Image provided by: St. Helens Public Library; St. Helens, OR
About St. Helens mist. (St. Helens, Or.) 1913-1933 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 1914)
Many People Hear Prominent Speakers c?t c?-i f'X. $ m w m m w w m On the Columbia County Road Bond Issue m m mt i mi m ENTfflASTIC GOOD ROADS CAMPAIGN COMING TO A CLOSE IN COLUMBIA COUNTY PEOPLE TURN Oil SAMUEL HILL. A. 8. BEN30:i AND OTHET3 PnECII prosperity gospel. TO tFiLDt.EBSIlOI snnm orr:T in coLunm cjuk.y i:j 10 vEArs. v.ira IVOR RESULTS. Thn rood rnn1! campaign lliln week l.i. k won many v;li K f r Hi" $tiin,(l(i,i bond Issue f ir it good r;iii'i s mini In Columbia Ciniiiiy. The principal speakers with Frank Tenure, W. T. Prrrgn ntul II M. Parry t.iiiiur of King County, Wash., who lolil of I lit prucllrnl benefit tlu-y, ns farmers, I Ml received from road Im pruvi im nt In tlu-lr county. In iuIiII'I'mi Id these there were Sam ili'l 11,11. Klin treated of tin practical phase d( tin mail 1 1 1 1 1 r. 1 1 1 1 1 1 ; Professor J. II. Collins, principal of tho Italnlor imlilli' schools; L. Grlsuolil, who an the represi nt.itivii uf Slul Highway Engineer Howlhy explained (Im aim of tho slntn hlyhwuy commission, anil It. A. Viiimt of Rainier, president of thn Columbia County lliwd Roads nil aorlntion, who covered tho ground gen rally. Tho ronil between Clntskanlo and May kit, over which tho speakers trav eled, furnished a text fur many of the speakers upon which to expnllato on tin- advantages of Rood roads. The following nip some of tin KpccclicH Hint luivo hern delivered nl nici tin.rN iilicnilv held: Chnlrmnn V. A. Hall We have mrt hrrr thi afternoon to talk over Rood road, and wc havn mutiu distinguished te ii 'I cm en with tin that havo travelled all over thin country and all over the world; In fact every Slate In the t .''on and every country In tho world something thn people, of Clatskuiiln do not have the privilege of rnJoyliiK very often. I will call on Mr. Hubert Yount. of Itulnlcr, President of the Good ItoadH Association of Columbia Coun ly, who will give us a few words of Introduction. (Applause.) Robert Yount -Ladles and gentle men, this I consider one of the most important periods in thn history of Columbia County. I feel that we are Jiint now on tho ove of deciding prac tically tho fate, of tho County na a County; that Is, whether wo nrn go- Iiir to open this country up or whether wo nro koIiik to slay a backwoods dis trict as wo are commonly known to tho outside world. Now, the question lias been hashed over and studied over, I suppose, from every angle that It Is possible for us to find. It has been proven In other places that bunding la about thn best means however, it may have some Imperfections about tho best means of getting tho funds necessary to build roads; and them are reasons for that. HOO.OOO Spent In Ten Years. First and foremost Is tho fart that you rnn art money enough together at one time to nrrompllsh something worth while. Now, wo havo spent, according to thn records nt St. Helens, over $N00,0i0 In the last ten years upon tho roads, such as wo havo to day. That is qultn a goodly sum of money. People that are acquainted with tho fact In regard to building nay that about one third-1 believe I am right in thnt; If I am not, correc tion may bo miidn about one third of tho funds spent In road bull.IIng are npent in assembling and dissembling tho men and material. In other words, if you have $:l to spend on roads It costs $1 to get the material on tho road and Ret started; mid the remaining $2 Is spent In actual conatrurtlon. Now then, it does not cost any more to assemble an amount of material sufficient to do $1,0(1(1,0(10 worth of work than It does to got the aamo number of men and team and material, and all that sort of thing, together for $100,000 worth of work; an wo save In that way. Another thing, tho law of the Stato 10 HEAR SMS Is such that we can only get ao much money. Now, our County assessment tl, U year is U'-i mills; that is all we can get 1 per cent I understand Is r fin entire limit for any one year. Now, if we umlertakn to build roads by the n pilar aHKfHHincnt wo w ill have this 1 per cent rate ulnni; e very year and with that every year wo will accom plish good roads finally, but with 2 per rent of the assessed valuation of t'm County wo cull get money enough t tt.er so Unit wc may complete a miiI trunk Hue or two and have the u:i" of th' in while wo are paying for tin in. C.) id Eo.ids Prosperity's Foundat.oa. Now, there are a good many people v, h i i n to to think It is unnecessary ir'i. There ure soino thing bear in tlii.t, that probably some of us t.ave not ta'cni Int ) ronslili ration. One .f thi m Is Ih's: tho Stato of Oregon t:i.t al no t!n S'ato of Oregon, but a i-reiit many other Suites throughout I n country aro concentrating on iv. ! lo;:d building; City nro turning ('ii ;r mi hi ! and their nerve to ac ci ti pi sli that nd -thr well known f u to! :i Ion of pr ! perlty. The Rtiit. f.f Orvr.on in just now on i vk uf voting herself to assist In ri . .1 b iil !lng. and there Is every evi dence pi Int-il to the fact that the Mate will nsxlKt such counties ns lei hIh! thi-ma Ives. Now, bring It right In me to us, it is this way: We are tlie ii!,' rap In tho Columbia Highway fre'ii lined Itivi r to tho ocean. ClatKi ji County on otto sldu of us tnl M.'ltnoinah County on tho other flile f us Is preparing this highway. Now, then, if tho state goes ahead and levies an asHcBHilient and sets aside a certain fund for tho purpose of hard surfacing and maintaining thes? roads; if we get In and build our road. like we are asked to do, we will gel our share of It; if we don't do It, we will hulld our own roads complete and we will help tho other fellow pay for his. Now, boys, that Is what It is going to be, JtiKt ns sure as you aro alive. Portland to Be Great City. One-third of the population of the Htate lives In Portland and Portland's prosperity as u city depends upon the prosperity of the adjacent country I'm ty cue knows that They tiro fluhtlrg for themselves, fighting to nake a great city there, and they are going to make it. and there is no use for us fellows to stay out here and throw rhunka under the wheels of progress, because It won't do any good; wo will stay here and get run over. These things are coming, Just as sure as you live. If you pick t.p the papers and read the news and watch the general trend of sentiment, you will find that the Stute of Oregon, through the legislature, will set aside funds for that purpose, that Is. the hard surfacing of the state highways. Now, if wo fill up tho gap In thlB high way, lots of people will sav "What does the Columbia Highway mean to us? It la Just an automobile road." God bless you. even if it Is an ant i mobllo road It Is a good road for :y thlug else. Hut It isn't J ist an auto mobile rond; it is a business road, over which you are going to haul your pro duce, a road that will do business of every nature, something to tin latcr.ilj to. You never in your llfo saw a rail road or a river opened for rommrrco that the main channel was not opened first; that is always tho way, the only way. Now, the Columbia Highway Is known throughout tho I'nlted State probably throughout the world as one of the greatest roads in the I'nlteil States. Men that have traveled the world over say that we have every thing hero thnt any country has in the way of scenery, nnd more; men that have traveled the world over say that we havo everything here In the way of rllmatlc conditions, richness of soil and everything that goes to mnko a prosperous rountry, excepting roads. Thnt Ib tho opinion of men who have spent a lifetime trying to find nut nnd TWO 321 IS O C Loiter P L Co . . . lenrn these things. When they come to us nnd tell us these things thnt we have all of these good things if we w ill J:ist rench out nnd get them we can not conscientiously say thnt they hnve nn ax to grind or that they are lyitis to us or trying to pull tho wool over our eyes. "Let Us Fill the Clap." Why should they? These men do , ..ft .1.. K 1. 1 .. V. .. 1 not do these things; so, for heaven's sake, let us fill thnt gap. I would be ashamed to look a Clnt- sop County or a Multnomah County man In the face If wo sat here and allowed that gap to remain. We are tho only ones with the sny-so, whether or not thnt rond shall he completed and known as thn grand scenic highway, ns a business rond to open up the rountry one of tho grnn lest countries that lnya out of doors. Now, I ask you that In all confi dence. I have no ax to grind, not tven a hatchet. I don't suppose It will ever inr un a great deal to me in dollari and cents, other than what I will get from tho general prosperity of the country. I am In business as a plumber, and If the country grows and the men b illd homes and Improve tho country, I will probably get a little work to do, If I do a good Job. H it I would prob ably get that anyway. I would prob ably get all I could do unvway, but 1 want to live In a country where every man has the best ,f everything; where i ur chlldr n can grow up and be equal to any man's children. I want my boys and Klrls to feel that they are growing up here in Columbia County to go out In the world nnd do their share of the world's work. (Applause.) Chairman W. A. Hull Any one may feel nt liberty to ask questions at any time. The gentlemen here will answer the questions If thry can. If anybody wants to fire any questions at them, do so. W. P. Pcrrijo 3?alt. We have with us a gentleman from King County, Washington, the county In which Seattle is situated, a gentle man who enmo in there 33 years ago and helped to build tho trails there. and after building the trails they built tho roads, nnd after awhile they built better roads, and now they have a lirlrk highway that cost in tho neigh borhood of $25,000 a mile. This gen tleman Is Mr. W. P. Perrlgo, a granger from Washington, a man that has gone through (ho mill; one among the rest of you, a man after your own heart; you arc at liberty to ask him any questions you wlnh. Wc will now hear from Mr. Perrlgo, please. W. P. Perrlgo Mr. Chairman. Ia dies and Gentlemen: When I started from Seattle lust night I thought 1 was starting for Oregon, and this morning I heard thn familiar voice of Ilrother Hill. He woke us up on the car and took us up to a big hotel in Portland, and I didn't hear anything but Oermnn out of him or anybody else. The talk wna Herman, the peo ple were German and the victuals were German, and I said; "My God! what has hnppened to me In the night? I have landed In Ger many." Then when I got down to this town Mr. Hill showed me a sign, "The Pan ama." und said, "You are In Panama." Never Say Die Spirit Invoked. Put as I look at your faces this af ternoon I realize that I am in the t'nlted States of America. I realize that I am in the grandest country under the sun; I realUe thnt I am In a country that lends the world; I realize thnt my great-grandsires. my greatgrandfather and your great grandfather fought to make this coun try. If they had realized that they were licked right along when It aermed ao, wo would not be hero today, but they never found it but. Our revolutionary fathers never knew they were whipped, and conse quently thry never were whipped. The good roads people of this North west never know they arc whipped, nnd they never were whipped, and by thn great gods, thry nrver will be whipped. ' Yen may storm at Sam Hill and his associates all yon are a mind to, yon might just ns well storm nt Mt. Haiti ier, when she clears nff you will find her there just as beautiful as ever. I don't think I can say anything to entertain you, I don't want to entertain anybody particularly. I am not an irutor. I am a backwoodsman. I came first from a Hritish Colony where I was born nn Amerirnn citizen, but coming here from the New England States, nearly .IS years ago, t landed in what is now called the City of Seattle. There was a little bark and sawdust and about 2.100 people. That man Yessler whittled it nut. He could not whittle it all with a saw null so he used a big jack knife. It was called Yrsslerville. Any of you who knew the old man ran remember his pine boards and sharp knives, he never could do business without whit tling, and he did good business. Pioneering Told. I went back into the woods across Lake Washington nnd took my wife with me. She knew nothing of this wild West. She knew nothing of the Indians and all those things. She was a nice little woman, if she was my wife. Wc went over a trail. There had just been a freshet and we had no bridges, noth Ladies and gentlemen, that little wo man was there ten years before she saw the outside. Whyf It was such a task to get out, and we didn't have very good clothes, and so, gentlemen, she didn't get out for ten years. Now, that is a good while, isn't it f It re quires a good denl of patience. One of the first things we thought of was ronds. Whyf Itecnnse if we had anything to sell we could not get it out. It we bought anything wo could not get It In, had to lug it on our harks ' ortnR the I an leg out tonight. Mr. Hill thirty miles or fn igiit along the river.' la going to show some pictures here We would take a ranoe with an ax in thlB afternoon that cannot be Been it. We had to cut our way through anywhere else In the world; he la the until the loggers could get in and clear j only man who has such pictures, and it nut. Pretty hard place to put a he has shown them all over the world, woiiian in, but wo were happy. No and It will be worth your while to American will be content with his lot ( bring the ladies out. It la a clean per when ho can make it better (Applause) forinance from beginning to end, and and no American will lie contented wi!hwe want every man to have his wife his neighbor's lot ii he can make it beside him tonight. "If you cant do better. If he is, he is no man at all. that," a man here says, "bring some- I never was in the State of Oregon before, but Oregon is the siHter of Wash ington and Washington is a sister of Oregon, and I am the adopted son of Washington. Therefore Oregon is my mint, nnd dear aunt, this is the first lime we have met, and I say to my aunt, I like you. Oood People, but Ead Bonds. i use me moss or your people, i iiko the looks of your country, but th-re is one thing that I do despise and that is vour infernal rotten mails. (Ap plause.) It is a wonder this beautiful valley doesn't blush by the side of such a road as we came over. Over the trail that my wife and I traveled in 177 to lay there is a first class Warreiiit" road. I have traveled over that road, li'S. miles, in eight min utes, nnd the automobile stae schedule is li) minutes, and the automobile truik men bring my stuff to me at my door at about 1 cent per 1.J0 less than the railroad will bring it to the depot. We Ion t have any cartage to pay in the city because the automobile men go to the store and get the stuff and land it t mv door. We don't even havn to there to order, for there is competition in this auto truck business anil each and every man is willing to do the best he can and each one of the dealers is try ing to get the trade. The consequence is that we get our stuff cheaper if we just leave it to him. These are some of the advantages of good roads. Another advantage is the increased valuation of property. If some of you gentlemen, or a body of men here owned 20 sec tions of land, in a row, two sections together ten miles long we will say it is a country where you can build a road reasonably straight whether you are real estate men or what you are, if you would dispose of that property I 'in sure you will bear me out that the first thing you would do would be to build a first -claps road from one end of that to the other, if for no other purpose than to dispose of your prop erty. Or, if you were going to culti vate it to dispose of your stuff. There is no real estate man here that will dispute me there it will pay you big big investment. I think any man here will grant that thai is a fact. Benefits Enumerated. Now, why not put a road through your county that will develop the valuation to the owner for his own use if he doesn't want to sellf It will double the valuation of every acre within five miles; it will give you a chance. ou can build more churches, more schools, institutions of learning, hos pitals; whatever you want to build those roads will bring you. Our roads hnve brought us electric lights, they arc bringing in manufacturing industries, everything follows good roads, and noth ing follows where there are no roads. Go to the nations of tho earth where they haven't good roads and what will you findf I don't need to tell you, you know yourself. I am not saying what method you should take, you arc the iKotor. It is the people that are going to do this, or it won't be done.' It is practically the whole people that is ging to do this. I think I can see in your faces this, that you are not going to wait to be begged as the people in King County waited to be begged. You are not going through the fight in this country that King County went through. Kvery rotten politician in King County was opposed to the ronds; every grafter in King County was opposed to tho making of good roads. Nam Hill set tled up there, and the men backed Sam Hill. There was all the mud slinging- that you can imagine. Mi id- J'w, thcr.. was not by all the people of King Coun ty, but those who had certain interests those who worked to get the votes ot the people for their own benefit nof: for the benefit of their rountry. Give. me a man that is for his country first, last and all the time. That is the kind of a man we want to build roads, and the big majority of you aro for your country. A man who lives for himself alone is not as good ns a hog becnuso a hog is good when he is dead. Ho in good for pork. (Applause.) Plea Made for Patriotism. Now I have come here because as I have said, I am a common, plain, hard working man, nothing more, nothing less. I hnve done what I could for this movement, nnd I will do what I can, n long as I live, I suppose. What I ask you people to do in this matter I don't know very much about what you will lo, I know what you need. I know- that. Whnt I would ask you people to do is to do first just what you think is best for yourselves and your favmilioa. to do that which is best for youP rouit ty, that which good American iritt.enf ought to do, and when I say gooo,' Amer ican citir.cns, I mean every man, native or foreign, who loves the Star Hpanglol llanner. (Applause.) . Chairman W. A. Hall Gentlemen,, before Mr. Hill begins to speak I want to Impress upon a'l of yon here to; body else'a wife." The women should be the good roads enthusiasts; men get out some way or another, but woman Is the stay-at-home. I think If you give the women a good fair chance ahe will vote for good roads. Cam Hill Lauded. I do not feel that I could say any thing that would throw bouquets at Mf , , hav! ku0WQ Mr Hm for a year of tWQ H(J took ug up ,at ,.n. ter and showed us where he was build- Ing roads up at Maryhill, spending his own money demonstrating to the peo ple of this state and the State of Washington how to build roads, and not asking anybody else for the money. Mr. Hill Is using his own substance In this way. He feels that he Is doing a good work und you will think as I do when you hear Mr. Hill speak. He had a special car and took ua all up and down the coast and had automo biles meet us and took us over the roads on the side hill that he had i built. We have Mr. Hill w Ith us this ernoon and he is going to speak to an'1, show us th'-se Pictures. He 1 explain uieiu as ne prouuees lue.n. (Applause.) Samuel Hill Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen: I think before 1 Bpeak, If Mr. Mlddleton is ready, we will show the moving pictures of some of the good roads that have been re ferred to. I think that will give you an idea, perhaps, of how they look. You can understand then something of what these men know that talk about good roads., The pictures will show the convict work on the road at Lyle and will also show some of the roads at Maryhill, Washington, as thev appeared during the time the Oregon Legislature paid us the compliment of coming up there to Bee them. I do not know In Just what order the pictures come, as I have not seen the film. It was taken by the Pathe peo ple, and they tell me that It has been seen by one-third of the people of the United States over 30,000.000 people. Convict Road Labor Shown. You will see first the Washington convicts humane treatment of the convicts while building the Pacific Highway working near Carroll's Point on the Columbia River, the worst point between Seattle and Port land. One hundred convicts there cut out 8000 cubic feet of rock and It Is now the finest portion of the highway. Go ing forward you will see men working on the road. Today that Is a smooth hard surface road In very fine shape. Here are the County Commissioner of the county watching the men take out rock preparatory to blasting. This shows the progress of the work along the Columbia River. These con victs did just as much work, and I think a little more, than the free labor, but quite as effective; they earned per man, per day, $3.95. You will see them here, with a front guard and rear guard, on their way to another part of the work -not a bad-looking bunch of boys, as you see. Here they are drilling by hand In solid rock. These convicts are trusted with dynamit? and powder of all kind3. You coula not distinguish in that camp between free labor nnd convict labor. Maryhill Road is Model. One of the views of the Columbia River from the Pacific Highway. At the time the work was stopped In Washington there were 500 men on the work there. Governor West has gone over east of the mountains in the effort to lix-ate camps for the un employed at thnt point. Here the men are returning to camp after a day's work. This Is a view of the good roads of the Northwest, built at Maryhill. I built 10 miles of highway In the State of Washington to serve as a model for the United States. As a matter of fact. It turned out to be a model for the entire world. There are no roads anywhere In the world superior to this. Nor Is there a paved street In Port land, or Seattle, or Lob Angeles, In all the East, or In Europe, that will sur pass this road on the Columbia River. Train going by this la the station from which we went In automobiles the whole length of the road. These roads have been down three summers and are going into the third winter and thus far there Is not a flaw or crack in the roads, although when the roads were only two days old they moved 21,000 bags of grain over them and th farmers saved $54,- 000 hauling over the roads last year The roads tjiemsefves rost $t23.000, and $34,000 orf wheat alone was saved In one season's haul. ,( Attention was called to other features of the film, but no particular1 point was made that could be Ititelligil'le without showing the pictures.) Frank Torrare' Introduced. Now, (ladles and gnntlemen, brfore 1 ahowUho real pictures, these are only Jusji Incidental. VI want to Intro duce to you another one of my friends, Brother Frank Terrace, of White Wver Grange. Brother Perrlgo you have Just heard from, and Ilrother Terrace and Ilrother Parry are here also. These three men have done more, per haps, than any three men In the State of Washington to further the cause of the highway improvement. Brother Frank Terrace haa contrib uted more In proportion to his means for highway improvement and for highway Instruction than any other single man In the United States. Mr. Parry, whom you will see and hear from this evening, Is a man who raises strawberries at Richmond Beach and he sells these berries for a living, and sella other plants and fruits. He could not come down last week as we had planned to come, because he has a Berkshire bow, and he had to stay at home until she pigged. He Is practical man. All practical men do their own work in their own way. Mr. Terrace has been all over the world. He began life as a cabin boy and left his majesty's navy at 21 an able seaman. He represented the United States at the labor organization meeting in Brussels. I want you to listen to what these men have to say because they have come from their homes into Oregon simply to bear to you what they be lieve to be a message. They have nothing to Bell. They get no pay. Mr. Benson and I defer the expenses of the railroad tickets, and we hope you will give them something good to eat, and if you do that It is all we will ask of you in the matter. Now I want to present to you my good farmer friend, Mr. Frank Ter race. (Applause.) Terrace Tells of Conversion. Frank Terrace Mr. Chairman, La dies and Gentlemen: This road ques tion is an awful Important question. It is the most Important question be fore the American people today. There is nothing like it because you must know that everything we eat and drink and wear has to be hauled over these roads. Our men and women and chil dren use these roads every day of their lives, either directly or Indirectly, therefore you see that It is an Im portant question, Is this road question. I remember how I became a road convert Into this great cauBe. I paid a visit some few years ago to the old country. I went from this country and I rode on your beautiful trains and I crossed over your streams on your beautiful bridges. I went Into Chicago and into Washington and saw your beautiful monuments In your parks, and your beautiful buildings. In New York I saw one of marble tower ing up 40 stories high, and when I got into Liverpool, and Manchester, Innl f nn,lnn T lnkar1 nf fhofp trains and their bridges across their streams and their buildings, and I came to the conclusion that there was nothing In England that would come up to my adopted country. But when I got out on that beautiful North road, running from Edinburgh to London, 200 feet wide, with a beautiful trimmed hedge as far as your eyes could carry you, and In the month of June everybody was on that road, both rich and poor, turning that beautiful road Into a pleasure park. It took my mind back to my own adopted country here In Washington, where my own family and my own neighbors were trudging through the mud for six months In the year, and it made me hang my bead in shame. In the name of God, are we not big enough and able enough to have as good roads as any nation in the world? Grangers Had Wrong Notion. I came home with the determina tion that I was going to put In my time advocating for roads, either In season or out of season, which I have done. One day I noticed a little piece appeared in the paper that Samuel Hill, the great apostle of good roads, was going to deliver a lecture In Se attle and to the people of the United States about good roads, and I went down to hear what Mr. Hill had to say. I was well impressed and I came to the conclusion that Mr. Hill was sincere in what he was saying; that he meant w hat he was saying. I came home and I told my neighbors I was then n-aster of the White River Grange as to what I had heard. They threw up their hands and said, "What? Him? He is a railroad man, whnt does he want of good roads? It Is to his interest to have no roads at all." Now, let me tell you a little tale right now that fits in good here. I have said It before and I hope I will say It again. There was an old lady in the old country and she was awful hard up, but she was very pious. There were two or three of the boys that knew this and one of them said, "Wouldn't It be a good idea If we would go and buy a five-cent loaf of bread and throw it In to the old lady and see what she would do?" The old lady was sitting in her little cottage with her back to the door. The door opened on the street, and there was not a light In the house. They went and threw this loaf onto the middle of the floor. The old lady turned around, and saw the loaf. She ran and grasped it, and got down on her knees and thanked the Lord. One of the Continued en Page 6