4 to 2 by 12 inches, in lengths of 8 to 40 feet. This is second-growth fir, hemlock, and cedar and is heavier in weight than old growth which has been dry-kilned; therefore it must seek a water rate which is based on FBM rather than rail rates which are based on actual weight. The Longview Fibre Co. was established in 1927 as an integrated pulp and paper mill manufacturing wrapping paper, paper bags, paper towels, and container board. One of the primary reasons for the establishment of this plant was availability of oceangoing transportation. During the early years the majority of this plant's output was shipped via intercoastal water carrier to Springfield, Mass., via Boston, through the port of Longview. The Longview Fibre Co. states that: This plant now produces approximately 750 tons of paper products per day for a total of approximately 260,000 tons per year. However, in recent years our shipments via water carriers have declined. This company further states that: Our principal intercoastal tonnage now consists of wrapping paper in rolls, 18 inches or over in diameter, destined to the east coast of the United States for remanufacture into paper bags. In 1953 we shipped a total of 9,959 tons via intercoastal water carriers through the port of Longview. The increases in rail rates during the past decade have forced us to ship via the type of carrier giving us the lowest freight cost, and naturally that has been via intercoastal water carrier. If we did not have intercoastal water service, we would more than likely be forced to withdraw from this eastern United States market, since this product could not compete in that market under today's high rail freight costs. We are also very dependent upon ocean transportation of bunker fuel oil which, during 1953, amounted to 179,880 barrels or approximately 31,479 tons. This bunker fuel oil was transported from California origin in large tankers to us via the port of Longview. Timber alone is by no means the entire industrial picture on the Washington State side of the lower Columbia River area. A partial list of Washington State industries in this area is 6 pulp and paper product plants; 8 plywood, veneer, and hardboard plants; 2 aluminum plants (Reynolds Metals reduction plant at Longview and Alcoa extrusion plant at Vancouver); 13 chemical plants in addition to multimillion bushel grain elevators at the ports of Vancouver and Longview. The city of Vancouver, Wash., is the largest Washington city on the Columbia and the fourth largest city in the State. It is located 90 miles upstream from the mouth of the Columbia. Vancouver, and the port of Vancouver, are located at the natural head of the deep ocean-going navigation of this second important river in the United States. In this Vancouver area are also world-known industries such as Aluminum Company of America, Carborundum Co., Crown Zellerbach Co., and the largest grain elevators west of the Mississippi River. The port of Vancouver is also a municipal corporation of the State of Washington and embraces a district of 105 square miles. This port is also served by four transcontinental railroads. Mr. K. M. Engebretsen, manager of the port of Vancouver, in his petition for the approval of the project under consideration, has stated: The port of Vancouver is a substantial part of the comprehensive plan entered into by the Federal Government, the port's total cost in connection with local channel improvements being approximately one-half million dollars, while that spent by the Federal Government being in excess of $12 million. Mr. Engebretsen further contends: The Federal Government has added to their comprehensive plan in the interest of navigation and power multipurpose dams which undoubtedly will have a profound bearing upon the development of Pacific Northwest industry, particularly those dependent upon hydroelectric power and water transportation. Locally, it has had the effect of bringing to our particular district the largest aluminum plant in the world, the largest grain elevator west of the Mississippi, the Carborundum Co.'s only tidewater plant, 4 paper conversion plants and 1 of the largest paper plants in the Northwest, 2 chemical companies, and numerous smaller industries. Further, due to Columbia navigation and power, 14 industrial concerns, employing 4,000 people and producing a $10 million annual pay. roll on port property valued at $25 million, are now active. The Pacific Northwest is known as the fastest growing area of the United States. Its increases in population, 1950 census over 1940 census, have been greater than any other State or States in the Union. The raw materials available in the area in the way of natural resources, such as timber, minerals, and the indestructible raw material of water, lend credence to the fact that its industrial activity today is only a token of its potential. Therefore, without existing industries, their payrolls, which are the lifeblood of the people involved, make it both logical and imperative that the correction of the channel at the mouth of the Columbia River be accomplished. Thank you very much. Mr. ANGELL. Thank you, Mr. Jensen. Are there any questions of Mr. Jensen by members of the committee? Mr. MACK. I saw your community of Longview when it was a cow pasture some 30 years ago, and now you have 23,000 people there. It is the same rate of growth that has occurred in the city of Vancouver. This inland development in Washington is certainly due to the expansion of the aluminum industry and the grain refineries, and things of that kind. Mr. JENSEN. In the aluminum industry, when you think of the potential of bauxite, and alumina, it is just tremendous. Mr. ANGELL. Thank you, Mr. Jensen. Without objection, your documents may be filed for the record. (The documents referred to are as follows:) Mr. JULIUS JENSEN, LONGVIEW FIBRE CO., Longview, Wash., March 1, 1954. Manager, Cowlitz County Industrial Bureau, Longview, Wash. DEAR MR. JENSEN: We are very much in favor of the report made by United States engineers on October 1, 1952, recommending the establishment of a 48foot channel, one-half mile wide, at the mouth of the Columbia River. This letter will set forth our interest in this project and also authorize you to present these facts to the Public Works Committee of the House of Representatives at the March 4, 1954, hearing to be held in Washington, D. C. The Longview Fibre Co., located on the Columbia River at Longview, Wash., was established in 1927 as an integrated pulp and paper mill, manufacturing wrapping paper, paper bags, paper towels, and container board. One of the primary reasons for the establishment of this plant at Longview, Wash., was the availability of ocean transportation. During the early years of operation, the majority of the plant output was shipped via intercoastal water carrier through the port of Longview to Springfield, Mass., via Boston. This plant now produces approximately 750 tons of paper products per day for a total of approximately 260,000 tons per year; however, in recent years our shipments via water carriers have declined. Our principal intercoastal tonnage now consists of wrapping paper in rolls, 18 inches or over in diameter, destined to the east coast of the United States for remanufacture into paper bags. In 1953 we shipped a total of 9,959 tons via intercoastal water carriers through the port of Longview. The increases in rail rates during the past decade have forced us to ship via the type of carrier giving us the lowest freight cost, and naturally that has been via intercoastal water carrier. If we did not have intercoastal water service, we would more than likely be forced to withdraw from this eastern United States market, since this product could not compete in that market under today's high rail freight costs. We are also very dependent upon ocean transportation of bunker fuel oil which, during 1953, amounted to 179,880 barrels or approximately 31,479 tons. This bunker fuel oil was transported from California origin in large tankers to us via the port of Longview. The continued growth of our operation here at Longview, Wash., and the growth of our corrugated shipping container plants, located at Oakland and Los Angeles in California, could develop substantial tonnage that may move via coastal water carriers at some future time. Yours very truly DEAR SIR: This letter will serve as your authority to represent the Port of Longview before the Public Works Committee of the United State House of Representatives at Washington, D. C., on March 4, 1954, at a hearing concerning the proposed improvement of the ship channel at the mouth of the Columbia River to a depth of 48 feet and a minimum width of one-half mile. The Port of Longview is a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of Washington. The Port District comprises the northern two-thirds of Cowlitz County, Wash., in which is located the cities of Longview, Kelso, and Castle Rock, Wash. The port owns and operates marine terminal facilities located at Longview, Wash., in which is invested public moneys to the total of approximately $5 million. DEAR MR. JENSEN: This is your authority to represent the Longview Chamber of Commerce at the March 4 public hearing before the Public Works Committee of the House of Representatives at Washington, D. C., for the purpose of approval of the recommendations for the improvement of the Columbia River at its mouth. This organization has gone on record supporting the United States Army engineers report of October 1, 1952, on Columbia River mouth as shown on House Document No. 249 of the 83d Congress, 2d session. Prior to the time of the report, we have repeatedly urged these navigational improvements. We would like to call to your attention that Longview, a planned city, was brought into being by the Long-Bell Lumber Co., and it became a legal entity, officially, in February 1924, 6 years after the original 40-foot channel at the mouth of the Columbia River was completed. Since that time approximately $112,590,210 of industrial plants have been established, furnishing a payroll of $41,332,101.47 annually to 8,985 employees. One of the basic reasons for the founding of this industrial community was the potential deepwater transportation facilities. This same logic was accepted by other large firms which came here shortly after, such as Weyerhaeuser Timber Co., Reynolds Metals Co., Longview Fibre Co., and many smaller ones in the pulp, paper, and lumber trades. These companies are at a disadvantage because modern day deepwater vessels require a deeper draft. Therefore to guarantee the continuance and maintain the potential of the industrial growth in this lower Columbia River area, we must establish an improved mouth and a channel in this major waterway here in the Pacific Northwest. Those members of the Public Works Committee who visited Longview in 1953 are well aware of the volume of tonnage and the dependence of present and future industry on the imports, exports, coastal and intercoastal shipments to and from this area, made possible only by the Columbia River. We urge this important Public Works Committee to effect this physical improvement at the mouth of the Columbia River for the sake of the peoples of this area in peacetime and in times of defense. DEAR MR. JENSEN: This letter is your authorization to represent the Weyerhaeuser Timber Co., Longview branch, at the hearing to be held on March 4, 1954, in Washington, D. C., by the Public Works Committee of the House of Representatives concerning the deepening of the Columbia River. It is our opinion that all industrial concerns depending in any measure on water transportation to move their products or receiving raw materials by water should support the recommendations made by the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors in seeking authorization from the Congress of the United States for appropriations to establish a 48-foot channel, one-half mile wide, at the mouth of the Columbia River. It might be well for you to have a few facts pertinent to this plant's operation in connection with waterborne traffic. Some 72 million feet of lumber is moved by water from our Longview plant each year and approximately 5 million feet of plywood products and 2,500 tons of pulp are moved by deep-draft vessels. We bring in over our dock 360,000 barrels of bunker oil each year. The major part of our waterborne shipments go to the Atlantic coast, export, and the territory of Alaska with a small portion going to California. As far as we know, there has been no change made in the depth or width of the channel of the Columbia River mouth since 1918 at which time a 40-foot depth and one-half mile width channel was completed. Since that time, we have had deeper draft vessels and more traffic in and out of the river. Since the war, the Columbia River bar has been given some discredit due to wrecks, time loss, and loss of life during unfavorable weather in this piece of water. For this reason, we believe every effort should be made to see that the recommendations of the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors meet with favorable action by the Congress of the United States. Very truly yours, Mr. JULIUS R. JENSEN, H. E. MORGAN, Manager. THE LONG-BELL LUMBER Co., Longview, Wash., February 25, 1954. Manager, Cowlitz Industrial Bureau, Longview, Wash. DEAR MR. JENSEN: I understand that the matter of a 48-foot channel, one-half mile wide, at the mouth of the Columbia River is now up for consideration before governmental authorities in Washington. I understand this particular channel was recommended by the United States engineers in a report which they rendered 39263-54-vol. 1-41 October 1, 1952, and that this recommendation has been renewed for active and favorable consideration on the part of the present session of Congress. The extensive operations of our company here at Longview need no elaboration in this letter, nor do those of other lumber companies on the Columbia River and the various tributaries thereof. Not only lumber but various other industries depend in a measure upon water transportation as well as rail transportation. Consequently the mighty Columbia, in my opinion, needs a deeper channel so as to make possible the movement of heavy draft ships to various waterfront ports in the Columbia Basin. Not only does this seem necessary from the standpoint of present status of industry in the Columbia Basin, but with the development of additional hydroelectric power industries of various kinds will grow and must have adequate water transportation. Our company's operations here at Longview are such that we anticipate in the future getting into the importation of hardwood lumber and logs of various species for their further refinement in our plant and from here distributed to the markets throughout the country. The handling of such a product is of necessity one of economic cargo carriers and not of the light draft schooner type. We are not now prepared to give an elaborate report on matters relating to the advantages of a deep channel and we can only say that it will benefit and will help in the growth of the Columbia Basin and all its tributaries and the development of this deep channel should be supported, and has our support, as a sound project worthy of proper and due consideration on the part of authorities in Washington governing such matters. DEAR MR. JENSEN: It is our understanding that you are planning to attend a hearing in Washington, D. C., on March 4, concerning the deepening of the Columbia River at its mouth. As we have discussed with you in the past, we are very much interested in the development of the Columbia River. As you know, we are dependent 100 percent on barge delivery of sand and gravel to keep our plant in operation, which material comes from the Willamette River down the Columbia. I might mention that our average yearly consumption represents approximately 200 barges. This material is used to furnish the Longview-Kelso area with all concrete products such as sewers, culverts, concrete septic tanks, and also readymix concrete used in this district. Therefore, we will appreciate your expressing to the Public Works Committee of the House of Representatives our views regarding the deepening of the Columbia River. Very truly yours, Mr. JULIUS R. JENSEN, Manager, Cowlitz Industrial Bureau, GEORGE F. RUTH, COWLITZ COUNTY ASSESSOR, Longview, Wash. DEAR MR. JENSEN: The following will give you a record of the full valuations (100 percent) for the following companies, Weyerhaeuser Timber Co., Long-Bell Lumber Co., Longview Fibre Co., Reynolds Metals Co., Pacific Strawboard and Paper Co., Lynch Lumber Co., M. & M. Plywood Co., Standard Paper Box Co., Columbia River Veneer Co., Standard Oil Co., and Owens Illinois Glass Co. The full 100-percent valuation for the above is $112,590,210. This value does not include the timber holding of the large companies. Yours very truly, WALTER W. TRANTOW, Assessor, Cowlitz County Courthouse. P. S.-The above values are all in Cowlitz County along the Columbia River. |