Page:Portland, Oregon, its History and Builders volume 1.djvu/885

 most influential and powerful syndicate of capitalists in America, that Portland, Oregon, was "the gateway and held the keys" to the commerce and wealth of the Pacific northwest, and the transcontinental commerce to China, Japan and the Indies.

Portland not only holds the pass through the mountains, but it is on the shortest line between the great commercial centers of Europe and the great com- mercial centers of the Orient. This line is not only the shortest by fifteen hun- dred miles, but the "wind drift," the steady trade, winds from the western to the eastern continent set ofif shore toward the coast of Asia right opposite the mouth of the Columbia river. Ships from San Francisco have to sail nearly seven hundred miles north from that port to get into the "wind drift" that saves time, coal and money in crossing the Pacific ocean. To landsmen the advantages of this are not apparent. But in the practical operations of steam and sail ships, it is a very important advantage, so important that it will in the end control the route of the carrying trade. For the same reason that a rail train of fifty freight cars hauling seventy thousand bushels of wheat from Lewiston, Idaho, to Portland, can deliver that wheat at Portland for less freight money than two or three trains could haul the same wheat over the Cascade mountains and de- liver it at Seattle, so the ships running before the wind on the shorter line can transport freight from Portland, Oregon, to China or Japan, at less cost than on the longer line from San Francisco.

THE TRIBUTARY TERRITORY.

And these advantages of moving traffic both on the land side, as well as the sea side, are further greatly increased by Portland's very much larger freight producing territory in its immediate vicinity. San Francisco has the local sup- port of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and coast counties, aggregating about 90,000 square miles of productive territory. Seattle has, dividing with Tacoma, the Puget Sound basin, and coast counties and the Yakima valley basin, making not more all told than 40,000 square miles. The Cascade mountains completely cut Seattle off from the great region of the Columbia river valley; and every year will prove this more and more. The great bulk of the fruit crop in Yakima and Wenatchee valleys now goes east — not west to Seattle. All the Columbia river wheat in eastern Washington will run down grade to Portland ; and Portland will have, all the territory west of the Rocky mountains to the Pacific ocean, north of California and Nevada up to the British line, (except the 40,000 square miles controlled by Puget Sound), aggregating not less than 250,000 square miles, all down grade haul territory to the ocean-going ships at Portland, and to build up Portland, as against 90,000 square miles to support San Francisco and 40,000 to support Seattle and Tacoma. Seattle has of course, the merchan- dise trade to Alaska; but the ships carry nothing back yet but gold dust. They will get coal after a while, but only in competition on the Ocean with other coal burning regions. The advantage in productive areas is already greatly in favor of Portland with its territory not one-tenth part developed ; and when central Oregon and southern Idaho is added by railroads Portland's superiority over all its rivals will be as three to one against San Francisco, and seven to one against Seattle and Tacoma.

INEXHAUSTIBLE FREIGHT RESOURCES.

The wealth producing resources of the Oregon forests have been frequently referred to, but not too often to exhaust the subject; Oregon has now three hundred billion feet, board measure of first-class standing timber, while all the states of the Union east of the Rocky mountains has not one-third that much all put together. The lumber from this timber, and its various products from the mills, with shingles, doors etc., is now hauled as far east as Boston, Massa- chusetts. It will more and more continue to be sold to the immense populations