Hiram Chittenden Papers - University of Washington Libraries

Hiram Chittenden Papers
Correspondence and Unpublished Writings
Accession No: 4632-001
Special Collections Division
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, Washington, 98195-2900
USA
(206) 543-1929
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(C021Y)
Hevr York, lT. Y
&
rresid.en"b
~t?ort
Jan
:~,
1912.
riom:rnissi on, Central Bldg. ,
Seattle, ·;v-n.
t,}
f.)trongly advise :meeting
toa~w
:post commission Authorized me· to
state post issue tvvo millions bonds to condemn Harbor Island
;·;.
lands
nd lease to
&..
~:f.lerrni:nal Company
rente.l sufficient to :pay
interest and retire bonds Tacoma delegation here if option
be:rond th1rty to fift;sr years possible terminal company wmild.
probably agree i:n lease entire l)lant become :property of post
end of; lease first conference bush here tomorro\'1 this would
not interfere other post plans and even if not accepted shows
our disposition to aid.
Seott Calhoun
(COPY)"'
New York, N.Y. Jo..n. 4, 19112.
Gen. H.M.Ohittenden,
l?.rest. Port of Seattle Oommi.ssion,
Central Bldg., Seattle, Washn,
Pull conference tonj.ght counter propositions and. tentative agreement as :follows: Port cond.emn all J.and eBtimated two :millions
construct six fourteen hundred foot piers in.threo years estimated
throe Joillions tvvo piers. per year terminal company spend. two and
one htllf million improvements within same t:i..me and a.d.di tional. as
business warrm1ts all improvements property of city at expiration
of lease all costs· of ]!ands a.cCJ.uj,red- for terminal use and construction work by port to be repaid by si.nk:i.ng fund and rents.1
covers i.nterest Port construc.t freight su1Yvvay with lifts at each
end to cross at railroad avenue this for drayage. If J?Ossi ble
wire day r£1,te favorable wire for use meotj_ng Priclay night. Period
be~roncl thirty years w:ill 'be taken by company subject to validation by J~egislat11re so tha:t legal objection eliminated.• Advise
this even to elimination all other port construction except
. lumber yard.
Scott Calhoun
( i'Q"P'Y·)
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Hew York Jan. 5, 1912.
Gen. H;li. Chittenden,
Pres. J'ort Commission, Central Bldg., Seattle.
V'lire received meeting tomorrovr arrange final tentative :proposi tion subject· to approval
Seattle Hay
re(~'l.:tire
comr~issi on
details studied. out
reso1utiOl}. comnlission within few days
pledging ge11era1 features to Bhow good faith and rna.ke sure
/'
fin.!:mcia1 arrang01!1ents here will send tentative draft irnmedj_ately
d.rmvn anfi signed •. I Ylill also require Pl'0})er assurs;nc'es badJters
before returning.
Bcott Calhoun
(OOPY)
Hew York, N.Y. Jan 6-12
Gen. H.B. Chittenden,
Home Adtlress, Seattle, Wn •
Rev:i.sio:nary conferences today deferred rental on Piers rec1ueea
to three years on first two comrna tvvo years on second t·wo and
two yea.:n::; on third.
Two deferred amounts to 1)e rerJaid with
five per cent interest between tenth and twent,ieth years seven·
years deferred rental on land to be re:p!i:dd y,rj.th five per cent
interest o:ptional cash or by sinking fund during life of lease.
Docks b1lilt by original company· under commiBsion S11Jlervision
.':-..-.
ana conveyea. to "i?ort of Seattle on completion revised ag·reernent
at conference .Sunday probable final conference Mond,ay and fina1
si g:na.tures of financial people ·Tuesd.a.y.
Consult :rhompson on
notice . of hearing to be published first thne thirteen J'an. for
hearing twenty fourth.
Scott Calhoun
(COPY)
rlew York, Jan .. 8, 1912.
Gen. H.H. Chittenden,
Central Bldg., Seattle.
Only phase this matter people vote on r·Tarch is anthori ty to
issue bonds under terms of act commission after election ana
prior sale 1Jonas uses its discretion terms lease,,. to make pub lie:
details before election inadvisable and unnecessary cannot
.
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colle.ct taxation ancl rental 'ssxne time 'loss in taxes mere bagatelle
to value of construction and going concern reverting to port
termination of lease no necessity arguerDtn about additional
thirty years this clause I>"Ut in lease prior sale bond:s
S1JJ)
ject to
vaJ.uati on 'by legislature let the("'worry a1Jout ·that my judgment
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bonds carry with whoop.
Scott Calhoun
(COPY}
:New York, lT. Y. Jan.l0,1912.
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"' 'tt,en d en,
G.eno T:f
.... l:h
\JflJ..
?resident Port of Seattle Corrrmission
Seattle, ''Nn,.
Equi ta,1.)1e building :fire delayeo. eastern :people two da;y-s no
hitch unles.s develops rer!ort their attorney urging Ayres come
SeattJ.e soon possj,ble 1
~3till
~~rongly
adv-:i.se ag(dn.st making
de.tai1s pulJlic this tir<;e or even admitting any deal consum.~·
mt'ltecl until my return. :r:ro answer my last wire assume ob ,jeati ons
aovered your satisfaction.
Scott. Calhoun
(COPY)
Chicago, Ill. ,Jan
;~1,1912.
Gen. H.M. Chittenden,
Home Address, Seattle.
IJet.we tonight Seattle with pnpe.rs.
limited Eleet with commission ten
Arrive ITednesd.ay Oriental
o
1
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clock
secrecy. :Ji'ull pu.1)licity Sunday raorningo
:from JJew York Friday or Saturday.
p:t.lbJ~icity
very essentialo
~l:hursday
morning. Urge
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Irnportant data to arrive
/:.dvise meeting Uednesday be
A;;rers arrj_ ves in al1ont week corporation
t)eing organized. IJew ·:r:ork 1Je:.Core he leaves ..
Scott Calhoun.
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Board o;fi; State Harbor Commission.
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San Francisco, Cal&
March 11, 1912.
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Hon.H.M. Chittenden,
I
President of the Commission of Port of Seattle,
Seattle, Wash.
Dear
Sir:~
I am just in receipt of yours of the 5th. inat. wherein
you request t:n.a.t I furnish you a statement setting forth the methods
used by us regarding .leases, direct operation and charges.
As regards leases of publicly owned docks and wharves:
All wharves and piers on the San Francisco side of the bay are
owned by the State and operated for the people by the State Board
of Harbor Cornmissioners.
Under separate cover I am sen·(ling you a copy of our Laws and
Statutes and ~Ould call your attention to pages 25 and 26, Section
252?, ,.Requisites or Valid Contracts". You will lear·n from this
Section of the Political Code ·that this Board may lease a whar~ for
a period not to exce~d 15 years to a party or corporation paying
the amount required to construct such wharf, 13~nd execute and take a
lease thereof for the shortest period of time. For instance:' Piers
42 and 44 were constructed by the Pacific Mail s.s. Co., said
company having posted with this 13oard the sumof $3?1,673.00, said
sum being the constract price for the constructi.on of the two
wharve.s. This amount is really rental paid in advance for the term,
of the lease., viz: 15 years.
In addition to this rental.they pay us the regular dockage,
toll. and wharfage charges.
·
Dockage is a charge co·llected based. on the net tonnage of the
veseel (see page 13, paragraph 58 of Rules, Regulations & Rates
which I am also forwarding you today.
Tolls is a charge colle·.cted for me..rchandise passing over the
State wharves either loading or unloading. (See paragraph 52 to ?9
of Rul,es, Regulations & Rates)
·
Wharfage is a penalty imposed for the nonremoval of merchandise
unloaded on State wharves. (See paragraphs 51,80,81, and 82 of
Rwles, Regulations and Rates)
In mos~ instances the state constructs the wharves and assigns
them on a month to month tenancy to the various. shipping firms.
·
- At the present time a charge of 45c per linear foot is collected
:for berthing space in addition to which we collect the regular
dockage, ·whar,age and toll charges. For instance: The Kosmos ISne
has a, a signed to it the entire north side. of Pier 19, Union St.
.
Wharf' #2, This whar~ is 600' long and for the use of it this company
·pays $2?0.00 per month in addit;i.on to which we collect the dockage
wharfage and·toll charges ..
The assignment iri this manner of a·pier to a steamship Co. a
assures them of docking space for t!J.eir vessels at any time they may
touch at this point.
In every instance the operation of the local water front is '
,Jj directly under the jurisdiction of this Board. ~with the
; l
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two volumes, I am sending you under separate cover, a copy of our 1
last Biemiial Report and will put your name on our mailing list and
will see to it 'that ·you are furnished with copfes of any·publications
we may issue in the future.
·
I trust that from the above you will obtain the information
you seek and if there is anything further that I can do for you, do
not fail to call on me.
Respectfully,
.
. .;&_.,D v J··& 4A~~ J~~
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'Secretary,
Board of State Harbor Commissioners.
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Department of Public Improvements.
Sub-Department: Harbor Board.
:Baltimore liD.
Mareh 14th, 1912.
Gen. H. M. Ghi t tenden,
Pres., Port of Seattle,
Seattle, Wash •.
Dear ·sir:
In reply to your letter of Mareh 9th, asking for infotmation
as to the fundamental pollcy followed by this port in the provision
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and operation of public docks, beg to advise that after the first
municipal pie:r·s were completed, the Finance Commission fixed a rate
of rental sufficient in itself to t~ke care of the sinking fund
and pay the il1tert"Hit on lJonds, assuming that· out. of the six piers
there would be a certain area vacant at all times. The rate was
eventually fixed at. 36cts. per sq. ftG Bids were asked and space
proportioned to the needs of the Steamship Companies, preference
beinggiven to local Companies and those navigating within the Statee
The ],eases were for a ·term if fifty years, to be revalued every ten
years, but nev~r to be less than 36 cts. In addition to the rental,
the respective lessees were required to run to the centre of a 50 ft.
driveway located in the .centre of each pier, and had to refund to .the
City the cost of the construction of this street. Further, the l19Ssees were allowed to construct there ovm superstructures, the same to
be properly insured and maintained by the lessee and to revert to
the City at the expiration of their fifty year lease. Of course,
taxes are collected on all s·uch improvements.
In reference to the leasing of the piers, the policy~of the
City of Baltimore, in my opinion, was a bad one, and I have
protested repeatedly and believf~ that the policy should be somewhat
crutnged. I do not feel that it is advisablE:~ for the City to lease
its piers for any such len~th of time ;~~:~d in the ~vent -~.!~~t.t.~~~.:r-~...-.
are leased for a term of f1fty years t ~houW prov1a:e
··---.
that in the event their pier is not being used that the City shall
have the right and privilege, througi1 its Harbor Masters,· of mood.ng
any vessel to the same pier and collecting ·wharfage. This would prevent a Company of monopolizing the most desirable location and
getting a lease on a pier which they do not need but take for the
simple reason ofpreventing competition. I further feel that it :is
bad policy on the part of the City to allow the lessees to put up
their own sheds, buildings, etc., as each C~mpany has its own idea
as to the archi tectur·al effect and character of structure needed,
which gives to the water front the appearance of a !lome made quilt.
It seems to me that the best policy would be for the Qj.ty to constru<t
the building at the head of the.piers ,to he used as offices for the
respective lessees, and f~rther to construct the sheds on.piers,
charging a sufficient rental· for the same to cover the cost of
construct ion, maintenance and ope rat ion.. If, on the other hand,
Balt-imore.
2.
t.he lessees arH allowed to put up their own structures, then they
should be put up in accordance with plans and specjfications
pre})ared by the Port Commissioners.
In reference to the rev~nue from Munieipal piers, I do not
bel:ieve it should be the policy of a City to expect more than that
the piers be self-supporting, the main object being to encourage
commerce and industrial plants, which virtually make a City.
Yours very truly,
0. F. Lackey.
Harbor Engineer.
The . Commonwealth
of Massuchusetts.
.
Directors of the Port of Easton.
March 15, .1912.
Gen& H. M. Chittenden, .
·
Presidei1t Port of Seattle,
843 qentral& Bldging, SeattlE~, Wash.
Dear Sir: ..
I have your letter of March lOth a:n,d Mr. Hodgdon'has
handed me your letter of March 9th. Our Board is even newer than
yours, having been appointed on Deceml)er6, 1911.. For many years,
however, the port of Boston had been in charge of the State Board
of Harbor and Land Commissioners, whose authority was supet~visory
with very limited powers of initiative.
Our Board was created by an Act of the last Leglsla~ure, a
.
copy of which I am sending youa . The Act carried a·n appropriation of
$9,000,000 which the Board may expend in any way that it sees fit~
The the.ory of this appropriatiOn was that $9,000,000 spent in
improvements would provide a "~Fery material stimulus to our already
large trade.
·
Practically all of our developed water front is under private
ownership. The public owns a tract; of 150 acres with a water
frontage of about a mile which is not situated in the part of the
harbor which has hitherto naturally developed... Nearly all the
foreign commerce is conducted at terminals owned by the :railroads,
who furnish the use of their piers to the ships without any charge.
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In order to work out our problem in the right way, it seemed to
us necessary to analyze carefully the fundamentals of successful
port· development, and we wer·e all speedily convinced that the.
essential requirement of any great port is that the facilities
should be so arranged that all the sb.ips coming to the port should
be able to deliver their goods to and receive their goodB from the
railroads and all other carriers reeyching the port on absolutely e
equal terms.
To aocomplish that ideal, it seems to us necessary that the.
port should control all the piers that are used· for commercial
purposes, together with such r~ilraod connections with all the
piers·as would make them equally accessible to railroads. In
furtheranee of that opinion~ we felt it our duty to bring this
broad question of policy to the attention of the Legislature in the
Recommendations dated January 15, .1912, a copy of which I enclose.
I also enclose a CO})Y of a speech which I made on February 16th
somewhat in elalJoration of these ideas.
I have gone at this length in discussing our own affairs
becuase of your inquiry as to fundamental policies, and in order to
lead up to anBwering your direct questions concerning the propositions that you have befo1Ae you to finance an important terminal .
development which involves a long lease of all the facilities to a
13oston.
2.
terminal company.· In expressing any ideas on this sub,ject, I am of
course entirely unfamiliar with your local conditions and am speaking
as an individuaL
It seems to me that in the development of a port, it is wise,
where possi 'ble, to take advantage of the effici.eney which is
attendant to properly directed private enterprise, and to ~rrange,
wherJ' :possible, to have the conduct of any of the more or less
complicated business functions incidental to the port in private
hands where it can be done consistent with the public interest ..
Take for example, the. operation of the terminal railway. If there·
are several railroads entering a port, and they will·combine in the
operation of a port terminal railroad, or, if an arrangement is made
by the port which controlsthe railroad, for the operation of it
'!JY some one of the railroads, I can see many advantages ..
This, for example, is practically what is done in Hamburg.
The port owns its railroad, but the' railroad 'is operated by the
largest r·ailroad that reaches Hamburg unden" a contract with the Port.
It so happens that this rai.lroad is the Prussian State Railway, but
Prussia is one state in the Germa,n Empire and Hamburg another, and
. the port of Hamburg did not select the Pruss ian Railway t.o operate
its port :railway because it .was a government railway, but becuase
it was the concern that was in the railroad business.
In the same way, the management of the warehouses w:r.1ich
serve the port mc:~y well be in the hands of an operating company.
Here again, the analogy of Hamburg is helpful where, as you probably
know, the warehouses are operated by a company in which the port has
an interest proportionate to the value of its· investment in the
warehouse part of the port.
·When it comes to the piers and docks, however, I cannot beli.eve
that it is wise ·for the port to give over their exclusive ·use to
any pt~ivate corporation for any long period•. By that I do not mean
to say that lt is not wise to asBign defini.te loeations to the
important regular steamship lines and to allow them to use the same
berths indefinitely. Of course if private capital is to build on
land owned by the public or anybody else, they must have the right
to the exclusive use of such structures as they pay for a term long
enough to ena1)le them to amortlze the cost.
But as to the piers i;.hemselves, I quite concur with the ideas
e.xpressedin your official report concerning the effect of long
leases, as in New York, :perp~tuating many of the evils incidental
to private ownership$
Will you kindly place our Board on your mailing list, if you
have not already done so, as we would be very glad to receive your
publications~
I would also be very glad to redeive a copy of the
Acts of the Legislature that created the Port of seattle.
Very truly
Yours,
Hugh Bancroft.
C~airman.
lfB/FAWe
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(O 0 P Y )
B 0 ARD 0 F
C 0 M M I S S· I 0 N E R S
of the
PORT OF
NEW
ORLEANS
New
Orleans,I~a.
:r"rarch 18th,l912.
Gen. E.M. Chittenden,
President, Port of Seattle Co:m.missio:n,
Seattle,
~ashington.
Dear Sir:Your favor of the 9th inst., addressed to r1lfr. Dumser, Secretary
of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of New Orleans, and bulletin regarding the Port o:f Seattle Commission, have been recei vecl. (In the opinion
of the Port nonnnissioners of this City, founded on an experience of sixteen
years, it would be suicidal to lose control of(~;-) docks to private par......... _ .. _ .............7"
ties, in any shape, manner or form.
It has been proven by experience of
others than ourselves, that the greatest benefits accrue to a port owning
and controlling its o;.m. docks.
In this way the docks are managed for the
to
benefit of all, giving equal faciliti,es to thos~/whom their use is necessary and special privileges to none.
The docks in this city are public-
ly owned, as is also the Belt Raill·oad.
Under the management of the Port
Commission, revenues have nearly doubled, while the charges have been reduced one-half.
These docks are open to the world at the same price.
no
interest or steamship company has any special rights to any dock, as these
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are under the absolute control of the Commissioners •} who can place any
vessel that they desire at them.
The freight to and :from the docks is handled by the Belt Railroad at the same charge to everybody.
This is so except in a few cases
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where railros,a.s have the use of the docks,· but which use can be terminated
at any time the Cot'lTaissioners desire.
Under our law, the water front and
land abutting is subject to public use where the necessities of commerce
so require without compensation to the owner.
It is clear, therefore,
that private ovmership cannot conflict with public use or necessities
to their
detriment.~T
cannot emphasize too strongly, after an experience
of thirty-five years upon the river front, the absolute necessity of the
people
retaini~g
:facilities.
trol o:f
~,
complete and absolute control of their docks and water
.
tt:·
~w
t.O.tt-· 'will find that if ;i'O~al1lenate in any manner ~-con-
~<'locks
or water :front, it will redonnd. to
~ injur~a:nil
re-
tard. development of your city.
This Commission issued $3,500,000 in bonds, paying five ·Per
cent interest, out of the proceeds of vrl1ioh they constructed the docks
a.s they stand to-day, and which are an asset amounting to
~~4,250,000
a.:nd for use of which they collect a revenue out of which they pay the
interest on the bonds, the operating expenses and have a surplus.
It
can be easily figured that in forty-two years, out of the revenues, they
will not only have collected enough to pay the bonds, principal ana interest, but have sufficient to rebuild the docks antl leave a handsome
surplus.
Under the plan such as you ind.icate, no such results
be obtained.
coul~a
Many other strong and convincing argnments could be ttd-
duced to prove there is no comparison between the conditions which
exist in a publicly owned
propert~
and afuninistered for the public
good, and one controlled by private interest.
If we can give you any other information or furnish you
any data that might be useful- to you, we will be pleased to do so.
(Sgd) W.A. Kernaghan
President.
San.
Board of State Harbor Commission.
1 ..
San Franeisco, California.
March 19 , 1912.
Hon.H.M.Chittenden,
President, Commission of Po:rt of Seattle,
Seattle, Wash.
Dear Sir:
Yours of the 13th addressed to Mr. Marsden Manson, formerly
Engineer of trie Board of State Harbor Commissioners, has been
referred to me for reply.
~·hief
I am handing you herewith a copy of the ·lease entered into
between a former Board and the Western Pacific Ry.Co.
Where ass1gnments are made for the use of.wharf space, there is
no form of lease entered into by the parties interested. The
Commissioners nu.'l.ke. the assignment ·by motion, duly seeonded and
carried, at a meeting of the Board, and a tenant is notified by the
Secretary of the Boatd•s·action. These assignments are held on- a
month to month tenancy and may be terminated at the Conunissione:rs'
pleasure.
Re sp_~~c t_, fu l:l(ly!j·
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Secretary
Board of state Harbor.Commissione:rs.
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(COPY)
Calvin Tompkins,
Commissioner.
B.F.Cresson, Jr.,
First Deputy Commissioner
Wm. J .Barney,
Second. Deputy Cormnissj.oner.
Matthew tT. Harrington,
Secretary.
Francis .r. Rya:n,
Assistant Secretar.y
DEP.ARTME:N"T OF DOCKS AND FERRIJ~S
City of New York.
Pier
North River,
New York.
n.Att
April 11th, 1912.
Brig.-Gen. H.M.Chittenden,
United States Army, (Retired),
124 Ji"ifteenth avenue N.,
Seattle, Washington.
My dear General:
I was complimented. to receive your 11ersona1
letter of April
2nd and to learn that I have been of some service to you in the great
responsibilities which you have nnde:btaken.
J~xploiting
speculators crowd
about such op})ortunit-ies just as flies.do· arounc1 sugar, and the community
is fortunate which can avoid. having its plans spoiled by the disrupting
influence of private speculation •
..
There is no competition so sharp as that which exists between the
great seaports of the world, and from what I know of local o.onditions on
the Pacific coast, I think it is im11ortant that each one of these ports
should. avoid n:ny entangling alliances which will lind t this com11etitive
efficiency as i i; dave lops.
I have no hesitancy in saying that if the pub-
lie support of the community is sufficiently alert, the best method of.
procedure is to u:nd.ertake the physical .planning and. administration of the
port as a public :fm1ctj_on.
results, and
J~uropean
1,1ontreal has done this with most satisfactory
sea:ports have done likewise.
It would seem to me that you..t' problem is not so complicated 11ut what
this kind of treatment vvould be effective at Seattel.
Even if mistakes are
madet and the utmost limit of economy is not always attained, nevertheless,
control is assured by this method as it can be in any other wa·y.
I also
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think that 1niblic administre..i;ion is in accord. with the trend. of public
opinion, and vvhat may seem advanced ideas will ap:pear to ue very moderate
within a short time.
The main consideration always to keep in mind is the
necessity for public control to provide for unity of administration ana
physical l)lanning.
All of the features of port administration should be
co-ordinated., anc1 this cannot be brought about in the simplest and. most·
satisfactory way, unless public control is a1Jsolute.
~
I shall send you within a few days a report on the relations of New
Jersey to New York within the port district, which, I thiblr, you will
find of interest.
Our 1)roblem is a peculiarly difficult one here on ac-
count of its magnitucle, complexity, rivalries of prj_vate interests and. the
fttct that the port lies in -'cwo states: still, we are making head.we-y.
I enclose copy of a recent report on a plru.1 for South Brooklyn
administration, which is noveJ. ancl iVhich may be
suggestive.
It is possible I may be able to visit you in Seattle sometime this·
yee.r.
I am looking forward. to the possjJJl.l.:tty of thm trip with a great
deal of pleasure.
Sincerely yours,
( Sgd) Calvin Tompk::tns.
{COPY)
HAl':DEN, STONE & CO.*
BANKERS
NEW' YOJ:Ur BOlJW{lJIDJ
G~n. IL,M. Chittenden, Chairman,
Seattle: Port. .Co:mmission,
Seattle·. Wael}ington.
'
.
It has come to my attention reae~tly that the position
o:f my banking assooiatos anc1 myself in regard to the Harbor Is ...
land Terminal l~n~~;rprisei has been somewhat misunderst oad by a
number of people ~n Seattle and I :fe~J., therefore, that in order
to avoid all¥ possibility of having your estimable body misled
by surface indications as to the reasons why the enterprise was
not financed by u.s~ I should take this occasion to address you
upon the matter.
The proposition of the Terminal Company was origing
ally brought to me by a member of the promoting syndinate, and
attar an investigation• I interested in it Messrs. Brown Bros.
& co. and certain of my individual associates.
This comb~, ...
nation was more than suf:fiaient to meet all possible oapita.l
requirements of the company.
I later made a personal visit to Seattle• and. in
aocordanoa with an arrangement with Messrs. Brown Bros. & Co,
h~d Mr. Gaines, their ohief statistician, join me for the pur ...
pose of a thorough investigation of the details of the project
in the .intera~t not only o:f his firm, but in the interest also
of my associates and myself.
Uppn Mr. Gainest arrival in Seattle, he mat for the
first timer. 1T:r. R.F. Ayers. and came into close contact with
his ideas. Afta~ several conversations regarding the con...
struction and operation of the proposed Termina.lt Mr. Gaines
(!l.dvisea. me that in his judgment M:r., Ayers had but an elemental'y
idea of'the Terminal business and :for that reaso:ri 1 a large per ...
aentage of his statements seemed to him unsound.,. Alao,that he
considered Mr, Ayers without su:f:fioient experience in the man ...
agema\llt of im,porttult business interests to warrant his firm
plaoi:p.g the manage~e11t of the Terminal Company in his (Mr~Ayers 1
hands.
While Mr, Ayerst facts and fi~1res seemed peouliarly
opt:i;mistio, we oonolu(1ed to leave this phase of the matter :for
further consideration until our return to New York.
I aug'""
gested • hewever • that 1\[ro Gaines continue his investigation and
that in orda1.. to meet his objection as to management. advisea
that Mr. Ayers be surroundea. by an espeoially strong Exeottti ve
Committee.
)
After
I~,
Gaines and I returned to New York, Mr.
Gain~a
gave the matter a still more extended inve~atiga.t:i.on whioh oon ...
vinoed him more than before that the figures of Mr. ~r~rs as to
ea;fni:ngs, overhead ahargest eta. were not properly based• and
advised Messrs. Brown Bros. that ·sho:t.tld they deoide to interest
themselves in the proposit;ton, to have the interest on the bonds
they oontempla.ted purchasing, guaranteed for a period of not less
than five years.
Mr. James~!ne 1 one of the partnere of Measrs.
Brown Bros. took oaaasion to visit Seattle about this time and
became muoh i:mpr:esse4 with its possibilities. It was largely
on a,.ooount of this visit and. the impression made by the o:tty
on Mr • Duane that Messrs. Brown Bros. entered into e.. aontraot
with me to purchase a certain amount o£ bonds ana. stoqk. Very
'Unfortunately, Mr. Duan• died; and Mr. Gaines being then th~
onl~ one oonnaoted with the firm who had an intimate knowledge
o:f' the aubjeot. became unalterably oppos(td to the participation
bt his firm, in a company which was to be under the management •
evC~m though partially, of a. man who seemed to him, so apparently
unfitted for th• position o:f president. 'While Mr. Ayers did
not demonstra.t& himself' to be as strong a man as, in .'TJJ'f judgment,
the si tua.tion required, I felt that Pl"Operly surround.ed and re•
strio1;edt his efforts in certain direo:tions might be advantageous ...
l~ made use of by the oo:mpany.
My ideas in this direation,
however, were finally over ...ruled by my associates.
Appreoiating, ho-wever; the keen a.esire that a number
of the representative men in Seattle had manifested toward se•
auring the Terminal for their oity. and wishing to make a sue~
aess of the undertaking from my OWl'll standpoint. I continued to
make strong persO>nal efforts despite the obstacles. I had. en""
eo\Ultered• to find some way to complete the financial plans as
near as possible to those outlined at the time it was first pre$
se:nted to me. I was not able to do this; however. as Messrs.
BrQwn Broa. & co. deaided to withdraw. and my other associates
who had been in:fluenGed by MEtllH3rs. Brown Bros. judgment and ~lso
by the faot that th~ latter would have had a share in the man""
~gement. also concluded to st&p out unless I oo.uld. get some
$qually strong house to take the plaoe o:if Messrs. Brown BreDa.
whioh. under oondi ti ons and in view of the. action of the Com•
mission in abrogating the extension to the lease, I was un...
able to aQoomplish.
Shortly after my statement to Mr. Ayer~ as to th:f.s de ...
oision on the part of M~ssra. Brown Bros. and of ·:EDf associates,
het .·ali vised me that he had interested ~~llHRbl' jarties in
N$w York in the enterprise, and would go to Seattle for the pur ...
pose o.f presenting the matter to your Commission ana. to request •
in view of this. that the extension abrogated by yourselves be
again put in.foroe. Mr. Ayers had not discussed with me or, as
far as I have been able to determine 9 with any of the other mem•
.bar~ of the S3I!diaa.te; or with either the direetors or off'ioers
'I
of eithe~ the Paoifio Terminal or Pacific Buildings Companies,
the question of litigation. It was, therefore, a oonsiderable
surprise to me to learn of the attitude Mr. Ayers had assumed
toward the Commission at the time of his last trip to Set\ttle.
Sinae learning of his sta.tements to attempt to ino;j>
ter:fere with the sale of the bonds of the~Port Commission, I
have taken oaoasion to disouss this matter with other members
of the promoting s;1ndiaat~ e.nd with :Mr·. Woodbury, Treasurer of
the Pao.ifia Terminal and Paoifio Build.ings Compani&s" who oon•
ctt:t'l in rrrJ1 opinion that to in any way impede the Port dtvelop ....
ment of the Oi ty of s·eattle is not in aooordanoe with the spirit
or purpose' of either the Paoi:fio Terminal Company or the indiw
viduals assooiatea. with it.
.
Reoently wishing to seoure data on several points
raised by tny bank.ing assooiates. I took oooasion to disouss
for the :first time the subject with Mr. Irving T. Bush,
President of the Bush Terminal. Company., who qui ta surprised me
with faots and figures 6S to aotual earnings and oper&ting
oosts o:f his own terminal in its earlier stages. From Mr, Bi.sh''s
oonversation* it was brought very foroibly to mJr attention
that your Oonnniesion. taking as a basis for earnings and.
overhef.\d oharges 1 . the deductions heretofore presented and on
whieh my assoeie.tes and :myself were led. to base our operations,
tnight possibly be ;oa.rried along through a serious misttnder ....
standing as to actual Tel'Itlinal inoome requirements" into a
commitment of a size and type of terminal entirely unsuitable
to the needs of the Port.
I teal, therefore. that in view of my connection with
the enterprise ! should aall your attention to this faot and
to suggest that before final plans are adopted the Commission
avail itself of Mr. Bush's wide experience and intimat~ knowle
edge of the Te~minal business. While I have not dieoussed
this matter with rvrr. Bush. I am of the. opinion that provid.ed
he were a;pproaohed through the proper ohannels; his adviae
and probabl7 his ao ... operation might be seaured and that possibly some arrangement might be made between the Commission
and Mr. Bush whereby he would take over the e.otual operation
of the Terminal. planned along the line of his own $xpe~ienoe,
on a certain pereentage. of the gross reoeipts, or upon some
such basis as he reoently outlined to the City of New York,.
I
If I owm be of any a.ssistanoe to you in this respect.
place my s:erviees at your disposal.
Trusting that I have made elea;r to you the position
of my assooia.tes and. myself' with regard· to the Teminal fi ...
nanoing. I am
Ve~
Truly Yours,
(signed) Eugene Thalmessinger
~ ~- ~'-'L ~· \Jti .
UNITED STATES ENGINEER OFFICE.
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(COPY)
Seattle, Wash. Jan. f3, 1912.
I·;Ir. Scott Calho'lln,
Hotel aaldorf-Asto:cia,
lfew York, N.Y.
Commh1si on in session cloubts its legal rigltt to enter into
r,rrartg·ement ···you :propose..
Evert ii' it hacl right 'the proposition
is too far reaching for instant decision.
(sgd) H.N.Chittenden.
(COPY)
Seattle, \Vash., Jan 5, 1912.
Scott Calhoun,
Hotel Waldorf-Astoria,
(/
I
:rrew York, N.Y.
Oorm..nis.sion willing to submit matter
~ts
an additional proposition
providing if3sue for this purpose in March does· not exceed three
millions, all subject to satisfactory agreements as to details
to be
ro.~ranged
here· in vV1"'i ting.
H.M~Chittenden.
(COPY)
Beattle, Wash.
t
,January 7, 1912.
Scott Calhoun,
Hotel Walclorf-Astoria,
:new
York, 1T. Y~
Lo:n.g postp.onement of rental· objectionable and might prove fatal
at polls. Have yon thought of graduated rental to 1)egin at one .
per cent or:t actual out1a:sr next ,January and incre$.-se one per cent
You. do not mention what this is to be but
yearly to final rate.
1.t mu.st be suffj.cie11t to pay eq_ui valent of normal taxation. J)istrict y;ould not consent to maintain partl.cular enterprises free
of taxation.
No grtaranty of lease exter:tsion' beyond thirty years.
Commissj_on cannot assume subvvay but w.ill eoo:perttte with city to
secure adeCJ.uate crossing :.mast Waterrmy •.
Very important that you
bring res:ponsible agent to close details here.
Sec cess March 5th
alJsoJ.utely contingent upon goocl business arrangement on our part.
Do not concede so much as to pre judice band. issue.
short.
Ti.me getting
Important to include general outlines of scheme j_n public
statement . J·anuary 20th.
Hemsberg consulted on this telegram
which will be laid before rJommissl.on tomorrow.
(Sgd) ·H.M .. Chittenden ..
~COPY}
Seattle, Wn., Jan. 11, 1912.
Scott Calhourl;
Hotel Waldorf Astoriaj
New
York, :N.Y.·
Commission stands committed only so far as expressed in my
telegram of January fifth.
R .l\1. Chittenden
•,
~
'
• .,
n
March 15, 1912 ..
Preston & Thorgrimson,
Council, Port Commission,
Seattle, Wash.
Gentlemen:Will you· please submit to the Port of Seattle Com.mi ssion
at your earliest convenience
rep~ies
to the following inquiries
relating to the several Port District bond issues voted by the
people on March 5th.
(1)
In case the Port Commission should desire to lease any
of the docks or other harbor facilities which it may provide under
these bond issues,, what are the statutory or comrtitutional limitations as to the term of lease'
(2)
Are there any constitutional or statutory
requir~nnents
that would prevent the Commission from deferrj_ng for a time the
(
payment of rental from a!1Y leases which it might make, providing
such deferred rentals were to be revaid later with interest?
(3)
Is there any eonstitutional or ste.tutory prohibition
against the acquisition of lands by the·exercise of the tight of
eminent domain with a view to using such lands for purely· industrial
(4)
In case of the acquisition of lands for strictly public
purposes, e.s, fm:- example,
fo1~
the construct ion <>'f piers for
shi.ppi~
is there any constitutional or statutory prohibitionagainst the
temporar·y use of such lands for industrial· or. acquisition of the
lands and their actual use for the purpose for which they were
acquired?
(5 )
( 5)
In the case of a ·bond issue fo:r the development of a
specific tract of ground, can any portion of the funds be used· in
providing necessary access by ferry, :railroad
or wagon
road when such
transportation :route lies entirely outside the.tftact in question?
(6)
Is there any constitutional or statuto:r.y prohibition again·
st the construction of any improvement under these bond issues by a
particular construction firm without advert is.ement and proposals in
the customary way of letting contracts for public work?
(7)
Does the om1.ssion of the qualifying words "or as much
thereof as may be 'necessary" in the resolution of the Commission
setting forth the necessity for any of the ·bond issues make .it
obligatory to acquire the entire tract specified in such :resolution
·in case subsequent developments should show that the whole of such
specified tract was not necessary?
(8)
The last proviso of Section 4 of the Port District Act
specifies that "no bond shall ever be issued" etc. until a lease of
the p:ro1:osed improvement has· been made on certain specified terms or
until a schedule of wharfage rates ·has been fixed in case the improvement i.s to be operated directly.
Will thi.s requirement prevent
the prosecution of condemnation proceedings for the acquisition of
the nec·e ssary lands until the above c.ondi tiona ha.ve been complied
with?
{9)
Will the rates established by the Commission fo:r such
docks as may be operated directly apply also to those operated by
lease, or will the lessee in the latter case have full authority to
establish his own rates, subject oi1ly to supervision by the State
Commission?
•
Very truly yours,
President.
I a.ooept the above proposition aubjeot to the oondition that the
details shall be eo worked out ~s to give me full legal p1•oteotion in
the matter of final oash pmyment; and that the legality of the bonds
shall be fully approved by Caldwell, Maaslioh and Reed; and. that in
the event of failure of these negotiations. this aooeptanoe sba!l not
be used to my prejudice in any oohdemnation proceedings for the
aoquisition of the property.
(Signed) J.T. Heffernan
I
.. ---
(0 0 P Y)
,..,.
.
Jnrt nf j;enttlt
GEN. H. M. CHITTENDEN
M. AM. SOC. C. E.
PRESIDENT
843 CENTRAL BUILDING
TELEPHONE MAIN 189
PAUL. P. WHITHAM
ACTING CHIEF ENGINEER
PRESTON 8c THORGRIMSON
COUNSEL.
C. E. REMSBERG
W. S. L.INCOL.N
· SECRETARY
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
ROBERT BRIDGES
Mr. J.T. Heff•rnan,
108 Railroad Ave. s ••
seattle, Wash.
Dear
Sir:~
For the :purpose of bringing the matter of the purahaae b~
the Port Commission of your lands in Bloaks 375. 376, and 386, Seattle
Tid.e Lands, definitely before the Commission, I wottld like your reply
in writing to the following tentative :proposition:
Priae o:f Dloolr 375
"
"
"·
tt
"
n
376, 12 lots,to west side Montana St.
386, 14 lots
$196_.000.00
123,000.00
106.000.00
$42G,ooo.oo
This :priae to inalude all obligations of whatever desaription
against the property, exae:pt the lease of the Puget Sound Bridge &
Dredging Company, which the Port Commission is to assume.
Subjeat to legal conditions to be worked out by the attorneys
of yourself and the Port Commission, it is the :purpose of this agre~
amant that you shall aeoept bonds :for the time being. ~hese bonds to
be taken ba.ok and the full e..mount of the purchase to be paid in cash
on or before May l, 1914, with interest at 5% :per annum from date o:f
deed to cl.sta of :payment.
The details of' the foregoing arrangement are to be embodied~ in
a separate instrument to be executed simultaneously with the deeda.
You are to agree that, if the Port Commission shall ask it,
you will quitclaim to it any rights you may have in the old Osnal
Waterwv ..
In oase of your acceptance of the above tentative proposition,.
and the Port Commission's approv~l of same, you will use all dili•
genoa possible to bring the transaat1on to a olose.
Very tru.ly yours,
(signed) H.M. Chittenden
President.
(00PY)
\ ....!
X
\
Heptember 12, 1913.
Mr • JJ ,. C• Gi lrnan ,
Assistant to i;he P:r.osident,
Great Northern Hy., naattle.
Dear Bir:Replying to your :r.a(rnoot for a statement; of the spa ...
cif:io objects sm1ght by the Port Oomm:i.ssion in its agitation for
a ohange in the switching situation e-1'J.ong the Seattle waterfront.
I submit the following:
fl} The establishment, either in faot or by· such tmi ted
arrangement among the. ratlroaas and the Po:r~t D:J.striot as will se ...
cure the same :r.esn'.lts. of a continuous :marginal double traak
system or belt line, extem1ing for the present from the south
shore of Salmon Ray to the Argo Yards ana Harbor Island. nuoh
belt line to be controlled and operated either by ....
(a)
(b)
(.o)
A torminal company, or
~Mle Port J>istriot, or
B~r smne system of use among tha several roads
wh:tah will ensure mtbstantially the results
axpeo1;ad from a s:i.ngJ.a control.
(2) Ad~HJttata l'hysioal connections of alJ. the ra:iJ.roans
• and of the Port Distriot traoka w11;h this belt line.
(3) Abol,.tion~ in most oasM~, of exolus:l.ve control of
spur tracks to wharves and industrial sites.
( 4)
Acloqttn.te interohanga :faoili ties.
H>) .Abol::l.tion of the zone syst~1m ana substitu.1;:ton of a
flat charge :f'o:r. delivery from outside points and a distance
tt:triff :for d.:r.Hyage. The :flat charga (21'Yo'lil6i preferably b0 r•1nila
on all shi11n1ents regardless of distanoe, t-utd no distinction
Bhoulo be liilt(le between oompe1;i ti ve tmd non-oompati ti ve points.
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(6} Abolition of duplication of switohine charge~ as
illnst:rated hy ·the followinG oono:r.ate examples~. Prom Seattle
Hardware Bt ore to ntnoy Hi;. ~Y"arehmtse , G.. 11. $3.00, 0 & P., s.,
~~3.oo. Milwaukee $a.oo.
(7) Abf~olut(l irr1pa:r.tiality and 1tniformity of se:r.v:i.<H~,
su.oh as would 1Je the oase if the tarminE-tl sys1~Etr!l were be:tng
ope:r.~tted by the J?o:r.t J)ist:r.iot .•
(6) l)estina1i:i on "SeattJ.e'r mean any :point on the belt
line system without n:ny other Clharge than the flat Rwitoh:.tng
rate. For example. a oar of :fruit. :fr()m Wen!\ttohee over the
Great Northern ~te frtined to tho south end of Em~t Vlate:rway
should r-eaoh its de't~t:Lnat1.on with the same switnhi:ne; (lhA.rga
as if dostined to the Inte:rlHty dist:riot. J;n like mnnner, a
oar of whito l)ine from Idaho via the Milvtau.kee destined 1;o
Into:r.bay distrint should 1my no greatEli' swi tohins charge than
if dest1:rHH1 to tho sotl:th end of l~ast Vlnterway.
I think thai~ the foregoing, w1. thouf; :further oi tation of
spaoi:fio axa:mr>les, is auf:f.'ioiant to tnd.:loa.te olea:rly the gen ...
aral line on whioh the Port Commission desires to see this problem worked out. If it werH not for the initial coAt, the Port
Cotnmission would ttnhesi tatingly taka the rl:rohlem into its own
hands. nut; for raat~ons whioh you fully understand • :t t i.s de ...
siru.ble to limit p11l1lio i:rHla1Jtedness hera just t1.s mnoh as poss:i.ble. Still, if there H.J:lpea.rs to bEl no other way to secure
sttbstantia.ll~r the end ind.:toated above. :i.t wtlJ. he :neoEH'.lsnrt
for the !Jlort to su1nait the prol>Osition to the IHlOilla,. 1. do not
believe that the:r.e should be u.ny ser:l.oua di:ff.icu1.ty in nrr:tving
at a satisfactory adjltstxnent of the matter; 'but it is important
to do this with as lit1;la delay atJ posrdbla.
Vor.y t:rnly yon:r.s,
( signod) H.M. Chittenden
President.
Jhy ton, 0-:Li.o •. ,
Port Iantri.ct,
Port of Seattle.,
effect
Octok~EH'
1., 191:::.
LIST OF THE LATE GENERAL OE!ITTENDID!P S J?u.IJJI.ISHED WRITINGS
Flood co•!ltrol with reference to condi tion.s in u. s.
(Paper· -presented at Internatio.nal Engineering C:ongress, 1.91..5)
Y.el]o,wstone National. Park, histori~al and descriptive.
(A.,St c;,E.. 189B. Published 1.9~).5).
Forests and Reservoirs in their rel.ation to stream f1.ow, w.i th partic.ular reference to navmgable rivers.
{Ae~B•lj:E. 1908)
Ports of the Pacific. ('A.S.C'.E. Vol. LXXVI, p.155)
Early steamboat navigation on the Missouri River.
(1908} Reviews of this by R. Hitchcock in Dial., Se-pt, 1~901.; 1-Tation, Ju.
1.902;. Independent Aug. 27, 1903; and LaiDlllh S.ept. 1903.
,
Government c:onstructj.on of reservoirs in arid regions.
(North American Review, Feb. 1-902)
Detention reservoirs. with :tr:pilJLway outlets as an agency in flood
contra.].. (AoS.,C',.Ett LXXXII p. 1473.)
Harbor Island EIJisode
(Aug. 1915)
.An attempt to explode a popular delusion regarding the forests.
(New York Times. Al::w in O'urrent Opinion, Aug. t~)
A thirty-mile railway tunnel under the Oa.sc·ade M·ountains.
Engineering lifews, Nov. 1-6, 1.91.6).
nuestl· o·n·
~t
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.i. c .......
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V·&J, ..
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Let tel's tn a.,., u.JLt-c3. :Pac:i fj st. 11916)
Resources in men.
S.ci en-t- :i.fi c· ll!ontbly, June 191.6, D. 87-93.
~:c:nt:ime'!lt VB. uti1_;+:r i!1.
iJ0, ly, .Tan. J101.0)
treatment of national scenery. ('tfJae:ifie· Mnn-
Does human nature change? Atlantic Monthly, June 1.91.2, p. 777-782.
Reser-voir system o.f t.he Great Lakes o·f the ~n. Lawrence :Basin..
General Chittenden 1 s Wr i M ngs, !'-ag_e. 2.
Atla.nti~: TIITonth~y,
riestin:y not manifest..
Manjfest d.e:otifly :Ln Amerjca.
Atlantic Monthl;.r, Xar:~.:.. 1.91.6. :@ages 48-!5r
Rocia1 Democrae:y and V/ef>,t Point.
Yeace and herod sm.
¢anal and wa t.er1Jirfl,y.
MaYa 1.91.6.
Atlantic MonthJL~, Dec.. JL91.l. :g,.760-~~
The Forum, Feb. 1.912. p-. lf. "'i-1.93.
Argus, Dec. l.t3, 1.911.
r . ife of Father de Smet.
1.908.
O'ase against. "Panama f.!'anaJl. toJLls.
Fmi:rlliDl, ~Jr.i1. 1.91.2. ]?• 486-493 ..
The crossing of East water-wr~:ty, S:eattl.e.
Sept. JL91.2 ..
"Pac· • N. '1!. Society of Engrg,s.
History of thE Jlll'lerican fur tracle o,f the Far West. ~:3; va.l. 1902.
pub.:Ushed. by ITarpers. Reviewed by Tiritchcock,, !'!a.tion~ '115: 34-5,
J'uly ].0; F. R. 'Pfodder, Dial 32: 41~-tl, · Jii.me 1.91.6.
to
~e \-Wa~hingtt1'>1l.l.~altT.li''>l'--.,..Wh~hr:bt.!·WiJLh me;~n
Cha~:lce'lr' of Comme-r.c-e.
"Pa~ific N.Wo Society
T~IST
OF THE LA'1"E GENERAL CHI'rTENDEN' S UN'P.UlBLISHED V/IUTINGS
Pers-onal recollections and impressio·ns
01f fores trv paper·.
(
the ···O,emro.l:e. Seatt1.e
o,f Engrgs. ~912, 1;1.4 1
~o,nteerning
t.he :pre!_)ara.tian
/F!e ke-;;t ,,s- o1Jt. of the War---a pJ_ea for a more vi:ril.e Americ,anismo
!,(;~ (..V •
/
Pi<>n eer '!lay--" Led we forge
t•. ('2..)
'Ff'!Jma.n na tu:re and universal peHtC>e.
/sacremento f].ood p:ro,blem.
/'The Linca,1n
!
hit:}~lway.
Man 1 s s truggl.e
wj_
r/ In :re Salmon J:Oay,
t.h ·t-he floods •
pro,,ject.
(1.91].-191.5}
t~5 ..
}
{
/
To the Seattle Port Commission
Gentlemen:
In
~!levering
my connection with the Commi8sion, I con-
aider it my official duty to place on file my knowledge of certain
f~.cts
connected with the Salmon Bay Irnprovement.
I referred to the
matter briefly in an oral statement to the Commission last spring
and intended to make a more extended statement whenever the matter of
completing the filling contract should come up,
drop entirely, but I
con~ider
I might let the subject
it a matter of justice to myself to
state the circumstances a.s I know them.
I shall scrupulously avoid
stating anything which was·not a matter of personal observation and
knowledge.
Throughout the progress of that work, from the time
that the Port Commission adopted my plan of improvement as againet that
of Mr. Whitham, to the last effort to complete the fill behind the
bulkhead, the attitude of the
by whom I mean here
I~ngineering
specific~.lly
Staff of the Commi sa ion ...
Mesere. Whitham, West and Shoemaker ..
toward this work was one of pereistent indifference.
I encountered
this even in the period of preparation of plans and specifications
and twice had to deliver sharp ordere to get the necesFary wor1c done,
Soon after the conttact was let, I went to Dayton,
and shortly after Mr. W:e.ndell, a
inspector and
draftem~m,
~ :repreeentati~ of
wa:s
:place~d
on the work ae
the Commission. I do not know what
Mr• Wendell's previous experience in similar work ahd been, but I
doubt if tt was worth considering.
Yet the job •as one of great diff-
iculty involving
i:l!l.
the very highest capa.ci ty in certain lines and
re·,uiring that experience vrhich alone gi vee an inspector confidence in
himself and authority with contractors.
I do not think Mr. Wendell
conciously trie'ld to fe. vor the contracotre, but he was
50
unfamiltar with.
the problems involved th111:t he W«ts unduly eubj ect to their argumentej~nd
was unwilling to form judgments opposed to them.
I repeatedly called
the attention of Mesrers. Whitham, West and Shoemaker to evidence of
this
but they invariably supported Mr. Wendell until near
we~.kness,
the close of the work when Mr. West acknowledged that I
right.
The necessity of my relying
main~w
Wlt1.5
probably
upon the staff made it part-
icularly difficult to take any acti.on contrary to their judgment.
The work had been in progress about six weeks when I returned, and I found evidence of carelessness and indifference from the
start..
I found that the horizontal strute whiqh were to be so connect-
ed with the first line piles as to develop a vertical pull when preseure of the fill should come against the bull{h.ead were very many of
-them so short
lU3
to have no connection.
These were replaced by my
came to making the heavy 18 inch sheet piling, on the
order.
When i.t
bendin~
str.ength of which everything depended, the contractor actually
prevailed upon Mr. Wendell and Mr. Shoemaker to permit him to splice
the timbere (one at least in each
t;;i;t
and so far
lOtS
I know othere)
instead of using continuous timbers according to the plans.
Moreover 1
the through bolting, which in this case should haye been very strong,
was barely what was
necess;;~,.ry
to hold the piles together while being
driven, and not in any too good ehape &~.t that.
so constructed could
be.
The strength of a pile
not have been much over two thirds what it should
It was my personal order that the practice was stopped.
When it
came to putting on the two diagonal courses of
flooring for the bulJ(head the contractor put in bluely spikee enough
to hold the plank in place; yet the whole scheme relied to a
con~id-
erable extent on the function of this floor as a truae to help bridge
over pointe of weakness.
Nothing but very thorough spiking would an-
swer the purpose, but it was not done until I personally ordered it.
In fact I do not think that Mr. Shoemaker or Mr. Wendell
had any proper conception of
professionally
that way or by
to take hold of it in an undersianding manner.
equipp~d
The groes errors made,
e~,
the .theory of the structure and were not
pointed out above, can be expl<S,hned only in
!itS
willingmess to sacrifice the work for the benefit of
the contractor, !9.nd I have alwCl.ys rejected that explanation.
I may cite one more instance
tract work.
I was on the work one day
think for the
r/ way~
finished with one pile.
sank over a foot.
I
I
o~
this delinquincy in the con-
wh~n
piles w:ere being driven, I
happened to look up just as the driver
noticed that under the last blow the pile
It seemed strange to me that they should
a~op
driving the pile wh1le it was going down so easily and I called Mr.
Shoemlil.ker 1 l'i attention to it and
~
~
him order the driving resumed.
The pile went down some four feet before 1t came to a bearing.
But
the contr!itctor had selected too short a pile and instead of replac:i.ng
it by a longer one, had deliberately stopped driving when it got down
to the line of cutoff.
~ objection was made~ byd our force, so far as
I could see.
Now all
thes~
occurences were in the more open and exposed
sections of the work where I was able to see them from an automobile.
I could hEtrdly be blamed if I
h~.d
at the time and
~:~till h~.ve
grave
doubts as to the 'integrity of the w:ovk in portione more remote where
it
w~.s
impossible for me to extil.mine.
in this feeling.
I cannot to thts
And one circumstance confirms me
da~ second
blowout occured
(after a complete line of eheet piles had been driven, supposedly into
the handpan) exeept on' the aBsumptlon th<?.t eome of the piles were not
fully driven
~<md.
permitted the pressure to force the soft mud througho
...:3-
Thi~
could not hgve happened with
driven into the hardpan.
a. solid continuous line of pilee
The matter can never be determined except
by pulling the piles and I therefore m:ake no specific charge but
stop with the above facts.
h;;~.s
I wish to eay thie,however, that nothing
aeton:tehed me more, in view of all these fliiltcts, which were known
to Mr. Weet, than to
~
~
him say before the Commission that he would
li1{e to have these contractors get a certain work becil.USe ih!',X cou1£.
£.epend~.<!
UI!9.rl
~ !.~Y!S.·
tractors could
by this
ll£1
p~rticular
~
If ever there was evidence that con ..
be depended upon without watching, it was furnished
work.
The difficulties experienced with the bulkhead. contra.ct were
repeated with
the fill
contract~~
The method of procedure, suggested
by the Dredge Company foreman, and after full consideration approved
by myself, was to "seal up 11 the entire line of the bulkhead in a,dv6l.nce
of the fill, so as greatly to diminilh , if not prevent altogether,
the danger of infiltration through the cracks in the bulkhead or under
the piling on the west side, -vvhere, on account of the high natural
ground level, the piles had been driven to only 20 feet penetrationo
But when
the fill was actually begun this program was a.bandoned ab ..
solu},ly.
The extreme t}idity of the mate!lrhtl and its slow rate of
deposition caused an unueually large percentage to pass over the spillway before it had time to settle.
ThEi.l3
W9.:!l!
ra.ther wasteful to the con ...
'tractor and0it was important to secure from the start
of fill in order
th~.t
a larger depth
the water might take longer in passing from the
discharge pipe to the spillv1.ray and thus cause more settlement.
fill wal!l thusrun upwith dangerous rapidity and there
Wli!.B
Th~
no "sealing
up'' to speak of (I think none at all) along the weet bulkhead where the
protection against Vl/'ater pressure was the leastD
quences resulted.
The na.tural conse-
There w's several feet of water pressure against the
-4-
west bulkhe&J.d.
Undoubtedly w:;a.ter began filtering through the cracks
in the piling, gradu<i!.llJ cutting tttown until it
the short
I
the foot of
after which the collapse of the bulkhead promptly
pil~s.
followed.
~under
c~nnot
say, kENBXRX+ of cou11se, that there would have been
no difficulty at all if our programs ha.d been followed as agreed, but
the chances of difficulty would have been far less.
The course pur-
sued WRS the
~ery
est strain.
I repeatedly called Mr. Wendell's attention to the matter
one designed to subject the structure to the
gre~t­
but was alw ...ye assured thP.t the contractear was just about "tb change
his poidt of discharge, or had gotten as high as he would go until
more solid mlil.tter wae pumped inJetc,etc.,
It is
per~ectly
plain that
both he and Mr. Shoemaker were wholly subject to the argumente of the
contractor-not from any disposition,so far as ·I know,to serve him,
but simply from an absence of a knowledge of the problem that would
have ena.bled them to tell him w·hat to do.
After the second bufkhead was driven an the weBt side and
filling was resumed the o:arne lack of method was exhi bi te,)d though in a
different way.
c&~.rried
"Sealing Up" was begun along the west side but Was
to great excess in the northweet corner where the fill
Wrt).B
run
up almost to the top of the bulJ<:headt inste2.d of being carried up witb.
a:fJ!)roximate uniform.i ty all around.
This subjected that part of the
structure to very great strain, much greater them would h;;tve been the
case if the fill_ had been brought up slowly and tmiformly all around.
But that fact does not account at all for the second blowout which
took place
~hr_o.u~f~1 ~ !!1a.~.E.
bulkhead. ·I
maint~dn
that this could never
have happened if the line of sheet piling had been properly constructed
and been driven deep into the hardpan as required.
The fact that ft
did happen is as clear proof of defective work as one need asl: for F.ihort
of actually pulling the pileeo
-5-
/
/
The sitU!:ltion was now such that it seemed impossible with
~avail-
lt<tva.ilable funds to go further, when an unexpected resource became
able and promised to help out with at least a part of the plan.
This
was the 25,000 cu,yds. of dry fill obt.ll\tined from the Great Northern
••ts pj;,rt of their Interbay tra:nsac,tion with the Port Commi ;c·f:i.on.
This
amount was utilized in building an earthen dike across the area to be
filled cutting off the western p6rtion, and eliminating all that portton of the bulkhead which hRd !Shown signs of weaknese.
I was not a:ble
to visit the work during the deli very of the e~.rth, but the instrucmaterially
tions which I left were lllx:t:mxxxi:;J departed from& Upon the completion
of the fill occured an incident which
sho\~rs
the extent to which this
feeling of indifference, if not actual hostility, to the work actuated
the engineering staff.
ion, I think
Feb~20,
Mr. West, in his. weekly report to the Comroi ss-
reported adversely to any further attempt to fill
behind the bulkh(';a,d, Slil,ying that it
and
cit~d
as
proo~
evidently
VHlS
~~ el,min&
.922
~
£.2.t:t.o. m.
that it had been pushed out by the dry fill the
fact thlflt the wire strands Ul!led ae bracing ha.d become loose, although
perfectly
t~.ut
when put in pla·we.
Mr. West out there.
The bulkhead
After.reading this Teport I took
~Showed
abeolutely no signs of yield-
ing and we could see( from the auto that only part of the
loose.
str~ands
were
I liitsked Mr. West to go down and teet them, and he found loose
and taut wires in almost the ssm1e vicinity.
moYed theJt would all have been loose.
Of course
The simple
f~,c
t
1! ~bottom
WBS
that this
s am.e contractor who Mr. Weet eays can be depended on to do good work
without watching, had not, as required, tightened up these strande eo
as tc;> straighten them out through the mud.
After a time the strain
itself had caused them to straighten and the more they 5traightened ,
the looser, of course, they became.
The moe t complete di sreg;;trd of instruct ion, however,
had
lU:t
accured in the laat attempt to make a fill.
The plan of operation wae
minutely diBcussed with Mr. Weet, and, ae I supposed, had his full
approval.
At any
imports.nt
m:.;;~_tters.
~~t~
he
First, the
thoroughly to the railroe.d
a dike of dry earth
no dieeent.
expr~ssed
ac~oss
of the bulkhead was to be anchored
~
.I.U
Second, there was to be built
emb~;mkment.
the corner between
embankment to out off possible flow in that
as the weakest point.
recog~ized
corner; the water
w~e
then to
It involved three
th~
bulkhead and the R.R.
dire~tion,
a~
this was
Third, the fill was to begin at the
over the sewer to the fill south)
pas~
a.nd thence out through the wel!lt dike ;;md bac1<: to the b:,;ty by the O&W
property.
In carrying
out the first part of the plan, insteRd of
concentrating the ties at the end of the bulkhead ad agreed, only one
line w;:as att;;tched there where there
v'H~:re
distibuted along the
Wa:iU!l
lack of support, and the others
where they were not needed.
bt~lkh~~t1d
In the extremely important matter of the dike across the
corner, not a stitch of work was done, .._..._
nor ...even
instructions
given -to
-.........
- · -'l
..,=_..._,.,.
::~
~--=--
When it came to resu.ming filling operatione the
not made Rt
the corner ae agreed
~ut
~-
l>l.lternlil.ting to the north
whe~
~--
1J'
disch;s~.rge w~s_
on the South side of the sewer,
the contr:owtor found that it would emit
---
his convenience. This brought water @tt the N.E.
carne~,
with no dike,
~--~
and with the ground necessarily "eomewhat open with the cracks from
drying out during the summer.
been expected.
~'\r:hat
happened was ex1actly
1l'fhliJ.t
mtght have
The water flowed through these cracks and in a little
while developed a channel and a. third blowout resulted.
When informed by ~phone what had happened~ I asked :Mr. Forsyth v.thy the dike had not prevented such an accident..
He did not
know to what I referred, and I then found out the 3ituation as descril1ed rlbove.
Attempts were
m•~de
to excuse this utterly inexcue·?ble
-7-
proceeding.
gre~.t
Mr. West said a dike could not have been built except at
expense because of the soft mud.
14 high to etop the washout,
they
s~_nk
He said he h8d to pile sacks
in the mud.
so
But it w&u'J never
p"(Joposed to build the dike there,. but near the corner where the fill
was perfectly firm, as the eroded channel ehowed.
thri!.t the
w~shout w~:H'J
ca.used by the
dr~twing
Then it was aaid
<awl?.y of the fill from the
face of the bulkheH?.d due to drying out during the summer; but the eimple fact that the washout did not develop there is sufficient answer.
Then it
w~.s
back hvlf
urged that the bulkhead vror.s showing we:;;tkness for it sprang
!E:. .!.E.2.h, when relieved of pres sure
b~r
the blowo1.it.
timber structure planned as that was, the marvelous thing
i~:~
For a
that it
did not move farther under the increased pressure of the fill.
movement of two or three ilijchee need not have
cr;n~sed
A
the eligheet
uner.asiness.
This last evidenc(a, of h<.ck of
symp~"thy
wi t1:1 or cooper:;:dion
in my efforte to accomplish the desired result convinced me that,
under the circumstcmces, it
Wlits
useless to try
no hand in the work Bince.
I have heard it intimated that because of
f~_rthe(r,
and I hRve t:.tke
my. personal d.irection of~- the work the staff did not feel it incuni.bent to take the same detailed oversie;ht
I think that the fact itself that
so deep a personal interest
H
Hfl
on the other work.
member of the Commission did take
in a particular work was
why the stfil.,ff itself should m::tke
8.
:But
speci~;tl ~.
~dded
reaeon
Particulalry
incumbent was this when that member was prevented by phys i o~ll di :s ...
fitbili ty from mlilking minu..te inspectj_on and was compelle,d to rely so
lar~ely
upon the assistants. And if" there had been doubts or misgiving
as to the theory and sufficiency of the Rtructure these ehould have .
been raised and met before the work was begun.
The project itself I then regarded and do still as one of
-8-
I
I
·:; ~~::
'
U ~;.c~:t'.' , ~\.
very great possibilities.
point of. view.
accompli~:Jhing,
The layout
i~
The filling contract was
admirable from almost any
~-
I
,\/l$~
··>~-. ift:t;·r;~:\i
·:;;)
highly fl:l.vorable one,
'::..;:~.::...=;;;;.:.~
aeJ lt contemplr,;tted, the dredging of the fairway ancl the
filling of the tide flats at a combined cost of only 14 cents per yard.
It has, of codrse, been a very great disappointment to me that the work
could not have been at least partly completed.
.··;.
~'i(
61.1. t
But, if ever carried
a e( plan n eel , it wi 11 yet j us t if' y i tee lf •
As things have turned out it would have been much better to
h;;tve deferred untiih·· noV~r the execution of the work.
saw the
del~.y
th~.t
None of .us fore-
has occured in raieing the water in Salmon Bay
and none of us had the slig~et ide~t th ... t the teredo disaeter would
dev~lop
develop ae it did, or even
that with genuine eupport
~nd
at all.
But I shall always feel
an active an intelligent
±Et~xHEt
handling of those contracts the fill behind the bulkhead could h«.ve
been made, at least up to elevation
12~
without waiting
fo~
the water
to be raised in Salmon Bay.
I wieh to say that this criticism he.s no reference to the
other members of the Commission.
In tb.e-ir official utction, so far &ts
I now recall, they supported the me&umres which I proposed.
This statement is not eubmi tted with
~.ny
purpoee of asking
for action by the Commission, but eimply to place on record my understanding of the whole affair,in case the matter
i~
ever brought up for
consideration.
Respectfully submitted,
:-,)!;
.;-..l
I
'/
1
PERSONAL HECOLLECTIONS AND IMPRESSIONS CONCERNING THE
PREPARATION OF FORESTRY
H. M. CHI·TTENDJiJN
PAPER
NOTES ON FORESTRY PAPEH
As I review my professional
worJ~,
and compare the
more important features of it I feel that if I were to give
precedence of any one over the rest it would be the preparation of my paper published by the Wmerican Society of Civil'Engineers on Forestry and Reservoirs in their Relation to
Stream Flow. As I review the whole matter now after a
e
period of .~ght years I cannot see where I ~uld modify
my treatmentof
the subject if I had it to do all over. Of
/)·-
course I live
since obtained a great deal of confirmatory
I\
evidemee but none whatever tending to disprove the theories
of the
paper~
The paper did its work most successfully
and j_t is not too much to say that it revolutionized ideas
in professional circles upon this much vexed qu estion.
The ideas set forth in the paper ·were by no means
sudden conclusions but had been gradually develop@ng for
more than ten
years~;:
My first tour in the Yellowstone
in 1891-2 opened my eyes to the action of forests on
snow melting, and I took frequent occasion in· conversation
with engineers and others and in a few instances in articles
in the press to deny the soundness of the current theory.
Fx•om this my attention was gradually drawn to the action
snow was
where f»xBxxx WBXB not a prominent feature. Up to the time
that
:w:R:aE I began my paper~:'! had never seen any expression of
opinion at variance with the popular theory on the subject.
and I naturally felt that I would like a little company
in such an important matter.
In the exhaustive search
which I made during the preparatj_on ofmy paper I was fortunate .
in coming across a very important article based upon direct
observation of the results of forest cutting in Nevada. This
article was entirely confirmatory with my paper though written
about ten years before and it encouraged me a good deal in
following strictly the line of my theories.
I had for several years planned to prepare
a paper on the subject but desisted because I did not care
to place myself in apparent opposition to the cause of true
forestry.
Strange to say that cause had come to be based
~
almost entirely uion asSUIJled benefits which were entirely
illusory.
The forestry propaganda had by 1907 dl:eveloped
into a state of extravagance and recklessness which
seemed to me to call for some action.
course largely responsible.
Mr. Pinchot was of
President Roosevelt had given
him practically carte blanche in the conduct of his Bureau
and accepted his theories and opinions as gospel truth.
Mr.Pinchot abused this confidence by promulgating theories
which were impossible,absurd,if not absolutely ridiculous.
I znight go further and say that they were essentially dishonest and that his whole propaganda was a gigantic impoai•
tion upon the public.
I do not want to accuse Mr. Pinchot
of concious dishonesty but the more one investigates his
acts during this period, the more evident it becomes::that
any escape from
the charge of dishonesty involves an ignor-
ance of fundamental principles which show that he was
utterly disqualified.
The conduct of the
~ureau
on a
basis of absolute disregard of the fundamental scientific
principles.
if misrepresentation served better than
the true facts it was resorted to without scruple. One of
the best illustrations of this is Mr. Pinchot's utterly
unconcionable use of photograps purporting to show the ill
effects upoh soil erosion of the cutting off of the forests.
Dj.d
he f!JtJ out into the rich agricuJJ..tural country 'that makes
up 9/lOths of the deforested areai3 and get photograps of the
rich farms
with their orchards and crops and meadows and
pasture~F'and
of
exhibit these as showing the general result
deforestation7not the least in the world. He went
down south and searched out gulleys and ravines for the
most part worthless lands anyway and made up horrible picture
of the havoc wrought
b~
cutting off the forests.
He might
have aaved himself lots of trouble and it would have been jus
as much on the side of honesty to have gone out into
t~e
Bae
Lands of Dakota and photograph&d those barren greasy
hillsideS~
Of course this method was the very reverse 6::5 scientific
honesty.
Likew13\i.e his writings abound in plausible state-
ments intended to decieve the dear people but utterly falacious, subjected to any true test.
It became the fad later
when the weakness of Mr. Plnchot's theories began to get some
hold upon the public to apologise for him by
~saying
that
he was allright at heart but sometimes mistaken as to ki::s
head.
I do not give him any such credit.
His head was weak
enough goodness knows when it came to the close analysis of
any subject.
He knew enough to know that he was deliberately
-3-
deceiving the public but he was playing a high
~arne
with
definite ends in view and he showed no mDre conscience in
his work than our German friends have recently done, in the
great war.
The end which he was trying to accomplish in cooperation with the Reclamation Service and the Geological
Survey was to oust the Corps of Engineers from its control of
River and Harbor work and turn them over to some authority
under the so-called scientific departments.
Mr. Pinchot
and Mr. Leighton were the chief workers in this cause and
they were supported by numerous corps of lieutenants of
whom Dr. W.J.McGee was the most conspicuous.
DR,McGee was
as complete an example of the kind of men for public service
that we do not want. He was an absolute pedant and nothing
more.
He was so intolerant that he could not avoid open abuse
and when his discussion of :my paper was sent into the
American Society they refused to publish it.
It was one of the weaknesses of President Roosevelt
that he trusted certain men too far.
It is understood that he
gave Mr. Pinchot practically carte blanche, in the cond*ct
of his Bureau and Mr. Pinchot built up a propaganda which it
seems incredible that a man of the President's intelligence
should ever have
sanctioned~if
certain the facts.
he had made any effort to as-
It was a gross abuse of his Chief's author-
ity,but was done under such a soft
gu~se
of honesty that the
President never in the least suspeated that he was being made a
dupe of his most trusted lieutenant.
This was the situation in the latter years of the
President's administrati.on and it gained momentum which seemed
bound to carry everything before it.
It is impossible to con·
ceive today how completely he had hypnotized the press of the
country;and the expressions of many public men of supposed intelligence were such as they would not like to face today. The
President had a).ready recommended a reorganization of the River
and Harbor Service and it seemed that in all probability the
scheme might go through in the closing session of his term.
Such a development would not in itself be a matter to be object
ed to if it were gone lnto in a scientific and business basis.
But to turn it over to a group of men like Pinchot,McGee and
Leighton could not but excite the fears of every man in the
country who had any real understanding of the situation.
I have spoken mainly of Mr. Pinchot.
was intrusted a distinct feature of the program.
11 o Mr. Leighton
1,hat was
a revival of the Charles J. Ellet scheme of the Fifties for
a
the building ofAvast syeem of reservoirs to control the floods
in the lower riversAlthough the impossibility of any such allembracing scheme had been thoroughly pointed out, still it did'
nt stagger Mr. Leighton in the
least and he plunged ahead
quite regardless of what had gone before and propeed another
elabora'te system somewhat specific in detail by the aid of the
map~
of the U.B.Geological Survey.
The scheme however was so
utterly visionary and weak that it was easy enough to demolish it.
I can•t help quoting in this direction from a letter
by Thomas P.Roberts.
Cnl.Roberts was the son of the celbrated
_,_
engineer,Milnor Roberts,who did as much as anyone in his day
to discredit the Ellet theories.
"That you ma31 know how my
father's heart, like Pharoah's of old must have been hardened
when he failed to hearken to the prophet Ellet in
185~,
I
send you a ver batim copy of a book giving a "vision" now in these
latter days about to be fulfilled."
Thus the Corps of Engtneers stood beset with enemies
who besought to deprive it of the works which it had so long,
and. on the whole so successfully fulfilled.
Unlike its enemies
the officers of the Corps were never permitted to indulge in
criticisms but required simply to do their duty and let Congress an
and the public approve or disapprove.
The record of· the Corps
had on the whole been most crdita ble and the public confidence
in it wa srery high.
But theC~rter episode which had now been
running its course for several years with a deplorable
exposure of fraud and duplicity in a certain district had seriously shaken this confidence.
One of the strcing men of the
Corps,Col.H.M.Ada.ms,who had spent man1;!. years in the Chief ot,
Engineer• s offici:<e and understood the drift of events as
well as any officer told me in Buffalo in
l~ovember,J.906,that
the Corps was at the lowest ebb of its fortunes, that it had
ever been and the outlook for it seemed to him extremely
gloomy.
of
There can be no question tha: the aggressive policy
~resident
Roosevelt and his special assistants seized upon
the best opportunity that they could have found to carry .out ·
their schemes.
I' cannot full;y recall just what were the circum-
stances and considerations that induced me to take up the
cudgel at this time but certainly the time was ripe for it
if it was ever going to be. Neither can I remember the exact date though I think it must have been ~arly in 1908.
I forme;t the o:utset the resolution not to involve in any
way other officers of the Corps or the Corps
my enterprise.
itsel~,
in
I knew that it would be looked upon askance
by many of them,not because they would not like t6 see
just
such a paper but because most of them did not real-
ize how extremely weak the arguments of the opposition were.
and feared a possible reactiob against the Corps. r was
particularly impressed by the caution given me in this
reap~
by Gen.Henry L.Abbot·who had been retired for some years.
Gen, Abbot was one of the most influential officers of
the Corps and after his retirement he took a great part in
negotiations and other preliminary work of the Panama
Canal.
He was in France a g reat deal and as I wanted to
get special information in regard to Frenchforestry I
took the liberty of writing him after his return for the
addresses of those whom he thought could give me valuable
information.
I had on previous a occasions talked with
the General about the influence of forests on stream flow
and he understood in a general way that I wanted to write
a paper on the subject.
My request for data refreshed this
recollection in his mind and after giving me the necessary
addresses he took occasion to giie the following very
-!:!-
positive caution.
"We are in the midst of an organized
effort to secure our River and Harbor Works, formed by
the Forestry men and the Reclamation engineers, and you
will not m.isunde·rstand me when I say that it is not a good
tmme to attack the former, as anything not in the present
fad will be quoted to prove that we are hostile to progress.
There is no doubt that in a snow region forests may increase
spring floods, but in our more southern regions,France,
India, and Austria,etc •• the reverse is true, and I should
be very cautiolits in writing on the sub,j ect for above
reason~
Coming from such a source this certainly was not
very encouraging.
It seemed almost like a positive order,
not to be ignored, from my old commanding officer.
work had now gone too far.
But the
As soon as I had decided to
prepare the paper I plunged into it with the full zest of
my natural interest and had already accumulated an enormous
amount of data, had formed the program for the paper, and
probably had begun the writing.
I 'do not remember whether
I replied to Gen. Abbot or not but I proceeded with the work
I received of course much assistance but I must especially
mention one source.
Col.T.P. Roberts of Pittsburg at
this time in the U.S.Engineer office was in the most
complet~
sympathy wit.h my views and had himself done some pioneer
work in the same direction.
Col.Roberts was one of the
most able and interesting men that I ever met.
As I have
already stated he was the sane of a distinguished engineer
of a generation before,Milnor Roberts, and he certainly
was an honor to his distinguished father.
He ahd a quaintly
witty way of putting things that made his communications
-8-
interesting readdl:ing.
The volume of correspondence that
passed between us during these few months B:f was something·
··:.>
enormous;and as it was nearly all writeen on 'his part and
to a.fonsiderable extent on mine, in long hand the work involved seems to me now almost impossible.
In seeking a medium of publication I did not
have much choice.
No periodical in the co'untry would
even look at such heretical work.
The subserviency of the
press to what it believes to be current popular
thought
is perhaps its weakest trait and it is entirely uselesss
when public sentiment trends in almost one directio~to get
a public hearing in any other direction.
So I went to
the American Society of Civil Engineers of which I was
a member:•'and they very promptly agreed to publish the paper.
This publication took place during July and August 1908
and tne paper appeared in the ~roceedings
of September 1998
Probably not half a dozen persons outside of the Secretary
and Committee of Publications knew that the publication was
forthcoming.
In the meanwhile in spite of a pre.sidential
I
campaign the work of the forestry propaganda went on with
increasing vigor and with increasing recklessness. Of
course I felt very anxious about the reception of the paper,
whether it would fall flat or whether it would meet comraendation. Even my own personal brethren were anxious
questions with me;but I really had not much fear as to the
latter.
I therefore waited with no small anKiety for the
first news of its appearance and reception.
-9-
It came more
prompt:ly than I expected::
Before the end of the month I
recetved a letter·from Col.J.A.Ockerson,Member of the
Miss.River Comm. and an engineer of interl1l!:ational reputation
It read as f ollows, "My dear COL.Chittenden: On reaching my
1
desk this morning I found a copy of Proceedings containing
your paper on"Forestsv and Reservoirs in their Relation to
Streamflow".
My interest may be best expressed by this
statement tbat I readit through without waiting to open my
mail.
I congratulate you on your admirable treatment of the
subjt:lct."
This was certainly very encouraging for whi.le
Col.OcJcerson did
not say wh!Bther or not he approved it
(he was too subservient to public sentiment to take any
step until he saw how the wind was going to blow.
Still
the fact that he should have been so absorbed in the paper
showed me that it was going to have a warm reception.
Other letters followed in considerable numbers,all of them
commending me in the strongest terms
the stand I had taken.
The custom of the Society is to make a formal presentation
of these papers at the regular meeting in the month following their appearance.
These meetings are held in the office
in New York and are generally attendedc only by local members
But not so on this occasion.
The paper had proven to a far
greater extent than I expectedc;a :klveri table bomb:shell.Lin
the ranks of Pinchot and hiis followers.
They were just
about to spring their coup . The wires had all been laid
and everything seemed as promising as could be.
But they
were well aware that there was a deep undercurrent of opposition in Congress and if this should become focalized and
-10-
sustained by some definite basis which could be relie~upon
their plans might all gang agley •
They themselves under-
stood that they were navigating a more perilous
cur~ent
tpan appeared to outsiders and it was necessary to steer
their craft with the greatest prudence in order to avoid
shipwreck. It was therefore a calamity of the first order
that this paper should have appeared at the time it did.
When the paper was presented at the regular
meeting in New York,
Pinchot and Leighton were picked out
to be present and oppose it on the floor. It was of course
entirely out of the question for me to be present.
A
letter from the Secretary,Mr. Hunt, contained the following
information. "You will be ,interested to know that Mr. GifforJ
Pinchot,and Mr. M.O.Leighton were present at the meeting
1
7~.dnesday
last.
In your absence I did not read the
~ole
of
.the paper, but presented your conclusions, and then Messers,
Pinchot, and Leighton proceeded with many apologies for the
fact that you were not present to very strenuously contravert your position on every point."
While there was nothing in this that I had not
fully expected still it showed very forcibly what I was
up against.
The lines of battle were now clearly drawn
and the onset was bound to be of the most vigorous
kind.
~
A considerable majority of the discussers would be
in favor of my position but there would be
a small group
on the other side equipped with all the resources which the
government could give them, determined by and hook or crook
-11 ..
to demolish the force of my
argt~ent.
I confess that it
made me rather nervous and. I got to feel as copies of the
various discussions were sent me that some of them might p
prove veritable infernal machines if I dared to open
them. StilL the best way to drive off the terror of a threat
ening evil is to get right down to it and analjze it without
fear.
~Bxarid:x:t.Nx:m~x~Em
To add to my comfort at this time the President
'I
with his habitual subordination to Mr. Pinchot was induced
by the latter~o refer to the matter in his last annual
message,which appeared at the opening of Congress> in December-.-
While the President did not refer to me by name
his allusions were too pointed to leave any doubt as to whom
he meant.
He made a most vigorous attack upon the Corps of
Engineers and siad in substance as nearly as I recall
that an organization which planted itself in opposition to
the scientific departments of the Government was not fit
to conduct the great works with which it had heretofore been
charged.
d~atribe.
There were two very arnusing features of this
The
~resident
referred to the Corpm of Engineers
as responsible for these views whereas if Mr. Pinchot had
not
conceale~
the facts from him he would have found my
explicit statement in the paper that the Corps knew nothing
about it.
But the most ridiculous proposition of all was
the fact that he should set up a body of men like Pinchot,
McGee and Leighton as being more scientific than the Corps
of Engineers.'•
have been to
The only way to establish that fact would
mak~'
faddisrd.' syra.nomous with" sc!i:ence!'
-12-
If the Pinchot forces thought that these drastic
measures were helping their cause they counted without
their host;on the otherhand they proved a veritable boomerang.
The Presidentts diat'J:'ibe gave a degree of publicity
to the paper \Vhich it could not have possibly acquired
in any other way in so short a time.
took it up and read it.
Members of Congress
Congressman Humphrey had it
printed complete in full type in the Congressional Record.
So far as the influence of the paper
w~s
concerned the
course of Mr. Pinchot and the President was the most favorable thing tha could have happened.
Still there was a great
deal of furor and bluster over it in a desperate effort to.
accomplish their purposes before Pres. Roo _sevel t went out
1
of office and sometimes things looked very dark indeed.
I
At my remote distance I did not realize this as fully as
those who were closer to the scene of actio:n •. But an mncident in my correspondence with Roberts very deeply' impress
ed me.
I was burt ed in the work of reviewing the various
papers and of course corresponding with the Colonel as
usual.
But in one of the Colonel's letters he said that
he did not know that it was good policy for him to be quoted
··directly any further in the matter; that things lo:oked very
shaky indeed,that his daily livlihood depended on his poaitlon, and he felt that his duty to his family required at
~~~oJ deal like a plea of
least caution. It was a ~
a
subject
of King George who was practicaly forced by the iingto
ac.cept a position which he felt that he could not conscientiously accept.
He said to the King,"There are five
arguments for my complying with your directions-a wife and
four small
children~'
Appeals of this kind show how deep
were the undercurrents in this important matterr
I thinlc it was s orne time in March that my closing
discussion was sent forward.
the
p'~er
There was a great demand for
and the Secretary of the Society was constantly
pressing me to make haste.
Today it is sirnply inconceivable
to me that I was able to accomplish this work in as thorough
m<:tnner as I did.
The closing discussi<)n was 23 pages longer
•han the original paper and it brought out and developed
hundreds of points which had not before been thought of.
The course of the opposition in attacking my paper
was marked throughout with a sort of impatience that an ama-t"
eur as they evidently regarded me should have presumed to
brouse upon their private preserves.
Their arguments gen-
erally were weak,marked. by a reckless sort of desperation
which made it easy enough for me to controvert them if I
only had the time in which to do it and by dint of hard work
I seem to have gotten that time.
This is practically the finale •
The complete
publ1 cat~on , including original paper, discuss ions, e.nd
my closing review made a document of upwards of 300 pages.
When it appeared it was read as eagerly as the original
paper and only tended to confirm first
letters well mark the beginning
.e»~
impressions,~·
Two
and end of this stren-
uous period as well as its results upon the public mind.
One was the Abbot letter of May,17,1908 already quoted
and the other the following letter of about llmonths latera
-14-
Capt. Connor of the Corps of Engineers was the author of
the second letter.
He was a brilliant and well equipped
officer and had been thrown in contact with the forestry
t)"~)
! i
people unt i 1 he had imbibed the strongest contempt for __
their underhand methods. His letter follows;: "My dear. Colonel:
I have just finished reading the last of Forestry,Reservoir~
and Stream Flow and I can't refrain from writing you and congratul~t~~g
you on the complete rout of the opposition.
The enormous amount of work represented by your paper and
its defense is appalling and its condensation of wide experience and reading will be of the greates value not only
to us of today,but to others for years to come.
It
will furnish a guide for future investigations and statisticians as to the lines to follow in order to secure
orderly and comprehensive results.
rout?
Was I?
Was I pleased to see the
I have followed the methods of the forestry
promoters long enough to see their underhand methods and to
be very much exasperated by them.
By underhand, I mean
the technical and literary defences that they have fortified
themselves with before technical men while at the same time
flooding the country with other radical and unfounded
stuff for the lay reader.
They have come their first
cropper but others await them i,f they continue their
course.
I trust that the rigor of your style may be taken a
as a Cl"i terion of your physical status and that the end of
your present leave will see you back in the harness;:,that you
alone so fully fill.
ThankLyou for the first paper and sever
al thanks for the last rejoinder.
Very sincerely yours,
William D.Connor
.. :E).
''
In the eight years that have elapsed since the pub ..
lication of the full paper its principles have come to be
generally accepted except among a small group of irreconsilables and I can honestly feel that the ~1ole resul1has been a
work done.
I carelessly omitted to include in the ranks
<J
of the Pincho ti tes Prof. George F. Swain of the MastEn' • s
Institute of Technology.
so alarmed at the
p~per
The Gov. OfMassachusetts was
that he retained Swain to
expose its falacies and destroy its influence. But he like
the rest of them ea:rne to realize that it required something
more than mere denials ,contemptuous criticisms to demolish
the influence of a paper like that • He came to realize
that it was an earnest,conscientious effort to deal with
a subject
on a basis of absolute fact and its stay ing
quality was this manifest effort to seel< out the truth
as a gentleman at the Ohio Valley Improvement Association
said shortly after the paper appeared."It is a dangerous work
to the cause because it looks so much like the truth."
',
ADDITIONAL NOTES ON FORESTRY PAPER
The developments of this four months controversy were
so deep and far reaching that I find all the time that I have
o.mi tt ed some incident or phase of the aubj ect which I should
have liked to have recorded.
interest •
One of these was of particular
The forestry people had sent all over the country
to men and women in nearly every condition of life'S. set of
questions as to what was the result of the'ir observation. , Upon
the matters .roposed. These questibns were of a leading character and clearly enough indicated the kind of answers desired.
In the state of public sentiment at the time there was little
chance of getting adverse replies;but these questions fell into
the hands of one party who was not a slave of popular fads and
had the courage to express exactly his view as to the result
of his observationsThe questionnaire which was sent to the Oreg
on and Washington R.R. was sent by its President to J.R.Holman
Engineer of a divisipn east of the Cascades.
Holman had had
extensive observation upon the effect of snow melting in
producing floods.
rather than helped,;
His conclusion was that forests aggravated
Unfortunately his company did not possess
the courageof thelr. subordinate and they thought it unwise to
send in such a paper even if its arguments were correct,which
no doubt they very much questioned.
So the paper was pigeon-
holE!d in a local office in Seattle.
Later Mr.Holman saw my
paper and sent me a copy of his.
I appreciated his action very
highly because it was a purely independent confirmation by
one well qualified to judge.
-17-
,, .
The effect of this paper upon the fortunes of the
Corps of Engineers was, I
to be most salutary.
acknowledged by·every one
had
The CorpsJ\nOVf had charge of the Panama
think~
Canal for nearly two years and the splendid record of their
work there was a further powerful restorative of public confidence.
It was an auspicious coincidence that these two influen-
ces should have been brought to bear at practically the same
time.
-18-
THE SACREMENTO FLOOD PROBIJEM
While this Yosemite \ftrork was going on, another
opportunity came along from a different source and of a different character.
The State of California decided to appoint a
Commission. mainly of outside engineers to invesi tgate and report
ur;on the flood problem of the .Sacramento.
Heu.er who recommended,me.
I think it was Col.
The two other outside members were
from the Mississippi Valley,with long experience upon the
Mississippi River.
thfs opportunity.
I had a good deal of
~ifficulty
in landing
1'here were complications with the War Depart-
ment and the California people themselves were I think rather
luke warm because t;l'F'Y did' nt see
..m-«- much
that qualified me for the place.
Still this may be entirely a
suspicion.
im my experience
But if I had'nt got things in shape at the right min-
ute and told them that I was on my way to report to them,I
i
.,j
think the~!mrtgpthave chosen some one else. They made Mr.Dabney
president and myself Secretary of the Commission, and the people
with whom we had to deal soon learned that they had struck a live
wire in me as far as work was concerned,and my position became thoroughly assured. We made three or four months investigation and
how I stayed a\vay from my other work so long I cannot now imagine.
Having gone over the ground quite thoroughly and ordered such surveys as we thought necessary,
~e
adjourned to meet again ln my
pffice in Sioux City to write the report.
We met in Sioux City sometime in the Hall , and did an
immense quantity of work in formulating our ideas and recommendations.
It was lucky that we were so far from the seat of
\
!
war because our work had aroused intense public interest and the
political and other pressure back in California would have been
hard to resist.
We had the greatest possible work to complete
and sign the report and forward it to California without
reporters getting hold of it.
The report was very popular and received general approval but no immediate steps were taken and four or five years later
-bt/1)'"-'<--J
occured
j;vO/
catastrophic floods of at least four times the magni-
tude provided for in our plans.
This made it apparent at once
that the floods could not be cared for on the basis of our
scheme and another plan has been devised which simply lets the flood
wander over the country
m~ch
as they ddd before.
This outcome has
of course been a disappointment but our work was thorough
along its line, of great educational value, and had its influence
in all subsequent investigations.
as of great value to myself.
I regarded the whole experience
It involved a tremendous amount of
personal work and I think if ever Kutter's Formula was ever
worn to a frazzle it was on this particular piece of work. Maj.
Dabney was very jealous to be author of the report and nominally
,.,
was so; but during the interval between two sittings at Sioux City,
in which I was to check over everything and prepare it for their
final action,! modified things enough so that ,with the exception
of one chapter, I considered the report as my own.
I
_)
The press
bring us reports of flood disasters in Ohio, Wisconsin and.even in Oregon.
Almost continuously for the last six months similar reports have
come from this or that section of our broad domain.
accounts, and f.?O inevi ta1)le seem;4 the
experienct~s
So common are these
to \Vhich they relate,
that a sort of lndifference takes possession of the public mind and it
does not arouse itself B,s it ought to a situation which, though very
troublesome, is capable of
thorough~going,
if not absolute, correction.
To what extent is man himself responsible for this condition
of t!.lings?
It seems idle to spend much time on this aspect of the case,
for the condition is here, whatever its origin, and our chief concern
is how· to handle it.
But a definite answ·er to the question is never-
tbeless important because it does have a
b~aring
upon the character of
flood control works proposed for adoption. We shall therefore touch
4# ;,·rr..ff'1
ur)on Ut::i:::1 aS)Si;~+ of thfi:l ~ and endeavor to conrect certain popular
falacies concerning it.
In the first place, man•s work in the removal of forests
and in the cultivation of soil has not in itself increased, materially,
if at all, the volume of runoff from great storms.
Popular opinion, we
know full well, is quite the other way; but it is mistaken.
We are tald
that the forest soil is loose and absorptive in comparison with the
cleared-off soil.
forest~,
The contrary is the case.
E~BR
The soil of the virgin
undisturbed for ages, compacted by the w•ight of great trees,
is in no sense loose and porous, but dense .9;nd impervious relatively.
On the other hand, cultivation, 1Nitrt its plwoing and harrowing, and
effect of perennially decaying roots gives a soil the greatest and
i
th~~
highest absorptive capacity of which its particular quality is capable.
I,il<:ewise drainage, w:h.ich at first thought so;obviously
w
hastens runoff -M the streams,
producc~s
retarding influences of the high-
Eist importance. This i.s particularly true of soils naturally wet and
swampy.
Such so:Lls in a state of Nature, are already saturated when
1
the rains come.
M-
1'hey furJirti sh no ground storage, and
them must run off or be stored above the surface.
1{'fla.n
falling upon
Drainage takes the
water out of the ground, and creates storage where none existed before.
There is no influence so effective in restraining floods as available
ground storage i:n th top layers of the soil and anything which increases
such storage, as drainage does, increases the restraint upon flood runof1'1
Where the balance
lir~s
between these opposite :Lnfluenges we
cannot definitely say; but :Lt is small either one way or the other,
~
and becomes wholly obli tera:ted in those intense and proflonged downpours which alone :prodlilce
great floods.
In t'oreign countries even the
forestry service fully recognizes tilis fact, but our ownJervice is sa
committed to the contrary theory that it yet refuses to admit what is
fully conceded in Austria, Germany and ]'rance- ... namely, that forests are
wholly ineffectual in
'
'
fl."' 1"""- AN'>f
restJH!':i:~ great
floods.
The records of stream-
flow for hundreds of years back in Europe and as far back as kept in
~his
cotintry confirm this conclusion absolutely.
Forests may, in
certain situations,be the most effective cover for preventing erosion,
thou.gh there is really nothing superior to a well-k·ni t sod; but forests
do not in the l(;ast degree diminlsh the volume of water reaching the
streams in t-Lmes of great flood.
Refo:restat:i.on is therefore not a
practical method of flood control.
But there is one respect in which man's work is a direct
agency in causing flood destructiveness.
-2-
Nature provided two kinds of
of channel or waterway for carrying the runoff from the uplands to the
sea.
One is the normal channel bet'tveen banks and is in continuous use;
the other is the overflow channel along the valley bottoms extending to
the upland on either side. and formerly came into use whenever t.he
discharge of the stream rose above a certain point.
No,man has preempted
these overflow channels to a very great extent--in some cases completely.
The valley bottoms are his particular delight.
Here are the richest
soil, the most convenient building ground, the nearest access fBx to
Y'ater for navigation or oth;'r uses, the easiest places in which to build
roads and railroads.
Here population multiplies and wealth accumulates.
But the more the bottoms are excluded from flood use, the more w·orlc is
forced upon normal channels, the higher must levees ·be built, and the
highE~r
ao flood heights rise.
If the! artificial ·barriers do give way,
the on-rush of vmter g' far more destru.ctive than in a state of nature,
~
·while 1~ever-incre<'l.sing accumulation;t of property present_; greater opportunity for destruction.
Man is thus a direct agent in his own misfor-
I
tune, and upon him rests the necessity of compensating in some ·t.vay for
his arbitrary encroachment upon Nature's flood highways.,
This, in simplest expression, is the problem of the floods.
How is it to be solved?
Jj
Measures of flood contra- fall into two
general classes-- preventive and protective.
designed to reduce the flood flow itself.
upon some form of fleservoir action.
Preventive measures are
They are based exclusively
Protective :measures do not attempt
to reduce flood discharge but seel<: to protect the bot t0ms from oyerflow.
J.,evoes are the :most common works of this class, though there are others
of great importance, such as straightening and shortening channels,
enlrging them by
excavat~on,
claartng them of obntructions, and, in some
rare cases, provding auxiliary channels.
-3 ...
Reservoir
~antral
is theoretically ideal.
To catch and hold
back the runoff near its source letting it out gradually afterward so
as to avoid all over:flow--sureJ.y nothing could be simpler in theory.
In practlce however, there are many limitations.
7
Suitable sites of
sufficient capacity are available on very few streams.
Eoreover,
reservotrs are usually built for the storage of water for power,
domestic use, etc.
It is generally impossible to serve with full effect
that
these pruposes and tkBBH of flood control. If we could know beforehand
when the rains wil;l come and in v.rhat quantity, reservoir control could
be planned so as to serve both purposes.
But we cannot foresee these
events in the 1 east degree:-, and so, for industrial uee, it becomes important to fill the reservoirs from the first rains of the wet season,
so as to ·be sure of a supyJly, while for flood pro tectiDO.n it is important
to keep them as nearly empty as possible until t1'le season of storms is
safely past.
The two purposes tln1s seriously conflict, and the conflict
cann()t ordinarily be fully harmonized.
1'his drav!back has led to the
adoption of a scheme of reserv')ir control designed solely for flood prevent:Lon..
'I'he sluices through the dams are very large and are left perma-
ently open so that even the ordinary high ':<rater flow passes freely.
:But if t'·1e flow assumes the proportions of a flood the openings are insufficient to pass it and tlte surplus accumulates behind t-h.e dams,
only to be run out as soon as the crest of the flood has passed.
Such
reservoirs are called retarding or detention basins.
It is impossible here to discuss exhaustively the subject of
reservo:lr control.
The matn points may be summarized as follows:
When reservoir capacity is held alwRys available for the heav ...
aest storm that may be expected, it is practically a perfect flood protection to the valley immediately below.
't'Ti
Its effect diminishes rapidly
th distance downstream.
:r'
Ll. ;;_ . '
--,-
·' '-.t":
.-; ,'
J
In reaervoirs for storage, the particular use of the stored
'N!ltter rnus t be given first consideration, because power, municipal supply )
irrigation, etc, must be on a dependable basis.
Only ezcess of capa-
city beyond these necessary requirements can be counted on in flood
control.
B~tention
t:r.ol
13&]H3Ps
basins, properly designed, are effective flood con-
measures.
Moreover the sites remain
availabl(~
for agri-
cultural use.
Reservoir control can be made most effective ncar the sources
of streams.
lHoods in the lower coursesof great rivers ;li]l:e the }Usa-.
l.Bsippi 'below Cairo:; are altogether a product of tributary combination,
and a reservoir on this or that tributary, particularly tf of the detenti.on type, might operate to increase rather than diminish the
binati.on.
:~Jioreover,
able sites on
co;~a-
it will not be physically pof;;sible to find avail-
the lower areas. of so vast a watershed sufficient ,to
exercise a marked influence on floods.
'l'he influence of
~~
fiMUlti5Uiw 'li!A,.:rl
the extreme sources of the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri would ~)r.,
~~
1~-eff"~
upon the river below ·Cairo.
The most important of flood protectige works, as distinw
guisht~d from those of flood. preve_.~otion,
are levees.
1'hey are simply a
means of enlarging the channel by raieing its surfacet thus avoiding
tb.e costly processes of widening or deepening by excavation.
~i'he
method is so simple and easily understood, and generally so effective
~
that lt:hr:>.s been universallj used from the beginningpr of man' s oper~
ations on the planet. With great rivers, like the riss:i.ssippi ancLJIPo,
i.t presents formidable difficulties, which often lead to popular con-
damnation through
igno~:-ance
of the real princlples involved.
off of overflow naturally forces a stro ~~ current down
t~e
'l'he cuttin7
main
stream and thts raises the >?:ater surface and increases the pressure
on the levees.
It also increa.ses ·ctestr:w'tiveness Yvhen once the levees
-'5-
gtve way.
'J.1hat is why it is so very important, on the Lo·wer }':ississippi
to carry the levee system to completion with the least possible dalay.
In an incomplete state it is a grave menace.
icular prol;lem is now
~11 understood.
edi.ate banks of the stream.
'I'he solution of this part-
It must be worked out on the imm-
No appreciable help can be looked f'or from
reservoirs, none whatever from reforestation.
"Levees only 11 must be
the metJ:J.od, and Congress ought at once to make
li~~~:iXUX1ilili
for carrying it x:t
]llE.EE
to
c~mpletion
provision
in the same systematic and con-
ti nuous way that was so successful at Panama.
'l'he Lo,Jirer !Jii s sis sippi
problem should not wait upon any other for it is independend of all.
It ought to be completed by 1925.
Other important methods of flood protection are the cutting
off of bends--a very effective method in many situations--and the enlargement of channels by excavation;
·re:rred to here.
but they can no more than be re-
No method and no combination is susceptible of
xi:x:ai: universal application.
:S:N~-
It is a question of sound judgment in each
case to determine how best to meet the particular conditions.
In no
other sphere of public work is the panaceaJ quack so offensively in
r
ev-idence and no.-,vhere else does he work such mischief by confusing
the public mind as to its true
intere~ts.
An important feature of flood protection is the system of
forecasts or warnings now being developed to a high state of perfection
by all enlightened governments.
In France it is dev-eloped into a
general police system with plans for action in timPs of emergency as
carefully elaborated as for the mobilization of
IM'f-
~
army.
While such
measures, do not, of course, prevent overflow, they prepare the public
for it, enable i.t to adopt emergency
·measures and thus effect a great
savi.ng of life and property.
Tl:l.e greatest need in t''lis country today in t'lis connection is
-6-
is
thi~ 'ltef1n1 ~
trol.
adoption of some definite policy in regard to flood con-
The recent creation of a new Committee in the National House of
Representatives is an indication that Congress is coming to this view.
Such a policy should not be confined to navigable streams but should
extend to all streams.
A. strictly intra-state stream, like the Great
lHami, may assume inter-state importance when its floods suspend for
considerable periods interstate commerce on several important railway
systems and effectually demoralize the mail service.
Supervision
f
of private work on streams where it might effect the problem of flood
control, and public aid to such work where such aid might secure flood
protection in addition to other purposes, should be recognized as an
.
essential
t~c:t:~
~
... -s~o?"e" of the public service.
t ~.
-7··
:/
/
/
/
,,
;
·,
.~
tl·m KSP'l' US OUT 01.!' Y7AR"
1
Thf:J Chief
}~xecutive
of the: vmrld's greatest He:publio
h::<.~3
rece.nt:Ly
b
been continued in offioe for
oont~in~d
whioh
in the
~ere
m~jor
titl~
IU1,
ao;cond term by vt 1"tut~ of
th.-~
s•.·nti:ment
to this paper. That 1fl 1 transposing votes
cast for him becauee of this r'entiment, the election i'!Ou.ld --1l
t--:- t.. (..-
not h;;,.ve
result•~d ~.B
it did. A
:::urvcy of t---h rleld lc•:nvcs
post-~l·~ction
no reasonable doubt of the correctness of this con6luaion. tt ie north
whi l.e, therefore • to
.-1.nnly:~e
•vi th :)ome C&J::r.e c:t
C!:mp:;J ign
influence wbi ch
has produced suoh a far-reaching reeult.
Tn doing this, we
~hall
consider only the people's side of the
case.
\
President is simply
fin~!
Junt
~oneidPr
·~,
how hG has kept un out of
~ar%"
As the ~ri ter h;,qrpened to knt.wr ~"~ui tc ''~ell Hl,;:t the hust~ n;; 's blH>ir~-c~;(; ~
was of
i'!l
chrlracter ··rhich ~1c thought %-f prudent to keep to h.ims,~lf.
I
Now this
...
was typical of millions of otherwise good <:.tnil,iea
/
~xample
r
timable people. In most oases, no doubt, the moving cause waa not
viOU$ly apparent; but the general
had its
sub~conHaious
it interrupted in any wsy,
effect in all directions. And the
people undoubtedly aa''' nothing
thf1)llHJ
~eeing
b8BG
ob·
of the country. induced
proep~rity
largely by tho war. and the dread of
so
majority of
gre~t
or ignoble in this
~.tti tude
of
l~l:,'t/''
mind. Why should .t·h±·e
goverrmH~nt
mi,x up v1i th other nations 1 trouble F.;'? \Yhy
should we disturb the even tenor of our
~ays.
more than absolutely neoee~z
sary, because of a conflict that was rfging on the other side of the ocean -
in th1il.t conflict ""n dear to themrelves
tr.e~sure.
oii.nd
on their
HH
to those who
~"'e.:re
giving life
in their defence. nut they could see no obligation for action
v~rt.
~M~
On
other hand. they felt perfectly juatifiad in sit•
ting 8nugly at home, gathering in the easy ohekela, and limiting their aid
to the
of
gre~1.t
~urop~,
to bt.mevolent expression" of sympathy, or to ineffec ...
caust~
on both Gides of the struggle hav·!
h2tred r11nd cont·.ompt
eoul '<rh.ich c;;n
~a
;?
com~
to look upon us wiLh
people '.Vi t'hout morn.l vision or th<t.t lof
suhordin<~.te
~,incss
of
eelf-int.erest to the hir:,her claims of public
dnty t
nwould :Y:l.lll
peace-lover
~ith
hr<Ve had u~~
i11
t ervene in the
Wi'3.T?
exol~.ims
the t,ypi C!i.l
hands upljfted in horror.
There are several thli'-.t &.l"f' m1fficient, but ":-e shall com;i<lE:r only o
one. We have sttlod by, in t't'.tis 'l'wenticth Century of
cords. Nothing which we can reo£11 from the
even
a.ppro~>tches in infamy
Chri~:tian
bloodie~t
civil-ization
annals of the race
the recent .Armeninn persecutions. Something like
a million
hurfl~.:n
of barbart ty
f~ilCtfJ
~:rc
beings
~rhi.ch
h<~V"e
br:!en r:twept out of
~xistence
under
circum.etano&:-s
even the untQ.med Americlitn sa.vage could not su:rpa.aa. The
common knowledge a.nd we ne-ed not specify. It
done in
h«Ull lHH:ltl
should n'-tturalJ.;u h~_ve interfered were hti:~nd-r;ound by the gre~t wiiil.r. And this
n;? t ion of ou!'n, pot t'!nt;, ally
i
h"" atrongc:st on eg,rth., Belf•procl:;.dmed cham....
:pion nf
,.,
free'dom t'a.nd f.-r·iend nf t :e oppressed ir.J every clime .... 't';;hat
hum~n
did it do in any p!'<?..ctic&>.l wliy to
th~~t
certw.i n
it
;~h:all nev~'?.r
~:vert
thia terrible
tr;.:~.geciy.
or to make
occur ;aga.in'? Can any truE<: American feel a pridu
1n the answer which must be re:turrH'?d to tho;.t question'(
~~rly
In the
J3al~b:;a,ry
yetars of thr; l::ust Century we br()Ught thr:
pi•
b
rates to their
kn~cs,and
our school
hiet~ries
have sounded the praises
of that event ever since •. Yet haw utterly insignificant
comp:,lred
actual
~;rith
~o1.rmed
thr:: situation in stricken
li..rmeni~.
WBB
the occasion
for the p«'l.(-:t two years!
attac1< which. of cou :-se we cou.ld not ignore."
so :fHr as physicB.l coercion iB conct't:r.ned ,f'.·r worse offenses, and flhall
obst'lrVe simply t::·1at thEre is juBt logic enoue;h in Buch
find
ue
:p:rec~1·ious
Et.,_ndtnr: roor'fl 'orJw ie seekinr an
diPn~~t the ~rgwnent
e>:cu~t:;e
~- ple&~.
fen· him to
for inaction. Let
and disclose its cold•blooCed calousness. Suppose
we think of :d.m if' he refm:;ed to
children wero oanccrned in the
interf~n-e
~ffairi
solely bec .. use none of h;i.J!.
Are all our fine professions about
li"berty and humttni ty to be aonf ined to \vord of mouth and to mean
off 8 unless in recistance to direct aggression~
"But intervention might ha:ve 1Hnm entirely imp raoticlil.ble. 11
11
hRnds
ie alwHya a vo.lid
'Th;.lt
pur9ee, if the
i~;
liil.bility. it
would
have~
~gency
invaded thie Levant in
th~
eitu~?..tion
eidea~
e~rn~st,
present, the
aa any sublunary
m.easurably
futur·:~
herf-1; itnder discu:··sion •.
lL,;:~.ndic;.\ppt~d
she oould never have withstood us if
s<J.y with )il.n
provoc~tion
ev(~nt
f~.r·ther-re.aclting
~
of
~.nd
ample,
be. i1.nd
c~w
Rl'ffiY
t.b.e
re~:ml t
<.d3
have
~s.wl{l
K hind ing
l:i11~ J/e:~:.ce
in
CongrtmfJ
t;;.goniBt or thP p~'::"incl.plea of )i}'{' liberty. th<: d.cd'enc(:; of tiw
the eetdblishment of peace on the basis of
fair-de~ling
~nd
our policy of ;,lloofnf" a
of
or~.l
to us tl1:.1·t reBpect and <il.U.thori ty amone; the n>;ttions
from proof of
fcH~
tht~
sincerity by thP actual
ou~
:tn•incipl~s
11
"1•hich we
s~crifice
i:r.n··
by
V!<3nk,
.,n1d
friend And foe
prof'~J:::ni\)ll
th;;~.t
<H3 Jtl'() .... ···
would
l',H>.Cure
h~VCJ
of blood and
come
tre~sure
1::iut think: of· our unprepa.redneas fo such lii.n undo·t<.:-.k:i.nt~.--for m~
Exr&.ctly so. And it is only somle>
our 11'iltion to its V".< ··y Cf"ntt•r,
is, ll ''t our mili trrty
it has for
~re«.. t
·~hich
;;~f:f"'.airEi
onto;? b;-.ais of t1"Ue business
blund~"
b:.·Pll
p.,..of~F.IS.
mili t~1ry undr·rtakirw of mf•gnitudE! 1 jy f8ct.
th~·t
cc··:'tr... ln
close of the war. It would have givAn
th~
ou:r. -attth Government au tllo .rat~ ti ve
c<~.n
had
million men. The op ...
r:enul t
t:n~t
~e
ae
tlw.n t.hf'l speeific objec·t o:' the 3Dxpedi.tion.
It would have greatly haetened
alj.ke. Never
a
wo·nH! Uun folly to l.mdertalte it • .but no suoh c<mdition
r::xisted in
w~"-'~
urgent
which F;eekrB to nccomplis.h it laokf5 the r·equi :d te
Turkey has beqn on all
por·tuni ty
obj eeti.:m. Hc.)\'ll'eVt.U' i:mport•.u1t :;.tncl
t;:me:r.gency th&l.t Gha.ll shJia.ke
mliAJ:~?
~fficiency •.~ut .t1t~5.:t
ther~
us truly :p::-·cp;J.red .....
out oi' the i5lough of' poli tie.-1 control
l:lri t:ain. It would tlitke
r~putations;
gre~•.t
lt'ill e1rer
ring <':no ugh in tee process; the:rE•
ruin of falee
11
would
9-.
will do it, ju}Jt
l~Ae
little tiwe. 1'he:re wo11ld be
\HOU.ld
h~ve
be hcar·t ... l:nt:rnings over the
to be a merciless
w~~ding-out;
and the do111r of preferment VHmld h01.ve to be :ru thles.ely clo\'::d ;,•g::, i.rwt f:i.l.V"'
oritism or any other criterion
year, we should get down to
~
th~n
proven merit. Finally, say within a
solid rock foundation, and once on that
ment in time of peace.
11
t.h~
l;ut
consiti~r
~,conomic
the prodigioious
lmrden. the loss of _life.
eorr.ow ;a_n.d suffe:t:'in{h the dieturb•wce of our whol£. order of life! ft
~:chat
is
th~
eaee•lover i:n
hh~
true colors. Of course it would be a
burden; it wnuld ml"!};rn StJlf-aacrifice 1 it would
and suffering.
That ie the point we
ent~
make~-that,
il
/oil,
?
degree of oorrow
if facwd with
Q
n9tional
duty, in de;fence of the helpleH5St in est~blishing p!'<i.ctic.<;;l ideals of l.ib·- .,.,___\. .
·I
erty. and bnm:?.rti ty, we ehou1d sttw~.nd re;::dy to shoulder the burden, to mak~
the l!lscri:fice, to endure the cress o:f suffe:t•ing. The rt:'"'a.:t'd will surely
follOVi'• How ins11lring in this
connr~c
tion
Rt's
thr· following lorords of J.loyd•
George in his fi-st speech to the Commons aa Prnmier of Great Britain!
11
L~t
the
n~. t:ion ~s tiil. ~:d·wlt1
:pla<'H!: its comforts, its l.uxu:d.ee •
n2tional Lent: the nation will be bet-
It will strengthen its fiber and ennoble its
:popular mind.lN~n from
wh~
not be ;,d all
Q
t:. H..n·did
t we feH-:tr.
The
gr~a:"ter
·th~'
oul ti V$;t;i on of' economy
spirit~
m~1ter'ial vie'\·J-point the)'~;;~~ \"!DUld
There would be cmnJ:H"1l'1Sir-'l.ti.ons j_n all di ·:-cctiona
t'!ff'iciency of production; the stimulus to busint:H3:,; <c1.nti.vi ty;
'
e1· estei>.blishment
,,
j. civil
·t ..,l ~.nd lRbo-r\tmdl't'r the
·
~n'ld..
~tvoidunce
of wastt:: 1n l.uxu:r ieo; thf; qntok,·"'
refo::•ms; irnproYement in the
st:t'tiHHl
e.rC.....t
Utt.'
~·ile>.tion~o>
of mipi ..
of ._,_ cornmon peril- ... ~.11 theso t:>:.in.f'f.Nould, in
the lonp run, offt"let 1\seH'rns supe::.·ficiq,lly a total loss. !.nter,·uption of the
ordi.m.<.ry routine 1 cU.st.u:cblllnce of existing condi tiona. the :rude dragging .... out
from the deep-worn ru.ts of li fe ..... painful and di a agreeable as
th~~se
things
r
might 'be for the momcn1t • they would
n~ede
to rid
lt~elf
Vt!:ry
likF.:ly prove to be \.'11th us, ;;;.s thv::y
of ills foaterd by long inactivity, and to
inf~s0
new
ent war juHtifies this conclusion.
As to loss of life, it io not those who are subject to the
exp~dition,
untarily join auch an
lin~
its chances. There are thoU8ands of t·:em on the firing
would bid their sons godspeed, if on an
~rr~nd
ple call themselvee
one•s life
for~.
Chrimti~ns,
.l'"l
'
l>t1',,
,, ..... -.-.
do ;:;..J.l
~nd
th~
f~el
cc]f
UYJOY:I
..,;.__,. - 1·,··rj(()l'<·i··)n
·"!. "''' ·'·
.r·
.
It is
stay-~t-home
shuddering. Yet these
p";O ..
are mindful, no doubt, that Chriot
frir:nd. Of no oth&'r form of nrc;ifice ·ponld
friends and the nation itself
.....
..,...,
~and
th~
to take
now. There
rightftouan~as.
of
not those who are directly subject to theus ptrilsJ but
ea.ae ... senkers vvho raise the cry
~illing
knowing its perils but
p~ril
that
d~ep
+}'.·":
·,_•.- ].+:.~.~.-r·
v
'·
,
-
(1..1"'
f-~.milies o:~.nd
sense of pride in duty dcne
count "Y ~ »1'le
f~J.l
jn the
gilded ch~r~cters Lo the fart1leBt poet~rity. Ther~ are iftfinitely worse
of a noble aurpoae.
Wt~
reali-ze fully th;~.t all thi~.3 is, in !A Eense,
BUch com:·se <t.s
~YI"J
h"'-ve
outlin~.,d ·~·ould lH~
this gove:rnmcnt bcc;atuH" the
out of war. The
n~cesnary
~.tti
m~.J.j
'
t icHit.-.1mpo:3r:d b11 i ty for
o:d ty of our
peopl(~.
'N::mt to
unanimity of s0ntirnent for a gre2t
are millions of our people •
the shel.me of' our
v~.at
~ }Jr~l.c
i.d.l~: <llii~·umt~nt • .1\n;r s
t~lOugh
still
:3. hopel~"Jss
tude Rnd who would -rej oioe to
·b~;
J<ept
mov~ment
like
mi: 1 ori ty, ·.vho feel
r~ee
their eovernmt:nt
takm itG otand on the firing line of
p~ocress.
We cannot help feeling
that it would mightily exalt the character of this nation if the vast
mejority,
in~tead
pr~sent mom~ntoui
the lofty
planr~
small minority,
?
crisis.
Wh~t
~~re
&n elevation of moral tone it would
R
centu.ry and •'- rtU..<.rte:r ••.g:o, thnt, i.n
or un·.vi llinc; to do
th~,
ow; thing
not fo:t· noble ideals • :cwt. L'or· t!w.t '711ic:1
of :Belf'iF.<h.rlesn; but :for
nrr~
fL·hth:g,
of this persuasion in thP
m~an
of rn:lf ... s~crifice for the idealt:1 '':hich we ;profess to cher-"'
ic Varseillcse of
~:f'r;;:.hl
of
t~-I,;:I't r~~r·
nc::cet:tliH<tl"Y
di.ffc·rcnt
~'}1t"':i:.
;:;mr:l in 'rhi.ah trH' r:rert "i"·,jodl:y or
t-:;-
onl;.t t1·w nrmed r:r.m:flieJr e<1t1 b•·
1·t,,,.lY'
... ; • \'
.
UH~~"d
1'!·"()
.t
..
ul t.ra poaoifi ~Jt st;;.tmp simply cannot
.q;;d the· rr
1 0''fY'P"
l l R,:J ~-- ...-.
3,·1"·
.•• ~
rb~~:~
tht~
!
to
ou~.
l-, ~. fQt ~.?tt .;;. ...s
'1'1''
p:<'ODV~
}~et
no
'Jr' th•c· m:Lx·e
·tr~J
'.c'1.!.~h(~~.t~
l~'·'.:lons
0111'
.• .
of the
to rewlize them.
n pe:Yfl1e
ll·f't~e;
c~efence
;,.l.
i<'·li
of /. rt.'cle
n;Jtion
v~.
B.1ld
(l'."\"
';1·'"1'1
""':.-.·('
>.:iiJ,!'.
.: ...
.....
'II
---.
' ~ ..•
•
'~I
i.f."
com"'·'(J~;.·;,q
- .,.t... \.ol.
noble concept i.on of fight ...
ing on, in this war. that peaae may be made more secure, and that
the spectre of rni li t.itry
of. the world.
do!nin~~a:tion
may be lifted from the
her.~.rt
hf
It is these very ease-lovers who are 'f&.cing the
Allied cause in its greateet peril since the war began.
peace, under present condition$, meRns to
th~
{~
·.,;.,
For
Allies a lost cause.
Listen to these words of Arthur ll®nde:rlilonati :jt<>Jbor reprene:mtnti ve
in the new British 5~binet:
"In my opiniorn we h;;;tve now reached the most dif ..
f.icul t period of the war •••••••••Gur stupendous los::HHl,
'
our
nnpr~cedf'lnted
A-
siilcr.ifices, our horrors of war, our
love of peace, may lead us to mortgage
With such
~.wful
experienceB
'"e:
th~
future.
are 11able to forget
the great moral, eternal principles and ideals for
'Nhich we entered the strugu:le.
11
~n a.ccur·~~ te
1'his noble sentiment is
viril$ Americ;:;rnism which
nw:u:mre of the difference
~.~:re
should like to Gee in "ChiD
A
nation, <"Jnd the wea.k an, ignoble J\.mericaniam typified by the E:enAnd let us not forget for a
_ {-::vuA.A"
moment th;:•.t this
\Veale~
a.ttitv.de
r~<rlcts
upon those! in authority
and is liable to cast the influence of our Government in favor of a
blanket mortga.ge upon the whole Allied cause.
Then will follow
ye•u·s of tri bute .. paying in the form of crushing armraments t :rmd :i.n
its own good time 1 perhape when our
child~r~n
the dt<ty of foreclosure will come in
£~uch
"li1ight on, br.a.ve l!nights!
1/c2n
death is better than defeat."
lists of old.
ere grown to m;n1hood 1
a cra.sh aa vri:Ll Cli?.st :tn
diea, but e:;lory lives!
So
r~.ng
the
her~.ld
Fight on,
summon~
in thf"
And now, upon this infinitely br<H.:tder field of
battl·e;
who
~.nd
lH~lieve
in thie darkest hour of the Allied oause, let those
tn the
ide~.ls
which tha:t oause represents
to
exho~ct
furthe-r efforts the millions who a.re bea.:d.ng the brunt of this
fiery ordeal:.
:F.'i~ht
Ji'ight.
on. brave knights!
on, de:a.th is better than the
Jfen die but truth
~mrrendt~r
ah~ll
of thosi!J
'
l.''
/
PION.lTIEH WAY.
It is now upward of twenty years since agitation
for the construction of a trans-continental highway began. The
idea originated with survivors of the early pioneer days and ,,'Vi th
students of the formative period of our country's history, particularly in the West, and was an expression of their desire that
the progressive subjugation of the country to a condition of civiliza.tion be
hon~*d
by posterity with some fi tt:.lng memorial.
No other form of memorial seemed in any v.ray so appropriate as a
na·tional highway from coast to coast along the general route
of
~his
early movement.
But the plan never made any progress be-
yond the stage of discussion, for the reason. probably, that those
who had the matter most at heart were not eqlil.ipped :financially
and in practical experience to be efficient promoters of so imrnen-
se an undertaking.
The project thuB drifted along until quite
recently the phenomenal growth of automobile traffic has lad to an
active propaganda by a body of men Vtrho possess the qual:i.ficattona
in which the original promoters we::·e
defici~nt.
An organization
hae been formed, composed principally of men engaged in the automobile and allied businesses; a route has been
York to San Francisco; the
namt:~
11
T..~incoln
se~ected
from New
Highway" has been adopted,
and considerable progress in t1'1e actual development of the route
has been made.
It is the purpose of this artiQ'le to impress upon those
who take an interest in these matters the fact tll.a t this Lincoln
Highway project, however mt:;ri tori ous 'in itself, does not at all
satisfy the conditions of a pioneer memorial
high\~ray.
The route
varies'very materially from the ot;ginal lines of pioneer
travel~
I
As to the name,we feel very sure that JJi.ncoln himself, with that
sense of justice v;hich was his noblest characteristic, would have
insistedt if the matter could have been left to him for decision,
that t:01:Ls great national highway
"be
given a name commemorative
of those wh.o pioneered the route across the continent long before
he himself came actively upon the stage of nattonal affairs.
In
support of their clatm for recognition, and in behalf of those intrepid spirits, remembered or forgotten individually, w·ho laid the
foundations of oun greatness, this plea is made to the open-mindedm~ss
of the Arr:eri can people.
Unique in human h.istory was the ceaseless, steady flow
of colonization from the Atlantic to the Pacific during the century preceding the cloBe of the American Civil War$
It was through....
out a spontaneous, individual movement by a liberjy-loving people-not organized by military force nor compelled by a thirst for armed
conquest.
Hay,
1
It was a process of pathfinding and up-building all the
diBtinguished by heroic toil, by battle with savagest foes
and vri th unfriendly Nature, yet withal
A
an indomitable spirit
and steadfastness of purpose that do high honor to human nature ..
And all the way it was continuous sacrifice, from a total renun;}t..
elation of trte comforts of' civilized: l:ufe to that supreme ren_tnci·atL1r1 which Lincibln once referred to as "the last full measure of
devotion ...
The mirgge and the fatal thirst of the desert, the snow
and frost of
thf.~
mo1J.ntai ns 1 . ambush and massacre on the plains,
and tragedies and suffering inconceiveable were the price paid by
tht)se who took upon their
The~
~~houlders
the burden of' the pioneer.
redeemed the country from its primeval state, but
they did more--they shaped its political destiny.
Whatever Bishop
Berkely had in mind when he said "Westward the course of empire
takt~
its way", the words find here a literal application.
those days was simply carrying out, conciously
The pathfinder of
ar unconciously,
the great purpose of the Pilgrim, the Puritan and the Cavilier.
"He crossed the prairies as of old
His fathers crossed the sea,
To make the West~ as they the East,
The homestead of the free."#
••c•olil•~t•ttt•••••••••••e•o•••••t~tte•••,.•••••e.•••••••
#Adapted from Whittier t s •.!';Che Kansas Emigrant"
•
•
•
•
t
•
e • • •
a ~ e
9
e
t
•
•
•
e e • o •
• e • •
~
• e e •
• • • • •
• • •
e • •
• e e • e
•
Excepting only the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and possibly
not even excepting these, the work of the pioneer--call him explorer,
emigrant, colonist, settler, or what you will--stands out as the most
important fact in the evolution of American institutions.
Consider,
for example, those outstanding events in the pioneer days of the trans-
-
Mi f!J si ssippi country.....- JI'he masterful expedition of 1 ewis and Clark;; the
pregnant purpose but sad fate of the Astorian enterprise; the trials
and devotion of the missionaries, culminating in the Whitman tragedy;
the saving of Oregon in the days of "Fifty-four Fo:rty or Fight"; the
migration of the
l~ormons
and the beginning of the reclamation of the
desert; the conq&est of northern Mexico and California and their incorporati.on into the Union; and-tnat marvelous episode which has enshrined
the name "Forty-nine" in the romance of' the West - ... these and many m.ore#lll
were~
vital incidents in our country's hiBtory.
And what was true
of the west was true in like degree, though less st,rikingly, of the
I
older sections east of the Mississippi.
It was inevitable,
o~
develop well defined routes of
course, that this vast movement should
travel~
There were many of these--
trails, traces or paths they were first called--but there were certain
trunk routes to which others were subsidiary, or of secondary importance1
East of the rlississippi there was less concentration" but even there
J
the great central route predominated, until in later times the Erie Canal
drew traffic largely in its direct:ion.
From Baltimore, Philadelphia
and the east, this route crossed the Allegheniesto the headwaters of
the Ohio..
From there on the river absorbed much of the travel, but
r::till there was enough ove-rland to develop a great highway westward
across Ohio via Zanesville and Columbus, and thence somehwat southweste:r-ly through Indian:}·md I ll:inois to the Mississippi at
.e,
sa.r. L,e5ui s.
the lUssissippi westward tl:1e earlier routes were clear defined.
A.
].,rom
Travel
ascended the valley of the ll::i ssouri as far a:s the course of that stream
lay to the west, and for the most part went by boat.
From the point
where Kansas City now stands and where the river valley turns abruptly
to the north, began the most famous of all these roads, the Oregon ·
Trail, leading to the mouth of the Columbia; and second only in importance to it, the Santa Fe
~rail
to the northern province of old Mexico.
In later years the California tr•il
a point some distance
nort~
of
off from the Oregon Trail at
b~re
Gr~at
Salt Lake and crossed the deserts
.q....
and the Sierra to the valley of the Sacrp1nento.
These original highways are now nearly everywhere lost or
obscured by the settlement of the country except in certain localities
of the J?ar West.
J.-
Some fifteeen years ago
the wfi:'rtter examined portions
of the ol:i' Oregon Trail in Wyoming, and the impression produced by the
sight of this wonderful relic of an epoch now past has remained
indelibly fixed in his memory.
He is tempted t6 reproduce here some
notes of these impression, for what happened on the Oregon 'l,rail was
typical, and its record is, with some variations, the record of all.:/1
~ e • • • • •
• e
e •
t
•
•
~ e e • • •
• e e •
•
• e a e •
& e a •
& •
e • a • e •
e
& •
•
~
•
s'• •
e • &
#American Fur Trade of the Far West,pp.460-J
• e e e e e e e a e a 1 1 • • • • ltlllttee • • • • e • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • o • • • e 1 1 e a e • • • • • •
II
f""+
0 regon Trail...J
,\\ was in the broadest
Thi B wonderful highway cJ;he
sense a national road, although not surveyed or built under the auspices
of the government,.
tion of' a people
It was the route of a national movement--the migra-
s~:JeJd.ng
to avail itself of opportunities which have
come but rarely in the history of the world and which will never come
again ....... ..
11
As a highway of travel it was one of the most remarkable
known in history.
Consddering the fact that it originated with the
spntaneous use of travelers; that no transit ever located a foot
~it;
that no level established its grades; that no engineer sought out the
fords or built any bridges or surveyed the mountain passes; that there
'Nas
no grading to speak of nor any attempt at metaling the roadbed;
and the general good quality .of this two thousand miles of highwayN
will seem .most extraordinary.
Father De Smet t who was born in 13elgium,
0
the home of g'od roads, pronounced the Oregon Trail one of the finest
roads in the world.
edly true.
At the proper season of the /e\yar this was undoubt-
Before the
pr~:dries
became too dry, the natural soil formed
the best roadway for horses to travel on that has probably
known~
evt~r
been
It is amply hard to sustain traffic, yet soft enough to be
easier to the feet than even the most perfect asphalt pavement.
Over
such roads, winding ribbon-like through the verdant prairies, amid
Ct.~
profusion of spring flowers, with grass so plentiful that the animals
reveled in its abundance,
and~
game everywhere geeted the hunterts
rifle, and finally, with pure water in the streams, the traveler sped
,C.'4.-
h:Ls
·~ray
with joy and exhileration.
But ,,vhen the pril.iries became dry and
parch::'d, the road fillt3d with stifling dust, the stream-beds mere dry
ravines, or carrying only all<aline water which could not be used, the
game all gone to more hospitable sections, and the summer sun pouring
down its heat with toriJ6\!: intensity, then the 'I'rail became a highway of
desolation, strewn vrith abandoned prop.erty, the skeletons of horses$
mules and oxen, and alas!
too often, with mounds and headboards that
told the pitiful tale of sufferings too great to be endured.
If the
Trail was the scene of romance, adventure, pleasure, and excitement,
so it was marked in every mile of its course by human misery, tragedy
and death •.
. . , ...
"Over much of its length the 1'rail is now abandoned, but in
many places it is not yet effaced from the soil, and may not be for centuries.
high1.~ray
There are few more impressive sights than portions of this old
today.
It still lies there· upon the prairie, deserted by the
·l;--
traveler, an everlast:i.ng memorial of the human )fide which once filled it
to overflowins;.
Nature
for the
winds, year by year, carve the furrow more deeply,
prairie~
hers~lf
has helped to perpetuate her memorial, ])
and the wild sunflower blossoms along its course, as if in silent memory of ):those who sank beneath its burdens.
ttBut if the Trail1 as a continuos higway of travel, has ceased to exist • the time wi 11 come, 1/l!e may contl.ident ly believe, when it will
be reoccupied,
4'\1\NV'•¥
~ to
be abandoned agaip.
It is so occupied at the
present time over a large portion of its length.
Railroads practcially
folloy,r the old line from Independence to Caspar, Wyo. , some fifty miles
I
easl!1; of Mndependence Hock; and :from Bear River on the Utah-Wyoming
line to the
~outh
of the Columbia.
The time is not distant when the
intermediate space will ·be occupied, and possibly a c onti:n'JOUS and
unbroken movement of trains over the entire line may sometime follow.
In a future still more remo:cte there may be realized a project which is
~
even :t'!'fow being agitated, of building a magnificent national road along
this line as a memorial high,_vay which shall serve the future and commemorate the past."
We cannot adequately estimate the debt of posterity to the
pioneer and builder of thef.'le trails who sacrificed everything w.!'1ieh we
now deem necessities in laying the foundation of the ease and luxury
Yvhich. later generations should enjoy.
~ f,vvvvt.-
It was Carlyle who said of
that the "peaceful sower will follow, and, as he reaps the boundless
harvests, bless.
11
He s•;ould bless, but he should li'kewise honor.
All
that poster:t ty can do for trwse who have gone before and the fruitage of
whose labors it enjoys is to l{eep
their memory green in the pagc::s of
li tcrature and in memorials erected to
pE~rpetuate
their de:£hts •
That is
why it is a hir,h duty to name for these pioneers the great highway to
be built across the country.
As to the precise nc>....:me which this memorial should take, the
writer will offer no s.uggestion, except that it should be commemorative
of the great movement of colonization and settlement.
ly introduced in Congress (House bill
9137),
In a bill recent-
providing for a survey and
locatlon of a highway along the old pioneer routes of travel, the name
Pioneer Way is definitely adopted.
The word "trail" appeals strongly
tof the writer, for it means so much in so many ·ways that it ought to
find a place in the name of the highway.
better for the route as a
whol~giving
Perhaps Pioneer Way would be
to the different sections the
r')arly local nmnes, as the Scioto-Beaver Trail, the Oregon Trail, the
California Trail, and the like.
The proppl'riety of some such. name,
and the ij1ustice of its adoption, would updou.btedly appeal strongly to
the public if the public were generally informed upon the subject.
Among the newc::r communities of th.e West, not yet far re:rn.oved from the
worlc of the pioneer, there f?hou.ld be an overwhelming sentiment in its
favor.
It would be a splendid thing if the
~pirit
of that venerable
pioneer, Ezra :Meel{er, (he is now nea.rly ninety),, who has ma¢e such a
persistent fight for this cause, could be infused into every community along the line from the Chesapeake to the ®.HI.N: Colum'bia and the
Golden Gate.
There is no other
{' 1.->
commemorati~
project now before the
country which should appeal so stronly to the higher instincts of our
people.
PIONEER WAY
rJfost of us who read the papers retain at least a shadowy impreasion of the pilgrimage of J1Jzra :rvreeJ<:er across the Continent a few years
ago with an ox team and a prarie schooner, after the manner of the
early emigrants. 'rhe picture of his flowing white beard and hair,c:md
o:f th ox team and tented wagon--so out of piace in these days of gasolene--was a familiar sight in the public prints. No doubt the great
majority of us viewed the incident at the time solely as a picturesque episode in the life of one whose advanced years(he is nearly
ninety) made him an easy prey of visionary schemes; and we probably
dismissed the project itself,on which he was workingJwithout looking
into its
re~l
merits at all. If so, we did injustice to a worthy char •
acter and to a worthy purpose. Ezra Meeker is a man of splendid
parts~
of strange and checkered experiences, who now, practically bereft of
the material blessings to which his life of strenuous toil entitle$
him, is devoting his closing years to the advancement of a com:memorative project which. relates to the very foundations of our national
developement. 'Yhat is this project and is it deserving the support of
the American people?
Unique in human history was the ceaseless,steady flow of
colon~­
zation from the Ajtlantie to the Pactfic dtil.ring the century preceding
the close of the American Civil
~-'ar.
It was throughout a spontaneous, in-
dividual movement by a liberty-loving people,not organized by military
force nor impelled by a thirst for armed conquest. It was a process of
pathfinding and up-building all the way,distinguished by heroic toil,by
battle with savage foes and unfriendly Nature,yet withal by an indomi table ap.iri t and steadf'e.stness of purpose that do high honor to human
nature •. And all the way it was continuous sacrafice,from a total
_j
renunciation of the comforts of civilized life to that supreme renunciation which Lincoln onee referred to as"the last full measure of
devotion."The mirage and the fatal thirst of the desert,the snow and
fros·t of the mountains, ambush and massacre on the plains, and tragedy 111ft ~
suffertng inconceivable were the price paid by those who took upon
their shoulders the burden of the pioneer.
They redeemed the country from its primeval state,but they
did more--they shaped its political destiny. Whatever Bishop Berkely
had in mind when he said "Westward the course of empire takes its way 11 ,
~
the words find here a literal application.
~~he
pathfinder
.
~those
da.ys
was simply carrying out, conpiously or uncon~iously, the great purpose of
the Pilgrim,the Puritan and the Cavaliet.
"He crossed the prairies as of old
His fathers crossed the sea,
To make the West,as they the East,
The homestead of the free."
•
•
•
#
Adc.~.pted
......
•
•
'
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
e
#
•
•
•
•.
•
•
..........
from Whittier's "The Kansas Pioneer 11
.......
Excepting only the Revolutionary and the Civil Wars,and possibly
not even excepting these,the work of the pioneer--call him explorer,
emigrant,settler,colonist,or whatever you will--stands out a'IS' the most
important fact in the evolution of American institutions. Consider,for
example,those outstanding events in the pioneer days of the trans-Mississippi country--the masterful expedition of
r~ewis
and Clark; the preli,-
nant purpose but sad fate of the Astorian enterprise;the trials and
devotion of the miE sionaries, culnlinating in the Whitman tragedy; the
saving of Oregon in the days of "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight"; the migration of the l'ormons and! the beginning of the reclamation of the desert;
the conquest of Northern Nexico and California and their incorporation
(....~ ~~ O~'i...
into the Union; and that marvelous @.¥ltel'.PJPi!i£ which has enshrined the
name
-.e
11
Forty-Nine 11 in the Romance of the West-- these and :rnrJ.ny more were
vital inci.dents in our country•s history. 'And what was true of the
West was true in like degree,though less
s~rikingly,of
the older section
east of the Mississi,pi.
+-
It was inevitable,o¢ course, that this vast movement should
develop well defined routes of travel. There were many of these--trails,
traces or paths they were first called--but there were certain trunk
I
routes to which otherw were subsidtary, or of secondary importance. JGast
of the Mississippi there was less concentration,but even there the great
central route predominated,until in later times the Erie Canal drew traj
fie largely in its direction. J.i'rom Baltimore,Philadelphia and the east,
this route crossed the Alleghanies to the headwaters of the Ohio. :B,rom
there on the river absorbed mlch of the travel,but still there was enou~
7
overland to develop a grea·~ highway westward via Zanesville and Col'tlmbu~
and thence) somewhat southwesterly through Indiana and Illj.nois) to the
Mississi.ppi at St Louis. JJ'rorn the Mississippi westward the early routes
were clearly defined. Travel ascended the v0lley of the Pissouri
~s
far
as the course of that stream lay to the west and for the most part went
by boat. From the point where Kansas City now stands and the river turns
abruptly to the
hr~
north,~
_
tb.e most famous of all these roads, the Oregon
Trail,leading to the mouth of the Columbia;and second only in impottance
to it
)
~the
Santa Fe Trail leading to the Northern province of old
Mexico. In later years the California Trail bore off from the Gregon
C~-w~
'l'rail at a point some distEmce north of
~,.,...Salt
Lake and crossed the
deserts and the Sierraj1 to the vaLley of the Sacramento.
We cannot adequately estimati the ddbt of posterity to the pioneer and builder of these trailw:_,who sacrificed everything which we
now deem necessities in laying the foundation of the ease•and luxury
of later generati.ons. It was
Ca:r~yle
who said of him that the
11
peaceful
sower wi.ll follow, and, as he reaps the .boundless harvest, bless.
11
He - .
should bless, but he should likewise honor. All that posterity can do
for those who have gone before and the fruitage of whose labors it enjoys is to keep their memory green in the pages of literature and in
memorials erected to
their deeds. Fanifestly no other form
perpetuat~
of memorial is in any way so appropriate to the purpose here considered as a national highway along the route of this early movement. As to
the precise name which should be given :i.t, the writer vvill offer no suggestion except that it should
~e
expressive of the great movement of
colonization a.nd settlement. In a bill recently introduced in Congress
(Hous.e Bill 9137), embodying the Ez.rac)Ieeker idea and providing for a
survey and location, the na.me I 1 ione.££.
~
is definitely adppted. The
word "trail" appeals strongly to the writer,for it means so much in so
many ways that it ought to find a place somewhere in the name of the
highway. Perhaps Pioneer Way would be better for the route as a whole,
giving to the different divisions the early local names--as the Scioto-JBe;:;tver trail, the Oregon 'frail, the California Trail, and the like. The
propriety of some such name and the justice of its adoption wou.ld. undoubtedly appep,l strongly to the public mind if it were generally informed upon the subject. Among the newer communities of the "'est, not yet
far removed from the work of the pioneer, there should be an overwhelming sentiment in its favor. It would be a splendid thing if the spirit
h~·,
o:f
J!~zra
]."eeker , who has made such a 8'!'leneHd fight for this cauBe, could A-!..
infused into every community alog
""" the way
~
froU~the
Chesapeake to the 0o1-
umbia and the Golden Gate.
Perhaps the chief obstacle in the way of the plan is the Lincoln
'- growth of
:".Ughway project. 'l'hat movement originated in the phenom,l'nal
:)f automobile traffic ccnd it has enlisted in its support the most active and aggressive class of business men in the country today. They
-
are not much concerned about the historic fitness of things an d in se-
lecting a name their chief purpose vvas to popularize their project. 'rhey
therefore chose the most honored and venerated name before the Amer:lcan
public in this generation. And yet, we feel very sure that Lincoln himself, with that sense of ju:stice which vras his noblest characteristic,
would have insisted, if the matter could have been left to him for decision, that this great highway be given a name commemorative of those
who pioneered the route across the Continent long before he himself
came actively upon the stage of national affairs.
But while the Lincoln Highway pro<i ect will undoubtedly cause great
delay in the realization of the more important project, it is in no
sense an insuperable barrier. 'l'he route i tsel:f vartes materially from
the original linf3S of pioneer travel, a,......s its purpose was to establtsh
21.
through highway on the most direct llnc ""'hich should include the
greatest number of important towns on the way .It is a business proposition entirely and historic considerations have been
lut~cly.
\Vhile,,athe:tf.efore, the Lincoln Highway
has~
subordina~ed
abso-
und.oubtedly become a
fixture in our national developement, both as to name and line of travel,
it should not be permitted to interfere with the ultimate realization of
L..
of the project for a
erican Highway
tru.~
Associq~.tion,
\
memorial
high\vay~
.
j
It would seem that the Am-
in its ambitious plans for a comprehensive
/)-
system of national highways, should talce these ap,gumt-mts into consideration artd assist in every possible way in promoting this measure of simple justice to the memory of the pioneer. In support of their claim to
recognition, and in behalf of
~hose
intrepid spirits, remembered or for-
gotten individually, who laid the foundations of our gr·ea tness, this
plea is made to the open-mlndedness of the American people.
/
r~
HUMAN NA'rtJ:RE AND UNIV:U:HSAL PJi;ACE
A subject which is a source of discouragement
in permanent peace is the effect of the ·war upon a doctrine to \nrhich
they have come to attach much iMportance. They seem to feel that human
natu:r·e i tsel.f must improve in order to find a ground on which to base
thelilr argument that war must eventually disappear; and they have
ded a great deal of effort in trying to
est~lish
[.
ex~n-
this doctrine on the
basis of historic data. Finding themselves at this latest moment of time
plunged in the mightiest war of all history, they naturall~ feel rather
sha.ky about their doctrine. But a little reflection will shbw that what
the war has upset is' not anything :r.·eally vi tal, but only certain u.ntenable features of the doctrine itself.
Ultra-Pacifists hold that human nature changes--for the better,of
course--and that the process will eventually make war imposstble. Ultramilit1-:trists hold that human nature does not chang-e, a.nd that this fact
mal<:es war inevitable. The truth is that each is half right anlfi half wron1.
The Pacifist is' wron:g in his premise but right in his conclusion. The
Tnili tarist is right in his
c:
premis'e
but wrong in his conclusion. It is
a question of definition, a,nd the confusion comes from mistaking\the
changing effect of environment upon education for a change in human natjlt'ure. Let us enlarge a little upon this.
Attempt to conceive of such a thing as a\change in the faculties
of the mind which collectively make up our human nature and 5Lti't-: ;;-;{;).:;:):
we-
:find it utterly impossible. 'J'he purely intellectual faculties, like
the mathematical, for instance. and the ethical or spiritual fac*lties
like kindness or j ea)d'lousy, are not things capable of change. '£he workings of the heart which e;ive perennial interest to the story of Joseph
and his brethren are the experiences of every day life. It is utterly
impossible to conceive of these things e_s ever having been d.ifferent
from what they nov; are. Apparently what the Pacifist has in mind is not
this, but a growing predominance of the virtues over the vices, so that
I
THE "LINCOLN HIGHWAY".
A Miscarriage in Geographical Nomenclature.
for the
It is now upward of twenty years since
construction of a
~ e s'
~
trans-continental highwa • The idea originat-
ed with survivors of the early pioneer days and with students of the :
formative period·.· Of our country's history, particularly in theW'st,
and was an expression of their desire that the progressive subjugatian
of our country to a condition of civilizationf e honored by posterity
with some fitting memorial.No other form of memorial seemed in any way
so appropriate as a nati.onal highway along the general route of this
I
early movement , ~e 1i fer~ed 1~=-way from coast to c~a~ But the plan
~
nev~
'
made any progress beyond the stage of dtscussiQn, for the reason,
aA-
probably, that those who had the matter
most~
equipped financially and in
experience
practical~
~
heart were too poor
~
C\. tw
e~s,P~~
AA-
... ee-
efficient promoters of so immense an undertaking. The project
thus drifted along until quite recently the phenomenal growth of automobile traffic has led to an active propaganda by a body of men who possess. . the qualifications in which the original promoters were defico..
~4
ient •. An oretnization has been formed, composed Main%-:r of men engaged
in the automobile and allied buisnesses; a route has been selected from
New York to San Francisco; the name "Lincoln Highway" has been adopted
~
7
and a vigorous campaign for raisig funds and enlisting cooperation has
~
been begun ,
With the project itself
t~, .. ~~"' ~
$~:P
a tx ane=con tineAtM. "-the writer
of this article is in complete sympathy; but he wishes to register a pDo •
test against what seems to him a grave historic injustice in the sel~
ection of a name; and incidentally to criticise the 4§eiee made of cert
tain portions of the route. His pro est, it scarcely needs be said, sprin~ ~
•
from no lack of veneration for the
~
name which the Highway Asso-
ciation has chosen. On the contrary, it is based upon those consider-
ations~of justice~hich were the noplest char~teristic of him who gave
'Vl\..&..IAf.t.wL ~...k..vw ~ ~ ~ ~..
•
vt
nam~~
that
·
~.Lincoln
himself, we feel very sure, would ha.,
"'
t~s
disapproved the course now being taken, and would have insisted that
great national highway be given a name commemorative of those who __.wt..
Q..i
rcumeta:r.:1gee ef hal dshi::p ef wl;lic:b.
4e~~tn•
'IT~
teaa;y can form no adequate eon-
pioneered this route across the continent long before he himt~t.,i·
self came actively upon the stage of national affairs. In suppo rt of
,.
ci&~-11M.
~
for recognition, and in behalf of those intrepid spirits, remembered
'
or forgotten individually,wh& laid the foundations of our greatness,
.
this plea is made to the fair-mindedness of the American people.
Unique in human history
as the ceaseless, steady flow of
"'
colonization from the Atlantic to the Pfific during the century
~,.. r,, y,d-
pP&eee~
'
1ng the close of the American Civil War. It was throughout a spontaneous,
individual movement by a liberty-loving peopleJ ;;-w~e not organized by
military force nor impelled
-
-
~
1
by ~hirst
for armed conquest. It was a pro-
cess of pathfinding and up?uilding all the way, distinguished by herole toil, by battle
withal by an
wit~
~avage
5 f'L L l"i't"
indomitable~and
foes and with unfriendly Nature, yet
a steadfastness of purpose that do high
honor to human nature. And all the way it was co n tinu~ sacrafice from
cv
~
total
ren~nc !ation_of
the comforts of
ci~ilized
life to
rt:.r 7 su..-
t~e
yie}•
~
~ ~ ~- t~O'ci:-
t:C.ir-
and
.ook upon th
glory
~~~~~ ~
~~r-&.·· ·1 if~~ ~
r~ ;;L~~ t-:C.~~
occ:~.
,
I
....
They redeemed the country from its
di~ . more---they
~rimeval
state 7 but hhey
shaped its political destiny. Whatever Bishop BerkeJy
had in mind when he said "Westward the cour.se of empire takes ita way",
t1::;::_
~~ ~~~~~~~c~.
jl;_ ~ · ~ ~.,(~4 ~
,
'
~~ c~"-7 ~ ~ ~1/~
.
L. ~~~ t! J:._
pj~,t-C- (J~ ~-- _{_ /I:_ f ~ - &90 t>Cc.._
~.;:.;;-l ~~c-.~~
J
nant pul
votion
<
of Oregc
the Morn
quest
oj
the Uni<
'ltO
une
- - - - --
-
-
I
di~ .
They redeemed the count r y from its primeval state 7 but hhey
more---they shaped its political destiny. Whatever Bishop BerkeJy
u-v
G4% .. <.
~~ "'"~~
J
pj~,t£-f~
J4et.~~ tA
2%Xz;;{
*t::
Htf7-
7)
~
.
~ ~Jd::::_jv-~
1
c....
rJ!:,__ 6~ ~ Cl:vlv /W<.--L. tZ:::. ~
c.....
5
~
1/-<'-4.. J
J;: £~(
~i,
:
~~7~
'
~
c:..{[ft!E-JL:t-;:~
~-
'
~nd
Amel
Tne maeterrul expedition of
nant purpose but sad fate
~ewis
and
ij~ark;
I
the preg-
of the Astorian enterprise; the trials and de. -t/.1..'-
votion of th e miss ionariee, culminating in the Whitman tragedy; "savinWof Oregon in the days of "Fifty-four Forty or Fight"; the migration of
the Mormons and the beginning of the reclamation of the desert; the conquest of northern Mexico and California
and their incorporation into
the Union; and that marvelous
which h a s enshrined the name
.:t~~d~
~ ~~"-~~~.~~
~1;1~4;;~~~~;·~
_L,...,..o
~
J
-v
~ .,_;z;::.;.. (
ct.
1 1-C
~+f-.
It was inevitable, of course, that this vast movement should
develop well defined routes of travel.
There were many of these high-
way&-trails, traces or paths they were first called-but there were
certain trunk routes to which others were subsidiary 1or of secondary
importance. East of the Mississippi there was less concentration,but
even there the great central route predominated until in lat er times
7
the Erie Canal drew traffic largely in its direction. From Baltimore,
Philadelphia and the east, this route crossed the Alleghenies to the
headwaters of the Ohio.
From there on the river absorbed much of the
travel but still there was enough overland to develop a great highway
7
westward across Ohio via Zanesville and Columbus, and thence somewhat
southwesterly through Indiana and Illinois to the Mtssissippi at St.
Louis. From the Mississippi westward the earlier routes were clearly
defined.
Travel ascended the valley of the Mis s ouri as far as its
course lay to the west, and for the most part went by boat.
From the
point where Kansas City now s t ands and where the river valley turns
abruptly to the north, began the most famous of all these roads,
the Oregon Trail, leading to the mouth of the Columbia; and second
only in impor t ance to it, the Santa Fe Trail to the no r thern
province
Mexico.
In later years the California trail bore
1-.~
Oregon ,._at a p int some distance north of Great Salt
off from
Lake and crossed the
des~ts aftd
the Sierra
~to
the valley of
the Sacremento.
These original highways are now nearly everywhere lost or
obscured by the settlement of the country except in certain localities
-
'f-
~ ~ ~
a,4 ..
~ t:t..-tA-- / ~ ~ ~ -
.
.
~-.......:::..... a::::._ ~ Z) ~
I .
u~c.J.
of the Far West.
SOme fifteen years ago the writer examined portions
of the old
Trail in wyoming, and the impression produced by the
~egon
sight of this wonderful relic of an epoch now
fixed in his memory.
~
t;
pas~rremained
HW is tempted to reproduce here some notes of
these impressions, for what happened on the Oregon
~nd
indelibly
T~ail
was typical,
its record : ~s~with some variations, the record of all. #
e e
I
I
I
e
I •
e e e a
I
I
I
e
I
I
e e e
I
I
I
I
I
e
I
I
e e
I I
I
I I
#American Fur Trade of the Far West, pp 460-3
.............cce:
0~
·,.:·;
~"JJ"
....
0
••
wonderful highway ,...was
in the broadest sense a national
'
road, although not surveyed or built under the auspices of the govern·~is
ment.
It was the route of a national
ple seeking to avail itself
movement~he
migration of a peo-
opportunities which have come but rarely
-+ ++in the history of the world and which will never come again. It wa
o~
$
• mile of which ha- been the scene
route every
'
J
yetrof
high
purpose and s /ern determination.
Siberia / can so long a
Only on the
ghway be found over
by a continuous jou
ey from one end to the other.
there
settlemen~s
re
ceca~
nal
~6 the traveller saw n
~ur trading posts, be een
Trail/ in
except
route, b -t on
o~-~lized
Independen~~n~ ~rt
evidence
,.u--
.....(,, As a highway of travel
able known in history.
UI1.L
~
vt
is ~ the
most remark-
Considering the fact that it originated with
the spontaneous use of travelers;
on it;
~
that no transit ever located a foot
that no level established its grades;
that no engineer sought
out the fords or built any bridges or surveyed the mountain passes;
that there was no &-..rading to speak of nor any attempt at metalling the
_,_
and t he general good quality of this two thousand miles of
ro~f-bed;
hi~ay will seem most extroadinary.
Father ~tmet , who was born
in Belgium, the home of good roads, pronounced the Oregon Trail one
of the
~
finest~in
undoubtedly
~
~
~rue.
the world.
At the proper season of the year thie was
Before the prairies became too dry, the natural
formed t he best roadway for horees to travel on that has probably
ever been known.
It was amply hard to sustain traffic, yet soft
enough to be eaeier to the feet than even the most perfect asphalt
pavement.
OVer such roads, winding
c)
ribbo~-like
through the verdant
prairies, amid the profusion of spring flowers, with grass eo plentiful
that the animals reveled in its abundance, and game everywhere greeted
the
)
hunter~~
rifle, and finally, with pure water in the streams, the
traveler sped his way with
·- -~M-
~,eliftg
ef joy and exhileration.
BUt~
when the prairies became dry and parched, the road filled with
stifling dust, the stream-beds mere dry ravines, or carrying only
alkaline water which could not be used, the game all gone to more
hospitable sections,
and the summer sun pouring down its heat with
torrid intensity?
wss then
k~
~
the !rail became a highway of
desolation, strewn with abandoned property, the skeletons of horses,
mules and oxen, and alas! ' too often, with
~esftiy-mad~
mounds and
head-boards that told the pitiful tale of sufferings too great to be
endured,
If the Trail was the scene of romance, adventure, pleasure,
and excitement, so it was marked in every mile of its course by human
misery, tragedy, and death.
Over much of its length the !rail is now abandoned, but
in many places it is not yet effaced from the soil, and may not be
for centuries.
There are few more impressive sighte than portions
-e-
of this old highway today.
deserted by the traveler,
It still lies there upon the prairie,
an everlasting memorial of the human tide
which once filled it to overflowing, . Nature herself has helped to perpetuate this memorial, for the prairie winds, year by year, carve the
furrow more deeply, and the wild sunflower blossoms along its course,
as if in silent memory of those who sank beneath its burdens.
'' But if the Trail as a continuous highway of travel, has
ceased to exist, the time will come, we may confidently believe, when
it will be reoccupied, never to be abandoned again.
It is so occupied
at the present time over a large portion of its length.
practically follow the old line from Independence to
fifty miles east of Independence Rbck;
Railroads
Caspar,~o.,some
and from Bear river on the
Utah-Wyoming line to the mouth of the Columbia. .
The time is not
distant when the intermediate space will be occupied, and possibly a
continuous and unbroken movement of trains over the entire line may
sometime; follow.
In a future still more remote there may be realized
a project which is even now being agitated, of building a magnificent
national road along this line as a memorial highway which shall serve
the future and commemorate the past. •:•
~
cannot adequately es timate the debt of posterity to the
pioneer and builder of these trails who sacrificed everything which we
now deem necessities in laying the foundation of the ease and luxury
which later generations should
enjoy~
It was
C~rlyle
who said of
them that the "'peaceful sower will follow, and, as he reaps th
less harvests,
bless~
He should »Qt
&~bless
,
~~
but ~likewise
boundhonor.
All that posterity can do for those who have gone before and the
fruitage of whose labor it enjoys is to keep their memory green in the
-7-
•
pages P.f literature and in memorials
deeds.
That is why it is a
h~
e~ected
u:;;_,_
duty to name for
way to be built across the country •.
wished.
to perpetuate their
~
1e
•
t~great
•bat bineolnJ wauld
He had nothing to do himself with the finding o
hig&•
lH~ve
~atha
to
-
-
general route-the central-that satisfies the essential conditione.
A location to the north or eouth would not answer, and with a proj,ect
~.t.Ad.vc
so stupendous, not more than one ~!be built along the central route.
As to the precise
~~
name which this memorial should
take, the writer will offer no suggestion, , except that it ehould be
commemorative of the great movement of colonization and settlement •.
If the point should be reached where the adoption of a name were in
order, and the matter should have official sanction of any sort, the
proper course would be to invite the public to submit suggestions.
ettb;;'~:t--t:e-tl+!r.t"!rfl'M~~W:.~il-e--e-eftft64~il.t~o•4:i:e&..aA.._II, .
The word "trai 1" .. appeals
strongly to the writer, for it means so much in eo many ways that it
~
ought to he
.... ;J:....c.c-
p~ petu~~e~
in the name of the highway.
Perhaps that word
alone would be sufficient, giving to the different sections of the
-8-
route the early local names, as the Scioto-Beaver Trail, the Oregon
Trail, the California Trail, and the like.
The propriety of some such
name, and the justice of its adoption, would undoubtedly
.
a~peal
~.
~~~uv-­
etrongly to the public if the public were generally informed.
~
Among
the newer communities of the West, not yet far removed from the work
of the pioneer, there should be an overwhelming sentiment in its favor.
In the choice of route,as in that of name, the purpose of the
Lincoln I:1·ighway Nasociation seems not to have been one of historical
concern at all, but rather of expediency.
the most direct
~he
li~;_pa~!ng
line
~hfcago
( ...
They have
~~
adlpted
through as many large cities as possible •.
and
O~aha
instead of that through St.
Louis and Kansas City, and the line of the Union Pacific railway
~ 111 LX- ~ ~ '-1.. ~ "-6
through Wyoming ,instead oi •~e liMe of th~North Platte, the Sweet-"F.ater and South
Pa:;;'- ~~(~he
second, it maor be urged that
a greater population along the sourthern route and
would serve a
~arger
· section of the
out the
~ public.
question of historic fitness, the
hold good for long.
have the greater
The
no~n
popula~on,
not itself
Oregon Trail-will
ultimate~
while in every other respect it is even
now more desirable aS""'S public highway.
To many, the mere suggestion that the name "Lincoln"'' is
not a fitting name for this, or for any, public purpose will seem
almost lite sacrilege and the writer fully realizes the risk he runs
of doing violence to the feeling of veneration which our people enter•
tain for that great name.
Bu t he h as t r 1e d t o
make it appe•r that,
in a higher and broader sense than mere personal honor, he is suggesting what ~ncoln himself would have wished.
There is ,moreover, a far
more fitting application of the name ·~ncoln · Highway" than the one
-9-
propoeed by the Lincoln Highway
-
A~sociation.
That is a highway from
Washington to Gettysburg-a project long talked of and at one time
strongly favored in Congress.
-
was the scene of Lincoln's.
~ashington
greatest work-his trials, his triumphs and his martyrdom. Gettysburg
was the scene of the greatest battle(and the turning point as
well~
of that war which accomplished the purposes dear to Lincoln's heart.
It was from Washington to Gettysburg that Lincoln traveled to pronounce
tt:::-
those words wh;ae
~
fam~~ are
as enduring as that of the battle itself.
Could anything be more appropriate than a
@•Ia~
national highway
between these points, named after Lincoln, and developed in a way which
would make it a monument
length of the
-
route~about
.
~
commemorati~
-
q
of his great career.
The
one hundred milesAwould not be eo great as
to preclude a really splendid work.
The possibilities of its adapt-
ibility as a memorial are illimitable.
It is true that this plan ,
once strongly urged upon Congress, was rejected in favor of a Greek
Temple Memorial on the banks of the Potomac in Washington; but that
does not mean that it may not yet be revived and carried to success •.
.Jto-
...
proposed by the Lincoln H.ghway Association
)
Since the foregoing was prepared, the writer has read a
sp eech delivered in the House of Representatives by the Hon.
William P. Borland, Member from Missouri, dealing with this particular subject.
Mr. Borland discusses in much detail a nd with
great force the various of the project, and sets forth the fact,
of which the ~riter was not before aware, that the Daughters of
the American Revolution have planted themselves solidly behind
this movement.
This is very important, and it is g reatly to be
hoped that their efforts may at~ract such wide at tention as will
command the substantial support of Congress .
No worthier memo-
rial project was ever presented to the American people.