The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1893-04-07
THAT COUNCILMAN ?"

| Our little notice III the GAZETTE of March
Oath advising the city tax payers that they
| can prevent the purchase of the present in
competent Corvallis water works by taking
legal steps to do 30, seems to bring forth
| the wrath and indignation Of the young
| man of the city council who dubs himself
"a Councilman" in labored article in
J the "1imes" of last week. This young
sauce box, as . prelude to his impudence,
should have related how he became q coun-
cilnau? Whether is was by vote of the
people, or whether t'log-rolled" in by ap.
pointment?
From the article he produced no one
would judge him a councilman, and certain
ly no one would have any reason for seek
ing his counsel.
After his senior real estate partner was
elected to the council more modest young
man than he would have declined the ap.
pointment of the junior member of the
same firm.
He should explain to the people how 1t
is to their best interests to have the city
council composed considerably from the
members of one family or firm. The city
council for several years has been control
led too much in the interest of "clans'
which augurs no good to the people gener-
ally. In order for them to accomplish
such results the principal owner in some
business house gets into tire city council,
and it also happens that their principal
IL Al 1
a little wire working the principal member
of some real estate firm, who all work as
one mind, is induced to rua as another
councilman; after the election the janlor
by the joint influence of the combination
they all work together as a unit having no
variety Of opinion as to final results, which
may be fun for them, but is bad combina-
tion for those not in the ring
Hereafter the voters should look to it and
see that a considerable membership of the
city council is not made up from the mem.
bers of one or two houses. We remember
posed to some extent in that way they
proceeded to hatch out and vote the fran.
chise of the almost defunct street railway
to the remainder of the owners in the
spectiye houses and their relatives. Those
receiving the franchise Incorporated the
street railway and voted them selves o ma
jority of the capitol stock of the company
to pay themselves for the valuable fran
chise which the council had just given
them, they becoming the principal owners
and controllers of the street railway for the
| franchise, who then procured rumber of
| citizens to subscribe small amounts of the
capitol stock and pay it in, which together
| with six or seven thousand dollars which
was borrowed from outside sources was in
vested i'll the street railway. This in some
measure explains why the street railway is
/ in financial embarrassment II those parties
| who subscribed 30 much stock and gave i'll
| return for it chaF or franchise should pay
| in cash for their stock like other stock
holders, the street railway might be in a
more fourishing condition.
| The doninent power of the council to.
day is made up to some extent in similar
manner. and are trying to spend $26. 900 of
the citys money for an ant;quated water
! works that any man, if he wanted to build
new water works fully up to the improve
| ment of the present time, could not afford
to give $40. 600 for.
Before proceeding to contract for said
| water works the council had an engineer
| M axe an itemized list in detail of the sever.
! al things composing the water works. This
| engineer states in his report that he values
the works new and in so doing his total es
innate amounts to little over S24, 800.
valued as new material. A large portion Of
the material has been in use long enough to
| bs half worn ont, and some of it ia prob
ably worn our. Some OF the items in said
water works said engineer valued fully n.
to the retail priccs, and much more thar
they could be bought fer in large quantities
Will that counciltnan(?) who is SO prolific
with his inuendoes explain to the people
wy lie is so anxious to give $2S, 600 to thu
water company for q second hand watel
works which on an average is more tina,
|
says could be put in place new for S24, 300
o. Yes! But he may say that the waite
company has franchise aad if valued al
the same rate the street railway people solo
their franchise to themselves an1 uncon
scious associates. the water works might b.
valued at $40, 900, or more.
The last three lines of city ordinance No
20 which gives the water company thei
franchise expressly says as follows: "rro
vided further, that nothing in this ordinanc
|, shall be so construed so as to grant any ex
elusive right or privilege of sonductin
, water into this city" He may again urg
: that the water company claims a contrac
with said city to furnish water to the cit
for fifteen years which has seven or eigh
Il years to rrn which the water compan
e claims is exclusive The ordinance aboy
referred to says it is not exclusive, beside
. the courts have repeatedly held that unde
such circumstances o city can not make an