East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-06-19

With the United Railways the
condition is somewhat similar. This
company has run lines and made sur
veys for their road to Forest Grove
and Hillsboro and expected to be able
to begin construction work long be-
fore this, but because few Tanchers
out near Linnton and in the vicinity
OF Cornelius Gap demanded prohibi-
tive prices for their property, the
company has not been able to do any,
thing, and so much delay has been
caused that options already obtained
are beginning to lapse and cannot be
renewed save at exorbitant figures.
Officials Of this company now have a
corps of engineers at work, and they
are running four separate lines in
the hope they may secure a right Of
way along some one of these where
the grade will be convenient and not
too many engineering obstacles met
with. President Benham declared
yesterday that there was some doubt
In his mind whether his company
would ever be able to bull dthis line.
He added that If some of the obstruc-
tionists did not come to terms, the
whole project would be abandoned.
TillamOOk Cut Out.
No work of any importance has
been done on the uncompleted road
to Tillamook, the Pacific Railway &
Navigation company. President Ly-
tie, when the financial furry came
last fall abandoned work from this
end, and during the winter, his right
of-way men did their level best to Sc
cure strips Of property needed near
Tillamook, but the property-owners
and business interests over there did
not keep their promises, and the COM
pany was obliged to spend $20.000t
for small strips of land which had
been promised them as a bonus II the |
road would be built. Tillamookers are
still holding up work now, and Pres,
ident Lytle, when asked when opera
tions would be resumed, exclaimed: |
"I'll be id II l know, and I'll be
id II l care"
Summed up briefly, here are hun
dreds of miles OF steam and electric
railroad work already under way.
backed by almost unlimited capital, |
to tap rich, undeveloped regions which,
have been crying for transportation
facilities for years. on which a stroke
of work cannot be done, thanks to
few greedy landowners, whose prop
erty will be tremendously enhanced |
In value, the moment these railroads
are in operation.
The effect is even more far-reach-
ing and serious than appears on the
face of II and as explained above, for |
when eastern capitalists who come out |
here from time TO time looking for |
safe and profitable industrial invest I.
ments see how railroad promoters I
and builders have been faring at the |
hands of the "mossbacks" hereto
fore, they are at once discouraged |
over the outlook and in that way VOL |
umes of money eager for work is
driven away.
There Is. also another deplorable as
pect to the situation. At no time in |
years has structure material been so
cheap as it is now, and so easy to get. |
The structural steel market is slug
gish, with prices away down, and |
there is a sufficient supply available |
to fill all orders almost Immediately. |
At the same time the inactive busi-
ness world generally has found the
railroads with an enormous amount
of Idle equipment on their hands. so
that the material could be laid down
here on very short notice.
What obtains in the structure ma
terial market is largely true in the
labor market The widespread re-
in the Industrial world
threw hundreds of thousands of men
out of employment last winter. and
hordes of them are walking the streets
looking for work today The over
supply of labor has, of course. re-
1uced the price of labor commodity
anywhere from 20 to 40 per cent. !
Yet, in the fact of all these con-
iitions, so favorable to railroad build
ng in this territory, capital is DOR
nant and labor is restless and idle.
While the great and undeveloped re-
ources of Oregon are needlessly ne c
elected. I