USA > Oregon > Multnomah County > Portland > History of Portland, Oregon : with illustrations and biographical sketches of prominent citizens and pioneers > Part 28
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One year later Mr. R. Koehler came to Oregon. As before stated, he came first as resident financial agent of the German bondholders. He entered upon the active duties of the position July 25, 1874. Since that date Mr. Koehler has been an active and prominent factor in the management of the company's affairs-as financial agent, vice president and manager, and as general receiver. His long retention by the owners of the road, and the implicit trust reposed in his ability and integrity are the best indorsements that could be offered.
Under the management of these gentlemen the roads have been operated for a long period with as rigid a measure of economy as the financial conditions of the company demanded, and yet with as much liberality and in as satisfactory a manner to the public service and the necessities of traffic as was possible under all the existing circumstances. The company was entangled in a somewhat complicated mesh of litigation during the first few years of its existence, and the corporate name has figured very extensively in the records of the United States Courts and Courts of the State, both as defendant and plaintiff to a tangled mass of suits. But when the unsettled, uncertain state of affairs is considered, when the controversies and desperate struggles for mastery, the heated and bitter rivalries, and the inevitable conflict of personal and corporate interests are all taken into account, the abundant harvest of tedious litigation which followed, seemed but a natural and legitimate result.
Few roads of equal length in this country have enjoyed a similar measure of exemption from disasters, when all the disadvantages under which operations have been maintained have been taken into due con- sideration. From first to last there have been no serious collisions of rail
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HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
accidents on the line involving the extensive loss of human life, or the destruction of much valuable property. This very important fact speaks in most emphatic terms of the care, caution and good judgment displayed in the management of trains for the past seventeen years.
This article would be incomplete without the mention of Mr. H. Thielsen's name, and of the important part he took in the enterprise. Mr. Thielsen first arrived in Portland March 1, 1870. He at once assumed the duties of chief engineer and superintendent combined. Practically he became the acting manager of the road. Under his supervision the twenty miles of road which have been constructed between East Portland and Rock Island were rebuilt. He had charge of the building of the entire line between Rock Island and Roseburg. Mr. Thielsen has also built the line on the West Side from Portland to St. Joe, except some little preliminary operations done prior to his arrival here. Mr. Thielsen remained in charge of the engineering department of the road, and as practical engineer until the retirement of Holladay. Mr. Thielsen was succeeded by Mr. Koehler in 1874 in the practical management of the road. Subsequently he retired from all ¿connection with the road, and soon after accepted the position of chief engineer of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Company.
The car shops of the company were established by Holladay in 1870, and were located two and a half miles south of the east side depot. Since they were first started, from eighty to one hundred inen have been kept employed. Mr. Brandt has long held the position of master mechanic. Heretofore, the facilities for making necessary repairs and building new rolling stock have been compara- tively adequate to meet the requirements of the company; but now, that through connection has been established, the necessity for the enlargement of the shops and the increase of facilities lias become imperative.
THE NARROW GUAGE SYSTEM.
No history of Portland would be complete without some notice of the system of narrow guage railways which terminate here, for
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having no other outlet for their business, the Narrow Guage System and the Metropolis city must always be mutually dependent on each other for prosperity.
This system was projected by Joseph Gaston, Esq., who has been noticed as the pioneer of the road between Oregon and California. Mr. Gaston took up the idea of a system of cheap and economically managed lines to more perfectly develop the resources of the Willamette Valley, in the year 1877, and for that purpose incor- porated a company to construct a road from Dayton to Sheridan, in Yamhill County, with a branch to Dallasin Polk County. He knew that any move of this kind would be regarded as a hostile demon- stration by the owners of the Oregon Central, with which he had been formerly connected, and, therefore, to avoid drawing their fire to as late a day as possible, he commenced his road at a point distant from this city, as if it were to be an unimportant affair. He relied for his means to carry out the enterprise mainly on the wealthy farmers of Yamhill and Polk Counties, and made much the same appeals for popular support by public meetings and otherwise, as he had formerly made in behalf of the Oregon Central line. And although the owners of the Oregon Central very early comprehended the interloper in their field of business, and put out men to talk down and oppose Gaston, he had by April 1st, 1878, made such headway as to be able to break ground at Dayton and purchase the iron and rolling stock for forty miles of track. He pushed his work with great vigor, and in six months had the first forty miles of narrow guage railroad in Oregon in operation.
After thus far succeeding the opposition did not abate their efforts to check or cripple Gaston's scheme of a system of railways co- terminous with the Willamette Valley. They saw too plainly that it meant low rates and no profits to their lines, when compelled to compete with the little narrow gnage which was already picking up produce and passengers at every cross road. Mr. Villard was then rising to his zenith of power, and first offering to buy ont Mr. Gaston without pledging himself to maintain the road he had built, he turned to buying up the claims for iron and other debts against it and threw it in the hands of a Receiver. But the man who had built
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HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
forty miles of railroad, withont a sack of flour to start with was not likely to be gotten rid of in that summary way. And Gaston quietly and speedily arranged with a syndicate of capitalists in Dundee, in Scotland, to take his road off his hands and carry out his plans of extending it not only to Portland, for which Gaston had incorporated the Willamette Valley Railroad Co., but also southwardly by branches on both sides of the Willamette River.
This brings in the Oregonian Railway Company (Limited), a corporation organized under Royal Charter in Dundee, Scotland. This company was organized through the efforts of William Reid, Esq., of Portland, who became its President. Mr. Reid quickly took the Gaston road out of the hands of the Receiver, and went to work in 1880 with great vigor to extend its lines to both sides of the Willamette, to the west side track and crossing the Willamette River at Ray's Landing and constructing from Dundee, in Yamhill County, to Coburg, in Lane County.
After successfully operating this narrow guage system, now grown to be a formidable factor in the development of the Willamette Valley, and while Mr. Reid was in the midst of his work in extending the road from Dundee to Portland, Mr. Villard entered into negotia- tions to lease the narrow guage lines, which lease for 99 years, was finally accomplished in the year 1882. Upon the making of the lease, the work of extending the road to Portland was indefinitely suspended.
It is but justice to record, that Mr. Reid bitterly opposed the making of this lease, and warned his constituent stockholders in Scotland, that although they might be stipulating for a handsome income on their investment it was not keeping faith with the people of Oregon, whose people and legislature had heartily encouraged the road by granting it the public levee in this city for terminal grounds, and by much other substantial aid, and that the lease would terminate badly. Mr. Villard operated the Narrow Gauge lines for about a year, and then repudiated the lease as made without authority or power, and abandoned the property to the tender mercies of the United States Circuit Court, which placed it in the hands of a Receiver for preservation during the pendency of the litigation to determine the validity of the lease.
Jannes Jue
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MANUFACTURING.
Upon the execution of the lease, Mr. Reid withdrew from the Oregonian company, and in the year 1886 incorporated the Portland and Willamette Valley railroad company to construct a narrow gauge road from Dundee, in Yamhill county, the northern terminus of the narrow gauge lines above mentioned, to the city of Portland. This twenty-seven miles of track was very expensive, but was pushed to final completion to the public levee in this city in the year 1888. It is now known that leading capitalists of the Southern Pacific railroad have purchased, not only this last road built by Mr. Reid, but also all the lines constructed by the Oregonian company; the lease to Villard having been declared void by the Supreme Court of the. United States, and the Scotch stockholders losing all their invest- ments, but the bondholders and other creditors of the road being paid out of the proceeds of such sale to the Southern Pacific com- pany.
CHAPTER X.
MANUFACTURING.
Conditions Which Canse the Growth of Manufacturing at Portland-Character of Early Manufactures-Present Condition and Magnitude of Manufacturing Euterprises of Portland.
THE developinent of Portland as a manufacturing point has been much later than in the lines of commerce. Indeed, it can scarcely be said to have yet begun upon the real business of manu- facturing; unless in two or three particulars. Its industry has been chiefly confined to such departments as inet an immediate local demand, and had no aim to reach out to something distant and world wide. It has not yet entered the minds of our capitalists that we have facilities here to compete with the mills of Pennsylvania, Illinois, or Michigan, for the trade of the western end of North America, or that by many advantages we may successfully operate for control of demands from the Pacific Islands, South America, and
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HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
the Orient. Not until the present time and perhaps not even yet, would manufacturing on such a scale be so remunerative as in other lines of business. But now as the great profits of the early days are over it will be necessary to settle down to a larger, more extended and comprehensive sort of activity; and this will naturally gravitate toward manufacturing. Railroad traffic, navigation, commerce, agriculture, all our interests will become restricted unless rounded out by the labor of the manufacturer, and the surplus wealth of the State, both natural and acquired will flow from us to the region from which we import our wares.
With this industry as yet in its infancy, it is of course impossible to find for it much history. A glance at the unrivaled advantages we possess both from central position in a region of great natural wealth and from contiguity to the falls of the Willamette and the Cascades of the Columbia, has already been taken. Lowns- dale's journey has been spoken of. Mention has also been inade of saw mills established in the city at an early day. The steam mill of Coffin and Abrams at the foot of Jefferson street was the fruit of this, being a capacious structure, and having a cutting capacity of over 20,000 feet per day. This was built in 1853.
Abrains was an indefatigable worker in lumbering, and witlt Hogue operated a mill for many years. J. C. Carson and J. P. Walker inaugurated enterprise in the sash and door business. Smith and Co., Weidler and Governor Pennoyer extended the business to its present extensive proportions. As an off-shoot of the lumbering business we have manufacturers of furniture, pioneers of which were Messrs. Hurgren and Shindler, a firm still continued under the name of Hurgren and Co. I. F. Powers entered the field somewhat later and now has one of the largest plants and works on the coast.
Foundries were early established and gave principle attention to manufacture of boilers, steam engines, mill irons, steamboat fixtures, mining machinery and to a large degree iron fronts and ornamental works for buildings. In 1866 the iron works were established at Oswego, and have been operating intermittently since that date, having now become fully equipped with the best of furnaces, a railroad, and a large number of kilns for charcoal.
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MANUFACTURING.
As a great business was that of flouring mills which began as early as 1864, having gradually gained pre-eminence over the busi- ness in the same line at Oregon City and Salem.
With the discovery and development of the quartz mnines and ore beds of Idaho and Southern Oregon consequent upon the railroad development of the past decade, efforts were inade for the establish- inent of reduction works at our city. These were first built on the line of the O. and C. R. R., in East Portland; the site, however, was abandoned, after a few months, and works have been constructed at Linnton, below the city.
Fruit canneries, and dry-houses, tanneries, excelsior works, paper 111ill (at La Camas, operated by a Portland company), barrel works, pottery, rope factory, soap works, watch factory, willow ware, box factories, pickle works, meat preservatories, and a multitude of works for simple city needs, and ice and baker's goods, have grown with the growth of the country and of the place itself.
The following extracts from the columns of the Oregonian for Jan. 1, 1890, indicate something of the prosperity and magnitude of the manufacturing of Portland:
"January 1, 1890, opens up with over 600 firms engaged in converting the raw material into manufactured goods. They employ a bona fide working capital of over $14,000,000 and they furnish employment for 7,859 workmen at just and living wages. Five million is the sum expended for home raw material. The gross amount realized from the co-operation of this capital and labor is $20,183,- 044, leaving a net profit of $6,000,000 on a total investment of $13,000,000, which after deducting taxes and other legitimate expenditures will leave in the clear a net gain of 3313 per cent. for the year, a higher rate of gain than is realized by any manufactures of the Eastern and older cities. This is true because of the vast quantity of raw material purchased at home at reasonable prices, the comparative cheapness of land, and to the fact that competition has not here reached the cut-throat point of sacrificing all profit in the mad desire to do business at all hazards. One hundred and fifty-five distinct lines of manufacture are engaged in here to a greater or less extent, and each is prospering beyond expectation.
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HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
"The lumber trade and planing mills of Portland during the year 1889 has been enormous, not only in the amount of output for local use, but in that required for export trade as well, and notwithstand- ing our timber facilities, much more has been imported of grades and qualities now in demand, but not of woods grown in Oregon or vicinity. In January, 1889, there were ten firms engaged in the trade and three-fourthis of a million dollars in the lumbering interests and employing 517 hands. January 1, 1890, finds twelve firms engaged in the business, with a total output for the year of $2,000,000, furnishing employment to 760 hands, with wages running from $2.50 to $3.00 per day. Every mill is running to its fullest capacity, and a few of the larger companies are, and have been for months past, turning away profitable contracts for lack of men and and facilities for handling more trade.
"During the past year the furniture trade began to assume the proportions that it should reach here, by reason of natural advantages enjoyed by this branch of business, in a country where the material is abundant and the water power all that could possibly be desired. Still we do not supply with domestic manufacture enough to meet the demand for home consumption. The importation of goods of Eastern make exceeds the home manufacture, notwithstanding the fact that the home product is very large. Four firms are actually engaged in manufacturing furniture, investing $490,000 in the business. The output was $600,000, as against $+10,500 for the previous year. Five hundred men were employed in 1889 as against 400 of the previous year.
"The woolen mills owned by Portland men and operated by Portland capital have been a complete success and brought handsome returns to the men who were financially plucky enough to put their coin into the enterprise. The Oregon made goods have this year competed with Eastern goods both in quality and price. The exceedingly mild winter of 1889, and the moderate weather of the present season has kept down the output to a lower point than the natural prosperity of the season should have induced but with these disadvantages, and with no increase of capital stock the output rose from $540,000 to $756,000 for the past year, giving employment to additional workmen.
1
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MANUFACTURING.
"As to paper, ten newspapers in Portland and the Times, Press and Post-Intelligencer, of Seattle, and the Review, of Spokane Falls, are supplied with the paper on which they are printed from Portland. This immense tonnage of paper is the product of a factory owned by Portland men and run by Portland capital. The sum of $150,000 is invested in this business. Improvements have been added during the year amounting to $17,000. In 1888, eighty hands were given employment in this industry; in 1889, ninety men. In 1888 the value of the output was $180,000; in 1889, $240,000; an increase of 331/3 per cent. in the volume of business for the past year. The product of these mills finds its way all over Oregon, Washington and Idaho, and recently very heavy shipments have been made to San Francisco.
"Portland being the center of a great wheat and cereal growing section, it is but natural that the converting of the golden grain into flour and feed should assume an important status. We not only make enough flour each day for our own consumption but thousands of barrels go to other coast ports, to England, to South America and other foreign countries. The capital stock invested in this industry was in 1888, $344,000 and in 1889, $350,000. By turning the capital invested several times a year, the output during 1889 reached the enormous sumn of $2,806,000 as against $2,520,000 for 1888, at the same time giving employment to sixty men at wages ranging from two to three dollars a day.
"The smelting works located at Linnton, seven miles below Portland, is not merely a local institution, calculated only to benefit the city, but is of importance to the whole State and the Northwest as well. The capital stock of the smelting company is $1,000,000, of which $500,000 is fully paid in. The cost of the plant is $150,000. The smelter will have a capacity of 150 tons daily. The building is 60x220 feet. Wlien operations begin fully a large force of men will be given steady and regular employment.
"Oswego, ten iniles above Portland, is the location of one of the most important enterprises of the State. The iron product of the works here supplies inost of the raw material for all of our foundry work and large quantities are shipped to every part of the Northwest. The value of the product approaches $50,000 annually. [20]
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HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
"In foundries and machine shops the sum of $1,200,000 was invested in January, 1889. The year has witnessed its growth to $2,000,000. The output has increased from $1,500,000 to $1,- 750,000, while the number of inen provided with employment has increased from 900 to 1,000. The men in this branch of business look for a constant increase and development for some years to come for several reasons. Boat building requires constantly more and more iron and steel, railroad construction is going forward in this part of the world without cessation, and buildings, especially those designed for business purposes, require quantities of iron in their construction. Prices remain firin and the work is steadily increasing, yielding fair and reasonable profit on the investinent.
"A prominent machinist, in speaking of the foundry work done in Portland, said that this industry, though enjoying great prosperity, was capable of still indefinite expansion. He said that the larger shops confine themselves, in a great measure, to repair work, that branch of the business being exceedingly profitable. There was no reason why Portland should import a single dollar's worth of machinery; that every particle used in the industries here could be made at home, yet that during the year nearly a million dollar's worth of machinery was purchased in the East for use in Portland.
"At the corner of Third, H and G streets an immense foundry and also a machine shop are rapidly approaching completion. Two buildings are in course of construction, one 50x200 feet and the other 50x100, the cost of which exceeds the sun of $25, 000.
"The new foundry is being constructed upon the inost approved plans and will be supplied with the latest machinery for heavy marine work.
"In brick-making the product for 1889 reached $230,000, and from the employment of 106 men in 1888, it rose to 225 in 1889, without any indication whatever pointing to a decrease of output for 1890.
"The display of carriages, wagons, buggies and carts at the fair held in Portland was one of the most attractive features. The interest was occasioned principally by the fact that many of the samples on exhibition were inade here. The roads of Oregon are
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peculiarly and distinctively poor and there appears to be something in the soil peculiarly destructive to wagons, etc. For good and serviceable wear it is vastly important that goods of this class should be inade here to supply all those characteristics made necessary by the peculiarities of our surroundings. The sum of $50,000 was invested in this business in 1888. This doubled for 1889. The output increased from $175,000 to $300,000, while the number of employees increased from 75 to 125. Improvements have been made in some of the factory buildings and one new brick factory has been built.
"Ship and boat builders have had a busy and prosperous season. The industry has been carried on without cessation on both sides of the river during the entire year. A large number of fleet vessels have been constructed during 1889; and thousands of dollars expended in Portland's ship yards for repairs and improvements. Each year's experience adds to the testimony in favor of Oregon fir for ship building, as well as innumerable other purposes. The boats turned out of our local ship yards, not only ply upon the waters of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, but are noted for speed and endurance on Puget sound and also upon the Pacific ocean.
"A large proportion of the crackers and fancy small cakes consumed in this city and vicinity are products of home industry. In 1888 the output was $170,000, that is of the one factory then in operation, and in 1SS9 this had increased to $200,000. Forty men gain their livelihood through this industry. The concern uses up from forty to fifty barrels of flour per day. Factories of the same kind established in other near by cities, liave started a lively competition, otherwise the output for 1889 would easily have reached the sum of $250,000. The machinery used in the factory is the latest improved.
"Early this year of 1890 another immense cracker factory will begin active operations here. Over $30,000 has been expended in new and latest improved machinery. The new plant will have a capacity of fifty barrels a day and will require the services of twenty- five men to begin with and as inany more as increased trade may necessitate.
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HISTORY OF PORTLAND.
"Five years ago the idea of turning Oregon clay into sewer and chimney pipe was first carried into execution, and $50,000 were put into the business. The industry grew, and the capital was increased to $100,000. During 1888 and 1889 the business has increased to such an extent and imports have developed so that the company operating the business will enlarge the plant during 1890, having already bought ground for the purpose. It is claimed that a perfect fire- proof brick can be made here at a comparatively small cost, and the company will turn its attention largely to this department of the industry during the year just nshered in. Half a hundred inen find regular and steady employment here at good living wages.
"Brooms and willow ware of all descriptions are so necessary in every household that we at once appreciate the effect and importance of having them made at home. Probably the largest establishment for this purpose on the Pacific Coast is to be found in Portland In this industry fifty men are given employment. The capital invested in this business is about $100,000, and the output in 1888 was valued at $100,000, and in 1889 at $125,000.
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