Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-01-26
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: OPEN FORUM.
ROAD BONDS.

Editor Capital Journal We want
the facts about this bonding business
and not to see what we can say about
one another, so let us have the facts.
From what / can learn, it is desired by
the bond promoters, if they can get
the 40 miles of Pacific Highway across
the county built Of the best pavement
to be had, they will be satisfied to let
the county have rock or gravel road
anywhere else. If they can get the
county court to give them the sum of
$l5O,OOO toward that piece of road then
the state has consented to give $15O,OOO
and they will soon have the road com.
pete.
"Section 10. All moneys raised un-
der the provisions of this act shall be
used in constructing permanent roads
in the county, which roads shall be con
structed by the county court under its
exclusive jurisdiction and such expert
assistants as they may employ"
Of course every man in the county
will want his road paved and it will
be strange if the court can settle the
matter without some loud times. The
Statesman says there will be money
enough to build the paved way across
the county and then 1876 miles of rock
road elsewhere, and then says the rock
road is good for nothing. / will be sat
isified to see good rock roads all over
the county. There is a pretty good
piece of rock road beginning at the Re
form school and then going south for
mile or so. Quite a good piece of rock
road in South Salem. The roads from
Salem to Dallas and Independence are
fairly good roads, know they are much
better than they were 20 years ago.
The l75 miles just spoken of are not
all of the county roads and it will be
a number of years before all of them
will be made good, The large part of
the roads Travelled by the rural mail
carriers are across roads and back ways
that will be only dirt roads for long
time to come.
This act authorizing the bonding of
the county for the building of good
roads also by sections IA and 20 makes
the count court and treasurer into q
banking house, four years after the
bonds are issued the court commences
levying tax and collecting the same
year after year to redeem the bonds
when due. They put this money out
in the hands Of the different banks in
the county at per cent interest or
they loan it on real estate at 8 per cent
so if the whole amount Of $S5O,OO0 is
in bonds by the time they are due they
will have in their bank the full amount.
IL congress had only gotten hold of this
scheme for helping the farmers it would
not have taken them so long to give us
the currency bill. Bond the county,
then tax the taxpayer to buy the bonds
back, then loan the real estate owners
the money to carry on their business
with. Mr. Rodgers thinks l forgot the
interest on the sinking fund. l did
not forget it but kept it for another
article. But he figures that our county
bankers can get out of the people in
the county who are anxious to borrow,
the sum of 100000 interest. If they
can get that much it will be good
plan to keep the min the business. The
law says these bankers must do this
amount Of business without any cost to
the county. l would like to know how
they do it.
DEXTER FIELD.
Salem, Jan. 23, 1914.