Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 26.djvu/357

Rh of Oregon to form a constitution and state government, and for the admission of such state into the Union."

While the local measure for the formation of a state Constitution was under consideration, the Oregonian objected that the state, if formed, would be small and weak, with insufficient population and property to support the necessary expense. It said that those in favor of statehood assume that the population will be 65,000 and the taxable property as much as fifty-three millions by the time the state is established, and argue that the total expense of state government will not exceed $50,000 per year, which could be paid by a poll tax of one dollar for each inhabitant, whereas, the actual fact was that in 1850 the total population was but 13,000, and the taxable property but $8,000,000. Not more than one in seven are taxpayers and personal property alone pays taxes. The burden, therefore, would fall upon farmers, merchants and mechanics. We have as yet no public buildings at the seat of government, and there are few county court houses, jails or roads. Under state government all these would have to be borne by local tax instead of being furnished by federal appropriations, and besides this the state government would cost the people not less than $150,000 per year. It was claimed that the proposal was advocated by democrats for the advance of their party leaders.

The Statesman favored holding a convention to form the state Constitution, saying that it would be at least two and a half years before Oregon could be admitted as a state, and in the meantime the population would have reached 80,000. It urged that this was the way to get needed harbor improvements, lighthouses and railroads.

The Statesman in announcing the unfavorable result of the election said: "The vote in Jackson County was