Kennewick Claims Its Crown as a River Gateway

There is perhaps not a more thorough Open River enthusiast in this city than Rev. C. R. Delepine. He has always been a firm believer in the advantages that are to accrue to river towns through the opening of the Columbia to continuous navigation, and his recent communication was prompted by the fear that Kennewick is not in a position to make the most of these advantages. While we appreciate the writer’s motive, we fear his article conveys the erroneous impression that Kennewick is asleep on the job. In fact, there is not another town on the river this side of Portland as well prepared to handle river traffic as Kennewick. It is true our 'baby' dock is a small affair in comparison with Astoria’s million-dollar municipal dock, but its capacity has not yet been overtaxed. In former years, we have handled 12 carloads of freight at one time without congestion. Kennewick is one of the few towns where the public has control of the waterfront, and we have a legally organized port district to direct necessary improvements. While we need direct rail connections, we are already saving shippers $16.00 per minimum carload compared to other routes. We are not sleeping; we are the biggest little town on the map.