Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1913-08-05
Committee Appointed by Mayor to
Probe Improvement Made at Pub
Lie Expense Finds It Costly.
INSISTS ON CALLING IT
REPAIRS" AND AUTHORIZED
Custom" of City in Making Such
improvements at Expense Of Gen
eral Public Not Approved.

ment matter, with instructions to as
certain by whose authority the i'm
provement was made and the circum-
stances surrounding the transaction,
made its report at the meeting of the
city council last night. The committee
was appointed at the request of so
property owners.
The report to the council included
a transcript of all the testimony The
following is the report:
To the Honorable Mayor an Commdon
Council of Salem, Oregon;
Gentlemen
We, your committee appointed by
your honorable body on petition of D.
W. Fisher and others to inquire into
the matter Of certain or recently done
by your street department on Mission
street, between Thirteenth and Four,
teenth streets, and on the last mention
ed thoroughfare from Mission to Wal
Ter street, and then on Waller street to
the Turner road; and also on the petit
tion of G. Stolz to examine into any
and all acts of his while acting as
chairman of the committee on streets
that might be complained of, would beg
leave to report as follows;
That the committee met on July II,
1913, and organized by the election of
W, T. Slater as chairman and G.. G.
Brown as secretary of the committee.
That the committee appointed July
%, 1913, at the hour of 1880 p. M, for
its next meeting to be held at the city
council chamber and directed that
written notice be served upon each of
the petitioners of the said meeting and
requesting them to be present at the
meeting and state to the committee all
matters within their knowledge respect.
ing said work and such notices were
duly served, as well as upon a number
of other citizens whom the committee
were informed possessed some knowl-
edge respecting the matter; notices
were also published in each Of the daily
papers of the city, requesting all who
had any knowledge of the matter under
inquiry to be present and assist the
committee in getting at the facts,
Many Are Absent
Many Of those instrumental in pre-
senting the petition to the council and
who claimed to know much that the
committee desired to ascertain, failed
to attend any meetings of the commit
tee, while many of the petitioners did
appear and frankly disclosed TO the
committee all that they knew concern.
ing the matter. The committee deems
this an opportune time to suggest that
an investigation of the character now
attempted, when those appointed to in,
vestigate have not the full power to
compel attendance of witnesses and to
testify under oath, can never amount to
much, and all city laws should be so
amended so as to empower the council
to invest those appointed to make an
investigation with power to compel at
tendance of witnesses, produce papers
and to testify under oath.
The committee held two public meet.
ings in the course of its investigation
and offered to hear any one desirous to
make statement to the committee, and
Offered full opportunity to any one
present to interrogate the witnesses who
voluntarily appeared, so that the inves
togaton was the freest and fullest that
was possible to be made, A full report
Of the oral testimony given was taken
down and is herewith transmitted to
your honorable body, together with sew.
eral exhibits in support of the testi.
mony.
Cost over $500.
From all of the evidence submitted to
the committee we find that there was
misdescription in the petition as to
the place where the work complained
Of was, in fact done, The work was
done on Mission, Fourteenth and Wal.
Ter streets, between the points herein.
before mentioned The evidence shows
conclusively that the Turner road con.
Meeting with these streets was at the
time the work was done, the only prac-
ticable means of access into the city by
those living in the direction Of Turner,
excepting Twonty.fifth street, which
was then, or had been, in an impossible
condition, and those responsible for do.
ing the work correctly concluded that
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