The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1906-09-06
WEATHER,
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SOME ARTISTIC GUESSING.

For the time being, the Man in the
Tall Tower at Portland. is deeply con-
cerned in the battling uncertainties in
herent in the destinies Of the Central
Oregon Railroad the line that A. B.
Hammond is engineering over the south
ern center Of the state, to a terminus
at Astoria, via the Klamath country,
the Cascades, the Willamette valley,
Yaquina, and Tillamook. He INDUCES
in wide range of artistic, interested
and "fatherly" guesses on the subject.
taperng off with the wholly plausible
conclusion "that this line viii be found
10 belong somewherel"
It does! For the purposes of its
Pacific coast terminal business, it be-
longs right here! This is its logical and
certain depot on the Pacific. This, of
course, is the principal thing that it
is desirable to know, and we offer the
information heartily and ungrudgiugly.
We beg to contribute smother bit of in
formation, gratuitously, Of course. but
with quality Of certainty behind it
that win be proven in the near future,
and that Is, that the backing behind
the enterprise known as the Central
Oregon will not have "the cooperation
of the Hartman system"
Having three distinct harbors of its
own on the Pacific, it is not vitally
essential that the new line shall "have
connections with Portland and San
Francisco" though it is conceded that
in crossing the Southern Pacific at Al
bany, or elsewhere, for the sake of com
mercial convenience. establish such traf-
ic conventions with the line to those
two cities as may best suit its rates
and schedules, but that it must consider
either place in a terminal sense and
adopt its export business to the one or
the other, is fatty absurd; il can well
maintain its direct and intrinsic COM
merce, without division or DETECTING it
over tangent lines 300 and coo miles
in length; and It can certainly, and will,
indubitably drop its trans Pacific car.
goes into the holds of the ships and
steamers awaiting them here, without
the necessity Of sending those bottoms
over 220 miles Of river to and from
Portland because the direct rail haul
to this point absolutely obliterates the
necessity for the up and down stream
haul together with its immense burden
of demurage to the shippers Of the
world
The Oregonian's assumption that the
"Coos Bay road is part Of this plan
is wrong; the conspicuousness Of the
faIlacy is emphasized by the fact that
the Coos Bay road is Hartman line,
and the Hartman interests are not iden-
tilted with thi- venture. When the
time comes the Oregonian will be cred
iblv informed Of the real and force
full power behind the only transconti-
mental system in Oregon that does not
have to consider Portland, except in
the light of an auxiliary point on its
traffic sheets. Patience is Of the es-
sence of the coming development to be
wrought by this road; there are no
limits to the guessing capacity of the
Oregonian that we know Of, but pa
thence it must have.
We politely, but firmly insist that
Tie great daily up at the metropolis
81 all begin, at once, to accnstom itself
IS the extraordinary land to it, hate
full doctrine that there is something
doing for Astoria at last; that railroad
a4,,.o oro IN dppr conenir-