Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1893-05-13
THE OREGON SOLDIERS HOME
Constitution Outs No Figure ss
Against q Predjudioed Board.

The suit brought by Mr.. Sherman 10
test the question Of the legality Of locat.
ing the soldiers Home st Rosebure IL
not fight Of Salem people upon any
other city of the state. The suit Ia
brought by Mr. Sherman alone, by q
citizen and Grand Army man, and not
by concerted action " any element Of
people Of this city, private or public,
fraterDsl or otherwise. In common
with other citizens he has respect for
the constitution and business methods.
He has no more interest than any other
citizen Of Oregon In the proper legal es-
tablisbment Of the Home. lift In TO be
n state institution at all there should be
no cloud upon its title, ss such cloud
would make IL "a miserable object OF
charity and entitled TO no respect.
Aside from all constitutional grounds,
and the court decisions upon that mat
ter are all one way, there is resl pro-
test arising all over the state at. the
manner In which the board was created
and the way IL has set about to locate
the home at Roseburg, as against the
rights of the rest Of the state. These
objections are stated In the Coquille
City Herald very clearly as follows:
A PROTEST.
"When the board was looking at the
various sites for the soldiers home
they restricted their duty to Roseburg
and vicinity alone; they failed to adver-
tise for competing bids, and then re-
jected such as were rendered from Sa-
lem, Tillamook, Bandon and other
points In the state, preferring to use up
the appropriation, which was subject
to the necessity for its use, to purchase
small 40-acre tract Of wild land on
the suburbs Of Roseburg, than to accept
q donation of six times that amount
and the lumber to construct the home
at Bandon and thus saving the
appropriations for purposes of adorn-
ment and conveniences. There were
other points in the state that would
have donated site, but all have been
ruled out. The board has utterly failed,
to our mind, to do legitimate business
transaction-do for the institution and
for the public as they would do for
themselves. II the land was to be paid
for and the fund exhausted merely to
enhance values of surrounding proper
ty at ROseburg and create trade for
the merchants there-aive Roseburg
"her first big plum" as the Review has
frequently asserted-then, Of course, the
board has been efficient; but If it was
for the higher and nobler obligation of
patriotic duty. an act of state pride and
true philanthropy, then the board
would have been actuated by the same
spirit and sought to serve the best In.
terests of the donors-the people of the
state-and the heroes whose sacrifices
have called 1t forth.
"Then, too, Salem, Albany Tillamook,
Yaquina, Bandon and other communi-
ties would have been given an equal
chance to manifest their patriotism and
competed for the location Of the charge
In their midst.
"The design for the building Is also
without competition-a pet
local architect furnishing the plan and
estimates. And now we suppose some
one local firm will be awarded the con-
tract for construction Of the building.
Thus have all usages been set at naught
and the public deprived OF It's just pro-
lection"