The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1912-02-29
BONDING is
ALLOWED BY DECISION

The amended section 10 Of Article II
of the State Constitution, as passed by
the people of the state at the last gen
eral election in 1910. is sufficient in
itself TO allow counties to vote on the
question of bonding for good roads and
that the only place that jackson Coun-
ty failed in bonding for 81. 500. 600 was
the form of procedure. rather than
from the necessity of further legisla-
tion, are some discoveries that have
been made at this late day in connec-
tion with the opinion of the Supreme
Court in the famous Jackson county
bond case. says dispatch from Salem.
Tackled at the end of Justice Bur
nett's extensive opinion in that case
were three very brief specially concur
ring opinions from Justices Bean and
Nc Bride and Chief Justice Eakin, or
the majority of the court.
In these specially concurring opin-
ions, it is held that Justice Burnett
reached the right conclusion in holding
that the Jackson County road bond
vote was effective, but at the same
time they express the opinion that the
county can, by a local law submitted a
at regular election, provide for Gre
ating an indebtedness and the issuance
of bonds for the purpose of building
permanent roads.
These opinions verbatim are as fol-
lows:
Bean, ]. (concurring) 81 concur in
the result of this opinion, but do not
give my assent to the following eX-
pressious, namely: 1t is clear, how
ever, that until the legislative power
of the state has declared that an cleo
tion shall be held on a particular kind
OF question, no decision of such a ques-
tion can be worked out in that man
ner. This would appear to assume
that no enabling act has been passed.
''And, further, the legislative power
of the state has prescribed with great
detail manner of electing public of
ficers and by the initiative and refer
endum system and legislation in pursu-
ance thereof il has provided a manner
of voting upon legislative questions
by the people, but it has not in any
manner established a method of TAX
ing a vote upon the question of incur
ring Indebtedness by counties in excess
of the original constitutional limit.
For the reason that the authority to
declare the time and manner of con-
Quoting such election upon such a
question is vested in the law-making
power of the state, either in the legis-
lative assembly or in the people at
large, and that no such action has been
taken.
And yet, because
the amendment did not provide a
means of ascertaining the will of the
majority of those voting on the ques-
tion and nene has been otherwise by
legislation.
my views upon kindred question
are expressed in an opinion this day
rendered in the case of Schubel V. Oh
colt, and it is necessary further to in
dicate them here.
Eakin, C. j., and Mcbride, j. eve
concur in the result reached by Justice
Burnett, but are of the opinion that
the county can, by local law submit
ted to the voters at a regular election,
provide for creating an Indebtedness
and the issuance of bonds for the pur-
pose of building permanent roads.
These specially concurring opinions,
by majority of the court, plainly say
that counties do have the power TO
bond for roads without the necessity of
any enabling act and consequently
apparently makes unnecessary any
county road legislation, or any road
Legislation whatsoever, as far as pro-
Viding for the expenditure of money
for good roads through the medium of
creating county Indebtedness.