The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-05-27
WHAT OF ASTORIA.

According to the Oregonian (news-
paper) of Monday last, the die is
cast in the great matter OF the wheat
shipments from the Columbia valley,
by the Seattle, Portland & Spokane
Railway, better known as the North
Bank" system, James J. Hills new
grain route from the Inland Empire.
Portland is to be the seaport OF the
line, and the warehouses and docks OF
the system are to be built there upon
a scale exceeding any plant OF the
kind in the country. This is mag
nifcent accession for the city and
port OF Portland and the people there
are to be (and are, so far as we are
concerned), heartily congratulated
upon the final and permanent, allot-
ment OF this huge business.
But, what OF Astoria?
The purchase, by the Hill interests,
outright, last year, OF the Astoria &
Columbia River Railroad Company,
from this city to Portland; and the
acquisition of rights-of-way on the
north shore OF the Columbia from
Kalama to Frankfort, opposite this
city, with ample terminal territory
there, has given James J. Hill abso-
lutte command OF the transportation
interests OF the lower Columbia
Valley, fact that justified the hope
here that some portion OF this great
traffic was to ind its export depots
at this end OF the river.
1t now appears that Hill has simply
followed the "bottling" processes for
which E. H. Hartman is notorious,
and the A. & c. Railroad is nothing
but a mere feeder, rather than uni
fed part OF a great and direct inland
route; the splendid harbor at these
doors is to lie inert, unused, while
the city and section that gave a mil
lion to the building of the south shore
line to the metropolis, is ignored, cut
out, abandoned, way-station be-
tween Pasco and Seaside; what Of
trade relation and headquarter sig
nihcance she once enjoyd being car
ried away with the records, the off
GERS and the meagre patronage Of it
all, to Portland and Vancouver; while
the Frankfort end OF the system
across the bay, lies barren, without |
promise, a vague problem Of the
future.
1t becomes more and more appar-
ent as the days go by that Astoria is |
to turn to, and pom, herself, for re-
demption from the negligible condi- |
tions thus thrust upon her, and which |
she has not deserved in view of the |
essential part she played in the earlier
program OF this development She |
must do something to make her in
dependent Of these patent snubbings |
and place her where she will not have |
to rely upon the A. & c. or any line |
that uses her people and business
with these contemptuous indifference |
so rawly manifest as is the case at |
hand.
If San Francisco is the way out,
then we must go to San Francisco;
or if the Sound cities offer us release
from this palpable turn-down, we
might as we'll go there, as for Port
land to send everything there cannot
and will not send to this end Of the
Columbia, for fear it may give us
white Of prestige commercially; if
we must have wholesalers in the
great marketable staples, we must go
after them and get them in here. We
have paid dear figure for negation
and dependencies we can afford more
and pay more to shake it off and find
the surface Of communal success and
activity; it is not enough that we are
self-supporting and can maintain the
even tenor of our commercial way;
we have everything to inspire new
and extraordinary effort; and if we
raise a commercial boycott against
the business elements that have rid
den us down, the responsibility, and
the losses, may fall and lie where they
belong, nor will they be hard to 10
cate and estimate.