The River Was Losing to the Railroad, and the Engineers Knew It
A federal board in Washington, D.C. has turned thumbs down on improving the Pend Oreille for navigation — and Newport has three weeks to argue otherwise.
Clint Mineck is in receipt of a communication from Major C. W. Kutz of the United States Engineer's office at Seattle, stating that the engineers who made an investigation of the river with a view to certain improvements for the benefit of navigation have made their report to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors at Washington, D.C., and that the report has not received favorable consideration by that body.
Major Kutz also informs The Miner that before final action is taken in the matter, all interested parties will have the privilege of presenting to the board data and arguments bearing upon the desirability of the improvement. Parties desiring to do so may be heard by the board either orally or in writing. Written communications should be addressed to the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, Rooms 507-510 Colorado Building, Washington, D.C., and should be mailed in time to be in possession of the board within three weeks from May 29.
The engineers who visited the river and made a trip as far as Ione about six weeks ago doubtless reported the fact that the new railroad will parallel the river, which would have an adverse influence on further river improvement. However, the mining and other interests on the east side of the river above the Salmo and on the west side at Metaline will be greatly benefited by further river improvements, and their aid is expected. The usefulness of the river to commerce from Newport to the points down the river will be materially lessened by the building of the railroad, but it has great possibilities in the future. The Pend Oreille is rising but not very fast. It stands today at 11.6 feet above low water and has raised about two-tenths in the last twenty-four hours. Last year the water reached 22.3 feet.
“The usefulness of the river to commerce from Newport to the points down the river will be materially lessened by the building of the railroad, but it has great possibilities in the future.”
In 1909 Newport watched a federal agency weigh a working river against a coming railroad — and quietly side with the railroad. That same calculation, whether a waterway earns its keep once the tracks arrive, is still the arithmetic behind every levee, dam and port budget on the Pend Oreille today. The three-week comment window was the whole of the public's say.
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