The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1902-01-11
RELIEF IN LEGrsLArUE ACTION


RELIEF IN LEGISLATNE ACTION.
The annual message " President
Hahn To the Portland Chamber Il
Commerce is characterized by ,audor
that is refreshing for Portland. Al
though Presiden, Hahn dies not 40
much into detail. i, is plain To see that
he is holding up the Hartman rail-
road to public notice when he says.
The opening Of the Upper Columbia
and Snake rivers would 50 develop the
country that there would b. traffic
enough for the railroad now occupying
the south hank ot the river Tor the
steamboats,. and Tor the often project
ed railroad on the north bank of the
Columbia. Il is not TO be presumed
that the project for oTeninr the UPPER
rivers 90 navigation win escape the
opposition Of the railroad companies.
Nater-horne transportation is an ac-
tive competitor OF the railways. and
viii always be- Tough, by them. In the
Pacific Northwest at the present time
the railroads are opposing no, only
the Improvement Of the inland water
ways but the construction ~ coupe,-
ing railways Thus We find Hin and
Morgan keeping Hartman out Of the
Lewiston country. and each of the con-
dict!ng interests hghuns the other
away from the Nehalem- -Tlnamaok
country, Blu; free navigation on the
Columbia and its tributaries is no, a
local or sectional issue rt appeals
with equal force 70 every resident "
oregon, Washington and Idaho. en-
bracing $4,000 square miles-a region
as large in area as all the New Eng
land states and New York. Pennsyl-
vania, New Jersey. Ohio and Ken
tucky combined. There is room here .
for the railroads and the steamboats,. /
too. The people are entitled 20 com- .
petitive transportation. and IL they
will unite in their own interest. they
viii be able TO obtain from congress .
the relief they 50 urgently need"
Mr.. Harriman's community Of inter- .
est plan in the Columbia .ver basin
has resolved itself into a hold up u
producers merchants and shippers for
the benefit Of Mr. Hartman and his
financial hackers. Hartman and hts
colleagues are absentee landlords. They
know nothing about Oregon and they
seem to care less. They are counters
OF shekels-of the shek=ls ,hat are
wrung from our people BY -xtor,ion-
ate freight charges Had they The well
fare Of the country at heart they
would not le, Hin. Morgan ana Mellen
bluff them out Of the Lewiston coun-
try by threatening to parallel the o.
r. & y. line with a railroad down the
north bank OF the Columbia. Did they
give but a single care to Oregon they
would not tolerate the Northern Pa
cidc's demand for the Nehalem-T.na-
nook country. Northern Pacific coun-
try. mind you when the Northern Pa
cihc has not a 25th part Of the mile
age Of the Hartman system in Ore
gon. (,
We are pleased 70 note the distinct
ly anti-O r. & y. tone Of President
Hahn's message. It denotes that Port
land is waking up, perhaps late in the
day. to the patent fact that Oregon's
so-caIled only railroad" IS No longer ,
Portlands friend The truth is that
railroad charges in the Columbia river S
basin are an that the traffic Will bear. a
Portland is being cinched. The DalIes I
is being cinched, we are all being +
.inched an for the benefit Of the little n
man who sits In an Office somewhere .l
10 New York and makes IN tables Of
earnings for his cOterie Of hackers.
These men win grant no concession to r.
,ur people that are not forced out of d
hem The only relief lies in legislative a
ction. If present extortionate charges il
ontinue the legislatures Of Oregon, b
and Idaho will not longer is
,eep their hands Of Mr. Harr.man's d
abroad