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About Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919 | View Entire Issue (June 17, 1905)
DAILY CAPITAL JOURNAL, SALEM, OREGON, SATURDAY, JUKE 17, 1005. OREGON VERSUS HARRIMAN An Actoftess to the Ptoducets and Citizens of This State Adopted at the Independence Development Convention June J 3, J 905 Fail' and Conservative Statement of the Situation of This Commonwealth Its Struggle for Expansion Against Policies of Non- development in REPORT OP TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEES OF TIIE STATE DE VELOPMENT LEAGUE AND Or THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY DEVELOP MENT LEAGUE : It la nolthcr ilio dcsiro nor tho inton tion of this committco to mako any un just nttack upon corporations or trans portation companies. Wo fully rocbg nizo tbnt In this ngo railroads aro n vital and essential factor in Our coun try's dovolopmont, and wo favor rca onnblo encouragement, and. cquitablo regulation of their rates and operation. Tho peoplo of Oregon havo invariably (rented corporations with fairness and liberality, and capital invented In thorn has been at all times accorded comploto ami linpartinl protection of our laws. No stato in tho Union hns been tnoro liberal in its treatment of railroads. YOUR COMMITTEE UELIBVE8 THE TIME HAS NOW COME WHEN THERE SHOULD BE A DEMAND IN BETURN THAT THE STATE AND ITS COMMERCIAL AND INDUS TRIAL INTERESTS BE TREATED IN THE SAME SPIRIT OP LIBER ALITY AND PAIRNESS BY THE RAILROAD MANAOERS. Tho Record of Oregon. This stato has novcr enacted any so called drastlo legislation against tho transportation companies. On tho other hand It is assessing Iholr lands, rights of wny and rolling stock upon less valuation than any stato in tho West. There is no law in Oregon tnxing their franchises or gross or net earnings, s In ninny other stntcs. Ton years ago this stato repealed its railroad commission law, and has en acted no rato legislation This stnto has cvon mndo it unlawful to doal in cut-rnto tickets or to dls poso of unused transportation othor tlinn to tho corporations. Wo have left tho power to fix freight and passenger fares and tho lcgitlmuto work of extending their lines to meet tho needs of tho country entirely In tho hands of theso corporations, trust ing to thorn to troat tho peoplo with fairness and equity. Justice to tho Railroads, In n spirit of justice wo give credit for nil that has Won dono by tho rail roads for tho benefit of tho stnto. Un der tho ndinlnhtrntlon of 0. IT. Mnrk bam many industries woro favored ami established in Oregon. Tho industrial department! of tho roads havo ccv operated with the people, mid prnmot cd yroductlon r rilt '' "n'T lrVf markets for products of lands already duets. Mr, Mnrkhnm's successors havo ought to maintain policies of develop ment, but have either been overrule In their decisions or havo lacked tho authority to Initiate so that tho move ment toward lower rut on and extension of markets for Oregon products has recently made littlo progress. This stnto Ih indobted to tho rail roads for reducing passenger faros to threo cents per mile on their main Hues, nml for securing low rotes to tho Lewis and Clnrk Fair, and. to many tato and local gatherings. FOR ALL THESE ADVANTAGES THE PUB 110 IS DULY GRATEFUL, AND JUSTLY BELIEVES THAT EACH CONCESSION RESULTED IN GOOD ALIKE TO THE STATE AND THE RAILROAD MAKING IT, Justlco to tho Peoplo, Wo bellovo that railway corpora' tlons aro creatures of tho state, pos sesslng valuable franchises which have como from tho peoplo as a gift, as well as vast grunts of public lands Always becoming moro vulunblo by action of cougrow, and that they owe A duty to tho peoplo which thoy havo no fully performed. A duty to tho stato of Oregon is Incumbeut upon them which grows out of their oecupauey of its territory under prlcoloss franchises given them, bestowed and inalienable, and such duty can only bo performed to tho peo plo of tho state-by assumption on tho part of tho companies of their full hare in tho development of this terri tory. Tins CAN BB DONE BY EX PENDING A PORTION OP THEIR SABNINGS WITHIN THE STATE IK THE CONSTRUCTION OF SUCH NEW LINES AND EXTENSIONS AS WILL NOT ONL YMBET THE XEBD3 OF THE PEOPLE, BUT AS SIST IN THE DEELOPMENT OF THE LATENT RESOURCES OF THIS COMMONWEALTH, to tho end that nctlng together this stnto may ml vnnco to that status in population and material wealth which its great re sources entitle it. Orogon Railroads Prosperous. This committee bcllovcs that in no stato in tho Union aro tho railroads doing a moro profltnblo business or enjoying moro prosperity as financial enterprise than in Oregon. Wo aro informod that tho trains on tho main lines of tho Southern Pacific in Oro gon corn moro per milo than on any other division of tho Harriman sys tem. Tho earnings of tho 0. It. & N. Co, for 1003 -aro reported at about flvo million dollars, and nearly all this monoy was mado In Oregon. Ono picco of new railroad in Eastern Oro gon, from Biggs to Shanlko, said to bo tho porsoruil property of Mr. 1. II. Harriman, IS REPORTED TO BE PAYING OEVR TWENTY PER CENT ANNUALLY ON ITS GAFITALKA- TION.. As Oregon has no law requir ing nny roports from theso corporor tlons, theso figures nro not given from publlo or official rocords, but nro bo Hovcd to bo reliable, nnd rcfuto tho statement that extensions in Oregon would not bo profitablo until tho coun try Ih sottlcd up; nlready in many sections of our ntato tho population nnd products nro far in ndvanco of prcsont railroad facilities. Protest Against Obstruction Tho railroad' tnifllc of Oregon is not only highly profitablo within tho state, but owing to tho fact that tho greater part of what wo consumo of manufactured goodti comes from nbrond, anil tho greater part of what wo produco must bo shipped across tho contlnont, tho interstnto trafllo Oregon furnishes is n very lucrutlvo Bourco of income In spito of tho fact thnt THESE CORPORATIONS HAVE BEEN TREATED WITH THE OREATEST LIBERALITY BY THE PEOPLE OF OREGON IN THEIR POLITICAL CAPACITY, AND IN SPITE OF FAILURE TO EXTEND THEIR LINES ADEQUATE TO THE GROWTH OF THE COMMUNITIES, A POLICY OF DELIBERATE OB STRUCTION HAS RECENTLY BEEN ANNOUNCED ON THEIR PART TOWARD ALL SUCH CONTEM PLATED ENTERPRISES. Tho Ore gnu territory has boon sot npart as jiot open to construction of branch lines, no matter how much needed to provldo liudor cultivation. In roturn for tho prosperity thsy enjoy as tho result of liberality ami fairness on tho part of tho state, undeveloped Oregon Is to bo accorded Indefinite stagnation nnd Mtrnugulntiou. Produces a Spirit of Dissatisfaction. ..This condition of things is certnin to produce n spirit of resentment on the part of tho peoplo towards theso corporations, a result that is to bo de plored. Wo regret that necessity has ever arisen for calling attention to micli a state of affairs, for wo believe that the local officials of theso corpo rations have dono all in their powor between tho corporations nnd tho people THE RESIDENT DIRECTORS OF THESE RAILROADS AT PORTLAND HAVE LEFT NOTHING UNDONE TO INDUCE THE CONSTRUCTION OF BRANCH LINES INTO THE IN. TERIOR BUT HAVE BEEN OVER RULED BY HOSTILE INFLUENCES OUTSIDE THE STATE. Having ex hausted all friendly efforts to bring about policies of expansion thoy will Ih) forced to unito with the people of the great undeveloped coast nnd inte rior and demand a decided chango in prevailing policies. Tho people of Or egon will and should resent tho pro posed interferenco with tbfe natural and orderly dovolopmont of their state. Tho published combination be tween high railroad officials in St. Paul and Now York, by which alliance territory is parcelled out and an indef inite suspension of railroad construc tion in this section of the Northwest arranged, it carried out MEANS PAR ALYSIS TO GROWTH ALIKE OP Wo must regard a compact by which managers of railroad corporations In possession of productive territory, or having easy access thereto, agree to IVnnn fiirtlini- Ifnna nf rnflrnnil n.if it such territory, ns nn agreement in re straint of commerce. It is in violation nt least of tho spirit of tho Sherman anti-trust law, nnd in effect constitutes a crlmo against- tho community which is held in bondago thereby. Tho Remedy of tho Peoplo. OUR GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN A MERE AUXILIARY TO THE COR PORATIONS LONO ENOUGH. .THE TIME HAS COMB FOR THIS STATE TO DEMAND AND RECEIVE IN RETURN GREATER APPREOIA TION OF CORPORATE OPPORTU NITIES TO ASSIST IN THE HIOHER DEVELOPMENT OF OUR COMMON WEALTH, or to invoko tho Immedi ate) application of tho powers vested in the legislature and tho peoplo for corporation regulation and control. Tho pooplo possess legltimato means under tho constitution to bring about more equitable conditions nnd moro just rolations tot tho benefit of all. A Few Facts About Taxation. This committco hns not had timo to gather all tho facts touching taxation of railroad property as comparod with othor property in this state, or rail road property in other states. But wo boliovo tho managers of railroads themselves will ndmit that thoy havo not been treated unfairly. Investiga tion will show that on somo forms of taxation thoy havo been exempted en tirely, whllo compared with somo Wostorn states Oregon has only plnccd nomlnnl values on their property, Tho following statistics show tho amount of taxes paid per milo by theso corpo rations in tho four Pacific Coast states: Orogon 9160.00 Washington 21B.00 Idaho 214.00 California 2-17.00 Comparod with tho taxes collected from theso corporations in somo stntcs, tho difference in favor of Oregon's ex emption of corpornto property, lands nnd franchises would nmount to enough to build railroads into undevel oped interior insldo of ten years. Facts About Construction. Our contention is that whilo Oregon hns favored theso corporations by leg lBlativo nnd taxation policies, thoy in roturn havo uot favored Oregon in ac cording n fair shnro of construction of branch lines. Whllo this committco havo not yet been nblo to securo com plcto statistics of construction, they beg loavo to cnll attention to tho rec ord of railway milengo for tho four const states from 1000 to 1002 inclu sive: Coast Statoa Mileage Miloage 1000 1002 Oregon 1721 1G85 Washington 2003 3157 Idaho 1201 1410 Oalfornla G741 6070 All tho other coast states show n forty miles by shortening lines and abandoning track. Oregon's percen tage of milengo of railroads to the hundred equaro miles of territory in 1001 was 1,78 nnd the samo in 1002 Idaho increased froml.OS in 1001 to 1.72 in 1002. Washington from 4.40 to 4.72. California from 3.74 to 3.83. Consider that Washington haB been a stnto only about fifteen years while Oregon's lifo approaches the half cen tury. Wo find that eleven counties of Or egon uaving a territory of 54,455 square miles aro without any railroad communication with tho outer world Theso counties comprise moro than half tho Btntc, maintain county govern ments, have industries, banks and pros porous, thriving cities and towns. Many of tho other counties havo rail roads only along their border MORB THAN THREE-FOURTHS OF THE STATE AREA IB WITHOUT RAILROADS. Whllo the peoplo of tho wholo stato aro putting forth a mighty effort to develop and populate this great interior, some of the rail road managers insist that no railroad into the interior can bo mado to pay, and tho NON-RESIDENT OWNER SHIP DECREES A POLICY OF NON CONSTRUCTION UNDER ANY OXR OUMSTANOES. Failure to Keep Promises, It has been publicly charged that the present management of these cor porations has not kept faith with the commercial interests of Oregon. Tho committco does not consider that it is required to go into nny particular in vestigation of theso matters, but when tho peoplo of this stato aro spending over a million dollars to hold nn expo sition for tho development of tho Ore gon country, thoy hnvo a right to ex pect that tho promlso of a ono-fnro rate to nil who attend to visit tho in terior of tho stato shall bo kept. In asking for thnt reduction so Important to settlement nnd investigation, tho Stnto Dovclopmonb Lcaguo was assured thnt tho request was reasonable, nnd virtually what hnd been already de cided upon. Tho president of thnt con vention, Hon. E. Ij. Smith, wns author ized by tho officials representing tho Oregon lines, who wcro present, to nn nounco thnt this concession hnd been granted, and tho nnnounccment wns received with great applause. But! when tho rato was announcod by thesa samo officials, though tho press, it wns found limited to persons holding ! ! tickets to Portland from points cast of ) tho Rocky Mountains, and otberwiso restricted' so that it will be of littlo '. '. practical vnluo to Oregon. Tho conven-f! ' tion nsked a ono-fnro rato Cat to nil ' ' exposition visitors from outside of this sinic. inni was wnm wns umicrstoou by all present nnd ccrtninly there hns boon failuro to do as agreed. Wo do not censuro or hold responsible tho local railroad management or consider thnt they nro personally responsible, but somebody is nt fault because lim iting tho ono-fnro rato to visitors from east of tho Rockies will procludo many of thoso coming from tho British pos session, Alaska, foreign countries, nnd all states and territories west of tho Rocky mountains from viowing tho great state, nnd w"ill do them ns well as our own peoplo a gravo injustice. Presumably tho leglslnturo oxpected in making tho appropriation for tho fair that tho visitors to tho LcwiR and Clnrk exposition who might nlso como to sco Oregon, would bo accorded by tho transportation compnnies opportu nity to seo tho undeveloped parts of this state. Wo trust there may bo n prompt reconsideration on tho part of tho railroad people. K. IIOFER, Prescient Wlllnmetto Vnlley Develop ment Lcngue, Salem, Ore, BTEPHKN A. LOWELL, Attorney nt- Law, Pendleton, Ore. G. W. GRIFFIN, Of Griffin & Sons, Wholesalo Hnrdwnre, Eugene, Ore. LOUIS J. SIMPSON, Simpson Lumber Company, North Bend, Oregon. - II. M. CAKE, President Portland Commercial Club, Portlnnd, Ore. Transportation Committco of tho Stato .Development ivengue. I. H. BINGHAM, Sawmill nnd Mining Operator, Cottngo Grove, Ore. B. P. JONES, Attorney nnd Dealer in Timber Lands, Toledo, Ore. FRED 0. VEAL, Of Veal & Sons, Chair Manufacturers, Albany, Ore. J. C, COOPER, Secretary Development League, Ale- Mlnnvlllo, Ore. J. G. GRAHAM, Agont Balfour, Guthrlo & Cox, Grain Dealers, Salem, Ore. Transportation Committco Wlllnmetto Valley Development Lenguo. CASTOIIIA. Stars th 9 H18 Kind Yon Hart Almjl BoqT AN ELEGANT BUMMER BOOK. Splendid Publication Just Issued l tho O. R. & N, Co. T "Restful Recreation Resorts u 1005 Summer Book issued by the r scngcr depnrtmont of tho Oregon 1UH rond & Navigation Company contaL io jk:b mm cover. Th0 Ih, . printed on heavy whlto paper, C8 cati being used to Illustrnto tho trips tm and down tho Columbia River to tl mountains, benches, inland resorts &) fountains of healing. The cover Ii dono in threo colors, adding materials to tho beauty nnd effectiveness of tl publication, which may be had It Bonding 2 cento in stamps to A. L, Craig, General Passenger Agont of the Oregon Railroad & Navigation CoB. pany, Portland, Ore. It is a good thin. to sond to your friends in the cut who expoct to visit tho Lewis & Clark Exposition. -In Mad Chose. Millions rush in mad chaso after hoalth, from ono extreme of faddlsm to another, whon, If thoy would only eat good food, nnd keep their boweli ttm. lor with Dr. King's Now Lifo pnj thoir troubloa would all pass bwit! Prompt roliof and quick cure for liter and stomach troublo. 25e at J, C Perry's Drug Btoro. t Robo Bowls. And vases. Largo variety of ill sizes and styles. Twonty per cent dis count for our this week's special. Yo kohama Ton Company, HUHHHHHiHIHHHWIIIIIHUW ij Books by William J. Long Ways of Wood Folk 75c Wilderness Wats 75c Secrets of the Woods 75c Wood Folk at School 75c Beasts of the Field $1.75 Fowls of the Ait $1.75 School of the Woods Net $ 1 .50 Following the Deer Net $ J .25 A Little Brother to the Bear Net $$.50 GINN & COMPANY, polishers Trade Department, 29 Beacon St., Boston )8iinnBtneionnmnntnW'"9'"lw j iuj:.',':ji -BnrHHBVWnjrilHKnKfTBtKKBaSlS 91 Q-H(r - I H9BiJBS&i Fishing Time BJPST . - -,- B.icvek cywrr- -daiusSt-k 4 - r Sprismng lackie If Business Interferes With Fishing, Quit the Business We havo the largest and most complete stock of fishing tackle ever seen in Salem. 'Fishing Tatkla Is our hobby, RODS from 91 to 916, our special $3.50. .LINES from So to $2.50, our special 50c. .LEADERS Single and doublo 3 and 6 feet. BAIT SINEW HOOKS Single and double sinow. BASBXTS Tive different sixes, from 85c to 12.50. REELS, Expert, Automatic, Multiplying, FLY BOOKS 25c to 92.50. LANDING NETS. i TROLLS forbass and trout. Try tho No. 2 Hendryx for trout, it has been a great killer this year. Fly Hooks Some of the various patterns we have: REUBEN WOOD QUEEN OP WATERS PROFESSOR BROWN HACKLE GREY HACKLE ENOLISII ADMDZAL COACHMAN ROYAL COACHMAN BEAVER KILL GOLDEN SPINNER QROUSE ABBEY ALDER BEE WHITE MILLER BLACK GNAT GRIZZLY KING COW DUNG GOVERNOR SETn GREEN GAUZE WLVG JUNGLE COCK COMB IN AND GET A GAME LAWa COPY OP THE NEW HAUSER BROS- FINE FISHING TACKLE