The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1893-05-20
KENO'S "KOLUM. !"
Dufur Notes-Dalles Faetories-San
Franeiseo's "Unemployed."

Editor TIMES MoUNTAISEER:
Several warm days, and warm showers.
Gardens are beginning to throw out hints of
early radishes and green peas. Fruit trees
are in bloom, promising luscious fruits and
an ample supply. Farmers are smiling at
the splendid prospects for a crop to exceed
any ever harvested in Wasco county.
Everybody Is looking pleased save the
angler, who wandereth forth in the morn
ing bent on breaking the fishing record, and
rambleth back In the evening We. and wrung
with a tiny fshlet in his basket, having
broken nothing but the Sabbath and half
dozen hooks.
The religious boycott, which has
closed the doors of the worlds fair on
Sunday and caused the strike of the Salem
ministers which has furnished so much
newspaper comment throughout the state,
shows the religious people are beginning to
to get s'move on" themselves and are taxi
ing up the weapons Of the worldly to fight
their battles with.
Speaking Of boycotts brings out some
thing that believe is worthy of the atten-
tion of the people of The Dalles, and under
stand me as believing whatever helps The
Dalles helps the country around
it. To begin at the beginning,
the Sacramento board of trade, led
by the nose by few unprincipaled enc
mics of the Sacramento Bee, boycotted that
Of of tha ar
legislature which they instantly claimed
was the cause of the revolution to remove
the capital to San Jose. The working class.
of whom the Bee has always been champion,
then boycotted the board of trade. War
was eminent. The Bee was right, and held
itw own as it has always done since James
MeClatohy, the founder of the paper (the
best friend Sacramento ever had) and father
of the present editors, trotted G. w. and
Val. McClatcly on his knee Everybody
took SIDES on the question, there was gen.
eral awakening to the fact that Sacramento
had been slumbering, that no city with an
abundance of cheap power to turn ma.
chinery should be IN a condition to make
the loss of sixty day session of the legls-
lature every two years, and handful OF
state officers effect its prosperity. So much
for the cause; now the effect. Realizing
the conditions boycotts were buried. Mass
meetings were held. An Industrial I'M
provement Association was organized with
leading citizens at its head. Articles of incor-
poration setting forth the objects, powers,
etc., were adopted. The association then
made out note and addressed a copy to
every taxpayer il the city. promising to pay
on the-day of-of each year for the
four years next ensuing, beginning with
1893. one.half of one per cent on each dollar
of property assessed. This money to be
used In procuring factory sites, paying
bonuses and encouraging manufactures, the
amount of bonus being governed by monthly
pay roll and material used. thousands are
signing the notes and the success of the
scheme is ASSUMED. Numerous manufac-
tories have already opened negotiations with
the association, and each smoke.stack that
arises is worth more to the city than all the
state property within its limits.
The Dalles is better situated for factories
than any city on the coast. Power without
limit, cheap transportation with the OPEN
ing of the Cascade locks, and an abundance
of wealth to see the thing fairly started.
But, as the TIMES MoUNTAINEER has repeat
| edly stated, 1t can never sustain large
population without factories. Your CITY
could well afford one per cent on every
dollar for four or five years. Every dollar
so expended would return hundred fold
before five years had expired. The labor
| ing men, even those owning no real estate,
are SO directly interested that many would
sign different to- m OF note and pay GER
| tain amount of their salaries to see factories
in The Dalles; at least that has been Sacra-
mento's experience. Don't try this or
similar scheme, unless you want to, as there
is no law compelling cities to see their own
interests; but careful examination of the
plan, and little figuring would show the
exact amount that could be raised, and the
very movement itself would attract the at
tentiop of manufacturers. The Dalles will
never be much larger without factories.
The circular letter from the head
quarters of the "Unemployed" of San Fran
cisco going the rounds, and printed in your
paper some days since, is fair sample of
the literature usually issued by such bodies,
and now it seems that the leaders of the
organization were offered 81 80 per day, and
refused with scorn. The writer is person
ally acquainted with l.. c. Fry, the secre-
tary and author of the circular letter, and
il there is any position Fry is capable of
holding down from January to Decem-
ber 1T Is an Office among the "Unemployed."
He can hold such job just as long as he
can find comrade with energy enough to
do the labor connected with the position
for him. he Is guitar player, and good
one, without sense enough to make use of
his accomplishment, and afraid to work for
fear 1t would iniure his fingers SO he couldn't
play the guitar. The public should be
warned against listening to the walls of
laLor organizations tontrolled by such men.
KENO