Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1910-01-11
HOW POLK WAS BORN
BILL WAS PASSED WHILE OPPO-
NENTS PLAYED TEN-PINS.
EARLY Legislation in Which the Late
J. w. Nesmith Took Prominent
Part.

Holman has given to Oregon histor.
of the facts connected with the organ
ization of the different counties of tn,
state is of rare value and it is Ger
tain that it has been greatly appre
ciated by the reading public. 1t il
such labor as this of Mr.. Holman
that adds to the materials which thu
future historian will require to make
his efforts of reliable nature. AnC
more of it should be done before i
is everlastingly too late" as the old
time evangelists were wont to say
But complete as his account is, there
are many side incidents connected
with early Oregon legislation which
resulted in the subdivision of oul
larger counties that are of exceeding
interest, since the bitterest contests
known to men in civil life are usually
involved in the division of counties
with the single exception of a full
fedged county seat. And they are
always full-fiedged.
Mr.. Holman gives the bare histori-
cal facts relating to the creation Of
Polk County, the date and the Ian
guage of the act as found in the early
archives, but these never can convey
to the public all the little matters
which combine to make a struggle OF
that character successful. With the ex.
ception of the County of Hood River
| x1rhn xxrhi afI
miraculous, was nevertheless brought
about through agencies which ignored
the process attending the birth of its
elder sisters, the creation of a new
subdivision has always been the re-
suit of much labor and combina-
tion of circumstances which could
only originate in an average assem-
bly, of statesmen such as constitute q
State Legislature where give and
take" is essential to an agreement
which will secure a majority vote on
most propositions.
But in regard to the creation of Polk
County, let us for moment go be-
meath the surface of the bare and un-
poetic working of the statute and see
what was done to accomplish that re-
suit way back in the early sos, be-
fore it was necessary to invoke the
initiative and Statement One as a pro-
lection against the conniving of those
degenerate souls who drift to the sur
face in these days of the calculating
boss.
The measure was fathered by the
late Senator j. w. Nesmith, who was
among those, as a very young man,
who had the courage to come to Ore
gon in the year 1S43, when it required
a longer period to travel from the
Missouri River to the Willamette VAL
ley than it did Peary to go from New
York to the North Pole-if he did.
The following account of the creation
of Polk County is given by Senator
Nesmith himself in an address before
the annual meeting of the Oregon
Pioneer Association in Salm in June,
1876:
"As an illustration of the honest
and simple directrfess which charac-
terized our legislative proceedings of
that day, 1 will mention that in 1S47,
/ had the honor of seat in the Leg
islature of the provisional govern
ment; it was my first step on the slip
perry rungs of the political ladder. The
Legislature then consisted of but one
house and we sat in the old Methodist
Church at the Falls. Close by the
church Barton Lee had constructed a
tenpin alley, where some of my fell
low members were in the habit Of re-
sorting to seek relaxation and refresh
ment from their legislative tolls. / had
aspired to the Speakership and had
supposed myself secure of the posi-
tion but the same uncertainty in po-
litical matters existed then that 1 have
seen so much of since. Some of my
friends threw off on me and elected
better man in the person of DR.. New
ell. God bless his soul. In the small
collection of books at the Falls, known
as the Multnomah library, I found
what I had never heard of before,
copy of "Jefferson's Manual" and af-
ter giving it an evenings perusal by
the light of an. armful OF pitch knots,
founJ that there was such a thing
in parliamentary usage as the prev
ious question"
Il had a bill then pending to cut
off the southern end of Yamhill, and
to establish the County of Polk, which
measure had violent opposition in the
body. One morning when most of the
opponents Of my bill were amusing
themselves at horse billiards in Lees
10-pin alley, I called up my bill. and.
after making the best argument I
could in its favor. ] concluded with:
And now. Mr.. Speaker. upon this bill
/ move the previous question: New
el looked confused, and I was salts
fed that he had no conception OF what
I meant: but he rallied. and. looking
wise and severe q have since seen
presiding officers In Washington do the
same thing. said: Sit down, sir Re-
sumo your seat DO you intend TO trifie
with the chair. when you know that
we passed the previous question two
weeks ago? II was the first thing We
doneE / got vote. however, before
the return OF the horse billiard play
ers. and Polk County has a legal ex-
istence today, notwithstanding an ad-
verse ruling on a question Of parlia-
mentary usage"
And thus It was that the breath OF
life was first breathed into the nos
trIls Of Polk County. There were some
mighty good men doing business for
the pubic In those days. but they
wouldn't measure Up 20 the required
standard in this era Of the recall and
statement one. Imagine a county be
ing created now whose successful
birth depended on the length Of a
game Of horse Billiards"
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