The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1933-11-09
OREGON GETS
FEDERAL COIN
MINUS STRING
Washington Gets Loan Only !;
Judge Rules Valuations Be
Raised; Occupation Tax is
Hitting Too Hard
(Jimmie K. Brown)

drag nome Cne UdCoA 1ISS "a
charge to the taxpayers of Oregon.
while Senator Clarence C. Dill,
a democrat, who sitteth on the
right hand of President Roosevelt
bring home the "bacon" but with q
string attached which requires
that Washington people Ultimate
" pay, and pay with interest?
These are questions which unof-
fetal Olympia is now specializing
about.
The Coulee Dam project, which
is to receive $63,000,00O from the
federal government, when and aft
er the state has made an agree
ment to pay at least 70 percent of
it back, plus interest, is Senator
Dilps pet. -
There has been considerable
ballyhoo about the project. It is
a great piece of development work
without doubt, and some time the
state will need it, possibly before
construction is completed.
That is outside Of the picture.
What is wanted now is an answer
to the question, "Why? ?"
Bonneville Dam on the lower
Columbia will cost $31, 200, 900.
This money is now available. It
comes from the Army rivers and
harbor appropriations. Oregon
pays nothing, has nothing to pay
for, and gets the project complet-
ed at federal cost.
Senator McNary gets his dam,
provides employment, sees that
millions roll into Oregon, and the
state is not called upon to make
any agreements, contracts, or as
sumo any additional burdens.
On this side of the line Coulee
Dam has been given some federal
money. The state has advanced
$75O,OO0 from it's motor vehicle
funds through the $10,000,000
bond issue. State engineers do
most of the preliminary work.
Then the state must ultimately
bond tself to repay 20 percent Of
the required $63, 100000 Uncle
Sam will advance. (
In addition to this, the state as
sumes considerable of the original
carrying charges, whereas on the
Bonneville, the engineering work
is all done by the United States
army engineers.
Yet in the final analysis both
projects are primarily to develop
power. Both are called Flooding
controll' measures.
Recently reports from Washing
ton, D. C. were to the effect that
Senator Dill was trying to have
the government take over the Cou-
lee project and finance it entirely
as a federal job, just as the War
Department is handling the Bon
neville Dam, but it now appears as
if Senator McNary was two jumps
to the good of Senator Dill.
Senator Dill has the required
political support in this state
among the farmers, but when COM
pared to Senator McNary he ap-
parently does not rate as high as
farmer man" as does the Ore
gon solon.
= The Democrats naturally feel
that in McNary they have man
whom they should encourage be-
caunse of the famous McNary-
Haugen farm relief measures the
farmers demanded year after year
and which was finally enacted. In
fact both major political parties !
kept the name McNary before the
people Of the nation, especially be-
fore the agrarians, for years until
it has become by word among the |
farmers. E.
1t is this that the Democrats are
catering too. Also Senator Nc
Nary has never been a candidate |
Tor national political honors and
his name has been kept out of that |
picture.
Hence he has not made any
strong enemies in his own party.
The great Coulee Dam project |
IS about the only thing in sight |,
during the coming winter which |
will provide jobs for needy tax |
payers. For this reason if nothing |
else, it will be much better to keep
men at work on the project than |
nave them scattered around over
the state drawing direct relief.
The construction of the dam
Will provide plenty of work all |
down the line and the entire state |
Will benefit. The same is true of |
the Bonneville project, so that in
the final analysis, it is probably |
TOT the best, yet it rankles to find
tnis state forced to carry burden |
upon future generations to get the