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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (May 29, 1919)
THE OltEGON STATESMAN: TireTWD.W. MAT SO. 1010 150 MILES OF ROADS WILL BE BUILT UNDER JUDGE BUSHEY'S PLAN Half Bonds and Half Cash Method, Advocated by County Judge; Is Adopted by Market Roads Committee and Goes ; Before Voters of Marion County for Vote on June 3 Five-Year Program and Map Made Public in Pamphlet Issued for Electorate. ! Below is civen the text in full of the Marion county voters pamphlet; explaining the road building plan under the $850,000' bond measure, i v , , ! . : Submitted by; the Legislature MARKET: RQADS TAX i BILL. Purpose: ; . Providing for the construction of State market roads under the super- Tision and control of county courts; providing for the annual levy of a ne mill tax on all taxable property, apportioning the proceeds . among Such counties as become entitled to a share1 thereof ; author Izing county courts to levy a property tax in each county for con struction of market roads "in an amount equal to the sum apportioned, , to snch county hereunder; excepting from the limitations imposed by Section 11 of Article XI of the Constitution all taxes levied under the provisions of the amendment. Vote YES or NO 310 YES 317 . NO COU NTY MEASU RESi REFERItEI) TO THE PEOPI.R BY THE COCXTY COURT OF MARION 1 COVXTY, OREGON", rtTtSUAXT TO INITIATIVE PETITION Submitted by the County Court MARION COUNTY ROAD BOND ISSUE Shall there be issued bonds by, Marion Countyr Oregon, to the , ! amount of eight hundred fifty thousand ($850,000.00) dollars, du'1 1, serially, the first installment of eighty-five thousand ($85,000.00) " dollars to be due and payable four years from the date of such bondp ; and each successive installment of eighty-five thousand ($85,000.00) ; dollars to be paid annually each succeeding year from such date . ' until the entire issue of eight hundred fifty thousand ($850,000.00) dollars shall have been fully paid, and redeemed, the last install ment thereof being due and payable thirteen years from the date of such bonds, said bonds bearing Interest at not to exceed the rate of .; five and one-half per cent per annum, to provide for permanent road construction In Marion County? - . Vote YES or NO 318 YES 310 NO MARION COUNTY ROAD BOND ISSUE. This measure provides for the issuance of bonds to the amount of $850,000 for the building of market roads in 'Marion County, jl Under a. plan formulated by County Judge Bushey and the County Court, and approved by our committee, it is proposed to enter on , a five-year program of road construction that will give Marion County one hundred miles of paved roads and fifty miles of high grade gravel or macadam roads, making a total of A50 miles oi ' improved roads to be completed within the ensuing five years. The ("paved roads are fbYost $1,500,000, and th6 gravel or macadam roads '$200,000, making a total expenditure of $1,700,000, or double the amount of the bonds that are to be voted. In brief, the plan is a fifty-fifty; one half cash and half bonds that should appeal to all fair-minded advocates of both systems, to those who believe that I the1 roads should be built by direct tax and to those who believe I they should be built by bonds. BONDS TO BE SOLD ONLY AS NEEDED. Judge Bushey and the County Court have announced ithat the j bonds will be sold in yearly installments as needed, only ; so much thereof being issued each year as can be economically expended by the County with its own road equipment and paving plants ' By thi 'method the interest charges will be kept down to the minimum They have, also announced that they will match every dollar ol bonds with a dollar from the County's regular funds, and that this can be done without adding to the County's taxes any more than the six per cent annual increase that is already the custom. For example, if the Court should sell $150,000 of the bonds in 1920, the would spend $300,000 on the market roads; if they should sell $200,000 of the bonds in 19fl, they would spend $400,000 on the market roads, and so on until the entire five-year program of 150 miles of improved roads is completed. By this plan each road de scribed in the election notices will receive double the amount that is shown thereon. Thus,- Road No. 1, commonly known as the Jefferson and Green's Bridge road, which gets $12,810.10 from the bonds, will get an equal amount from the County s regular funds making a total of $25,620.20 for improved roads; and every one of the 34 roads described in the notices will get twice the amount of its bonds in the same manner. Roads in outlying districts not included in this program will be cared for substantially as in the past. EACn DISTRICT GETS BACK WHAT IT PAYS IN, PLUS PART i v OF SALEM'S SHARE. Another feature of-the Court's plan is that each market Toad dis tnct of which there are ten gets back all of the bond money tha It pays in, besides a part of Salem's share, the legal designations oi me Dona election providing that no part of the amount or the bonds paid in by Salem about one-third of the entire issue can be legally expended within the city limits of Salem. How! this wil work out is illustrated by the following concrete example taken from th. schedule worked out by the County Court: Silverton, Mt. Angel, Scotts Mills section amount paid in, $240,439; money con tributed by Salem, $44,574; total amount to section, $285,013. This Is the faim and most equitable distribution of road bonds ever devised in any county of the State of Oregon up to this time. 4 I ' WHEN THE BONDS ARE PAYABLE. j i The law provides that four years after the first of the, bonds are v sold, payment, of the principal must begin, and that payment be continued each year thereafter at the rate of $55,000 a year until the entire $550,000 bond issue has been paid off. Therefore, if 'the first bonds be sold in 1920, retirement of the bonds would 'besrin in 1924 and end in 1933 with ten equal yearly payments -only the ! . jiucrcsi oeiBg payauic auring yie iirst lour years. , I INTEREST ON THE BONDS. j The interest on the bonds from first to last, based on the plan of installment issues worked out by the County Court, will be less . than $300,000, and will be much more than met by the County's share of the auto tax, which the last Legislature provided "shall be used for the payment of interest and retirement of any bonds that may have been issued, or which may hereafter be issued by the county for the -purpose of road, construction and Sbce Oregon's first State auto license act went into effect the 1Uuiucr oi cars uos increased, at tne rate of 30 per cent per year xaV-?? l uch.to -P that high rate of increase to go on maermitely, but figuring on the extremely moderate; increase of ten per cent per year for the next four years, five per cent per yeaT thereafter for the succeeding five years, and no increase at all for I till I'tCr r - W jm r? Jears, Marion bounty will receive as its share of thjs auto tax during the life of ita bond issue something over $520,000, which would not only liquidate the entire interest, but pay off about $225,000 of the bonds as well. HOW MUCH WILL PAYMENT OF THE BONDS ADD TO TAXES! If the Pierce Market Eoad Bill (the so-called Grange measure) should pass which seems almost a certainty the County of Marion will receive as an absolute gift from Multnomah County the sum of $17,000 next rear, under thej provision that apportions over two thirds of Multnomah's share pro rata among the other counties of the state each year. With a rasonabte increase in the taxable prop erty of Multnomah County, the sum of $300,000 should be available to Marion County from this source during1 the next thirteen years; but allowing for the very improbable contingency of no increase in valuation at all, Marion's share of this gift would be $221,000 for the thirteen-year period. Tbjs, added, to the surplus pf $225,000 from the motor license fund, would pay off considerably; more than one-half of the entire bond issue; and one mill a year of direct tax for the years 1924-1933 would more than pay Unbalance. But sup posing the Pierce Bill shquld fail to pass, and supposing further that the taxable valuation or jianon; toumy suouiu uui one dollar during the coming thirteen years even then a direct tax of IV mills or less per year for the ten-year period beginning 1924 and ending 1933, when added to the auto tax surplus, would more rthan pay off the entire bond issue. If the Pierce bill, under whieli the State collects a one mill tax from the counties tor market roaus and hands it back to them, passes, it will also produce an amount equal to the entire $850,000 ond issue during. the thirteen years that comprise the life of thejonds. . ' SMALL BURDEN ON THE TAXPAYER. "The infinitesimal nature of the. burden on the taxpayer may bf leathered from the fact that, eWn if no part of the bonds wore paid off by the auto tax or State market 'roads' tax, and all of the bonds would have to be retired by direct taxation, the man whose prop- rty is assessed at $10,000 Would be taxed only $20.00 per year or ten years, beginning with the year 1924, as his share of the bonds. If he is a land owner, his property would gain in value far more than that from the splendid system of county market road Uere proposed. ' ' .-;. : : WHY BONDS; ARE ADVISABLE. By using the County's credit and borrowing at a low rate of in terest half of the nfoney needed to build these roads, we get them in five years instead of ten, and the owner of the auto that has :nade the paved roiad necessary, pays the interest on the debt and three-fourths of the principal without a whimper in fact is glad to do it. The total amount of the bonded debt only two per cent of the County r8 taxable valuation and really less than per cent of the County s real wealth is so small as to render groundless the fears of those timid souls who think the voting of the bonds will start the County on the road to the. flemnition bow-wows. As a rule tne iarmer or busaness man wno pays cash lor yovt: per cent oi what he buys and usei his credit only to the extent of $1.50 on the hundred, or who borrows no more than $150 on a $10,000 farm, is thought to be in pretty good circumstances, and a long, long Avay from the ragged edge'of ruin. As a matter of fact many a farmer bonds his farm to the Government up to fifty per cent of its value in order to take advantage of the five per cent money obtained through the United Stares Government using its credit for the farm ers' benefit, and as the borrowed money, is used either to improve the farm or to take up the eight or ten per cent loan held against it by some private Shjiock or .'mortgage concern, it is gflod business at that. Then. why gag at a two per cent loan that is to add to the value of all our farms bv elimlinatinc the mud and chuck-hole tax! the dearest tax ever iaid bv man. 1 It would be well to foreet the dreadful word "bonds" altogether, and simply realize the truth jthat the County is merely giving its note for thirteen vears at a low l . 1 A - A . . l . . , 1 i . 1 raie oi uiieresi, as to gci capuai to ouua our raarKet roaas m me near instead of tne distant future. And asManbh County's credit is as good as that of the State or Government there -is no reason why our local capitalists should not:Luv tire dreadfal 'bonds themselves and thereby keep all the money at hme, the same as Judge Bushey plans to da W cutting out contractors', profits through the Lounty doing all the work itself, with its own road equipment and paving plants. . And as about eighty per cent of the cost of road improvement goc to labor, most of that will be kept at home, too merely jn changed hands-: so that Marion County will actually have the roads and have 1 the money, too1. ' SAYING IN GASOLINE, TIRES, REPAIRS, ETC. . - It is generally estimated that there-is a difference of from one to two cents a mile in the cost of auto traffic between paved roads ana ordinary country roads, but when one considers the deprecia tion in tne value ot cars due to bad roads, the difference in cost as really much greater in favor of the; good roads and against the ad ones. Many a car is racked and ruined in two years throueh traveling over rough and muddy roads, that would with proper care last a family from ten to twenty years on smooth paved roads demands it, there being no better base for paving tnan an om macadam or gravel road." POST. ROAD AID. It is estimated that the United States Government and State of Oregon will for the coming three-year period have a vast fund of over $12,000,000 applicable to post and forest roads, chiefly the former. This sum will be disbursed through the State Highway Commission among counties with approved post road project that have voted bonds to match the State and Federal funds. In all likelihood this 6um will be augmented by from six to nine millions more of Government appropriations within the next two years. Counties that expect to get their share of this vast fund are all going to vote road bonds this year. As the great road-building plans of Oregon are being mapped out this year by the State and Federal officials in charge, it is vital that the bonds be voted now, and not two years hence after the moneys have all been apportioned. Marion County has several of the most feasible post road projects in the State, such as the one from Newberg Bridge to the Pacific Highway, for instance. THE STATE MARKET ROADS TAX. BILL. This bill should be supported as a companion bill to the Marion County Road Bonds bill, it provides that a state levy of one mill bel made for market roads, and that the money paid in by each county shall be returned to that county to be expended on market roads by the County Court. It also provides that over two-thirds of Mult nomah County's share shall be divided among the other counties of the State. If this bill passes Marion County will get at least $17,000 a year as an absolute gift from Multnomah County. 5IARION COUNTY ON EVE OF WONDERFUL DEVELOPMENT. It is generally .believed that Marion County is now on the eve ofl a wonderful development. Improved market roads connecting the farm and fruit lands with the towns, will hasten and make more certain that development. With the assurance that roads will soon be built over which products of the soil can be transported with safety and dispatch, many thousands of acres of small fruits will be planted. The Willamette Valley is the natural home of the logan berry, raspberry and blackberry, and the demand for these small fruits, now that the world is going "dry" and the people of the United States have learned from the great war that there is more nutriment and health in a pound of jam or jelly than in a pound of meat, promises to be unlimited. Canneries and dehydrated plants are being established in Marion and adjoining counties, so that -a good, ready market is assured. Fruit juices and fruit pulp are no longer perishable products, but can be kept in perfect condition for years, so that there is no risk to the grower on that tcore. There lsbut one' link needed to complete the chain of prosperity that na ture and enterprise hand in hand are now forging! to encircle Marion County, and that is the link of market roads which are at the present time easily within our grasp. Shall we grasp this great opportunity, or shall we sidestep itt To this question there can only be one answer, and that is, on the 3rd day of June ; JUDGE BUSHEY'S STATEMENT. , The reasons why the 'County instead , of the road districts, should do the work are very clearly set forth by County Judge Bushey in the following' paragraph written by him for this pamphlet: y "Marion County was one of the 1 first, counties in the State to begin the improvement of its highways. At the time this beginning was made, the county courts worked the roads throueh the road districts and supervisors. The system worked very well at that time, as the roads were but little usd and the traffic was light. The de mand for greater road improvement increased from year to year, going from $37,229.61 in the tear 1903 to $261,115.13 in the year 1915, since which time the average annual amount expended on our roads has remained about stationary. Up to 1915 a well constructed macadam or gravel road answered every practical purpose. Owing iu iue greauy increased auto and truck traffic, roads built since ivio begin to tail m a few months, and are full of holes and very rougn dj xne ena or. tne yea f, so as to require repairing. This answers but a short time and has to be repeated frequently, making the upkeep very expensive and leaving us but poor roads at best. Until a few years ago a well constructed macadam nr frravrl ma A would render good service for many years at very little expense iur upntrrp. ai present it is impossible to maintain a gravel oi macadam road in fair condition where the traffic is heavy more xnan a iew months till repairs! ar necessary. We built two miles of asphaltic concrete road in 1915 and this work has cost the count v pracucaiiy notning to maintain since. This has demonstrated very ycaiijr iHdl, me mam traveled .roaus ean be paved and mainta ne tvr icss uiuuey man to uuud and maintain the old style of roads. To pue iue roaus, However, requires a greater initial outlav of raonev and an entire change in our road working system. Machinery and tools cost more, and for each district ta attempt to own its own yawn- vi uipniem would bankrupt t he Conntv. Mnm-pr i,A tncts could not obtain the heln required, as the supervisors have to ucpenu on uie larmers lor Help; in working the roads and they tan iiwl iae ineir iarnis, lor He entire working xrason. In order to ooiam a good return for tl)c money invested in paving, it is necessary to prosecute the work vigorously during the entire season experience tias proven to us that the County is the smallest unit Miac idn nuiiu iue permanent roads to advantage, so as to get a fair return for the money invested.! Bv ruirsiiinrr ihie tt,A w.i of the County will be standardized and the work done in the most approved manner, at the least possible expense to the taxpayer Inasmuch as the road traffic has almost entirely changed the county courts of the Willamettq Valley have learned that the system " vuu. ihuiuii iuusi on cnanged to meet the new conditions. VOTE FOR 318 X YES (The Marion County Road Bond Issue.) and 316 X YES i (The Pierce Bill providing for State Market Roads Tax.) Marion County Market Roads Committee Members Marion Comity Market Roads Committee . i T. B. Kay, Chairman i.-.Salera Jos. J. Keber, Secretary-Treasurer Mt. Angel W. M. Hamilton ;...Sa!era Chairman Publicity Committee. Jas. S. Stewart Campaign Manager Theo. Roth,. Geo. Hubbs, II. L. Moore, Dave Looney, O. A. Ehlen, Geo. Keech, Joe Calvert, Roy L. Shaw, Sid Russell, Romeo Goulet, Sam Brown, W. A. Taylor, J. E. Smith, A. W. Gilles, J. P. Feller, Chas. Scott, C. A. Bear, W. H. Downing, Sherman Swank, Henry Keene, F. B. Simpson, Henry Zorn, John Murray, Wm. Scollard, Salem Silverton Wood burn Jefferson Aurora . Rtayton Hubbard Mill City Marion Brooks ' Gervais Macleay St. Faul Monitor Donald Scotts Mills Turner Shaw Aumsville Shaw Jefferson Aurora, R. F. D. .Aurora, R. F. D. West Wood burn J; a Boys! Boys! VACATION DAYS will Wou be here. Oct in lMiejto make MONEY this summer. No premiums or )ri2cls. REAL CASH!!! , - List ? your names with the Circulation Manager before June- 1st he will tell you all about .it. i - PARENTS Let ' your Boy earn? his own spending uiony in a clean legitimate way4 Initiate a BUSINESS INSTINCT in him. Keep him htt of mischief. A few bouri walking in the open air ffach day What could be htalthierf -s Opert -to boys over 14 years old. i - ' . i . Circulation Dep't. The! Oregon Statesman Ganl&rd; ! goffering from an at fac of rheumatism. , Th condition of' Mrs! Marie Har old, who bu bn confined to her bd from a paralytic shock for near ly two ?ears remains unchanged, al though friends are hopeful that the arrival $f rammer may restore her to health ... . - The Qalnabjr store is now under the -maniigenient of a Mr. Montgom ery, wht arrired here recently with his faintly from Colorado, purchas ing the s toe and the residence, of A. M. Anderson. The latter, with his family jhj reuiored to Dundee, where he' has invested In a larje prune ranch. cut on part of. the Maatey-Ruggles farm. ar$ Mng shipped to Salem by auto trutk from Quinaby. . The si w mill owned by G.'F. Hoi-, ter whic& has operated here for sev eral mora ha. on war orders, is being removed: to a place near Portland. John tfelinnki and family have re turned from The Dalles, where they spent the winter for the benefit of their little son's health. r Mr. Zielln pkl la more than, ever pleased with his fineifarm nre. as he says on acre In ibe Willamette valley is worth mbre than five acres in the dry region. , Leonard Barn'elc has rented hl hop .vardc lo Frank Durbin of Salem, who i rarcfnlly .work lag the firm. "KriendJ 'of Mrs.-James fruit. well known musician and loyal church worker, will regret to learn of her recent Illness at Itrooks. Mrs. 1). Ilawr or Clattar who has beenj serionly Fit from etbmacb. irouuie ir PCTcrai mrmns, unm un able to fcave her bed or to walk la an upright position. Is ery much Improved. " '. ' " Mr. aul Mrs. Kdward Matthes and their children. Edward. Jr.. Marguer ite. Marion and".Auguta or Claxtar pent th4 lfith anniTcrwirr or their wedding "at the horn of Mrs. Mat thes mother. Mrs. Susan McMuno. on Sunday." Mrs. Vniliam ; Crotean. and smalt son. Stuart, of Aldertnere. Canada, hare arrived in the .Mates, and are Staying it Joseph. Wallowa, county until Mr Croteau Joins them wher they planlto purchase an eastern Ore gon rancjv They .hare extensive holdingstn Canada where they have. llTed forth Pt 12 years, but are. seeking milder, climate. Mrs. Cro teau is wU known here and in Sa lem.. h was formerly Miss Jennie McMunn.-a daughter, Of Mr. and Mrs. G. S. McMunn. ; William i Rirktnan of Claxtar l erecting a new bungalow on the an of. his fpj-mer .house; The other building Vas purchased by Mr. New ton who removed it to This place and addefl it to his own bouse mak ing a commodious residence of it. ' i A Ralm ; Product "Thelria Indlvidaal Chocolitei. 5e every aere. jiiwi wan i f a iaa m . . a . a. . . i a,c w ..ru mai a KtiDstannaiiy, built pavement is the cheap. t.roa.lm th Io,!'ran- Whcirc th tra"c is comparatively light, it is still good noliev to buil.l . i , - in .- . "...v.u4 tuaun, iiiut j i -M"fev oi au vujiauucicu mai me roaunea can be used as a base for paving later ,ou, when the'iucrcasc of traffic J. C. McFarlane Improves After Fracturing His Arm QUINAHY. Or.. May 21. J. C. MrFarlane. who ftiffered a broken arm a few weeks ago while felling tree. Is now able to use that mem ber in operating his automoLile. No trace of the thieves who en teral the Quinaby store recently, and who perhaps were the same nun who took th automobile of C. W. Yergen has tn. secured. Mr. Yergen round his marhine at Clackamas with the windshield broken, an axle bent and two tires Flashed. Mrs. Arthur Penney, who recently underwent a surgical operation a Salem, is surriciently improved to be able to return to her home. Arthur Oirod. who has been suN rerlng Troin rheumatism ror soma time and who was quite ill during the week is somewhat improved. Mrs. Iwis llahn, who has been conTined to her bed ror the past eight months is now able to bj up part of the day and hopes are entertained Tor her complete recovery. Tony O'Neil arrived Wednesday after two years spent in France. His brother. Carl, being with the ma rine, is not expected Immediately. Another soldier boy recently re turned is Chester I .arson, while from California. William Factor and Fer dinand flarnlc are expected. - The latter has been serving In Siberia with the army, j Mrs. F. W. Swanton or Portland, state secretary or the Oregon Hu mane society, spent Tuesday with Mrs. Susan McMunn and her daughter- . The Keizer school closed Friday, and the Perkins school will end its sessions in a few days. Mrs. Walter Gamer and her child ren. Robert and Gretchcn. or Salem. were recent visitors at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hay Ock. Mr. Lick is a brother to Mrs. Gamer, and his marriage to Miss Alvina Lieske vu relebrated a short time ago. Mrs. Ganiard. i mother of Judson Boy Scouts Leave Jane . 14 for McCredie Camp About to boy scouts will go from Salem June .14 to the camp which has beeh selected at McCredie springs aove Eurene. Harold Cook returned Tuesday night rrom select ing the ffatnu site. The scout lead ers who fwill te in charge or the camp wilt.be Glen Niles. Fred Cook. Hugh Wilker and Harold Cook. Fly a 'proclamation or rPresideit Wilson June g to 14 hat 'been de clared SYut week as a time ror the special, faj-themnce or the scouting movement in. the Fnited States. Read the Classified Ad-' I Route your freight fia Willamette Valley Tfansfer Co. Express service at freight rates. Iong distance hauling '.only. . Phone 140D