Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1905-01-11
ABUTTER
KNOCKING
METHODS
Hiding Behind Hired
Anonymous Ar
tiCleS
Mayor Waters Open Fight
for Payments CODtraSted
Secret Mud Advocates

The arrival of an asphalt contractor
in the city has added new interest in
the pavement situation. The real issue
| is pavement of any kind or mud. The
graft of filling rich mems lots and
streets with mud that is first carted
onto the streets as "gravel" having
been broken, and the public parks and
grounds being now filed with street
scrapings, tho abutter howls worse than
ever. He not only cannot have his
property improved at public expense,
but he may even have to pay for the
street improvement in front of his own
property. That is dreadful state of
affairs for those who have always had
everything done for them at public e0
pense, and plucked the public goose be-
sides. The anonymous abutter now
writes two articles a day, and has en-
listed an asphalt agent to help him
down the proposed pavement, and then
he will find way to down asphalt.
Again Mr. Abutter spiels his little
spiel in his morning paper. He has the
agent of the Asphalt Company to do
the knocking this time. He is an inno-
cent old duck himself. He does not
know anything about paving. He
quotes fictitious reports of alleged com
mittees, etc. He does not hesitate to
ba Oh afa 20 af ,a,,tl
company against the goods of their |
competitor. In fact he does not stop at
anything, untruthful or ridiculous, in
his great anxiety to prevent any kind |
of improvements in Salem. He takes a
letter from citizen to citizen, from a
large stakeholder of an asphalt paving |
company, which knocks" the bitulith-
ic pavement everlastingly, and is silly
enough to think people will be con-
vinced by such methods.
AS stated before, he is simply "fer-
ninst" any kind. First he tells GER
tain people that he is satisfied with the
bitulithic pavement, then, when he be-
gins to fear that it will be used, he
starts bushwhacking method. He tells
the man who has gravel to sell, that
gravel is the stuff-the best thing on
earth for streets He halls the advocate |
of crushed rock, and confdes to him
that there is nothing in the world equal
to good macadam roads. Then he calls
a busy-body or two to his store, and |
confdes to them, that he is convinced
that nothing but vitrifed brick is good
enough for such a magnificent city as
Salem. In the mean time we delve in
mud, mud, mud and not a cent is lev
led against his property for pavement.
Whoever this, Mr.. Abutter may be,
and of course nobody can guess, he is
neither a credit to the city in which he
has made his competency, nor to his
fellow citizens, least Of all to himself
There is another type of man in Sa-
lem who is much more respected,
though he is not rich and is subject to
the shortcomings of many other NOR
tails. He is our worthy mayor. Like
the abutter, he wants the pavements,
but, unlike that gentleman, he means
what he says, and the public generally
simply look upon the one as a common
liar and the other as a truthful man.
When an asphalt pavement contractor
came to town the other day, Mr.. Adult
ter Immediately published that mans
abuse of bithulithic pavement. The
same gentleman came to Mayor Waters
with his knocking. He was promptly
told that if he had anything good to say