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About Oregon City courier. (Oregon City, Or.) 1902-1919 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1915)
Unjverslt Eugene, Ore Many take the Courier be cause they like it; many be cause they don't like it, but the P. M's receipts show that many take it for some reason. The Courier has the largest sworn and undisputed circu lation in the Willamette Val ley it's a paper that's differ ent and a paper that's read. 32d Year OREGON CITY, OREGON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1915 Number 46 "KNOCKING THE GITY" ARE W. HERE IS THE EVIDENCE, LET THE JURY TAKE IT IS CRITICISM ANVIL MUSIC? Depends Allogther on Conditions, and Here are Some Illustrations There is much difference between honest criticism and pounding the anvil, but it's hard for some people to see it. "You ought not to publish such ar ticles on the drinking water as you did last week," said George Randall to the Courier editor. "You are knocking the city." "If a mouse dies in the intake, Brown will get the ladies to puking and the water proposition will carry," said another man. These are only a pair of many expressions of those who oppose a change of our water system. They say the Courier "knocks" when it shows up the source of our drinking water. Now here are a few of the illustra tions of the difference between criticism and knocking: Suppose; both the city papers had run scare' heads across the front page that Oregon City had an epi demic of small-poxr. and printed a list of those who had the disease. Such a course would have been plain "knocking" under certain con ditions and fully justifiable under others. . If the authorities and health of ficers were neglecting their duties; were not enforcing quarantine and the disease was allowed to spread, the newspapers would not only be justified in using the scare heads, hut. it. would have been their DUTY to have done so regardless of "knock" to the city. But the authorities got on the job, got the disease under control, and undue upblicity would have done absolutely no good and on the con trary much harm. Two years ago when typhoid broke out, they DIDN'T get on the job neither officials nor physicians, and the newspapers did just what they should have done advertised the condition until the state board of health was compelled to take action. Here's another: Some time ago a child died of diphtheria in a public hotel in this city. " . 1 As soon as the physicians and health officials knew what the child had rigid precautions were taken, and there was no spread or scare. Front page headlines .under the conditions would have been indefens ible. Had the authorities failed to get on the job such publicity would have been the duty of the papers. One more: The newspapers have been damned to a fare-you-well by some business men of this city for the publicity given to the financial and business condition of the city in the past two years. It was "knocking." It "hurt bus- inooo " "Wptit. out newcomers;" it was "the wromr kind of advertising But the result of it was that the officials got down to brass tacks and the city knows where it is at 101 the first time in 20 year.s Was it "knocking?" Do you in jure a man's business by showing him it is spending more money than it is taking in? The Courier, the Enterprise, G. B. Dimick, J. O. Staats and others all had a hand in it. Nobody knew the condition of the city. Now we all know it, and we are knuckling in to pay for past mis takes, and paying out almost one half in income of the city as interest on those past mistakes. Was it knocking to bring abuot these conditions? Would it have been "better for business" to have let things go to the dogs for another 20 years and the city have gone bankrupt? Now the pure water project: The Courier ' editor believes as honestly as lie ever believed anything, that the thing to do for health, growth and increased business is to nrovide the city with pure water. It's as important as pure iooq and pure milk. It is the biggest in- J vestment any city ever made. There isn't a person who reads these lines but who knows that we must sooner or later get away from this river for our drinking water, because it grows more polluted every year as the valley settles up. If there was no way to get away from it; if we simply had to drink it or let our tongues hang out, then there would be nothing gained in telling the people of the rotten dogs, hogs and cows that drift into the in . take basin. But we have a remedy presented to us. We can get away from it. We can have the purest water in Oregon delivered to our homes at an extra cost of from 50 to 75 cents per month. Why the families who moved to Gladstone during the past year have more than offset this cost. We believe the man who knocks pure water knocks the town far more than the Courier does in advocating it. We think we are boosting the city in showing up the conditions of the water we are forced to drink. What is this extra cost compared with doctors' bills and chronic stom ach troubles? One man said to the writer that the most polluted of water could be run through our city filter and be absolutely freed from germs and pure as mountain water. And when we asked him WHY the chloride of lime was added to the water, if the filter did this perfect work, he could not explain. Facts are we had two serious epi demics of typhoid after drinking filtered water, and the lime disinfect ent was then tacked on to the alum. From the several state authorities this paper has taken the matter up with, not one, has recommended the chloride of lime, only in cases of emergencies to be used while better water is being procured. Chemicals used to bleach with are not fit for any stomach and you know it, much less for those of little chil dren. And from a business point of view: We know West Linn must have a water sys.tem, and will have one. We know she won't make our mis? take and take drink from the river. We know she will get good water from some source, and we SHOULD know that when she gets it she will rob this city of many of its people, if we stay by our sewer. We know that Gladstone has had a wonderful growth at our expense during the past three years, and it has been very largely to get away from ourwater. Why such an expensive system as the proposed south fork project can be made to pay for itself in twenty years with so little added expense to the consumer is because it doesn't cost much for water to run down hill end because West Linn will pay 5125,000 of the cost.' Already in ward one the people are talking, in the event the water proposition should fail to carry, of making a canvass of the residents and having a well drilling outfit sub mit figures on drilling a certain number of private wells. Should any buch undertaking as this be started nnd spread, the present water rates would have to be raised to more than the raise for the mountain water proposition, to make the pres ant pumping plant pay running ex penses. Look all these points over and you will admit the Courier is boost ing rather than knocking when it advocates pure water. We absolutely must have pure water aid how much better to get it now than after the expense of time, which is mighty expensive to the city in the way of holding back its growth. Same Question Here Will it add to the high cost of liv ing, if Estacada gets absolutely pure water from the South Fork to replace the present nourishing soup that flows through our mains? Estacada Progress. A Wise Solution Probably the best way to settle the matter of county school supervis ors was the compromise on Senator Dimick's bill giving each county the right of deciding by vote of the people whether they want the super visors. The bill passed the senate last week. Two Full Moons Astronomv students are just call ing attention to the fact that there will be two full moons appear during the present month of January, that there will be none in rebruary ana two again in March. Such a circum stance occurs only once in a life time according to report. The two full moons this month and in March are scheduled for the 1st and 30th. Circumstantial Evidence This week the infant daughter of Finlev McGrew died of cerebro men ingitis. Shortly before the' disease attacked her she was subjected to vaccination. We do not assert that there was anv connection between the two, neither can we avoid considering the suspicious relation the latter disease bore to the previous treat ment. Of one thing we may be sure, proper sanitation, proper care of health and proper quarantine of smallpox would practically excluda danger from it. Mt. Scott Herald. Two New Railroads now Running Saturday last two new railroads made their first trips to Oregon City the Willamette Valley Southern, be tween Mount Angel and Oregon City, the other an extension of the Fort- land Eugene & Eastern, connects the paper and pulp mills here with Oswe- tro. The extension of the Portland Eueene & Eastern is about four miles long and will carry 60,000,000 feet of lumber a year. The northern termi nus of the line is just south of Oswe- (to. where a large electric derrick has been installed to load the cars. At this end of the line, in West Linn, the road runs a ' short distance south of the falls, where the logs are dumped into the river to be floated down to the paper plants.. GETTING 11 TO SS VIEWS OF AN OREGON! AN RE- S TURNED FROM THE EAST WATER OUT, VALUES STAPLE Stocks Down to Real Value West is in Better Shape than East Out here in the West we are pret ty lucky after all. The Courier has always thought this to be the fact, but it was not quite sure of it until this week, when a man who in for mer days was a frequent contributor to its columns returned from a trip to the East and told us a few things about the "home country." Business may be on the eve of a great revival, and good times may be coming with a rush, as President Wilson says but just the same out here in the West we have some things to be thankful for. Everybody knows that "money is ight" these days, and it is only the foolish ones who try to deny it. Maybe the war is responsible for it, and maybe there is something else the matter; but the fact remains that prosperity's smiling face is just now under a cloud. Out here nobody is volunteering information about the true reason, but the Westerner who goes back East does not have to be gifted "with second-sight to find one of the causes of "depression." "I met a professional man while I was in the East," said the Courier's friend, "and he tolcT me that times were hard. He blamed the present administration. We got to talking it over, and he said that while his in come was about the same, he had less money for luxuries and had less to look forward to in the future. In the course of our talk he told me that some years ago, when 'Republican prosperity' was abroad in the land, he had purchased thirteen shares of steel stock, at $126 a share. He had put his savings into this, instead of into a bank or into land, and he figur ed that his thirteen shares of steel would always be worth something and would be a comfort to him in his old age. "Now this man's steel stock is worth $86 a share on paper, but he can't sell it for that. In former days he used to get dividends so that he figured he was getting five per cent on his investment, but now he he isn't getting anything at all. former days he took his steel coupons down every so often and cashed them in, and with the proceeds he bought some new records for , his talking machine or a vacation for himself, and he thought he was prosperous. But now he doesn't get any luxuries, he knows his stock isn't worth what he paid for it, and he is sure that times are hard and that the democrat ic party is to blame. "This man is just one of many. Thousands of people in the East have put all their savings into some kind of stock. The democratic adminis tration squeezed some of the water out of the stock, and then the war came along and put the stock mar ket on the blink, and now these thousands of people though they are still earning money enough to make a living, are yelling that times arehard and out of joint, and they are blaming the democrats, the war, or anything else besides themselves. They don't realize that they took a gambling chance when they bought their stock; they don't realize that they paid an inflated value lor it, and that their dividends were paid on the inflated value. All they know is that their savings have dwindled, and they blame the admin istration for that and wonder where the country is going to. "As a matter of fact the country is all right. Stocks are getting down to their proper values, and their price today represents their real worth. Lots of the water has been squeezed out, and the people who paid for this water have nobody to blame but themselves. But you can't make an Easterner see this, and as a result he is yelling his head off about hard times. "As I came West again, and got away from that section of the coun try where stocks are the chief things for investment, people told me things were better. In the Mississip pi and Missouri valleys nobody is complaining very much about hard times. Business is good there, in spite of the war. People have their money in land, and the land is yield ing good crops or is raising stock just as it always did, in spite of the war. And while 'big money' is tight because big money is also invested in stock the average man is quite happy and is contributing his bit to help out the Belgians, the Germans or anybody to whom his sympathies may go out. "Returning to the Coast, I found conditions much the same. In places where they have something, people were not complaining. In sections where people had been holding land for exploitation, there was some com plaint, naturally. Land can be boom ed just as can shares of stock, and the man who buys cheap land at an inflated value is just as badly off as the man who buys worthless stock at a fancy price. But on the whole in the West T found that people had managed to get good land when they bought for themselves, and so they were not complaining very much. Yes, take it all -in all, the West is a pretty good place, and I don't find half as much complaint out here as I did in the effete East. And when people do complain here, they don't blame the administration they are philosophical enough to admit that they bought at too high a price, and they grin and say that they'll know better next time." Judge Takes Cold Plunge Judge Campbell is wondering wheher Sabbath breaking or a Scotch stumble is the cause of his taking a plunge in the . canal near Canby Sun day. With Attorney Phil Hammond he was going over some property in litigation Sunday, when his foot caught in a snag, and before he could catch himself he went over the bank into the cold water to his waist. Fishing Bill up Monday Next The Gill bill to close the Willa mette river to net fishermen from the falls to the mouth of the Clacka mas has been made a special order in the senate for Monday afternoon of next week. Three reports have been submitted by the committee, one recommending the present closed season, and that net fishing be pro hibited above the suspesnion bridge; one recommending the present law, and the third closing the river to the Clackamas. It is anybody's guess what the result will be on the vote in the senate. The bill passed the house by a big majority. , Referendum Election This Year We are pretty sure to have a gen eral election this fall, to vote on measures enacted by the legislature that may be referred to the people, as well as those on which the refer endum may be invoked after the adjournment of the legislature. The status of the prohibition question alone will doubtless insure the pass age of Senator Day's bill providing for such an election and making an appropriation of $12,000 to pay the cost. When the legislature enacts a pro hibition law to carry into effect the prohibition amendment adopted last fall, a referendum on that law will be possible. Without provision for a vote this fall on such a referendum, the new law could not then go jnto effect until after a favorable vote in November, 1916. Of course the legislature could enact a prohibition law with an emergency clause, to obviate the ref erendum; but this would put prohi bition into effect this spring, while the amendment does not go into effect until January, 1916. So there seems to be no way to sidetrack an election in November, 1915. NOT HOW DRY, HOW WET Amusing Propositions of the Half Made State Dry Measure If 24 quarts of beer a month are necessary to quench the thirst of the dries, how much would a regular old soak require? Honest, but it's funny as a fence around a tombstone, the way the fel lows at Salem are framing up "pro hibition" for a state that went dry by over 30,000. "Drys now favor 24 Quarts In stead of 15" are the headlines in the dailies. Isn't it laughable? Reminds one of an old soak who begs the bartender to let him have a pint to take home with him, while the barkeep thinks a drink is sufficient. What a mess has been made of it. Why didn't the drys who framed the bill the people made a law last November, why didn't they make that bill a whole law? Why did they make it half a law and leave the legislature to tinker with it and give every home the privilege of being made a barroom? Do a few dozen men in the legis lature assume to have the power of mind reading and feel qualified to guess out just how many bottles of beer and quarts of booze the voters had in mind when they sent the state to the dry column last fall ? WW didn't the initiative bill we made a law define all these points?1 The great heads on the alcoholic traffic committee at Salem propose to raise the limit to 24 bottles m order to convenience the breweries, for a case holds an even two dozen bottles, and the bottles wouldn't rattle so much if the cases were full. We may ship in beer or whiskey by the car load from California, but we must not make that beer or whis key in Oregon. "Made in Oregon" doesn't go in this case. Paul Wessinger may move his brewery over the line, operate it and sell the stuff to Oregon, but Paul musn't run it nor sell its product in Oregon. Why was the initiative measure a half-baked statute, only half a law, for the legislature to put the wheels and the booze in? It appears now that the state-wide dry law makes the legislature phy sician to prescribe how much booze the people who voted a state dry may drink. Indeed "it is to laugh." OREGON SEE IT IN 193 ADVANCE COURIER ITEMS FROM THE 15 YEARS HENCE ARE ITEMS WILD GUESSES? Pick Out Those that 15 Years Will Leave Out of Program (The following items may be (or may not be) read in the Oregon City Courier in February 1931.) Ex-Congressman W. A. Dimick returned from Eugene Monday, where he has been visiting his son, who is attending tho state university. 1931 Prof. Gustav Flechtner, once a local musician, but now leader of the marine orchestra of Washington, D. C, is visiting friends in the city. He looks happy and prosperous, but Father Time has fringed his side hair, with grey. 1931 Ex-Governor W. S. U'Ren was in the city this week and he is positive the present congress will enact a general single tax law. There are but a half dozen states now on the outside and for self protection they will have to come in. It was nearly 20 years ago that the single tax fight was started in Oregon and only after twelve years of failures was it adopt ed. Then like the law guaranteeing bank deposits, other states had to adopt the system to keep tha people from flocking to Oregon, and it will now become a universal statute. 1931 President W. J. Bryan is billed to speak in Portland next week on "Ethical Government." There has been much newspaper talk that the president is "swinging around the circle" as in olden days, and that he will be a candidate for a third term at the national spring primaries. Mr. Bryan emphatically denies the ru rumor. He says he is getting too old for the work and will retire to public life. 1931 Mr. and Mrs. Howard Mass were presented with a handsome electric baby carriage by United States Mar shall E. T. Mass last week. The car riage is the latest model, and has the latest conveniences. A push button on the handles operates it while an automatic adjustment starts tne "bouncer" when the cart .stops. 1931 The Pacific Auto Works has an old time relic in front of the factory at the head of Main street. It is a Ford runabout model of 15 years ago and it illustrates the rapid de velopment of the auto. This ma chine was operated by gasoline, and in those days it was built for poor roads and hill climbing. Dr. Hugh Mount also has one of these ma chines. It is among the relics at the Inland Empire fair at Prineville. 1931 The young son of Editor Sidney Brown of the Courier hit an aero plane ball through the bathroom win dow while at play this week, break ing a $100 mirror, that was a present from the boy's grandfather. 1931 On account of the many serious accidents of the past year drastic air laws will no doubt be passed by the state commissioners for the regula tion of the fliers. In the olden days crafts were-few and could be easily dodged, but the coast is now lined with them and without proper cours es provided by law serious accidents are bound to occur, lhe commission is working on a bill to provide certain heights for machines of different weights, and making it a misdemean or for any flier to get out or its aiti tude. 1931 The proposition of dividing Oregon into two states is meeting with much opposition, but it is thought it will carry, as a majority vote oi tne new territory will permit secession. Ab solute prohibition of the tobacco traf fic is the main platform in the consti tution of the new state and the wo men voters declare it will carry. The proposed boundaries cuts the state in half, north and south, from the city of Prineville. Burns will be the state capital. The constitution pro vides for the same form of commis sion government we now have. 1931 The state utilities commission an nounces the main transmition lines are connected with the several sub stations and that as soon as the tubes for the lateral wires can be laid power will be ready for all the coun try districts of the state. Automat ic supply stations for current to autos will be on all the principal pav ed roads. A new 5,000 K. W. genera tor has been installed by the state at the high power plant on the Clackamas river at Stone. 1931 Dr. L. G. Ice ran his new subma rine motor boat to Astoria on a trial trip last week. It is of the dog-fish model and a handsome craft. It has a reversible propeller and dives at full speed. 1931 The new five story block at the corner of Main and Eighth ctreets Will be completed next month. The building is owned jointly by the Moose order and Y. M. C. A. It is the first building in this city erected from the Edison moulds. All the sec tions were cast at the concrete plant outside the city and as fast as com pleted were put in place. This is such an improvement over the old method of building cement buildings on the location and does away with the litter and blockading the street. 1931 The decision of the supreme court which gave to Oregon City its right to the' falls water power at the head of Main street will mean much to the city. A canal will now be dug up Main street to Sixth, and the old buildings will give place to a line of small manufacturing plants on both sides of the street. The wall around the falls will be raised four feet and the tract of land where the Canemah road used to be will be at the bottom of the big lake. 1931 Announcement is made of the com ing marriage of Miss Velma Randall, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. T. P. Ran dall, to Jean Hendry, son of Mr. and Mrs. H. E. Hendry. They were for mer residents of this city. 1931 Since the law declaring that title to all lands in Oregon held in disuse for one year should revert to the state, there has been a wild scramble with eastern speculators to unload, and the result is the state is rapidly settling up, as the millions of acres of dead land are being sold at low prices. 1931 Since the many states have adopt ed the optional state insurance law, the old line fire and life companies are fast closing up. 1931 The recent census gives this city a population of 30,321. This census includes West Linn, Willamette, and Gladstone which have recently been admitted to the city. MORE AND MORE OF IT Council Tangle over Chiefs Salary Gets Worse and Worse It looks very much as if the city council is going down the line fol another year's scrap, and that poor old amended, added to and taken from charter would have to be drag ged into the courts before it can ba legally determined whether Chief Shaw shall draw down $100, $90 or $75 dollars a month. The council session Wednesday night over the matter only got into deeper water, and it is stated City Attorney Schuebel will take the mat ter to Justice McBride of the supreme court and see if he can determine what the people really want or don't want, what they did or didn't or what they want to do or don't want to do. A business man suggested today that the whole matter be referred to the fourth grade pupils of the East ham school. First the council prepared a bud get fixing Chief Shaw's salary at $75 per month. Next at a public meeting the sal ary was put up to $90. Third, a quorum vote of the coun cil cut it down to $75. Before all this the chief was draw ing $100. t Attorney Schuebel holds that thi cut to $75 by the council doesn't hold because the charter says a ma jority of the council shall be neces sary to change it. Councilman Hackett comes back with another section of the same charter that says a majority of a nuorum has power to make such regulation. Hackett says it is purely a matter of business. That a dozen men will take Chief Shaw's place at $75 a month, and common and business sense says let one of them have it at that salary if Chief Shaw doem't want it. Councilman Hackett, Van Auken, Cox and Andrews hold that the re cently elected councilmen were elect ed with the full understanding of the people that salaries should be as per the budget prepared by the council, and that budget plainly stat ed the salary of the Chief should be $75. They hold that a chief of po lice can be hired at this salary, and that it is a matter of standing by pledges as well as a matter of busi ness and economy to hire a man at this salary, if Chief Shaw doesn't want the job. We understand a movement is be inp considered to put the matter up to the chief of police asking him if he will or will not accept the place at $75, and then bring his decision before the council. This would bo less expensive than litigation and factional scrapping for another year, West Linn Will Vote March 3rd A special election has been called for March 3 at West Linn to vote on the proposition to, take over one-third of the propsed Buth fork water pro. ject with Oregon City. It is gener ally conceded the question will carry by a big majority. County Court as Road Viewers The law providing for the appoint ment of road viewers by the county court is repealed by a bill introduced by Senator Cusick. The bill provides that the county court shall act as road viewers. 'T E RESOLUTION STANDS, IF TAX AMOUNTS WERE ERRONEOUS "" """""""" STARKWEATHER COMES BACK Hangs Courier Editor's Hide on Fence for Criticism of Resolution Milwaukie, Ore. Feb. 2, 1915. Editor Courier: We note in your issue of Jan. 28, an article censuring the Clackamas County Pomona Grange and its mem bers for passing a resolution recom mending to the legislature the pass age of a law whereby every country district should receive as much money for road construction as the district contributes in road tax each year. Your careless disregard for the truth in the said article is such as would make old Ananias turn green with envy. First you state that the County has expended $20,000 on tne River Road in our home district while the district, contributed in general special levies, about $10,000. Now if you will take the trouble to look up the matter you will find that we paid in special road tax about $10,000 and in general road tax about $8,000 or a total of about $18,000 during tne pst year so your statement contains -an error of about $8,000. Now I do not think you intended to he about the matter. I will be charitable enough to believe you did not know what you were writing about. But you owe an apology to your readers foi thus flagrantly mis-stating the facts. Now Brothar Brown be a lit tle man; step up and acknowledge your error. Our district's taxable property was $985,952.25; our general levy was eight mills, and our district special was ten mills, so you can make your own figures. During the past year Our district has received from all sources about $2500 more than we paid in taxes, but if you will take the record for four years past you will find we have paid in more than we have received. When you consider the fact that one of the greatest sources of wear on our roads in this vicinity is the auto-truck service plying between Oregon City and Portland, and that a large share of the freight originates in Oregon City, it will be seen ithat the city has a natural interest in the roads of this section which would jus tify taking some of the excess funds from the city for the up keeps of interurban roads. It is not fair to ask a little country road district with its limited resources to keep up roads entirely at its own expense when so large a portion of the traf fic is for the benefit of the city. You state further that tho road of our district Is completed and will be permanent .for many years to come. In this you show your lack of infor mation. Our main road is still far from completed and our cross roads are all but impassable. We have levied special taxes for two years past, ten mills each year. This would seem to prove that the general fund is not sufficient to keep up the roads of the district. Your allusion to this as the boule vard section is cheap buncombe which would seem to indicate your lack of information as to the real conditions, or perhaps a willful desire to per vert the facts. H. G. Starkweather. . The Courier editor will be just as much of a "little man" as his 135 avoirdupois will permit and freely acknowledge that the figures as printed in last week's article were incorrect and a correction had al ready been made when Mr. Stark weather's communication was receiv ed. But I would justify the publica tion by the fact that I am not a near relative to Ananias, but that the figures were given me by a county official of Clackamas county, state of Oregon, is., and I had . every reason to believe they were true, and no reason to think they were not authentic. Neither do I believe the official purposely misstated them. It is evi dent he overlooked the special level of $8,000. However, changing tho figures does not change the action of the resolution that each road district keep all its road money. We do not believe this is justice, or anything like it. If it is adopted Clackamas county's outlying districts will stand still for many years to come. These districts cannot build macadam roads without county help, and they should have that help. About a year ago a county bond ing proposition was presented to the people. his proposition laid out certain main roads in the county to the ex tent of about 100 miles. The districts through which this road ran were not to pay all of this hard surface. All Clackamas county was to pay for the expense. The little road district in the foothills' (Continued on Page 2, Col. 7) F PRE DO ACTION