Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-09-25
ABOUT POOR FARM.
Virgil e. Walters, ex=County
Judge, Communicates.

Ed. Gazette: I desire to re
ply TO your article in the issu
of he 21st inst, under head G
"P oor Farm" that the people G
Ben ton county may know VIII
the former court spent thei
mon ey for the purchase Of sal
farm.
You say: "The matter oftakin'
care of the county poor Is propo
sition that has occupied the atten
ton of the authorities in Benton
as we'll as various other Oregon
counties. Speaking of this mat
ter as regards Linn county a few
days ago the Oregonian said edi
torially:
Linn county hired superin.
tendent to run its poor farm and
tried to get some work out o1
the inmates of the poor house
but the plan was Improbable and
will be abandoned. The county
authorities figure that it will be
cheaper to pay board for the
poor. There are few farms poor
or otherwise, that will be profit
able under the management of
hired superintendent, especially
if politics sometimes has an in
huerce in the hiring OF the super
intendent. A farm needs a
farmer more than a superinten-
dent
"The conditions in Linn set
forth in the Oregonian approach
very closely to what was proposed
to do in Benton. In fact, we have
the farm. Any person versed on
in the valley, or any
where else, in an agricultural
way will not expect profit from a
farm, particularly poor farm.
Few farmers make anything of
the business. -.- -.
''Without desiring to criticise
any person as regards our poor
farm it NAV not be out of place
to ask, "Why, if it were not
looked upon as a profitable en-
terprise, was so much invested
in orr county poor farm?" It
seems that the Oregouian when
on conditions in
Linu county could very truth
fully have included US in the
same BREATH"
During the last four years I
have given the matter very care
full consideration and investiga-
tion and I heartily agree with
you, the Oregonian and the Linn
County Court, that for a county
to run its own farm with a hired
superintendent is Improbable.
From the recent report of the
Grand Jury of this county, we
believed it necessary to make
change in the care of the county
poor.
We believed that the price Of
land in Benton county would
never be lower and that the pur-
chase of farm would be a safe
for the county. That
the county court could then have
suitable buildings erected and
otherwise provide for the proper
care and cleanliness of its
charges and for the rent of said
farm, knowing that any and all
parsons desiring to bid would
have an equal chan.e, which is
not the case today. That it
would let the contract to the per-
son who would pay the highest
cash rent. and take care of all
county charges at the lowest sum
per week. That the buildings
would not be furnished by the
cohnty or otherwise movable pro-
perty provided. The present
farm is sufficiently near to be at
any and all times under the
supervision of the county judge,
and the reason that the court fav-
ored the farm instead of a few
acres as suggested by you, was
that the person who had the care
of the poor would be confined to
the premises and that he could
handle a reasonable sized farm
as easily as he could a tew acres
with more profit to himself and a
corresponding increased rental to
the county. --s
Fearing that you may think
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