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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (July 31, 1910)
' ' Mil',, . ' THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAi;, PORTLAND, SNDAV ijoRNtNG, JULY 31, 1910, AUGUST WILL BE wSw Ex-Judge Webster to Stump , State to Awaken Interest in ; Proposition to H ave Coun ties Sell Bonds . 'Augrust Is to b made historical In the ;. cause of good roads building. . Judge Lionel R. Webster of tha Ore gon Good Roads association will cam ' paign throughout . ' the length' and breadth of Oregon in behalf of the con . stltutional- amendment v which, when , adopted, will permit counties to Issue road building bonds. " Professor II. M. Parks, geologist for the Oregon Agricultural college, will visit ten Willamette valley counties, learnln what are the road building necessities and what . the ' quantity -Of outcroBDlng material available for road building. He will make estimate not ' only on the amount Of rock accessible, " but on the oost of quarrying, transport ing, preparing and laying It on the . roads. vHe tviU visit Multnomah, pack 1 amas, Marlon, Linn, Lane, Benton, Polk, Yamhill. Washington-; and Tillamook ) counties and his services are expected to be of inestimable value. . , In order to aid the project the railroad , lines have offered to carry Professor Parks free of any transportation' costs. The commercial clubs In each county have been written to by Walter Priest. secretary to Judge Webster, asking that his hotel -and Mvery bills be defrayed by the business interests wherever he stops. " . Gives Services Tree. Professor Parks gives his services free of charge, and the Oregon Agri- 1 cultural college will print the bulletin ' which details the information tnat..pro fessor Parks will secure. ' ' . As a result of Prof essor Park's work, it Is exDected that each county, will know exactly where to find road build ing materials, how much win te needed and the cost of building the roads. The collection of data necessary to this end will be the first and most essential step toward the actual construction of the roads after their building has been au thnrlzed bv bond issue. -;' " In the meantime the Portland Auto mobile club is not idle.. It has finished posting road, signs over a large portion of the state. Under the direction of E, H. Wemme, ., Oregon's" auto enthusiast, the road to Mount Hood is being wonder. Improved. Plans for rebuilding ' the roads from Portland to Hood Elver, from Kelso " to Vancouver and from , Portland to Tillamook , are well ad vanced. , , t . , '' The constitutional amendment" per mitting counties to issue bonds for road building in amounts of $100,000 or mors will be placed on the ballot next No vember through Initiative petition. , , ; $5000 Xs X.!mit. . The constitution now prohibits ny county from bonding itself to a greater amount than $5000. This absolutely pre vents ftny concerted; effort 'between: the counties of Oregon to- improve their thoroughfares or ta build trunk high ways serosa the state. '--"Soma of Judge Webster's best argu ments for good roads "are Contained '. in an address which he recently prepared to deliver before the Oregon Thresher men's association, -xtracts .from which follow: ': -r-'- " "The i objection is often made that bond Issues place tool much of a burden upon the taxpayer. Let -us see if this is true. A tax ttVA mills m each one dollar's worth ; of property -makes '' necessary for a person owning $1000 worth of property to pay $2.50 more annually for good roads. , , "A farm or a factory worth $10,000 would be assessed at $2S annually. If one is so fortunate as to own $100,000 worth ( of real estate he would have to pay $250. annually. A 2 mill tax on each $1.0 worth of property in the . county will produce $2509 for every $1,000,000 worth of taxable; property in the county. .. .-;. , . . "If the rountj has $20.ft00.tl00 worth Of taxable property then - a 3 H milt tax will produce $50,000 a year, which will i'b '.'sufficient to pay th interest on $1,000,000 worth of bonds at 6 per cent per annum. By issuing say, $500,. 000 worth of. bonds the interest can be paid and m sinking fund created which will retire the bonds in Jess than 20 years. -. . , , . .. . -- Bmall Burden on Taxpayers.-! ? "The. sinking fund can be placed on Interest and thus help topay the !n terest on bonds. . Thus it will oe seen that s 2 niill tax will entail only a small burden on the taxpayer, vevon 1f he hau to pc 1U but as a mat tor of "fact the enl a-. d value and the lncroid eltli-Jtiahlp l:ive In nearly ajl " cases which1 have com under my ob servatlon been sufficient to pay the interest, and oreato the sinking fund without having to increase the current taxes for this purpose. . "There is no more Important question before the people of this state today than that nr tha, htiiliilntr nf hotter nub. a 1i roads. T.iis ouestloln addresses It- ' self alike to every county and com munity, f.rd to all classes and condl tions of people. It Is of especial inter est and importance to the farmer, be- cause "It" is" one of the most Important Y factor in his i business as well aa his pleasures: v and. as everything that I j touches the farmer Is felt throughout the life and business Of all olasses, so . the condition . of our public . roads is i. directly, jeflected.:. from. farm, and .-field to every othar business and occupation or .the people., -., Can Bender tasting Service. ' "Whoever, therefore, contributes ' to the success of the movement for better . public roads 'thereby renders a great and lasting service to his fetate and to his' county.: And this affords me the pleasing opportunity . of saying to you gentlemen, of the Threshermen's asso ciation, that you are entitled to great credit for-the service you have rendered Mn securing the assistance of Mr, El- dridge in this work. Through, the ef forts of your energetic and efficient secretary, Mr. Bates, the services of Mr. Eldrldge were secured for a series of lectures covering ; almost the entire state. , - . "His work here Is not merely the work of a public officer of the government in the conscientious" discharge of a duty, but it has behind it that finest of all inspirations an intense love of the work for the work itself, and a profound be lief In the great value and Importance to this state and to all states, and to .the nation also, of , the work in which he is engaged. : And, besides this, no jmaandjsspeclaJiyjDOl.MxUai-l(ig, is proof against the enthusiastic and inspiring spirit of encouragement that , , is pow sweeping over this entire state. Uplift Towas. "Mr. Eldrldge has shown you bad 'roads their extravagance, and their de teriorating and .depressing effect upon the business." social and moral' life of the community, and he has shown you good roads and demonstrated both their economic value and their far greater Importance as contributing factOTS in the developing and uplifting, of the country, the village and the town. "He hat -shown you the bad roads leading to debt and depression to poor (tendance upon small, ill kept schools, and) thence. to a high percentage of wide ly distributed illiteracy, and, he has also shown you the good, broad, smooth hard surface highways leading to prosperity and plenty, and resulting in the large attendance of brighter children upon. better schools, greatly reducing illit eracy and abolishing idleness and con tributing in an hundred ways to tne Bet terment of every condition of life. Let me emphasize that this which has been shown by Mr. Eldrldge la no far off picture of imaginary conditions, nor mere dreams of things possible to be accomplished, but is the representation of actual conditions and the presenta tion of possibilities all of which' can be realised by us here in this Oregon of ours. ' i !.:'" -Vi .:" ' ;$.' "R'owess' of proposition. Let us for a little while, as hard headed, praotlcal business men, address ourselves' to the question. 'How shall we get .good roads and get thera nowf First of all It is the .'nowness' Of the proposition, so to say, that appeals to most of those who are taking an active interest in this camoaien.. In, say 20 or 80 years from now. few of us will have any personal interest in the Ihgh- wava on this earth. .: ': . "No . just and right thinking roan, however, wants o better his physical conditions or contribute to his personal comfort at' the ; expense 'Of .: posterity, On the -.contrary. It is , the, laudable ambition of all rirht thinking men to make the world a lltttle better because of . their having lived in it. f ; If then, as a cractical : business proposition, some way can : be devsed by which we can contribute to our present com fort and prosperity by securing for our own use while we yet live, smoom ana hard permanent public roads, and at the same time by the same ineans satis fy our ambition to benefit posterity, every 'person should cheerfully and en ergetically Join in a common enori.io timt end. . Deserves Consideration. "Let us not prejudge the question at the outset, nor nermlt ourselves to be frightened -from an impartial con sideration of the matter by the floating shadow of some ancient ghost, dragged by imagination from the charnel house of prejudice. This is " an Important question certainly one of the most im portent before the people of Oregon today and it ' deserves and demands the most careful, " deliberate and ' un prejudiced consideration Of every per son in this state. Having in view these considerations, let us now with frank and open minds try if we can answer this very important question: "How are we to get good roads, and get them nowrvi ..?,,-: M.V ...' '-" .v'i. When we thus speak of good roads we really mean the best roaas. ror our Oregon needs and deserves noth ine. but. the; best. and. I. am of those who- . .believe i that there . exists . here that spirit of loyalty to our state which will - demand, t and demanding receive nothing but the very best, ; 4 r '. Waat Best Boads. . "Certain t is that if the enthusiastic determination manifested by this or ganization and Its able officers Is any index to the temper of the state, nothing but the best and a great deal of it, will satisfy the progressive spir it of the people, in their demand for road construction and improvement. "When we apeak of permanent roads we mean Just rhat the ' words imply and all that they imply smooth; hard highways, as smooth as the, floor of this room, and as hard as the rocks from which they are -built,' rOads that I will last forever, and upon which can! be hauled all your wagons" will hold and at all seasons of the year a sys tem of roads, too, that shall Join valley with, valley and town with town all over the" state and afford very farmer an outlet to his' market place and ev ery market place an. Inlet to the farm. ?'-' ,.'.'' , -n v. ' ;', I First then, and perhaps most impor tant of all, these roads are to be per manent structures Just as the water i system and sewage system of the cities are permanent' . Being thus permanent they are bullded for posterity for gen erations and generations yet unborn as well as for us of today. Since, then, we are building these roads for poster ity as well as for ourselves it is but fair and right that posterity should as sist in psying for them. ' ;. ; - - Oood Boads Great Benefit. L "By building these roads now, we shall -have ;the benefit and enjoy ment" of .- them while we live, and since they are permanent, those who come after us Will equally" profit by them. Common fairness of business transaction, therefore demands that Just proportion Of the cost of construc tion should be borne by all of those who are to share In. the benefits. . . :' "By the adoption of such an equitable adjustment of 'the cost of constructing these roads, both ourselves and our de scendants shall equally enjoy the prof its and. benefits of them, and each pay a part of their cost. Living, we shall thus have all the benefits of these roaua and pay but a part of the expense, and dying we shall bequeath to, posterity these same benefits ' and advantages, leaving them likewise o pay but a part of the cost of their construction. s "By this , method these' roads will be worth "to use .vastly more than they will cost us, and $hey will be worth to our descendants many, times what they - will be required to pay toward their construction. , "I believe that It . is generally con ceded that the state should assist to some extent in the building of these roads. ( ' -; ; .. .. - '.. i-':', yAdTaaoesiBeasoaA5::;1': : - There are many Reasons " why" thll should be done, but I have not the time to discuss that this evening." Suffice it to sayJthat many, if not most, of the States of the. union have adopted' one or more forms of state aid,, that for eign countries j have found It beneficial and effective' and that it is indorsed by the common concensus of opinion of those most familiar with Its' opera tion and results. - .; But Just what form of state aid should be adopted at this time in this state is a matter upon which opinions differ and something which should be considered and discussed.; One form of state aid is that by which the state should pay one third, the county one third and the property within two miles of the road on each side one third. Such a. bill,' known as the "Johnson bill,' was once passed by our legisla ture and was vetoed by the governor. This bill was afterwards revised by the committee of legislation of which have spoken, was Introduced in - the legislature but failed to pass. Another, form of state aid that has been sugges'ted is, for the state to ap propriate for each county, a definite sum of money each year on condition that the county r appropriate a like amount (or double that amount as some suggest) and that the whole sum shall be used in building a scientmc ally constructed permanent road under tne 'direction : oi me state mgaway commissioner. ' . form of State Aid. A third form "of state aid whioh is urged with great force and much rea son is for the state to appropriate a definite amount-to be distributed to tbys counties in the inverse - order 01 tne wealth of the county. That is, giving to the Doorer counties a greater pro portion of assistance than those having greater wealth. They could be worked upon some' just and fair proportion vi distribution which should afford . the most help whee there was the greatest need for help. ' . "All these various plans and such oth ers as may be presented Should oe care fully considered and dispassionately dls. cussed and throueh the cooperative ef forts of the different members ana branches of one organisation ' be crya- talizad into some .cractlcal form oi leg' islation and then by our united enort, enacted into a law. .--. " "Anothar form "of state aid is that of employing the' inmates Of our peni tentiary in road construction. It is proposed to establish convict camps In various oarts of the state for the crush- in ft of rock to be used in masing ma cadam roads. A stone quarry would oe selected convenient to river or rauroau tranannrtiittnn. which WOUld be inclosed by a stockade, machinery for" crushing rock would be Installed and 20 or 80 per sons, or more if necessary, employed in the operation of the piani, wonl1 EmvlOT lTisoaers. ! "It is proposed to thus employ all able bodied , prisoners and eight o ten iffht he thus kept in oper ation. sThese camps should be located in, different parts of thestate so asto readily effect the most equitable dlstrl Liim nt thu nroduct of the camps. The mrii nould be out, of competl Uon with free labor and used with much profit to the state and great good to the prisoners themselves. 1 ; ' : "And this leads me to the consideration onnv,.r innvict labor measure which is the last measure of legislation of which I shall speak this evening, xou know there is now, and has been since 1896, a law in this State which provides that all persons serving Jail sentences In anw .mi n t V ran be worked upon the pub lic roads by the order, and under the di rection: of the county court. suca pr nnr Have been so worked in Multnomah county for several years in crushing rock for making macadam roads In sub stantially the same manner as i nave Just suggested for working convicts in the penitentiary. , , ; . , Worked. I County. v, v. "in' -iWultnomah county those serving sentences in the Portland city Jail also are, and for. several, years have been, worked by the county tne same as coun ty prisoners. All this is practical ana profitable in Multnomah county because there are sufficient prisoners to Justify establishing the plants for that purpose; but this is not true of any other county. . "In each of most of the other counties there; are a few prisoners most of the Him . hut In no. one. county , is ' there enough to Justify, the expense of thus employing them. , It Is now proposed to procure a law providing that all persons serving sentences, in any town,, city,, or county Jail, shall thus be employed ' In road construction,' and that any county which has not enough to Justify the ex pense of providing for their employment may send them to any other county that will take them and so employ tnem. Un der the operation of such a law all such prisoners in every county in the state could be concentrated into convict camps in different parts of the state and em ployed in the profitable and most useful occupation of building permanent roads. . . Establish Jonvlct Camps, tMThe effect of such a1 law would be to empty all the Jails county, city and town In the state into convict camps, where they would both profit the state and benefit themserves. When both these convict labor laws shall have been enacted sufficient free labor will be thereby furnished to provide for one convict camp In each or most of the counties In the state. - "This subject of convict labor is a most interesting one from every point of view, and one which is of the greatest Importance to the state. To consider it in all its aspects would require a whole evening, and I have only time to merely mention it as a subject 'which presents urgent need of legislation, and one which is worthy of your most careful thought and earnest consideration. It is a mat ter In which I have been deeply and ac tlvely interested for many years and I have yet to hear tha rirst reasonable oh Jectlon against the employment of con vict labor upon the public roads. question. I have' considered only that part of the advantages of this great sys tem of internal improvement, which has reference to financial advancement, and have left 'untouched the far more lnv portant aspect which has reference to the betterment of the home, to the up building of the school, to the keeping on the farm the boys and girls who are flocking to the towAis and cities In' search of social advantages, or what appeal to them aa such, and to the general ad vancement and development of "those conditions of life in this world life on the farm. ,:. .- '. . , . "Let us all Join together In generous loyalty to' our county and state, in one common purpose of . devoting our best efforts to the upbuilding of our state by uniting valley, with. valley and town with town by a system of permanent public highways, smooth and firm and hard, and which shall last for ages. Thus ' .v Twohy' Bros.' Buy Els Farm, (BIMClxl ttPtCb to T J lurtinl Grants Pass,' Or., July 3ft One of r largest real estate deals reported hei .this week is that of Twohy llio.. of shall, we gain advantage for . ourselves portland.-They purchased 800 acres of and earn the gratitude of posterity." ; (land in the Illinois valley at a cost of '.", i - ,i ! i I $30,000. The deal ; Wfis consummated ; Journal Want Ada bring results. through local real estate men. -- Heals With One Phase, "rT" v -"I have thus far really dealt with but; a single phase of this most Important ECK EMB . We have for tale the following cars all in good order. Wishing to buy Cole "30s,,r the owners wish todispose of their old cars. Cash, terms or will trade for real estate,; ' ' , . ' 6-CYLINDER FRANKLIN, ; 7-PASS. ; WHITE ; STEADIER 7-PASS. THOMAS "60" 7-PASS. :;E;M.:F-1910' .. ' CADILAC 1908 CAUILAC 1909 TOURIST " WHITE, GAS CAR-1910: MOLINE-1910 -' EVERlTT-910 All ttVonf own price TvvitcHell IMotorCarCo; '' MAIN 322. UNION AND WASCO 111 r-' r Jzi i' vs - '.v. "f y vc - ' "'. 1 V,aJ, mn , , . . ;- ... x-m?-mi? x v ti v ' , if FMly EcqitaSppedl Top and Glass Front A car constructed on the latest and most advanced ideas of motor car construction. A motor that has 150 less parts than its nearest competitor. A car with a hundred new features, all of which go to make an automobile that is simple, strong and pleasing in appearance. , r : , . The EVERITT 30 has merit and we want to prove iti to you. ,t - ,..jr '.. Send for booklet, "A-Trip Through the Everitt Factory." It is instructive and interesting. AGENTS WANTED . " MAIN, 6374. SIXTEENTH AND ALDER STREETS , . AMP MOTOE PELIVEEY ; 'WAGONS Adaptable For Any Businesss ' I T : ff . - ' f 7 ": !"v, mil ' ' : IPttf ;. fr 1 1 1 v Immediate -Deliyeryi: '-3 and 5-Ton Trucks 1-Ton Trucks IGOO-lb. I)eIiveryWagons ... Hotel-Busses Light Delivery Wagons Ambulances - Domestic-Express Motor Delivery Expert in Charge of Commercial Vehicle" : Department f : WMDTE M(Q)T(Q)M CA1 js y C A. EASTMAN, General Manager G. S. BRACRETT. Secretary ,;VJV'"''?;.' .v;vii;f::.w,-:a-vi SraiMJWOBTSTS. stv!",; :; i- 1