1871-1900 Yaquina Head Lighthouse Letter books

United States Senate Washington, D.C. April 27, 1907.

Hon. Oscar S. Straus, Secretary of Commerce and Labor, Washington, D.C.

My dear Mr. Secretary:

As I informed you in a letter dated March 4th, 1907, Mr. B.F. Jones, a prominent attorney of Independence, Oregon, is desirous of securing permission to occupy about half and acre of the beach of the Government Light House Reservation at Newport, Oregon, officially known, I believe, as the Yaquina Light House Reservation. He desires to erect at this point a shoot-the-chutes, for the benefit of summer visitors at the nearby resort. Mr. Jones does not wish to secure any permanent rights on the Reservation, but merely wants a temporary privilege, agreeing to remove the chute whenever requested to do so by your Department.

I have a good deal of correspondence in regard to this matter and up to the present time have met with no success. In order that you may understand exactly what has been done, I will give you the case briefly.

I made a personal request of you, as above stated, on March 4th, 1907. Under date of March 8th, Assistant Secretary Murray advised me that this Reservation had been transferred in 1888 to the War Department for its use until needed by the Light House Board. He stated that the Department of Commerce was

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United States Senate. Washington, D.C.

April 27, 1907.

Hon. Oscar S. Straus,

Secretary of Commerce and Labor,

Washington, D. C.

My dear Mr. Secretary:

As I am informed in a letter dated March 4th, 1907, Mr. B.F. Jones, a prominent attorney of Independence, Oregon, is desirous of securing permission to occupy about half an acre of the beach of the Government Light-House Reservation at Newport, Oregon, officially know, I believe, as the Yaquina Light-House Reservation. He desires to erect at this point a shoot-the chutes, for the benefit of summer visitors at the nearby resort. Mr. Jones does not wish to secure any permanent rights on the Reservation, but merely wants a temporary privilege, agreeing to remove the chute whenever requested to do so by your Department.

I have had a good deal of correspondence in regard to this matter and up to the present time have met with no success. In order that you may understand exactly what has been done, I will give you the case briefly.

I made a personal request of you, as above stated, on March 4th, 1907. Under date of March 8th, Assistant Secretary Murray advised me that this Reservation had been transferred in 1888 to the War Department for its use until needed by the Light-House Board. He stated that the Department of Commerce was therefore unable to grant the request.

I then addressed a letter to the Secretary of War,

The Shoreham, Washington, D.C., March 4, 1907.

Hon. Oscar S. Straus, Secretary of Commerce and Labor, Washington, D.C.

Sir:

I am today in receipt of a letter from Mr. B.F. Jones, a reputable attorney of Independence, Oregon, in which he says:

"I am anxious to secure the right to use about half an acre of the beach at Newport, Oregon, on the Government Light House Reservation. The ground I wish to use is the sand beach fronting the Bay from the old light house. This is a sand dune, and never used for any purpose. There is a bluff behind it about 100 feet high, and the beach is not used by the Government nor the public. The life saving station is located near by.

I wish to secure the right to use this portion of the beach for the purpose of erecting a "shoot the chutes" similar to those at other summer resorts. I wish, also, to have permission to erect a building at the bluff or on it, in front of the sand dune. It would not in any way damage the government property."

I am personally familiar with the vicinity which Mr. Jones desires to occupy, and feel confident that this request might be complied with without in any way infringing upon the preserves actually utilized by the men of the Life Saving Station.

I would esteem it a personal favor if you would have this request properly investigated, and authority granted, provided the result of your investigation will justify such action. I inclose herewith map of the locality. Awaiting your reply, I am,

Very respectfully,

Jonathan Bourne

Senator-elect from Oregon.