The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1904-08-12
Willamette Valley WIN Soon Be
Gridironed by Electric
Railways.
EUGENE IS RATHER OPTIMISTIC
New Electric Company Given a
Franchise by Lane County
and Will Begin Construct
ION This Fall.

The Eugene Morning Register pub
4 lllshes the following optimistic articl'
on the prospective development Of TN
willamette valley under the trans
forming power OF the proposed electric
lines:
After thoroughly investigating thu
proposition OF the willamette EIectri'
Railway Company to gridiron Lant
4 county with complete system Of eIec-
ltrlc lines In extent covering about III
miles, the county court has granted
the company franchise In which tht
rights OF the county and the people ara
carefully protected.
The action Of the court will commend
itself 10 the people generally as one Of
wisdom and foresight. II Is a self
leyident fact that the era OF electric
road building has begun In earnest IN
Oregon. Eastern capitalists with mil
lions lying idle In their vaults are
seeking profitable investment In the
west, and Oregon, especially the viii
lamete valley, offers the best field for
their operation because Il has an equity
OF climatic conditions, the undeveloped
resources and all the conditions neces-
sary TO furnish active, profitable pur-
suit for 20 people where one IL now
found. The contour Of the valley is
such that electric lines can be built at
a minimum cost, and the abundance OF
water power going to waste annually
in our magnificent mountain streams
can be utilized with less outlay Of cap
ital than in most any other section Of
the country.
The opportunity for such gigantic
enterprises as is now coming our way
Is almost beyond comprehension. II is
not like building suburban lines in the
highly developed, over-cultivated sec
tIons OF the east. Where such an in
noration in Illinois, New York or Ohio
might add few dollars TO the value
per acre of farm lands and bring a few
more people into that immediate Sec
tion. here ii will quickly double farm
values. treble the city populations and
make pretentious towns out Of our
country villages II will furnish farm
ers quick transportation to market for
all OF their products at any season Of
the year, thereby giving them the high
Test market price for everything they
have to sell.
But high and above all. an electric
Iline radiating from Eugene as COM
mon center. and extended into Port
land, with branch lines ramifying the
adjacent country along the entire route,
will give the valley what II has needed
for 25 years, namely, transportation
competition.
For years the people have growled
and grumbled at the Southern Pacific
for exacting all the traffic would bear
and some over, thereby lessening the
legitimate profits Of the farmer and the
merchant. 1t is needless to say that
the S. p. has treated the public as
fairly as lines of road in other sections
of the country where they have a
monopoly on transportation. Railroads
are built for the express purpose Of en-
rlching the owners and stockholders,
and where they have everything their
own way the owners are not long in
Accommodating comfortable fortunes. |
While sharp competition enters into
merchandising. in farm productions,
there must be an equal competition in
transportation in order that general
conditions may be equalized. That will
be the tendency of an electric line be-
tween Eugene and Portland and the
quicker 1t is built the better the peo-
pie win like 1t,
Again we say that If the willamette
Valley Electric Railway Company full
fills the contract as per agreement (and
we have every reason to believe it will)
the name of the present county court
will be handed down to fame and per-
petuated by each succeeding genera
tion as having done more at one stroke
of the pen for Lane county than has
been accomplished in all of the 60
years of its previous history
If all of the electric lines proposed
under the franchise granted are built
in Lane county, Eugene, within the
next fve years. win be a city of 10000
to $4,000. and our neighboring towns
in touch with the same infu-
ence, will make a corresponding
growth.
This is certainly the period Of de-
velopment for oregon. Washington