The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-06-09

4AOIii ever " AAE4 c
Take a typographical map OF Mort
America and draw a line from lowe
tCalifornia 10 Mt ST. Elias in Alaska
and you will find that your line fol
lows natural depression betweel
mountain ranges, about a hundre1
miles back from the coast in Oregon
Now draw another line at right angle
east and west. following the course o
the Columbia rfver-the only nayiga
BILE stream that breaks through the in
land mountain walls. This line viii
also follow a natural depression witt
a gradual descent from near Lewiston
. Idaho, to the mouth of the Columbia
Now Portland is situated just az tbs
point where your north and south am
east and west lines cross each other
She has, therefore, down grade rela-
tionship to her immense supporting
territory.
/ The country tributary to Portland
is the final consideration which guar
antees her future supremacy. This
territory embraces ali of Oregon, Ida
no, part of northern California, east
ern Washington, and western Mon
| tana. It's size may be better under
stood when we say that it equals in
area the combined states Of Maine,
New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Is
/ land, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New
| York, Iowa, Indiana and South Caro-
| lima. Even the arid portions of the
vast region are being rapidly developed
| by irrigation, and its future riches and
greatness can scarcely be imagined"
If that parson ever gets tired of
preaching he will make a fine real
estate agent. But he had good sub
jeet to exploit. The state of Oregon
alone has more arabic land than there
is in Japan, yet it has only 100000 in
habitants. The territory known as the
Columbia River basin has the natural
wealth to support 25,000,000 people, but
up to this time the census takers have
been unable to report the first million
of population. Fully half of this pros
pective empire is capable of cultivation
for wheat, fruit and other crops. II is
said that this basin must be depend
ed upon to supply most of the wheat
for all the population of the Pacific
coast between Alaska and Patagonia.
The present milling capacity of this
grain belt is $4,000 barrels of -four a
day during ten months of the year.
The mills are closed two months dur
ing the summer to make repairs and
because of the scarcity of wheat. At
present half of the wheat grown IN
the territory is ground into flour and
the other half shipped abroad as
wheat. Two-thirds of the grain that
is exported goes to Asia. It is said
that the export trade in wheat has
already reached its maximum because
the people who come in to raise wheat
also consume it. The annual increase
in acreage is now about fifteen per
cent.
Oregon has one-sixth of the stand |
ing timber of the United States. In
Portland the forestry building of the
Lewis and Clark Exposition has been
preserved as a permanent exhibit in a
park maintained by the city. Its logs
would cut over million feet of lum- |
Der. They were brought from the for |
ests with their bark intact and many |
of them weighed between forty and |
fifty tons apiece. Sixty-four of them |
form a grand colonnade two hundred |
feet in length and seventy-five in |
height. Sixty-seven varieties of Ore |
gon woods are on display, including |
the Pacific yew, from which the
choicest bows are made for archery |
clubs all over the continent; mountain |
which makes such a hot
fire that a few sticks of it will melt
an ordinary stove, and the chittem
bark, from which the cascara of med
icine is made. A fir flagstaff in front
Of the forestry building is 1874 feet
high, and shows what kind of sticks
Oregon grows to make masts for the
of the world.
Portland is the greatest lumber port
N the vunri6 re CaWDoilIG ally
cut about $4,000, 600 feet Of lumber,
which goes to Australia. the Philip
pines. China and other parts of the
world. When 1.-THE lumber market is
normal it is said the sawmills of Port
and earn profit of $4,000 a day. The
of one of the big local firms,
n his testimony before the Interstate
Commerce Commission, stated that his
concern had earned million dollars
n five years. The investment in tim
per lands, mills. railways and equip
nent in the territory tributary to
Portland doubtless amounts to $780,,
100, 900. The notable feature of this
section is that the trees will cut $4,000
eet to the acre. while less than 10000
eet is the rule elsewhere. Some idea
# the magnitude of our home market
nay De ndu from the SLdLNHl6EL IEiiN
ess than ten per cent. of the product
# the Portland mills is for export.
Experts estimate that it will be from
fifteen to fifty years before this great
upply is Enthusiastically years if used
t the present rate of consumption, |
nd fifteen if the supply should be
Exhausted elsewhere and this zone be-
ONE the sole dependence of the gem
raj market.
Dairying has developed into the most
important purely productive industry
n Oregon, its products last year being
alued at $1,000. COO Ideal climatic
onditions which permit of pastuTing
throughout almost the entire year,
reedom from storms so that cows are
ut doors instead of being confined in
arms all winter, and the excellent
7ater Of Oregon, have given the cream
nd its products an excellence and
chness to be found in no other part
f the United states. Many of Ore
ons dairymen are from Switzerland.
Portland has become famous as the