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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 16, 1906)
FIRST W1THTHE DATA Washington Corps Searching Railroad Records. WORKING ON ORIGINAL LINE Commission Gives Reasons for As certaining Cost of Lines Asks for Suggestions and Criti cisms From Engineers. OLTMPIA. Wash.. Sept 15. (Special.) Members of the State Railroad Commis sion have considered it advisable to give out a statement relative to the work the commission now has in hand to ascertain the cost of construction and the present value of ail the railroad lines in this state, as they consider this by far the most Important matter of the kind now before the people of Washington. The future work of the commission relative to railroad freight rates will all be depend ent upon the result of the report to be made by the engineering force at the con clusion of their investigations. Similar Investigations are being carried on in other states having railroad com missions, but the work in Washington is laid out on entirely original lines and will be completed, in the expectation of the commission, much earlier than in any of the other states and at a much less cost. While this work is under way. the com mission would welcome criticisms or sug gestions from engineers or others com petent to speak on the subject, which might be of value to the commission or its corps of engineers. The statement is sued by the commission is as follows: Since the return from St. Paul, Minn., of Messrs. H. A. Fairchild and J. C. Law rence, State Railroad Commissioners, and their engineer. Mr. Halbert P. Gillette, plans have been perfected for the ap praisal of all the railroad property in Washington. The appraisal bids fair to be one of far-reaching importance to the shippers of all products within the state; since regulation of freight rates will be based upon the values of the railroads snd the cost of operating them. To secure an estimate o the value of the different railroad lines and branches, a corps of engineers will be kept busy for the next four months. The Railroad Conr mlssion has arranged to co-operate with the officials of the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific Railways in abstracting data from the records and maps of the railways, and. by the method that will be employed, the work of appraisal will cost only a fraction of what similar work has cost the states of Wisconsin and Michi gan. In undertaking the present investigation of the actual value of railroad property the commission is proceeding under the mandate of See. 12 of Chap. SI of Laws of 1X5. which requires that the commis sion shall ascertain as early as prac ticable the amount of money expended in the construction and equipment per mile of every railway in Washington. But even if this mandate did not exist, it would still be necessary to make an appraisal of railroad property before at tempting to fix freight rates; for, in the now celebrated Nebraska rate case. Smith vs. Ames, the United States Sup reme Court ruled as follows: We hold, however, that basis of all calculations as to the reasonableness of rates to be charged by a corporation maintaining a highway under legislative 6anction must be the fair value of the property being used by it for the con venience of the public. And, in order to ascertain that value, the original cost of construction, the amount expended in permanent improvements, the amount and market value of its bonds, and stock, the present as compared with the original cost of construction, the probable earning capacity of the property under particular rates prescribed by statute, and the sum required to meet operating expenses, are all matters for consideration; and are to be given such weight as may be just and risht in each case. We do not say that triere mav not be other matters to be re garded in estimating the value of the property. "What the company Is entitled to ask is a fair return upon the value of that which it employs for the public conveni ence. On the other hand, what the pub lic Is entitled to demand Is that no more be extracted from it for the use of a public highway than the services ren dered by it are reasonably worth." While other states, notably, Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota have made or are making appraisals of rail road property within their boundaries, it is probable that the State of Washington win be the first to secure all the data essential to a rational attempt at rate making. In Texas the sole use of the appraisal of railroad property has been the limiting of the issues of bonds and stocks to prevent "watering"; and in Michigan and Wisconsin the appraisals were made by the Tax Commission prin cipally for taxation purposes. In Minne-1 sota the work of appraisal is still In prom-ess. and is likely to consume two years' time, due to the methods em ployed. It is the purpose of the Railroad Com mission of Washington to have the ap praisal of the railroads completed within the next four months In time to report to the next Legislature. With this end in view the Commission has adopted a policy that enables it to work in harmony with the railroads, thus availing itself of the maps and records in the offices of the different railroad companies. By so doing it becomes unnecessary to put a large corps of engineers In the field, as was done in Wisconsin, for example; but a small corps of engineers employed by the Commission and working under the direction of Mr. Gillette, is at work in the engineering offices of each of the railroads. While these engineers are engaged in abstracting the necessary data, twe or three engineers will travel over the railroad lines and branches, carefully recording all structures and their general design. Each of these engineers will be assigned a section of several hundred miles to examine In this manner, and, in going from place to place, will use an ordinary railroad velofcipede. In this manner the office records will be checked by actual inspection of structures along the line. Finally, based upon the data obtained In both the office and field, an Itemized estimate will be made of the cost of reproducing all the railroads in the state. Due to the fact that the most of the records of quantities of excavations, ma sonry, steel work, etc., will be obtained direct from the records in the railroad of fices, the cost of making the appraisal will be but a fraction of what it was in either Wisconsin or Michigan, and it Is believed that the results will be more accurate than were obtained in those states. In addition to securing an esti mate of the cost of reproducing every mile of railroad In the state data will be obtained from the railroads showing the age of bridges, steel rails, structures and. equipment upon which to base an esti mate of the present value of the rail roads. No attempt will be made tn Incn. every freight car in the state, as was . one in ipcuijshi m jsrai. expense. lor it Is believed by the Railroad Commis sion that the guesses of railroad inspec tors are less reliable than data obtained directly from the offices of the railroads. Judging from the trend of public opin ion, as shown by the recent action of Congress in empowering the Interstate Commerce Commission to fix railroad rates. It Is probable that every state In the Union will follow the lead of Texas. Michigan. Wisconsin. Minnesota and Washington In determining the actual value of the railroad property. At any rate, it will be impossible for any state, or indeed for the Interstate Commerce Commission, to make any real headway in the matter of rate fixing until a basis for logical rate making has been estab lished, and in view of the decision of the THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 16, 1906. Exact representation of our various Suit, Overcoat and Craven ette models for Fall and Winter. Hundreds of new cloth patterns and weaves from foreig-n and domestic mills, tailored to our or der by the most exclusive makers. Every g-arment bears the inimitable mark of superiority of Style, Fit and Quality. All lines are now complete and the prices are within reach of all. Supreme Court, above quoted, the actual value of the railroads must form one of the largest factors to be considered in solving this Important problem. GRABBED VP BY SPECULATORS Klamath County Development Will Be Delayed, Says Blancbard. SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 15. (Special.) C. J. Blanchard, a member of the rec lamation service from Washington, is au thority for the statement that the devel opment of the Klamath country will be hindered because of the fact that land speculators have seized upon hundreds of acres in this new irrigation project of the Government. "I look for a great development in the Klamath country," he said, "but this de velopment will be delayed because of the number of land speculators who have se cured fine tracts there. They are holding this land at from $25 to HO an acre. This price will prevent many settlers from coming to Oregon, and will retard the progress of the Klamath country. The Government will charge the settlers $25 an acre for water, and this amount, added to the speculators' price for the land, will act to the detriment of the purchaser. The news that the Southern Pacific will build through Klamath will greatly add to the value of the land there." Blanchard was delighted with the work of the Irrigation Congress at Boise, which he attended. "We appointed a publicity committee there," he said, , "which will greatly aid the Pacific Coast. This committee will place before the common people of the United States a truthful report of the ir rigation country and will help them get land." PROMISE OF A RAILROAD. Lytle Makes Proposal to Tillamook Merchants and Presents Demand. TILLAMOOK. Or., Sept. 15. (Special.) A meeting of the business men of Tilla mook City was held Thursday evening at the rooms of the Tillamook Development League to hear a proposal from E. B. Lytle, president of the Pacific Railway & Navigation Company, now building a rail road from Hillsboro. Mr. Lytle said he wanted a guarantee that the- people of Tillamook County ' would procure him a free right of way from Tillamook City to Buxton, in Washington County, 100 feet wide, and free terminal grounds 3500 feet in length by 350 feet in width at both Bay City and Tillamook City. Then he would guarantee to build a railroad into Tillamook.' Starting work from Til lamook City, he would build 15 miles of road next year, and by December 31, 190$. would have the entire line completed and in operation. The sense of the meeting was that the people preferred Mr. Lytle's road as more direct to Portland and a shorter route than by Astoria, and, although the business men pledged Mr. Lytle their sup port, it was not thought advisable to give a guarantee that evening that they would secure the rights of way. It was decided to send out committees today and secure the pledge of most of the prominent citi zens that they would help get the right of way, as the road will go through some valuable land. Money In the Blacksmith's Safe. GARFIELD. Wash., Sept. 15. (Special.) The Postoffice, Williams' blacksmith shop and the O. R. & N. depot were broken into here last nighi by robbers. Nothing was taken from the depot, but the combination on the big safe was bad ly battered in an attempt to open it up. The Postoffice department lost 60 cents and the blacksmith's safe yielded the roDtxrs fis. ") . nni'Pil niiiiiiimn minimi m i mim PLAYING BOY IS KILLED SHOT BY REVOLVER IN HANDS OF IO.XE STOREKEEPER. 1 Refugee From San Francisco Is the Involuntary Cause of the Death of Little Arthur Corhraa. IONE, Or., Sept. 15. (Special.) While playing around the hardware store of W. B. Snodgrass, Arthur Coch ran, 8 years old, was shot in the head and killed almost instantly by a re volver in the hands of the proprietor of the store. The shooting was purely accidental and no blame attaches to Snodgrass, but the storekeeper Is over come with grief. Snodgrass was examining a 32-call-ber revolver. He knew It was loaded, but in some manner the weapon was discharged, the bullet entering the boy's right eye and lodging In his brain. Snodgrass came here recently from San Francisco, where he was burned out and nearly lost his life (n the recent disaster. The parents of the dead boy are old residents of thU place. They are very much distressed by the sad occurrence. Board of Control Contracts. OLYMPIA. Wash., Sept. 15. (Special.) The State Board of Control today award ed contracts as follows: Sugar, to National Grocery Company, Seattle; Taconia Grocery Company. Ta coma. and W. B. Glafke Company, Walla Walla. Fresh and salt meat. Fryu-Bruhn Com pany. Miller & Ehrman. Vancouver; C. A. Blurock. Vancouver; Union Meat Company. Swift & Co., Tacoma: A. G. Henderson, Chehalis; Carstens Packing Company, Tacoma: Conrad, Scharman. Reardan, Huffman Company, Medical Lake. Bids were opened at 1 P. M. and ft will probably be ten days before all the bids and samples are checked over and the contracts awarded. Indorser Must Be Notified. "OLTMPIA. Wash.. Sept. 15. (Special.) In the Spokane case of Archie Galbraith, appellant, vs. O. P. Shepard. respondent, the Supreme Court holds that unless an indorser of a note is notified of pro posed action for its collection, the in dorser is released from liability. In affirming the case the Court says: "Presentment for payment of a note is not necessary in- order to charge per sons primarily liable. It is. however, specifically declared tha presentment for payment is necessary in order to charge an indorser. When a note is dishonored by non-payment, notice of such dishonor must be given to the indorser and that in the absence of such notice he is dis charged." Gobbled Vp by Telephone Company. GARFIELD. Wash.. Sept. 15 (Special.) William Lawrence, a wealthy pioneer farmer of the Palouse country and a brother of the Railway Commissioner, was In Garfield today and regarding the taking over of the rural' line by the Pa cific States Company said: "We find we are in another man's house without our consent. We, as own ers of the Dry Creek' line, connecting Garfield. Oakesdale. Elberton and Col fax, give the Pacific States Company no authority whatever to take over our .line. There are 24 farmers who built and own the line telephones and although the Pacific States Company has simply stolen every line and we seem to be up against it, we do not favor going In with the Pacific States Company, but prefer to be independent of them." System of Handling School Funds. OLTMPIA. Wash., Sept. 15. (Special.) The legislative committee of the State Auditors' Association will prepare for in troduction in the next Legislature a law changing the present system of handling public school funds by the various local school districts. At the present time, owing to the loose methods allowed under the law. the committee alleges. It is al most impossible to tell the condition of the funds at any time. No proper segre gation is made, and money is frequently paid out for purposes for which it was not appropriated. In different districts, also, it 16 claimed that different prices are paid for the same grade of school supplies. These abuses, it is believed, can be remedied by giving the County Audi tor the charge of auditing all county school moneys, and in turn holding the County School Superintendent responsible for the auditing of all vouchers for school supplies. Trial Trip of the California. SAN FRANCISCO. Sept. 15. (Special.) October 1 has been definitely fixed as the date for the official trial trip of the new armored cruiser California, now approach ing completion at the Union Iron Works. The builders announced her readiness August 15. The South Dakota is the last of the naval vessels being built at the Union Iron Works. No more vessels for the Navy have been contracted for by that firm, and no more are in sight, the two big battle ships authorized by Congress at its last session having been awarded to the New England Shipbuilding Company and the Cramps, of Philadelphia, respectively. No Clew to Assassin. SAN FRANCISCO. Sept. 15. (Special.) The police and detective force announce that they have absolutely no clew to the identity of the man who struck down William Friede, the Market-street cloth ing merchant, in his store at 1386 Market street, yesterday, inflicting injuries that will almost surely end in death, and then made his escape with the contents of the dying man's pockets and of the cash drawer of his desk. Friede is In a precar ious condition. The blow inflicted by his unknown assailant is of puch a nature that the physicians declare he cannot live. Price of Lumber to Go Up. VANCOUVER. B. C. Sept. 15 The price of lumber. It is ascertained, will be advanced the latter part of this month or during the early part of October by Coast lumber mills. Just how great the advance will be is a matter of specula tion by lumber-buyers, but It will be not less than $1 per thousand. At the present time rough lumber is selling at $13. One reason why the ad vance Is now being considered is the fact that all grades of logs have gone up and It is expected that within the next 30 days logs will show a further advance. Declare for Direct Primary. ASOTIN, Wash., Sept. 15. (Special.) A. motion to include in the resolutions an indorsement of the popular election of United States Senators received but one affirmative vote in the Democratic county convention held here- today. The direct primary, however, was asked for. The ticket was named as follows: Representative, R. M. Mount; Treas urer, George Lanfer; Sheriff. C. P. Mulr; Attorney, C. S. Roberts: School Superin tendent. Miss Edna Pelly; Assessor, L. K. Brown; Coroner, Dr. L. Woodruff. ASSESSOR'S FIGURES SUIT RAILROADS ASK EQUALIZATION BOARD TO USE THEM. In Some Counties of Washingrton Valu ations Have Been Raised br the County Boards. OLTMPIA. Wash., Sept. 15. (Spe cial.) The railroads had their innings before the State Board of Equaliza tion today. The Great Northern was represented by Tax Agent John L. Snapp. the O. R. & N. Co. by Tax Agent W. W. Morrow, the Northern Pacific by Tax. Agent Jay Sedgwick and his assistant, J. C. Fairchild. and the Columbia & Puget Sound Railroad Company by Francis Greene. The men asked thai, the classifica tions and valuations bo placed at the same figures as fixed by the Asses sors' convention last Spring. The State Board of Equalization was re quested. In cases where valuations have been raised by county boards, that they be again fixed at the figures agreed upon by the Assessors' conven tion. No action was taken by the board. The returns forwarded to the State Board of Equalization by the County Board of King County, received here last night, were today returned to Seattle for correction. Proper segre gation had not been made in listing personal property and the State Board considers that in numerous important particulars the King County returns are practically valueless. The King County Board fixes the blame upon the County Assessor, who is said to have Ignored the forms sent out by the State Tax Commission for making as sessment returns. The Assessor's side of the case has not been heard. The work of the State Board will be de layed several days on account of King County returns. AXKENY HOLDS WALLA WALLA Controls Legislative Ticket and Xames County Delegation. WALLA WALLA. Wash., Sept 15. (Special.) At the Republican County Con vention here today a solid ADkeny dele gation was elected to the state conven tion. The Legislative ticket is the An keny ticket, and was nominated without opposition or objection. Senator Ankeny was heartily indorsed, as was also the administration of the National, state and county officials. The direct primary was indorsed, and the Representatives in the State Legislature instructed to vote and use all honorable means to secure the passage of such a law. Speeches were made by Senator Ankeny and other prominent Republicans. The Senator's remarks were warmly applaud ed, and one speaker created a ripple of laughter when he suggested that a "kind words" club be organized in Walla Walla, and that the editors of the different news papers be invited to join as charter mem. bers. Senator Ankeny was in the con vention as a delegate from his own pre cinct, and was allowed to name the dele gation to the state convention, with the exception of himself, his name being placed at the head of the delegation on motion of Boxer delegates that he be made the unanimous choice of the con vention In place of Chairman J. L. Sharp stein, who said he would be unable to at tend. There was no discord in the convention and few contests for places on the county ticket, most of the nominations being made by acclamation. The ticket is as follows: Sheriff. James Havlland; County Attorney Otto Rupp; Auditor, J. N. McCaw, i County Commissioner; Clerk, Dorsey M. H1U. Incumbent; Treasurer, P. B. Hawley. Incum bent; Assessor, W. L. Cadman. now City Assessor; Surveyor, George Winkle; School Superintendent, Grant 8. Bond; County Commissioners, J. L. Harper and Herb Han sen; Justice of the Peace. J. J. Huffman. In cumbent; Constable. Nels Petersen, incum bent; Representatives. Emmet Henderson. W. H. Weber and Mordo McDonald, brother of State Senator Peter McDonald, of Unloa County, Or. Title Invalidates the Law. OLTMPIA, Wash.. Sept. 15. (Special.) The Supreme Court has wiped another legislative enactment off the statute books by declaring the law passed Feb ruary 27. 1890, entitled, "An act for the protection of builders, and declaring an emergency," invalid. This law purported to protect home builders from fraudu lent contractors who left unpaid labor and material bills to stand as a Hen against the building. The 9upreme Court finds the title fatally defective. "What is a builder?" asks the court. "If the contractor Is a builder, the act in question provides for the punishment of the very person whom its title pur ports to protect. The manifest purpose of the Legislature was to protect the owners of buildings from Hens for labor and material after payment to the con tractor, and yet the owner of the build ing is in no proper sense the "builder unless he is actually engaged in the work of construction, and in that case needs no protection." Mortgage Decided to Be Regular. OLTMPIA. Wash.. Sept. 15. (Special.) The following decision has been hand ed down by the Supreme Court: John S. Ferrell et al.. appellants, vs.. J. K. Lord et al.. respondents, from Takima County, affirmed. This was an ' action to quiet title and to secure for the appellants possession of 16S acres of land in Yakima County, to which patent was issued by the Government to Ferrell in 1858. Ferrell's wife died in 1889. leav ing several children. The property was mortgaged and foreclosed against. Fourteen years after the death of the mother the children, appellants herein, brought suit against the present owner of the property, claiming title through their deceased mother. The courts hold that the mortgage, and fore closure proceedings following, were reg ular and conveyed title. Collision With Gravel Train. ' EUGENE. Or.. Sept. i5. (SpecialO A light engine from the gravel pit col lided with the rear of the north-bound passenger train on a curve at the en trance to the Eugene yards today, badly wrecking the engine tender and damag ing a coach. One passenger was slight ly hurt and a gravel brakeman was cut in the head. Boy Killed by Street-Car. SAN FRANCISCO. Sept. 15. (Special.) Sol Loeb, 13 years old. was run down by a south-bound Fillmore-street car on the grade between California and Sacramento streets this morning and died a few min utes after being taken from beneath the wheels of the car. while being taken to the hospital. The little fellow never re gained consciousness. Killed In Logging Train Wreck. ' BARNESTON, Wash.. Sept. 15. While going to work, a logging train of the Kent Lumber Company, in rounding a curve near Barneston, struck a land and rock slide, instantly killing H. Everett and injuring E. J. Evans,