Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1911-10-10

S-s-s-SS-s-S-s-s-s-s-S-s-s-
/ Ed. Journal:
As you are desirous of having the
voters take an interest in the COM
ing charter commission election,
desire to draw attention to Page 26
under the heading Highways and
Sewers" and particularly to section
! 81, Improvements and Assess
ments. Under Oh The board Of COM
missioners whenever it may deem it
necessary or expedient that any i'm
proyement be made is authorized and
empowered to cause such improve
ment to be made; to determine the
kind and character and extent there
Of. etc. In other words the COM
missioners have full power to lay
any kind Of hard surface pavement
1t desires, without consulting any of
the property holders who have to
pay the bills. For instance, should
the commissioners decide to lay btu
lithic pavement, which is a patented
pavement and consequently nom
competitive and over three-ffths of
the property owners should oppose
1t, bitulithic would nevertheless be
laid despite their remOnstrance, be-
cause it requires two-thirds remon-
STRANGE to kill It, Farther along I'M
the same chapter under ID the prop
erty holders have the right to remon-
strate by a two-thirds vote of the
property affected against a certain
kind Of Improvement and If the re-
mOnstrance is sufficient, then the
same shall be a bar to further pro-
ceedings for a period of four months,
unless two-thirds of the property
owners should petition for tie i'm
provement, but supposing the re-
monstrance is sufficient to kill GER
tain kind of pavement and no petit
tion Is filed by the owner of the
property to be benefited and four
months have elapsed, what is to pre-
vent the commissioners from again
declaring their intention for lmprov-
ing the same street With the same
kind of pavement, which had been
demonstrated against only four
moths prior? Why, nothing would
prevent their doing so. It's giving
the commissioners too much power.
1t seems to me that the property
owners should be the ones who
should choose the kind Of pavement,
as they are the ones who have to
foot the bills. The present charter
appears to be more favorable in this |
respect because 1t says that II GER
tain class of pavement is remon-
strated against by a two-thirds vote,
then such pavement shall not be sub
mitted inside of six months, but that
a different kind of pavement could
be submitted Immediately. For in
stance under our present charter, if |
bitulithic was demonstrated against
by a two-third vote, then the next
FL so could be submitted and If that
was demonstrated against, then con-
crete or macadam could be submit
ted until the property holders would
be satisfied.
The newspapers in Portland have
been demanding competition in street |
paving and have claimed that paw
ing trust existed and this is nroba-
bly, true and it looks to me as though /
the new commission will have the
tendency to foster a paving trust |
right here in Salem The main por-
ton of the city is now pretty we'll
paved and during the next few years /
the work will spread out north, south |.
and east, through property wllch is !
not sufficiently valuable to stand this /
enormous expense and unless the
cost is materially reduced. it's Eoing
to work hardship somewhere but |
believe that prices will be lower 1t |
seems to me that If the ch1rter COM
mission had been drawn so that the
city could advertise for proposals for
pavement and invite bids, whether 1t
be bitulithic, El oso. concrete, Has
sam or wood blocks, then the com
mission could examine each offer, /
take the property owners into their
confidence and then choose tie best
pavement for the lowest possible
price, but it is now too late t. make
this change and If for no other rea-
son, cannot support the new char !
ter with my vote.