Oregon Republican. [volume] (Dallas, Or.) 1870-1872, 1870-09-24
Appropriation Of Public Money.

Dilis nave oeen lntfOuuced into our
Legislature to appropriate three hun
dred and twenty-five thousand dollars
of our school fund 70 what is called in
ternal improvements, that is to give to
the p. T. Company AMI others this
great sum Of money, for the purpose of
erecting locks on each side of the Falls
at Oregon City, SO that the people Of
The Willamette valley can have plenty
Of salmon, and those companies and fa.
vored individuals can Ii We a better
show to make money.
Now, we have not had an opportuni
ty to examine these bills as vet, hut shall
scrutinize them closely when printed
1t strikes US at present. very forcibly.
that the best use that can be made of
the funds arising from the, sale of the
FIVE hundred thousand acres of land do
mated to the State OF Oregon, is for the
education of the youth of the country,
and for that purpose this fund was set
apart for that object by the people of
Oregon when they adopted their Con-
stitutiou.
The argument made by those who
desire to appropriate this iund to pur
poses entirely dferent from that de-.
clared by the people is, that the origi>
nal LAND grant by the General Govern
ment to the State was for the purpose
of Internal improvements, and that
Congress never expressly asserting thar
it should be appropriated for any other
purpose, the provision of our Cons,itu
ton is nullity, and the money mus,
be expended for the purposes named in
the bills now pending before the Legis
lature bu: the truth is. by making NJ
objection to that proposition of the peo-
pie Of Oregon. plainly stated in the in
ssrument itself, they did, BY inplica
tion, nnquesti"natly assent 20 the prop
osition as much as any other proposition
presented to them in the Constitution
at the time of our admission into ,he
/ Union.
/ This grant Of land is Of great value
TO the State, and after the expiration
Of few wears would contribute largely
TO the support of free school system
in Oregon, which would be of greater
worth to her citizens than any one
measure the Legislature could adopt.
But even under the present systen the
income upon the money arising from
the sale of those land will greatly
tighten the burdens of taxation in that
direction, and thousands of children,
possessed of the brightest intellects,
will receive q liberal education, and
grow up to be ornaments In society
whereas, ii this fund shall be diverted
from its Legitimate use, and for the
purpose of making the rich richer and
the poor poorer, then many of the same
children will be reared in ignorance
and be but curse TO society and them
selves But u small portion of tht
lands so designated have yet been dis.
posed Of The lands were selected
| with great care, and we have had an
opportunity TO know something of their
value. Iu our Judgment, it would no,
be very large estimate to say that the
land Is worth four dollars per acre
which would, when sold, produce the
sum OF two million dollars. The in.
\ tercst on this sum, for one year, woulc
. produce a revenue 10 the school funt
OF the State of two hundred thousaut
dollars annually. And why divert j
from the best possible purpose fo1
which It could be used? Will the peo
pie of Oregon be as much benefited
J. Are the locks at Oregon City NOR
needed than common schools or i
this thing concocted by few design
ing men who expect to be greatly ben
Gifted by it, to the exclusion of th
great mass of fhe people I We shal
have more to say upon this snbjec
hereafter; in the meantime let the peo
pie reflect and look well to their inter
ests, both present aud future. l
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