The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1897-01-16
The Condition of Ontonagon.

| ment:
The devastated town of Ontona
gon has appealed through Governor
Pingree to the state for assistance
The little town has bonded indebt
edness of $50, 900, which it took up
on itself to secure q water works and
electric lighting plant just before
the fire practically wiped it out ol
existence. The property owners
are unable to pay this Indebtedness,
and they fear they will lose their
homes unless the state assumes it.
John Hawley, representative
business man, who is in the fishing
business and ran store before the
town was burned down, called on
Governor Pingree this morning and
made the appeal in behalf of the
| town.
Didn't you people have any in
surance up there?" asked his excel
lency. You ought to have had
enough insurance to take care of a
small matter like that. There must
have been something wrong with
your way of doing business. What s
the matter with your corporations
why don t they do something2"
Mr.. Hawley said that the Diamond
Match company had practically con
trolled the town It's officers were
controlled by it, Workingmcn who
didn't vote as desired were not able
to get work AT the last assessment
made for taxation, Mr. Hawley said
he had secured u raise of the rate
from ] per cent to 2 per cent of the
valuation, but he had to fight the
corporation to do it. lie had lost
thousands of dollars, he said, on ac-
count OF opposing the corporation
Having control of the offices, the
company could secure a low assess
ment OF its property. Besides, it's
millions of feet of logs were held
outside the city limits, and were
subject only to the township tax.
"That's it," said Governor Pin
gree, "you let these corporations
intimidate you and gobble up every
thing. l don't know what we are
coming to if the towns in the upper
part OF the state, where there are
the greatest advantages for self
maintenance, are coming to the
other people in the state to ask for
assistance. You ought to have been
in better condition up there with
the resources you have at hand.
Why, right here in Detroit can
show you ten times as much proper
ty upon which the people are un-
able to pay taxes as you have in
your whole town. | don't know
how they can afford to help you.
Mr.. Hawley said that outside of
the Match company he did not be-
lieve there were more than $3.50, 900
of insurance on the whole town.
Schools valued at SIT were in
sured for only $1,000 OF this
50, 800 had been used TO construct Il
new and very modest building. He
had taken a census of the school
children and found 400, OF whom $50
ought to be provided with means OF
education at once.
The worst phase of the whole af-
fair is that the Diamond Match com
pany does not propose to rebuild
there, but will ship its logs to Ash
land or Milwaukee. The population
OF the town has decreased from
1900 to about ZOO.
Governor Pingree asked Mr.. Haw-
ley what would be the use OF main
tanning the town if the company did
not rebuild. He did not understand,
he said, how the people could secure
work if they remained there. Mr..
Hawley said the town had existed
before the Diamond Match company
came there, on its farming and FISH
ing industries. Besides he believed
someone would establish mills there,
because there were still many mil
lions of feet OF logs in the river. The
governor then advised Mr.. Hawley
that the town should secure some
one TO go into such an enterprise at
once.
The thing that made Governor
Pingree most angry WIS statement
that some years ago the Chicago.
Milwaukee & st. Paul railroad com
pany had condemned a strip of
property right through the center
of the city, in fact the finest proper
ty in the town, and afterward never
used the property for railroad pur-
poses.
Mr.. Hawley contends that the
town is all right except for the $780,
600 of bonded indebtedness, and has
good reason to remain on the map.
The men that the Diamond Match
company brought there were mostly
tenants, and most of them had gone
away again. But the old settlers
who built up the place, and all of
whose earthly possessions and hopes
lie there in the devastated property,
want to remain and rebuild the
town. At present most of them are
housed in 22o very cheaply con-
structed shanties, where they will
remain until spring, in the hope
that some opportunity to maintain
themselves in Ontonagon will de-
vclop then. Governor Pingrec as