2 86 A History of the Pacific Northwest
Statistics of commerce. Government statistics for the years 19 14 and 191 5 show the following totals: From Oregon ports were exported, in 19 14, products nearly all domestic, amounting to $13,806,260 and from Washington $6v,374,909. The next year Oregon's exports were $20,405,601 and Washington's were $67,887,784. Oregon's imports in 1914 were valued at $3,890,000 and in 19 15 at $4,716,390, while Washington's imports were $55,391,565 and $68,466,567 in the respective years. By way of comparison it may be pointed out that in the year 19 14 California exported goods valued at $65,000,000, which sum was increased the next year to $84,000,000. She imported in 19 14 to the extent of $72,000,000 and in 191 5 to the extent of $71,000,000.
The Alaska trade. The trade of Alaska is a matter of very great interest to the entire Pacific Northwest, and it engenders keen rivalry among the Northwestern ports. Thus far the Puget Sound ports, especially Seattle, have profited most from the Alaska trade. By reason of the protected channel from Puget Sound to the southern Alaska ports, it would seem that this trade can be prosecuted more economically from the northern ports than from Oregon, except as to those articles which are produced in the region geographically tributary to the Oregon ports or those carried coastward from the far interior by the routes reaching most easily one of the southern ports.
The beginnings of the Alaska trade are graphically described by Mr. Henry Villard in his "Memoirs." In
April, 1876, Villard sailed from San Francisco to Portland. "On reaching the mouth of the Columbia river," he says, "we saw a little screw steamer of 300 tons register dancing up and down on the agitated sea. It proved to be the Gussie Telfair ... on her way from Alaska to Portland, but detained outside by the rough sea on the bar. She brought down from the recently acquired American possession three passengers, a score of tons of miscellaneous freight, and a letter bag with less than thirty letters. . . . The trifling load described was about equal to the average one for a trip one way and the business of the year aggregated only a few hundred passengers and not exceeding 700 tons of other than government freight. That represented practically the total of the i\laska trade of those days, and it grew very slowly." Villard was writing in
