Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-06-20
CROWD At ARNORY TO
HEAR KAY AND CORBY
DEBATE AMENDMENTS
Showing Leaves No Doubt As
To Necessity Of Adopting
Charter Changes


Urging the passage Of the three meas
ures to be voted on at the special cleo
ton Of July O. State Treasurer Thomas
B. Kay opened vigorous debate on the
bills at the armory Tuesday night HC
and Mr.. Corby, who opposed the meas
ures, were introduced by President Fred
w. Steusloff, Of the Commercial club
Mr.. Kay in supporting the measures,
first illustrated the need of these
amendments to the city charter, by tell
ing of the cases known as the South
High, and South Twelfth street assess
ments, wherein owing to techniealities
and slight errors in advertising, the
property owners on these streets have
escaped tho payment Of. their assess
ments. In the South High street case
the error was in typographical error
which made the advertisement read
south of mill creck,' instead of Mill
street. In the South Twelfth street
case, the supreme court held that in or
der that notice may be published on
five consecutive days it is necessary to
publish it for six issues Of daily news
paper Under the present city charter,
the city cannot collect liens on any pro.
perty affected by street assessments,
and it is due to this fault OF the charter
that some 52,349.27, delinquent assess
ments cannot be collected.
80 Per Cent Have Paid.
Mr.. Kay stated that 90 per cent of
the property holders affected have
paid their assessments willingly, and
that only 10 per cent of the people, who
desire to escape paying their just dues,
are delinquent. He said that this placed
such persons in very undesirable light.
He stated that in the Medford case, the
supreme court held that a city has the
such improvements, and therefore it was
in line for Salem to do likewise, and to
prepare way whereby all such indebt.
edness must be paid.
The lien collection law, as proposed
by the measure to be voted on, provides
that four-year period must elapse, as
serted Mr. Kay, before property can
be taken from the owner, and even then
there is chance of redemption. Furt-
thermore, continued Mr.. Kay, the major
ity of the delinquents are well-to-do,
and able to stand paying their just
debts.
He cited the Richardson measure.
which he said was drawn up to please
those who are now on the delinquent
lists, and that it provides that all assess
ments heretofore paid for street i'm
proyements be returned to the payees
and that the city pay for all such i'm
proyements by system of bonds. He
opposed this measure on the grounds
that it would force people not now re-
ceiving direct benefits from paving to
pay for this improvement. Mr.. Kay
charged the supporters of the Richard
son bill with having personal interests
to serve, contrary to true democratic
spirit.
Declaring that although he would be
reimbursed TO the extent of $4,000, By
the passage of the Richardson measure,
Mr. Kay said that he was opposed to
the measure because of the general in
justice of the bill This statement
brought forth q great round OF applause,
Mr.. corby's Argument.
In answering Mr.. Kay, Grant Corby
asserted that while he believed that
Mr.. Kay was not Intentionally misrepre-
senting facts, nevertheless he had done
50, partly because of the second hand
information given him by others.
He declared that the real reason for
the opposition to paying the assess
ments laid not in a desire for escaping
just debts, but in an effort to have
justice done. He claimed that the paw
ing laid on South High was not accord.
ing to contract, and that for this reason
the abutting property holders had re-
fused payment. A remonstranee was
presented in the case of the South
Twelfth street tangle,. which the court
held to be sufficient, but which was
insufficient in the eyes of the city eoun-
ell. Therefore the owners on these
streets escaped payment Of their assess-
ments on substantial and sufficient
(Continued on Page Two