Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-05-29
men favor
. PLANKING THE BRIDGE
And STOPPING ferry
For Is Months Service Cost
Of Bridge and Ferry Would
Be About Same

The general sentiment of business
men who met last evening at the Com
mercial club to discuss the ferry prop
osition was that the Southern Pacific
railroad bridge should be planked. 1t
was shown that the ferry service was
very inadequate and will not in any
way care for the business for the com
ing season, beginning with the berry
season.
The bridge committee composed of
Chas. A. Park, F. G. Deckebach and +.
wv. Steusloff reported that the South
ern Pacific had not withdrawn its Of
fer of permitting the bridge to be
planked and that the railroad wanted
only the assurance that contract
would be let at once.
AS the recent agreement between
Polk and Marion counties placed the
building of the bridge in the hands of
Marion county. Judge Bushey assured
the business men that it would be built
as soon as some legal forms Of contract
were passed on and the proper time
20 days-had elapsed fer advertising
| The $4,000 estimate of the committee
for the cost of planking was regarded
as too low by Judge Bushey. But f.
w. Steusloff Joseph Baumgartner and
others urged that it was not the cost
lof few thousand extra that should
stand in the way of securing adequate
isefvice across the river
Must Take Care of Traffic
Representatives of the Hunt Cannery
and the Oregon Packing company were
Z interested in securing some means of
transportation within the next 80 days
as the berry season would be on with
in month. M
i Judge Bushey said he hoped to opcr
late power ferry run by electricity
within short time as the present fer
Try was rather dangerous
Chas. A. Park called attention to ths
! difficulty of getting on and off th'
. lpresent ferry and that loads woult
, have to be greatly reduced, especiall,
! with the grade ON this side.
: Fred W. Steusloff was for plankins
the bridge and getting busy at once
! He thought it might be Is months un
It'll the new bridge could be completed
and that for the few thousand the
planking would cost, there should be nc
haggling about the figures, but the
work should begin at once. Considering
the amount of business that would have
to go away from Salem, he was not in
clined to delay matters just for few
, Thousand dollars.
II the railroad should ask for an in.
identifying bond, Joseph II. Albert
thought there would be no trouble in
getting the signature of 100 business
men interested.
County Would Help
! In order that action might be taken
at once, motion was carried that the
bridge committee confer once more
with the Southern Pacific officials and
with the county court and that the
J committee also secure estimates of the
cost of planking the railroad bridge.
Judge Bushey thought the county
could pay as much towards the cost OF
planking as it would cost to run the
/ ferry about year and half. This
, cost for the past few weeks has been
!, $27.50 day, although the judge
| thought this could be made nearer $50
The figures of the bridge committed
: based on an IS months proposition was
! that it would cost $500 for guarding
the planked bridge and that the plank
= ing would cost about $4,000. That the
/ running of the ferry for the Is months
would cost $l3,500, showing that from
a standpoint of cost, the two PROPOSE
tions were about the same.
The committee will make a report
Thursday or Friday of this week and
Iif the railroad conditions can be met
5 it is probable that the planking of tht
bridge will begin within week or so.