Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/810

584 was not ready—the people did not yet comprehend the great position, and great future of the city. Some man must lead—lead possibly the forlorn hope. As in all great exigencies—and this was the great one for Portland—the right man comes to the front. He came to the Lewis and Clark proposition. He rose to the occasion; he would not surrender—and his name is Daniel McAllen.

Oregon boasts of various "fathers"; John McLoughlin, "father of Oregon"; Matthew P. Deady, "father of the judiciary"; W. S. U'Ren, "father of direct legislation," and shall we add Daniel McAllen, "father of the Lewis and Clark Exposition." As far back as April 22, 1899, the first interview was published. Mr. McAllen saw and felt a growing apathy toward the proposed exposition; and to revive the subject and keep it before the people, he inspired the Evening Telegram to interview Col. Henry E. Dosch for his opinions on the proposition.

Col. Dosch had been Oregon's commissioner at the national expositions held at Omaha, Buffalo, Charleston and New Orleans; and it was believed his opinion would be valuable. We quote from that interview as follows:

"In the first place," said Col. Dosch, "it means money—lots of money. It must be on a grand scale. In fact, the success of the whole thing will depend upon its broadness, and unless the people of Portland are prepared to go into it in a whole-hearted manner and pull together as they have never pulled before, further discussion is useless,

I know that such expositions pay—pay immensely. I base my opinion upon my experience and observation at Chicago and Omaha, particularly the latter place. A real estate man from Silverton the other day said to me, 'Colonel, they're coming.' 'Who are coming?' I said. 'Why, settlers, to be sure,' he answered. 'A number of families have lately settled in our section, and every one of them had your cards.

There is the whole thing in a nutshell. Those people were among the thousands who visited the Omaha Exposition in 1898, and viewed Oregon's exhibits—and got the cards.

The trend of immigration is westward. We are taking a new start. In conversation with people who make it their business to study the immigration of people. I learn that the eyes of the eastern states are turned toward the Pacific northwest. Prof. Wilson of Boston, who devotes his life to studying the causes for the shifting about of people and is a noted authority on the subject, predicts that in fifteen years the population of the Pacific coast states will be doubled. He says, further, that in a hundred years there will be more people living west of the Rocky mountains than on the Atlantic seaboard.

Now is the time for us to strike. The iron is hot. The organization of our new possessions in the Orient will mark an era in the commercial advancement of the Pacific coast. We have the natural resources, climate and everything else needed but people."

This sort of talk stimulated the project a little; but Portland soon fell back into the old rut. About a year after this interview with Dosch, the promoters of the fair decided to let the matter drop, and give it up. Right here and then Dan McAllen renewed the battle with redoubled energy. He drafted a statement of his own, briefly setting forth all the reasons in favor of the fair. He knew that Mr. L. B. Cox was a strong friend of the proposition, and took his statement to him for approval. Mr. Cox was then confined to his bed with mortal sickness from which he never recovered; but he gave prompt and interested attention, and signed the appeal to the public to go on with the exposition. His great influence as a man, and his pathetic position attracted wide attention and made many friends for the fair.

From Mr. Cox' bedside McAllen went direct to the Oregonian ofiice and made his appeal to Henry L. Pittock, declaring the enterprise must not be abandoned—the ship must not be given up. Mr. Pittock heartily endorsed McAllen's efforts, and promised to attend the next meeting and did attend, and by his personal influence and unanswerable arguments, turned the tide positively and un-