Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-02-09
KERR MACHINE is ACTIVE

D. c. Howard county agricultural agent Of Columbia
county, sends copy of the resolutions passed by
Columbia County Pomona Grange at their recent session
These resolutions published elsewhere in this ISSUE
euogze Kerr Of the A. Co., and endorse the salary grab
recentv put through in his interest In his letter trans
mitting these resolutions Mr.. Howard says:
Enclosed copy of resolution passed by the Column
bia County Pomona Grange at its meeting February 3D.
The recent action of the Marion County Grange caused
some very hot discussion and its action comes far from
meeting the approval Of the Columbia County farmers
The inclosed resolution passed by unanimous vote
No doubt the resolutions passed as reported and
it is quite likely that Mr.. Howard inspired them AS
county agrcuturist he is part OF the Kerr machine and
more interested in advancing the interests OF that organ
izaton than looking after the welfare of the farmers OF
Columbia county
In this Kerr matter only the Capital Journal and half
dozen other papers in the state have devoted any space
to the exposure Of the fraud The Portland papers and
many Others caught by the press agents OF the Kerr ma
chine unwttngy otherwise helped to put the fraud
through, and when the exposure came were IN an en-
barrassing position They have accordingly kept quiet IN
the hope of locazng the exposure to the parts OF the
state in which the Capital Journal and few other papers
carrying the circulates The Kerr machine
worked the end in the hope that the scandal would
die out.
The Columbia county grange knew little of the Kerr
salary grab except the version given them by the county
agricultural agent hence the resolutions Several other
oranges have been taen in in the same way by the Kerr
workers.
But afr all resolutions endorsing Kerr amount to lit
tie They do not blot out the fact that the head of great
people of Oregon
The statement was published broad cast that the state
of Kansas was positively offering Kerr $4,000 year to
head its agricultural college The Oregonan and many
other papers printed this statement and plead with the
O. A. c. board of regents keep Kerr here if it was
necessary increase his salary Kerr kept SILENT thus
endorsing the story of the Kansas offer His salary was
raised from $1,000 to $8400 consequence-and he is
still with us.
Now the fact has been established that no offer of any
kind was ever made to Mr. Kerr from Kansas That state
pays its agricultural college president $650O and have
not reached decision to raise the salary to $900O the
Kerr boosters reported Kerr considered
or discussed for the place Governor Capper chairman
of the board of control says the Kerr story pipe
ream Former Governor Hoch, vce-chairman, says no
Her Of any kind made Kerr and that his name
was considered.
These are the facts in the Does it charge them
in the least the Columbia county grangers who do not
know the facts pass resolutions endorsing the machine
ttat played the people of Oregon for suckers?
These agricultural agents and other saared emsares
of the Kerr machine the state saying that this
posure is fight the Oregon Agricultural College. That
lie is as dirty as the falsehood they imported from
Kansas for the purpose of raising Kerrs salary. 1t is
flight rather to make the college strong and useful and
clean 1t will deteriorae and its value to the state will be
impaired if Kerr remains at the head because the people
Oregon no matter how many resolutions are passed
favorng it, will not send their boys and girls there to be
educated in atmosphere of fraud and graft Every
man and woman who know the facts and the truth,
will gradually pemae the state the state in spite of the