Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-02-06

Why Corvallis wants an open I
river presents an inquiry of prac-
tical importance that should
de-piy interest the people OF the
Upper willamette. My subject /
is one material, wholly devoid of
matters imaginative or those that
rest on theorizing. The little
that l may hAvc to offer IS ad-
dressed to men of mature years,
whose aims and act, must be
along the lines of active work,
embodied in and emphasized on
the actual material things that
concern the utmost development
of the state.
An open river has long been
the theme of talk with no action
on the part of the people. We
have had a personal knowledge
of the present order of things for
more than thirty years | st past
still, we have rested i'll quie ude
as dreamers. Nothing his taken
the form of organized effort. II
would have been proper and GER
tainly more respectful to you had
I reduced to writing in due form
what 1 present; but the art OF
writing is to great extent
sealed if not laborious work t.
me, hence, from the standpoint
in which 1 find myself placed,
extemporizing crazy-quilt fash
ion, with the chances of more
misses than hits, is my condition
today, and which is destined to
be more fully exempli6ed as I
proceed.
The Willamette river is an
entire propositiou.-an entity, and
when we speak of an open river
we mean from its source to its
mouth. To the shame and dis
grace of the state an embargo
has been placed on the open river
by a corporation. In round
figures 5000, 900 has been con-
tributed out of your state treas
ury for the construction of the
Oregon City locks. 1t is true
our legislature, as a gratuity te
the people, affixed to this contri-
button of the states cash certain
rights of purchase in behalf o.
our state, as we'll recoupment:
by way of the fixing of Interest
to accure; but all the rights o.
the people and the state were
permitted to sleep the sleep o
death by those who under the
fictions of the constitution wer'
supposed to protect the rights @
the state. The right of purchas'
of the locks and the origina
rights of the people were allowe'
to lapse and the statute of limita
tions has long since run agains
the interest. We have thu
been robbed and victimized on
of our God-given birthright AM
now Western Oregon like tn
rich man, Dives, who after pass
ing from the glories of this life
lifted up his eyes being in hel
in great torment. My scripture
simile is indeed imperfect, ex
cepting only in the position i
which we find ourselves; for th
people of the valley are not full
enjoying the ''good things {
this life" as did Dives, nor al
our fellow co-workers in Abra
hams bosom, but instead we a
seem to be very much in th
clutches of that soulless thing {
the locks. Still, to be facetiou
our yearly tribute of $4,000
and the states bequest of $500
900 to that corporation migl
we'll be classified under II
head of "the good things of life.
The free-will donation of O,
river that was given rs by n
ture as our common carrier at
reducing our people to the CO.
dition of beasts of burden f
tolling in freight and other e:
actions may be some of the goo
things Of life for that artifci
parsonage that holds the lock
but is worm wood and gall to Il
common people.
We are to deal with materi