Jz3 X--.
OPERH
HOUSE
One night only, Saturday, Feb. 1 5th.
A SELECT COMPANY OF
COLORED ARTISTS, JUBILEE SINGERS -
and CAMP-MEETING SHOUTERS.
NOVEL and REFINED.
PriCeS, 50 and 75C; Children 25C. Reserved Seats on sale at Blakeley & Houghton's
THE LAUGHING EVENT OF THE SEASON.
The Dalles Daily Ghronicle.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
MX KAIL, PO STASH rBEPAID, XH ADVANCE.
Wekly,ly... UK
" 6 months -
u g u vj
Dan, 1 year. 0
6 months S2
1 per " 0 50
Address all communication to " TEE CHRON
ICLE," The Dalles, Oregon.
FRIDAY. -
FEBRUARY 14, 1896
THE GUANO JURY AND THE CITY
COUNCIL.
County politics may be said to bo
fairly launched by the report of the
grand jury, handed in yesterday. After
being in session three days that body
was able to make more recommenda
tions over a wider range of topics than
previous juries sitting twice as long have
been capable of doing. In neat nomin
ating speeches the jury names for re
election the present county officials, or
those of them whom, during their ehort
cession, the jurymen were able to meet.
The sheriff, the clerk and the treasurer
have all been weighed and found to be
18 carat fine. The conclusion of the
jury on this point will meet with ap
proval, as anyone who has watched the
management of these county offices
knows that they are filled by competent,
obliging gentlemen. But why did the
jury not go farther? Since it ha9 gone
to the length of commending the officers
mentioned to the careful consideration
of the voters just on the eve ot a nomin
ating convention, why did it not go
through the whole list and give the
people its opinion of our surveyor,
" Bchool superintendent and coroner? We
fear lest the friends of these gentlemen
will note the omission and be aggrieved.
The endorsement of candidates by the
jury will not, however, cause any harm,
neither will its criticism of the city
council, though many, including The
Chronicle, think that criticism unwar
ranted. Ever since the bonding of the city la6t
spring it has been -the desire and inten
tion of the mayor and council to run the
city on the cheapest basis possible.. It
was absolutely necessary. There was
no alternative. The city is compelled
to pay its claims in cash, and to do this
the expenditures must be kept below
or equal to the receipts. We have been
running on a high pressure too long.
Necessity has compelled us to lower it.
With these thoughts in mind, there will
be many who will take exceptions to
the comments of the grand jury. It
is true the roads mentioned should be
repaired, both true and desirable, but
tinder the present exietingcircumstances
the city is unable to order the expendi
ture. '
As a city, apart from its municipal
government, The Dalles should take
steps toward making these improve
ments. The Commercial Club could
well take up the matter and carry it to
a successful completion. The mayor and
council have enough to do in meeting the
interest on the city bonds and providing
the means for the city's necessary ex
penses. This is our first year of trial on
the cash basis, and till we have proved
, that onr income will more than exceed
oar expenses, many necessary city im
provements will have to wait. In the
junsaiiiao me commercial UluD can
fill the breach.
HOOD RIVER AGAIN.
Elsewhere in this issue is published a
communication from a citizen of Hood
River giving his views regarding the
granting of the much-talked-about lease
to the Hood River Lumbering Company,
an action whicn has caused a commo
tion in Hood River valley and has
started an agitation and opposition of
no small proportions. A perusal of Mr.
Parker's letter will lead to the conclu
sion that there is at least another side
to the matter than that which has been
presented to the county court and to the
and SWANEE RIVER QUARTET..
press and people of The Dalles. Repre
sentatives from Hood River declare that
the rates, as allowed by the county
court, are much too high, and exceed
the cost for which cordwood, poleB, etc.,
have been floated down the river before.
If such be the case, some members of
the county court have been misled, and
if anj wrong baa been done to the property-owners
along Hpod River, the
blame can easily bo placed where it be
longs, and the freedom from any inten
tion of unjust action on the side of cer
tain parties, can easily be established.
Next Saturday afternoon a mass meet
ing will be held in Hood River, at which
this matter will be fully discussed, and
the opponents of the lease claim that
facts and figures will be stated which
are in accord with those mentioned in
Mr. Parker'a letter.
As stated before, this paper has abso
lutely no interest in the matter beyond
a wish to see justice done, the inter
ests of the people of Hood River pro
tected, and the welfare of the country
preserved. Ic ia best, in matters of this
kind, to be cautious in forming a judg
ment, and further comment had better
be reserved until the people of Hood
River have fully submitted their case,
which will be done at the Saturday
meeting. The matter is a serious one,
and opinions should not be formed too
hastily. Of one thins we are certain.
that the county court has acted with
the best of intentions, and if a mistake
has been made, the error was one of
judgment, not design.
As It Seem tn Mr. Parker.
Editor Dalles Chronicle:
If it is in order, and . you will give
space, we will say our say in regard to
the countv court granting the Hood
River Lumbering Co. a monopoly of
Hood river. For a monopoly it is, and
one of the most complete we ever heard
of. This we propose to show by figures
that cannot be controverted.
We take the rates or tolls the said
company is allowed to cnarge lor trans
porting logs, etc., as per contract be
tween said company and the county
court. First, saw logs , delivered at
Hood River will cost, say, for a run of
twenty-four miles, $5 per thousaud feet.
This is for floating and booming. Of
course the entire cost would be $7.50 or
ifS per thousand, including the cutting
and bnuling to river bank. Second,
piling, telephone, telegraph poles for a
run of twenty-tour miles troni up the
river. Piling or a pole thirty feet long
would cost, delivered in the boom, $3, or
10 cents per lineal foot. This is exclu
sive of the cutting, peeling and hauling
to the river bank. Market price is 8
cent per lineal foot delivered on the rail
road. Third, cordwood, say same dis
tance as above, would cost per cord, de
livered in the boom :
Floating and booming $1
Cutting 1
Hanlinc to river bank
Hauling from bonm and loading on
cars
95
00
50
35
Total f3 80
Wood is worth, on board cars at Hood
River, from $2 to $2.25. Fourth, fence
posts would cobt, delivered in the boom
at Hood River, 8 cents each, just for
floating and booming, to' say nothing
about the making and hauling to river
bank. And they are worth 4y to 5
cents each delivered on board cars at
Hood River.
It may .be said twenty-four miles is
not a fair average distance, but there is
not much good timber short of twenty
four miles np the river. But we will
estimate tne nearest, timoer, and see
how the account will stand. I live
three miles up the river and have 2,000
cords of wood, at a low estimate. Of
course it is standing in the tree, and it
ia so eituated it ought to be run down
the river when it is marketed.
Cutting one cord ..$1 00
Hauling to liver. 50
Floating three miles 35
Booming . 40
Hauling from boom and loading on
cars 35
Total $2 60
And it is worth, on board cars, f2 to
$2.25. Now, the company would get 75
cents out Of every cord, and they would
be at an expense of 10 or 15 cents, and I
would lose from 35 to 60 cents on each
cord. It must be observed there ia no
charge for timber or slum page in any of
these estimates.
There is hoi a man along this river
who can cut a saw-log, a pole or post, or
a stick of cordwood and float it down
the river to market outside of the com
pany. The company has a dead cinch
on every stick of timber that is tribu
tary to Hood river, from the mouth of
the river to Mount Hood (if this con
tract made between the county court
and the Winans Bros, is valid), and yet
Mr. Blowers, one of the members of the
county court, said he was pleased and
favorably impressed with the scheme,
because it would make valuable a large
and almost endless forest of timber trib
utary. Where the tickler comes in that
pleases him so, I do not know. We did
suppose the county court was a sort of
guardian of the. public interests. Prob
ably this is an old fogy notion. Still
we must give Mr.. Blowers credit for
thinking of the public, for. he says when
he met Mr. . Winans in The Dalles and
Winans approached him about the mat
ter, he advised Mr. Winans to go down
and see how they felt in regard to the
matter, knowing the propensity some of
our good citizens have for kicking. (Of
course we do kick against bad and
wicked things, saloons for instance.
Well he says Mr. Winans came down
ana upon nis return ne reported every
one in favor of the project, and those
along the stream willing to sign away
their rights to the banks of the
river, etc."
If innocent Mark Twain had advised
or suggested such a thing it would have
been taken as a joke. What other kind
of a report'could he expect Mr. Winans
to make?
I own one-half a mile of the river, but
did not see or hear of Mr. Winans at
that time and have not heard of any one
that did. Still he, might have seen some
one, but if everybody was in favor of the
project, why all the rush? Blowers says
Winans did not hand in his contract
until a very few minutes before court ad
journed, when he looked hurriedly over
it, but bad no time to take action. But
afterwards informs the judee that he
could see no objections to the contract
and thought it all right.
I supposs that section of the contract,
that section of grace, where it is ex
pressiy understood that the court did
not sell our riparian rights, made it all
rig! t. There might have been a ques
BLAKELEY & HOUGHTON
DRUGGISTS,
175 Second Street,
ARTISTS MATERIALS. .
Ekt-Country and Mail Orders will receive prom o-t attention.
IB
Celebrated
NO.
tion about delivering the goods if thev
had. So probably this was a virtue o
necessity.
1 hftd understood Mr. Blowers was
willing to serve the people as county
judge or even serve the dear people in1
the legislature, but now 'he says he is
not in in politics, and I don't think any
of the members of the court will be next
June so far as Hood River is concerned.
If the county can appropriate Hood
river and in that way become possessed
of a valuable franchise, why not eeii to
the highest bidder and let the entire
people of the county receive the benefit.
The company have already hnd an offer
of $20,000 for the franchise, but teem to
think it worth more or they would have
sold it. If the' company wanted the
lease for speculative purposes the con
tract could not have been worded much
better.
They are not bound to make any
definite or certain inprovements. The
company are their, own judges as to the
improvements they shall make to entitle
them to charge toll, therefore can hold
the river for years at a nominal cost.
No wonder Mr. Winans was anxious to
close the contract. He knew to delay
was dangerous. But why the court
acted with such celerity is one of the
things no man can find out.. Had they
been drinking men that might account
for it, but the most charitable conclusion
is they are a lot of mollycoddles.
Now let us rise and thank God the air
we breathe is still free.
Hood River, Feb. 13tb, 1896.
John Pakrer.
DOORS,
WINDOWS,
SHINGLES,
FIRE BRICK,
FIRE CLAY,
LIME and
, CEMENT,
Window-Glass
' and
Picture Moulding.
G-L IE 3SJ-3ST .
The Dalles, Oregon
Jhi Germania
OTTO BIRGFELD, Prop.
Fine Wines, Liquors and Cigars.
-SOLE AGENT FOR THI
Gambrinus Beer.
94 SECOND STREET,
tain
H B ta. U w
Dry Oak Wood . .
Dry Maple and Ash
Dry Fir "Wood . .
JOS. T. PETERS & CO.
When you mane to bay
Seed Wheat, I?eed Wheat,
Rolled Barley,Whole Barley,
Oats, Rye, Bran, Shorts,
Or anything n the Feed Line, go to the
WASCO : WAREHOUSE.
Our prices are low and our goods are first-claps.
Atrents for the celebrated WAISTBURG "PEFRLESS" FLOUR.
Highest cash price paid for WHEAT, OATS and BARLEY;
STUBLING & WILLIAMS wish to
announce that they are how located at
J. O. Mack's old stand, where they will
be pleased to see their friends.
lTliere is a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at its flood
leads on to fortune"
The poet unquestionably had reference to the
Closing Out Sale of Furniture and Carpets
at C RANDALL &. BURGET'S,
Who are selling these goods out at greatly-reduced rates.
MICHFLBACH BRICK. - - UNION ST.
GEORGE RUCH
PIONEER GROCER-
Successor to Cbrisman & Corson.
FULL, LIN OF
, STAPLE and FANCY GROCE ES.
Again in business at the old etasd. I would be pleased to
see all my former patrons. Free delivery to any part of town.
CLOSING OUT SALE
of DRY GOOD8
CLOTHING. FURNISHING GOODS,
BOOTS, SHOES. HATS and CAPS.
These Goods Must Be Sold Less Than Cost.
J . P . .McINERNY.
. . $4.00 per cord.
. . . 3.00
... 2.60
a
a
THE DALLES,
OREGON.