Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1905-05-19
GRANTS PASS AND GOOD ROADS.

GRANTS PASS AND GOOD ROADS.
Renders Of the East Oregonian are
given an exhibition every day OF the
most progressive and wide-awake mer-
chants TO be found anywhere in the
Inland Empire, or in the state, or IN
the entire country.
Pendleton merchants lead all others
in public spirit. Nowhere else in the
state of Oregon, is there found class
Of men IN the mercantile business
who will take up q matter Of public
good, such as the coming good roads
convention, and exploit IL in their
paid advertising space in aDewspaper,
as Pen Teton merchants do In the
columns of the East Oregonian.
The newspapers exploit such con
ventions, in their news and editorial
columns, but nowhere else in Oregon
do the merchants take up the refrain
in their advertising space.
Try to remember the time when La
Grande, Baker City, Walla Walla.
North Yakima. The Dalles, Eugene,
Salem or other city in the north west
enjoyed an advertisement Of a public
convention In the advertising space
of their merchants Try to remember
a time when any other Oregon town
exhibited such enterprise and public
spirit.
Tho above is from the Pendleton
East Oregonian and shows how the
merchants Of that progressive, grow
ing city, view the road problem. For
merchants TO devote their advertising
space to boom a good roads convention
is something new in Oregon. but not
new In some other states and the East
Oregonian could have included Grants
Pass In its list Of towns whose mer-
chants take no active interest in the
good roads movement The Southern
Oregon District Good Roads Conven-
tion recently held in Grants Pass
under the auspices Of the Oregon
Good Roads Association, was given
no advertising space by the merchants
Of this city, and all the advertising
the convention had was contributed
by the Grants Pass newspapers, the
Courier doing the principal part Of
this gratituous work in pushing thii
good roads movement that means sC
much to the up.buildiug Of Josephine
county and the prosperity of Grant
Pass. Tho convention was given hui
little personal encouragement by thu
men, whose business would b0 mos
aided by good roads, for it was fac
that the business aud professions
community of town of over 400
population was represented IN the con
vention by but II men, The town
Of Jackson county made better show
ing than this at the convention TO
there were present from Ashland
Medford, Jacksonville and Gold Hin
81 business men, besides number O
prominent men from other sections o
that county.
This apathy Of Grants Pass towar
the good roads movement is In keeI
ing with the provisions OF the charte
of this city, which by special nc
of the legislature, excludes prorert
within it's corporate limits from pay
ment Of the county road tax. Thus
is that Of the 3.mill road levy for th
year made by the county court wi
be horno entirely 10y the property {
the rural districts and by the yillag,
with no share coming from Gran
Pass Tho explanation Of this stranl
and non-progressiye provision ot III
Grants Pass charter is that the cit
has all the burden IL can bear in keel
ing mp its streets That may be :,
but IL hardly looks just to farmo
who is plodding his way through
canal of mud or clouds of stiillir
dust to reach Grants Pass thi
through the sale Of his produce nt
the purchase OF his supplies he mr
add TO the city's wealth ami pro
perity. IL would be tho hest trad
drawer and the hest investment th
the business mon of Giants Pa
could do, would be- to have their On
put back into the county road Il
levy and to pay their sharo of Il
road taxes along with the farmer
the country merchants, the millm,
aud the miners. We're all the roa
closed such as they are, that lead
Grants Pass, tnree.tourths OF d
business men of this city would ha
to close their doors within 80 day
The converse Of this is equally tr
that If all the roads leading To Gran
Pass were made into fine mucadamig
turnpikos, that the uadc OF this yi
would grow with such rapidity th
the city would double in wealth al
population within five years. But
new spirit is coming over Grants Pa
tho pendleton, Seattle Spoka
spirit, that makes for cooperation al
progrossiyeness,and that says.ct a.ny
kk.A ~ "a n a. n. n A n n a