Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1902-05-06
A COMEDY oF RR0aS.
An ABSURD Attack rpon the Gazette, Put
Down BY P1ai,, Tale.


ial to advertising the GAZETTE, and EN-
phaslzing the Importance attached to the
utterances OF this paper by the citizens oi
Corvallis and Benton county. The COM
pliment is duly appreciated. Some dis
crepancies in the context, however, call
fer correction. OF course the editor of
the Times, while measurably respon-
s;ble, is not to be held accountable
for what that paper said in its last issue.
In matters of this kind he is the creature
of his legal and political mentor, who
pat him On his addlepate and urges him
into state OF indecent exposure.
The articles referred to concern what
the GAZETTE has had to say in the inter-
est of good roads; the quickest method
of obtaining them, at the smallest cost,
and in such way that the burden will
not come all at once, but be distributed
over number of years. In this connec-
ton the GAZETTE presented an idea,
which it said deserved Development 1t
asked the people of the county to sconsid-
er this plan and express their opinions
concerning it merits
For reasons best known to itself, the
Times takes these articles as the basis for
an attack on the GAZETTE. At the out
set it said: The GAZETTE is owned and
controlled by the Corvallis bank" Now,
the only thing wrong with that statement
is that it isn'ttrue. The Corvallis bank
doesn't own or control the GAZETTE any
more than it owns or controls the Times.
Following this lead, it makes the
that the GAZETTE's S articles on
road improvement were inspired by the
bank in order that benefit might accrue
to that institution. Another error in
the Indictment. No person connected
with the bank in any manner or form
had any knowledge that the GAZETTE
ever intended saying anything concern
ing roads until they read the articles
when tt ey appeared in this paper. No
one interested in the bank, directly or
indirectly, has ever endorsed these arti-
cles.
The plan outlined in the GAZETTE has
been approved by farmers and business
men. They have come iato this Office
and expressed such approval
and urged US to keep the plan as set
forth in these columns, before the public.
Such prominent farmers as County Com
missioner Richard Irwin, Thcs. Cooper,
?. A. Kline, i. r. Brown. and numerous
others, have spoken favorably OF the |
plan outlined in the GAZETTE. They re
alize that 10 matter what plan is pursued |
n the improvement of roads, the tax |
payers of this county must pay the bill,
and they see in the plan outlined in this
paper way to get the best results for
he money expended.
Our fretful contemporary states further
hat the GAZETTE urges the immediate
ssue of $5O, ,0G0 or $4,000 worth OF bonds
or road improvement. But the GAZETTE
5 not SO ign rant of the law as 10 urge
.nything of the kind. Under the censti-
ntion OF the State of Oregon, no county
s permitted to create any debts or LA
,ilities which shall singly or in the ag-
tregate exceed the sum of s., 200. So it
will readily be seen that action by the
legislature would be necessary before
his county could issue bonds in excess |
,f $1,000.
In an excellent article, which appeared
n the GAZETTE OF April 8, 1902, Mr.. F.
J. Morgan, present candidate for state
senator on the prohibition and the social
st tickets, endorsed the plan suggested
n the GAZETTE. and outlined a bill
which he promised, if elected, to present
o the legislature, asking for permission
o bond the county so that sufficient
unds might be raised for road improve
nent. The most foolhardy will not ac-
use Mr. Morgan of being party to the
Indictment outlined by the Times in its
asst issue.
Mr.. Geo. Smith, the present roadmast-
r, had discussed the idea, of bonding
he county to raise money to improve
he roads, with farmers in all parts OF
his county, before the GAZETTE had said
nything on the subject, and he found
hem all he artilv in favor Of the plan.
Now, the Times says Mr.. Smith is in
avor of bonding the county, because he
will be insured of good job at So per
Law, That shows you what a calf will do
when you give it enough rope. Under
he plan which the Times is SO frantical-
v espousing, Mr.. Smith would draw
alary of $3 per day as long as work was
,eing done on the roads. But under the
,lan as set forth in the GAZETTE aud en-
lorsed by Mr.. Smith, that gentleman
would be shut out of this job at IS per
Law. In other words, Mr.. Smith is so
in his efforts to secure good
'oads that he is urging plan which will
Deprive him of salary, in lieu of the
FINES rlan which will yield him SAL
sry of $3 per day.
Far from pushing the bonding or any
other plan, as the Times asserts, the
6 AzETTE has pursued an opposite policy.
It stands in the matter right where Mr..
Morgan does, when he says that he is for
this plan, provided the legal taxpayers
Of the county shall vote in favor of said
bonds at special election"
Finally, for the Times to say that the
Cor Wallis bank would invest $4,000, or
anything like that amount of its capital