Year: 1866

This proposition has been talked of for q year
or more When shall decisive movement be
made? The Pioneer Wooden Mill of Oregon
was started In 1857, and from that day to this
It has been a continued success. The second
mill on the coast was established at San Fran
sisco in 1859, and has been followed by three or
four other enterprises of the kind, all of them
successful. In the Willamette valley four WOOL
en- mills are in successful operation at this date,
and pay their stockholders large dividends on
the money invested. Indeed every enterprise Of
the kind on this coast has been eminently sue
cessful. Manufacturing goods of a quality far
superior to those with which we have been sup
piled from the East, they have always found a
ready and lucrative market, and have been COM
PEELED to constantly enlarge their buildings, add
to their machinery and increase tbe number of
their employees. In addition to the establish
ments already referred to, VIC learn that facto-
ries are about to be established at Sacramento
and Marysville, California. Shall Walla Walla,
with locality second to none on the coast for
this branch of business, remain Indifferent t.
the importance of the subject and quietly per>
NIT other towns to outstrip her in so important
q racer Our position in regard to the supply of
wool, proximity to the market, healthfulness of
climate, ETC., cannot be excelled. The mining
districts of Idaho and Montana are all to be
supplied with woolen goods manufactured on The
Pacific coast, and our position is such that these
supplies must either be furnished by US, or
freigbted through our town, drawn from other
sources. We have thus every nducement to en-
gage in this productive branch of Industry, and
all that is necessary is for some man of means to
take the lead. One or two of our citizens have
carried embryo wooden mills in their pockets, in
the form of articles Of agreement, for the last
year, but have advanced no farther. An ex-
change discussing this very subject, says if one
man commits sin by hiding a light under q
busheli another is certainly guilty of criminal
negligence by permitting important public
enterprise to smother either in his pocket or in
his brain. 1t is estimated that a capital of from
$75, 900 to SlOO, 900 would lie sufficient to set
woolen mill in operation in this city Three or
four firms have expressed their willingness to
subscribe $4,000 each.toward the stock of the
company, but extreme diiidence prevents each
from heading the list With such commence
ment the entire amount of capital stock would
soon be taken in smaller sums and adequate
means furnished to carry out the enterprise
There are special reasons why our citizens
should devote their attention and apply por-
tion Of their means in this direction. Each
rHeTiSs6er6iepee Rgoyes. that we must rely in
II cur Wholesale trade diminshes or teams and
stages cease to throng our streets the remedy
must be the creation of wealth by the employ
ment Of steam engines and workmen for mann,
featuring purposes. Ry combination of capi-
taN in joint-stock associations a wooden mill and
other branches ofmanufacture could readily be
started by our citizens. By a united and ener-
getc effort in this direction, persistently fol-
lowed for few years, we should be enabled to
double the population of the town and to in.
crease in proportion the aggregate value of our
real estate. If half dozen of these citizens
who have already talked of a wooden mill will
meet and resolve to carry out the enterprise we
Will have the first production Of their looms on
exhibition at the next County Fair,