Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1903-07-14
THIS is ENCOURAGING.


Efforts Are Uniting to Secure the Exten
sion of the Corvallis & Eastern.
For the first time since the con
struction of the Corvallis & East
ern railroad, the papers of Port.
land have word to say favora-
BILE to the development of thai
enterprise. From the time when
the project was first conceived
the commercial interest of Port.
land have been hostile to the
road and, assisted by the press OF
that city, have endeavored to
smother every effort looking to
the extension of the road and i'm
provement of Yaquina bay. But
wiser gcounsel seems to be direct
ing affairs in the metropolis and
we find the Oregonian uttering
these words of encouragement
"The old Oregon Pacific route
to Crook and Harvey counties is
as feasible OF construction, prom
ising in volume of traffic and
profit of operation as the Colum-
bla Southern by way of Shaniko,
already partly built. 1t goes
direct to the heart of the country
we want to reach, and while it's
height in crossing the Cascades is
no greater than that reached by
the present Columbia Southern,
the ascent is gradual, aud there
fore easy" -.
This comment is called forth
by the following letter to the
Oregonian from Mr.. Wallis Nash:
In the communication which
you printed a short time ago de-
scribing the railroad route across
Central Oregon, and utilizing
the road. surveys and uncom-
pleted work of the Corvallis &
Eastern Railroad. / gave the
grade of the rise from the west to
the summit Of the pass over the
Cascades as three per cent at its
most. I have been corrected in
this SO often since by those who
ought to know that I must ad-
init that~lny memory played me
false, and that per cent is the
extreme from the west, and Il
per cent from tue east over the
pass.
If these figures are SO, the con-
clusion is very plain to my mind
that Portland does wrong in look
ing further than this road to
solve the problem of railroad
communication with Eastern
and Central Oregon.
Whenever the City of Portland
and the commercial interests cen
tered here come to the conclusion
that heaven (or Mr.. Harriman)
helps only those who help them
selves, and honest and unpreju-s
diced examination of these alter
native undertakings should be
made.
1t is my belief that the expen-
diture of sum not largely in
excess of that required to extend
the Columbia Southern road
from its present end at Shaniko |
to Bend, in the irrigable valley
Of the Deschutes, would suffice
to extend the Corvallis & East
ern Railroad from its present
ending at Idahna, or Boulder
Creek in the Santiam Valley, to
the crossing of the Deschutes
river. From that point the great
of Central Oregon is as
open as it would be from Bend.
The traffic in reach of the then
terminal points would be at
-racted to either the Corvallis 6
Eastern, or the Columbia South
ern, and would reach immense
figures. But the Corvallis &
Eastern on its way traverses the
magnificent timber of the San.
liam district, the traffic from
which would justify and sustain
every short section of the road
as it was opened.
If there be any solid ground
for the suggestion in yesterdays
Oregonian that Mr.. Hartman in
tends running a road from On
tario westward, to make an
eventual Lew connection with
California poiat, aud SO open
new route from San Francisco bv
way of Northern California and
Oregon with Granger,
the Oregon Short Line, and SO to
the East, it follows (if my geog-