4Z5 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT LOS ANGELES ROBERT ERNEST COWAN 59ra CONGRESS, | HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, j DOCUMENT 2d Session. ( j No. 440. COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVF, CELILO FALLS, OREGON AND WASHINGTON. - - /- / / TO / -fas LETTER /907 THE SECRETARY OF WAR, TBANSMITT1NG, WITH A LETTER FROM THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, REPORTS OF EXAMINATION.AND SURVEY OF COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBU- TARIES, OREGON AND WASHINGTON. JANUARY 9, 1907. Referred to the Committee on Rivers and Harbors and ordered to be printed. WAR DEPARTMENT, ^Washington, January , 1907. SIR : I have the honor to transmit herewith a letter from the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, dated 8th instant, together with copies of reports from Maj. W. C. Langfitt and Maj. John Millis, Corps of Engineers, dated March 31 and June 26, 1905, on pre- liminary examination, and from First Lieut. F. A. Pope and Lieut. Col. S. W. Koessler, Corps of Engineers, dated November 16, 1905, and November 27, 1906, on survey of Columbia River and tribu- taries above Celilo Falls, Oregon and Washington, made by them in compliance with the provisions of the river and harbor act of March 3, 1905. Very respectfully, . WM. H. TAFT, /Secretary of War. The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Washington, January , 1907. SIR : I have the honor to submit herewith for transmission to Con- gress reports of March 31 and June 26, 1905, by Maj. W. C. Lang- fitt and Maj. John Millis, of the Corps of Engineers, respectively, on preliminary examination and reports of November 16, 1905, and 423251 2 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. November 27, 1906, by First Lieut. F. A. Pope and Lieut. Col. S. W. Roessler, of the Corps of Engineers, respectively, on survey author- ized by the river and harbor act approved March 3, 1905, as follows : General survey or examination of Columbia River and tributaries above Celilo Falls including that portion between Wenatchee and Kettle Falls, with a view to open channel work. Owing to improvements made by the United States, navigation is now practicable on the Columbia River from the mouth as far up as The Dalles, or Fivemile, Rapids, at which point work is now in progress to overcome the obstructions between Threemile Rapids and Celilo Falls. Above Celilo Falls some work has been carried on un- der various projects looking to the betterment of particular reaches, but up to the present time no general project for the improvement of the river has been adopted. The plans for improvement presented in these reports contemplate the removal of rocks and bowlders and the construction of dikes, etc., for the purpose of providing a safer navigation of those portions of the upper river now in actual use or which will- undoubtedly be used in the near future on account of completed improvements at The Dalles. The estimated cost of the work proposed for that part of Columbia River from Celilo to the mouth of the Snake River, a distance of about 125 miles, is $400,000, and for that part above the Snake River between Wenatchee and Bridgeport, a distance of about 80 miles, is $42,000. Work of maintenance below the Snake River will probably be required at an estimated cost of $30,000 annually. The proposed improvement between Wenatchee and Bridgeport will probably be permanent and require nothing for maintenance beyond that included in the estimate now presented. I concur in the views expressed by the local officers, the division engineer, and the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors that Columbia River above Celilo Falls is worthy of further improve- ment to the extent indicated. The principal navigable tributaries of the upper Columbia River are the Snake, Okanogan, and Pend Oreille rivers. Some work has been done on each one of these streams, and nothing further is pro- posed beyond what is covered by the existing projects or plans that are already before Congress. No work has been done in recent years on Snake River between the mouth and Riparia, Wash., the improvement of that section hav- ing been temporarily abandoned. A survey of this part of the river was made in 1897, and report thereon may be found in House Docu- ment No. 411, Fifty -fifth Congress, second session; also in Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1898, page 3013. The cost of the open-channel work proposed was estimated at $165,000, with $3,000 annually for maintenance. Very respectfully, A. MACKENZIE, Brig. Gen., Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army. The SECRETARY or WAR. COLUMBIA EIVEK AND TRIBUTAEIES ABOVE CELTLO FALLS. 3 PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION Or COLUMBIA RIVER BETWEEN CELILO, OREG., AND MOUTH OF SNAKE RIVER. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Portland, Oreg., March 31, 1905. GENERAL : In compliance with instructions contained in letter from the Office of the Chief of Engineers, dated March 16, 1905, 1 have the honor to submit the following report on the preliminary examination of the Columbia River between Celilo, Oreg., and the mouth of the Snake River. The wording of the item in the river and harbor act of March 3, 1905, is as follows: General survey or examination of Columbia River and tributaries above Celilo Falls including that portion bet\veen Wenatcbee and Kettle Falls, with a view to open channel work. ******* * This report covers only that portion of the Columbia River between Celilo and the mouth of the Snake River, a distance of about 120 miles. No general survey has ever been made of this portion of the Columbia River, though between the years 1867 and 1878 the worst rapids found were surveyed and some of them improved by the removal of rocky islands, bowlders, and projecting reefs. The State portage railroad, which is now being constructed by the State of Oregon around the falls and rapids between Celilo and The Dalles, is expected to be ready for operation by May 15, 1905, and it is desirable to have a complete survey made of this"part of the river as a general aid to navigation as well as to develop localities where open-channel work will be required, and since in any case the im- provement of this portion of the river should be commenced before The Dalles-Celilo Canal is completed, it would seem best to make the survey at once, so that during the construction of the canal a project may be prepared for needed improvements to the navigable channel. There is now no commerce on the Columbia River above Celilo, but such commerce is expected to develop to some extent as soon as the portage railroad is in operation and to a considerably greater extent as soon as the canal is completed, inasmuch as there is a large and productive country tributary to this portion of the river. There are no navigable tributaries of the Columbia between Celilo and the Snake River, and a survey of the latter stream is not considered neces- sary at the present time. For the above reasons it is recommended that a complete general survey of the Columbia River between Celilo and the mouth of the Snake River be made during the coining fall and winter. The annual high-water season in the Columbia River lasts generally from about May 1 to August 15, and in all probability actual survey work can not begin until August or possibly September. While, as before stated, there is a large and productive country tributary to this section of the Columbia River, there are few towns close to the river, as it flows generally through high bluffs more or less precipitous, with very little vegetation and subjected in some places to sand storms. Moreover, judging from the maps on file in this office, the river will average 2,000 feet or more in width. 4 COLUMBIA EIVEB AND TRIBUTABIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. Considering the above conditions and the fact that all boats and boat material used on the survey must be taken from Portland or vicinity to the mouth of the Snake River, the cost will be compar- atively high. It is recommended that a complete connected survey of the whole distance between Celilo and the mouth of the Snake be made, which it is estimated will cost approximately $100 per mile, or a total of $12,000. If that amount of money can not be made available, a complete survey can be made only at such localities as w T ill probably require future improvement, and these various localities connected by stadia traverses down each bank with occasional lines of sound- ings at an estimated cost of $65 per mile, or a total of $7,800. While it may not be possible to have the report of a survey sub- mitted within the time indicated in the letter of the Chief of Engi- neers above referred to, every effort will be made, if a survey is authorized, to delay it as little* as possible. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, W. C. LANGFITT, Major, Corps of Engineers. Brig. Gen. A. MACKENZIE, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. (Through the Division Engineer.) [First indorsement.] U. S. ENGINEER OFFICE, NORTHERN PACIFIC DIVISION, San Francisco, Gal., April 3, 1905. Respectfully forwarded to the Chief of Engineers, United States Army, recommending, if the funds can be spared, that a complete survey of the Columbia River between Celilo and the mouth of the Snake River be authorized. W. H. HEUER, Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Division Engineer. PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION OF COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE SNAKE RIVER, WASHINGTON.. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Seattle, Wash., June 26, 1905. GENERAL : I have the honor to submit the following report of pre- liminary examination of " Columbia River and tributaries above Celilo Falls including that portion between Wenatchee and Kettle Falls, with a view to open channel work," as contemplated by the river and harbor act of March 3, 1905, and the instructions from the Chief of Engineers of March 27, 1905. I have personally examined the river from Rock Island Rapids to Bridgeport, near the mouth of Foster Creek, a distance of about 90 miles, and at the Northern Pacific Railway crossing at Kennewick, near Pasco. I have also seen that part from Celilo Falls to Umatilla in passing on the railroad, but I have not heard of any desired im- provements there, and I understand that the portion to be covered by my examination does not include the Columbia below the mouth of the Snake River. The usual notices and general invitations to persons interested COLUMBIA RIVEE AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 5 to submit suggestions were issued upon receipt of instructions to make the examination, and I send herewith the following : a April 28, 1905 : Copy of letter from C. E. Hansen, dated April 28, 1905, sub- mitting report relative to boats, tonnage, etc., on upper Columbia and Okanogan rivers. May 24, 1905: Copy of letter from C. E. Hansen, reporting steamer Gerome making trip from Wenatchee to Kennewick; also relative to proposed naviga- tion on the Yakima River. June 1, 1905: Copy of letter from the committee of the Commercial Club of Wenatchee on improvements of the Columbia River, relative to amount of com- merce between Wenatchee and Kettle Falls. From the communication from the Wenatchee Commercial Club it appears that the specific points where improvements are now desired are at Entiat Rapids, Methow Rapids, and Foster Creek Rapids. I have passed over the two former, both up and down, but have not seen the Foster Creek Rapids. A number of surveys of the upper Columbia River and its various rapids have been made, and the work of improvement in the way of rock removal has been done at Priest Rapids, Cabinet Rapids, and Rock Island Rapids, all below Wenatchee, and at Rocky Reach above Wenatchee. All of the above consisted of rock removal. The total appropriation was $70,000. The Okanogan and the Pend Oreille rivers are the only tributaries above the Snake that call for serious consideration as navigable, streams, and both are under improvement. From Wenatchee east- ward the " Big Bend country," an elevated plateau south of the river, is being rapidly settled and brought under cultivation under improved methods of agriculture, in the absence of which much of the country was formerly regarded as practically worthless. The lowlands on the " benches " along the main river and its tributaries are also being utilized by individual irrigation projects, and exten- sive irrigation projects with Government assistance are now being formulated. A large portion of this country has at present no other practicable outlet except by the river, and the Columbia must remain for a long time to come the principal highway for a large area. Navigation of this part of the river is difficult, and in places not entirely safe at certain stages. The proposed work of improvement would consist almost entirely of rock removal and it would be permanent in its results. I believe the work of improving the river in the manner indicated to be worthy of being done by the General Government, and I recommend that necessary surveys be made and that estimates be prepared accordingly. Probably little fieldwork, if any, would be necessary, since detailed surveys have been made at all the localities where improvements are now suggested, and maps sufficient for the purpose are now filed here, except perhaps for Foster Creek Rapids. I estimate that necessary surveys and estimates can be made for Very respectfully, your obedient servant, JOHN MILLIS, Major, Corps of Engineers. Brig. Gen. A. MACKENZIE, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. (Through the Division Engineer.) Not printed. 6 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. [First indorsement.] U. S. ENGINEER OFFICE, NORTHERN PACIFIC DIVISION, San Francisco, Gal., June 30, 1905. Respectfully forwarded to the Chief of Engineers, United States Army. I believe the Columbia River and tributaries above Celilo Falls are worthy of improvement, and recommend that, if practicable, an allotment of $600 be made with which to make surveys and estimates and a project for improvement. W. H. HEUER, Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Division Engineer. [Second indorsement.] BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS, Washington, D. C., July 14, 1905. Respectfully returned to the Chief of Engineers, United States Army. Section 9 of the river and harbor act of March 3, 1905, contains the following item : General survey or examination of Columbia River and tributaries above Celilo Falls including that portion between Wenatchee and Kettle Falls, with a view to open channel work. The within report covers that portion of the Columbia River be- tween Celilo Falls and the mouth of Snake River. Accompanying is a report by another officer covering the portion of the Columbia and its tributaries called for in the act, above the mouth of the Snake. Both these reports, the communications accompanying, and such other data as are available have been considered by the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors. The distance from Celilo Falls to the mouth of Snake River is about 120. miles. This section of river has never been surveyed, and but little work done upon it. At the present time there is no com- merce upon it, but it is expected that a traffic of some extent will de- velop in the near future, as the State portage railroad has just been put in operation, and a greater development of commerce is expected as soon as the Celilo Canal is completed. Based on this prospective commerce, it is believed that the Co- lumbia River between Celilo Falls and the mouth of Snake River is worthy of a moderate improvement if it can be made at a reasonable cost. With reference to the river above the Snake, it appears that the improvement desired is at three localities between Wenatchee and a point near Bridgeport. On this section of the river, about 77 miles in extent, there is a regular line of boats making daily trips to Brew- ster and biweekly trips to Bridgeport. It is reported that in 1904 the commerce amounted to 23,000 tons and 13,600 passengers. There appears to be considerable agricultural development in this locality, and the river is the main artery over which the principal business is carried. The Board concurs in the opinion of the district officer and division engineer that the Columbia River between Wenatchee and Bridge- port is worthy of a moderate improvement, and recommends that a COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 7 survey and estimate of cost be authorized, and further that a survey of the Columbia Eiver between Celilo Falls and the Snake- Kiver, at an estimated cost of $7,800, be made. For the Board: D. W. LOCKWOOD, Lieut. Col., Corps of Engineers, Senior Member of the Board. [Third indorsement] WAR DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS, Washington, July 24, 1905. Respectfully submitted to the Secretary of War. The accompanying reports relate to a preliminary examination of Columbia River and tributaries above Celilo Falls, including that portion between Wenatchee and Kettle Falls, authorized by the river and harbor act of March 3, 1905. Inviting attention to the report of the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors in the preceding indorsement, I recommend that a survey of the riA^er as proposed by the Board be authorized. A. MACKENZIE, Brig. Gen., Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army. [Fourth indorsement.] WAR DEPARTMENT, July 25, 1905. Approved as recommended by the Chief of Engineers in the pre- ceding indorsement. ROBERT SHAW OLIVER, Acting Secretary of War. SURVEY OF COLUMBIA RIVER BETWEEN WENATCHEE AND BRIDGEPORT, WASH. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Seattle, Wash., November 16, 1905. GENERAL : In compliance with instructions contained in your letter of July 28, 1905, to Maj. John Millis, Corps of Engineers, 'l have the honor to submit the following report on a survey of the Columbia River between Wenatchee and Bridgeport, Wash., with estimate of cost of removal of obstructions to navigation. A complete survey covering this part of the Columbia River was made in 1894 under the direction of Capt. (now Lieut. Col.) Thomas W. Symons, Corps of Engineers, and his report, with maps, was published in the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1895, Part 5, pages 3534-3542. On October" 24 and 25, 1905, I made a personal examination of the Columbia River between Wenatchee and Bridgeport and concluded that further detailed surveys would not be necessary to prepare an estimate and project for the work required. The maps accompany- ing the report of survey made in 1894 are in sufficient detail to show 8 COLUMBIA RIVEE AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. the nature of the obstructions which require removal in the interests of navigation. A new map a has been prepared from surveys made in 1891 and 1894, showing that part of the river now under consider- ation. From the nature of the obstructions no changes of conse- quence have taken place since 1894 in the obstructions to navigation, which consist entirely of rocks and gravel bars. Since 1894 the traffic on this part of the river has increased from one small steamer, making occasional trips, to six stern-wheel steam- ers varying from 165 feet long and 30 feet beam to 75 feet long and 16 feet beam, making regular trips when the stage of water permits. The improvements required to permit safe navigation of the river consist of removal of rocks and ' bowlders, some of which are sub- merged, and the construction of wing dams and dikes to concentrate the flow of water in one channel where more than one exists. The Columbia Eiver between Wenatchee and Bridgeport is the only outlet for a large area and will probably remain so for some time. The distance from Wenatchee to Bridgeport is about 80 miles, and this part of the river is navigated with difficulty, and at some places it is not entirely safe. Between Wenatchee and Orpndo, a distance of 17 miles, the obstructions to be removed are isolated bowlders and reefs in the steamboat channel. The estimated cost of the work required between these points is based on the cost of operating a floating plant for drilling and blasting the rocks, etc. The cost of a detailed survey of each obstruction would be excessive and unnecessary. Most of the obstructions are below the low-water plane and their exact location would not add materially to the information now at hand. At Entiat Rapids the river can be navigated by vessels under their own steam at high water, but at low water lining is necessary, which operation is troublesome and dangerous and results in tedious delays. The river is here divided into three channels and the plan of improvement proposed is to close the channel on the left at its upper end by a dike of stone, 900 feet long, which will concentrate the flow of water in the middle channel and deepen this channel by scour of the gravel bottom. The present low-water fall will also be extended and reduced. An abundance of suitable stone, already quarried, for construction of a dike is found in the vicinity. The worst obstructions to navigation in the portion of the river under consideration are found at Entiat Rapids, and the importance of the improvement of the river at this place is greater than at any other. Near Chelan City the river at low water is divided by a gravel bar into two channels, which are shallow. It is proposed to close the right channel by a short stone dike and force all of the water through one channel the left one and to remove a bowlder near Chelan City. At Methow Rapids the water is deep and the current is not a material obstacle to navigation at low water. At high water the velocity of the current is greatly intensified. The improvement pro- posed is the removal of rocks at " E," " C," and " B," shown on detailed sketch of these rapids; to remove Ringbolt rock above low- water level and construct a wing dam about 150 feet long at " G." Two large bowlders above Methow Rapids are also to be removed. o Not printed. COLUMBIA EIVEE AND TKIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 9 No work is at present contemplated between Methow Landing and Bridgeport. The estimated cost of the improvement outlined is as follows : Removal of rocks, bowlders, etc., between Wenatchee and Orondo $12, 750 Dike at Entiat Rapids 900 feet long, 23,000 tons of stone, at 60 cents__ 13, 800 Dike at Chelan City, 500 tons of stone, at $1 500 Removing bowlders at Chelan City 300 Removing rock at Methow Rapids, 8,000 cubic yards, at $1 8, 000 Wing dam at Methow Rapids 2, 000 Removing bowlders above Methow Landing 500 Total 37, 850 Contingencies, 10 per cent 3, 785 Total 41, 635 In round numbers 42,000 The proposed improvement will be permanent in its result, and there will be no cost for annual maintenance except for the dikes at JCntiat Rapids, which may require some filling after the effects of the first high water in summer and the action of ice in winter are known. A charge of 5 cents per ton has been added to provide for this contingency. When work of improvement was last carried on in 1894-5 the com- mercial statistics for the fiscal year 1895 were given as 6,000 tons, valued at $180,000. Total number of passengers carried, 1,350. From the report 12 made by the Commercial Club of Wenatchee on June 1, 1905 (forwarded with report on preliminary examination submitted by Major Millis on June 26, 1905), the following statement of the commerce between Wenatchee and Bridgeport for the calendar year 1904 is taken : Tons. Freight carried upstream 9,000 Freight carried downstream 15, 000 Total 24, 000 Number of passengers carried, 13,600. The following is an abstract statement of the commerce for the calendar year 1904-5, compiled from the statement furnished by the Columbia and Okanogan Steamboat Company : Year. Up-river. Down-river. Total. Tons. Value. Tons. Value. Tons. Value. 1904 9 448 $1 794 200 15,058 28,056 $457, 390 939,060 24,506 39, 827 82,251,590 3,169,060 1905 a 11,771 2,230,000 a Estimated for months of November and December, 1905. 13,222 passengers were carried in 1904. 29,767 passengers will have been carried in 1905. From the results of my examination and from consultation with persons acquainted with the conditions, I am of the opinion that the improvement of the Columbia River between Wenatchee. and Bridge- port by the General Government to the extent outlined in this report is justified by the present and prospective commercial interests in- volved. o Not printed. 10 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. There are sent herewith copy of report a by Mr. J. M. Clapp, as- sistant engineer, on the improvement of the Columbia River between Wenatchee and Bridgeport ; tracing a showing that part of the river under consideration, made from survey of 1894, for the part between the mouth of the Okanogan River and Wenatchee, and from survey of 1891 for the part of the river between Bridgeport and the mouth of the Okanogan River ; also letter and statement of tonnage from Mr. T. A. Davies, manager of the Columbia and Okanogan Steam- boat Company. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, F. A. POPE, First Lieutenant, Corps of Engineers. Brig. Gen. A. MACKENZIE, Chief of Engineers, U.S.A. (Through Division Engineer.) [First indorsement.] U. S. ENGINEER OFFICE, PACIFIC DIVISION, San Francisco, Col., December 1, 1905. Respectfully forwarded to the Chief of Engineers, United States Army. In view of the great increase of commerce and difficulties of trans- portation in this section of country, I think the river is worthy of improvement to the extent of $42,000, and on the plans recommended by Lieutenant Pope. W. H. HEUER, Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Division Engineer. SURVEY OF COLUMBIA RIVER BETWEEN CELILO FALLS AND SNAKE RIVER, WASHINGTON. UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE, Portland, Oreg., November 27, 1906. GENERAL: The river and harbor act approved March 3, 1905, con- tained the following provisions: General survey or examination of Columbia River and tributaries above Celilo Falls including that portion between Wenatchee and Kettle Falls, with a view to open channel work. The survey of so much of the Columbia River as is included be- tween the mouth of the Snake River and Celilo Falls was assigned to this office by your letter dated July 28, 1905. The survey ex- tended over a period of six months, from August 28, 1905, to Feb- ruary 28, 1906. The maps a were completed June 20, 1906, but only until recently has the desired data been obtained on the probable influence of open-river work on the rate-regulating question. A few of the most difficult rapids have been surveyed heretofore, but no connected survey of the whole stretch of river in question had ever been made. It was therefore necessary in the present survey to carry a continuous system of triangulation from the mouth of the a Not printed. COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 11 Snake to Celilo, attempting, however, only such degree of accuracy as was possible wjth the funds available and necessary to the pur- pose in view. Three hundred and fourteen triangulation stations were occupied and three to six permanent points were established at each rapid where future improvement will probably be required. A level line was carried down the left bank of the river and water-sur- face elevations were taken opposite the triangulation points. Per- manent bench marks were established at all rapids near the triangu- lation points. The lines of soundings were located from 50 feet apart where ob- structions existed to 1,300 feet apart in pools where no obstructions were in evidence. In smooth water soundings were taken about 100 feet apart on time intervals and in rapids as frequently as could be taken, and every third sounding was located by stadia. All channel rocks, edges of reefs, and shoals were located by stadia. Topography was also put in by stadia from triangulation stations. The maps accompanying this report are 27 in number. Fifteen of these are general maps of the river, drawn to a scale of 1 :10000 ; the other 12 show details of the rapids and are drawn to a scale of 1 inch to 200 feet. The profile of river on one additional sheet is drawn to a scale of 1 inch to 2,000 feet horizontally and 1 inch to 20 feet vertically. The field work was done by a party of 11 men, under a junior engi- neer, which was at first quartered in tents and later in two small quarter boats, which were dropped downstream as the work pro- gressed. Soundings were taken from a small power launch. The two great obstructions at the Cascades and The Dalles divide the river into three sections, designated, respectively, the lower, mid- dle, and upper Columbia. The locks at the Cascades have connected the lower and middle reaches, and the canal now under construction around The Dalles will eventually connect the middle with the upper Columbia. The portion of the river under consideration is the lower section of the upper Columbia, and its improvement is a necessary sequence to the great canal around the obstructions of The Dalles. Its improvement should, however, not be deferred because the canal may not be completed for many years. A portage road 8i miles long, paralleling the route of the proposed canal, has been constructed by the State of Oregon as a temporary means of establishing traffic on the upper Columbia, and since its completion about a year ago has done some business in connection with two boats which have operated a portion of the year between Celilo and points higher up the river. The extent to which the portage road, as a temporary link in the chain of communication by river between Portland and the upper Columbia, will afford the desired competition to railroad rates will depend in large measure upon the work the General Government may do in the near future in removing dangerous rocks and bowlders from the worst rapids. It will be advantageous, therefore, in my opinion, to begin the improvements in the upper Columbia at once, making the more difficult and dangerous places safe for present traffic and extending the improvement under suc)i appropriations as Con- gress may from time to time make, with the expectation of getting a reasonably good river by the time the canal is opened to traffic. The length of the Columbia between Celilo and the mouth of the Not printed. 12 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. Snake River is 124.1 miles and the total fall of low water 184.5 feet. Of this fall, 86.1 feet is concentrated over 16 rapids, having an aggregate length of 19 miles, the slope per mile at these points vary- ing from 3 feet at Hells Gate to 8.3 feet at Devils bend. The average slope at low water over the reaches between rapids is 0.93 foot per mile. No velocity measurements were taken. One experienced pilot estimates the velocity at the swiftest point at 8 miles per hour at low water. This high velocity must always constitute a considerable impediment to the carrying of large cargoes upstream, but will not prevent, of course, the taking of full loads downstream. The obstructions complained of are the bowlders and ledges which lie in and close to the channel which boats must follow in passing through the rapids. Their removal is the first work to be undertaken, and they should be taken out for a sufficient width at each rapid to give the boats such leeway in swinging as the local conditions may require. There may be less depth at dead low water at a few points, as at Homly Rapids, than navigators may desire for uninterrupted navigation during the low-water period, but lack of depth is of minor importance at the present time as compared with the supreme neces- sity of making safe the depths that now exist approximately 3 feet at low water at the shoalest point. The project here presented does not contemplate, therefore, any increase in depth beyond what may result from raking a few gravel shoals, but aims to make available present depths by removing obstructing bowlders and ledges. This plan is in accordance with the opinion of one of the most experienced pilots on the river, Capt. W. P. Grey. Following the. idea above outlined, the work required at each of the principal rapids has been approximated as closely as practicable. A close estimate of the size of bowlders or cubic contents of ledges to be removed would have been possible only by means of costly surveys, and such surveys could not be made with the funds in hand. Gen- erally the size and contents of bowlders were estimated by the eye without actual measurement. The cost of removing rocks and ledges in the rapids is no easier of approximation than the cubical contents. It need not be stated that to remove bowlders and ledges in a swift and surging current is a difficult and costly operation, as uncertain as to cost as the wind and other controlling conditions are uncertain. A steamboat as tender, besides other plant, will be required, whose running expenses will go on, however much the work may be delayed by adverse conditions, such as a succession of beam winds", frequent in this locality, which might blow a steamer sideways upon rocks if work were attempted on unfavorable days. The improvements be- tween 1868 and 1881 cost from $17 to $36 per cubic yard of bowl- ders and ledges, while in 1882-83 on the Snake River a small amount of rockwork was done at $12 per cubic yard. In the following esti- mate the base price for rockwork is assumed at $15 per cubic yard. The aforesaid improvements between 1868 and 1882 were made under, appropriations aggregating $180,000, and the further work here pro- posed is practically an extension of these earlier improvements save in the matter of low-water depth, which is not now given as much consideration as it formerly received. The principal rapids and the improvements proposed at each are here below described in the order in which they are met, going down- stream from the mouth of the Snake. Improvement at points not COLUMBIA EIVEB AND TRIBUTAEIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 13 specifically mentioned will doubtless be necessary after relief has been given at the more dangerous passages, and the cost of this latter work is estimated in a lump sum in the summarized statement of cost. A complete list of all the rapids is appended to this report. Homly Rapids (6 miles}. Here gravel bars divide the flow of water into several channels at low water,- all of which are shoal and more or less obstructed with bowlders and with possible outcroppings of rock. The channel used by the steamboats has a fall of 8.1 feet in 1.6 miles, or an average fall of over 5 feet per mile. The improvement heretofore made comprises the removal of one reef and eight separate rocks, aggregating 118 cubic yards, in 1875, and 156 cubic yards in 1879. The further improvement proposed is the removal by blasting of channel bowlders as shown on sheet No. la, the raking or dredging of gravel shoals if necessary, and the blasting of any obstructing rocky points that may now be covered by the gravel bed. Also the removal of bowlders at flag No. 8, below the root of the rapids, as shown on sheet No. 1, estimated approximately as follows: 2,000 cubic yards rock and bcwlders, at $15 per cubic yard $80,000 Dredging and raking gravel shoals 5,000 Two Sisters shoal (12 miles}. Here the river is divided into several channels, and the steamboat channel is narrow because of en- croaching gravel shoals and a projecting rock ledge. No previous improvement has been made at this shoal. That now proposed is to widen and deepen the channel by raking or dredging, as shown on sheet No. 2, estimated approximately as follows : Raking or dredging gravel $1,000 Umatilla Rapids (30 miles). These rapids are 2| miles in length and are divided into three stretches, designated as upper, middle, and lower rapids. Their total fall is 16 feet, or an average of 6.4 feet per mile. The river at this point is divided into numerous channels by rocky ledges and the steamboat channel is obstructed by small ledges and isolated rocks and bowlders, as shown upon sheets Nos. 4a and 4b. The steamboat channel is narrow and tor- tuous and in the upper rapids runs almost crosswise the general trend of the river, making navigation extremely hazardous. Improvements were carried on almost continuously between 1872 and 1879, during which period a total of 1,042 cubic yards of ledge and bowlders were removed from the channel. The further improve- ment proposed is the widening and straightening of the channel by the removal of portions of rock ledges and of the removal of the mid-channel ledges and bowlders indicated on the sheets Nos. 4a and 4b above mentioned, estimated approximately as follows : 8,000 cubic yards rock removal, at $15 per cubic yard $120, 000 Devils Bend Rapids (38% miles] . Here the channel runs through bed rock and the course of steamboats is more or less obstructed with high points of bed rock. The rapids are three- fourths of a mile in length and have a total fall of 6.6 feet, or an average of 8.3 feet per mile. The improvement heretofore made at this point consisted of the removal of some 200 cubic yards of rock and bowlders in 1873. The further improvement proposed is the removal by blasting of the 14 COLUMBIA KIVEB AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. channel obstructions, shown on sheet No. 5a, estimated approximately as follows : 4,000 cubic yards rock removal, at $15 per cubic yard $60,000 Canoe Encampment Rapids (59% miles'). The river at this point is wide with a rough bed-rock bottom with numerous projecting ledges in mid-channel. The steamboat channel is crooked and difficult to navigate because of these obstructions. The rapids are 1 miles in length and have a total fall of 6 feet, or an average fall of 4.7 feet per mile. No previous improvement has been made at this rapid and that now proposed is the removal by blasting of the channel obstructions, shown on sheet No. 7a, estimated approximately as follows : 3,000 cubic yards rock removal, at $15 per cubic yard $45, 000 Owyhee Rapids (84% miles). Here the river is wide and com- paratively shoal, but is not seriously obstructed. The rapids are about 2^ miles in length and have a total fall of 9 feet, or an average fall of 3.5 feet per mile. The improvement heretofore made at this point consisted of the removal in 1876 of 68 cubic yards of rock from the channel. The additional improvement now proposed consists of the removal by blasting of one reef known as " John Stump rock," as shown on sheet No. lOa, estimated approximately as follows: 800 cubic yards rock removal, at $15 per cubic yard $12, 000 Rock Creek Rapids (96 miles). These rapids are formed by bro- ken bed-rock reefs, which divide the run into several channels. The present steamboat channel downstream follows closely the Washing- ton shore, and coming upstream follows the center of the river. The rapids are about three- fourths of a mile in length and have a total fall of 4.1 feet, or an average fall of about 6 feet per mile. No previous improvement has been made at these rapids, and that now proposed is the removal by blasting of one small reef at the head of the rapids and a submerged rock in the upstream channel, as shown on sheet No. 12a, estimated approximately as follows : 140 cubic yards rock removal, at $15 per cubic yard $2, 100 Squally Hook Rapids (101% miles). The river at this point is divided into numerous channels flowing between rocky reefs and ledges. The steamboat channel is crooked and is obstructed at sev- eral points by rocks ami projecting reefs. The rapids are less than three-fourths of a mile in length and have a fall of over 6 feet, or an average fall of 8.9 feet per mile. The improvement heretofore made at these rapids consisted of the removal in 1874 of six rocks from the channel, aggregating 192 cubic yards, and in 1876 of the removal of an additional 150 cubic yards of rock. The additional improvement now proposed consists of the removal by blasting of the rocks and reefs in the main channel at the head and foot of rapids, as shown on sheet No. 12b, estimated approx- imately as follows : 1,600 cubic yards rock removal, at $15 per cubic yard $24, 000 Indian Rapids (105 miles). The river at this point is largely con- fined to one deep channel in the bed rock. The principal obstruction is the sharp turn at the head of the rapids. The rapids are one-third COLUMBIA RIVER AND TEIBUTAEIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 15 of a mile in length and have a fall of less than 2 feet, or an average fall of 5 feet per mile. Xo previous improvement has been made at these rapids. That now proposed consists of the removal by blasting .of two submerged rocks and a portion of the bed-rock ledge at the head of the rapids, as shown on sheet No. 13a, estimated approximately as follows: 800 cubic yards rock removal,- at $15 per cubic yard____ $12,000 John Day Rapids (107 miles.} These rapids are about 3 miles in length and are divided into three distinct falls, known as upper, middle, and lower rapids. Their total fall is 6 feet, or an average fall of 2 feet per mile. The steamboat channel through these rapids is between rocky ledges on the north and gravel bars on the south side, and is navigated with but little difficulty owing to the com- paratively slight fall. The improvement heretofore made at these rapids consisted of the removal in 1873 of some 1,000 cubic yards of rock from the upper and middle rapids. The additional improvement now proposed consists of the removal by blasting of a rocky ledge to the south of the channel at upper rapids and a submerged ledge in mid-channel at middle rapids, as shown on sheet No. 13a, estimated approximately as follows : 800 cubic yards rock removal, at $15 per cubic yard $12, 000 Biggs Rapids (117 miles.} These rapids are formed by a bed- rock reef extending over halfway across the river from the Oregon shore and a gravel bar on the Washington shore. The steamboat channel is of good navigable width except at the head of the rapids, w r here it is narrowed by rock ledges and obstructed by a small reef in mid-channel. The rapids are three-fourths of a mile in length and have a total fall of 4.4 feet, or an average fall of 5.5 feet per mile. No previous improvement has been undertaken at this point, and that proposed consists of the removal by blasting of obstructions at the head of the rapids, as shown on sheet No. 14a, estimated approxi- mately as follows : 100 cubic yards rock removal, at $15 per cubic yard $1, 500 Hells Gate Rapids (119 miles}. Here the river makes an abrupt bend around a rock bluff on the Washington side. The river is deep and not seriously obstructed. The rapids are less than one-half mile in length and have a total fall of 1.2 feet, or an average fall of 3 feet per mile. No previous improvement has been undertaken at this point; that now proposed consists of the removal by blasting of two small reefs at the foot of the rapids, as shown on sheet No. 15, estimated approxi- mately as follows: 100 cubic yards rock removal, at $15 per cubic yard $1, 500 Summarized estimate of the cost of improvement. Homly Rapids : Removal of bowlders and rock, 2,000 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard $30,000 Removal of gravel by raking or dredging 5,000 Two Sisters shoal : Removal of gravel by raking or dredging 1, 000 Umatilla Rapids: Removal of rock ledges and bowlders, 8,000 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard 120,000 16 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. Devils Bend Rapids: Removal of rock obstructions, 4,000 cubic yards. at $15 per cubic yard $60,000 Canoe Encampment Rapids : Removal of rock obstructions, 3,000 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard 45,000 Owyhee Rapids : Removal of " John Stump rock," 800 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard 12,000 Rock Creek Rapids : Removal of rock obstructions, 140 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard 2,100 Squally Hook : Removal of rock obstructions, 1,600 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard 24,000 Indian Rapids : Removal of rock obstructions, 800 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard 12,000 John Day Rapids : Removal of rock obstructions, 800 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard 12,000 Biggs Rapids : Removal of rock obstructions, 100 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard 1,500 Hells Gate Rapids: Removal of rock obstructions, 100 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard l.-~00 At other points : Removal of rock obstructions, isolated bowlders, etc., at points not named above, 3,000 cubic yards, at $15 per cubic yard- 45, 000 371, 100 Engineering, superintendence, and contingencies 28,900 Total 400, 000 The maintenance of the improvement, which will involve a patrol of the river each year to take out bowlders which may lodge in the channel during freshets or be carried there by ice. or to scrape gravel bars, will be the cost of operating the plant hereinafter described, estimated at $30,000 per annum. The manner in which the improvements should be made, whether by contract or by day labor, has received careful consideration. If done by contract at a stipulated sum per cubic yard, it would be necessary to make careful surveys before and after blasting, in order to obtain an estimate of cubical contents as basis for a payment. Such sur- veys would have to be made by the United States inspectors, with the aid of the contractor's plant and working force, would be uncer- tain as to time consumed, would necessarily be costly, and never alto- gether satisfactory or reliable in results, owing to the difficulties attending the operation of taking and locating the soundings. The amount of time consumed in making these surve} 7 s and the cost of making them would be excessive in comparison with the time required and cost incurred in drilling and blasting, where the rock or ledge is not a large one. Under such circumstances differences would most certainly arise between the Government and the con- tractor regarding the time consumed and cost incurred by him in making surveys, and protests regarding contents of bowlders and ledges removed would surely follow where the surveys did not show the contents which the contractor expected them to show. How this work could be done by contract without expending an excessive amount of time and money in local surveys and without danger of becoming involved in altercations or litigations with a disappointed contractor does not seem clear. At Umatilla Rapids, where the ledge excavation is considerable, it may be feasible to do a portion of the work by contract without incurring a relatively too great cost in surveying ; and if so, it would be an advantageous method of mak- COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 17 ing the improvement. Except this, and possibly one other rapid, the general situation is as above. Taking the improvements at all points as a whole, the difficulties and cost of making surveys under contract work and the impossi- bility of getting accurate measurements in a swift and surging cur- rent, render it inadvisable, in my opinion, to attempt the improve- ment by contract. The method that seems most feasible and which will dispense with any elaborate survey is that of providing the necessary Government plant and doing the work by hire of labor and purchase of material. A plant suitable for the work would include a steamboat equipped with appliances for raking or dredging gravel bars, grappling small benvlders, and several drill scows with the necessary drilling appliances. Such a plant in charge of a competent man would accomplish the work in view at a minimum of expense to the United States as there would be no time lost or money spent in unnecessary surveys and the whole time of a relative short working reason could be utilized in effective rock blasting. The estimated cost of such a plant at present prices is $60,000, and the cost of operating $30,000 annually, which amounts are included in the total estimated cost of the improvement. In my opinion, the Columbia River between Celilo and the mouth of the Snake River is worthy of improvement to the extent as above outlined and at the cost for original work and for maintenance herein indicated. If this project is approved, it is recommended that the first appropriation be for $120,000, said sum being deemed neces- sary for the purchase of the necessary plant and for two years' opera- tion thereof, in case the work can not be done advantageously by contract. Probable effect of proposed improvement in reducing present rail- road rates. In reply to a request for information on the rate prob- lem, communications have been received from the chambers of com- merce of Spokane, Wash., and the commercial clubs of Lewiston, Idaho, Walla Walla, and Kennewick, Wash., and from other sources. Typewritten copies of the most important of these papers and a printed document on an open river, issued in June, 1906, by the Port- land Chamber of Commerce, are herewith bound together as a sepa- rate document. These papers contain the best available exposition of the benefit which an open river will confer on the great territory tributary to the upper Columbia River and are the basis of the follow- ing brief references to the rate question. These references and the above-mentioned papers necesssarily apply to the improvements in progress and projected on the Snake River and the Columbia above the mouth of the Snake, as well as to the section of the Columbia under consideration. The railroad on the north bank had been extended from Portland, a distance of 88 miles, to The Dalles before 1883. In 1883 and for a number of years prior thereto a line of steamboats was operated be- tween Portland and The Dalles in connection with a portage road on the north bank around the Cascades. The steamboat line and its portage road on one bank and the railroad on the other were con- trolled by the same management and there was no competition. The H. Doc. 440, 59-2 2 18 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. rates on freight from Portland to The Dalles on the heaviest goods were as follows : -qar Salt 85.20 $7.40 Sugar 6.20 7.40 Canned goods 6. 20 7. 40 Nail* i ti. 20 7. 40 The rate per ton on grain from The Dalles to Portland was $2.70 per ton, or 134 cents per hundredweight. These rates were main- tained until the locks at the Cascades were thrown open to traffic in 1896 and then lowered from 246 to 300 per cent on the aforementioned upstream traffic of heavy goods and 44 per cent on downstream ship- ments of grain, as shown by the following statement : Carload lots. Less than carload lots. Salt -l :.ii $3 00 Sugar 2.00 3.00 Canned goods - (HI 3 00 Nails ' 2 00 3 00 ! i 50 As illustrating how rapidly the railroad rates jump up at points beyond open-river competition, the following figures are instructive : For haulage over a distance of 88 miles, from Portland to The Dalles, the rate on salt, as shown above, is $1.50 per ton on carload lots and $3 on less than carload lots. The corresponding figures for haulage a distance of 100 miles farther, to Umatilla, where no open- river competition exists, are, respectively, $7.50 and $12 per ton, an increase of over 400 per cent. On sugar the rate on carload lots to The Dalles is $2 per ton ; to Umatilla, $10.20 per ton. The corre- sponding rates on canned goods to The Dalles and Umatilla are the same as on sugar. The rate on grain shipped from Umatilla to Portland is $3 per ton, as against a rate of $1.50 from The Dalles. It is not expected that the reduction of railroad rates to points above Celilo will be as greatly affected by the opening of the The Dalles-Celilo Canal in conjunction with the open-river w y ork herein proposed as was the case in the opening of the canal at the Cascades, since the danger and risks of navigation above Celilo are greater than those below The Dalles, and since the boats suitable for the upper Columbia must necessarily be more expensive to operate than the larger and more economical boats operating on the middle and lower Columbia, but that there will be a general reduction of rates all along the line can not be doubted, and it is equally certain that the reduc- tion will be sufficiently sweeping to save the whole upper country a- vast sum of money annually. How large this saving will probably be can not be estimated from available data, but an idea of its magni- tude can be obtained from the item of wheat alone, which is the great product of this region. The present annual growth of wheat in the area which an open river will benefit is estimated at 36,000,000 bushels. Of this amount, about 10,000,000 bushels are required for home consumption, and COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 19 about 90 per cent of the remainder, say 22,000,000 bushels, are trans- ported to the coast. The present rail rates to Portland vary from 10^ cents per hundredweight just above Celilo to 19 cents per hun- dredweight at Lewiston. Taking 15 cents per hundredweight as the average, and assuming a reduction of 25 per cent in rates when open- river competition is established, the saving would be 3iVv cents per hundredweight, or $481,800 on 22,000,000 bushels of wheat. If to this be added the saving on such other products as oats, barley, hay, etc., and on heavy upstream freight, such as grocery supplies, and it be considered that much of the country remains undeveloped because of lack of transportation facilities, it. is safe to say that the annual saving as a result of open-river traffic to Lewiston and the upper Columbia will within a very few years amount to several times the sum above mentioned. The State portage road at Celilo has been in operation about one year and has done such business as was brought to it by the operation of three small boats above Celilo and one boat below The Dalles. *The rates charged from points above Celilo to Portland vary from H cents to 2 cents per hundredweight lower than the railroad rates on wheat, but the transportation facilities both above and below the portage road have so far been inadequate to set up effective competi- tion with the railroad. Better results are expected in the future. In this connection it is to be noted that the regular line of boats between Portland and The Dalles was purchased last year by the Northern Pacific Eailroad Company in connection with the railroad now under construction along the north bank of the Columbia, and that these boats are operated with special regard to the contractors' camps and are not concerned with the development of a competitive factor in open-river navigation. For further information upon this subject attention is invited to the file of papers herewith. In conclusion, attention is respectfully invited to the fact that Lewiston, Idaho, is the largest commercial center on the open-river system above Celilo; that recent improvements have made a good low-water channel in the Snake from Lewiston to the railroad cross- ing at Eiparia, and that the Snake below Eiparia, which is obstructed by rapids, bowlders, and ledges, will require considerable improve- ment in order to get the full benefit of the improvement already made above Eiparia and that now proposed for the Columbia below the mouth of the Snake. A project for this lower section of the Snake Eiver is printed on pages 3013-3017 of the Chief of Engineers' Annual Eeport for 1898, and while the probable cost therein given may be too low under present prices of labor and material, it could be accepted as a basis for an appropriation to begin the work should Congress decide to begin it simultaneously with the open-river work on the Columbia. Those interested in the open river are as much concerned regarding this necessary work on the Snake Eiver as upon the open-channel improvement of the Columbia. Eespectfully submitted. S. W. EOESSLER, Lieut. Col., Corps of Engineers. Brig. Gen. A. MACKENZIE, Chief of Engineers, U. S. A. (Through the Division Engineer.) 20 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CKLILO FALLS. [First indorsement.] U. S. ENGINEER OFFICE, PACIFIC DIVISION, San Francisco, Cal., December 1, 1906. Respectfully forwarded to the Chief of Engineers, United States Army. The millions of dollars spent on the Cascade locks and to be expended on the construction of the locks and waterway between The Dalles and Celilo can be of very little importance and benefit to the communities interested in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, unless and until the Columbia River above Celilo and the Snake River are improved and made available and safe for steamboat navigation. The cost of improving these rivers will be relatively very small (in the hundreds of thousands of dollars) as compared with the work done, approved, and contemplated at the Cascades and at The Dalles-Celilo Canal. The very great bulk of freight that is to pass through these locks and canal must be carried on the rivers and originate in the country adjacent thereto above the locks. Considering the relative cost of the improvement of the rivers and that of the construction of the locks and canals above referred to, which are either completed or in progress, there is no question but that the upper Columbia and Snake rivers are worthy of improvement. With the upper Columbia River (above Celilo), the rapids of which were surveyed by me nearly forty years ago, I am thoroughly familiar, and feel convinced that the economical and practical way to improve this river is to do the work by hired labor and to the extent recommended by Lieut. Col. S. W. Roessler. If this work be undertaken by the Government the work of river improvement should be completed when the locks and canal at The Dalles-Celilo are readv for operation. W. H. HEUER, Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Division Engineer. [Third Indorsement.] BOARD OF ENGINEERS FOR RIVERS AND HARBORS, Washington, D. C., December 27, 1906. Respectfully returned to the Chief of Engineers, United States Army. The Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors has considered the within report of the district officer on a survey of Columbia River between Celilo Falls and the mouth of the Snake River, wdth the views of the division engineer thereon, and the accompanying report of the district officer on a survey of the same river between Wenatchee and Bridgeport, Wash., with the indorsement of the division engineer thereon; being two reaches included in the pro- posed improvement of " Columbia River and tributaries above Celilo Falls including that portion between Wenatchee and Kettle Falls. with a view to open channel work," upon which reports of pre- liminary examinations have already been rendered and reviewed. In addition to the above, the Board has reviewed the history of improvements heretofore undertaken by the United States on the Columbia River as published in the Annual Reports of the Chief of Engineers, United States Army. Senator Ankeny appeared be- COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 21 fore the Board on December 21. 1906. in advocacy of the improve- ment of this stream. Navigation is now practicable on the Columbia River as far as The Dalles, or Fivemile. Rapids, where work is in progress to overcome the obstructions between the Threemile Rapids and the head of Celilo Falls. The project provides for a canal on the Oregon shore, which, with certain river improvement, is estimated to cost $4,125,000. Above The Dalles work has been undertaken by the United States under various projects looking to the improvement of particular reaches, but no general or continuous project for the improvement of the river above this point has been adopted. While the act ordering the preliminary examination includes the portion of the river between Wenatchee .and Kettle Falls, the investi- gations of the district officer fail to indicate any present demands of commerce or navigation commensurate with the cost of an im- provement above Bridgeport, and no survey thereof was made. For the same reason it was not considered advisable to survey that por- tion of the river between Wenatchee and the mouth of the Snake. In the accompanying report of the district officer on a survey of the stretch between Wenatchee and Bridgeport, Wash., a plan of im- provement is presented which contemplates the removal of rocks and bowlders and the construction of dikes, etc., at an estimated cost of $42.000. The improvement proposed, in the opinion of the district officer, will be permanent in its nature and will require no expendi- ture for maintenance, except possibly some repair to the dikes after the first year. Several steamboats are in operation between We- natchee and Bridgeport, During the calendar year 1904 over 24,000 tons of commerce were carried on this section of the river and a commerce of nearly 40,000 tons is reported for the year 1905. Dur- ing the same year nearly 30,000 passengers were carried. The Board concurs in the opinion of the district officer and the division engineer that the present and prospective commerce of this section of the Columbia River is sufficient to justify the United States in under- taking its improvement, and it recommends the adoption of the project proposed by the district officer, at an estimated cost of $42.000 For the improvement of the lower .section under consideration that is, from Celilo to the mouth of the Snake River the district officer presents a plan having in view the elimination of dangerous rapids and the raking of a few gravel shoals for the purpose of pro- viding a safe navigation of such depth as the river normally carries, which is about 3 feet at low water at the shoalest point. The total estimated cost of the work is $400,000, extended over a series of years, and $30,000 annually thereafter for maintenance. The commerce pertaining to this stretch of river between Celilo and the mouth of the Snake River is at present small, and this is largelv due to the fact that there are now no facilities for its trans- portation. The country is one possessed of great natural resources and is rapidly being settled up. The improvement of this stretch is a natural corollary to that now in progress below, where the projects involve expensive" works, whose value and utility to the public de- pend largely upon the development of commerce above. In the within report the district officer discusses the effect on freight rates of the improvement heretofore undertaken by the United 22 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. States on the lower portion of the river, from which it is apparent that the influence of the water route already available has been con- siderable, and while it is not presumed that such pronounced reduc- tions in rail rates in the upper river will result from the improvement now proposed it is thought that navigation facilities which will be provided by the work suggested within will have an important bear- ing upon the making of rates in this localitj" and a powerful influ- ence in the further settlement and development of the country. Having in mind the large expenditures involved in the works undertaken below Celilo Falls and their dependence for success upon navigation above, the Board concurs in the opinion of the district officer and the division engineer that it is advisable for the United States to improve the river from Celilo Falls to the mouth of the Snake, and recommends the adoption of the project proposed bv the district officer, at an estimated cost of $400,000, and $30,000 per annum for maintenance. The language of the act calling for the preliminary examination requires consideration of the improvement of the tributaries of the Columbia River above Celilo Falls, as well as the improvement of the main stream. The important tributaries are the Snake. Okano- gan, and Pend Oreille. The Snake River is now under improvement under a project adopted in 1902, which provides for obtaining a chan- nel 5 feet deep at low water between Riparia and Lewiston by means of dredging, raking, and contraction works, and for the general im- provement of the Snake River from Lewiston to Pittsburg Landing, which is 216 miles above the mouth. Work was formerly done by the United States between Riparia and the mouth, but in 1882. owing to the construction of railway lines along and adjacent to the Snake and Columbia rivers, as well as the difficulties of navigating the Snake River and shoals of the Columbia River, improvement on the lower stretch of the Snake River was abandoned. There is considerable commerce now on the upper Snake, and if the improve- ment of the Columbia between Celilo Fall's and the mouth of the Snake is undertaken, then, in the opinion of the Board, the project for the lower Snake, estimated, when made in 1897, to cost $165,000, should be revived, so as to provide continuous navigation from the lower Columbia to the upper Snake. The Okanogan River is at present under improvement by the United States under a project adopted by the act of March 3, 1899, which contemplates rock removal, the construction of wing dams, and snagging, the cost of which was estimated at $30,000. The Pend Oreille River is also under improvement by the United States under a project adopted by the act of March 3, 1899, which contemplates the removal of submerged rocks and the blowing off of the projecting rock points, at an estimated cost of $30,000. The improvements on both these rivers have been of considerable benefit to commerce, but the Board is of the opinion that it is not advisable at this time to give consideration to any additional improvements of these streams in connection with the proposed improvements on the Columbia River. For the Board : R. L. HOXIE. 'Lieut. Col., Corps of Engineers. Senior Member Present. COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE OELILO FALLS. 2& LETTER OF THE SPOKANE (WASH.) CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. SPOKANE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. Spokane, Wash., October j, 1UKAU Siu : lu determining what effect the opening of the Columbia and Snake rivers would have on the commercial interests of Spokane and sur- rounding country, you must first consider existing transportation conditions. The freight rate on all shipments east of the Rocky Mountains to the inte- rior Columbia River basin is based on the coast rate plus the local rate from the coast to designation. Of course railway traffic officials claim that water competition fixes a less rate on the coast than would otherwise exist; hence they are entitled to make up what is lost on the coast rate by raising the rate to the interior, which is helpless to prevent this or any other ruling the railroads arbitrarily impose. This deplorable condition as regards rates has been the only factor which has tended to retard the development of the interior country, rich in every natural resource which makes for material wealth. High rates of transporta- tion are a tax upon the people, and while the merchant has prospered the consumer has suffered. It is estimated that existing railway rates have in- creased the cost of living 25 per cent in this territory despite the fact that a large surplus iu grain, fruit, vegetables, and meat is produced annually, therefore the very advantages which natural conditions give to this country, and which should accrue to the benefit of the people, are seized upon by the railroads and made a source of profit, which is both unjust and unreasonable. Equal rights under the Constitution do not exist for the people of the interior Columbia River basin in the matter of railroad rates. If theoretical water competition will give to the coast her present low rates, comparatively speaking, actual water competition will certainly relieve the situation for 'the upper Columbia River region. The transcontinental rate to Spokane is from 25 per cent to 135 per cent higher than to the coast according to the will of the combine which fixes the rate for the several commodities. The city of Spokane alone is paying out over $4,000.000 for freight annually. Of this amount about 70 per cent is for shipments originating east of the Mis- souri River. Hence a reduction in freight rates of even 25 per cent would mean a saving to the people of nearly $1,000,000 per annum. The wholesale grocery business of Spokane amounts to about $3,000,000 per annum. Sixty-five per cent of the goods sold come from California. Carload rates from the coast to Spokane range from 65 cents to 90 cents per 100 pounds. An open river would reduce these rates at least 33 per cent, and would therefore reduce the cost of living by that much. Over 3(5,000,000 bushels of wheat are grown annually in the territory drained by upper Columbia River (above The Dalles). Of this enormous output not to exceed 10,000.000 bushels are used for home consumption. The balance is exported, of which fully 90 per cent goes to the coast. Every cent of reduction in cost of transportation to the coast would be added to the profit of the pro- ducer, which in turn would contribute to the general prosperity of the country. While an open river would not be of material benefit to the jobbing interests of this city and might in a measure be adverse by giving to Lewiston, Walla Walla, and other points nearer the Columbia and Snake rivers advantages of lower rates than we could hope to get, it would be of incalculable benefit to the people as a whole, and that is what we should strive for; it is the basic prin- ciple of our National Government a benefit to the masses rather than to the individual. . Very truly, yours, L. G. MONROE, Lieut. Col. S. W. ROESSLEK, Secret a ni. ror/;.v of Knvinccr*. I . N. .1.. Portland. Greg. J.iriTEBS OF THE LEWISTON ( IDAHO) COMMERCIAL CLl'l!. THE LEWISTON COMMERCIAL CLUB, Lewiston, Idaho, October .5, 1908, DEAR SIR : In re statistical information pertaining to the opening of the Snake and Columbia rivers, we beg leave to report the following : We are unable to report fully covering the territory which you gave us. We possess no definite information pertaining to any of the territory in the State of Washington, and, in fact, none for the county of Latah in the State of Idaho. 24 COLUMBIA RIVEK AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. However, we have endeavored to secure this information from several different sources. We believe the desired results to be obtained can only be enjoyed by a navi- gable unobstructed river from the mouth of the Columbia to the head of navi- gation on the Snake River, which is under ordinary water stage at Lewiston, Idaho, -but under high-water stage at the mouth of Imnaha. a tributary in Oregon. The benefits to bo derived from such an open river will not be limited to riparian owners or to the country adjacent thereto. Neither will the transpor- tation of products on the open river be limited to the territory adjacent to the river. But we do not claim that all the territory which you gave us to report on would at any time, even with an unobstructed river to its mouth, furnish its products for transportation on the river. We believe the open river will give to the tributary country on either side of it electric lines, which, in conjunction with the services to be had by the open river, will effect the desired competition with the great railway lines. These electric lines must necessarily be the feeders to the river traffic. Such lines are not only feasible but many of them are prospective, and one. if not two. assured facts. There can and probably will be an electric line up the Grande Ronde River, which will not only tap a rich district in mineral, timber, agricultural, and stock raising, but which will be able to handle the coal which gives evidence of being found in large quantities in that territory. There can and probably will be an electric line up the Imnaha River district to tap the Wallowa country in Oregon, which is famous for its grasses and stock raising, and which is also rich in minerals and timber. The Spokane and Inland Railway, from Spokane. Wash., to Lewiston, Idaho, is an assured fact. What this road will give to the open river in the way of transportation and freight is almost immeasurable. We have not even any figures to submit to you at this time covering the territory through which this line runs, but should we be able to secure it later we will be glad to report it. The Lewiston Southeastern electric line, from Grangeville to Lewiston, in now being promoted, and no doubt will be an assured fact within a very short time. It is along this line that we herewith submit statistics showing the products which this line will necessarily give to the Snake and Columbia rivers. The country which this line taps, while it is indeed rich in agricultural products, is but a small area compared with the territory tributary to the Snake River above Lewiston. Idaho, which can and probably will be tapped by electric lines. We submit herewith a map showing the amount of hay. wheat, oats, barley. flax, cattle, and hogs along the line of the electric railroad. This data is based upon affidavits made by the owners of the property from which this was taken. We have been promised a later and more complete map, together with addi- tional information pertaining to this district, and as soon as we receive it we will send it to you. There are ".02.971 acres tributary to this electric railroad : 189.518 acres seeded to grain or hay: 178.453 acres tillable but not seeded: 42.035 acres in hay. producing 77.441 tons: 65.310 acres in wheat, producing 2,084.124 bushels, or 63,336 tons ; 24,696 acres in oats, producing 993,000 bushels, or 22,771 tons ; 44,135 acres in barley, producing 2.144,765 bushels, or 50,578 tons ; 22.547 acres in flax, producing 351,288 bushels, or 10,401 tons; 7,854 head of cattle sold, being 4.256 tons for transportation : 52,024 head of hogs sold, being 6.340 tons for transportation: making a total tonnage of 235.125 for one year, with only a small per cent of over one-half of this territory. We have said nothing about the timber and mineral in this territory along this electric line and have not even mentioned the territory near Lewiston, through which this line will run. We have not said anything about the mineral along the Snake River and the Salmon tributary thereto ; but this coun- try is a very promising mineral district and the tonnage for transportation of this product will be very great. There is also the largest and finest granite quarry on the Snake River, about 40 miles above Lewiston. that can be found in the West. In fact we do not claim in this report to give even an approximate estimate of the products of the territory given us which will be available for transpor- tation on an open river from Lewiston to the sea. But we give this statistical information along this one electric line as an argument of the benefits which an open and unobstructed river would be to this country. Not printed. COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 25 The open and unobstructed river from Lewiston to its mouth would give to these electric railways the protection necessary to them in competing with the great railroad systems. In our opinion this will solve the problem of regulat- ing the traffic rates the ultimate object which we desire to obtain. But the improvement of the Columbia River to its free and unobstructed navigation to its mouth must be accomplished before we can hope to secure all of these lateral electric lines. The piecemeal improvement of the upper Snake River and then a large expenditure at the mouth of the Columbia is not of the greatest importance with the 11 miles of obstruction above The Dalles. We must have the open river from the head of navigation to tide water in order to give to the elec- tric lines the protection which they will need to compete with the great rail- roads; and while this may not be obtained at one time it is the end to which our efforts should be addressed. Respectfully. JOHN O. BENDER. M. A. MEANS, DUNCAN J. MCGELVERY, Committee, Commercial Club. Lieut. Col. S. W. ROESSLER, Corps of Engineers. Portland, Oreg. THE LEWISTON COMMERCIAL CLUB. Lewiston, Idaho, October 22, 1906. DEAR SIR : Answering further your letter of the 10th instant, I beg leave to say that we are unable to secure very satisfactory information on the matters vinder inquiry, but we give you what we have and trust that this may be of some use to you. Rates from Portland to Lewiston per hundredweight on merchandise. Class rates (in cents). I. 2. 3. 4. 5. A. B. [ C. " E. 135 120 95 80 65 65 55 ! 46 36 26 There are certain commodities that carry a special rate which would not appear under this classification. Grain seed, straight carloads from Lewixton to coast points. Flour, feed, etc ...per cwt.__ $0. 19* Hay do . 17 Potatoes do . 17 Lumber do . 20 Salt do . 40 Coal per toii-_ 4.00 Horses and mules per car__ 80.00 Cattle, hogs, and sheep do 70.00 Class rates from Chicago per hundredweight. 1. 2. 3. 4. 2.10 3.60 3.10 2.60 26 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. . h'unxa* City. Omaha, tit. .lo*c]>li. Diiluth. x of Kiii/iiiccrx. I'oithnid. Grey. LKTTKKS OF THE COM . \IKRCIAL CLUB OF WALLA WAI. LA. WASH. COMMERCIAL CLUB OF WALLA WALLA. Walla Walla, Wash., September 17, 1906. DEAR SIR : The Commercial Club of Walla Walla, in common with the people of the whole Northwest, is vitally interested in an open Columbia River for the following reasons : The Cascade Mountains form a barrier and block egress from the watershed of the Columbia to our market on the tide water. The only natural gateway through this mountain range is the Columbia River, which is not available now. The transportation companies often lack equipment to handle, in proper time, the products grown in this valley. In spite of former transportation handicaps the substantial resources of the inland empire have brought it forward. With an area of about 2,500 square miles, the Walla Walla Valley has a freight traffic of more than 700,000 tons. The city of Walla Walla, with a population of 20,000. has a business aggre- gating in 'the various lines, $12,000,000 annually. With an open river as the natural highway of commerce, this valley would have increased facilities for reaching market, competition in rates, and a water service to some localities now without railway service. Irrigation schemes along our waterways are reclaiming great sections of arid lands, directly tributary to the river, and in many cases their only means of communication. At this time there are several thousand tons of grain piled on the river awaiting boat transportation. Opening the Columbia, we hope, will give us terminal rates on eastern freight. The fact that private companies have built and are trying to operate steam- boats in the upper river trade, with projected trolley lines as feeders for these boats, indicates that the people realize the great necessity of the water route as the most important question confronting the inland empire. The people have spent over .$300,000 on this project and now need the help of the Government. Very truly, yours, THE COMMERCIAL CLUB OF WALLA WALLA. By A. C. MOORE, Secretary. Lieut. Col. S. W. &OESSLER, Corpn of Ktif/inerrx, I*or1hnul. Orc/i. COMMERCIAL CLUB OF WALLA WALLA, Walla Walla, Wash., November 3, 1906. DEAR SIR : The following additional information, not included in my letter dated September 17. may be of interest in regard to the opening of the Columbia River. Last year Wallawalla County, with an area of 1,296 square miles and a pop- ulation of 30.000 people, stored in the railroad warehouses for transportation a COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO B^ALLS. 27 total of 165,000 tons of wheat. This grain (some of it in the form of flour) went to market at tide water and paid the rail rate of $3.15 per ton. If the open river to Wallula shall have the same effect as the same situation at The Dalles on the opening of the Cascade locks the present rates will be reduced from 100 per cent to 300 per cent. If the present rate had been reduced by one-half it would have saved Wallawalla County $259,875 in freight on the wheat crop alone, and that is only one-tenth of the wheat crop of the inland empire. Again, the Walla Walla Valley, with an area of 2,500 square miles and a pop- ulation of 50,000 people, has a freight traffic amounting to 700,000 tons annually, and in the same time pays the railroads more than $900,000 on freight received. The freight rates from tide water vary according to classification, $1.14 being lirst class per hundred pounds and $0.20 being class E, the lowest regular rate per hundred pounds, carloads. In this part of the country the great bulk of west-bound freight from eastern points is based on the rates to the Pacific coast and the local rate back to desti- nation. As the freight is not actually hauled to the coast the local freight back becomes an arbitrary charge. The open river will thus reduce the charges on freight from the East (taking coast rates) by the same amount it will save on straight shipments from the yoast. On the basis of present traffic, if the open river reduced freight rates by one- half, it is estimated that the saving to the Walla Walla Valley would be more than half a million dollars annually. But no man can figure on the present basis permanently. The country is growing and the freight traffic has doubled in the last six years. It will double again in the next six years, and the saving will then be twice as great in dollars and cents as it is to-day, and yet we are only a small part of the inland empire. Yours, truly, A. C. MOORE, Secretary. Lieut. Col. S. W. ROESSLER, Corps of Engineers. Portland , Oreg. STATEMENT OF THE KKNNEWICK (WASH.) COMMERCIAL CLUI!. KENNEWICK COMMERCIAL CLUB. Kennewick, Wash., November 10, 190G. DEAR SIR : In response to your request for a report showing the existing con- ditions of transportation at this place and the influence which an open river would have on the same, I hereby transmit to you a brief summary of the actual situation as it now presents itself. Very respectfully, GEO. F. RICHARDSON, President Kennewick Commercial Club. J. W. HEWETSON, Secretary. Lieut. Col. S. W. ROESSLER, Corps, of Engineers, Portland, Oreg. Kennewick is a town of upward of 1,500 population, grown entirely within four years. It has a trading population of about 3,000, in an irrigated valley of 15,000 acres under the Northern Pacific Irrigation Company's canal. This val- ley is rapidly settling in tracts of 5 to 40 acres to the family. The principal industry is growing berries, grapes, tree fruits, alfalfa, and gardening. The town is in a sagebrush country and has the irrigation office, waterworks, electric lights, city telephone service, two grain warehouses, cold storage and ice plant, two banks, fifteen stores (carrying all lines of trade), four hotels, six restau- rants, five saloons, three livery barns, two bakeries, two shoe shops, two black- smith shops, three barber shops, two billiard halls, two meat markets, two doc- tors, two dentists, three lawyers, seven real-estate offices, six building con- tractors, one architect, two surveyors, one newspaper and printing office, two lumber yards, and one coal and wood yard. Loca tton. Kennewick is located on the Columbia River where the Northern Pacific Railroad crosses at a point 3 miles above the mouth of the Snake River and 5 miles below the mouth of the Yakima River. The Horse Heaven wheat country lies to the south and only a few miles distant. Part of this wheat 28 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE OELILO FALLS. country trades and markets its crops at Kennewick. All the fuel and building material for the town, valley, and wheat country has to be shipped in. The town has but one railroad, the Northern Pacific. Aside from this one railroad, the river offers opj>ortunity for transportation during high-water period, but owing to a few rocks in the Homly Rapids a few miles below Kennewick, it is extremely dangerous as the water subsides, and impossible when water is very low. Up river for about 70 miles the river is practically safe the year round. There was quite a large steamer and one small one doing business on the river the summer of 1905. The large one was wrecked with a cargo of wheat in the Homly Rapids in September. Considerable and rapidly increasing business is being done in 1906. One steamer (135 tons) and two small ones are doing business up the river and down as far as Umatilla. The larger steamer, the W. R. Todd, makes weekly runs to up-river points, being loaded at Kennewick. Sometimes has more than can be carried. There was, during the twelve months past, shipped to the lumber yards and teed stores upward of 600 carloads of lumber, wood, coal, shingles, lath, doors, lime, cement, brick, feed, etc., besides the freight for merchants brought here in less than car lots. The opening of the Columbia River through central Washington is of vital and far-reaching importance to the development of the State. The present transportation facilities are utterly inadequate to accommodate the yearly increase of immigrants, who hope to make homes in Washington. The fertility of the soil is not inviting to the homeseeker if his location is so remote as to make his crops unmarketable. There is a vast area in central Washington un- surpassed in richness, whose only access is by water. The wheat fields of southern Douglas County, southwest Adams County, and northwest Franklin County are practically all occupied, while the farmers located there have to haul their wheat from 15 to 30 miles to the nearest railroad. In 1905, 80,000 bushels of grain were shipped from eastern Horse Heaven to Portland by way of Wallula. The farmers were obliged to ferry the wheat across the Columbia to reach the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company at Wallula. This additional expense of course was a serious drain on the resources of the farmers. The freight to Portland, including the cost of ferrying across the Columbia, was 18 cents a bushel. In 1906 the Open River Association put a boat on the river to navigate between the town of Hover, opposite Wallula, and Celilo. where the boats connect with the Portage road and so on down to Portland. At the present time the greatest part of the Horse Heaven wheat is carried to Portland down the Columbia by boat. The freight to Portland from Hover, 243 miles, is 13 cents a bushel, thus effecting a saving of 5 cents a bushel over last year's expenses by rail. A considerable percentage of the Horse Heaven wheat is still hauled to Kennewick on account of its proximity. From Kennewick to Tacoma, a distance of 245 miles, the freight rate is 15 cents a bushel that is, 2 cents a bushel in excess of the water rate for an equal distance. Water transportation has an additional feature, which gives great satisfaction to the farmer. When his grain reaches the loading platform it is at once in- spected, weighed, graded, and purchased without further delay. If the same grain were carried by rail, the inspection and grading would be done in Tacoma. The farmer is thus at the mercy of others. His disadvantage is obvious. In the matter of building materials, hardware, groceries, and other commodities the rates by water are equally beneficial to the public. The Open River Transportation Company quotes the following rates from Portland to Pasco and Kennewick per 100 pounds : First class __ $0.70 Second class .65 Third class .55 Fourth class .45 Fifth class _ .35 By Northern Pacific Railroad Company rates are as follows : First class __ $1.10 Second class .95 Third class .75 Fourth class .65 Fifth class __ .55 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 29 An average saving of 20 cents per 1UO pounds is a valuable consideration to a new cminminity. On the other hand, goods ordered from Portland by rail take five days if ordered by the carload and from five to eleven days if by local freight. The same- goods when transported by water are delivered in Pasco or Kennewick in less than three days. At the present low stage of water in the Columbia River the boats of the Open River Transportation Company do not come above the town of Hover on account of the dangerous Homly Rapids, 2 miles above Hover. Ten large bowlders obstruct navigation at that point. With the removal of these rocks the Columbia would be open all the year round to navigation as far as Priest Rapids, a distance of 72 miles above Wallula. The town of Kennewick and vicinity suffers greatly from unjust discrimi- nation practiced by the railroads. Goods ordered from eastern cities for Ken- newick have to pay the full rate out to the coast plus the rate from the coast back to Kennewick. New towns up the river, such as Richland, Julia, and White Bluffs, have to pay the additional boat charge from Kennewick. An open river up as far as Priest Rapids would be an effectual cure for all exist- ing extortion and discrimination. GEO. F. RICHARDSON. President Kennewick Commercial Club. J. W. HEWETSON, f Secretary. NOVEMBER 10, 1906. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FREIGHT RATES, SUBMITTED BY THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, PORTLAND, OREG. THE PORTLAND CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUILDING. Portland, Oreg., November 24, 1906. DEAR SIR : In connection with the statistics which you are gathering to show the effect of water competition as compared with rail, I herewith inclose you a tabulated sheet giving comparisons, which show rather startling results, par- ticularly when you consider that there are no steamers on between Portland and Seattle, but only that the opportunity exists if rates should go up. Yours, very truly, Lieut. Col. S. W. ROESSLER. Corps of Engineer 8. Portland, Oreg. J. N. TEAL. Comparative statement of class rates and various commodity rates between Portland, Oreg., and Seattle, Wash. (185 miles), on Northern Pacific Railroad, as compared with rates between Portland, Oreg., and Umatilla, Oreg. (186 miles), on line of Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, to show the effect of water competition where absolutely no vessels ply beticeen points so af- fected. [Rates figured on 100-pound basis.] CLASS RATES. From To 1. 2. 8. 4. 5. A. B. C. D. E. Portland Do Umatilla Seattle 00 4*1 87 89 70 88 60 ><> 51 OR 46 OR 41 ?R 26 ffl 23 18 17 14 Difference in favor of water ir> is B7 si 26 21 IS B B 1 competition. 30 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. tiit'-nu-iit of /<>.. mill Seattle, Wash., etc. Continued. CARLOAD COMMODITY RATES. From To Canned goods. Dried fruits. Bar iron. Sirup. Salt. Portland Umatilla 51 60 50 61 37i Do Seattle 12 15 12i 10 8f Difference in favor of water , 39 45 37i 41 28} CARLOAD COMMODITY RATES (TONS). Portland Uraatilla 810 20 812 00 810 00 810 20 87 60 Do Seattle 2.40 3. 00 2.50 2.00 1.75 Difference in favor of water competition 7.80 9.00 7.50 8.20 5.75 LETTER OF THE LEWISTON-CLABKSTON COMPANY. BOSTON, October 10, 1906. SIR : A letter from Congressman W. L. Jones, via Clarkston, Wash., on the above-named subject has just reached ine. He asks me to take up the above- named subject with the Lewiston Chamber of Commerce and similar organi- zations. As 1 was instrumental in collecting data for Major Harts, a former chief in your present office, on the same subject, because of my great interest in the opening of the rivers to navigation, I am likewise glad now to assist your work in- any way that I may. I trust the Lewiston Commercial Club is doing something in the matter and that you will hear from it before long. Some weeks ago its special committee having this thing in charge wrote me for suggestions. I replied at once, stating the means adopted in a former instance and urging prompt action on a similar plan. In effect the plan was to interview all sources of information and compile the data for your pur- poses. Now, as I shall not return to Lewiston-CJarkston for several weeks, I will give you an outline which may be of use. In 18!)") the region bordering Snake River tributary to Lewiston-Clarkston produced only 200,000 bushels of grain. By 1900 this had increased to exceed- ing 4,000,000 bushels. The crop of 1905 was estimated by the grain buyers as approximating 10,000,000 bushels. With adequate transportation facilities and the moderate freight rates which would be insured by water transporta- tion, it is estimated that additional lands would be brought under cultivation in the same and contiguous territory to an extent which would increase the output to 25,000.000 bushels. The yield above estimated was drawn almost entirely from Nez Perce County, Idaho, and from Asotin and Garfield counties. Wash. The " contiguous " territory above mentioned refers particularly to the high plateaus lying between the Grande Ronde and Snake rivers in Washing- ton and between the Snake and Little Salmon and main Salmon rivers in Idaho, not now served by any means of transportation which will permit the growing of grains for market. With water- route transportation freight-rate regulation the growing of grains on the high plateaus bordering Snake River from Pitts- burg Landing to Riparia would undoubtedly be largely increased. You are doubtless aware of the fact that the freight rate on grain from the territory named to the seaboard five years ago was almost exactly ten times as great per ton per mile as it was along the Mississippi River. Since then I believe the rate has been reduced about 10 per cent, and the Oregon portage railroad around The Dalles-Celilo Rapids of the Columbia has effected a much greater reduction for some distance up the river, as you are doubtless well informed. With low freight rates secured and insured by means of the navigability of the rivers from Lewiston-Clarkston to the sea the vast white pine, tamarack, yellow pine, and cedar forests of the Clearwater and Grande Ronde basins would be manufactured in great amounts for shipments from river points. Logs from the Clearwater forests would be floated to Lewiston-Clarkston and there manufactured for shipment. Likewise, the Grande Ronde timber would be manufactured at the mouth of that river on the Snake, or at Clarkston. As you are well aware, the Snake is freely navigable for most of the year from the mouth of the Grande Ronde to Lewiston-Clarkston and below. The COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 31 Clear-water forests are reputed by cruisers to contain some 9,000,000.000 feet of white pine and a much greater aggregate of the other timbers. The Grande Ronde forests are estimated to contain between two and a half and four billion feet of merchantable timber, chiefly yellow pine, a wood which now ranks in commercial value well up to that of the white pine, as I am informed by pro- gressive lumber men. Water transportation would undoubtedly result in the establishment of flour mills along the Snake River for the manufacture of flour for the export trade. A large manufacturer of Portland cement has virtually promised me that he would erect a cement factory at a point above Lewiston-Clarkston if he could be guaranteed a rate to Portland not exceeding $2 per ton, a rate which could be hardly assured except through the influence of water-route rate regulations. A beet-sugar manufacturer stands much in the same attitude on the question of establishing a million dollar factory near Lewiston-Clarkstoii. Other condi- tions are peculiarly favorable for the beet-sugar industry, not only soil, climate, and water, but also a great deposit of limestone on the river bank near the Grande Ronde and large deposits of lignite only 12 miles up the Grande Ronde. A mountainous limestone dike borders Snake River for several miles. It is of excellent quality for burning and includes veins of good marble. Adjacent to this limestone is a big outcropping of fine granite, some portions of which compare favorably and closely with the monument granite of Barre, Vt. The Coal or lignite deposits above mentioned are known to cover many thousands of acres, having been traced for 30 miles along the Grande Ronde Canyon from a point only 12 miles above its mouth. These enormously rich deposits of coal, limestone, and granite only await cheap transportation for their development. From Pi'ttsburg Landing to near the mouth of the Grande Ronde, accessible to steamboats most of the year following but little work in the removal of bowlders and bad ledges, are rich deposits of copper, gold, and silver ores, directly in and closely adjacent to the Snake River Canyon. Much money has been spent and is being spent upon the development of these ore bodies, but your familiarity with the river will show you better than I can tell you how impossible it is to develop real producing mines there without any adequate transportation. Whether boats would be run upon the river or not under conditions of navigability through to the sea may well be answered by stating that the people of Lewiston-Clarkston have already built two small steamboats within the past four or five years, one of which was wrecked and destroyed by reason of slight obstructions in the upper Snake River, 'which might have been removed at small cost to the Government. Our present boat. The Mountain Gem, was built for regular runs from Lewistou-Clarkston up the river, but the rocks and rapids make the river unsafe for much of the year, although these obstructions could be removed to an extent to make that portion of the river navigable for nine months in the year for an amount probably less than the cost of one small steamboat. An electric railroad to extend 100 miles into the interior from Lewiston southeasterly has been surveyed, most of the rights of way secured, and now announced to have been fully financed, is planned to operate directly in con- nection with its own line of boats from Lewiston to Portland via the portage railroad and through The Dalles Canal, when built. The Walla Walla people propose to build and have announced the formal organization of a corporation for the building of an electric railroad through the Walla Walla agricultural districts to the Columbia River. Recent advices from Seattle are to the effect that a company of Seattle capitalists has let a contract for the installation of a large electrical plant to be operated by the power of the Priest Rapids, on the Columbia, in Yakima County, and that a part of its programme is the operation of an electric railroad from the Columbia River into the interior. The Spokane and Inland Electric Railway is now under construction ; is completed to Waverly ; expects to be running to Moscow within a year ; its objective point is the Snake River, probably at Lewiston-Clarkston, and a part of its definite plan is to operate in connection with boats on the river, in order that it may make through rates from the Palouse country to the sea. Trusting that the foregoing may be of some use to you, I am, Yours, truly, E. H. LIBBY, President Lewiston-Clarkston Company, Clarkston, Wash. Lieut Col. S. W. ROESSLER, Corps of Engineers, Portland, Oreg. 82 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. REPORT OK T!! A .NSi'Oin ATI ON COM M 1'ITKK OK TIM: CMAMIMiK OK COM M KRC'K. PORTLAND, ORKG.. ON A.\ OPEN RIVER. PORTLAND, OREO.. June IS, 1906. The ClIAMHKR-OK COMMERCE, ft >>1l(lll. in which he stated that he should wa'tch the trial of the operation of a line of steamers on the upper river with interest. With these frank statements from a man of the character, standing, and influence of Mr. Burton, tlic question of whether or not the river is to be opened to navigation will rest larc/elji vith the peoph.' themselves. It is now for the people to say whether or not it is worth the making of any effort on their part to secure this improvement, for it is in their own hands. If the river is used, or its possible use brings the results claimed, the canal and locks will soon be a reality. If not, it will take years before they are finished. CONDITION OF GOVERNMENT WORK AT CECILO. The amount of money now on hand and available, including the $300,000 to be provided for in the sundry civil bill, is $435,000. There is outstanding against this amount $14,000. and the amount required to complete contracts now in force, which is approximately $284.000. The contract for the removal of the obstructions at Threemile Rapids will require another lew-water season, and it is hoped the work will be finished about next December. The contract for the basin and lock at the Celilo end of the canal stipulates for its completion by January 1, 1907. but it is probable that it will take sev- eral months more to do the work. With annual appropriations of $500,000 it will require eight or ten years to complete the work, but if the whole amount of the estimated cost were available, the work could be completed in about three years. From the foregoing facts, one is about as well qualified as another to predict the date of completion. If we cease working for appropria- tions for this purpose, its completion will be delayed indefinitely. We believe that when the people generally realize the comparatively small amounts appro- priated for river and harbor improvements, and the great waste and loss, COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. 37 both direct and indirect, caused by delay, they will demand that appropriations be made in sufficient amounts to properly care for and complete all approved projects. There is no reason why this should not be done. There is no purpose for which money is expended by the United States that does so much good to such a large number of people. The United States has taken jurisdiction over the navigable waters and harbors and it is in duty bound to improve them. For a number of years past the amount available annually for the entire country for river and harbor work has been but about $18,600,000, and this in many cases has been appropriated at such long intervals as to greatly increase the cost. No part of the country has a greater interest in the speedy completion of the Panama Canal than has the Pacific coast, but at the same time it does seem that if $33,000,000 or thereabouts can be appropri- ated for the Panama Canal by this Congress, a river and harbor bill for home purposes might have been in order. It would also seem if it is right and expedient to issue bonds to raise the money to push the Panama Canal work, the same reasoning would justify the issuance of bonds for work in our own country. Indeed, in view of the fact that there is now pending before the Rivers and Harbors Committee approved projects to cost about $300,000,000, and that an average of but about $18,600,000 is being appropriated annually, it is well worth while to give serious consideration to the advisability of issuing, say $500.000,000 in bonds, more or less, as may be needed to carry out on pro- jected lines the river and harbor improvements. If something of this character is not done, this generation, which is being taxed to raise the money to pay for the work now under way, will get but very little of the benefits. It has been stated that the total amount appropriated since 1820 for river and harbor work in the United States is but $450,000,000. Holland, with a population of 6,000,000 as against our 80,000,000 or more, has expended in this class of work $1,500,000,000. France has expended $1,120,000,000. It is stated that the Manchester Ship Canal cost $75,000,000; that the deepening of the Clyde cost $70,000,000 ; that on the improvement of Liverpool Harbor there has been expended $200,000,000, or for these three last-mentioned undertakings $345,000,000, as in contrast with the United States with an expenditure of $450,000,000 since 1820. Patience ceases to be a virtue when one compares the appropriations made since 1820 for rivers and harbors with those made for pensions and the Army and Navy, which amount this year alone to $375- 659,719. Not that we object to the payment of pensions or the proper main- tenance of the Army and Navy, but we do object and protest against the niggardly policy which obtains so far as concerns the action of Congress toward the improvement of our rivers and harbors as compared with the generosity in other directions. The same Congress which votes the one appropriation votes the other, and if those interested made their wants and wishes known as they should, there would be no doubt as to the result ; $50,000,000 a year, or more, could be profitably expended in this country, and with this amount available there would be no rivalry as to which project should receive aid and which should be delayed. Throughout the continent of Europe, vast amounts of money have been expended in the improvement of the rivers and harbors, and it must be self-evident that they do it because it pays. On this question the London Chamber of Commerce, the best authority on industrial ethics, says in its journal, editorially, that "the enormous sums expended in France, Germany, Austria, and other countries on the Continent in construction of canals and other waterway improvements is, from this enlightened com- mercial policy, giving the easiest and most economical transportation of their products to market, and unless Great Britain adopts similar measures she will lose her preeminence as a producing nation." As to the benefits to come from such expenditures, note what Mr. Albert Noble, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers and one of the consulting engineers of the Penn- sylvania Railroad, says: " The amount of saving on Lake Superior alone during the year 1902 is within $5,000,000 of the entire amount appropriated by the United States for all harbors and waterways above Niagara Falls, from the formation of the Government ; if the commerce between Lake Michigan and Lake Erie be included the annual saving greatly exceeds the amount thus appropriated." But why continue? No argument is required to convince the people of the Northwest of the necessity for these improvements and the benefits that will result from their completion. The vital question is not as to their 433351 38 COLUMBIA RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES ABOVE CELILO FALLS. necessity, but as to the time of their completion. This rests entirely with the people themselves, for after all is said and done, they are the masters of the situation and what they demand will be carried out by Congress. This committee will further all they can an intelligent understanding of the subject, to the end that the works affecting the Northwest may be speedily completed, and it confidently relies upon the support of the entire northwestern country in its efforts to bring about a condition which will result in such enormous aud continuing benefits to all the people. Respectfully submitted. T. D. HONEYMAN, L. A. LEWIS. A. H. DEVEBS, HENBY HAHN, EDWABD NEWBEGIN, S. M. MEABS, Committee, J. N. TEAL, Counsel. o 2 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES COLLEGE LIBRARY This book is due on the last date stamped below. .EC'DYRL QCT16 'ISB Book Slip Series 4280 UC SOUTHERN RE A OOP 959 574 5