Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-22
PORTLAND ON MOVE
No Flies on This HustIinq
Coast City.
NOT A BOOM TOWN, EITHER
Enterprises Are All of q Permanent
Character.
''PORTLAND SPIRIT FAMOUS
How Citizens Advertise Advantages
Of the Place and Attract Out
siders to Settle.
NOT A BOOM TOWN, EITHER
SPIRIT" FAMOUS
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
| Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
PORTLAND. Ore. September IS. 1900.
Vancouver. British Columbia, is said
to be growing faster than any city on
the Pacific coast. Seattle comes next
| and Portland third. This statement will
be disputed by Los Angeles. San Fran
cisco and Tacoma
But Portland. is not q boom city. It's
growth is gradual. solid and permanent
1t is not spasmodic or sensational. 'ort-
land Is the most conservative cit.- on the
Pacific and more mature than any other,
even San Francisco. For many years.
| Notwithstanding the fact that it is only
sixty years old, Portland has ranked
| among the first three or four cities in
America in per capita wealth. and al
though its population has been growing
very rapidly. it still maintains that po-
sition. This means that the people are
making and saving money quite as fast
as they multiply in numbers and for
that reason there Is very little done here
except by local capital.
You seldom hear of Portland promoter
IN the eastern money cef1ters. If an en-
terprtse of merit Is organized there is
always sufficient number of local in
vestors here to carry it through. For
example. there are twenty-cne business
| stories In height within a narrow radius
in the center Of the town, which have
been erected within the last six or seven
years. at a cost exceeding $8O00.000
Every penny Of 1t was Portland money,
and there is not a dollar of incumbrance
upon any of the buildings.
The deposits in the local banks are
$53. 600 0oO-an increase from s1oO0O.0oO in
1889. The per capita Of deposits t the
population Of the city is 1919 to every
man, woman and child.
There are no such large fortunes as
have been amassed in San Francisco and
Los Angeles. but there is greater
| number of rich men in proportion to the
population than In any other city on the
coast. 1t is said that there are more
people In Portland worth between $780,
600 and 100000 than in any other west
ern city.
Portland Spirit"
But what is better than great riches
and more to be admired than the costly
buildings that are rising SO rapidly in
this city, what is known as 1.-The
portland spirit" the friendly disposition
Of the business men towards each other.
and their habit of cooperation in enter
prises that affect the public welfare. An
old banker farther up the coast. speaking
vi tho pCCOlidIiIyp ucCldTCQ the OCnST Gay
that Ladd & Tilton. the oldest firm Of
private bankers here. and the First Ma
tional Bank of Portland saved the entire
Pacific northwest from disaster during
the panic of 1903 by their patriotic public
spirit and liberal policy. He said that
every director and officer in those two
banks placed their private fortunes at the
call of their cashiers. and assisted every
financial institution in this territory that,
applied to them for help.
I IN thn,~ thnry
asked for a statement of our condition.
and 1 gave it to them. They looked it
over and asked what was the smallest
amount that would carry us through.
very promptly that I might draw for
that amount. but must not ask penny
more than I absolutely needed. because
everybody wanted help those days."
Another illustration of the Portland
spirit can be found in the history of the
Lewis and Clark exposition that was
held here few years ago. 1t was
model in every respect and an example
that all persons who propose to manage
similar enterprises should study. 1t was
the first and only exposition that I ever
heard of that paid expenses and left a
surplus. 1t is the only one that seemed
to satisfy everybody associated with it.
There was no complaint from any
source about the management. but COM
pliments and assurances of satisfaction
from every side.
And you never hear of any criticism of
mercenary spirit in Portland as you do
of other places on the coast When a
stranger comes here to engage In bust
his credentials are genuine he receives
all the credit and assistance he deserves.
He Is invited to the Commercial Club to
meet gentlemen who are most familiar
relates. and they give him such en-
couragement as they can on the theory
that the success OF the individual is the
same as the success of the community.
In other cities on this coast. which
might be mentioned. this spirit does not
appear. In a neighboring city. when
asked what was the first thing for
stranger to do, the answer was, Button
up your pockets" But nobody ever
said that about Portland. On the other
more apt to add to their fortunes than
to be deprived of what they bring.
A great part Of the success of Portland
Is due to judicious advertising. The peo-
pie boast a great deal, but seldom go be-
yond the truth. The advertisements ap-
proximate the facts. 1t is a bad thing
for a town to attempt to promote immi-
grafton and investment by misrepresenta-
ton. Everybody who is induced to come
by reading advertisements is sure to in
vestigate for himself, and those who dis
cover that they have been deceived are
apt to resent it and give the place
bad name.
There has been a great Improvement in
the advertising methods of the towns out
here, both in the appearance Of the print
ed matter as we'll as the contents. This
is chiefly due to an intelligent. compre-
hensive and systematic cooperation be-
tween the railway companies and the
commercial clubs and similar local or
CARNATIONS. which was organized two
years ago by MIR. William McMurray,
general passenger agent of the Oregon
Railroad and Navigation Company at
Portland. 1t is known as community
publicity" and is under the management
Of Mr.. William Bittle Walls of Portland.
Until about two years ago the progress
sive towns in the state Of Oregon were Is
suing promiscuous advertising and cir
culating it the best way they could. Much
of ii was wasted, much of it was Ill adj
vised and full of Misrepresentation. The
lack of system and proper methods OF
distribution prevented the greater part
of It from being as effective as 1t should
have been recognizing that a great OPP
portunity was being wasted. Mr.. Nc
Murray undertook to tnaugurate re-
form, and began with the Commercial
Club Of Medford, Ore, which Is the CEN
ter of the great pear district. That or
ganization agreed to share with the pub
licity bureau OF the railawy company the
expense of publishing an attractive book
descriptive of that city and the Rogue
River valley. and the railway company
agreed to undertake its distribution The
plan worked so we'll that it was followed
up by other towns. until now, Mr. Nc