The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1893-01-27
DIVISION NorADVISABLE
CORVALLIS ORE, Jan. 25th, 1898.

III Is ISC0lNlnS tuIOuSn tuO AoSoA
press, kindly allow me space for a
few words on the subject. Cor
Wallis Times of January "a. con-
tains some communications l
should like to notice a little.
John Henry" in The Times
indicates that the people of Alsea
have TO some extent signed Pc
tition for Blaine county fearing
a worse fate would overtake them,
as it is expressed in his article.
That the distance and inconven-
ience of travelling between Monroe
and Alsea would be less than
that of travelling from Alsea to
a county seat at or near the coast.
Mr.. George A. Houck in the same
paper in an article on that subject
also mentions the, same reason as
a good one why citizens along the
Alsea should favor a division on
the south rather than OH the west.
Mr.. Henry says they would rather
remain as they now are but of the
two evils prefer the lesser and
hence go for the Blaine division.
With a road from Alsea valley to
Toledo the distance and inconven-
ience of travelling from Alsea to
the county seat, it seems to me,
would be in favor of a division
along the summit OH the west; for
the distance, as / am informed, is
only about IA miles and the road
would not be a bad one, and it
would undoubtedly be built. 1t
will be built any way at date
not far distant. Persons in con
sidering the capabilities of a
country ought to look into its fu-
ture possibilities as we'll as its
present conditions; and what ap-
plies to the Alsea valley as to its
juxtaposition to a possible county
seat also applies much more strong
ly to Tidewater and Lower Alsea,
which is a very important section
of Benton county. Persons who
come to the county seat from Low
er Alsea and Tidewater, now come
by way of Yaquina and the Oregon
Pacific railroad. If the county
seat was at Toledo, Yaquina or
Newport they would be much near
er home than by having county
seat at Monroe. But junction City,
in the event of a division for Blaine
county, would undoubtedly claim
the county seat, and l think no
reasonable person would doubt
that Junction City would get it.
In the same issue of the Times
Alta, from Elk City, says that it is
to the interest of every body west
of Summit to divide the county,
mentioning also some of the incon-
veniences citizens in those pre-
cincts west of Summit are subject
ed to by reason of distance from
the county seat. Certainly with a
county seat at Toledo it would be
easier and cheaper tor a resident of
Elk City twelve miles away to go
to the county seat. His railroad
fare would not be over fifty cents
if he went by rail, and if he went
by his own boat, as probably most
residents do and will continue to
do, it would cost him nothing.
But Notwithstanding its relative
convenience to some portions
of that country contiguous to
the proposed new county seat, it is
a fact that good many, probably
large majority of the taxpayers
throughout both proposed new
counties, those WHO sustain the gov
ernment, are decidedly opposed to
any division. For instance, Little
Elk sent a remonstrance to the leg.
islature against division signed by
names representing two-thirds o1
the property of that precinct, and
all OF the arguments which apply
to the other Bay precincts will ap-
ply to Little Elk.
Now to address some remarks to
Mr.. Houck's article in the Corvallis
Times. He says Blaine county
could be run proportionally cheap
er than the older counties, for rea-
sons, ':that there would be no ex-
pensive bridges to build" To get
out of their own county they
would have to cross some expen-
sive bridges, but they don't want
to hely pay for them. That. looks
a little selfish. That the portion
desiring division have helped to
build a new court house and that
they have done their share to-
wards paying for it, that is the first
line l have heard or seen relating
to that subject. There has been
no argument Of that kind used by
any one, to my knowledge, in OBJ
tanning names to any remonstrance