OREGON. 



711 



000 tons of coal to San Francisco, while tho 

 lumber exports from Ooos Bay alone are 24,- 

 000,000 feet annually. The total number of 

 feet of lumber produced in the year 1875, ac- 

 cording to the State census returns, was 98,- 

 285,684 foot. There are owned at Portland 

 five ocean-steamers, of the value of $700,000 ; 

 nine sailing vessels, of the value of $210,000. 



Tho extent of railroads in the State is as yet 

 limited. The Oregon and California and the 

 Oregon Central in 1870 opened up and de- 

 veloped western Oregon, making what was 

 considered prior thereto a wilderness one of 

 the most favored valleys in the United States. 

 Since 1871 no new railroad has been con- 

 structed in the State, except the Dayton and 

 Grande Ronde narrow-gauge road, which has 

 opened up to Portland a fine farming country, 

 and which is now advancing to Dallas, in Polk 

 County, a distance of 36 miles. The intention 

 of the owners of the west side railroad is to 

 continue that road to Corvallis from St. Joseph 

 during 1879, a distance of 55 miles, while on 

 the east side of the Willamette Valley a new 

 road is projected on the narrow-gauge system, 

 to extend from Springfield in Lano County 

 along the foot-hills of the Cascades on to 

 Salem, a distance of 75 miles, opening up a 

 country which has suffered hitherto for want 

 of transportation facilities, and which railroad 

 will eventually be continued to Portland via 

 Oregon City and the west side. A ten-mile 

 railroad is also expected from Corvallis to 

 Philomath this year, which will become a 

 feeder to the Oregon Central (broad gauge) 

 Railroad when constructed to Corvallis. A 

 railroad (narrow gauge) is also projected from 

 Umatilla to Grande Ronde Valley, Union Coun- 

 ty, 120 miles, which is much needed to open 

 np one of the finest agricultural sections of the 

 State. Various other narrow-gauge railroads 

 are proposed. 



The financial progress has been steady, so 

 that the State and the city of Portland possess 

 all tho banking and money-loaning capital ne- 

 cessary to carry on business for some years to 

 come. Outside of the capital owned and em- 

 ployed by the various banks and financial insti- 

 tutions, there are large sums of money loaned 

 out by private capitalists seeking investment, 

 which have been and are being invested in va- 

 rious productive enterprises, while rates of in- 

 terest on loans and discounts are reduced to 

 10 per cent, per annum, and money can now 

 be obtained on good security whenever re- 

 quired. 



Prior to 1868 large shipments of gold and 

 silver were made from Oregon, the gold prod- 

 uct alone of the State between the years 1851 

 and 1866 amounting to $22,000,000. From 

 that year until 1874 the product fell off, and 

 has not since averaged $1,500,000 per year. 



Since 1868 the locks at Oregon City, the 

 State Capitol at Salem, the University of Ore- 

 gon at Eugene, the penitentiary at Salem, the 

 post-office at Portland, the county court-houses 



at Albany, Salem, and Portland, and various 

 lesser public buildings have been erected, at an 

 aggregate cost of $2,050,000 ; while the United 

 States have spent in the improvement of the 

 rivers and in the locks building at the Cascades 

 close on $1,000,000 in tho last ten years. 



In 1879 the spring crop of wheat from the 

 "Willamette Valley proved below the average. 

 At tho same time the fall wheat seeded in the 

 autumn of 1878 was double that of any pre- 

 ceding year, but the spring was backward and 

 the rains continued unusually late. The re- 

 ceipts were therefore estimated at 45,000 to 

 48,000 tons of wheat from eastern Oregon and 

 eastern Washington, and 85,000 to 90,000 tons 

 of winter or fall-sown wheat, and from 40,000 

 to 45,000 tons of spring-sown grain, from 

 western Oregon, aggregating about 180,000 

 tons. Deducting therefrom what is necessary 

 to sustain the population of 160,000 souls, and 

 seed for next year's crop, the probable surplus 

 of wheat for export would certainly not 

 exceed 140,000 tons a deficiency of 10 to 

 12 per cent, compared with last year. Oats 

 and barley yielded an average crop all over 

 the State; also potatoes. Fruits, especially 

 the plum, peach-plum, cherry, and smaller 

 fruits, suffered much, and fell far short of 

 previous years, while the apple and pear crops 

 are slightly deficient. The hay-crop shows an 

 increase of 50 per cent, over previous years, 

 while pastures never were in finer condition in 

 the fall ; and feed for cattle and sheep, both in 

 eastern and western Oregon, has been most 

 abundant and exceedingly above the average. 

 Flaxseed was a profitable and prolific crop; 

 and hops have advanced considerably in price, 

 and the quality was very good 



The exports of salmon for the year from 

 August 1, 1878, to August 1, 1879, aggregated 

 412,924 cases, yielding $1,863,069, of which 

 271,139 cases were exported via San Francisco, 

 and 141,785 cases to Great Britain direct from 

 the Columbia River, showing a decrease of 

 79,323 cases in direct shipments to Great Brit- 

 ain, and an increase of 99,812 cases in ship- 

 ments by way of San Francisco over the pre- 

 ceding year. The total exports for the year 

 ending July 30, 1879, amounted to $12,282,047; 

 for 1878, $14,644,973; for 1877, $11,571,855. 



The religious statistics of Oregon show the 

 following results: Baptists 6 associations, 

 77 churches, 3,454 members; Catholics 18 

 churches and numerous stations, 20,000 mem- 

 bers; Congregationalists 28 churches and 

 preaching stations, 996 members; Jews 1 

 synagogue; Methodist Episcopal 3 confer- 

 ences, 5,500 members; Presbyterians 2 pres- 

 byteries, 27 churches, 1,564 members; Protes- 

 tant Episcopal, 84 churches, 883 members; 

 Seventh-Day Adventists 7 churches ; Unita- 

 rians 2 churches ; Universalists 5 churches. 



The number of children in the public schools 

 in 1879 was 56,458; in 1878, 58,462. The 

 amount of money apportioned for 1879 was 

 $36,137. A portion of the press of the State 



