The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1898-11-30
P0RTLAND'S VAST GROWTH
THROUGH ASTORIA'S PORT
She Would Become the Greatest Commercial
and Railway Center of the
Pacific Coast.
tcopyrIEht Rssery.a.l

Copyright Reneryod.)
vi.
PORTLAND. Orc. Nov. n.-Editor As
/ tof1an; Having shown that Astoria Bay
a. the chief seaport would add tho great
est value 70 our exports In the hands OF
the producers. / wish now 10 show that
II would make Portland the chief city Of
tho Pacific coast, rapidly increasing its
trade and population and quickly doub-
ling all OF its real estats values
Our people fear II would ruin the trade
and growth OF our city. making II the
abode Of bats and owls.
Portiand's H0w7 Why. they say,
Pear. II would cause the loss
OF some 80 foreign ships
| from our whaFycs. with a resulting loss
Of AZ least 800 OCo Of ship chambers trade
annually. And 20 Il would II we do not
do II. however. our city will become
mere halfway station on the route from
the willamette valley 20 Seattle as the
chief seaport But let as inquire what
compensation 10 PorilaEd there would be
Tor that serious subtraction from our
local trade.
We have seen from my previous letters
that Il would add annually AZ least
some $40 per ton 10 the
Wheat values Of the wheat pro-
Values. duct OF this basin IN
THE HANDS OF THE
PRODUCERS. with million and han
tcs,imaiod) tons of wheat. annually, this
means nearly four million dollars Of
wealth each year added 10 the pockets
Of the farmers who trade in Portland.
This wealth would percolate all the
avenues Of life among population Of.
say. Two millions II would add to the
general prosperity and. unlike the ship
chandlery It's beneficial effects would
reach every branch OF trade In our city.
Surely this would be OF far greater ben
EFT 10 Portland than the loss OF half
million dollars of ship chandlers trade.
Tho latter is a gain OF. say. % per cent
in our wealth. or $4,000 only. while the
former is permanent Rain Of forty dimes
a. much wealth. or course. this change
OF port would hurt tho wheat pool. but
then-we can stand that!
This increase In wealth and trafic
mus, necessarily very sensibly improve
travel and frcigh,s on
Helps the Portland's own railroad
OR. & N. CO. tho o. r. & n. II Is
the serious and persist
ent object Of that great railway company
10 increase the wealth OF It's patrons and
develop its tributary country. so as to
Increase It's trafic. Surely no one line OF
It's effort could produce a more extraor-
dlnary beneit than this. The increase
OF Portland's traffic with the Interior
would mean Increased trafie for this road.
Not only this, bot the vast bonus TO
THE PRODUCER IN the greater wheat
values at Astoria Bay would speedily
force all the wheat to that port over
that line from the Inland Empire. In
stead OF hauling half the wheat from east
Of the Cascades (some II million tons) as
now, the o. r. & N. would then haul II
all.
But far grander benefit 20 Portland
would flow from the commercial revolu-
tlon to follow a change
A Greater OF the chief seaport TO
Result. Astoria Bay. II would
force all the transconti-
mental railroads and others now en- route
10 the Pacific Northwest, TO send their
main traffic lines through Portland on
their way to the chief exporting point
This would necessarily make our
city the permanent railroad cen
ter OF this great railroad region.
on tho other hand, with Astoria
Bay excluded as the port, 1t is per
fcotly manifest that Puget sound Seattle,
would soon acquire seaport supremacy
over Portland. This would force the
great railway lines to concentrate at
Seattle, leaving Portland simply a way
station on one line from Willamette val
lev on its way TO the Sound. 1t would
surely wrest from Portland its natural
right, as tho converging point Of all the
water levels, to be the undisputed rail-
road city II Astoria Bay should be the
exporting point. The value to Portland
OF being the railroad center of this
mighty region would be vast beyond cal
culation. II would make her the mis-
tress OF commerce. Its effect upon the
growth OF our trade, population and real
estate values would be very great indeed,
Yet, under existing conditions that status
Is seriously menaced.
These benefits arise out of the local
situation. They are Of vast importance to
Portland, Yet there is
Stlii much greater benefit
Greater. to flow TO us from max
ing Astoria Bay our chief
seaport and thus concentrating all our
railway lines upon that port. The trade
with the Orient, now being eagerly sought
by all the world, is the greatest traffic
on earth. The Canadian Pacific, backed
by all of England's wealth, Is playing
high hand for IT, Railway concentration
upon Astoria Bay as the chief port OF
the Pacific coast would enable us to
force most OF that traffic over our lines
That great seaport's central situation,
Its water level grade through the Cas-
cades (the only one north and south for
1900 mlles) to the summit OF the Rockies
1900 miles away to the east, and an in
terror country six times as rich as the
basin of the Frazer and Thompson rivers,
would easily enable It to corral that
Oriental trade from the Canadian Pa
cinc, Puget sound can't do IT. Neither
can San Francisco. which has tried and
failed or course Portland can't do 1t.
The principle Of HEAVY OCEAN TON
MAGE alone would make her a pigmy
rival of Vancouver b, c., one Of the
finest first class ports in the world What,
then, would be the result Of this great
stream of traffic upon Portland's growth?
Why plainly, 1t would make the Colum-
bia basin what nature intended, the very
center OF the great West. This would
nnlnl,lv dnnhla It's nnnulntIon and dnnhle