0
I, M. J. BROWN, BEING DULY SWORN, SAY THAT I AM EDITOR AND PART OWNER OF THE OREGON CITY COURIERAND THAT THE AVERAGE WEEKLY CIRCULATION OF THAT PAPER FROM MAY 1,1912 TO MAY 1, 1913, HAS EXCEEDED
2000 COPIES, AND THAT THESE PAPERS HAVE BEEN PRINTED AND CIRCULATED FROM THE COURIER OFFICE M. J. BROWN. Subscribed and sworn to before me. .this 5th day of May, 1913. Gilbert.! Hedges, Notary Public.
CITY
The Farmers Society of Equity i
spreading over this county and th
Courier is spreading with it. Its ad
vertising columns are . good as gold
Clackamas County Fair
September 24, 25, 26, 27
Canby, Oregon
31st YEAR
OREGON CITY, ORE., FRIDAY, JUNE 13, 1913.
No. 1
(MGOM
Coir to if? i?
THIS IS THE
COURT'SJEFENSE
WEAKEST OF ARGUMENTS A-
GAINST THE RECALL
REAL CHARGES ARE IGNORED
And Other Matters Dragged in to
Side Track the Voters
There was an editorial in the En
tAmrise last week that was both pa
thetic and ridiculous, pathetic in its
weak little bluff at defense of the
county court and ridiculous and laugh
able in its self-praise. v,
The article was headed "Food for
Thought." It was some diet all right,
nnH it. made manv DeoDle think. We
reproduce" some of the crumbs of this
food in order to help the good worn
along. Here s the first one:
Considerable has been said of
late about the county court and
its methods of doing business.
Certain interests, moved mostly
by selfishness and pique, and al
so by ambition, have produced
charges which so far have not
been borne out by facts, and one
by one the hollow accusations of
mismanageiment have collopsed.
The wonder is when they collopBed
AnvhnHv hear them fall? Any de
fense been produced to knock the
props out? Have you ever read any
defense of the bridge contracts char
ges? Have you ever seen a line or
heard a word explaining where the
$163,000 went? Has the county court
ever explained why it gave away
Clackamas county's irancmse rignis
to a gas corporation? Has there been
any reason given why the timber
cruising contract could not have been
done for one-eigth what the contract
was let for?
Here's another crumb of thought
from the Enterprise and some
crumb:
This paper believes in the
square deal, and it has attained
its present prestige in this county
largely because it has told the
truth to the best of its ability,
and spared nobody in telling the
truth. The Enterprise believes
that it is the duty of a newspap
er to print the news, and to print
it as nearly correctly as it is pos
sible to obtain it. This has been
the stand of this paper in regard
to the county court matter, as
well as in regard to other mat
ters. Talk about crust!
Do the readers recall what the En
terprise printed about the farmers'
mass meeting here, how in big letters
it headed the article "Mass Meeting
Ends in a Pitiful Farce?"
You bet they do? ,
They remember how the Enterprise
stated 0. D. Eby was hooted off the
platform and how that sheet absolut
ely ignored the truth and attempted
to ridicule this gathering of protest
ing taxpayers?
And a later one they also remem
ber. They remember how eight men
over their signatures flatly denied
the Enterprise's false statements re
garding the recall meeting at Needy,
and called the writer of that article
an unmitigated liar.
If the Enterprise ever printed any
thing truthfully of any matter which
it did not favor, we would like to
have that phonograph cite it.
The Aurora Observer in speaking
of the Enterprise's article on the re
call meeting at Needy say that
"From several reputable citizens
present at the meeting the Observer
has learned that the Enterprise re
port was a gross exaggeration to say
the least"
And here's another little crumb the
Enterprise hands out in hopes voters
who do not think may swallow:
There is another side to this
county court business that has
not as yet been brought to the
light. Under the present control
Clackamas Co. has been brought
to a sound financial basis for the
first time since its organization.
In April of this year the county
was absolutely out of debt for
the first time in its history.
Oregon City is in debt. It could
mighty soon get rut of debt if it
would double taxes if it would load
on taxation and make the people pay
it.
The investigating committee went
into this claim of the county court
pretty thoroughly, and there has nev
er been a line written or word spoken
to show that its findings were not
true. Mr. Eby passed it up entirely in
his individual report It is the most
important matter before the taxpay
ers today.
The committee took this matter up
at the beginning of the present courts
term; showed the money on hand and
the indebtedness at that time; Ahrcrrtd
the amount on hand March 3i;13,
and showed that there was fly 7,940.
77 MCTRE MONEY TO DO BUSI
NESS WITH. The report says:
"If the present county court
had only the same money to do
business with that the 1910 court
had, and had expended the tame
amounts they did , this county
would be debt $163,608.95 more
AND
on March 31, 1913 than on March
31, 1910."
And until someone can show where
that $163,608.95 went-to, this will in
deed be "Food for Thought."
And here's another the Enterprise
asks you to take on trust:
The present county court has
built a large number of steel
bridges for the public, highways
replacing old and inadequate
wooden structures. These bridges
cost money. The county court
found a way to spend this money
that was required and still had
the county out of debt in April.
Yes, "the county court found a way
to spend this money" all right, but
until the county court refutes the
charges made in a sworn affidavit by
an expert who measured and comput
ed the steel in these bridges, the vot
ers will ask HOW it was spent.
J. W. Smith of Macksburg stated
at the recall meeting in Molalla Fri
day night of last week Mr. Llewel
yn told him that when he was county
commissioner he was offered FIVE
PER CENT COMMISSION ON
BRIDGE CONTRACTS and TEN
PER CENT COMMISSION ON
ROAD MACHINERY, which he re
fused. Mr. Smith said he had permis
sion from Mr. Llewjelyn to make
this statement.
Now the inference is that the other
commissioner was offered the same
commission, and one would naturally
think the judge was offered about
double this rake-off.
Again:
Tho present county court has
cared for other things in the line
of public work. It has cared for
the poor, it has contributed as
required to various developement
and booster plans
Sure thing. Glad you mentioned it.
It handed over to the publicity de
partment of the commercial club (in
order not to be too glaring) one little
check we know of, of $150 to the En
terprise as a gift to a booster edition.
An outside solicitor put on the
special edition. The proposition was
first made to the Courier office and
we turned it down because the pro
motor wanted too much for his ser
vices. But of course the Courier had
no friends at court to pay this man
his wages.
This was about as raw a little deal
as was ever put over on the taxpay
ers. Where is the Oregon newspaper
that wouldn't put out a special edit
ion, and a hummer, if the county
court would throw $150 into the jack
pot? A special edition is simply a
yHv(ite speculation to m&ke sofme
money and the idea or county aid is
the rankest of favoritism and waste
of taxpayers' money.
And do you wonder at the stand of
the Enterpriset in its feeble attemp
ts to exonerate the court of the char
ges .' it is no doubt trying to pay
back that last $150.
And by the way, we will later on
show up what the present county
court has paid the Enterprise in coun
ty warrants, and it MAY open your
eyes a little.
And the Enterprise closes with this
sort of a benediction:
Does a record like this look as
if these men ought to be recall
ed on a batch of trumped-up,
flimsy and misleading charges?
Does this record make it seem
that the present court is incom- .
petent, or is stealing the peoples'
money, or is unworthy of the
trust imposed upon them?
Well, let the people answer these
questions, but until the court comes
right out in the open and' defends the
charges made at the first mass meet
ing here, and the charges and find
ins of the mass meeting committee
until such time we would advise the
Enterprise not to press these ques
tions too hard.
Inviting Trouble.
If the reports of the an est of four
men Wednesday night for attempted
street speaking are true, as published
in the Enterprise, it is our opinion
that the city is sending out invita
tions for future trouble.
As stated in that paper four men
were preparing to make an open air
speech when Shaw and Miles ordered
them to desist, that the men did not
desist quickly enough to suit the of
ficers and they were arrested and
thrown into jail.
The United States and the Oregon
state constitutions guarantee every
man the right of free peech, and there
is no city ordinance against street
speaking in this city.
It has been the history of the Pacif
ic coast that I. W. W. troubles have
followed wherever an attempt has
been made to stop street speaking,
and if no other reasons than those as
quoted in the Enterprise were given
for the arrest of these men, then we
will no doubt here more of this mat
ter. Our side streets have always been
open to street fakirs, speech makers,
politicians and preachers, and it
would seem that preparations for a
street speech were slim grounds to
get around the constitutions on . It
would have been better to have at
least waited until there was some
thing said by the speakers that would
have warranted arrest.
Want to Vote on Stock Law
A petition has been presented to
County Clerk Mulvey asking him to
call a special election in Canemah
for July 14 for the voters to deter
mine whether or not stock shall be
permitted to run at large. Any pre
cinct is a law unto itself as to this
matter, and may decide the ques
tion by special elections.
THIS IS RANKEST
HERESY, FIRE
LEAVE THIS TALK FOR FOOLS
AND CHILDREN
AND PREACH TO EMPTY PEWS
Rev. Deschampes, You Won't Dn
You Are Herewith Fired
A friend sent me a copy of the
Farnhamville; (la.,) Index, and asks
what I think of the expressions of
Rev. J. M. Deschamps, a preacher
who his flock tried to have remov
ed because of his Jack Johnson short
arm punches,' and the slang style of
his pulpit exDression.
Perhaps the printed expressions are
not all the allegations in the case,
and I am getting but one side, but
from the evidence at hand I am go
ing to fire Rev. Deschamps, body and
Bible, and advise him , to get a job
cutting wood.
What the churches want is the soft
pedal and the kid gloves, and when
a man gets behind .the Bible and fires
this line of talk to a 1913 audience
made of 90 per cent of women, who
are out to show a' picture hat or a
hobble skirt, well, we simply can't
stand for it.
"The way to have peace is to
keep the other fellow so scared
that there can't be any fight. My
motto is never strike the first
blow; never let the other fellow
strike the second blow; and not to
leave enough for any body to
strike the third blow. I have been
brought up to live like a saint,
pray like a lord and fight like the
devil, and I think the same things
carried out by the nation would
make it an ideal one."
And the pious-faced members of the
church think this line of talk is more
fitting for billiard rooms than chur
ches; that Rev. DesChamps had bet
ter hike out and do Billy Sunday
stunts, and let them put some plant
in the pulpit who can mellow up with
oratory and keep along the lines of
"meek and lowly." And ;the results
will be fewer men and more empty
pews.
Here 8 some more evidence thai
Rev. DesChamps has no business in
a pulpit:
If the world seems awful to
you see your doctor you may
need calomel.
I'd sooner trust a flying ma
chine for safety than some peop
le's friendship for sincerity.
A deceitful friend is like an
itching spot in the middle of the
back.
If God was as mean to us as
we often are to eacn other, we'd
get a hell apiece in the next cut.
Any half-breed can treat his
own customer nice, that's easy
It's the well-born cultured gentle
man who can treat the other fel
low's customer nice and who gets
there in the long run.
Learn to get your help from
God and you won't miss your
friends when they go back on
you. '
. I remember, several years ago, in
a Kansas town, of attending church
in an opera house, to hear a man
preach who had been fired out of his
conference because of his too liberal
and unorthodox expressions. That
man preached to men got right to
their hearts and told them 'things
they will never forget. And from the
galleries and orchestra seats, from
nigger heaven to the boxes, they
showered the stage with money. That
was the kind of preaching men want
ed, and he was the style of man who
could preach to them. But to get back
to Farnhamville, la.
Here is some more of the stuff in
troduced in evidence and calculated
to be heavy enough to drive a man
out of the old-line pulpits.
Yes, go to the shows, they are
good educators, but don't get the
rheumatics all over when the
church door opens.
If the other fellow quit when
he was not quite suited and you
quit when you are not quite suit
ed, how much better are you than
the other fellow?
We try to help one, then get
mad with us because they did
not chance to be that one.
An educated man in an ignor
ant community is like a No. 12
foot in a No. 6 shoe.
When you get down in the
mouth 'think of Jonah, he came
out all right. ,
God means for us to be good,
Satan renders it necessary for us
to be better.
Don't fear to praise other's
merits for fear it will cost you
something it will cost you more
not to.
Innocent fun is far more holy
than religious gram.
If you feed your mind on chaff
only, you will die with the light
head.
Rev. DesChamps you're in wrong-
Scat Yours for the Salvation army.
Get down where they will appreciate
you. Fools and children may speak
HIM
the literal truth but preachers well,,
they can t do it and hold their jobs
in Iowa at least.
THE BEST COAST CITY
Bredstreet's Representative Says
Ours is Best on Pacific Coast
"Oregon City is the best city of its
size on the coast," said a represent
ative of one of the big commercial
credit concerns in the hearing of the
Courier man Monday.
He didn't say it was ONE of the
best towns, but that it was THE best
town.
It is the best city of its size be
cause it has a big income, a pay roll
of $100,000 a month, and because its
big mills never stop an hour night or
day in the year.
And when you have a steady
stream of gold coming in weekly and
that gold changing hands and ever in
circulation well, such conditions
could build-up the best city in Oregon
out m the heart of the Wasco Coun
ty Indian reservation.
Oregon City is a city of business
and money. Hard times doesn't touch
it, because it has plenty of money
and money makes business.
And Oregon City has a future that
means a far bigger city, a city on
both sides of the Willamette. New
mills are starting and manufacturers
from all over Oregon are looking ov
er the city for locations.
A MOVE FOR THE CITY
Build a City Building and Furnish
New Postoffice Quarters
A government postoffice inspector
was in the city Monday and what he
said and thought about our dump of
a postoffice was plenty, and he went
over the matter with Postmaster Ran
dall with a view to providing more
suitable quarters and better accomo
dations for this city.
In December the present lease of
ten years will expire, and the inspec
tor, Mr. Clement, urged that the city
or some individual, take up the mat
ter of providing a suitable building,
with whom the government would
make a ten year lease.
We believe the city should get in
ter interested in this matter. It is but
question of time when a new city hall
must be built, and here is an oppor
tunity for a steady renter at $100 a
month at the least, or interest on $10
000. If the city would provide post
office quarters according to govern
ment plans, there would be no ques
tion but what the quarters would be
occupied as long os the quarters were
adequate for the city until the city
outgrows.
The present lease was big enough
ten years ago, but now it is a dis
grace, a place we are ashamed of.
Ten years ago, when the lease was
made, the receipts of the office were
7,000 and now they are about $20,-
000 a pretty good thermometer of
the business and growth of this
city.
This matter of a new postoffice is
something our business men, our
commercial organizations and city
council should take up and never let
up on until the needed change and im
provement is made.
And we believe the city will over
look a good bet unless it takes a
hand in this matter and thoroughly
considers the proposition of putting
up a modern three-story building for
a postoffice, city offices, with fire-
mens quarters and perhaps office
apartments. This city property is one
of the best locations in the city. A
new city building must soon be built.
Why not tie up to a proposition that
would pay interest of half of the in
vestment ?
IF ONE-TENTH ARE TRUE
Of Charges, Court Should be Recalled
and Better Men Elected
(Aurora Observer)
The Observer will not knowingly
allow false or injurious statements to
appear in its columns. A newspaper
should aim to build up not tear
down. But honest criticism is not de
structive; it is constructive, and there
are occasions when it becomes neces
sary to destroy, that progress may
follow. If one-tenth of the charges
made against the Clackamas county
court by the "recall people" are true,
the court should be recalled and bet
ter men chosen to fill their places.
For the discussion of this matter in
temperate, lawful lauguage, the col
umns of the Observer are open to all
who really have something to say.
Hedging
This paper has editorially ex
pressed its opinion of the frame
up against the county court, but
even at that it has not in any
sense championed the commiss
ioners nor the county judge. It
has simply tried to give them a'
square deal. Enterprise.
The Enterprise is beginning to see
a light. It will come up and eat out
of the hands of the men it is now
assailing when it thinks there is dan
ger of its present court friends go
ing down with the recall.
More Sand Than City Has
Superintendent Scott, who drilled
the test water well at Mt. Pleasant,
evidently has more faith in himself
than the city hag in him. After the
abandoning of the test well at 815
feet he made a proposition to the
council, which was adopted, that he
drill one or more test wells, at his
own risk. If he strikes the fluid the
city pays; if not, Mr. Scott stands it.
IS IT STRIKE,
T
TROUBLE AT PAPER MILLS IS
YET A MYSTERY
BREAKS OUT AFTER MIDNIGHT
Fifteen Men Are Indicted for Riot
- In Connection with Trouble
Tuesday night soon after midnight,
an affair occurred at the mills here
that is hard to determine the motive
or object for. There are a dozen dif
ferent stories or rumors chasing
around but they all seem to fall down.
The affair doesn't appear to be eith
era strike or a walkout.
Soon after midnight, without any
warning, trouble broke out in the
Hawley and Crown paper mills on the
east side of the river, and the mills
were shutdown. There are various re
ports as to its starting, one that a
bunch of labor" agitators from out of
the city, appeared at the plants, inti
midated the workers, and through
threats of violence induced them to
quit work. The machines were shut
off, belts thrown off and lights turned
off.
Another is that the trouble started
among the employes, who wanted
more pay, and was a part of an or
ganized plan to shut down all of the
mills.
After closing the east side mills
a crowd of about 50 men crossed the
bridge to the west sido with the in
tention it is said, of closing them,
but the Wllamette mills were warned
and were prepared for defense. The
ocks have to be crossed by a narrow
foot passage to get to the mill, and
this was guarded by the company, and
the men did not attempt force.
At this time Sheriff Mass and dep
uties arrived and arrested 20 of the
men. The sheriff ordered hands up,
and there was no resistance to ar
rest The grand jury was in session and
the men were taken before that body,
five were released and fifteen indicted
for rioting and held in $500 bail each.
What the proposed effect of the
strike, walkout or riot was is hard
to determine. Recently an 8-hour shift
was established in the Willamette
and Crown mills, which was supposed
to give general satisfaction, and the
affair Tuesday night was a com
plete suprise to the superintendents.
One story is that the matter was a
pre-arranged program, and part of a
plan to close the mills both here and
at Camas, Wash., and that it would
be a walkout for higher pay.
Since the trouble it is said that at
one of the grocery stores some work
men told this grocer that it might be
necessary for him to carry some ac
counts for a time, as there was talk
of mill troubles.
But the whole matter is decidedly
a mix-up at the present, and none
seem to be able to get a head to it, or
what the real object was. The men in
jail are said to be former workers of
the miHs, and not Portland I. W. W's,
as has been reported.
Wednesday evening there were wild
rumors that further trouble would oc
cur at the mills during the night, but
nothing came of them.
Governor West dropped into the
city on the 9-40 train Wednesday
night to look things over. He talked
with the sheriff, the arrested men,
mill workers and the mill managers.
He said the affair was a most pecul
iar one, but he did not think it
would go any further.
Fifteen members of the local mil
itia was kept under arms Wednesday
night and several special police sworn
in.
Four street speakers preparing for
a talk were arrested Wednesday.
Probably the real inside of the mat
ter will not be brought out until the
trial of the men arrested, which it is
thought will take place next week.
On the whole the affair seemed to
have been considerably overdone in
the newspapers and made much more
serious than conditions indicate.
After Six Years They Win
Just about six years ago complaint
was made to the state railroad com
mission that the charges of the P. R.
L.&P. Co. from Oak Grove and Mil
waukie were unjust, and the commis
sion ordered the railway company
to reduce the fares to five cents to
Milwaukie and ten cents to Oak
Grove.
The company fought the order and
carried the matter to the supreme
court, and after nearly six years a de
cision has been rendered sustaining
WANTED!
Girls and Women
To operate Sewing Machines
in garment factory.
Oregon City Woolen Mills
WALKOUT OF!
the commissions' rulinsr.
The railway company, as soon as
notified by wire of the court's decis
ion at once cnmnlieH with thn nrrfor
and Wednesday reduced fares. About
jiouu in reoates will De returned.
HOGG BROS. OPEN
Handsome New Store on Main Street
Ready for Business
Hogg Bros, have their new Main
street store open to the public, and
they certainly have a line of hardware
furniture and building material that
will catch trade.
The boys know the business. They
have been with the Busch company
for years and know the people as
well as the business, and they will
get business. The store has a good lo
cation, and the stock is absolutely
new and late.
The Hogg boys have a lot of faith
in Oregon City and the future growth,
and they want to grow with it. They
believe its population will double.
They are optimistic, progressive and
hustlers, and such fellows are just
bound to make good.
The new store is just below the
postoffice and has a handsome line,
and the boys say prices are as at
tractive as the stock.
COURIER MAKES CHANGE
Hereafter it Will be Issued Each
Week on Thursday
After this week the Courier will be
issued Thursdays and will be entered
in the postoffice Wednesday nights.
During the past six months tha
circulation of this paper has had a
wonderful growth throughout the
farming section of the county and is
now reaching well into every part of
the county.
And in the central and eastern sec
tions of the county, where all mails
are dependent on rural deliveries, the
paper does not reach subscribers
early enough.
Another reason, advertisers say the
Courier does not reach the farming
sections early enough Jo make the
last of the week advertising specials
of value to them.
With the change next week, enter
ing the paper on Wednesday night,
subscribers should receive it Thurs
day night, and those in remote parts
of the county early Friday morning.
We would ask advertisers, corres
pondents and contributors to bear
this change in mind and get every
thing in one day earlier than at pres
ent. THE WHOLE WORKS
A Councilman . Who Rues and his
Splendid Record
Couriers
There is considerable criticism of
the action, and the non-action of the
city council on the elevator and other
matters, and will you permit me space
to show up what in my judgement is
one of the reasons why the council
and the city are not more in har
mony? And the best way I can illustrate
this is to relate two incidents that
have recently occured in this city. It
will show what kind of men presume
to dictate to our city officials:
Monday last a city councilman
went into the Planet saloon on Main
street and asked for a drink of liquor.
The proprietor refused to serve him,
for the reason he was intoxicated.
The councilman demanded a drink
and threatened that he "would get
him" if it was not produced. He was
refused the liquor, and later when
the bar tender was not looking, grab
bed a bottle of liquor and drank out of
it He was then ordered from the sa
loon. Another one:
On the day of the rose festival
Chief Shaw came to me and asked me
to serve as special police for the day.
I refused for the reason I was work
ing for the sheriff and could not. He
urged me, stating that an extra man
was needed, and finally I consented.
When I went to the council rooms to
get a star, then I was told that Coun
cilman Albright seriously objected to
my serving, and that it would have to
be dropped. From the Mayor I found
the same councilman had objected,
so another man was put on.
And who is this man who has so
great an influence with city officials
they will change their orders at his
command?
This is the man, sworn to uphold
the city laws, who has on every oc
casion but one voted with and stood
by the saloons which had been found
guilty of law violations.
, This is the city councilman who
was arrested and found gulty of vio
lating the fish and game laws.
This is the man who would drive
the children from their sports on the
sidewalks by a law to forbid roller
skating.
This is the man who heads the el
evator committee on which work has
never been started.
And do you wonder at the criticism
of the city council by the people?
Do you wonder the people talk re
call? Isn't it about time Oregon City
came alive.
JACK FROST
Let This Soak In
The time to advertise is not when
you have plenty of business, but when
you WANT business.
Correspendents' Notice
After this week the Courier will ha
issued Thursdays, and al' writers are
requested to send in letters one day
earlier.
A FARMER'S VIEW
OF THE RECALL
COUNTY WORK UNBUSINESS
LIKE AND UNSATISFACTORY
DOOR TO GRAFT WIDE OPEN
And Interests of the Taxpayers Ap
parently Entirely Overlooked
Editor Courier:
I am more than pleased with the
fair and fearless stand the Courier
has taken in connection with the in
terests of the taxpayers of Clackam
as county and the workings of our
county court. The Courier surely
should be commended and upheld for
the stand it has taken for a fair and
impartial investigation of tho way
our county court has beert doing bus
iness. .
This whole controversy and inves
tigation has been brought on the
court by its own actions; by its own
careless and indifferent way of re
cording the business it has had done
for the county, so that a correct and
satisfactory report of the court's pro
ceedings could no be given to the tax
payers of the county.
The taxpayers are not paying out
thousands of dollars every year with
out thinking about how that money is
used and what it is paid for. The
court knows that this report should
be required of them, and why didn't
they have every item of expense re
corded in such a way that everything
could be referred to and investigated
if desired?
And when they got the pi'ans and
specifications of the repair on the
court house made to suit them, why
did they not then advertise for bids
for the completion of that work, and
then if the bids were, not satisfactory,
why did not they go ahead and hire
the work done in the way they did,
and keep an itemized account of every
transaction as they went along, so
that every dollar which was spent on
the court house could be accounted
for; what it was paid for, and who it '
was paid to, and the price of every
-article? And not bunch up the t:ost
of a lot of work, and the cost of a
lot of material in such a way that we -could
get no positive evidence in re
gard to the matter by investigation
and examination of the records and
then run the cost of completing the
building up some $6,000 or $7,000
put on it?
The construction of the bridges was
done on about the same plan as the
court house. Bids for competition in
furnishing the material and doing the
labor, were not called for, and the
whole thing was done in such a way
that the court could not blame any
body for suspecting graft of the
darkest dye, in connection with the
whole affair, and although we cannot
yet say there was any grafting done
and we have not yet the right to say
it, yet we have a right to say that all
this county work has been done in a
very un-businesslike and very unsat
isfactory way, the result .of which
has undoubtedly cost the taxpayers of
the county many thousand of dollars
more than was necessary.'
The timber cruising, which we were
most all in favor of, has undoubtedly
cost us a good many thousand dollars
more than it needed to cost us, just
on account of the way it was done,
and in this contract the door for
graft was left wide open and the in
terests of the taxpayers were appar
ently entirely overlooked.
To claim that the cost of the cruis
ing will be very nearly paid for the
first year by the extra amount of
taxes collected from the timber does
not in any sense justify the way the
cruising was done.
The way the franchise was granted
and the way the suspension bridge
was inspected everything right
straight through, points to the unbus
inesslike and unfair way the court
has of attending to the county's bus
iness, and we certaainly do not want
a continuation of that way of doing
business.
But as Mr. Matoon has said, that
the whole court censured and agreed
on everything that was done, I don't
think we should recall a part of the
court, unless we recall the whole
bunch. Then, if they are recalled,
give them a thorough investigation
in the courts and if it can then be
proven that they have been doing any
dirty work, give them the punishment
they deserve.
Sincerety yours,
GEORGE HICINBOTHAN
WHY?
Why doesn't the state fish and
game department have a salmon hat
chery right here at the falls, where
one is practically provided?
What Is the use of -going up the
river a hundred or two miles to
build a nest for the royal chinook,
when a nest is already for them here
and where below the falls last week
the great fish were so thick they rub
bed together and butted their heads
in against the rocks in trying to
climb a ladder a ladder that doesn't
seem to be wcking only at times.
MiR Mary Martin of Beaver Creek,
was a visitor in this city Saturday.