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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (March 5, 1907)
Leading Corvallis Newspaper. Besi Advertising Medium. Corvalus. I5et Convn, Oregon, Tuespay.' March 5. 10OT. Vol. XL1V. NO. 21 Inves ligation shows that many gooii wati-hes are spoiled by tampering. No niKtter how liit-e yon suppose is the m t yoars better Have us retain it A whoie lot of damage au bet d.me by those who are not acquainted with the delicate mechanism. We kilo watches and ran repair tbern at ihev should be Brins us yours if ic doesn't no just riitht. Albert J. Mctzgcr WATCHMAKER Occidental Building, ... Corvallis FROM THIS D ATE 'Til further uoh-- at! Klaes-es fitted by PRATT, The Optician, will be absolutely &issr tnleed for one year against breakage of any kind. We make a specialty of Jap-a-lac, gewing Machine and Acme Washers - AT 0. J. BLACKLEDGE'S Furniture Store Corvallis - Oregon SMITH & DAWSOIV "" Pl""" 209 Pay the Highest Cash Price For Poultry. Dressed Veal and Dressed Pork. Parties iu or close to town having; poultry or veal to sell, call us on Tnd. Phone and we will r!l for same. We keep a full line of Poultry and Stock Remedies, Also Chick Grit Shell and Bone, jard Compound, Fruit l'ree Spray, and Cider. Corvallis SMITH & DAWSON Oregon Next to J. R. Smith & Oo. r Satisfaction Dying by Thousands. A dispatch from Washington dated Feb. 28, says: The American National Red Cross forwarded by cable today to China $55,000 for the relief of the famine sufferers of that coun try. The entiie remittance was made today from Dr. Louis Klo psch, editor and proprietor of the Christian Herald, who states. "The advices which bv letter and cable, have reached this of ice show snch a distressing con dition ot affairs in China that the 1 Herald feels impelled to put forth a mighty effort to stay the ravag es of starvation , ' plague and. death to the lull extent of his ability." The needs of the Chinese are set out in the following cable dispatch to the Christian Herald, New York, from the editor of the North China News: "The distribution of relief to famine sufferers by the mission ary committee, with headquar ters at Chin Kang Si, is pioceed ing smoothly. It is recogniz ed, however, as only a drop in the ocean of need. The area of the affected district is enlarging as winter advances and destitu tion is longer drawn out. Daily the number of deaths is increas ing and in the interior are thous ands of deaths that .will never be SPNCR'S air Invlf And Dandruff Eradlcator 3 5 o 3 Prise, Fifty Cents Manufactured by ha Vegetable Compound Company Corvallis. Oregon 9l Starr's Bakfry bus secured the service of D ck Llewellyn, the. wonderful bread itiaker. 89tf J The Jeweler and Ontioian Slls the; Best Time-Keeping A'atch on the Market. Guaranteed reported. "Authorities are sending many refugees back to the localities from whence thev came, promis ing individual relief. The trou ble is so few have . homes to which they can return, floods having destroyed houses as well as crops. Isolated riots are reported, but all are unimportant." Real Estate Transfers. W H Ish to E McLennan et al 320 acres s of Philomath; $10. United States to John Col mar, Patent, 165 acres w of Bellefoun tain. B I Carey to H Hirschberg, 112 i sw of Philomath; $10. F W Holmes to F L Holmes, 20 a near Albany; $1. State of Oregon to A Knapp, 324 a nw of Philomath; $405-30. A Knapp to J D Garman, 324 a nw of Corvallis; $2500. United States to W J Warfield, Patent, 162 a in Alsea. ' J L Osburn to E J Harrington, lot 9, block 3, Co Add Corvallis; $45- E J Moore to J A Harper, lot 5, block 6, Co Add Corvallis; $9- C C Huff to R It Glass. 8 ) a 1 nv r of Philomath: to. '' 1 SENATOR JOHHSOri Gives Facts and Figures Reads Bill Which ths Corvallis, Ore., March 1st, 19 .7. Editor Gazttte. I wish space in your columns to say to my constituents throughout this entire county, that in keeping with my prom ise as made during the last cam paign I did prepare and introduce a bill looking to the systematiz ing and permanent improvement of our main roads through a sys tem ot state aid together with county aid, somewhat in line with the idea advanced by me in my remarks on this subject in said campaign. This provides that the state should aid to the extent of one-third and the county to the extent of another one-third of the cost of such permanent im provements upon our main high ways, and that the property hold' ers in the districts along the lines of such main highways so sought to be improved to pay the re maining one-third; provided that such district should include the lands lying two miles on either side of such road to be so improv ed and one mile beyond its ter minus. It also provided that a dis interested board of viewers should be appointed to apportion the benefits and proportionate part such resident land owners should pay of their one-third ot the whole cost thereof, also that they should have six, years - in which to pay the same, one-sixth to be paid each year with interest at a rate to be fixed by the county court but which should in no in stance exceed six per cent; and also provided that a majority of the resident land owners must petition the county court be fore any snch permanent road building could be undertaken and thus be made a charge against their lands for one-third of such cost. There are many other splendid features and safe guards throughout the bill and I am sure if I had the space to fully explain it that there could be all, in fact I have yet to find the first one who does not approve it when they thoroughly under stand its provisions. But while I was forced to sacrifice the greater pa: tof my time during the en tire session to this measure iu order to secure its passage, and was thus prevented from giving some other matters the attention that they should have had at my bands and in many instances such time as I should have liked to have given them, still I thought and still think this mea sure of such great importance to our people in general and to the upbuilding of our state and es pecially to the welfare and ad vancement of our farming classes to whom we in this state owe our ultimate prosperity, we being an agricultural and stock-growing state as we are, that it was my duty when once undertaking to father such an important meas ure; to devote if necessary my whole and undivided attention to it even though it should mean that I trust sacrifice individual effort in all other matters in order to secure its passage. And acting along these lines I was unable tu accomplish much else with the exception of looking after the interests of our great state in stitution the "State Agricultural College' ' of which - we are al proud. But I must confess that I am greatly disappointed . and personally feel hurt to see the governor vetojthis measure (Sen ate Bill No. 96) not so mr.ch on account of my personal effort but on account of the great loss t.', our people and the state in gen eral by the further postponing o; this most needed forward step it. permanent -road building; and while I was in an indirect way 1 threatened with' this veto I could WRITES GAZETTE Regarding His Good Governor Vetoed. aot think that finally it would be forthcoming from none other than purely political reasons and I submit that when his reasons are carefully considered that there is nothing left except the oqe he has been , good enough to give me over his own signature, to-wit: "the partisan spirit dis p ayed. by the legislature in trepching upon the prerogatives of the Executive, etc." In fur ther explanation I wish to here submit a part of an extended edi orial appearing' in Thursday's Portland Telegram showing the view taken of this matter bv our metropolis and we all know that this state aid would fall . heaviest upon Multnomah county: Before the Laislature met there was a Klimmer of hope that some substantial advance would be made in good-roads law makinir. The hope proved to be but a glimmering, however. Evidently the time was not ripe. What the Legisla ture attempted to do in this direction the Governor, on the score of economy, has annulled by his veto. Oregon has yet to take the real initiative in this important activity, affecting its material prosperity, The good roads propoganda, like that of civic improvement, and other kindred efforts toward the broader public ad vancement, progresses but slowly in the Pacific Northwest. Perhaps it is true that we are doing as well along these lines as one can reasonably expect, but the readily appreciable utility and profit which lie in good roads distinguish this movement from the others. To become effective, however, the good roads idea must become a subject for more thorough education. This duty devolves largely npon the Oregon (rood Roads Associa tion. But from every other source, where there is information to impart, or new light to be stud on methods of pro cedure that will bring about permanent improvement of the : highways, there should be hearty co-operation. : With this purpose in mind The Tele gram respectf ully calls attention to the fact that in a number of Eastern States, notably in New York, the construction and maintenance of good roads has be come a matter of most important concern. There has been discussion, public educa tion in the premises and action that has brought forth fruit amply compensating. It has bem demonstrated beyond cavil that whatever the cost, the game is worth the candle. They have in New York what is known as the Higbe-Armstrong road law, enact ed in 1898. The chief feature of this law is a state bonding proposition, and the expenditure of the money so obtained in conjunction with established proportion ate contributions by the towns and coun ties, the money to be used for the con struction ' of high-class macadamized roads. Under the operation of this law 692 miles of such road have already been built and comprehensive plans are enter tained for building some 7000 miles of the same class of highway by the expen diture of $50,000,000, made available by vote of the people, authorizing the issue of state bonds to that amount. The roads already built are the strongest arguments for the continuance of the work. Farm' ers have found that they could drive' with triple the load that could be hauled over the imperfect highway. There is an actual saving of two-thirds the cost of wagon transportation, to say nothing ot the gain in social comforts, in facilities for educating children, in contact with the world through more expeditious mail delivery and in the enhanced, attractive ness and opportuuitiea of life generally. New York is in the lead fn the practi cal working out of this good roads pro blem; but that state is by no means alone. Pennsylvania has arranged for the expenditure of more than' $7,000,000 in the next six years; and state aid and co-operation in the construction of good roads have been declared for in seventeen other states. Oregon, first through educa tion of the people, and then by the popu lar judgement considerately expressed. should join the proce.iuu. The need is great. W are not a rich as the older Eastern states, but the principle applies just the same. Our autiv.ty in this very material line of pr j r-etts can be comtnen eu-ate with our mei ; berin x , in mind that it is on'y fair o tttitity should bar its share of ttie tin den, as it will reap its share of the reward There has been s .ennona effort to gain National aid in the good .roads, mover men' When b n..;..rijv nl tHr.toir.:CiaU5C . tCat theUuioaciv-j-'uowa m practical1 manner that ths value of good roads is appreciated. National aid will follow in logical sequence. For the benefit of the country at large, which means the pros perity of all sections ; and, in the selfish view, more partiru'arly for Oregou's ad vantage, the -eople of this state can do r othing bettt r than to give this good oids proposition careful stud v. Consid ert-d as a matter of public advantage ijood roads is a synonym for good sense. Further, permit me to say that the reasons given bv his Excel lency for this veto fall far short of a justification for such action, considering the immense impor tance and the great demand for some systematized and permanent road building throughout our growing state and when we ail, who have given this question serious thought and study, know that we cannot hope to accom plish anything of a permanent character along this line until such time as we shall meet the demand fairly and squarely and extend some state aid as an en couragement to our several coun ties to do likewise and ia turn to thus not only encourage but to enable the residents living along our main thoroughfares to per manently improve same in a sys tematized way. Quoting from the dispatches the governor gives the following four reasons for his vetoes to-wit: "That the county and state of ficers are given no initiative in the matter; it would very likely result in" an accumulation of monev in the treasury ; the local debt certificates are non-taxable and this legislature made many large appropriations without bringing any new subjects under taxation." . Replying briefly to these per mit me'osay, first, in the judg ment of myself and many , others who have givea this road build ing much thought, this encout agement in way of extension of state aid should be held out to those communities throughout the state where the citizens will show an interest to the extent of taking the initiative and thus offering to pay Iheir patt of the expense, in fact if the bill should have been so drawn as to force this permanent building of roads upou the people and partly at their expense it is not hard to imagine what a howl there would have gone up from manv sections of the stale and further that there would have been no chance whatever of my having secured its passage and with such"a pro vision bow long would it have taken our dear Governor to have decided upon his veto message, having his ear to the ground as he does continuously ; and there can be no question but that the people would have taken the ini tiative under the bill as drawn. I have been informed of at least four sections in two of mr valley counties that had made application immediately upon hearing of the passage of the bill, thinking it was to go into effect immediately, instead of January 1, 1908. Second, the questioa of non-action and ac cumulation of money in the treasury, can be but the judg ment of one man (the Governor) as against a great majority of the entire 90 members ot the. legisla ture and I am only soiry that the law could not have been allowed to stand ' and bz given a trial when in my judgment it would have been proven that applica tions would have been forth-com- in- for snh state aid even far in excess of the amount so pro vided. Third, true the local debt certificates provided for issuance to serve in payment of the pro perty holders one-third of the cost, same to run six years, one- sixth payable each year, were to be non-taxable, but the interest such certificates were to b ar was to be fixed by the several county courts at time of issue, taking into consideration tbi.- prevision o4. their being non-taxable also the fair and moving rate at the time, and with the further, saving! , - -. 1 . under no circura stances saouia saia rate be more than six per cent.- bo I snb '.iit that this is no excuse whatever as the lesseuel r-ite to the far ner and builder of the road acting as a further inducement to them to take the initiative much more than offsets the tax which might have accrued tv the counties, but which must have been paid in the end by the Deople in addi tional interest paid upon th ir certificates. And fourth, while it is true this legislature did make many large appropriations, still I submit that this is no god excuse tor the indiscriminate wield of . the ax upon bills of such vital importance to the very life and upbuilding of our farm homes throughout our state and the upbuilding of our state as well, especially so when there has been such an extra-ordinary demand for somelegrslatian look ing to the systematic and perma nent improvement ot our miser able roads and further when we have been holding road conven tions all over our state .dario the past few years trying to edu cate our people up to a full reali zation of the need and advisabil ity of a foward step aloag these lines. And too, when all who have been taking the lead in this effort had approved this bill ot mine and further it had the quali fied approval of the entire press of the state and cf the people wherever they were made fami liar with its provisions. Hence why the veto? And if it .was to be vetoed why did he not"--, return it prior to final adjourn-' ment with his veto message as it was on his desk two full -days be fore adjournment, and thus have permitted its further consider ation. Was there any kick on the part of the tax payer, against this provision for the extension of state aid? If so, most surely this would have been reflected through ths ' columns of the press of the state, but no such kick car:e. The truth is that all objections on his Honor's part are but subterfuges, for I happen .0 know. And in fact have it from his own lips that there was and is another, and the all pre vailing reason to-wit: That the bill provides for the appointment of the state engi neer at a small salary, to have general supervision of the work and its systematizitiou. Also a commission to help in this sys tematizing and proper distribu tion, of such state aid, said com mission to serre without pay, however, by the State Board, consisting of the Governor, Sec retary of State and State Treas urer, and the threat of a veto fef my bill came to me even before the final passage, hence, before the governor could have known of the good or the bad features of the bill, except thai he did know that it did not provide for these appointments by His Honor sole ly. And I may add further that my standing up and being count ed in the republican column throughout the session proved very distasteful to his excellency which he was not at all slow to express through those . close to him, and in two instances ditezt- lv. I am very sorry "a good mea sure of state wide importance and one for which I worked very ear nestly had to thus meet its fate at the hands of the governor tor this small and purely political reason mingled no doubt with more or less personal spite against its author. However, it is a sense ot satisfaction to feel that I did my best in the prom ises and am satisfied with the re cord we will let time answer as to the wisdom of the Govern or's action. Respectfully, A. J. Johnson, Senator for Benton Co. I for Job Work.' ! J
