Oregon Republican. [volume] (Dallas, Or.) 1870-1872, 1870-10-01


We hold that Congress has, in the
act Of admission, expressly consented,
and that there is no power in the Leg
islature Of Oregon to divert this COM
mon school fund and use it for any 9th
er purpose; and we have too much faith
in the ability of Governor Grover as
lawyer to believe that he would enter
tain the proposition, for one moment,
now to divert this fund to internal i'm
provements; and We are also satisfied
that if such a bill should pass, and be
signed by the Executive, the Supreme
Court Of Oregon would not hesitate to
declare it unconstitutional, and in so
doing they would only declare the law
But is is said, by Hon, gentlemen, that
we have no evidence that the proceeds
I of the 500,O0 acres of land has ever
been recognized as belonging to the
school fund of Oregon. How strange
the idea? 1t is sufficient answer to
say that it has never been recognized
by the people of Oregon as belonging
to any other fund, and here is the evi-
dence Tie Governor of the State has
gone on, BY the authority vested in him
for that purpose, and selected the said
lands For what purpose, internal i'm
proyements? No; but for school pur.
poses alone. He has sent on those Sc.
leetions TO the Property Department or
the General Government for acceptance,
and they have been accepted as selec-
tions for school purposes only; they
have been so designated upon the platts
and so returned to the local Land Of
fees in the State of Oregon, where
they have been recognized as school
lands only, end designated upon the
plat,s there as such, and a portion OF
them has absolutely been sold as school
land by the proper authority, aud the
money applied for that purpose and
yet the gentlemen have no evidence be
fore their eyes that these lands have
been recognized as school lands. What
remarkable age of progress is this !?
If the original act apprppriating the
SOC, 900 acres and the five per eentum
stands unrepcaled, as is contended by
certain gentlemen, then what was the
necessity for Congress to ask the peo-
pie OF Oregon to consent that the five
per contain might be applied to the
making of public roads aud internal
improvements /? But the fever is on,
and the money must be gobbled up.
And how is tito be done Two hun
dred thousand for locks on the west
side of the risI Ter at Oregon City; and
who gets thd benefit? 4 company
formed for thdt purpose We refrain
from giving names. And then one
hundred and twenty five thousand to
the =. T. Company, to build locks on
the east side of the river, at the same
place. And who is to be benefited by
this? We answer, the company only.
True they promise in the bill that they
will not charge, for the FIRST ten years,
more than twenty cents per ton (meas-
urement) for freight passing through
the locks, What benign promise
that is to- the people of Oregon? But
the bill! binds the State to pay to the
company fifty per centum of the amount
expended each year by the company
And how is that fact TO be asccrtained
By the appointment Of persons for thai
purpose on the part of the State? And
they can only ascertain, of course, bJ
an examination of the books of the
company, and, Of course, it is not to bt
presumed that those books will ever
show one dollar more than has actually
been expended by the company; thdr
these men report to the Governor, and
he orders the money drawn from th,
Treasury of the State for the benefit O
this company, and if there is no money
on hand to reimburse this company fo'
erecting their own works, then. by th'
provisions of the bill, warrants must be
drawn instanter upon tho Treasurer fli
the amount, and those warrants are 4
draw ten per cent. interest in gold coil
until the money shall be in the Treas
ufy, and the people are to pay this in
.erest for the benefit of this company
whose necessities demand it. Thei
there is seventy nine thousand dollar