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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1917)
THE , OREGON DAILY, JOURNAL, PORTLAND, FRIDAY, JUNE, 1, 1917. TAX AMENDMENT FOR -WORE EQUITABLE LAW ,4 STRONGLY INDORSED Measure Submitted to People y.by Legislature Will Make Mor More Modern System. BALLOT NUMBER IS 308 .lWifl Amendment Would SttM 8tt to Soh Property Hot Vow Paying Taxos. . I Oregon taKea front rank amontf " tl" atatea ot the Union in nearly all - rovernmental affairs. An excep tion i Ita method of taxation, which hkrks back to the general property 'tlx' aytetn adopted for Oregon be f fire t waa even admitted to tha j. Union. " i At tha special election to be held rtsxt Monday the votera of the state Will hav opportunity to approve a nUtutional amendment which will n a- foundation upon which modern Methods of taxation may be adopted through the enactment of laws. I Xaafllng Van tTrge Amesdaaat I This proposed constitutional amend ment, which is designated as the 'XJalform Tax Classification Amenfl- itent" and has ballot numbers S08 " yea, o, was referred to the peo jije by the' legislature. It is being - alipported by the state tax commis sion, Henry E. Reed, assessor of ultnornah county; former Governor est, and many others who are au- orlty on taxation questions. An affirmative argument on the r6ea.su re ' -In the voters pamphlet. "fhleh closes with this appear, "Voto Sj8 yes. Put Oregon- in the column 1 jjf 'atates whose tax laws are sane, fund and modern," is signed bytthe HowUjg men: Fred W. Mulkey, Hortlanrt- A. 1,. Yeasle. Portland: diehard "W. Montague, Portland; Wil liam L. Brewster, Portland; Robert If. Strong, Portland; Henry E. Reed, Portland; Charles V. Galloway. Salem, s X .B. Eaton, Salem; C. L. Hawley, McCoy: Sam LauKhlin. Yamhill: B. L.. Eddy, Roseburg; John IL Carkin. Med ibrd; W. W7 Calkins. Liugene; Oeorgs j Keuner Jr., Itosnburg; F. O. Young, JSUgene; penton G. Burdick. Redmond Oswald West, Portland; Claude C t McColloeh, Portland; Walter M. Pierce, a Urande. , Modern System Offered The amendment itself will make no ange in the tax laws of the state 'merely offers opportunity for a modern system of taxation, to meet , tjie complex business situation of to ' day, to be adopted through futunj i legislation. This legislation will hav Q be enacted by the legislature or -Try. the people through the initiative. I It will be imposlhle for any tax w to be passed and be put Into ep ilation without the consent of the people, because under other provisions t . f the constitution the legislature ti ronlblted from attaching the emerg- cy clause to any fax measure. If the amendment is adopted laws German Spy Taken Many Papers Mapa ui Srawlngv of Saa Praclaoo's rortlfloatloMa and Bay, Public ' Woxka of City Sacorarad. Baa Francisco, June l. (P. ; N. S.) -Loaded down with., maps and draw ings of San Francisco's fortifications; tha bay. the public works of the city and Its largest buildings; maps of Southern Pacific tunnels and tae like. Deputy United States Marshal Thomas Mulhall returned to this city Thurs day with Hugo Weber, arrested In Woodland several days ago as German 8py Weber was lodged m Fort Win field Scott, where he will pa held for -trial as a spy. When arrested, Weber freely ad mitted he waa in this country for the purpose of obtaining information, pictures and data to transmit to the German government. He said 'he con sidered President Wilson the greatest enemy of the German people. Worry Leads Woman - To Commit Suicide San Francisco, June 1. (I. N. S.) After penning notes to a local news paper and to the coroner, Mrs. R. W. Howe, wife of a salesman, with3 a sis ter residing in, Portland, Or., commit ted suicide Thursday by inhaling gas in her home in Geary street. . . Tha notes explained that aha was prompted by worry to take her life. Mrs. Howe charged her mother-in-law, Mrs. Lois Howe, with poisoning her son's mind against her. She wrote that her husband recently was given an automobile by his mother,' and that Increased her sorrow. She was 35 years old. The couple were married about five years ago. '- . may "be passed providing for uniform classification of property for taxa tion. As an Illustration, this' means that a classification may be provided for stocks and bonds and other in tangible property which will bring that clasa of property from hiding when the assessor calls and enable that official to put it on the tax rolls, bringing In a much greater revenue than it is now possible to obtain. Everybody knows that this class of property, under the old gen eral property tax system, to a very large extent evades the assessor en tirely. Sana System Provided Here is what the 19 men who signed tha affirmative argument on the amendment say: "There are many reasons why Ore gon should vote 308 yes, and adopt the proposed amendments. First and foremost, Oregon will be given the foundation for a sane system of tax ation, which will bs attractive both to the investor and the homeseeker. Second, the amendments, with' tha laws that must be enacted In accord with them, will put an end to the agitations in regard to taxation which have disturbed Oregon for . many years and tended to discourage the introduction of capital. From the standpoint of the public revenue, the laws that will be based upon the amendments will bring more money into the treasury than now reaches it, and distribute In an equitable man ner the burden of taxation." FRE USE OF CITY'S SIRES OPPOSED BY P.R.,UP. COMPANY Patrons Urged to Vote Down Amendment Which Is Backed by Jitney Interests, CONDITIONS ARE REVIEWED Oompaay Xolda Amendment If Passed Would Deprive Council and People of Sight of Regulation. Calling attention to the fact that the" proposed ''free use of streets" amendment to the charter to be voted on Monday, -deprives the people and the city council ' of all right to reg ulate the use of the streets except for railway purposes, the Portland Railway, Light & Power company has sent a letter to Its patrons urging them to vote down the measure. The letter calls attention to the fact that the company Is operating many of Its lines without profit and a con siderable number of them at an actual loss and that if some form of fair regulation is not imposed on the com peting Jitneys, the whole system will be imperilled financially. Regulation Xs Askod The appeal states that the company has never asked that the operation of Jitneys in Portland be prohibited, but only that there be imposed regulation which shall be comparable with that demanded of the street car company. The company declares that this "free streets" amendment proposes to amend the charter in such a way as "no such principle of government has ever been adopted In any city." The letter Is as follows: We address you as a resident of Portland and a patron of the service ot this company. Street railways in all American cities operate on the basis of a single fare regardless of the distance a passenger i3 trans ported. In Portland there are more than 80 distinct railway lines, all con nected, however, by a transfer system By reason of the length of haul more than two-thirds of these lines are so expensive to operate that thy furnish no net return and quite a few of them operate at a very material '.oss. Earnings Are Discussed In any system of street railway transportation the long and unprofit able lines of railway can be main tained and supported only by the bet ter earnings or tne snorter lines run ning through the more populous sec tions of the city, and if the shorter lines of street railway are unable to support themselves and also the long unprofitable lines, the system, as a whole, must fail. That condition is now facing us. Jitneys in Portland compete with the street railway only for the short haul business. No competition is offered on the long haul unprofitable business. Jitneys In Portland are operating without any regulation worthy of tha name and, to prevent any possible future regulation, the Jitney Interests have caused to be placed upon the ballot to be voted on next Monday a measure known as the "Free Use of Streets Amendment to the City Charter." The purpose of this amendment is to amend the charter so that neither the council nor the peo- Portuguese Commits Suicide Over IJralt Anxiety to Berre Country, Them Dread and Xiore Affair Cause Kim to Jump Off Boot Of BoUdlug. Sah Diego. CaL. June 1. (P. N,. 8.) Flt anxious to serve his country as a member of the United States marine corps and then fearful that he would be one of those selected for service In the new army, Joe Panosch, a Portuguese, 24 years of age, Thurs day lumoed from the roof of the Ca- brillo club building, five stories to j a passageway in the rear of the struc- lure, aeain dcid iusianuuimu, Panosch about two week ago visited the local recruiting office of tha marine corps, and at that time filled out preliminary papers for en listment. Later, however, he asked for the withdrawal of his papers. A love affair Is believed also to have played a part in the suicide. Tong Murderer Is Sentenced to Hang Ban Francisco, June 1. (P. N. S.V For the first time in the history of tong wars in San Francisco, a Chinese, Wong Hlng, was' sentenced Thursday to hang for & murder committed as a tong gunman. Wong will be executed in San Quentin. The date will be set later. He was convicted of shooting Ng You, a Chinese undertaker. Wong was gunning for You's uncle and shot him by mistake. pie, bv ordinances, ' may impose any regulations, upon Jitney transportation, Bao-alatlon Main Issue The amendment goes further in that ! it would deprive tne council or me power to regulate the use of streets for any business other than the opera tion of streetcars. No such principle of government has ever been adopted in any city. We have never asked that the opera tion of Jitneys in Portland be prohi bited. We do ask that tha operation of Jitneys be regulated in a manner, as to the regulations of service, respon sibility and compensation to tha city comparable to thereerulation and bur dens imposed upon street railways. In j other words, that the competition be j placed on a fair and equitable basis, i Tne adoption or tne free use of streets amendment would absolutely prevent such or any regulation of the Jitneys. As one interested in the welfare of Portland and in the maintenance of good transportation service, as well as in the principles of the square deal, we urge vou to vote against the adop tion of this free use of streets amend ment. To do so you should mark your ballot 107 X No. Very truly yours, PORTLAND RAILWAY. LIGHT A POWER CO. mHHH!TmiHHHIIIHmWi TIME TELLS Mr. COffee Drinker WHY "Tter&aReascaT for POSTUM Tkae Etoe! Serges, flannels, mixtures true blue, all of them. They don't have to be blue in color to be true blue; they have to be tastefully styled, thoroughly tailored; they have to be reliable in every thread and seam, so ;that they'll not disappoint you in wear and in val ue. That's what we mean by "true blue." Kuppenheimer Clothes are just that sort. They embody correct style, finest materials and conscientious tailoring They are the best values obtainable at $20 to $40 They Are Ready! Summer Models! 1 Teach the boyssi the stvings possible by shopping for their needs In this New Way Specialty Store. -A cloth hat Morrison at Fourth Street Gus Kuhn, Pres. Tho Kuppenheimer House in Portland Horo'c o naw rtno aawav suuvu vuv m ade from straw, $2. Fine for the car and outings. See it In the big hat festival now on for tha season. Summer underwear is ready when you and hot weather say you naad it. Red Cross contributions may be Increased by using S. & H. Stamps. IE Life Accident Health Liability Property Damage Collision Steam Boiler Burglary Plate Glass Moral Insure in the Travelers Announces the enlargement of its organization on the Pacific Coast and now offers Protection in LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY LINES Including AUTOMOBILE, PROPERTY DAMAGE, and COLLISION, STEAM BOILER BURGLARY and PLATE GLASS Encouraged by the generous patronage of trie people of Oregon in the lines written for many years, The Travelers Insurance Company, the leading accident and liability company of the world and the principal exponent of guaranteed low-cost life insurance, has decided to increase the number of its lines here and to introduce its subsidiary. ' Travelers ledemeity Company ' From this date it will offer these additional forms of insurance through its ' established and extensive agency system. Arrangements have been made to provide TRAVELERS SERVICE in the new lines through adjusters and inspectors at appropriate places. The Company believes that its many friends and others whom it is anxious to count among its friends will find this announcement welcome news. It in vites the public to become acquainted with its representatives, everywhere. Wilcox Building PETTIS-GROSSMAYER CO., Gen'l Agents PORTLAND Telephone Main 702 Assets $115,095,273 Assets $31,574,256 THE TRAVELERS INSURANCE COMPANY LOUIS F. BUTLER, President ' HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT Capital and Surplus 14,956,982 Reserves and Liabilities $i 0013 8, 291 THE TRAVELERS INDEMNITY COMPANY Capital and Surplus $1,696,414 Reserves and Liabilities Sl',877,842i - - .