Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1910-03-30

gregate is "an easy doyn-bm u..r
thus making it convenient PuI'' t'
large per cent of the rural c,tJo toI
within the territory to transact 'aelS h%li
ness at that point, as is now t1'a vuSi'
custom. There is but one sr ,ns,t
mountain range to cross ana 'Iah Ii
by a low pass. "u 'ulS
The Boundary Lines.
! Concerning the boundary ,,0
the proposed county of Nesm,VV' r, V'
| there has been misrepresentatinn'
: the part of the pposition-mean,O.
Lane and Douglas-and wbotb.Ss
designedly or otherwise, these ''rneF rI.
statements have, to say tbe ,an., ,S'
created a wrong impression in ''qS'' Hs
minds of the uninformed. Ono ' au
roneous statement is that. the north
line is within four and one-half milo,
OF Eugene, whereas it is 6% miios
on an airline from this line IN bo
| Lane county courthouse and elavoS
miles by rail or wagon road or oy
actly half way between Cottoao
Grove and Eugene by either mo5a
or transportation. The dividing limo
is the center Of an untraveled Swals
fully two miles in width and apnroy.
imately seven miles in length and
wholly uninhabited Between tbig
swale and Eugene is a range NJ
mountains.
Another deviation from the facie
is the assertion that the south line
is the middle Of the North Umpuua
river, and that a considerable nor.
tion Of 'the Umpqua valley, east Of
Roseburg is included in the proposed
new county. The facts are, as shown
by the map of the proposed Nesmitb
county, and also by the bill, the
south boundary line is not within
four miles of the North UmpOua
river, leaving the greater portion Of
this fertile valley to the county Of
Douglas. And at no point does the
line touch any point east of Rose.
burg. The nearest point to the city
of Roseburg from the new county
would be about 20 miles in an air
line, and the territory sought is nat
urally tributary to the center Of pop
ulation within the proposed new
county.
With reference to the shape Of the
proposed new county, as well as the
shape of the area remaining to the
existing counties, let it be said that
the streams, valleys and ridges all
have an east and west course or a
southeast and northwest course that
all main lines of travel must follow
these valleys, which lead to the main
towns as at present existing; that
there would be no justification for
any design that would violate this
cardinal principle which governs the
building up of community interests
An Erroneous Impression.
The creation of Nesmith county
would take only 468 square miles
of territory from Douglas county, OF
which 209 is in the National Forest
Reserve, and from which Douglas
receives no revenue except from OIL
square miles of private holdings. II
is contended by some of the oppon-
ents to the measure that the pro-
posed county has taken valuable UNI
ber into its boundaries for the sole
purpose of deriving revenue Whe1
the government shall have disposed
of the ripe product, but it is wen
known fact that every county u
which a National Forest Reserve .
situate gets it's proportion OF the 20
per cent awarded by the government
from sales made in that reserve re-
gardless of the location OF the UNI
Der thus sold. To make this cled!
to the reader let it be stated ina.
Nesmith county would take ABOUT ~
per cent Of the joint timber area "
Lane and Douglas counties willie
the reserve. and therefore the ley
county would receive 20 per cent u
the money that would otherwise 81
to the two old counties, COOK sIu
Klamath, and any other cUun
whose area extends into the NalioNs' in
Forest Reserve, also participates nj
the revenue derived from safes ~ ~
this condition obtains no mat'ei -
which of the counties the SAFES '''
made. ,,-,.,et Is
The Bohemia mining dlstrle.
in both Lane ara DV"S Sot-
counties, thirty-fve miles from ~ T,
tage Grove, the logical base OF ers sTs
Nesmith county Ihele .L,s
several hundred inhabitants IN ts| 's'
district, and the number is cons'e con Is
Iv Increasing. Naturally, theIe
more or less litigation here poss- o.
all districts of its character o"g,as
burg, the county seat OF Cottsgs
county is SIS miles from C0t~i I,
Grove and Eugene is % niiee ilipsents
the opposite direction Llue%ss haSsSs
witnesses, Jurors and people nSo oonr,
other business at either OF the o1e Se' 10
ty seats named, Of necessity nS, nv
travel to Cottage Grove ana ~ .itors ~
train TO their respective desln~otl @ot 10
entailing additional expense, n0s 's,os
mention the consumption OF az
For every person going from nssl-
district to Roseburg on court milo
ness, figuring on ten cents 20 nan IL
each way. costs s11.0O more ,aSness 1nS
would TO transact the SANE vi ths
n the proposed county seat me "a 10
proposed Nesmith county VA costs
20 10 Eugene on like errana Stiy-
$40 more. These people ai' os,y
seven miles from Eugene aas ahu he
miles from Roseburg where's
gc..4in,ad on Page 49,