Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-04-17
A BURDEN TO EVERYBODY,

GENTLEMAN evidently a friend
n Of the city administration, sug-
~ gestcd to The Capital Journal man
that street paving matters concerned
only the persons along the paved streets
who paid for the same, and that if they
stood for the paving work, it was no
ones else business. This proposition
might under some circumstances have
some merit in it, but in this case is alb.
solutely incorrect. 1t is as much the
duty of a newspaper to point out threat
ened danger to subscriber living on a
paved street, as to one in the suburbs,
and The Capital journal has n goodly
number Of such subscribers. A news.
paper is in large sense the guardian
of the peoples rights, 1t is its duty to
keep posted as to all public matters, and
to in turn pass its information on to its
readers The average every day man is
busy making living attending to his
business, and relying upon his local
newspapers to keep him posted on local
affairs. That is a large part Of the
newspapers Is business, and that is what
its readers pay it for furnishing them.
The man on the paved streets needs this
information probably more than the
other man in the suburbs. Anyway it
looks that way to us in view Of the
fact that the city engineer says the
concrete pavement heretofore laid for
these gentlemen is defective from bad
proportions and improper mixing.
This is pretty tough on the property
owner who has paid for having the paw.
ing done, but it is tougher by consider.
able on those who have no street paw.
ing The property owner having made
the street Improvement as required is
done. He cannot be made to keep It in
repair. He has paid for it, and the
city owns it, The paradoxical thing
about it is, that the cost is added to
the value of his property, and he must
pay taxes on the street paving forever,
The city, however must keep the
street in repair and the taxes for this
purpose are paid by the entire property
of the city II will be seen from this
that it is not the owners Of property
abutting on the paved streets that are
interested in having the paving first
class, but every property owner in the
city is just as much interested in II in
proportion to his property values, as
those owning the abutting property
This is one Of the urgent reasons why
the city council should invariably re-
quirc n bond from the paving compa
MICS, to maintain the payemcnts and
keep them in repair for a given number
Of years. Il is not for the protection Of
tho abutting property owners, but fol
the protection Of all tho taxpayers with
in the city, TO go further II is for the
protection. Of every person who ever
rents house in the city for the renter
pays the tax, II the street needs rc
pairing, the money must be paid by the
city at large
But thcro is still another side to thii
street paving business. One.third Of
the property owners, or rather the own
crs Of oncthird Of the property on :
street, can petition the city council I,
pave that street, The other twothird
can suck their fingers, twiddlo thci
thumbs swear, go a.fishng, or anythiui
they please, but they cannot stop tha
paving, The job goes ahead in spite o
them. II will bc noted that the bal
ance Of tho citiScns have absolutely M
say IN the matter, though they ar,
kindly permitted to keep the streets II
rcpari, once they are paved
II will be- seen from this that the paw
ing Of street Is a matter In which ov
cry taxpayer is interested deeply, anc
that II is properly the newspaper
business Il II would try to protect III
patrons and the public, to not only kccl
closc watch Of city paving, but to war;
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