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About Oregon City enterprise. (Oregon City, Or.) 1891-194? | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1907)
0 E EGO NCI T T ENTERPRISE - 1 - 1 - 1 ' . THIRTY-8IXTH YEAR No. 40. OREGON CITY ENTERPRISE, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1907. ESTABLISHED 1868 PROPOSED NEW CHARTER FULL OF HOLES Strong Play Made to Cover Up Errors of Former Officials PUNISHMENT FOR PRINTERS Confession of Past Mismanagements-City Has $50,000 Floating Indebtedness. A New Charter Needed. There can bo little duubt that there Is great opMirtiinlty for a bet terment of governmental conditions In Oregon City, There Is no doubt but that the present Charter can be great- j ly Improved upon. Hut of what use' would it be to adopt a new Charter! contiiltilng greuter evils than the and perhaps not for any of it. Tho! ; present one, or i-ven containing rr-j fact that they are trying to set things t "(Jp(,at Kung an(J Ue j,MMt(vl,t rorn as glaring as at present? j right does not Indicate that they are ! ti.ar- mit Bln-t that like taking candy At tho present time the city Is in tho wrong, but simply that they j fTom the baby! three years behind In paying its bills, i see the need of a change. Hut as wo The editor called Mayor Caufield's The city Is running Its business by! said before, It Is up to tho people to Ltu-ntlon to tho proposition, and he the Issue of warrants, which draw six dot ermine whether they wish to klss'sald: per cent Interest, and at the present j that $r0,ooo gtsidbyo and let It go at ,in't think It possible that we time there are about $5i,oiio of these that or have an Investigation and see w fcvT j,avo a ngjorlty In Council warrants afloat, or about three years who Is to blamo before they fix up ' who will abuse this privilege. . We are of the revenues of the city represent- their finances. ' not ,lkey tf, loct a Councn a mttjor. ed. With the city three years be- 8o much for tho financial condl jlty of whom are Incompetent or dls hlnd In IU running expenses you nnt-Jtton of Oregon City, and now to the honest" nrally wonder what's the trouble? It (new Charter promised: The city Is now three years be- Is not for the Enterprise to say what Knifing the Publisher. hind on Its warrants for expenses of Is the trouble, but on the eve of the" voting on a new Charter Its editor j men who are dishonest can be beaded feels called upon to point out the .off from mulcting the city on occa fact that there 18 trouble. Jslon. Hut as a means of protecting The Way Bills Pile Up. I the Individuals personally it haa been Whence this Indebtedness? asks I provided that before any extensive many a man. What kind of business I street, sidewalk or sewer Improve-1 Council an agency for secrecy what management Is it wblcl periulia th'nents can be made publication la one Iran you expect In the next decade? cltya finance lo get Into such ajr more newspapers must be had. In) Don't Imagine that It Is necessary shape and all the time the public kept i this way tho public at largo Is made .that you have a majority In Council lntho dark as to conditions and out- aware of what Is going on and If j who are dishonest or Incompetent In come? And not a few are wondering j some certain Individual happened to order that harm may be done. It Is why the facts have not been proclaim- j bo away from home and did not re-1 not the belief of the editor that you ed from the housetop rather than thoicelvo his personal notice friends of have had at any time a majority In present plan of covering up pact bin were certain to sen tho publics-! Council who have been Incompetent shortcomings of one nature and ; Hon and were thus enabled to bring, or dishonest; but you can see what another by the subterfuge of a new j to bis notice the change and the cost j has been done If you will look. Charter which shall provide for the likely to fall on him. And this meth- The plea that tho "papers may form glossing over of past errors In the : od has been approved by cities from j a combination" Is very lame. So may taking up of these floating bills and substituting a fixed debt? i The New Charter Bad. Hut the new Charter starts out bad ly, lt starts out with an effort to cover up at least with an oppor- tunlty to cover up If Council so do past had reduced tho charges for such have decided to discipline, and that sires. In the past, with a necessity j publication In the papers In this city Is the newspaper men. And why? Be to publish certain things we see the j to less than the cost of composition, 'cause tho papers, who had been duped public fooled Into tho anticipation of j When the present management took! Into printing at a loss for years de their revenues for three years ahead. ! charge of tho Enterprise it found It I elded that the foolishness of the past yet this new Charter would make It I had a contract to fill out which en-: should cease and that for the future possible to carry on all sorts o flm- tailed a loss on the paper during auch there should be a profit or no work, pmvements without even making their Period of publication. Not wishing! And at that the rate Is but 35 per acts public In tho newspapers. At to sustain continued loss tho publish-; cent of what rules in a majority of least Council could so fix things that It may "hide Its light under a bushel" If It wishes, and thu public shall not be made the wiser unless the papers of tho city aoe fit to print tho news free grails, 1 In their plea, for the passage of the Charter, the committee of four con cedes that the floating debt of the city tho debt made by anticipating the city's revenues has grown to $50,000. Think , of Jtl - The city has gone on buying more than It could pay for from year to year and much of the tlmo contrary to law until now Its anticipation of revenues In $50,000, or throe years' revenues. But little Is said of thla matter as an ex cuse for the adoption of a new Char ter, however, though this Is the prime cause for the new Charter. 'What do you think of tho 'management of the city In the past which permits of such things? . , 'r,1', ' , '. Not that the preaent city govern ment Is responsible for this state of affairs, for It Is not' responsible for all of It and It may not be, responsi ble for any of It; It would take a care ful revision of the city's finances for years back to determine who are really responsible.1 , And we are not certain that an expenditure for an expert accountant might not . be a wUte ono. But the city's finances are In that condition; and. yo'ur ' present city officials see Jt and wish ,to In some way make an,, improvement In affairs. In this thV' are to be com mended, and Very naturally' heyj pre fer to bring about th'jB, change with; out a scandal,,, but U, .remains for t,he people to say whether they will foot this shortage In JUje finance .of, the city at thl:t time without more defi nite Information as to how It came about, or whether they will first have the accounting and then determine un the remedy. . u,..-. ...., ..nil. s.Hieine.H rigimy -the present city government Is' not . . - .. . i. I . ....... lt. responsible for all of this trouble, mere is no known method by which - 'one end of the land to the other, and In many stateg tho rights of the poo- plo are safeguarded by a State lswjthe manufacturers, the bankers, the making such publication necessary, j worklngmen; w here Is the provision Hut strife between the editors of , the two Oregon City papers In the j of Oregon City agreed to bury the j hatchet and charge a reasonable rate for such services. , As a result the rate for such publi cation was ralaed to 35 cents an Inch each Insertion. At that the City Fathers raised a mournful howl and at once Inserted a clause In the new Charter permitting them to post cer tain things on the City Hall door and call that publication, using the papers If they could beat thein down to a low price perhaps a losing price, -Let us compare tho rate hero with that In other States: In Ohio all such publications must be printed In two papers, of opposite politics, and the rate Is $1.33 1-3 for first and CC 2-3 cents for second Insertion. This makes a net rate for each of two pub lications of $1 per Inch. In Pennsyl vania, Michigan, and other States we could name the rate Is as high or higher, while In a half dozen others it la about C5 per cent of that figure. In Oregon City the rate, when put to a profitable basis, Is 35 cents,' or 35 per cent of what It Is In the majority of the Stat In the Union. Still, the City Fathers, having anticipated the revenues of the city for three years, and having piled up a floating debt of $50,000, must begin Its retrenchment by compelling the newspapers to print at a loss or else It will post Its I notices on a dor that no one sees once a month. . , . WHAT DO YOU THINK OPTMAT AS A MOVE FOR RETRENCHMENT? , ! ,Not Fair With! thel Public.' . ; But, that Is only half the tale t In all cases whore , an Individual corporation or firm la compelled to pay for the publication In question IT MUST, BE PRINTED IN A NEWS PAPER and tho flrnii Individual, or corporation nuy not resort to the bul letin board. Why? Do tho City Fathers wImIj to tell us they have no I Interest In Having other from the "robbery of tho press"? Do tho City Fathers wish tho public lo under stand that they are simply safeguard ing the rity'n Interests In go far as they have to pay tho bills, but that j when t comes to a queston of the I other fellow's ox being gored they are not seared nt the night of blood? I Further, when tho city la seeking j for bids, or wlahea publicity for the ptirtiorio of getting tho widest clrcula- tlon possible for It news, it provides for tho publication in a newspaper. ..... ...... . Hut when It wishes an ordinance to go Into effect, or when It wishes to Improve a street, build a sewer or have a sidewalk repaired, and It might desire to save objections and a dispute, It can post on Its little bill board, away back where nut one In a thousand will see it, and Its all right. Funny, Isn't It? Where tho city Is j doing something that all are certain to approve, It must publish In a news- ,,ap..r; where It Is doing something 1Ilt ht tlr ff.w hftr(, klckMI, t fin pui, on jt s little closet the city, and with a floating Indebted ness of $50,000. Is that from Incom petency, or dishonesty, or both? There's something wrong, that's gure, and what haa happened In the past mny happen again. Now, if you give the lawyers. Is there any provision as against them? So may the grocers. to head them off? There Is only one class of men whom these City Fathers tho States In the Union OH YOU NAUGHTY NEWSPAPER MENI And throughout the East the legis lature makes lt compulsory, In the Interest of the man of small means who must pave and build sidewalks and sewers that the j(gnt ot pubj(. cation shall be turned on to the acta of the City Fathers and the contrac tors who work under them before he can be made to take up the bur den that Council sees fit to Impose. And we believe any fair minded man who will give this matter careful con sideration will agree to the propo sition. Two Bltea at the Cherry. The second proposition, which Is very bad In fact It Is pernicious comes In the provision for street and sewer Improvement. Read the pro vision: Section 109. If, upon completion of any Improvement of a street or con struction of a sewer, It is found that the ' sum .assessed therefor Is insuf ficient to defray the cost thereof, and the amount charged to any lot or part thereof extract of land Is less than the benefits accruing thereto, the, Council must ascertain the deficit and by ordinance . reassess the land so benefited In excess1 of the original as; sessment. When the assessment for said deficit la so levied, the, recorder must enter ' the same In the docket of city liens, In the column reserved for that purpose In the original entry, WlthUho date thereof ami such deficit shall thereafter be a Hen upon such lot of part thereof or parcel of land, In like manner, and with like effect a& In case of, the sum originally assessed. and shall also be payable and may be collected In like manner and with like effect an the original assessment. Tho evil of UiIh provision doe not show on the surface. Suppose you have a Council In which there are a!""1 'r rap.my putting tne saloon where it fi., mi.n ,!,. n-t-i. . i young Klnzcl. That It came because , belongs. That is, out of business al- few men who w sh a certain linprwa- dlHrard for law That I, true Wer. Perhaps the church camp ment because It will greatly benefit ,r a '"r ara ror ' ' V , ' In divided against itself In Oregon them. They have tho power to "fix" ,,ut who regarded the law? Was . clty pernap K , not more the appraisers and likewise In a 11 not the saloonkeeper? How do you than In any other city in Oregon. Per , ' ,1. -v. , , separate the saloonkeeper from the sa- haps the saloonkeepers are laughing measure the assessments. They know ,,,,, You cannot lo lt and the aw ! In their sleeves. They are laughing that it will take $10,000 to make the I does not do It. Ion the wrong side of their faces In Improvement. Thev know. too. that It is easy for minors to get liquor Corvallls. Eusrene. Albany McMlnn- if they start out with a proposition to spend $10,000 other property own ers who do not want the Improvement I at that fienre will oblect. and will I , bavts powor (tufflc(,nt to make thr.r j city, and when they came out their ac- Lf)(,.rton k Sn th . ., tntUm ",aln,y "ald that tlHy had hM loojoction suck. 8o tney decide to, drlnk)nir f)n Surwi niht play a amorjth game and give It out that It will cost $5,000. At that figure the Improvement Is voted through I and work la begun. Then, when t j,uv unq oeen speni ana me im- provement Is not completed a re-as-jsessment Is ordered to complete the work. According to the views advanced by, in favor of the enactment of the Ex-.pinch the saloonlst If he had the evl Mayor Caufleld such A thing Is notclHe ordinance. idence necessary to a conviction? Fur- likely to occur. But for answer we must affirm that such things have oc- currid, and few readers but can bring to mind incidents In city gov- ernment on a par with this example. Rome one says, the man who wishes can object at the increase the same,nelf, responsible for seeing that the! bind the corner and throw stones? as at the first. But after he has spent . law la enforced any more than any Square Deal says It Is easy for ml $100 and sees the work half done he'other class of citizens? Why is it notjnors to get liquor lnregon City. If must go on even If he cannot afford i tne b"8ne8 of the editor of the En-1 he has the evidence why don't he push it. or If ho would not have started In I terPri,WJ as much 88 tnat of any the case? If the editor waa on a Jury In i v r m . churchman In the city to see that the 'and there was conclusive evidence of naa be known the outcome. aw la enforced? Why should the I that fact he would vote to give th You say again, he can appeal to the church men bo held particularly re- j saloonlst the full limit of the law. It (P,t,in.,nj i,..t sponsible for seeing that the liquor Is easy to make a charge but not al- (Continued on Page 7.) laws are enforced any more than the! ways so easy to convict. Ed. IT WOULD GIVE MAYOR POWER OF CZAR. PROPOSED EXCISE LAW HAS PRO VISIONS THAT PROMISE EVIL TO ALL. All I ID TA AMP MAW' (111 UI IV VII L, Ulitl! If He Is a Saloonlst Temperance Ele ment at His Mercy Unlimited Opportunity for Graft. and con of an ordinance providing for an Excise Board In Oregon City to have in charge the saloons, drug store and other places for the sale of I intoxicants, etc. Principal among the things said In favor of this proposed law is that it haa been put in force In diverse places and that lt Is a great success. "The proof of the pudding la In chewing the strlng,"ls an old proverb, but v..,.. v.in ,,. mcic DU1UC IUIUK3 mat kiic verv nntnr of them nlnre th hrand ' 4""J uioanv. uac un-u ifui w.c pimun) mm imviug very nature of them place the brand done nd there are men ,n Oregon published his notice as provided by of Cain on them without waiting to j city today who would do that thing If law. no objections having been made prove them. Let us examine together j it was made necessary to carry a to the saloon, "all other provisions of this proposed excise law. : point. And that statement Is not In law having been complied with, such The very first vital clause of the or- any sense personal, or for personal license may be granted or denied." dlnance paves the way for very grave. application. Think of It! The man is encouraged evil if taken advantage of. It pro-1 And In voting this ordinence the; In spending his money, gets neces vldes that the board Is to consist of ! temperance people want to remember ' sary number of signers for a saloon, five members, the Mayor and four oth-1 that lt may be a short time only until there are no objections filed to it, ers. Next It says that the Mayor the saloon men are in the saddle. Six and then he may be denied. There shall appoint the other members to sit ' years ago the temperance people of a is nothing against the man or his with him. Think of lt! Appoint the! city in Ohio by a hard struggle, and character, for all that has been look members to comprise the new board J with the aid of both Republicans and ed Into, no remonstrance or complaint with him! Not four members elected ; Democrats alike, won a election; ! simply the board don't like the col by the people to constitute a board but at the next election, with both or of his hair or the elevation of his without his personal influence, but four members to sit with him and he and his four, five in all, are the board. What more pernicious proposition than to allow one man such power! It matters not whether he is a tem perance man or not, the principle Is as bad In one case as another. Sup- pose for the sake of an argument the Mayor proves td be a saloon man. We ! As one who believes In law and or know of several towns where the ! der the warning Issounded don't Mayor himself runs the town wide ; prescribe something -you don't want open because he happens to favor the , to take a few years later yourself, saloon. But herethe Mayor, would Section three in this new ordinance have four others of his appointment, ' provides for a penal bond In the sum and of his kind, to back him up, and of $5000 pledging the saloon keeper to what could the people do? If he har-' at all times be good, and for a slip he pened to be a temperance man his ef- must pay $5000. Where Is there a forts would perhaps prove as drastic provision for the punishment of a pet In the other extreme, and that might j ty crime In the sum of $5000 In any please a few fanatical temperance ; other Instance? Why single out the people, but we believe only a few, Ilave the temperance people of Ore Kon City, who are fair-minded people. stopped to consider that feature of' the ordinance? Temperance people as a class are fair minded people. A few fanatics make a bit of noise but even they often do not mean as badly as they talk. But as a whole we feel free to bank on temperance people. And right here we want to say that any reference we may make to the Mayor and his powers, and perhaps abuses, have no reference to the pres ent". Mayor1 personally, or to any Mayor whoi; has ever served, personally. Thoy are pimply abstract statements and have :no personal reference, Now that you have thought of this feature of 'the ordinance you are not WHERE ARE THE FACT8? lng7 Editor Enterprise: In your issue' H ' fact apparently unknown to of October 25 you refer to the Canbyho Enterprise that the churches of ' "u "u '".Citizens outside the churches very . . it i. i j it m 1 in uregon uty. i ne marvel is mat j there has not been several tragedies like that In Canby right here in this city. On Labor Day I saw four boys In their teens go Into a saloon In this than a month ago two men and a young boy reeled up the Seventh Htre't 8tt',g drunk that could ZeriT. SZ'Z so drunk that he could barely walk. I want to see lt made as nearly as cm be Impossible for any minor to enter I a saloon in Oregon City for the pur- loose of getting liquor, hence I am Whose business Is it to enforce the ther on he says It Is the editor's busi law? Is it not the business of the j ness to do such acts; why did he fall? sltw Ittnraav. naii.F,..M Mn.nk.ln I . Tf Snn.rp r0fll m-.nt. ts n.if trio o n f,h.riff9 jIKltfe8 an.j BO on? Were loons out of business, as he Indicates, they not elected or appointed forj'hy does he talk of licensing them this purpose? And are they not paid to attend to this business? Why Dhni.M r.n .un L 1 V. ao positive but that there might evil come of Its enforcement; is that not true? But what of that which is to follow? "The Mayor may remove any mem- fiber of the board at any time, and ao- point another person to fill out the j "nexplred term; but on removing any member of the board the Mayor shall j make a written report to the Council I setting forth his reasons for such re ) moval. and the same shall be filed in the tftecorder's office." Great guns and little fishes! The power of the Czar Is not greater. The ever knew, would defend it and ex man who wrote that ought to at once i cuse the crime on the olea that the go Into hiding for If the Czar of Rus- sla ever hears of him he is likely to send over and steal him. He can tell ..The M , ber of the board at any time." A man may go to a meeting of the board on aionuay nignt ana wnen ne gets up and makes a speech against a pet resolution of the Mayor he may be re moved then and there, before the;ous? question can come to vote, and a sue cessor may be appointed, or if it may look too raw to do so at that time an adjournment can be taken to some other night. That Is the possibility of his power, and to say no sane mart would do such a thine la msv hut v c I tVllnm. OniiaUir nM .)..... I. n V. candidates the same, the saloon man was elected by a majority four times that given the temperance man two years before. And the saloon man kept his seat for two terms and was only defeated by a combination of cir cumstances at a recent election. And the city in question has two church worshippers to Oregon City's one, saloonlst? It is not a question of his committing a crime or doing damages In the sum of $5000; the ordinance provides that If he does commit a pet ty breach he shall forfeit his $5000. Every man Is admittedly innocent of any crime before the law until pro - yen guilty. There is not a lawyer In the city but will concede this. Yet lawyers, knowing the unrighteousness of their act, write Into this ordinance that every Oregon City saloonlst U guilty, or willing to be guilty, and If he wants to satisfy, this "righteous" excise board he must put up a bond of $5000 to prove to them that he will curb his natural propensities to evil and be good at least when any one Is watching. i ,'...'.; - ' There is no code of the saloonlst that permits him to do evil. The bet- I laws against forgery or horse steal- ... ... vine and a number of smaller places in Oregon. SQUARE DEAL. Ordinarily the editor of the Enter prise would publish the above without reference to it from his own pen, but in this case the contributor makes a personal criticism of the editor, which opens the way for his reply. In the first place the Enterprise did not say that . the saloons were not responsilbe for young Klnzel'g death; It said the saloon business: that's a different proposition, "Square Deal" tells of seeing four iboys in their teens eo Into a saloon and later their actions showed they had been drinklne win HiHn't ha and advocate the Excise law? Why not come out and say what he wanta ' anrl tFtt It If Vi a nan anA iyvt kl.lA Ka- ter class of saloon ista wish to obey the law and deprecate the fact that they are thrown under suspicion by the acts of those not ao Inclined. Yet here comes a bunch of lawyers, whose code does permit of their committing a wrong, and the whole fraternity will back him up In it, and they wish a bond of $5000 of the saloonlst so he may not dare to do wrong. Let us prove that contention: A lawyer can break every law against lobbying, and his fellow lawyers may know it, and one and all so far as we lawyer was the counsellor In the case, We could name to you an United States Senator who receives $7500 t, t obb for them , , ,n most of his time for the corporations, ' and yet every lawyer in the universe, : aimosi, win aeiena nira in n. Don t you think that clause In the proposed ordinance a trifle sltrenu- The saloonlst must advertise his wants In a newsoaper. and cannot ! use the city's bulletin board on the j barn door. The men who are drawing ' ordinances are willing the saloonlst ; be robbed by the editors and publish- ' ers. Just blue nenrll this! I Cn.lxn 1.1 41... I , . nose. That Michigan professor who wants to crown Roosevelt King should come to Oregon City; he'll find congenial company. What farce Is this Excise Board! What do the people who drafted It think runs through the heads of Ore gon City people? Board appointed by' tne Mayor; he may remove on Instant notice; his board may call a man be fore it and when he has toiade good he i ...i ,, n Meirinnni v. one oversight so far that we have no ticed the board should have provid ed that the applicant shave and take a bath before he appear before so august a body. Section six provides that a man must have been good for a year prior to receiving license. Suppose that the saloonlst should wish for a hear ing as to their moral character before a board that could show a clean bill for a year. Wouldn't that prove as fair a proposition, to have those who sit In Judgment show a clean record 1 for a year? We fear that there would be few men eligible to membership, and we are certain no such a man could be elected to the position of Mayor. The saloon business Is becoming a fine haired proposition Indeed. No one can have a license who haa not been good for ayear. . Men may sin Saturday pight, be forgiven Sunday morning and commune at church be fore dinner; but If a man wants to keep a saloon he must have been good (Continued on Page 4.)