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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 18, 1890)
140 WEST SHORE. FUIUHIO CVMV IATURDAY. WEST SHORE PUBLISHING COMPANY, PUBLISHER, L. 8AMUIL, Canaral Managar, PORTLAND, OR., AND 8POKANE FALLS. WASH. Inter. In In. Pott Offlc In Portland. Oregon.or Innmluim lrm mmd clou rata. iUiSCRIMIOM ATItrlotl In Advanoa. o..v..r, I "'j0",""' ..';! II, Month "5 I Uafto Capiat, Th. WilT Show, offert the Best Medium for Advertlserf of any publication on tne raomo vunai. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1H, 1HOO. Read almut Portland's great exposition. We want something more than "whereas" and "resolved," on the world's lair queetlon. Heed not only knocked all precedents ol the Speaker's desk to flinders, but he splintered the desk Itself. II any one wants to king It a little while the king ol Portugal would probably turn bis Job over to him at a moderate price. Much space Is devoted this week to Portland's great exposition. Next week the Spokane Falls exposition will be illustrated and described, after which Wist Snout will again have its usnal diversity ol contents. With but lew exceptions the press ol Oregon lias taken np the question of a proper representation of the state at Chicago, in a spirit ol Intelligent enterprise. If something creditable be not done It will not be the fault of the press. Khali the future citiien be able to ak English, Is the question at issue In Wisconsin. The democrats, In their eagerness to secure the foreign vote to help them beat the republicans, have endonied the proposition that it Is ol no concern to the slate whether its cltliens shall do so or not. There are too many loyal, honest Americans. In the democratic party who will not supiort such a principle to permit It to succeed. Probably no clly in the United States has such a lot ol " home-made " sidewalks as Portlsnd. They are the crudest, roughest, homeliest affairs ever put under the loot of man to try his sole. Whether It is because the sidewalk commlsslonej is crosseyed, or because he never pays any attention whatever to the details ol hli business, or both, Is unknown ; but it is a lact that the new walks put down this year are a disgrace to a Bussian village. The boards vary In length all the way from one to six Inches, and are as uneven on the top as a worm fence. Some are thicker than others, making a iurlsca like a corduroy road. Different grades are maintained, so that the luckless pedestrian either stubs his toe against the higher and leaps for ward like a kangaroo, or steps down with a jar that makes him wonder where the earthquake Is. It certainly can not be more expensive, or take much more time, to lay a good, smooth sidewalk, with the ends of the boards evenly matched on both sides, than to put down one of these side walk poems In blank verse. The manner of selecting the property to be con taminated by association with one ol these iMnieotrian nightmares might 1 Improved upon. There are walks, especially In Iront ol vacant proerty, where It Is only at the riek ef breaking his limits that one can venture after dark, where broken and missing boards make rwdestrlaniam even by day light a work of caution. Neglecting three, the authorities have frequently, torn up walks that were, to say the least, far (rem being dilapidated, and laid down the crude affair that passes for an olllclal walk, when, had the owner known of what was to have been done he would have put down a good walk himself. I'pon tills important matter of good sidewalks a volume could be written. With the moist climate of this region our people should endeavor to lay down stone or artificial atone walks. They are the best In appear ance, and are the most economical in the end. The frequent rains of winter u Aa rtf a wmden walk, which are still further warped rot and swell the boards of a . out of Potion by the long se so u,, tificial etone is not affec '"""known he re! Itis.sham to see tne mi ag much de the front of his -T M in f oS Wen the time shall come that our residences are not only surrounded with in ! awn Tnd beautiful flower,, but are bordered w.th neat stone e.de wX with only, low stone wall or short hedge between the grounds and SftCtto residence portion will cease to look like an overgrown village. The last intrenchment of mossbackism seems to be a few of the country papers whose managers, either because they have not the abdity to com Ed Strength and volume of the progressive movement, or are den, Logically catering to the ultra-conservatives and anti-progress.ontsts with he nope of gaining their approval and support, foolish y seek to oppose the movement for a proper representation of the state at he Co umbtan expo .m n They will learn by dear experience that the element honored wrth their sycophantic eulogies approves but little and supports nothing .and a fewyesrs hence they will be seen desperately clutching at toe tad of the pro cession as it disappears around the bend and leaves them hopelessly strand ed in the barren desert of mossbackism. It Is gratifying to see such representative bodies as the State Horticul tural Society and the Portland Chamber of Commerce pass resolutions in favor of a legislative appropriation of (250,000, because it shows that the live members of those bodies have a just appreciation of what the true interests of Oregon demand; but resolutions are not deeds, and actton is what is wanted. This is not a Portland matter, and it is wise that the Portland chamber do not take the Initiative, lest their conduct be miscon strued and the object aimed at be defeated. The whole state is interested. It concerns one section as much as another, and can only properly be han dled by an organization in which each county In the state is represented. The proper body to initiate the movement is the Oregon Board of Commerce, for the reason that it is the most representative of the whole state of all the organizations within its limits. While it is true that the Oregon Board of Commerce should assume the initiative, it it not wise that it should undertake to handle the question iiself. There are too many sections unrepresented in that body to render such action advisable. Nothing but a convention that shall be composed of delegates from every county can take hold of this matter with a certainty of securing complete public confidence in its ability and representative char acter, without which perfect success is impossible. Such a convention can be called by the officers of the Board of Commerce, the president of which fully appreciates the importance of practical action. ThiB convention can organize an association, in which every county shall be represented, that shall have charge of the state's Interests at Chicago. The two worthy com missioners, as has been stated in theee columns, are not necessarily charged with the duty ot attending to the state exhibit. In fact, they are not charged with it at all, and will not be unless the legislature make an appro priation subject to their disbursal. It was to arouse the public and the gen tlemen themselves from the mistaken idea that they were, and to change the drift of events that was tending In the direction of so making them, that Wkht Shori sounded the note of alarm, happily with so gratifying an effect. Politics must be rigidly excluded from this matter from first to last. We want no executive appointees, no men elected by the legislature nor any set ol men whose names have been inserted in an appropriation bill by any sort ol slate-making hocus pocus. Universal confidence can only be secured by placing the matter in the hinds of a completely non political body composed of representative citizens from every county in the state. It would seem to one In the least acquainted with the details of legislation and the nature of the body to assemble at Salem next January, that the only hoi of securing an adequate appropriation lies In the ability to pre sent to the legislature a well digested scheme for its useful expenditure. Two important questions will be asked: "What are you going to do with so much money?" and " Who shall be entrusted with Its disburse ment? " These must be answered satisfactorily or there will be no appro priation large enough to accomplish anything with, and possibly none at all. The necessity of organizing an Exhibit Association in the manner sev eral times pointed out in these columns stems too evident to require discus sion. Such an organization of representative men can go belore the legis lature with a comprehensible outline of what they expect to do, with some hope of securing the money necessary to carry out their plans. Otherwise, o far as the legislature is concerned, the whole movement will be a dismal failure, resulting, at best, In the appropriation of a smalt sum to be ex pended by the commissioners or some other non-representative appointee.