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About Oregon City courier. (Oregon City, Or.) 1902-1919 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1908)
I OREGON CITY COURIER FRIDAY, AUGST 7, 1908 : V JUST REGULATION The Public and the Investor Both . Have Rights. Jhe Problem of State Legislatures. What Is a Reasonable Return Upon Capital Invested? Experimental In dustries Should Offer Unusual Prof Its to the Enterprising Investor. By EVERETT W. BURDETT. The subject of public control of pri vate Investments In quasi public enter prises has bad a somewhat natural and logical development In this coun try. Beginning at practically the zero point, It progressed slowly at first, but Is now moving forward with giant strides. At the time of their Inception these new enterprises were so welcome to the public that It did not seek to throw about them any obstructive or harassing conditions. Bather, It wel comed them with open arms and was only anxious for their establishment and development. This Is strikingly shown by the pro visions of the charters granted by the state of Massachusetts to three of the first railroads in this country, organ ized respectively in 1820 and 1830 that the rates of fare and freight, the construction of the roads, the form of cars "and all other matters and things In relation to the use" of the rouds Bhould be wholly within the discretion of the directors. At the close of 1830 the total railroad mileage of the United States was only twenty-three, and the public was and for many years continued to be Interested in the establishment and development and not in the regulation and control of railroads. And so it was with reference to the electric telegraph. The first lino was built between Baltimore and Washing ton in 1844, and, if my memory la not at fault, congress voted the inventor a large sum in recognition of his con tribution to the public welfare. So also when the street railway was In troduced in 1852 and its successor, the electric railway, about 1880, and when the telephone and electric light both made their first appearance lu com mercial use in 1870 the communities which they were established to serve were clamorous for their Introduction and were not much If at all concerned about their regulation. But in all these cases what was at first a wouder or a novelty soon be came a commonplace adjunct to dally life. The public awakened to the fact that these utilities had not been estab lished for purely eleemosynary pur posesthat, in the expressive lunguugo of the day, their owners were "not in business for their health." The more modern doctrine, promulgated, I be lieve, from New York city, of "the pub lic be damned" wus a more or less natural outcome of later conditions. The result was that In each case and In a somewhat natural order the public took a hand In whut turned out to be the dangerous game of public regula tion and control. At first these efforts took theToriu ot rate regulation In the case of railroads. These were frequently the product of resentment and prejudice and except for the Intervention of the federal ju diciary would have been disastrous. By throwing over transportation companies the protection of the constitution, guar anteeing all our citizens, including cor porations, against spoliation under tho forms of luw, ruinous consequences of 111 advised legislation have frequently been avoided. The supreme court, while affirming the right and exclusive authority of state legislatures to regulate rates and fix maximum charges, hus also subjected the reasonableness ot legislative action lu this respect to the test of Judicial in quiry. It has insisted upon rates which are sufficiently alike to give a reason able return upon a reasonable invest ment and at the same time be Inher ently fair and reasouublo to the public. While Insisting thut ordinarily a cor poration is entitled to some prollt upon lis enterprise, tho court has not as yet niidorinUeu to say what thut profit shall bo, except in ouo cuso (102 U. S. SiOl, 1003), thut tho rules of a water company may bo lawfully reduced by legislative uctiou to u polut where tho business will yield only 0 per cent upou the fair vuluo of tho Investment. It seems natural and appropriate to suggest ut this point that ouo of tho most important functions of the uewly created public service commissions of tho stato of New York may bo to determine, in the first Instance, what u reasonable return Is upon capital Invested in the public service corpora tions which are umler their super vision aud control, and it is at least reasonable to indulge tho hope that they will not undertake to limit that return within the narrow margin which has been accepted by tho court, us sutllcient In tho case of such a com paratively simple and well established enterprise as that of tho supply of water. There is but little unalogy be tween the cases. If the return on cnpl tul Invested In what can be properly described as essentially experimental Industries, such us street railway nud llectrlc enterprises, Is to lie confined to any such figure ns 0 per cent It will, In my judgment, be a sorry day, not only for those who have their money at hazard In those enterprises, but for the public at large whoso interest lies lu their proper development and ex tension. As conservative u man as President Eliot of Harvard university has re cently said: "lu such enterprises there are often heavy risks. Hence men will not undertake them for the ordinary return on sufe Investments. They must be Induced to veulure their on pi- Real Estate Transfers Harney Oronln to Tlios. O. Higgs a part of Sec 14, T3S. RIW; 1C0. J. W. Watts to M. I. Sliortlldge Ix)t 6 of block "H" of Clackamas Heights; $t. Oregon Swedish Colonisation Co. to Krlk .Tsnsnn NW 1-4 of NE 1-4 of Sec. 8, T5, SIC; $4o0.t - Jane W. Edwards to J. It. Edward.-- -XI acres In Sec. 17, T4S, R2E; J I. S. P. Ward to Ida M. Davidson 17 acres in Clackamas Riverside; $1. M. J. Jones to I. M. Davidson 17 tnl and their capacity by a prospect Df unusual returns." So far as I know public service cor porations other than steam railroads have in but rare instances been made the subject of state regulation or con trol by special tribunals created for the purpose. They have ordinarily been left at the mercy of state legis latures or, worse yet, of the various municipal authorities where they oper ate. They have thus been forced more or less Into state aud local politics, a course Justified, If at all, by the dic tates of "the first law of nature" that of self defense. Rut In 1804 the state of Massachusetts entered upon a more enlightened experiment In public regulation and control of quasi public enterprises, and sinr-e that time the capitalization, debt, rates, service and general conduct of the public service corporations of Massachusetts have been within the control anil regulation f public bodies created for the pur pose. The one primal defect In the laws of Massachusetts regulating and limiting the stock and bond Issues of Its pub lic service corporations, an error which ought to be avoided In the administra tion of the law in New York, lies in the failure to discriminate between new enterprises or hazardous exten sions of old enterprises on tho one hand and well established Industries on the other. Admitting that the se curities of the latter can properly be limited to amounts sufficient only to cover the reasonable expense of ordi nary additions to plant aud the returns jpon them to the going rates of Inter est or profit legitimate In established businesses of like character, the rea sonableness of the rule' disappears when applied to extensions of uhusual character or Into fields of doubtful profit, and particularly to cases of In cursions by new enterprises Into hith erto unexplolted fields. The pioneer who first dures to ex plore hitherto unexplolted territory or the investor who is willing to Increase the usefulness of his enterprise by extending it into channels of doubtful profit should not be treated In the mat tcr of initial securities or the returns upon them with the same strictness as the conservative investor in an es tablished business. To quote Presi dent Eliot again: "There Is much to be said on behalf of the proposition that there shall be no water in the stock of public service corporations, yet if this principle had been applied to all street railway and lighting companies during the past thirty-five years the public would have waited long for facilities which they have greatly enjoyed and profited by." Tho great authority of the supreme court of the United States, as express ed in the case of Handley versus Stutz, 189 TJ. S., 417, stands for substantially the same proposition. THE FEAR OF POLITICS. Why High Grade Employees Prefer Private Positions. One of the first results of the Beuif munlclpal ownership of trolleys In Cleveland Is the feeling of high grade employees that they had better look for positions which are not hampered and endangered by political Interfer ence. Of the resignation of the en gineer of maintenance of way the Cleveland News says: "Engineer Tilton of the former trac tion regime resigned his place Tuesday because his profession had nothing lu common with politics. He feared that politics might come to be n factor In tho affairs of tie holding company. lie had hud that fear ever since the public was told that the board of directors could not meet to discuss a grave labor dllllculty because inost of the members had gono to Columbus to attend a po litical convention." The same paper quotes Mr. Tilton as saying: "I desire to say that I hold Mr. du Tout In the highest esteem. Moreover, I like .Mayor Johnson. I don't waut to criticise tho mayor aud his associates for being politicians either. They have a perfect ami absolute right to be poli ticians. It Is tho fact I am looklug at. Hero Is a management which Includes Mayor Johnson, City Solicitor Raker, Senator Howe, County Solicitor Stage and Senator Thomas V. Schmidt. All of them are politicians. It Is the po litical influence I fear for the future. Those men cannot keep politics out could not If they tried. I don't doubt they mean well by me. It Is the In evitable situation that makes It seem to me well to make a change." Postal Tyranny. As showing how far advanced this couutry Is lu bureaucratic Interference with personal liberty the article on "Russianizing the American Post Dfllccs" lu a recent issue of the rub lie will bo a revelation to most Amer icans. Tho writer shows how men have been driven out of business by "fraud orders" Issued by the postolllce department when the courts have held their business to be uutalnted by. fraud. Moreover, these orders, which prevent a man from receiving any mall, nro kept In force after the courts have pronounced the busluess legiti mate. Truly we are passing from a republic Into a bureaucracy. They. IV hy don't they keep tho streets a llttl cleaner? You ask, with Oeep annoyunca not un due. Why don't they keep the parks a little Ki'eener? (DU1 you ever slop to think that they means you?) How UuiR will they permit this graft and stealing? N Why don't they eeo the courts are clean and true? Why will they wink at crooked public dealing? (Did you ever slop to thli ti that they means you?) -Life. acres In Clackamas Riverside: $'.. 1). 1a Cngan et al to I. M. Davli'.s.m 17 acres In Clackamus Riverside; $1. it. 11. DcHliazed to I. M. HaviiUoi- 17 acres In Clackamas Riverside; J. O. DeShazor to I. M. Davidson 17 acres in Clackamas Riverside; $1. A. C. Hodgkln to E. A. Hoys Lots 1S. 19, 25 ami-20,' Jennings Lodge; $10(10. Edwin Hedges et nl to R. V. Mitch-ell-lts 15 and It'., Hloek 30, in Iliad stone; $200. W. A. Proctor to (list & Palmqiiist 8.0S acres In See. 2C, TI, 4E; $1000. J. It. Edwards to V. Roiularmel 41 acres in See. ITS. T4, TE; $1230. 3o People Read Advertisements s W H w Why Sure! You Are Reading This Ad Arc you not? If you read this ad others will read- yours if you will place it where it will be seen. If you place your advertisement iu some paper that people do not care to read of course you cannot expect results from your efforts. But if you goto a paper that is aggressive and alive and is brim full of news you are sure of reaping results from the money you spend. And again you cannot expect to place an ad in any paper and expect people to come and buy you out the next day. You must give them a dose one week and then double the dose the next time; give them both doses the next week. If this does not fix them repeat what you have given before but add a greater amount of vim. When you have done all this get in and ADVERTISE (J Did you ever stop and consider why the Courier leads in advertising? It is easy to see why if you will stop and consider how much larger a circulation the Courier has than'other Clackamas County papers. And why this larger circulation? Because the management of the Courier is ever on the lookout for new ideas to give their readers; new features to add that will give a greater variety that will please everybody. To give the readers of the Courier the news in an unbiased form. These and many more are the reasons why the Courier has a larger circulation than other Clackamas County newspapers,' and the reason why the Courier has a great deal more advertising matter than other Clackamas County papers. (J The Courier's job plant is excelled only by the larger platjts of Portland, and is prepared to print any thing from the finest society stationery to the big wholesaler's catalogue. IF YOU WANT GOOD PRINTING d H w CALL ON THE OREGON CITY COURIER s THE HOME OF GOOD PRINTING FLIES AND SHEEP. 'tint Tr and Dipping to Protect Health of the Flock. Fly time Is on, and sheep, espe cially rams, should be watched closely for maggots. All rams should have liberal quantities ot pine tar around the horns, which will prevent the fly from depositing her eggs. When pres ent turpentine or dip will dislodge them and pine tar will keep them away, writes an Ohio breeder lu the National Stockman and Farmer. The long and middle wool sheep are more annoyed by the common house fly than the Merinos and should have a dark woods or an underground cellar or cave In which to spend the day. A single fly will prevent one of these sheep from thriving a whole day. The owner of a grade flock of Shrop shires once took the writer to the mouth of a cave In 'which his sheep spent the daylight of summer, secure from flies and In a climate very nearly like tho native ' conditions of the Shropshlres of England, lie lamented the loss of the manure, but the loss was inoro than made up lu the condi tion of the sheep. Look out for the gadfly. Her eggs are deposited lu the nostrils of tho sheep and almost as soon as deposited move up into the sinuses of the head, and the sheep has grub In the head. Tar on the nose or even dust will warn the mother fly that such a place Is not a promising home for her future family. In the absence of bare ground a fur row plowed In the pasture will supply the dust. Sheep salted lu a V shaped trough with tar on sides of trough Is practiced as a preventive by some flockmasters. Sometimes I think that between gadflies, stomach worms, lung worms Indicated by the sheep stand ing with their heads close together, with their noses on the ground and by running ticks foot rot, blizzards and tariff tinkers we have a strenuous time. Holds the Cow's Tail, A new and Improved contrivance for holding tho switch of a cow when tho cow Is being milked has been designed by a Massachusetts man. The holder I'HOTKCTION FOB THE MILKER, Is constructed from a lint circular strip of spring metal, which Is clamped around the leg of the attendant. To prevent It moving u number of projec tions are placed on the inner face, which engage the trousers of the wearer. on the outer face of the strip Is a spring chimp, one end of which is rivet ed to the strip, while tho opposite end Is free and curved slightly outward, so that the switch of the animal can be readily entered between the strip and the clamp. The animal is thus uuable to swish her tall In the milker's face, protecting the latter from Injury In this way. THE HORSEMAN. Brood mares should lc fed liberally, but not to excess. They should hive the best quality of well cured hay, oats and bran. Moldy hay that has lieeu heated lu the mow or bale, musty oats and broil that has soured iil not sup iilv the'lironer iiutrluieut for producing stake wuu.v The Courier Is the paper that gives you the market report. How's This? We offer one hundred dollars reward for any case of catarrh that cannot be cored by Hall's Catarrh Uare. F. J. CHENKY & CO., Toledo, Ohio. We, the undersigned, have known V. J. Cheney for the last 15 years, snd believe him perfectly honorable in all business transactions and tinan Tially able to carryout any obliga tions made by his firm. Walding, Kinnan & Marvin, Wholesale drug gist", Toledo, O. ' Hall's Catarrh Cure is taken infer nally, acting direotly upon the blood and mucous surfaces of the system. Testimonials sent free. Price 75o per bottle. Sold by all druggists. Take Hall's Family Pills for constipation. Summons. In the Circuit Court of the State of Oregon, for Clackamas County. Ida M. Martin, Plaintiff, 1 vs. John Martin, Defendant. . To John Martin, the above named defendant : Iu the name of the State of Oregon The Bigger the Basket of groceries we send you the greater your satisfaction, the larger number of articles you order the greater will be your appreciation of the all-round Excellence of our Groceries We do not make a specialty of one good article, trusting its good quality will make up for deficiencies in other lines Every thing we sell is the best we can get. SPECIAL-this week only: a 5c2 box of toilet soap free with each pound of tea or coffee. SEELEY'S The Peoples' Store Main Street OREGON CITY you are hereby required to appear and answer the complaint filed against you in the above entitled suit on or before Sept. 21, l'J08, said date being after the expiration of six weeks from the first publication of this tnmmouB, aud if you fail to appear and answer said -complaint, for want thereof the plaintiff will apply to the Court for the relief demanded in the complaint, to-wit: For a decree dissolving the bonds of matrimony now existing be tween plaintiff and defendant, , This summons is published by order ot Hon. Grant B. Dimick, Judge of the County Court for Clackamas County, Oregon, which order was made and entered on the 6th day of August, 1908,aud the time prescribed for publication thereof is six weeks, beginning Friday, Aug. Itli, 1908, aud continuing eacli week thereafter, to and includiug Friday, Sept. 18th, 1908. First publication of this summons August 7th. 1908. Date of last publi nanon Sept. 18, 1908 M. MOREHEAD, Attorney for Plaintiff. Thos. Fox to B. LaFojest certain Lots in 1st addition to Oswego; $1. Reta Pierce to F. M. Amen 2S-100 acres in Sec. 5 T3S, R2E; $500. D. M. Stephenson to J. L. Paul 15.01 acres In Presley Welch D. L. C; $5200. C. S. Bard to Robert Hileman 20 acres in John Stephenson D. L. C, T3S, R4E; $000. Mary E. Barlow et ux to F. S. Hart 1G0 acres in Sec. 10, T5S, R1E; $2000. The John "Barrett Co. to John Bar rettundivided half of lot 7 Sec 1G T. 3S, R3E; $1. James V. Partlow to Andrew Blom 44 acres in S. S. White D.-L. C. No. 41, T3-2E; $3800. G. PolitowskI to Herman Krause 24 acres in Sec. 3, T4-4E; $4000. N. R. Lang et al to Willamette Tulp .. & Paper Co 7.92 acres near Oregon City. ' Alfred Hinman to H. A. Hosteller . 1 87.88 acres in Sees. 16 and 17, T3S, R4E; $5400. H. A. Hostetler to Axel Vesler 47.88 acres in Wm. Wade D. L. C; $2500. Lyman B. Andrews to Axel Vestor 10 acres in Stephen Walker D. L. C T2-1E; $1. FOR SAL ElodBni IN PORTLAND - Bungalow - . - ' 1 'iw V Just Completed All modern improvements 7 Rooms, Hot and Cold Water, Electric Lights and Bath. On one or two Lots. ROSE CITY PARK Portland's Fast Growing Addition. On the Main Street to New Driving Park. Terms. - EASTHAM, SMITH & CO. OREGON CITY, - ... - - OREGON The discriminating farmer keeps a supply of SLOAN'S LINIMENT For spavin, curb, splint sweeny, capped hock, founder, strained tendons, wind puffs and all lameness in horses -For thrush, foot rot and garget on cattle and sheep -For hog distemper, hog cholera, thumps and scours in hogs For diarrhoea, canker and roup in poultry - AT ALL DEALERS - . - PRICE 25. 50 I $ 1.00 Send for free book on Horaes. Cottle, Hogs ond Poultry -"-Address Dr. Eorl S.Sloan, Boston. Mass S