East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-03-29
MISREPRESENTATION.
Eugene Guard.)


| The means by which the private
| corporations which control public
utilities maintain their hold are based
largely on deception and fraud prac-
ticed upon the public through sub
servient publications. sometimes dig
nified by the name of newspapers.
/ This fact is established at the pres
ent time by letter published in the
Pendleton Tribune over the signature
of a. Welch, manager of the VILLA
mette Valley company 1t seems that
the Eastern Oregon city has a munich
East Oregonian, one of the ablest and
most Independent daily newspapers
in oregon, which is fighting for the
right of the people to furnish them
selves light and power, as we'll as wat
er, having had successful municipal
ownership of the water plant there
for years. cited the contest in Eugene.
Just as is the case in this city, the
Willamette valley Co., or rather the
same corporation under a different
name, is fighting the installation of
municipal light and power plant in
Pendleton, and have apparently sub
sidized the morning paper, which is
also similar to the Eugene situation.
In reply to an editorial in the East
Oregonian Mr.. Welch wrote a letter
which the Morning Tribune publishes
and we reprint in full, as followes,
addressed to the manager of the
Pendleton plant:
In this letter. written to be pub
lished for the benefit of the corpor-
alton in Pendleton, Mr.. Welch abso-
lutely misrepresents the facts in or
der to deceive the people of that city.
That seems to be a favorite method
or corporation campaigning-tellin
the people of the community how
complete failure municipal owner
ship has proven to be in ether COM
munities and making their statements
absolutely without regard to the real
facts in the case.
Mr. Welch, for instance, tells PEN
dleton people that Eugene has had
to raise water rates in order to pay
running expenses and interest on
bonds. This is absolutely false, since
every one here knows water rates
have not been raised, and that the
plant is already paying a good profit
in spite of the eXorbant echarges of
the Willamette Valley company for
operating the pumps.
Mr.. Welch says his company's bill
for power range from $3.50 to 500
a month, when the records of the city
which contain their own bills, will
show that they have exceeded 500
and never have gone down anywhere
named. The bills rendered by his
company are as follows: November,
$467; December. $531.20; January,
SS43.2O; February, $753.3O. This is
apparently a deliberate misstatement.
Next he asserts that Eugene's pro-
posed power plant will cost 100000
when he knows that all contracts for
work have been let, and machinery
contracted for, and that the entire
cost will be less than one-half the
sum he names for the information"
of the Pendleton people.
Mr.. Welch further states that mu-
nicipal ownership is failure, and
cites as an instance Hillsboro, Ore
gon-probably because he assumes
that few people are likely to know
anything about conditions there. We
confess We do not, but will take steps
to find out at once. We do know
that in every oregon town. that we
have ever communicated with on the
subject municipal ownership has
proven a success, and on our desk
this morning is a copy of the Nc
Minnville Telephone-Register, con-
tanning a report of the mayor on the
condition of the city's water and light
plant in which he says:
THE water and light commission
has earned a net profit on the water
and light plant for the benefit Of Sle
city of about $1,000 per month during
the present year"
Hillsboro and McMinnville are
towns in the same class. situated in
neighboring counties.
This letter of AL Welch's simply
shows to what extremes a corporation
will 60 in order to deceive the people
in the manufacture of public senti-
ment whenever they can finl news
papers which can be brought under
their control.
Here in Eugene we know all about
this campaign of deception and mis-