss Of the arrival OF the river |
boat Discussing the general business
situation. Mr Craig said to an Astorian 1
representative ! ma that business Is |
materially improving IN California there /
would have been an unprecedented wheat I
crop had II no, been for dry weather. As
It II. We will have an average crop: and |
a. prices are noN tl9j. Instead OF ~ cents. |
tho farmers will make good returns, The |
fruit crop promises 20 b. unusually |
large, and az sugar and tin are both
cheap. the cahRers are arranging for yerl |
large packs Tho pure food movement In
our state viii also help the situation very
largely. as It viii keep out adultcratcd
goods from the East and improve the
home markets. 'lg.Il' /
II has been many years since | have
Travelled through oregon. and have just !
now returned from The Dalles, Where
before there were only grazing lands. | |
found this time magnificent wheat
rHnchcs. apple, peach pear and cherry
orchards. Magnificent crops are prom.
iscd this season. and ! am told the yield
OF wheat will Do exceptionally large. !
Every depot platform and warehouse In |
Eastern oregon is piled high with sacks
OF wool This crop is a tremendous one.
and prices urc good,
You can't keep Astoria back, because
sho Is situated at tIdewater, and when
your railroad is finished you can bring |
the cars and ships together At the lowest
possible cost OF transportation. We made
the great mistake In san Francisco years
ngo OF neglecting TO closely watch this
transportation matter Too much Ntten-
tion was given to small things. What is
necessary to make a port OF shipment is |
to watch the pennies In tho transporta- |
tlon question. We have lost millions by
not obtaining proper water front facili-
ties. and all around us smaller shipping
points have been built up. Today We are
trying to rectlfy the error. Livcrpcol and |
Glasgow have been made successful
through their careful attention to those
details. shipping is figured down to the
lowest notch. and cent a ton often Sc
cures u cargo. You will find in Astoria
that your success will depend upon the
people. II they take hold with win and
furnish flcliuos for loading ships, and
taking care OF the freight or
the railroad; bringing ship and cars to-
gothor at the lowest cost; and building
up on broad lines. you cannot fail OF
the chamber of commerce should keep
clean OF small and inconsequential things
but Its attention should be given to re-
duclng the cost OF transportation and
bringing ships and cars together as near
tldewater as possible Pursuing this poll
ICY, Astoria VIII soon ht lnuepeuuent OF
amy other port on the Pacific. Twenty
ave years will see a marvellous develop
ment on the Pacific. We are now ship
ping the wheat Of oregon, Washington
and California to trans-Atlatic ports, our
business here Is In It's infancy. The Orient
Is Just beginning to use our flour. Before
we can MI extensive orders, we must still
further reduce the cost of production,
Wheat is now being ground at a cost for
power of four and half cents per barrel
This has been accomplished by using
water power to generate electricity. which
does away with stokers and engineers,
but It Is stlll figured that another cent
per barrel will have to be saved TO put
us In competition with other markets.
II in Oregon you can so reduce the cost
of transportation from the mill to the
ship as to make saving. you will ac-
compllsh much toward making great