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THE DALLES WEEKLY CHRONICLE, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1892.
The
OFFICIAL PAPER OF WASCO COUNTY.
Entered at the Postofflce at The Dalles, Oregon,
as second-class matter.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
BY Mill (P08TAGB PREPAID) IK ADVANCE.
Weekly, 1 year. . 1 50
" 6 months. 76
, s 0 50
- - Daily, 1 year. 52
. " 6 months ; 8 00
, " per " ' 0 "0
. Address all communication to " THE CHRON
ICLE," The Dalles, Oregon. .
A PLEA FOR AN EXTRA SESSION.
But they do more than this. They
warn the "ring,": the "bosses," .the
mutual admiration society" of The
Dalles, a set ot office holding barncalee
who have parceled out and held in pos
session every lucrative office in Wasco
county for the last score of years that
their doom has come and that the Hood
River club will "certainly make itself
felt" in demanding a thorough reforiua
tion. More power to the elbow of the
Hood River club ; It will have the eym
Dathv and coooeration of every inde
pendent voter in Wasco county. .
. The Salem Journal is still earnestly
urging' that Governor Pennoyer call a
special session of the legislature to make
an .appropriation for a portage at The
Dalles. It contends, and very justly as
".we think, that there is not the least
possible show for an appropriation from
the national government for the work.
Roilroad building is a new departure"
which congressional attachment to pre
cedent is not likely to adopt. Holman's
hostility to any new items of expendi-
. ture and a democratic congress anxious
to make a record for economy, stand in
s the way: The republican senate is
; committed to a canal and locks partly '
completed, fcenator Mitchell is cham
pioning a boat " railroad, scheme in the
senate and Biuger Hej man n a portage
railroad in' the house. r?e:iator Dolph is
-urging a liberal appropriation for the
lower river. Paul Mohr has got the ear
of members of the house committee and
'. the Union Pacific influence is at work
.'.everywhere all these conspiring cir
cumstances and conflicting combina
' tions reduce the chances of an appropri
ation to a m'oral impossibility. Mean
while difficulties have arisen in connec
tion with the vicious pilot service at the
mouth of the Columbia. The last leg
islature put the business in the hands
of the Union Pacific taking it from the
pilot trust of Astoria. The hope that
the corporate interests of the Union
Pacific, being identical with those of the
state, .would be sufficient to secure good
service, was delusive. Scores of vessels
during the fall and winter remained
. outside the bar for days and weeks for
lack of tugs to tow them in, and tens of
thousands of dollars were lost in conse
quence to the -people of the. state, apart
' from the immense damage done to the
commerce of the Columbia river. If
this state of affairs continue over
another season it will do so at a loss to
producers and shippers of a probable
half a million dollars. Again, an
appropriation is needed for the world's
fair if Oregon is not going to be the
. laughing stock of the whole nation. It
is perfectly evident that no adequate
amount can be raised by voluntary sub
scription by those who are liberal
enough to contribute, Nor should it be,
as the exhibit would be a benefit to
every inhabitant of the state, and the
state, should therefore bear the burden
of it- But apart from the wtfrld's fair
we have a conjunction of circumstances
'in the necessities of the Dalles portage
and the pilot service that make a de
mand for an extra session of the legisla
ture, with an occasion as great as per
haps ever occurred in any state in the
union. An expense of $20,000 to f 50,000
incurred in effecting these measures
would save to the producere of three
states au easy half million dollars.
Will Governor Pennoyer be equal to the
occasion?
AFTER THE RING'S SCALP.
Unless we greatly mistake-the mean
ing of words there is trouble ahead for
the chronic office seekers and perpetual
office holders of this county. The dem-
, -ocratic club of Hood River, a large and
respectable body of independent demo
crats, held a meeting on January 30, at
which a series of resolutions was drafted
and endorsed "expressive of their views
and wishes in connection with the pres
ent status of democratic affairs in The
Dalles, and the Immediate requirements
of our party-in Wasco, county." The
second of these resolutions reads thus:
"Resolved, That the powers that 'be,
to the best of our knowledge and belief,
are allied with mt-re office seekers." The
third resolution says: "This club from
its numerical strength and standing will
certainly make itself felt in the future
councils and conduct of the democratic
party in Wasco county." These resolu-
tions can have only one meaning. The
club is sick of ring rule and chronic of-
. flee seekers and office holders in the
democratic party of "The Dalles and
Wasco county." The resolutions ' are
strictly confined to the club's "views
and wishes" in connection with home
affairs. There is no thought of national
affairs in the reference to the "powers
that be", and no reference to national or
even state affairs in any of the resolu
tions In this respect the resolutions
are clear and . distinct .and no. other
grammatical construction can possibly
be put upon thein.v The club is after the
ring's scalp and they make no secret of
it: The Chboxicle therefore heartily
echoes the sentiments of our democratic
'contemporary the Wasco Sun when it
fays of the resolutions: "They' please
us immensely." The resolutions please
the Chronicle immensely. . They man
ifest a sturdy independence and manly
assertion of the rights of- American citi
zenship that, are highly commendable, j
The Chronicle is in no sense
cheeseparing sheet. It believes in at
taching; rood and 'sufficient salaries to
all p'ublic offices but it does not believe
in a foolish, wasteful and extravagant
use of the people's money. In the case
of legislative or gubernatorial honors,
where the office is never sought
for the wages attachedto it, the pittance
of $3 a day or $1500 a year may be justi
fiable, but offices that are not stepping
stones to power and influence or compli
men tar y tokens of respect, but whose7
only reward is the - salary attached,
Should be paid liberally in proportion to
the character and responsibility of the
work. The laws of Oregon as they re
late to the salaries of state and county
officers are just about as bad as bad can
be. Onlv a short time ago a. row oc
curred between the county clerk and
county assessor of Multnomah "when the
latter gave the facts and figures to prove
that in the year 1890 the county clerk
got two-thirds as much for simply making
a copy of the assessment roll as the au-
sessor was paid for doing the whole
work in making the originnal, a work
that required the labor of two or three
men for a whole year. It will surprise
many of the tax payers of Wasco count'
to learn that the condition of things in
this county differs very little from that
of Multnomah. The clerk of Wasco
county gets about half as much for mak
ing two copies each of the assessment
roll and military list as the assessor
gets for doing the whole work connected
with the originals. Be that as it may
the fee book for 1801 shows that the
county paid its clerk the sum of $203
each for making two copies of the as
sessment roll and $75 each for making
two copies of the military l'st or $556 in
all. Any competent penman could copy
the whole in less than three week's time
working eigth hours a day and thus
"earn" nearly $200 a week. The
Chronicle must not be misunderstood.
These are the fees, as we understand it,
that the law has prescribed for this
work. The clerk- simply charges what
the law alows him, no more nor no less.
The county court has no jurisdiction in
the matter. The fault is wholly in the
law that permits this outrageously ex
travagant compensation. But this is
not all. The entire fees and emolu
ments of the clerk and sheriff's offices
are on a par. It need not therefore sur
prise the taxpayers when they ara told
that during the year just past these two
.offices received from the county funds,
for their criminal and county business
alone, excluse of all fees- for record and
conveyance work, licences and costs of
civil proceedures, the sum of $9,504.26
and for the two years ending the first of
January last over $22,000. We have no
figures to show the amounts received
for the civil business of the offices but
an estimate made by those thoroughly
familiar with the income of these of
fices in past years places the clerk's
civil fees at nearly a half and the sheriffs
at about one-third of the income paid by
the county. If this estimate is correct,
and it must be nearly so, it has cost the
taxpayers of Wasco county, to run these
offices for the past two years not less
than the sum of $30,000, while for the
past, year, since Sherman county has
been cut off, the cost has been in the
neighborhood of $14,000. The Chroni
cle is attacking nobody. ..It has laid
these facts before the people, at the ex
press desire of taxpayers who insist that
this criminal extravagance with the law
that sanctions it must be abolished by
the next legislature. Ou the eve of an
election campaign it is just as well to
know what the people will demand from
candidates for the legislature. If candi
dates for the offices named consider
themselves aggrieved we remind them
that no one has a life lease on the job :
but whether or no, these incomes must
be cut down to reasonable figures. The
taxpayers will insist upon it and the
Uhronicle will light for it, and no can'
didate for the legislature will receive
the support of either unless he pledges
approval the following from the Cath
lamet Gazette: "Times will be doll and
money scarce until our people wake up
to the fact that the importation of eggs
from Nebraska and beef and butter from
Iowa drains our ready cash and leaves
us poorer after each shipment." But of
course we would get rich if we "drained
our ready cash" to pay for free lumber
from Canada and free wool from Aus
tralia and free manufactures from Eng
land and continental Europe. It's a
poor rule that wont fit both cases.
himself to work for it.
About two weeks ago a bill introduced
by Senator Mitchell passed the senate,
appropriating ' $100,000 for a public
building at The Dalles. It this bill ever
passes through the mill of the sub-committees
and fall committee. on public
buildings and grounds and is ground
down to the .fineness required by the
recently-adopted rule not to pass any
bill for any amount to exceed 3 per cent,
interest on the rent paid by the govern
ment for post offices and other offices in
the city where the building is to be
erected then The Dalles will have a pub
lic building that will be an-enduringj
monument of the frugal . virtues vof
Uncle Sam's five-cent congress. After
suitable grounds have been bought and
paid for there would not be enough left
to build a sod dugout. ' '
A free trade contemporaty copies with
If the Chronicle has seen, fit to lay
before the taxpayers of this county the
amount of fees that have been paid out
during the past ten years to offices whose
respectives incomes are not 'placed by
law at an annual'fixed sum, it has done
so at the express desire of a large num
ber of taxpayers and with no thought or
conception, so lee as tne writer Knows,
that anv one has been paid a cent that
be was not legally entitled to. The in
vestigation is in the interest of taxpay
ers only. They want the information
and they are entitled to it. If it be true
that a county office pays its incumbent
seven of eight thousand dollars, a years
where the service could find hundreds
of persons just as . competent as ever
filled it willing to qualify and uudertake
its duties for half that sum, the people
have a right to know it that steps may'
be taken to have the law fixing the fees
of such offices amended. The investiga
tion is in uo sense au attack on present
or past incumbents wno cannot- De
blamed for acce'pting every dollar they
are legally entitled to. Neither is it'in
any sense an effort to defeat the candi
dacy of the present incumbents, who,
it is generally understood, are seeking
renomination. The Curomcle is not
concerned about their renomination. It
is not in the business of nominating
candidates. It believes the fees of the
clerk and sheriff are too high, and in its
own interest and in the interest of those
who have to foot the bills it proposes to
lay the facts before the people and let
them be the judges. The only other
office whose income is not an annual
fixed sum is that of assessor and because '
the waiter once held that office he has
specially insisted that that shall be in
cluded in the investigation also. No
one supposes the per diem of the assessor
of four dollars a day is too much but the
people have a 'right to know what it
costs them to have the county assessed,
and they Bhall know that too. The time
to spring this investigation is before
nominations for the legislature are made
that candidates may know what the
people expect of them. If the Chroni
cle was seeking the defeat of a candi
date for a county office it has sufficient
political horse sense to know that this is
not the time to begin that work. It
would wait till after the nominations
were made.
A FIGHT NOt FOUGHT.
How Captain Schley Prepared the Bal
timore for Action.
... Washington, Feb. 6. The following
incident in connection with the Chilian
difficulty, has not before been made
public. After the attack on the sailors
of the, Baltimore, excitement ran high in
Valparaiso. As will be remembered,
rumors were thick and frequent that the
Chilians intended to attack the Balti
more. - The naval demonstrations on
their part were very threatening, and of
such a character that Captain Schley
felt impelled to put his ship in order - for
a hot fight, if it was forced upon him
According to the reports a combined at
tack was to be made upon the Baltimore
by the Chilian cruisers, the Esmeralda,
the.-A1 mirante, the Cochran and the tor
pedo vessels. The idea of the Chilians
was with their force they could 'make a
complete wreck of the Baltimore in a
very short time. . Captain Schley- did
not think so. At any rate he was ready
to give them a warm reception on either
side of the Baltimore.
Between the range of her guns and the
Chilian cruisers lay the German man-
of-war Liepsic and the English man-of-
war Meloboniene. Captain Schley had
determined, in case of attack, to let the
torpedo boats go in the beginning and
direct his attention to the work of dis
abling the cruisers, but he wanted to
have them in the line with his guns.
Getting in his gig, he first boarded the
German man-of-war and stated bis views
and wishes to her commander. The
German captain promptly said he would
get out of the way at once and give' the
Baltimore a fair show. Captain Schley
then went to the Melopeomen. Her
captain did not show the spirit of ac
commodation of the German.: He said
his ship was "in 'very good auchorage,
and be did not see why he should move.
After some further conversation he con
sented to comply with the request of
Captain Schley, and said that he too
would get out of the. way. As it hap
pened, the Chilians either abandoned
their attentiou to attack, or never enter
tained it. Otherwise there would doubt
less have occurred one of the most re
markable naval engagements of history.
v Tie E 0. Cooperative Store .
CARRIES A FULL LINE OF
Groceries, Family Supplies, Boots and Shoes,-
-ALSO A FULL LINE OF-
Warn Carts, Reapers and Mowers, and all Hits of A&ri&iltiiral
is. . '
Corner Federal and Third Streets,
THE DALLES, v : - OREGON.
MANUFACTURERS AND DEALERS IN
FURNITURE CARPETS
The editor of the Washington Inde
pendent besides being the editor of "the
greatest paper in that or any other
state" is ; mayor of Pomeroy, U. S.
weather bureau signal officer and ob
server, special correspondent of the agri
cultural bureau, state correspondent . of
the National association of democratic
clubs, vice-president of the Pomeroy
board of trade, president of the Pomeroy
improvement company, chairman of the
Garfield county democracy, has a diploma
conferring the honor of V. D. M., and
has just been elected (in his mind) gov
ernor of the state of Washington. He
says tne sensation produced by this
crowning honor surpassed anything that
ever thrilled his frame.
Blaine 'not a Candidate.
New York, Feb. 7. The Press this
morning has an article signed by Carson
Lake, in which he says :
-"Secretary Blaine will not be a candN
date for the republican presidential nom
ination. I have the highest authority,
next to Mr. Blaine himself for making
this statement. The decision of Mr.
Blaine is the result of his belief that his
health ..though now good, will not bear
the great strain for a' canvass for the
presidency and the subsequent duties of
the presidency. He knows that the
nomination ot nis party is at his com
mand and that even President Harrison
would not contest it with him, against
the overwhelming sentiment in his favor
that prevades the republican party in
every state in the Union. But he real
izes his physical condition to be unequal
to the task of canvassing the states of
New York and Indiana, which the re
publicans muBt carry to win the election.
Undertakers arid Embalmers.
NO. 166 SECOND STREET.
New - Umatilla- House,
. THE DALLFS, OREGON. .
HANDLEY & SINNOTT, PROP'S.
LARGEST-: AND : FINEST : HOTEL ': IN : OREGON.
Ticket and Baggage Office of the O. R. & N. Company, and office of the Wester
Union Telegraph Office are in the Hotel.. ' . '
Fire-Proof Safe for the Safety of all -Valuables.
S ESTABLISHED 1883.
LESLIE BUTLER,
-DEALER IN-
What is the -matter with the Baker
City Blade f ' It says "Eastern Oregon
should have at least six congressmen."
That reminds us of the drummer who in
trying to make himself solid with one of
his customers went with him to a prayer
meeting and on being - called upon to
praid said "O Lord give this people bar
rels of flour, and barrels of fruit, and
barrels of sugar, and barrels oi meat,
and barrels of pepper, and then think
ing be. was "overdoing the thing, he
added, totlo voce, "O Lord that's too
much pepper,"
We are pleased to announce that we
have made arrangements with a gentle
man well known to the people of this
city and county, now a resident of
Washington, : D. C, for a regular
weekly letter from the capital of the
nation. Our correspondent has special
facilities for obtaining correct informa
tion on all matters of interest to Eastern
Oregon and anything appearing in his
communications may be relied on. We
publish the first of these letters in this
issue.- - '
Agreeably to the wishes of many tax-
payere, tne Uhbonicle will, in the near
future, present to the people a state
ment, taken from the records of this
county, showing the income, for the
last ten years, of the several county
offices whose salaries are not fixed by
law. This is done that the people may
intelligently determine if the laws that
fix the amount of the fees need to be re
vised. . "
. . Wasiiixgton. Feb. T. Secretary James
G. Blaine has finally spoken. Under
date of yesterday he has written Chair
man Clarson, of the republican national
committee, formally announcing be is
not a candidate for the republican presi
dential nomination. The full text of
his letter is : .
1 "I am not a candidate for the presi
dency, and my name will not go before
the republican national convention for
nomination. I make this announcement
in due season. To those who have ten
dered me their support I owe sincere
thanks, and am most grateful for their
confidence. They will, I am sure, make
an earnest effort in the approaching con
test, which is rendered especially im
portant by reason of the industrial and
financial policies of the government be
ing at stake. The popular decision on
these issues is of great moment, and will
be of far-reaching consequence.
Washington Assessor's Convention.
Olympia, Feb. 3. The assessors' con
vention adjourned this afternoon after
agreeing upon valuations for the classes
of property named as follows :
WESTERN WASHINGTON.
Horses and males, 8 years old and over 75
Colts, 2 years oid and over 50
Oolts, 1 year old. . . ; .- 25
Cows, 3 years old 2030
Cows, 2 years old 15
Cows, 1 year old .... 8
100
2
4
. 5
10
3
After two months of ardious labor the
house of representatives has succeded in
passing one bill that will send a mighty
thrill of pleasure through the hearts of
the toiling masses of this great nation.
Mr. Coateg of Alabama introduced it and
it was for the protection of congressmen
from the ridicule of- the press. The
country is now safe. -
Oxen, work cattle, per yoke .
oneep, oer neaa
Hogs, per head -. .
Lumber, rough, per M
Lumeer, dressed, per M
Logs, per M feet
EASTERN WASHINGTON
Horses, 1 year old ... .:. .?
Horses, 2 years old -.
Horses, 8 years old. . '.
Work Horses -. ..
Cows, 1 yaar old
Cows, 2 years old. '....
Cows, 8 years old, and up
Sheep ' ...
Hogs, per cwt
The values adopted are not intended
to,be strictly binding, but only to serve
as an approximate guide.
Groceries and Groekepf .
A full line of Lamps, Glassware and Dishes of all kinds. Silver plated- Knives,
Forks and Spoons. When you are selecting your Christmas presents
look through my stock and you will get something useful -.
. as well as ornamental. -. --
113 QIASHWGTOtf STREET,
THE-DALLES, OREGOfl
SEWIIIG
ex t
SII6EB
IU1ES
HJ 33 T
Ladies' and Childrens' French Felt Hats,.:
Trimmed Hats,
25c.
50c.:
AND UPWARDS.
Ladies and Childrens' Furnishing Goods, "WAY DOWN.'
Mrs. Phillips, - 81 Third Street.
THE DALLES LUMBERING CO.,
INCORPORATED188a.
No. 67 Washington Street. . . . The Dalles.
Wholesale and Retail Dealers and Manufacturers of
Building Material and Dimension Timber, Doors, Windows, Moldings, Boose Furnishings, Etc
Special Attention given to the Manufacture of Fruit and Fish
. Boxes and Packing Cases.
Factory ancl Tnxm'bor T.rd Old 37t JJnlloai.
15
. 25
. 35
. 65
. ft
. 10
. 15
. 2
. 4
Food for the Russians.
Philadelphia, Feb. 6. At a meeting
of the Russian fauain committee today, a
dispatch was sent to Miss Clara Barton,
of the Red Cross Society, saying Phila
delphia would, February 15, ship 3000
tons of goods to Russia, and offering to
transport all the grain that arrived be
fore that date. It was also decided to
sen4 telegrams to the governors of Iowa,1
Wisconsin,' Minnesota and Indiana, to
send all the provisions they could con
trol. It is expected the steamship In
diana, which arrives in this port Febru
ary 15, will be secured for the service.
PRY Pine, Fir, Oak and Slab WOOD Delivered toy
any part of the city,
wasco waiciousB Co.,
Receives Goods on Stor
age, and Forwards same to
their destination.
Receives Consignments
For Sale on Commission.
fates treasonable.
-MARK GOOD
W W- Oo.'
THE DALLES, OKIOOS.
Chrisman Bros.,
(Successors to F. Taylor.
-: proprietors of the:
CITY PRpT
UNION STREET.
HAMS, BACON and SUSAGE
ALWAYS ON HAND.