The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1897-09-25
CONSERTITIFE D1LLES.

The Dalles is wondering whether
she can afford to enter into a contract
for electric lights for her streets at q
cost of 1880 year. The electric
light company of that city offer to sup
ply arc lights under contract at Sl0.15
a month each. While The Dalles hesi-
tatates to pay $500 year for electric
lights Pendleton is paying and has
been paying for years $500 a year,
and Pendleton is not much larger if as
large d town as The Dalles. AS
man or a town draws near the William
cite valley and the low attitudes of the
Columbia river the loss of energy is
remarkable and there is a hesitating
policy in all undertakings that is just
ruinous to enterprise and progress OF
every kind. The Dalles with the
proper spirit which would engender
energy could be town Of 10000 peo-
pie with all the advantages of a COM
munity with that population.-East
Oregonian.
While it cannot be denied that The
Dalles, by pursuing too conservative u
policy and by a lack of enterprise. has
failed to reap benefits from natural
surroundings that would have been
grasped by more enterprising com
munities, it cannot be claimed that it
is at present or has it been the past
few years proAigate in the expenditure
of money collected from the people as
taxes. 1t is now pursuing pay-as-you-
go policy, and that is why the propo
sition to expend 1880 year in street
lighting is being considered by the
city council before final action is taken.
Streets lighted by electricity are
evidences of thrift and enterprise.
Low taxes are evidence of cOnserva-
tism and economy in the management
of city affairs. Today The Dalles is
prepared to cash every warrant drawn
against the city treasury on demand.
Were it to eXpend 1880 year for
street lighting it would either be com
pelled to cut down expenses in some
other branch of the city government,
increase taxation or run in debt.
We would be pleased to see the streets
of The Dalles lighted by electricity.
We would be pleased to see new
sewerage system put in. We would be
pleased to see every rotten cross-walk
, in the city replaced by new one.
But best of all we are pleased to see
the city conducted on a cash basis,
and its expenditures kept within its
resources without increasing the rate
of taxation.
The city brightly illuminated with
electricity might attract foreign cap
ital to invest in The Dalles, but low
taxes and city warrants going at par
will attract more. We deplore the
fact that The Dalles is not more enter
prising; that it has allowed oppor-
tunities to increase its wealth and
population slip away from its grasp,
but we do not believe the way to create
enterprise or encourage the establish
ing of new industries is by increasing
the burdens of taxation. These things
must be accomplished by private ex-
er,ion, not by increasing public bur-
dens. And until some new source of
revenue shall be discovered. until the
city's wealth shall so increase that the
lighting of the streets by electricity
shall not make taxes higher we shall
he content for Pendleton to expend
$4,000 annually for lights, and register
her warrants mot paid for want of
funds" while The Dalles pays its debts
promptly at the end of each month.