MORNING ENTERPRISE, WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 1913.
3
3EAT1E AND BLAIR ANSWER RECALL CHARGES
(Continued from Page 1.)
dded about $7000.00 for Widows' pensions; and the expensas of two Special
elections which will cost approximately $9000.00.
The County Court is not responsible for these items of expense. They
pre created by the Legislature or the people and tha Court must, under the
law, pay these various items.
We are charged again with extravagance in remodeling the Court House.
Our opponents speak of "the addition to the Court House." . This was pari
of the work done. In addition the Court House was renovated, altered and
artly refurnished. These alterations, changes, furnishings, etc., were all
charged to the Court House fund. Bids were asked for an addition to th3
Court House on plans to be furnished by the bidders. These ware submitted
and it was found that none of the plans were satisfactory. After conferring
Iwith Mr. W. A. White all bids and plans were rejected. . Mr. White was told
what we wanted and he, with the assistance of a competent architect from
Portland, drew the plans which were accepted by the Court. We then hired
a competent man to supervise the work of construction, and under our sup
ervision the work was completed. Everything that went into the building was
secured through competitive bids. The sand, gravel, plaster, lumber, cement
and other materials were thus secured at the lowest possible pries. We shall
now take up the five specific charges of extravagance and answer them in
rtheir order:
CHARGE NO. 1, That the sum of $350.00 was paid for an examination and
report on the condition of the Oregon City Suspension bridge without invit
ing competition.
This amount was paid for an expert examination of the bridge. At our
first meeting in January, 1911, Mr. J. W. Moffatt, President of the Oregon
Engineering & Construction Company, appeared before us and called our at-
ention to the dangerous condition of the suspension bridge. He stated that
he had made similar report to our predecessors in office and they had pron
ised to take the matter up but for some reason had failed to do so. He said
it was imperative and absolutely necessary that immediate repairs be made.
We secured the services of an expert who made a thorough examination of the
bridge and gave to us a detailed report of its condition. This report showed
the dangerous condition of the bridge and confirmed Mr. Moffatt's statement.
IWe at once ordered the bridge repaired, and by using the expert's reports,
we were enabled to remedy the defects and make the bridge safe at a mini
mum of cost. A suddent collapse of the bridge, with accompanying loss of
life, would have brought sorrow and misery to many homes and entailed an
enormous expense on the County. These things have been averted. We
knew that hundreds of workingnjen used the bridge daily; that residents of
the west side were passing and repassing over the same daily, and we felt
it our duty to protect the lives of these people. We believe this money was
well spent to the County's profit.
CHARGE NO. 2, That the bridge across Clear Creek at Stone was de
stroyed and replaced by a new steel bridge, which was wholly uncalled for, as
the old bridge was in good condition when destroyed. All it needed was new
piers and a few minor repairs at slight expense.
This bridge was built many years ago. The. foundation on one side had
been washed out and the bridge had fallen down, breaking, in its fall, the two
top cords. The question was either a repair of the old structure or a new
bridge. The man who had put in the old bridge examined it thoroughly; so
also, did Commissioner Blair. Both gentlemen reported that a uew bridge would
be more economical than a rebuilding of the old bridge. We acted accord
ingly and put in a new bridge. '
Charge NO. 3, That many steel bridges were built without due publicity
and without asking for competitive bids.
Section 6368 Lord's Oregon Laws provides two methods, either of which
may be followed by the County Court, in building bridges. The first method
as defined by said section is as follows:
(1) . "Whenever any bridge is to be built by any count7 in this State,
the estimated cost of which shall exceed the sum of $500.00, the Count7 Court
shall at once advertise for sealed bids, according to the plan3, specifications,
and strain diagram, etc."
The second method as defined by said section is as follows:
(2) . "Said County Court in its discretion may employ a suitable and
competent superintendent and assistants; procure the material and cause said
bridge to b9 constructed without such advertisement and in which event said
superintendent shall inspect all materials, etc." -
It will be seen that the Court may either (1) advertise for sealed bids or
(2) caus9 the bridge to be constructed through a superintendent without such
advertisement.
The Court has, at times, adopted the second method above set forth; so
also, have the County Courts of Yamhill, Marion and other surrounding coun
ties. In so doing we have acted strictly within the law and have followed
the provisions of the statute.
This section of the statute was amended by the last legislature. Hence
forth the County Court can proceed only by advertising for bids.
CHARGE NO. 4, That a contract was entered into with a Portland tim
ber cruising company to cruise the timber of Clackamas County at the raCe
of $51.20 per section, without giving any notice to the public ttiat such con
tract was to be let. -
This contract was let to M. G. Nease. Mr. Nease had had much exper
ience in cruising timber and we felt that a cruise which. wouid stand the test
of the courts could be had by employing an experienced man to do the work.
&?r. M. G. Nease was recommended to us by the Hon. Thomas A; McBride,
Chief Justice of the Suprema Court of the State of Oregon. While this dis
tinguished jurist was sitting as our Circuit Court, Mr. Nease's cruise of the
timber in Columbia County was challenged by four large timber companies'
in as many suits. In each case, the Nease cruise was sustained and the tim
ber syndicates defeated. Such a cruise we felt Clackamas County was en
titled to. At the time we entered into the contract with Mr. Neasel, we se
cured his services for 8c per acre; since said time he is charging more for
his work. Clatsop County was compelled to pay Mr. Nease 12c per acre for
the same services.
The following table will show the value of the cruise to the County. The
lands described are owned by the Weyerhaeuser Land Company. Values be
fore the Nease Cruise and after the Nease Cruise are shown:
Lands of Weyerhaeuser Land Company:
. v Old Value Cruise New Value
569 acres in Sec. 4, T. 6 S." R. SR.'... $5000.00 11,625 f $ 6,380.00
640 acres in Sec. 10, TJ S.R.3E 2000.00 13,845 ft. 7,170.00
480 acres in Sec. 12, T. 6 S. R. 3 E..... 5000.00 59,660 ft. 28,030.00
160 acres in Sec. 14, T. 6 S. R. 3 E....". 1600.00 14,985 ft. 6,460.00
285 acres in Sec. 10, T. 5 S. R. 4 E 2000.00 4,500 ft. 2,375.00
640 acres in Sec. 12, T. 5 S. R. 4 E. 4000.00 49,100 ft. 29,360.00
640 acres in Seo. 14, T. 5 S. R. 4 E..... 4000.00 79,100 ft. 36,720.00
360 acres in Sec. 20, T. 5 S. R. 4 E 3000.00 66,134 ft. 33,285.00
640 acres in Sec. 24', T, 5 S. R. 4 E 6000.00 72,120 ft. 36,325.00
320 acres in Sec. 26, T. 5 S. R. 4 E 3000.00 6,710 ft. 3,575.00
320 acres in Sec. 28, T. 5 S. R. 4 E 3000.00 11.423 ft. ; 5,845.00
195 acres in Sec. 30, T. 5 S. R. 4 E 1500.00 -10,210 ft. 5,275.00
320 acres in Sec. 32, T. 5 S. R. 4 E 2000.00 13,815 ft. 7,155.00
780 acres in Sec. 6, T. 6 S. R. 4 E.. ... 8800.00 26,200 ft. 13,515.00
640 acres in Sec. 8, T. 6 S. R. 4 E.. . . . 2000.00 1,820 ft. 1,550.00
500 acres in Sec. 18,. T. 6 S. R. 4 E ' 6000.00 37,850 ft. 18,295.00
7489 acres $58,900.00 489,097 ft, $214,315.00
The old values above set forth are the values placed on the timber land
above described by the Weyerhaeuser Land Company from their own cruise.
This cruise was furnished to the assessor and assessments have been made,
taxes levied and paid, for many years past on that basis. The county will
thus gain, each year on the basis of a 16 mill levy the sum of $2486.64. The
land above described comprises but one-third of the holdfngs of this company
in this county, so that the couift will gain per year from this one company
alone three times this amount or $7459.92: Several timber companies own
more timber in this county than does the Weyerhaeuser Company; there are
also many companies holding smaller amounts. It is safe to say that the.
increased taxes obtained from the timber companies alone in a single year
will pay the entire cost of the cruise.
We could undoubtedly have got a cruise for nothing. The timber com
panies would have gladly furnished us a cruise without cost to the county.
Such a cruise has been assessed on for years and it has cost the county about
$40,000 a year in taxes.
CHARGE NO 5, That said R. B. Beatie (N. Blair), as chairman of thd
County Court has not complied with Section 6278 Lord's Oregon Laws.
Section 6287 is as follows: "''.'.
"All county roads shall be under the supervision of the county court of
the county wherein the said road is located; and no county road shall ba
hereafter established, nor shall any such road be altered or vacated in any
county in the state, except by the authority of the county court of the proper
county ; and each county court within this state shall have the authority, and
it shall be its duty, to supervise, control, and direct the working, laying out,
opening and keeping in repair of all county roads within its county, and t
prescribe the methods and manner of working the same; to supervise the con
struction and repair of all bridges on the county roads, and to remove any
supervisors for incompetency or disobedience to the orders of said court. The
powers herein given may be exercised directly by the court, or through some
one of its members designated for that purpose." ; -
. We have certainly supervised the repair of county bridges on our county
roads, and have never failed to remove Incompetent supervisors. Some of the
leaders among the Recallers are ex-road supervisors, discharged by us for in
competency.. ' . ; ' - , : "
But our opponents cite this section more particularly to criticize us about
the repair of our county roads. "We have 3,300 miles of county roads in this
county; in addition we have hundreds of county bridges. We must keep up
this' great road mileage and all county bridges on the funds available, about
$200,000 per annum. Within our funds, we have endeavored to make perma
nent roads. This costs lots of money and we can proceed no faster than the
funds at our disposal will permit. The Road Master of Multnomah County re
ported to the Commissioners Association at their last meeting in Portland,
that they had built 165 miles of macadam road at a cost of $5000 per mile.
Were we to rebuild our roadmileage, the cost would be 3300x$5000.00 or $16,
500,000.00. Certainly we were not justified in fastening on the county this
enormous debt
CONCLUSION.
Many charges have been made against us by innuendo. Statements ab
solutely false and malicious have been hurled forth by the steaming cham
pions of the Recall. More such statements will be coined and placed in cir
culation. The county records are public documents open to the inspection
of every citizen. -The county Court's proceedings are published monthly so
t-very one may know what we are doing. We urge all citizens to satisfy
themselves first hand from the ijcords. Signatures may have been obtained
on the recall petition through fraud and misrepresentation; the petitions may
not be legally drawn; the Recall Act may not be selexecutlng, but we shall
throw no straw; in the way of an election. We "welcome the test.
All we ask is a fair and impartial expression of our citizenry at the polls.
. R. B. BEATIE
' . ' N. BLAIR.
mem-
rough speech-rough
manners are last
passing away
And-with it-me drink
ing of rough, strong,
high-proof "whiskey
Cyrus Noble mild and 'pure .
TV. J. Van Schuyver & Co., General Agents
Portland, Oregon
ladstone
Rare Real Estate Opportunities in
this progressive little suburban
town. Pure Mountain water; elec
tric ligts; telephones. All modern
conveniences. Half-hour car ser
vice' to Oregon City and Portland
The town w'th
future.
1 furnished house to rent
3 unfurnished houses to rent.
2 good buys in acre tracts with
house and cultivation, close to
car, each $2100.00.
Nice homes to sell on easy pay
ment. Good buys in 5 and 10-acre tracts;
all or part in cultivation; not far
from Gladstone. $250.00 per
. acre up.
K)any good propositions in farm
land; prices right.
Cheap logged-on land on Columbia,
river, from $25 per acre up.
Hundreds of choicest lots in pic
turesque Gladstone. We own
these. You get the agents' pro
fit. $5.00 a month will buy the
finest location in this ideal town-site.
OREGON CITY BARGAINS
Oregon City apartment house for
sale on easy payments. Located
on hill section; a money-maker
for the right party.
House and three lets on hill; near
Barclay school. This is a rare
snap for man with but little cap
ital. Call or address
Percy A. Cross
Gladstone Real Estate Association,
opposite postoffice, Gladstone, Ore.
WOOD AND COAL
WINES AND LIQUORS
All Wines $1.00 per gallon
6-year-old Whiskey $3.00 per gallon
KENTUCKY LIQUOR CO.
CUT RATE LIQUOR DEALERS
Cor. 5th and Main Sts. Oregon City, Oregon
50AT COAL
The famous (King) coal from Utah,
free delivery. Telephone your or
der to A56 or Main 14, Oregon City
Ice Works, 12th and Main Streets.
OREGON CITY WOOD & FUEL CO.
Wood and coal, 4-foot and 16-inch
lengths, delivered to all parts of
city; sawing specialty. Phone
your orders Pacific 1371, Home
A120. P. M. BLUHM. -
Pabst's Okay Specific
$3:92
Does the worK. You all
know it by reputation.
Price
FOR SALE BY
JONES DRUG COMPANY
With Every Purchase
ask for the
Red Trading Stamps
Ladies' Suits
and Coats
Mid-Summer Sale, reduced from
former prices of $15 to $26.00, as
sorted styles and colors from high
, grade goods.
Sale Price
$9.80
Sale
Mid-Summer Clearance
Adsmnis9 IDpar1binniiit -tore
Our great Mid-Summer Clearance Sale offers perhaps the best bargains at lowest sale prices through
out the entire stock of our big store that we have ever made. Every department must be thoroughly
cleared of all summer stock to be in readiness for fall merchandise soon to arrive from the Eastern
markets. Take advantage of this great Clearance Sale. You can save money at our cut-sale prices.
LADIES' LINEN SUITS
Assorted colors, natural and white,
will close out at each suit,
Sale Price 98c
Lot 3, Summer Sale
Of Ladies' High Grade Suits, the Palmer Gar
ments and others, reduced from former price
of $22.50 to $35.
Sale Price $ 18. 9 O
LADIES' LINEN DUSTERS
A large assortment, some are
trimmed in black collar and cuffs.
Special Sale Price 98c
1
The Best Premiums
go with the
Red Trading Stamps
Ladies' Suits
and Coats
Mid-Summer Sale, reduced from
former prices of $18 to $27.50,
good asortment of colors in fresh
goods from recent large purchase.
Excellent value at Special
Sale Price
$1 4.80
LADIES' WAISTS
A large collection in plain
white and colors, embroidered
and fancy stripes, reduced for
this Special.
Sale price, 98c
RED SEAL HANDKER
CHIEFS. 3 in a box, with collapsible' il
luminum drinking cup, per box,
Handkerchiefs and Cuffs,
19c
GINGHAM REM
NANTS Fancy stripes and checks in
pink, blue, brown, black and
gray, per yard,
Sale price, 6c
TOWELS and TOWEL
INGS. ; Kitchen towels, bath towels,
guest towels, 5c to 50c, good lin
en crash per yard, 10c.
CLOSTER THREAD
100 yards assorted colors, reg
ular 5c spool,
Sale price, lc
HAIR AND CLOTHES
BRUSHES
Finished in wood of Ash, Oak
and Ebony, best bristle.
Sale price, 29c
SUMMER DRESS
GOODS.
White and. colored' Lawns,
Dimities and fancy stripes, reg
ular price to 20c.
. Sale price, 12c
BLEACHED MUSLIN
Yard wide, a very good qual
ity, special for our
Clearance sale, per yd. 9c
WIRE HAIR PINS
V 3-inch double Japanned
Straightinsmall box.
Sale price, per box, lc
LADIES' VESTS, 9c
Jersey ribbed, sleeveless, tap
ed shoulder band. Mid-Summer
Clearance Sale,
Sale price, 9c
WOOL CHALLIES
A very handsome assortment
of colors in stripes, Polkadots
and figured in fancy border,
prices 59c to 65c.
Sale price, 38c
100 DOZEN PILLOW
CASES
Regular size, made of good
quality cotton, our ;
Special, each 12c
SAFETY PINS
The independent nickled fin
ish, best assorted sizes 1, 2 and
3, one dozen on card. Per card
Sale price, 2c
LADIES' UNION UN
DERWEAR Low neck, sleeveless. Lace
knee. Fine Jersey ribbed.
Sale price, 29c
WOOL SERGES
- In lights colors of fancy
stripes, checks and plaids,
to 65c.
Sale price, 48c
SHEETS 72x90
Welded sheet of very - good
bleached cotton, for double bad.
, Sale price, 48c .
TOILET SOAP
Perfumed Cream, Oatmeal,
Glycerine, Avon Rose, regulars
and 10c soap, per cake,
Salpe price, 3c
MUSLIN UNDERWEAR
In Corset Covers and Drawers,
regular 35c value for this sale,
Special price, 23c
DRESS GINGHAMS
- A very good quality, fine as
sortment of colors just opened
for our Summer Sale.
Special price, 10c
HARVEST SHOES
For men and women, just the
thing for the ranch. Strong and
durable. All sizes for men and
- women. ; ,
Sale price $2.50. -
LADIES' HANDKER
CHIEFS Embroidered corners, hemstitch
ed and crossbar.
Sale price, 3c
MUSLIN UNDERWEAR
Corset . Covers, ' Drawers,
Skirts and Nightgowns, good
quality.
Sale price, 48c
GOOD PERCALES, 10c
A very good quality, dark and
light colors. Always a good val
ue at 12c.
Clearance Sale price, 10c
LADIES' WASH
DRESSES
For the house and street at
price's from $2.00 to ?3.50, as
sorted in colors of black and
white, check, blue, tau, pink. A
special bargain to close out at
Sale price, $1.98.
LADIES' BELTS
White, fancy embroidered,
pearl buckle, assorted sizes.
Sale price, 15c
FINE MUSLI N WEAR
Made from Nainsook, Long
cloths and Krinkle Crepe. Hand
some lace and embroidered trim
ming. Sale price, 98c.
REMNANTS of TABLE
LINENS
Just In time for the harvest
table, from 2 yds. to 3 yds. long.
Also Napkins and colored table
cloths.
Children's Wash Dresses
Children's Wash Dresses--. .48c
Children's Wash Dresses. .--68c
Children's Wash Dresses. . . .78c
Children's Wash Dresses..-.98c