EASTERN
CLACKAMAS
Devoted to the Interests of Eastern Clackamas County
Formerly Estacada Progress
V olume 9,
N umber 49
E stacada , O regon ,
BARGAIN AT 98C A YARD
H u n te rs Kill T h re e D e er
A nd A B ear
O re g o n V o te r S cores
R. G. Palmateer, Harvey Mar
shall and Ira Wills of Garfield
returned early this week from a
few days hunting trip in the vi
cinity of the Plaza and Cougar
canyon country, bringing with
them three deer, two being
spikes and one a three point.
The bear was not brought into
civilization, having been slaugh
tered and later buried, as the
hide as this time of year is worth
less and the meat uneatable.
This brings up the old question—
why shoot bear anyway and es
pecially during the summer
months?
C la c k a m a s P a v in g
The following article appeared
in the Oregon Voter and while it
is hoped that Editor Chapman is
mistaken in his predictions, he is
nevertheless a man well qualified
to express an opinion on road
building and paving matters, es
pecially from a statistical and
theoretical standpoint.
‘‘B argain , 98 c A Y ard
Clackamas County can be proud
of some of the road-building it
has done within the last twelve
months. Much grading, gravel
ing and macadamizing has been
done at a low cost, and is showing
splendid results.
Some paving has been done of
which the county will not feel so
proud a few years hence. This
paving, according to the officials
who built it, cost 98c a square
yard.
It looks today just as good as
though it had cost $1.25 or $1.50
a square yard.
Yet it will be amazing if it lasts
five years, while a $1.50 pave
ment would have lasted fifteen
years.
This 98c bargain pavement is
not solid, as is a good pavement.
It is full of tiny pinholes, and
lacks density. Only the surface,
the very top, lo>ks solid. Be
neath. it is so full of pinholes
that you can blow your breath
through it.
It is only a matter of time be
fore the weather goes through
these pinholes, and the pavement
will begin to go to pieces.
The taxpayers’ money has been
wasted. All who took the trouble
to investigate learned in advance
that pavement like Clackamas
County has laid at such great ex
pense has gone to pieces in a few
years wherever it has been laid.
‘‘But this pavement is just a
little different than the kind that
goes to pieces so quickly,” say
the experimenting champions of
this kind of pavement, officials
who delight to experiment with
taxpayers’ dollars for the sake of
the applause they get for saving
money. Yes, it is somewhat dif
ferent—it is worse.
Oh, how beautiful and smooth
it looks today. But isn’t ita shame
that a county that is enterprising
enough to spend hundreds o f
thousands of dollars every year
for roads should be saddled with
the high cost of experimental
T hursday , A ugust 24,
pavements the kinds that other
counties have experimented with
and found to be failures?
Yet, the people of Clackamas
County cannot justly blame their
county officials. The officials have
done the best they knew. The
people of the county demanded a
pavement bargain a 98c bargain
—something f o r nothing and
they got what the bargain hunter
usually gets. A county as well
as an indivdual who is unwilling
to pay a fair price for an article
of merit usually gets the worst of
it by buying that which is cheap
and comparatively worthless.
But it will take five years for
the pavement to show its lack of
quality. Meanwhile, the people
will cheer their officials (or recall
them or something) for having
obtained a 98c bargain. When
the five years are passed, the tax- '
payers will raise a great fuss ov
er money wasted, and probably
will get busy hunting another 98c
bargain. So why try to serve
them well?”
Naturally the Morning Enter
prise takes exception to Mr. Chap
man’s criticism. but refrains from
acknowledging the miserable fail
ure made by the Milwaukie-Sell-
wood Road pavement of a year or
so ago. That pavement was also
heralded at the time of its com
pletion, as a bargain and one
which would last for many years,
but alas, ‘‘it done broke down”
in a mighty short time.
The News is not in a position
to go on record as to the value re
ceived in this 98c hardsurfaced
paving, but it still contends that
the taxpayers of this part of the
county cannot afford to keep on
paying taxes for hardsurfacing
roads in the other end of the coun-
Concluded on page 6
1916
WHAT DDES A FARMER EARN?
Farm Profits Dependent Upon
Permanent Markets
Dr. Hector McPherson, Profes
sor of Rural Economics at the
Oregon Agricultural College, in a
recent address before the assem
bled teachers at Oregon City,
stated that the average farmer of
Western Oregon does not get a
dollar a day as wages while work
ing for himself.
This statement has caused con
siderable press comment, with ar
guments advanced on both sides.
Dr. McPherson bases his state
ment to a large extent on the or
iginal cost of the land and the to
tal investment involved.
Allowance must be made for the
fact that a farmer may not net
as much cash profit on bis invest
ment as though the capital was
tied up in other lines of business,
but his farm is usually furnishing
the necessities for his table and
with wise working is not depreci
ating, rather increasing in value.
Dr. McPherson’s efforts are
largely directed towards the sol
ution of the marketing problt-fn
for the farmer and the earning
capacity of a farm is directly link
ed with the easy disposal of the
produce and the obtaining of per
manent markets.
Eastern Clackamas County
farms will always represent an
initial investment of about $150
per acre, owing to the original
cost of about $100 necessary in
clearing and placing the land un
der cultivation. Many other
parts of the state have land
whicn never was encumbered
with the heavy timber, prevalent
in this district. Consequently
the local farmer his to work
harder than some of his brother
farmers to sh >w a profit on his
investment.
Despite the apparent low cash
income of the farmer, one never
hears of his going through bank
ruptcy; he is found owning auto
mobiles and other luxuries in a-
bout as good proportion as other
workers and when he gets ready
to shuffle off this mortal coil, he
leaves to his children a farm, in
better condition that when he be
gan and the inheritance often is
passed down through many gen
erations, while few businesses
representing like amount of capi
tal thrive more than one genera
tion.
As the prime element in the
trouble lies in proper permanent
markets, that condition squarely
$1.50 P er Y ear
To Obtain All Night Service
A movement is started among
the subscribers on the rural phone
lines in Garfield, Currinsville and
George, to obtain central phone
service during the entire 24 hours
per day.
Such service would be of ines
timable value but i t probably
would cost more than the present
charge to subscribers.
The reasons given for wishing
this change are the often urgent
calls for a physician during the
nights and the need of early morn
ing service, as the average rural
phone user arises early and needs
the service before the central of
fice opens at 7 o’clock.
U n c alle d F o r M ail
A c cu m u la tin g
Postmaster Heylman of Esta
cada again asks all patrons of
postoffice to advise him the
names of parties visiting at their
homes and especially wishes the
names of any newcomers in this
section. .
The office is now holding a
large quantity of mail, for the
reason that parties to whom ad
dressed, cannot be located.
confronts the farmers of this
community. The marketing of
livestock has been greatly facili
tated in recent years locally but
the disposal of the vegetable and
fruit crops is one constantly be
fore us.
The raising and marketing of
produce for canneries seems to
be the most successful method to
date, providing a cannery is lo
cated within reasonable distance
from the land.
The famous Puyallup and Cor
vallis canneries, as well as hun-
dredsof similar plants elsewhere,
are proving money makers for the
nearby farmers, offering a steady
market for their produce year in
and year out. With such mark
ets, the farmer is assured of the
ultimate disposal of his crops, as
soon as planted.
Estacada now has a cannery and
one which is doing a good busi
ness, but owing to limited capital
is doing it in a small way. This
cannery has to date refused or
ders aggregating thousands of
dollars, because of lack of capital
to handle same. These orders in
clude berries, fruit and veget
ables.
The Estacada cannery needs
$2.000. to carry on the season’s
pack and the farmers and busi-
Coneluded on page 5