The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1904-01-14

Whealdon gave the committee every
attention possible, taking with him to
Salem memorandum of the two strong
points desired, viz: The power of road
districts to levy special tax, and also
to decide where such tax should be eX-
pended. January %, 1903, the following
letter was received from Mr.. Whealdon :
Salem, Or, Jan. %, l9O3.-V. Winchell, Hood
River, Or.-Dear Sir: herewith forward your
committee House bill $50. Think it covers
the points your committee desire. If any
changes or additions wanted, let me know.
Yours truly, N. WHEALDON.
We were gratified later in the legis-
lative session to note that the bill had
passed both houses. The above is a
statement of facts. Whether or not
the Hood River committee had any in
t1uence one way or another in road
legislation matters not. The power of
road districts as incorporated in bill
$50, to vote q special tax, was in force.
And the Hood River committee did not
forget this fact. AS soon as the new
road laws could be secured, which was
in November, the committee quietly
went to work to put road district No. 6
in working condition under said law
first, by securing the appointment of
Hans Lage as road supervisor by the
county court, and second, to call
meeting of the taxpayers to support
proposition to vote tax not to exceed
10 mills on the dollar for improving
the new grade. School district No. 7
had just voted a levy of IL mills to pay
off Indebtedness and to continue the
excellent work ofthe school. This made
the question very doubtful of inducing
the people of the road district to sup.
port very high tax for road purposes.
Added to this high school levy was
the thought constantly uppermost with
the people that they had virtually been
swindled out of any real benefit from
their heavy subscriptions toward i'm
proving the new grade this last sea-
son. The advocates for the prop
osition held for a I0-mill levy for
the reason that this amount of money
was necessary in order to get contract
ors to bid on the work, for if only a
small levy was made, then it would
mean that the work would have to be
done by the day, and time and money
frittered away as was the case with the
money raised by subscription only a
short time ago.
A strong sentiment Immediately set
in among the resident taxpayers for
some tax, mostly for 3 mills. Be it
said, to the credit of most of the res
idents of the district that they saw the
necessity of improvement of the new
grade and the manner of making said
i'm aud fhaxf for
conviction, though it seemed in the
early canvass that a 5-mill tax levy
was all that could be secured.
The committee soon found it neces-
sary to make a personal canvass Of ev-
cry voter in the district to overcome
the natural desire of every one to avoid
high taxation and to remove as far as
possible the apprehension on the part
of the taxpayer that the levy would be
squAndered. The canvassers were par
TALLY successful, and as the days went
by, could count more and more sup
porters, but never at any time a major
ity Of the voters. But the canvass was
kept up, the advocates for the l0-mill
levy always believing that when the
law governing the expenditure Of the
money to be raised, and all the facts
surrounding the situation should be
presented TO the coming meeting that
majority would support a l0-mill
levy, and in this they were not
mistaken, for at the meeting held
on the evening of January the
voters decided, by a vote of 4S for TO 8
against, that l0-mill tax should be
levied.
This practically unanimous vote
shows that the people of this road dis
trict are determined on a new order Of
road construction and will not be con-
tent to travel in mud when they can