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V0I-- .".8, .NO. 41.
OUH00N CITY, OREGON, Fill DAY, SKITHMBEK VI, IMS.
ESTABLISHED 1866
Gladstone Residence and Acre Tracts
On O. W. P. and Railway Line
It has been determined to put one-hundred acres at Gladstone on
the market m acres tiacts.
purchasers quantities as des5red on very easy terms to
These tracts are immediately on the line of the O. W. P. and Ry.
me and are many of them in good cultivation. Much of the soil is the
finest garden land and rich enough to raise onions.
These tracts can be so divided as to present an ideal building site
on one of the best streets in Gladstone and extend back to include the
fmest garden land and all in cultivation. Purchasers willing to take
unimproved or partly improved tracts can do so at very reasonable figures
Prices of tracts fronting on the motor line will be $300.00 per acre,
and from that on down to $50.00 per acre.
Understand we propose to sell a tract of level rich garden land on
the mam line of the railway for $300.00, or we will sell you six acres on
the mam county road to Portland for the same price.
On these cheaper tracts the timber will more than pay for half the
purchase price.
Remember we will and intend for sixty days, and no longer, to
sell a large number of acre tracts in Gladstone for $50.00 per acre, and
every one of these tracts will have a frontage on the main county road
to Portland.
The terms in all cases will be made fair and to suit the conven
ience of customers.
Oregon City is rapidly growing northward, and any property
fairly situated lying between this city and Portland is better than
money in the bank.
We mean business. Come and make your selections.
An abstract with each purchase, showing a complete title free of
all incumbrance.
HARVEY IE. CROSS
OREGON CITY, OREGON.
REVISE LAND LAWS
ONE OF GREAT MEASURES RQjpSE-
VELT WILL PRESS.
Condltlont on Pacific Coat Stumpage
Value Only Jut Bail
of Sale.
L. L. PORTER,
A t IC'UNET AT LAW.
Al'Htrarta of Property Fumlshtd.
pt.r with Ori-Kim City Enterprise.
C. D. and D. C. LATOURETTE,
ATTORNEYS AND COUNSELOR
AT LAW.
Main Htreet, Oregon City, Oregon.
furnish AhMrnrM of Till". Loan Money,
l'ui. clou.. Mortgage, and transact
;'tnrnl Ijiw liualm-ai.
),W. KASTIIAM
A rroltNKY AT LAW
ullfrtlona, Mortgage Foreclosures, Ab
trurla of Title and General Law Due-
linn.
Office over
pn of ort-gon City, Oregon City, Or.
y.B U'IUb 0. Bobootie!
U'KKN & SCHUKHEL
Attorney 8 at Law.
Fill in art ii u in nil court, make collcc-
'liinn and settlements of estates,
urnluli abstracts of tltlo, lend you mon
ey, lend you money on first mortgage.
Pfflco In Enterprise Building,
Oregon City, Oregon.
THE COMMERCIAL BANK OF OREGON CITY
Oregon City, Oregon
AUTHORIZED CAPITAL $100,000
D. C. LATOURETTE
r. J. MEYER
President
Cashier
Transacts a general banking business. Open from
9 a. m. to 4 p. m.
L1VY STIPP
Attorney at Law.
Justice of the Pence.
i Kge,r IJUlg., Oregon Ciy
J. U. CAMPBELL
ATTOP.NEY AT LAW
Prmn City, Oregon
Prices Reasonable
LET US
Do Your Work Work aranteed
Wo do a General Bngfingo and Transfer Business.
Safes, Pianos Furniture Moved
Ollice Opposite Masonic Building
XZ7mm Williams Bros. Transfer Co.
pVIH practice In nil thn courts of tho SttttO
Ofllce In Cnufleld Building,
.CLACKAMAS TITLE CO.
,i'our Clnckamns County abstracts of
'e Bhould bo prepared oy mo
Clacltarnaa Tltlo Company, lncor
Poratod, Chamber of ComK?rce
building, Portland. This company
is the builder and owner of the best
Rnl most complete plant of Clack
amas county tltleR. Astracts from
ts omces are compiled by exports of
lQg experience, competent attor
nnya and draughtsmen, and are of
tllnrntit..
i'ackamaa County Lands, Mortgago
1 wans, Estates managed, Taxes ex-
:, t mlned and paid.
F- Riley, pres.. . F. B. Riley, sec.
OREGON CITY ENTERPRISE
The Print-shop that Prints all work
as It should be Printed. Give us a trial.
All work turned oat with neatness and
despatch. Oar prices are right to the
dot when it comes to meeting competition
We Have a Clubbing Offer
That is safe to please oar readers. If
yoa wish to get the news of the state in
connection with that at home take ad
vantage of oar dabbing offer and get the
WEEKLY ORECONIAN and the ENTERPRISE
BOTH FOR $2.00 A YEAR
WASHINGTON, Sept. 20.-President
Iloosevelt In his forthcoming message to
Congress will urge the remodelling of the
public land laws, and among other things
will specially recommend the repeal of
the timber and stone act, the, law which
h lwn ri-Hionlnbl(- for mor: fraud and
which hait caused tho Government great
er actual loss of money than any other
public land statute. Tho President will
bai his recommendations upon the re
port of the I'ubllc Lands Commission,
consisting of Commissioner Richards, of
the General Land Office; F. H. Newell,
head of tho Reclamation Service, and
Olffoid I'liHhot, Chief Forester,
Thin commission submitted to Congress
at It h last session a second report on ltd
Investigation, and, among other things,
xald :
Instances of the beneficial operation
of the timber and stone act may be cited,
but when it Ih considered from the point
of view of the. general intercut of the
public, It becomeH obvious that thin law
should be repealed.
Hlnce the foregoing report wan pub
llMhed, tho commission has submitted to
the Public Printer a great appendix, con
taining data and facts upon which its
roncl union were bawd. This appendix
hnnyiot yet been made bubllc, but an ad
vance copy thrown Home light on the
facts at hand bearing on the operation
of the timber and atone, act.
Timber Land Not Good to Farm.
The I'ubllc: Lands .CommlHHion, it
seems, appointed a committee consisting
of Special Agents Edward W. Dixon, 8.
J. Colter and F. M. Goodwin, to examine
Into the workings of the timber and
atone, act In the 1'aclflc Northwest. This
committee reached some conclusions
which will be of Importance, though they
are not of a startling character. .They
tend to show the faults of the timber and
stone act. and indicate, wherein that act
may be Improved. The committee Bays:
"It Is a well known faH that the great
majority of lands entered under the tim
ber and stone act pans sooner or later out
of the hands of the original purchaser
from the Government, the remainder be
ing utilized by those who have purchased
the lands as an adjunct to the logging
and milling business, and in such cases
the Individual either sells his logs in open
market or manufactures the same and
sells the finished product.
"It is the opinion of Special Agent Dix
on, after several years' experience and
j close .observation, that comparatively
none of the land taken 'up under the tim
ber and stone act is utilized for farm
ing or agricultural purposes. This would
appear to be due to two essential causes:
First The act makes provision for the
taking up of only such lands as are un
fit for farming. Second Where lands
are covered with an excessively heavy
growth of timber, farming Is precluded
by reason of the great cost attending
the putting of such lands In a state of
cultivation.
How Far Is Selling Illegal?
The committee then deals with a very
vital feature on which hinges the validity
of many timber sales that have been
made by persons acquiring timber lands
from the Government. It says:
It appear to this committee that a
report with reference to the good faith of
purchasers under the timber and stone
act miiHt largely depend upon the con
struction placed upon the language used
in said net. It Is a fact beyond question
that there Is not a single purchaser of
land under the timber and stone act who
does not understand the law to give him
the right to dispose of that land and reap
the benefit thereof; that he is not re
quired as a purchaser under said act to
make any specific use of either the land
or the timber thereon. If such be a cor
rect interpretation of the act, it would
seem that all sales thereunder, while
speculative, nre not In violation thereof
where collusion does not exist. It is a
fact within the knowledge of your com
mittee that in ninny instances parties
who have purchased 'lands under this
act have utilized the proceeds of the sale
thereof In acquiring homes, either in farm
or town property We desire, however,
to disclaim any intention of making these
statements as an argument in behalf of
the timber and stone act, and simply sub
mit the foregoing as a part of the re
sults of our operations.
Your committee is further justified in
making the statement that the greater
portion of that class of lands properly
coming under the provisions of the tim
ber and stone act, and especially as ap
plied to the Pacific Coast states, will not
become available for farming purposes.
Such being the case, it would appear
that some provision might be made for
the disposal of such lands and the tim
ber thereon to a better advantage by
cither an amendment of the act so as to
Increase the price per acre or its repeal
and the passage of another law provid
ing for the disposal of the timber at its
market value. It must be borne In mind,
however, that legislation on the lines
last suggested would accrue to the bene
fit only of persons or corporations of
lnrare means.
While your committee is not called up- i
on to make any recommendations, It
would appear to be proper to state that,
in its judgment, if the timber and stone
act were amended so as to increase the
price per acre to $5, such a provision
would be no Injustice to the public and
would give a fair return to the Govern
ment for lands of that class.
How Should Land Be Sold?
It is to be noted that the "Public Lands
Commission did not entirely indorse the
findings of this special committee. The
commission did not look with favor upon
a proposition to double the price of tim
ber lands, as the committee suggested,
and no such scheme will be adopted by
Congress. It Is admitted that the pres
ent price of $2.50 an acre Is unfair; it is
too low. In some Instances the Govern
ment is selling for this nominal price
lands that are worth to the purchaser
anywhere from ?50 to $1000 an acre;
sometimes more. In other instances the
present price Is approximately all the
timber land is worth.
This fa has been establlKhed and is
recognized by the commission and by
Congress: It Is Impracticable to adopt a
fixed price for Government timber land.
The best lands of Oregon, of Washing
ton, or of Northern Idaho, are worth 0,
20 or 30 times an much as the timber
lands of Colorado and Wyoming, It Is
manifestly unfair that the very best tim
ber lands in the United States should be
sold for the same price as the unattrac
tive, almost worthless timber land of
some the Rocky Mountain States.
That would neer be the rule if the tim
ber lands were owned by a big corpora
tion; sales would be based on the value
of the timber, and If the timber and stone
act is repealed, Congress will in all prob
ability pass some substitute law based
on this business principle. A flat price
of Vi an acre would be almost as objec
tionable as the present price of $2.50, It
would come nearer the real value of most
of he public timber land, but it would
be unjust, the same as the prevailing
price.
Will Seek Repeal of Law.
The efforts of the Administration will
be bent in the direction of securing the
outright repeal of the tirnber and stone
act, but it will be Impracticable to stop
there. The timber and stone act is at
present the chief source from which the
money in the reclamation fund is derived.
With that law repealed, the reclamation
fund must practically stand still, unless
some other source of supply is provided.
It will therefore be urged that. In lieu of
rough and very low estimate, were ac
enacted authorizing the sale of public
timber at Its stumpage value, the pro
ceeds of such sales to go Into the re
reclamatlon fund. In the event that such
a law is enacted, the reclamation fund
will probably grow twice as rapidly as
it Ih growing at this time, for the dis
posal of timber for Its actual value will
bring a greater return than Its disposal
at a flat price of $2.50 an acre.
Two years ago the Government sold
timber lands belonging to the Chippewa
Indians in Minnesota on a stumpage ba
sis, and the sales netted the Indians $15.06
per acre. Had those lands been sold
under the timber and stone act, the price
brought would have been but $2.50. Yet
the Chippewa timber lands, which read
ily brought $15.0omd acre, In open com
petition and after due appraisement,
would be termed "scrub" lands in the
Pacific Northwest lands too poor to be
logged. How much, then, would be real
ized for the cream of Washington, Oregon
and Idaho forests, If the timber should
be sold as proposed by the Commission?
There is this to be said: The great ma
jority of the purchases of timber lands
under the timber and stone act have
been made in the interest of big ligglng
and lumbering concerns and corpora
tions. These concerns are the principal
users of timber and by careful manage
ment have cornered vast areas of the best
timber in the Northwest. If the timber
and stone act is repealed, these Interests
will not be immediately affected; they
have all the lumber they can handle for
years to come. Because of this fact.
there would probably be light sales of
timber for the next few years; there would
be little demand and speculators would
hesitate some time before buying up pub
lic timber at stumpage values, in the
hope of selling it In the distant future at
what they hope might be a profit. The
adoption of the stumpage system as a
substitute for the timber and stone act
would practically put an end to fraud in
public timber land transactions, and
would materially swell the public re
ceipts. Vast Sums Thrown Away.
For Instance, during the past two years
the, Government has disposed of some
3.000,000 acres of land under the timber
and stone act. Its receipts were approx
imately $7,500,000. These lands, at a
the timber and stone act, some law be
tually worth at least $15 an acre, on the
average, so the Government was posi
tively cheated out of $12.50 an acre, or
the Immense total of $37,500,000, almost
as much money as has been converted
into the reclamation fund in four years.
Had the stumpage rule prevailed, the
Government would today have upwards
of $100,000,000 with which to build irriga
tion works, instead of a little more than
$40,000,000.
These facts may not appeal to all Sen
a tors and Representatives; they do ap
peal to President Roosevelt, and that is
why the President is going to make a
strenuous effort to bring about the re
peal of the timber and stone act at the
coming session. He wants not only to
put an end to the fraud, but to see that
the Government derives a just return for
the timber with which it parts.
VOTE ON FRANCHISE
PEOPLE TO MAKE EXPRESSION ON
IMPORTANT QUESTION.
By Terms of Proposed Contract City Will
Receive $59,500 In Aggregate
In 35 Years.
An agreement has been reached be
tween a committee, representing the Or
egon City Council, and the officials of tho
Oregon Water Power & Railway Com
pany, respecting the freight and passen
ger franchise that has been asked by the
street railway corporation and which has
been pnder consideration by the council
for some time. Briefly stated, the city
agrees to give a 35 years' franchise for
which annual licenses, aggregating $59,
500 are to be paid by the street railway
company.
These terms have been agreed to after
a number of conferences between mem
bers of the Council and the officers of
the O. F. & Ry Co. The final con
ference was held last Friday night, tha
city being represented by Mayor Sommer,
City Attorney Griffith, Councilmen Wm.
Sheahan, Rudolph Koerner and H. B.
Straight.
The city will receive $59,000 for a 35
year franchise, to be divided into five
year periods. During the first five year
$800 is to be paid annually, and the
amount Is to be Increased $300 for each
succeeding five years. The company ob
ligates Itself to lay down a single track
railway In the middle of main Street,
and also agrees to put down the same
kind of trwk on other parts of Main
street whenever such parts are Improved.
Grooved rails must be laid In cement.
The company must maintain the road
way and bridge from the roadway to
Station A, the end of the city, limits, and
must maintain the street between the
main track and switches. The present
switch on Main street is to be torn up
and a new switch put in from Fourth to
Second streetB, and all switches, as well
as the main track are to be laid in ce
ment and Belgian blocks, between the
rails and a foot on each side.
The speed of all cars must not be more
than six miles per hour, and cars shall
not be left standing on the street.
A slight change was made In the
hours that freight trains may be oper
ated. The company shall have the right
to transport two trains of four freight
cars and a motor car through the city
between 7 a. m. and 12 noon and the
same number between 12 noon and 7 p.
m. Between the hours of 9 p. m. and
6:30 a. m., the freight privileges are un
restricted.
Special Election Called.
At an adoumed meeting Monday ev
ening, the ordinance was read for the
first time and ordered published. At the
suggestion of Koerner, supported by
Sheahan, it was ordered that the matter
of granting the franchise be submitted
to a yote of the people of the city Sat
urday, September 30, was selected as the
day for holding the election. It was also
ordered that 500 copies of the ordinance
be printed In dodger form for distribu
tion' before the time of election.
GENERAL SUMMARY.
The long dp- spell was broken on the
12th by good rains which fell generally In
the western and northern portions of the
state. TJiese rains were supplemented by
showers in scattered places on the 13th,
10th and 17th Some fall plowing and
seeding has been done, but the soil is not
soft enough for this work to become gen
eral. Light frosts occurred in exposed
places on several days, but they did no
harm.
Hop picking is nearly completed and
the crop is turning out better than ex
pected. The rains did not injure tha
hops but they were detrimental to prunes
the picking and drying of which are well
advanced. Reports indicate that the
prune crop will be larger than last year,
but much less than a full crop. Late
apples are ripening and indicate from
fair to good yields.
Corn is nearly ripe and it Is a good
crop. Potatoes are generally free from
blight and the prospects for a good yield
of potatoes is much better than it was
before the rains set in.
The big horse and cattle show at the
Lewis and Clark Exposition is now in
progress, opening September 19. It will
run for ten days. Some of the noted
horses of the country are on exhibition,
and in the cattle, sheep and hog sections
the entries are highly interesting. Cat
tlemen and horsemen from all quarters
of the United States are in attendance.
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airing Pow
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' no mixing with the hands, no sweat of
the brow. Perfect cleanliness, greatest
facility, sweet, clean, healthful food.
Full Instructions in the " Royal Baker and Pastry Cook'
book for making all kinds of bread, biscuit and cake
with Royal Baking Powder. Gratis to any address.
ROYAL BAKING POWDER CO., 100 WILLIAM ST., NEW YORK.