The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1881-08-26
THE HGRgeR IMPROVEMENT AT VA
QUIaiA EAY.

Liz ptScCbb w vi N cIuilid Od Y
has been progressing finely with but
an occasional unimportant exception
Engineer Polhemus is doing a good
work. The expense of this underta
king is costing about FIVE thousand
dollars per month. AT this rate il
they have to depend only upon the
appropriation from Congress, the
the work will have to stop about the
middle of next October and wait un-
lii after the meeting of the next ses-
sion o. Congress for want of money
to proceed with. There is hardly a
doubt but what the next session OF
Copgl ess will make another appro-
priatioD, because Col. Gillespie has
already recommended in his last an
nual report that sixty thousand dol
lars be appropriated for this long
neeGed Improvement.
We understand that NJ. c. Georee g,
our present member of congress in
tends to ask that body and insist up
OH their making an appropriation for
this purpose, an amount which will
be equal to the sum which the pres
ent Oregon Pacific railroad company
will have to pay as duty upon their
steel rails already shipped and on
the way from England to be used in
the obstruction of their road, which
is about 5000 tons. The duty upon
this amount will aggregate about
$4,000.
We have strong reasors to hope
that the next appropriation will
amount to near the latter sum, as the
government will virtually have to
Fay nothing, but simply in effect to
permit The amount of duty paid by
the railroad company to be used in
the construction of the works at va
quina Bay, which she can well af-
ford, and it would only be an act of
justice for her to do so.
While the prospects in this regard
are abnndantly hopeful yet an un-
favorable feature is presented in the
fact that the present work will have
to stop so soon as about next Oct.
18th unless money is forthcoming
from some other source besides the
present appropriation; which viii
result in much of the necessary
things used in and about the work
becoming scattered and virtually de-
stroyed, to replace them will require
time expense and delay. A plan is
suggested to relieve all of this diff
Guilty in which the secretary of war
has kindly consented to permit the
present staff of workmen to continue
upon the improvement after the
present appropriation is exhausted in
the event money can be raised for
that purpose. Money being the great
thing wanting to permit this
Improvement to steadily progress so
as to be finished at as early a time
as possible, and thus afford the peo.
pie thorough and complete means
of direct competition in the way of
sending the products of Oregon to
the markets of the world, would it
not be the wisest thing, for the peo-
pie of this state and particularly
those of the Willamette valley to go
forward and Systematically and
thoroughly work this matter up and
obtain from every person who is able
small donation to go into gener-
al fund to be used in prosecuting this
improvement. 1t will only take a
small sum from each to raise $4,000
per month for this purpose, until af-
ter the next session of congress and
thus Ike. the work steadily in prog
ress. 'she amount of money paid in
this way would be more than doublv
returned in the moving of single
crop. This is an important matter
to consider and the people should
think about 1T quick and act soon.