The circle banner., 1923-04-27
MONTANA WOMAN
Is CITY MANAGER
MRS. r.. E. BARRET, FORMERLY
OF GREAT FALLS, HEAD OF
CITY OF WARRENTON
First Woman in the World Serving
in This Capacity; Started Grain
Shipments of This State to the Pa
cific Coast.

Mrs. r.. e.. Barrett, formerly of
Great Falls, Montana, has accepted
the position of city manager of the
city of Warrenton, few miles west
of Astoria. 1t is believed that she
is the first woman in the world to
serve as the city manager of mu-
nicipality. She has set as her goal
the industrial and marine upbuiId-
:, ing OF this community which has
elevated her to the position of SUI
preme authority in municipal af-
fairs.
Mrs. Barrett will not, however, de
vote her entire time to the routine o.
city business. but will rather turn hel
attention toward the promotion of the
commercial, industrial and shipping
interests of the district at the en-
trance of the Columbia river.
Perhaps more than any other one
person, certainly far more than any
other woman, Mrs. Barrett has pro-
NOTED and encouraged the practice
of shipping Montana grain westward
through the ports of the Pacific
northwest. Coming from Montana,
with the welfare and opportunities of
Montana at heart, she realized that
the Columbia river gateway affOrde
an opportunity for Montana wheat
growers which would react to their
immediate benefit, and which would
also prove of immense value to the
port of Astoria when seized by the
Montana producers.
She flung her life into the work,
and has brought about in a large de-
gree the shipment of Montana-grown
grain through the Columbia river.
Her work was largely instrumental in
drawing the attention of Montana
farmers to the fact that westward
shipments of grain afforded an out
let for their product which was not
influenced by traffic congestion. Box
cars which formerly we're hauled
westward empty through Montana at
the height of the harvest, when it was
impossible to secure cars for eastward
movement, are now loaded with grain
as they cross Montana and are dis
patched to the port of Astoria, where
the most modern marine terminals
in the west afford the finest possible
handling and storage facilities. The
Astoria bulk grain elevator has a stor-
age capacity of 1,250,000 bushels, and
is the largest on the Pacific coast. |
In addition regular, rapid and direct
steamship service to all parts of the
world is afforded by the large num-
Der of American and foreign steam
ship companies which make Astoria |
a regular port of call.
With these things to work with and |
with the Columbia river affording the
only down grade water level route
the Cascade mountains to the
sea, Mrs. Barrett turned her attention
to securing rate which would prove
an added attraction for Montana
grain.
The result of her efforts, with
those of the officials of Astoria, has
been the new Great Northern prefer
sntial rate, amounting to about sew
IN cents a bushel on grain shipped
rom Montana west for export thru
he ports of the Pacific northwest.
This rate, which went into effect
,nly after the last shipping season
vas well under way, resulted in at
east one-fourth of the entire wheat |
'eceipts of the port of Astoria coming
rom Montana. There is no doubt i
hat this amount will be vastly in ]
reased after the coming harvest {
While she has worked heretofore
'nly as private individual, Mrs. Bar
ett is now the highest representative
# the city which has at its disposal ,
III of the facilities of the port of t
astoria and which is pregnant with {
arge commercial, industrial and mar t
ne possibilities of it's own. She I
peaks with authority, and it is GER |
ain that her voice will be raised for
he benefit of Montana along with the T
ood of the port to Astoria, Warren l
On and the Columbia river. s