The Northern Pacific Railroad's Gibberish
The Portland Board of Trade is left baffled by a nonsensical and dismissive letter from Northern Pacific President Robert Harris regarding regional transit.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The public utterances of Robert Harris, since his accession to the presidency of the Northern Pacific Railroad Co., have been noted all along the line for their ridiculousness and meaningless absurdities. The latest illustration was afforded the Portland Board of Trade, which was utterly dumbfounded upon receiving his reply to their request for the opening of the road from Portland to Seattle. Harris wrote that they did not expect to have the boat ready until early fall and then spoke of either opening the road or carrying cars by boat from Kalama, ending with an incomprehensible sentence. Mr. Harris had better hire a clerk to write his letters and dispatches.
“The public utterances of Robert Harris have been noted for their ridiculousness and meaningless absurdities.”
Corporate obfuscation from rail monopolies in 1884 mirrors modern frustration with regional transit delays and opaque communication from bureaucratic entities. The public demand for accountability in transport infrastructure remains as relevant today as it was during the territory's expansion.
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