East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1913-07-25
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once more an effort is being made
TO improve Pendleton's patchwork
lighting system in the
Let the Utility business section. AS
Companies DO was inevitable local
Their share m hants have
grown tired of the
Grassville plan of private payments
for public lights They are now. ask
ing for relief.
To be sure the city should pay for
street lighting out of the general fund
and it is also right that the cluster
lights should be installed at regular
intervals along the streets. 1t does
not look wen for town to have one
block brilliantly lighted and the ad-
joining block in darkness. That will
do for mining camp but is inexcus-
able in an established town with the
civic pride of Pendleton.
But of course the first step towards
improvement along this line will log
ieally consist in the removal of the
wooden poles and the multitudinous
wires with which the electric company
and telephone company adorn our bus
mess streets Who ever heard of a
town having cluster lights and wooden
poles served IN the same dish? How
ri, ;rl,A
plan as long as each corner is taken
up by telephone or electric pole big
enough to serve as a hitching rack
for herd of buffaloes? If we are
to have Improvement why not start it
right?
Something like two years ago this
same subject was up and there was
strong sentiment to the effect the
overhead wires should be ordered
down. But the former administra-
tion did not have the heart, or the
nerve, to require the utility companies
to make the change. 1t is possible
our present officials may take diff
ferent attitude. This is an admins
tration that stands for Improvement
and it has done much for the better
Ihent of Pendleton. 1t will be logical
for the administration in connection
with its program of improvement to
irsist that the electric trust and the
telephone trust also do something for
Pendleton's advancement.
~~~~s~.s~
Under the title Stewardship of
Wealth" the Evening Telegram Of
Portland has the fol-
Where Class lowing emil ghtened
Legislation is comment on a sub
Justifiable. ject of decided inter
est to the country:
II is the contention Of those who
advocate the extension Of the income
tax to incomes Of 5000 a year that
such provision would relieve the act
Of the charge Of class legislation
There is degree or supersensitive-
ness about this that is positively am
using.
It is the general American senti-,
ment that We should avoid class legis-
latIon. and that sentiment has gained
ground for the reason that class legis-
lation in the past has been for the
protection Of the man Of wealth. and
for the exploitation Of the man who
created the wealth.
SO far as class legislation may be
defined as that which is applicable to
one class rather than another there are
5ustifying considerations in making
the income tax bear more heavily on
the man Of large income than on the
man with moderate income Senator
Eorah emphasizes that contention by
maintaining that there is a steward /
ship Of wealth as regards the finan-
cial support Of the nation and that |
we hitherto have taken altogether the
wrong course in exempting 1t from its
share 0: the burden The senator from
Idaho even went to far as to contend /
that the only system Of taxation must
be that which will put the whole bur
den of national expenditure on the
property OF the nation J