Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1917-02-03
WILL OPEN STREAMS
FOR DRIVING LOGS
Senate Passes Bill Providing
for Improving Mountain :
Streams

The most important bin passing the
senate yesterday was substitute senate
bill No 81. which provides the means
by which the streams of the state may
be made available for logging. 1t pro.
videS for the condemnation OF such
lands as may be necessary along streams
being improved for the building of
dams, booms and clearing of the chan
nels. and declares all such streams
." navigable for the purposes Of this act.
II is designed TO make available
all streams in the mountains, that can
not be used now, on account of their
heavy fall and rocky condition 1t per.
mits the company improving stream to
make charge for others using it for log
ging purposes, but places the company
under control of the public utility com
mission. 1t provides that anyone own
ing timber tributary to the stream
shall be permitted to run his logs on it,
and is apparently well safeguarded in
every way. The judiciary committee
was unanimous, and enthusiastic in in
dorsing the bill, considering it one of
the most important bills before the leg
islature. It will provide the means for
getting vast amounts of timber now iso.
lated, and which is dead ripe, to market.
Heretofore these streams could not be
used because of the great expense of
opning them making it impossible for
any but big company to tackle the
job. 1t is expected it will be of great
benefit to timber men, and will save
much timber that is ripe and much of
which is decaying. 1t passed the senate
by an unanimous vote.
A Wasted Afternoon.
The senators gave a splendid exam
pie yesterday afternoon of how not to
do it. There was interminable debate
which was simply random talk that
got nowhere and did nothing. The
first war of words started over bill
l47, which provided for the distribu-
tion of forest reserve funds. The bill
proposed to put 90 per cent of it in
the road fund and 10 per cent in the
county school fund. Each side had its
determined advocates and the neees-
sity of the roads for the farmers and
the absolute need of the school for
the same money was chewed over for
an hour. 1t finally resulted in a com
promise, of Is per cent for the roads
and % for the schools. This was done
in committee of the whole which re-
ported back, the rules were suspended
and the bill put on final passage going
through all right.
The second seance was over Senate
bill 50, by Dimiek, to prohibit the
batting of ducks and other water fowl.
The committee ON game reported the
bill with the recommendation that it
do not pass, and this brought Hmick
to bat with a redhot argument in its
favor. He wanted THE boys up the
valley to see a duck once in a while
which now they did not do for the rea-
son that the Portland game hog lured
the few ducks there were with bait
and slaughtered them from behind
blinds There was nothing sportsman
like about it, it was simply murder.
The 'God Given Ducks
Vinton thought the boys in the val
ley should have a chance at these God
given ducks. y
Then came the surprise of the day,
for Senator Gill who almost shed tears
the day before over the cruel and
wicked men who killed that noblest of
all birds, the swan and painted a
word picture of the earlier days when
Sauvie' s island was the home of the
majestic bird. but which had been
practically extcrminatcd by ruthless
hunters, who shot them just because
they were fine mark. Gill said he
felt he ought to apologize for the stand
he took, but under the law man
could "lill only 80 in one day Then
there was number of farmers living
on the low lands along the river whose
crops were destroyed by the floods and
who found the money received by
leasing their lands to Portland folks
for game preserves a great help in
meeting the expense of caring for theil
families He thought the bill should
pass, and this despite the fact that he
had just had passed bill restricting
the catch cf fish, in which he ridieuled
the idea of man going home with 4C
| pounds of fish. Yet 80 ducks woult
weigh nearly 100 pounds.
LA fOlkeCUe 4ued.
LaFollettc said these low land farm
ers would do better to raise cranber
ries. He bought fine gun thirty
years ago and for years now it ha6
hung rusting ON the wall because there
was nothing left to shoot. 'lf you
don t pass this bill -, he said "we will
pass law stopping you fellows killing
our pheasants and then when YOU kill
off all the ducks you will have tC
quit"
Then Senator Gill took another stall
at the argument and drew pathetic
picture of the poor ducks, which il
they were not fed and shot would gel
frozen in the lakes and starve to death
which was worse than being shot by q
Portland hunter, or words to that