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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 18, 1908)
THE MORNING AJTOMAN, ASTOIUA. OREGON. FRIDAY, SEPT. 18 if Established 1873. Published Daily Except Monday by THE J. S. DELLINGER CO. SUBSCRIPTION RATES. By mail, per year ,...$7.00 By carrier, per month ...... . . . 60 WEEKLY ASTORIAN. By mail, per year, in advance ..... ..$1.50 i Entered as second-class matter July 30, 1906, a the postoffice at As toria, Oregon, under the act of Congress of March 8, 1879. . . Orders for the delivering of The Morning Astorian to either residence or place of business may be made bypostal .card or through telephone. Any irregularity in delivery should be immediately reported to the office of publication. t v TELEPHONE MAIN 661. THE WEATHER Oregon and Idaho Fair. Washington Fair and cooler m northeast and warmer in southwest THE PORT FIRST Without the necessity for spend tng a million or more of money for its formal establishment, the setting op of the Port of Astoria, by its own people, will be a long step toward the accomplishment of many another good and expedient thing for the city and section. It is a mere matter of popular authority that is -wanted to make this a fixed and useful adjunct to our commercial development; a matter of progressive voting and sub sequent careful oversight. As a port, in the legal sense of the ".. term, Astoria will be in a position to do much more for herself than at present, and, as The Oregonian says, we can "advertise" the harbor' with direct and definite purpose and to ends amply provided for. As it is, our waters are but a highway, an unregulated haven, a marine station safe, commodious, accessible, but ut terly ttnadapted to the huge scope of usefulness that might be wrought, not for ourselves entirely, but for the whole Columbia Basin, including PVr1nf 4tl1 a A7.11imAf.A Villa.. The port commission may be . made the clearing agency for the sea-wall and all other great and small accessories in the way of permanent improvement and commercial expan sion; and, as a basis for such devel opment, we know of nothing to com pare with this busines-like and ap propriate action on the part of As torians, who of all people on the earth are entitled to what benefits appertaain to an organic port. We rgc it in the best of faith, for the common good, by way of its essen tiality,, anifor 5 security it witf add to our future demands, actions and interests, as they unfold with the immense future of the Northwest We do not have to invest a single dollar to put ourselves in the initial attitude; we may take our time at working out the details of establish ment and equipment, if we but take over the lawful and composite rights that belong to us. of local jealousies and prejudices. There is no necessity for another fish war on the Columbia, and as the ean.iers and packers are the biggest J beneficiaries at last it becomes their duty to lead, with every strong in nuence at their command, for a concerted and final adjustment that fhall include every lesser interest at stake. It is an expedient moment for the revision of the codes so that the relative interest of every set of men engaged snail De determined with exactitude and honest propor tion all along the line, and for the elimination of those things at pres ent known and complained of as in congruous, the salmon hshenes of. the Columbia are worth infinitely more than the mere advantages baldly claimed or held by any man or group of men. GRAFT-WEARINESS There is not a metropolis, city town, hntulet or organic district in all this magnificent land of ours that it not graft-weary. Go where one may, read what one will, listen to what talc is told from the outside, the same story of shame and public dc basement is forced upon the con '.ciousness 'of the American who is in any degree given to thinking out civic problems. We have got to the pass where we Actually laugh at graft. Hut the laugh does not ring right; there is & note in it that will be heard, minus the laugh, some day; a note of weariness, communal sickness, sheer disgust and of the sense Of blind weakness that has permitted the modern scale am scope of public and private theft to pass from the exceptional and ex traordinary to a common and ac cepted rufe tif the business hour. From the St. Croix mouth to As toria, from the lakes to the gulf, with no oasis of freedom, the curse runs rampant and triumphant, dead against the course of a nation's better judg ment and undisputed knowledge; in politics, finance, commerce, business, in society, in trade and craft and pro fession, in every association to which man is amenable, in schools, frater nities, , trades, and in the very churches, the intolerable yet toler ated scourge prevails almost un checked, except when it becomes so shameless that even a hardened pub lic may not stand for it. Then the whitewash and protection and fear inspired rules are invoked, and the courts themselves are employed, to purge the immediate earth of the evil and of the men committed to it so deeply that human wit may not save them. We are a great and masterful peo ple, so we are! j SIDELIGHTS ON SEAWALL PROJECT A Card of Thanks g Q Xll desire to return our sincere thauks to the music-loving public of Astoria for Jy its heirty and kindly co-cperation with us in our successful endeavors to mar ket high class pianos at lowest possible prices. ' During the extraordinary demonstration sale we have conducted at 421 Commer cial Street, there have been sold three carloads of high grade instruments in just fifteen working days. These include the supcrfc and justly celebrated Chickering, magnificent Grands, the genuine Pianola Pianos, rls the glorious Weber, the piano of the ' opera Pade'rewski's choice; the famous Kin 111, also the wonderful Eile.'s Orchestral Grand, besides other well known old establ.'sisi makes. In fact, nothing that was not strictly choice and in .every way desirable has been offered at this great sale. We have never been identified with tne sale of cheap or medium grade pianos, AND NEVER WILL. The name of and always will be synonymous with QUALITY FOR LOWEST PRICES." That the Eiler's Piano House ues are attractive is attested by the fact has always been "HIGHEST prices and val that we arc now the largest retail piano concern in America. We have built up this great business from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico by never misrepresenting and sparing no pains to see that every patron of our house is absolutely satisfied. We are the originators of selling high class pianos and organs under price. Pur chasing for FORTY well organized central Eilers stores enables us to secure advantages in buying and handling that cannot be obtained in any other way. These advantages we are always glad to share with our patrons. AGAIN we desire to express our high appreciation of the co-operation of our many hundreds of Astoria patrons who have bought their pianos from us in past years and to those who so quickly responded to our splendid offers in this 'Igrcat sale" which ends tomorrow night. A sale that unquestionably has been one of the fairest and bie- gest reduced price ever held on the Coast. , We have just a few splendid bargains for today and Saturday in slightly used pianos and organs taken au part payment on new goods during this sale. Come in and pick them up. $38.50 will buy a fine organ worth $125; $100 will buy a splendid Up right Piano and two or three other snaps of a like character; pay as best suits you. Don't miss this for Saturday night ends this wonderful opportunity. Interesting Facts and Figures Adduced at Meeting Last Night Mr. Harris Resigns At the joint meeting of the charter j ment that he drew, this protest would LAW FIRST, LAW LAST The Columbia salmon fisheries are badly hedged in a triangle of law, with two State codes and the federal statutes looming large and at present at wide variance. But we believe in the law, and that it may be made to unravel the snarl for which it is re sponsible. The fact that the Constitutions of Oregon and Washington give each' State concurrent jurisdiction, for criminal procedure, over the two banks of the Columbia River should have operated to preserve a better and safer condition than now prevails, especially in the matter of the fisher ies. But since the legislation of each State has departed widely from that organic footing and conduced to an inextricable mess it is the duty of our people and those of Washington to see to it that these great preserves and the valuable industry they stand for are not sacrificed to false pride and an insensate greed. There is plenty of law, business ac umen and common honesty to save the situation from the extremes of criminal confusion if those at interest will put good citizenship and a great two-State trade above the promptings COFFEE You can buy something called "coffee" at 10c lb with 3000 miles of R R freight from the roaster; don't Tw rwetr returns few Bene U m Be SchUUas't Beit; V W amendment committee with the bulk head commission in the council cbam ber last night the resignation of S. . Harris from the commission of nine was formally announced. Mr. Kab- oth, of the charter amendment com mittee, stated that Mr. Harris found it necessary to positively decline his services, not because he did not favor the project, but because of reasons of business and health. There were no other resignations. Dr. Logan, as chairman, later in the session called for suggestions of names to fill Mr. Harris' place. Mr. Kankinen sug gested the name of Tom Nelson, but no action was taken on the matter. The meeting last night was an in teresting one, and though very little actual business arose for settlement there were many Interesting and per haps valuable sidelights thrown upon the entire project. , The only change made in the bulk head amendment was one suggested by Captain Flavel, of the commission. The bill provided that property own ers whose properties would be filled in as an incident to the project would have 20 years in which to pay there for. This was changed to 30 years. Of the charter amendment commit tee, Councilmen Logan, Kaboth and Leinenweber were present, and of the commission Messrs. Flavel, Mauke, Kankinen, Birch, Goddard and Dr. Kinney. A. M. Smith, as attorney for the committee, was also present, as was the city attorney, Mr. Abercrom bie. There were no citizens present, though Councilman Stangeland came in late and remained an interested auditor. Mr. Smith, at the request of Dr. Logan, explained in concise manner the purposes and scope of the whole project, and as he covered the mat ter briefly for their edification it be came evident that at least the bill is drawn with much care and in its mi nor points is evidently a compara tively perfect instrument. It shows the months of work put on it by the committee. and the attorneys. Mr. Smith explained that it would not be necessary for the commission to sell all of the $300,000 bonds atr once; small portions of this sum may be expended as the work proceeds, if the matter should become a law. The commission may reject any or all bids. There may be remonstrances. He explained the effect of remon strances also. If owners of three- be availing, and would prevent action; provided, however, that any such re monstrance made by owners of at least three-fifths of the property in volved may be rendered of no effect by a two-thirds vote of the commis sion of nine. That is, by a twothirds vote of the commission any remon strance may be ovfircome. According to Mr. Smith's statement, this two- thirds vote must be of the entire com mission and not of the members pres ent and voting. It was also explained that the commissioners " now ap pointed will hold office until 1915, when their elective successors are to succeed them. Mr. Kankinen asked in relation to the manner of taxation for the bulk-, head proper. It was explained that for this the entire city must pay. It is to be by general taxation, just as the entire city paid for the city hall. All of the filling in of lots, however, and the cost of new sewerage sys tems, etc., must be paid for by the' property owners benefited. Mr. Smith also endeavored to emphasize the fact that while the entire city is to pay for the bulkhead ( always pro viding that the matter becomes a law), that bonds will be sold which will run for many years for 40 or 50 years and thus the real payment is "postponed." He showed clearly that it ts contemplated that the city's pos terity must really foot the bills, and this course he justified by the assump tion that the city will have been so greatly benefited by the project that posterity should naturally be called upon to pay for the benefits received. We are to pay merely the interest. (This familiar argument of course im plies that the present citizens arc not to be benefited so greatly as the fu ture ones are to be, and it further presumes that the benefits are cer tain, and not assumed. The argu ment naturally fails the moment that the project becomes a losing venture instead of a paying venture. In some of the States of the Union the Consti tutions, seeing great evils from this course, forbid the present from 'sad dling" debts on the future beyond a certain point.) ; ' Mr. Smith made his address inter esting. Mr. Kaboth arose to aver that the additional tax from the sale of the bonds would be "merely nomi nal;" that is, that all this generation would have to "pay would be the in terest, never amounting to more than 351-3-5 Washington St. PORTLAND, ORE. a jl Nl. r v a LOCAL BRANCH 424 Commercial St. ASTORIA WHOLESALE WAREHOUSE Cor. 13th and Northrup Sts. PORTLAND fifths of the property involved remon- "$15,000 a year." This, he said, might strate, it would appear from Mr. mean as much as $2.50 for a lot up on Smith's interpretation of the instru the hillside. All seemed to agree that the additional taxation from the bonds would be comparatively light. It was then suggested that the peo ple would have twenty years in which to pay for the filling in of their Indi vidual lots, etc. The fact that the great cost of the whole project will not be from the bonds, but will be upon the ' property owners whose lands are affected, was not empha sized, but apparently not purposely kept in the background. Captain Flavel suggested that the twenty years might be lengthened to thirty years, so as to lighten the burden upon the property owners, and this amendment was made. ' Dr. Logan, who has made a .wide study of the matter, then stated that estimates had been made of the cost of filling in the lots. It was stated that to fill in the adjacent streets and the lots would cost approximately from $400 to $600 per lot. ; No e'stimate was made of the extra cost involved in raising grades, cre ating new sewerage systems, new drainage, etc., and in handling build ings now on the properties. At this point Dr. Logan made an address covering the entire matter, and in it the speaker made many tell ing points against Astoria's lethargy in business matters and in favor of active, progressive, up-to-date plans. "We figure that it will cost about $15 a foot to drive the piles for the bulk head," he said. "We saw no need for hiring expensive engineers to tell us how to drive piles. "We figured that to.drive the piles for a bulkhead from Smith's Point to a point near Tongue Point the to tal cost would be about $300,000, "An addition of one-half mill upon last year's valuations would more than pay the interest for the first year upon the proposed bond issue." ' Dr. Logan had mentioned the bulk head along the Uniontown water front. "But we don't want a sea wall there," said Mr. KaKnkincn, "as we want it open so thqt the' boats can get in and out." It was explained that Uniontown need not have a bulkhead if it doesn't want one, that it is "up to" the com mission to decide just wher the wall would be built. At this point an interesting dis Mr. Smith explained that, generally speaking, the city had no such right; that the only cases wherein it has such a right arc where the property is condemned under the privilege of eminent domain for public purposes, and under the very wide powers granted municipalities under the des ignation of "police powers." Under its police powers Astoria may have the right to enter, in upon these pri vate properties for sanitary purposes; and if not for purely sanitary pur poses, the speaker intimated, perhaps it has no right at all. "While Mr. Abcrcrombic and I would not want to stake our full rep utations as lawyers upon this mat ter," he sjjid, "we are disposed to think the bill will be legal that it will hold water." Mr, Smith's atti tude and words seemed to denote that while there may be some room for doubt upon this, subject, nevertheless he is satisfied the courts would surely uphold the validity of the bill. At the conclusion of the discussion of the bulkhead matter Dr. Logan stated that, the committee had other amendments to propose, and he asked for opinions on the advisability of doing away with the street superin- tendency and city surveyorship as elective offices and making them ap pointive. It is expected that such an amendment will be offered, though nothing has been publicly said in these meetings lately, at least about making the police commission ap pointive, instead of elective as now. In some quarters there is a strong de mand for this latter change, and if the amendment committee doesn't propose the change it is known that others will. "What do you think of having an amendment limiting the number of saloons?" asked Dr. Logan. "That is, having only a certain number of sa loons in proportion to the popula tion?" There are said to be two sides to this question. While, generally speak ing,' many would favor the limitation on general grounds, nevertheless it might work in an unexpected way. It might be worded or "worked" so as to prevent agitation for doing away with saloons in certain districts that have a tendency to go "dry." . At present there are 50 saloons. to think, if it at the same time can be operated, so as not to prevent the ac tivities of those who arc endeavoring to extend the dry districts. It it said that some of 'the leading saloonkeep ers would also favor the plan, as hav ing a tendency to uplift and better their business. - OPEN-SHOP PDINCIPLE. Latest "Phase Of Policy Announced By The United Typothetae. NEW YORK, Sept. 17.-The Uni ted Typothetae of America, has adop ted a declaration of policy confirming the open shop plan. Among other planks it contains the following: "The United Typothetae of Amer ica are opposed to any agreement be tween the local typothetae or individ ual members thereof and employes unions for the control of trade or membership." A number of the New York mem bers are in favor of permitting indi vidual members who believe their business - requires it, to make con tracts with local unions, provided such contracts conform to the spirit of the open shop policy, subject to the approval of the National Exec utive Committee. The Typothetae has also re-elected the principal officers' to serve for an other year. They are: E. Lawrence Fell, Philadelphia, president; Wilson H, Lee, New Haven, vice-president; John Maclntyre, New York, secre tary. A. M. Glasbrcnner, of Indianapo lis, was re-elected treasurer, and an executive committee of nineteen members, most of them being re elected, was elected. ' Boys wanted to carry papers, Ap-. ply Circulation Department, Astorian Office. 9-17-tf Y. P, 3. C E. Meeting. . . The members of the Y. P. S. C. E. of the First Presbyterian Church will entertain their friends on Thursday evening, September 17, 1908, at the home of Mr, and Mrs. Van Tuyl, 268 Tenth street, 9-16-2t Millinery Opening. You are invited to the opening dis cussion arose upon the right of the , That means that there is a saloon for play of fall and winter millinery at city to enter upon private property about every 250 or 275 residents A the La Mode, 682 Commercial street, to fill it in and otherwise improve it. limitation seems required, many seem Saturday, September 19th. 9-16-4t , i