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About St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 1911)
Ulsfot-Ic.il Society ST. Johns review 'I" IPS NUW, Ur IU YUU . GET IN THE HABIT Ot (drertltlos In THIS Paper and you'll oarer regret It, De (In it once and keep rlbt at It Ttftubtcrlbe lot TIII9 Paper Alt the new white II l newi li our motto,, Cell In unit enroll HMI Devoted to tbe Interest ot the Penlniulu, the Manufacturing Center o! the Northwest VOI,. 7 ST. JOHNS, OREGON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 20. 191 1. NO. 11 More on Salary Question Council Should Act Objects to Its Use A Main Thoroughfare Means Much For St. Johns Innocents (?) Doing Fine Council Meeting Ed. Review 1 Noting In lost Wednesday's Telegram -'that one who signed her name "Georgia Lewis" of Portland takes up the cudgel in favoring n raise in the teachers' "salaries in St. Johns, would beg space for a few lines in reply. In the first place this lady with the Southern name starts out by saying that "teachers are born, nof ,tt)adc. There arc numerous women teaching school who might do1 better scrubbing floors." That is . where the great trouble comes In. It Is-the scrub-women teachers that drag down the salaries of the hcavcti-madc oucs. The former want just as 'high salaries as the latter, atld arc generally the first' oucs to ask for a raise. The "scrubby" ones arc ever a mill stone upon the necks of the heaven sent ones. It is often difficult to pick the wheat from the chaff even among school teachers, hence, the apparent unjustucsH in the wage scale of teachers. The poor ones get some of the salary that right fully belongs to the good pnes. Mrs. Lewis claims she is not a teacher, but a widow who has eurned her living for 15 years. For some unaccountable reason she has taken a warm interest in the teacher-salary question in St. Johns. That she has passed through some trying experiences in life, the fol lowing quotation will attest: "Mr, Equity ulso score the teach -ts because they do not care to live In St. Johns. Now, Is it reasonable to expect any woman of refinement, education and culture, such as the first-class teacher, to live in u house that Is ill-furnished, Ill-kept mid vermin Infested; where she must sit down to 11 table covered with a dingy red cloth, stained with yesterduy's eggs and last night's coffee, flics in the butter and cat-hairs In the soup; the man ofthe house recking with perspira tion, sits down to the table in his overalls, swills his tea, shovels in his food with his knife and wipes his. month on his shirt-sleeves; his wife presides in a greasy "mother hiibbard" and curl papers; two or three sticky, lll-manticred children and a mangy deg complete the picture Am I exaggerating? I think not, for I know that the small towns of Oregon and Wash ington present hundreds of houses and even hotels that answer the description I have given. I have seen theui myself." Isn't she to be pitied? To think that she has visited herself, indi vidually and collectively, ' 'hundreds of houses and even hotels that answer the description that I have given." No wonder her soul Is obscessed in nausea and disgust at the thought of a well groomed lady teacher having to submit to such conditions. How abhorrent the "smell of a working man" must be to her soul, and in what lowly sur roundings her life must have been at times cast. These conditions, however, do not obtqin in St. Johns. They may In Arkansas, Tennessee and Georgia, but not here. Mrs. Lewis is judging St, Johns from a too lowly and un couth basis. I believe the majority of homes in this city are just os cleanly, os comfortable and free from vulgarity and crude table manners as Is Mrs. Lewis' or is the home of the great majority of lady teachers In St. Johns. Mrs. Lewis gives on Inkling of the kiud of men with whom she 'has been associated or came in con tact with by stating; "I suppose it is all right for a man to speud I30 a year for tobacco and whiskey, and what man does not spend $30, nay, twice, thrice $30. for whiskey, beer, tobacco and cigars?" The faqt is that few, very few working men cap afford that much for the delicacies mentioned. vMrs. Lewis terms the 20 per ccut Increase asked as "meagre," If meagre, why ask it? Why not ask for something worth while? ' Equity. Evangelistic Meetings : State Evangelist Gregg of ethe Christian Church began a series of meetings in the tabernacle ou New York street, last Sunday which are be2ng well attended and are proving of iuterest to all. Touight tbe speaker's theme is "The Life of Christ", which he illustrates with lantern handled by an expert and will be particularly interesting. All are cordially invited to. attend all these meetings. No collections taken except at the regular Sunday evening meeting. C. C. Oihus has again been elected chief of the fire department. Chris makes a "goodner." Editor Review: I would like to revert to and discuss to some extent that subject which is by this time rather painful to some annexation. The question has been raised as to the legality of the November vote taken upon the issue, and it seems that good grounds for this objection have been taken. Now, whether or not the city council shall take the matter up and have it decided by the courts is getting to be a bone of contention and I believe the members of the council, with two exceptions, arc undecided as to what they should do in the Premi ses. That the annexationists do not want the vote attacked ou the part of any otic can readily be con ceived. They would much rather have the question lie dormant until too late to object that is, some of them are of this frame of mind. Others believe in fair plav, a square deal and justice. To them a de cision of the courts has no terrors. They would much rather be right than be part of Portland. If the vote is illegal, they want to know It, and have the wrong righted in the proper way. The faction that was out to win by hook or crook, led by a city official, who was sworn to uphold the city govern ment instead of placing it in jeop ardy ami attempting to destroy it, arc afraid of a decision of the courts. They KNOW the vote was unfair, illegal and should not stand. Everything was kept as secret as possible. No notice of election was given and the voter was left in the dark unless he favored dissolution of the city of St. Johns. The election boards ex ceeded their authority when they in any way handled the annexation votes. They were absolutely unlii- structcd as to these ballots and were not paid for counting them, Names were forged on the petitions, unlawful and criminal circulars were issued to delude voters, the Portland council was misinformed as to the sentiment prevailing here, and all manner of false and mis leading statements were ina'dc to influence the gullible and "lusky" voters. Whether the leaders were paid for their efforts has not come to the surface yet, but sure it is that some of them raised enough money to remove from St. Johns immediately following election, after preaching that St. Johns would become ideal by annexation. It was well known that Portland has long wanted St. Johns, and that some money was spent to influ -euce the election docs not seem unreasonable. Hut what shall council do about it? After looking into the 'situa tion carefully, it does not seem that a monstrous wrong would be com mitted if the council asked the courts to decide the question. Of course it would be as Dead Sea fruit to one official at least, but why not force the issue in spite of this fact? If the annexationists were in the wrong as to mode of procedure, and this fact has been made quite plain by Mr. Perkins, it is not more than right that they should help pay for a decision of the courts. Had they followed the law instead of attempt ing to evade and dodge it iu regard to procedure, the question of its legality could not have been raised. Therefore, it is their place to help "pay the piper" iu correcting a mistake made by them, and by no one else. And why should not council be the party to have the question decided? A private clti zeu could ill afford to take the mat ter into the courts. Then, It is more vital to the city government thau to anything or any one else. The city government was entirely ignored when the annexation ques tion was hurried through. Let it now show that It has somethlug to say as to whether it shall be dis solved or destroyed without its knowledge or consent. Certaiuly, council should have the matter de cided and decided soon. The peo ple look to it for guidance and to be set aright upon any question affecting city affairs. If the city officials do not know about this most momentous question, they- are open to censure for not knowing, since It is in their power to find out. Of course a howl will go up from some of the "hook or crook" fellows with their perverted sense of justice, but the great majority would commend the action. All right thinking people want to know the truth. Men with little souls are afraid of the truth. The peo ple want to know, and it is up to the city council to advise them after it has been advised itself by the courts. Justice. For Rent A large six room house, newly kalsomined, close in, on South Jersey street: $12 a month. I Call Columbia 297. 9 Editor Review: . Winding along on the cast banks of the Willamette river, from Portland to St. Johns, is the Willamette Boulevard; grace fully curving, It parallels the river, and from it one has a beautiful view, making it one of the most magnificent drives to be found any where. Now, there arc rumors that a street car company is contemplating laying its tracks on the boulevard, a 11 J is about to apply for n fran chise to operate its cars ou the same. By all means, let us welcome street cars to our city; but let us require them to cuter the city over OTiutK than the most scenic route of all. Across country cut, or any ordinary road, will just as well answer their purpose which Is one of commercialism and let us pre serve and conserve the beauty of the boulevard by denying to any ruilroad company the right to run, a streetcar useful but uot beautiful on this street. If we cannot be original in this matter, we can at least follow the example of many other places, Chicago, for instance, and its Lake Shore Drive; or Milwaukee, Wis., and its Prospect Avenue. In these cities streetcars arc relegated to the side streets, and the scenic Lake Shore Drives reserved for pedes trians, carriages and atttos. Even heavy teaming is not allowed on them, Let us endeavor to create a pub lic sentiment against cars on the bou levard, and require our representa tives iu the city or county govern ments to vote against such a fran chise. Let us conserve and pre serve these gifts of Nature and enjoy the beauty of tree, hill and water which is our common heri tage. And further, we arc wise hi our day nud generation, if we exact adequate toll for franchises granted. l'oir play. Deserves Commendation The Electric Theatre of St. Johns deserves commendation as to the class of pictures it runs and the character of. its entertainments This was shown by the advertising campaign and entertainment just closed by them through the assist ance of Mr. II. W. Whitacre, a professional lecturer, which was high grade, greatly Interesting and elevating beyond the average. Mr. Whitacre lectured to packed' houses each night. The last two nights people were turned away, which showed the appreciation of the public. Mr. Whitacre has gained a host of friends! here by his above board methods and will be welcomed liy the people upon his return to St. Johns. The success of this enter tainment was greatly nssisted Uy the new manager, Mr. Ole Nelson, who Is well known to our people. Rebekahs Install Although there was a regular 'down east" snow storm raging, a large crowd of Rebekahs turned out to see the installation of the offi cers of Laurelwood Rcbekah lodge Wednesday night of last week, when Mrs. Hattie E. McKlnney, District Deputy President, Installed the following: , Anna Glover Noble Grand, Mary Cheney Vice Grand. Alda Overstreet Recording Sec retary. Effa Beam Financial Secretary. Cora E. Merrill Treasurer. Susie Davis Wardeu. Maytne Monahau Conductor. Cyutha Hewitt R. S. N. G. Ada Holcomb L. S. N. G. Emma Bredeen -R. S. V. G. Daisy Harrington L. S.V. G. Florence Grey Inside Guardian. Gilbert Ward Outside Guardian. Matilda Hill Chaplain. United States engineers have offi cially approved the project for a 30 foot channel to the sea from Portland and they have recom mended an appropriation of $520, 000 for starting the work. The officials contemplate the dredging and maintenance of a channel 30 feet deep and 300 wide. This will be far easier, it is believed, than was the original improvement of the river, which has been deepened from 17 to 27 feet at low tide. The St. Johns Cleaning, Press ing & Dye Works have moved their establishment from South Jersey street and will occupy the building vacated by the Fashion Pressing Parlor on West Philadelphia street. 'What will be the permanent north-south main thoroughfare of communication ou the East Side between the bridges and the Pcnln sula and the Columbia River? A multitude of property owners and prospective investors would pay well for the information, if brought with a satisfactory brand of authen ticity. If some one with a guiding thought can come forward with sufficient assurance and persuade property owners along any given street to widen it Into a great boule vard, he will be hailed ns a bene factor by the ones bordering that highway. While Civic Architect Bennett is working out the trunk Hues of communication for the future great Portland, it is expected he will make definite recommendation about a boulevard through thlH tremendous region, which in an other few years will become n hive of habitations and business. But what he intends to' suggest cannot be fathomed now. Men desiring to get a business location on lhc main thoroughfare of communication arc kept speculating. These men be lieve the time is near when a solid belt of business establishments will reach from central East Portland to Packiugtou and the lower Penin sula. Anyone desiring to erect 0 permanent establishment ou this route Is forced to make a tentative selection, which is uot conducive to permanency of construction. Union nvcuuc has gained complete ascendency through its splendid pavement, out so far ns killings worth nvcuuc at least, but beyond that the guessing is rampant again. Widening one general course to the needs of future teriods nud trtna- ueutly fixing it as the main artery of communication would cause one of the strongest realty flurries wit nessed iu the city since advent of the North Bank road. Portland Daily. Treatment of Pavements They took a little gravel And they took a little tar With various ingredients Imported from nfar; They hammered it and rolled It, And when they went away They said they had a pavement That would last for many a day. But they came back with picks nud smote it To lay a water main; And then they called the work men To put it back again, Just where It was before. They took it up for conduit To run the telephone; And then they put It back again As hard as any stone. They took it up for wires To feed the Mectric light, Aud then they put it back again, Which was no more thau right. Oh, the pavement's full of furrows, There are patches everywhere; You'd like to ride upon it, But it's seldom that you dare. It's a very handsome pavement, A credit to the town; They's always diggln' of it up Or puttin' of it down. Washington Star. At the Stock Yards Receipts for the week have been 2296 cattle, 82 calves, 1263 hogs, 2893 sheep and 99. horses and mules. Under the influence of in creased cattle receipts prices eased off a quarter to fifty cents from the high point of the week before. The unusual prices of the week before were not representative of the in trinsic worth of cattle, but were the result of unusual scarcity. The market is still high, being 50 cents to 75 cents higher than Chicago and 4i, 00 higher thau Omaha for same quality of cattle. The hog market was characterized by liberal receipts from Oregou points. The quality was good and prices eased off 10 cents to 15 cents toward the end of the week with the best sell ing at $8,90 to 9 cents. The estab lishment of a central horse market has been undertaken at the Port land Union Stock Yards and buyers aud sellers of horses throughout the country will be gratified to know that there Is a basing point or establishing prfces iu anything in the horse and mule lint. D. O. Lively, General Ageut. The green grass' and foliage is again in evidence. It takes more thau a little snow storm .to kill it. Satisfaction seems to be the key note of the comments iu St. Johns with regard to developments In the Mr. Hnrwl rnllumv tirnirrt. hi sr (sir ..... . .. 1 -j 1 --- ua liivy utivi litttk wu, aa& uiv Portland Journal. Ground has been broken and building operations begun for the erection of a power house of the most modern design, which it is estimated will cost close to $200,000 by the time that the traction nud light units arc installed. The site selected by the company is immediately south of the present dry dock, nud apart from the ulti mate benefit to the city from having so" great a reserve electric power within its boundaries, the active building operations will afford Im mediate employment to a considera ble number of skilled artisans and laborers. That the Mt. Hood company will put forward n bid for lighting the city nud will supply power In the district is considered certain. In view of the present car service nud equipment, an alternative route to Portland would be heartily wel comed by the St. Johns public. The announcement last week by an official of the Weyerhaeuser com pany that the long awaited mam moth sawmill is to assume material form during the coming summer, is likely to prove a prelude to the erection of extensive workshops, a dry dock, repair shops nud car building factories for the Hill sys tem in close proximity, for the statement that Hill holds n valua ble if uot a controlling interest iu the Weyerhaeuser trnct has never been contradicted aud officials of the Hill system have made no secret during visits to St. Johns of the intention of the company to erect 11 series of shops nud fotin darles iu the vicinity. With the Hill interests undeniably backing the Mt. Hood project and a large reserve electi ic power within easy access, the natural sequence will be the construction of mi electric Hue to give the workmen employed iu these shops transportation facilities to the Hill lines nt East St. Johns depot aud thence as far as the Swift l'ucktng plant would give the city of St. Johns a Vast asset. The route outlined would top nil the warehouses aud the growing manufacturing concerns along the waterfront nud would give residents of East St. Johns an opportunity of reaching the retail center of St. Johns without undergoing their present trials of n two mile trip along a quagmire road, or a journey to the heart of their own city by way of Portland, a distance of about 15 tulles. The extension of trackage to the Swift Packing plant would enable the many employes engaged there to do their weekly marketing in St. Johns without the necessity of negotiating a two mile tramp over trestle uud tie, and would give the railway system easy access for their passengers to Van couver, extending thence to Seattle and northern points. The entrance into Portland has already been de cided by way of the Broadway bridge, aud though the route over which the cars will leave St. Johns is still a matter of conjecture, sev eral prominent citizens acknowledge that they have received assurance that an application for a franchise to operate street cars within the city limits will be made to the council in a few weeks and that the route the new line will take will be the most natural line of communica tion between Portland and St, Johns, namely by way of Willam ette boulevard. Two distinct sur vey parties have during the last ten days been busy In this vicinity. The adoption of the boulevard has been for many years publicly advanced by uninterested residents, believing that the utilizing of the road, the only 100 foot street in Portland, would create an attractive scenic highway. The county re cently transferred to the city such part of the boulevard as lay within Us boundaries, and they have more than once told the council of St. Johns that they are prepared to baud over the St. Johns section as soon as the council is prepared to accept it. The reason that the Portland council agreed to take over aud maintain its portion of the boulevard is considered undeniably due to the receipt of tentative pro posals for a street car franchise, aud there is little doubt that the Hill interests, acting through some intermediary, were the power that formulated this proposal. That events towards such a com peting car service have moved rap idly duriug the last few weeks is patent aud in view of the active preliminary work that is being carried out, important developments are expected iu the immediate future, Uo a BOOSTER for St. Johns. A special dispatch from the chief of the Juvenile Department of Chi cago to certain parties iu St. Johns states that the "Webfoot Twins", R. W. McKcon nud Paschal Hill, sent by the Jersey street property owners to that city at the expense of Wcstrtunitc to Investigate the hard surface conditions, arc getting along as well as could be expected. They both retire regularly at 8:30 p. 111., and for mutual protection against invisible foes, occupy the same bed with the gas burning full blast until daybreak. Early each morning, armed with a kettle of boiling water, broom aud magnify ing glass they start out upon the streets. One pours the hot water upon the street In places every few yards apart to melt the snow, while the other with broom nud glass dil igently inspects the hard surface for crevices, flaws aud other irreg ularities. Teamsters and others have been making considerable com plaint about the oasis at intervals on the streets, but when Informed that they were made in the interest of science and for the good of St. Johns, their mtittcrings ceased. The chief states that outside of red noses nud watery eyes, caused by the fresh breeze off the lake, the boys arc lit good health. Ninety seven miles of hard surface have so far been minutely inspected, and ns there remains only about 200 more miles to go over, the lads may be expected home iu a few days with n voluminous and unprecedented report. The mayor of Chicago Is making arrangements to banquet them iu royal style on the eve of departure. The city feels that it is honored by the visit to n far greater degree than when the president was n guest of the municipality. The boys have swollen with the respon sibility of their position to such an extent that their overcoats which they took with them now just fit them nicely as vests. Their many friends here have reason to feel proud of their emissaries, and It is proposed to greet their return with a huge barbecue aud several brass bauds. Vandermeer Dead Else Vandermeer, aged 48 years, a prominent real estutc dealer of Sellwood, droped dead into the arms of Paul Lancy, this morning at the corner of Thirteenth street aud Spokane avenue, just after leaving a drugstore, where he had gone to purchase n cold cure. Van dermeer was on his way to Vander meer Park, an addition to Sellwood which he owns, with Lancy, a pro !cctivc purchuser, when he stum bled forward in the man's arms. He was removed to a nearby store nud Dr. Grim was called, but Van dermeer was dead before lie arrived. The coroner took the body iu charge. A widow, from whom Vander meer had separated, aud four children survive. The family home Is at 1604 East Eleventh street. Vandermeer was reputed to be wealthy. He was of German de scent aud had made his home iu Sellwood for some time. Telegram, For several years Mr. Vander meer was a well known citizen of St. Johns, He came here when St. Johns was just coming into promi nence. Coming here with practi cally only "a pack on his back," iu three years time by judicious invest ments iu real estate when the price was low, he cleaned up about $35, 000. Van had many old acquaint ances here who will regret to learn of his sudden death. It is claimed by those who pro fess to know that a large saw mill will be erected on Columbia Slough by the Pitchless Lumber company as soon as McCrum avenue is im proved. The large mill owned by this company near Vancouver was burned to the ground last year, and instead of rebuilding ou the old site, the mill will be erected nearer their present plant on the peninsula. A resolution to improve McCruin ave nue was adopted by the council Tuesday night, which will provide an egress to the slough. The new railroads up the De schutes River into interior Oregon are going forward at a rapid rate and are both practically ready for trains for a distance of 71 miles from the mouth of the river. The Harrimau line expects to reach the 83d milepost by February, leaving 51 miles to be built to Redmond. It is expected this will be accom plished iu May. The Hill road will probably be completed as far as Bend early next summer. Subscribe for the Rertew and be happy. Mayor Hendricks called council to order Tuesday evening, after which he asked to be excused on account of not feeling well. Presi dent of Council Davis then took the mayoralty chair. All members were present. A petition for the Improvement of Buchanan street from . Dawson to I'essctiden by grade, 6 foot cement walks aud macadam was received and n resolution adopted directing the engineer to prepare tuc necessary data for such improve ment. A petition for the improvement of Charleston street from Hudson to the county road was also received and was accorded the same treat ment. A trctitlou for the Improvement of McCrum nvcuuc from the 0. R. & N. track to the Columbia Slough was likewise received, nnd n reso lution providing for said improve ment was adopted. A protest was received front W. S. Lumbers regarding the con dition of the Burlington street sewer, claiming there is too much dirt left lying upon the ground, was turned over to the street committee. A communication from E. Du- rand, census manipulator, giving the official census of the city ns 4872 was received and ordered hied. Attorney Fisher nud Chief En gineer Smith of the Mount Hood Light & Power Co. presented n pro posed franchise for using Ihestrcets and byways of St. Johns for erect- tig poles, etc., for the transmission of power to this city. Mr. Smith stated that their plant near the dry dock would be completed by May first and that their immense ter minals would be erected somewhere upon the peninsula, prcsumqbly iu or near bt. joltus; tliat 05,000 horse txnvcr would be eventually developed. President Davis asked concerning their plans In regard to a trolley line to bt. Johns, nud Mr. Smith intimated that such a thing would not be improbable, yet was loath to give any definite informa tion. He stated that their plans were not fully matured, but their Hue would undoubtedly be extended sooner or later. The franchise re ceived first reading nud then' was turned over to the city attorney for investigation. The city f offered two per cent of the gros earnings anil power at a low nite. It will 110 dotiht receive sucoud reading next week nud publication be ordered. Bills to the amount of $108.20 were nllowcd. Upon request of Councilman Downey an arc light was ordured Installed at the corner of Jersey street and Maple avenue. An ordinance assessing the cost of the Jersey street walk from Chi cago to Burlington btreet was passed. A proposition that the bt. JoliiiK Lumber Co. purchase the saiuy width of ground cast of Bradford street in lieu of that now occupied by them on that street aroused the ire of Mr. Downey. He Mated that it was only a subterfuge to get out of vacating the street aud vehe mently vociferated that if council would consider such a proposition for a minute they were utterly de void of backbone. Coasting Accident Miss Lucllte Whelan met with n painful accident Thursday evening of last week while coasting with 11 party of yotiug folks ou the But ling ton hill. The coaster upon which Miss Whelan was seated ran into n dog, overturning the sled aud throw ing the occupants off. Miss Whelan fell upon her head, iutlictiug a bad laceration of the scalp. She was taken to the residence of K. C. Couch, and Dr. Vincent was sum moned. Half o dozen stitches were necessary to draw the wound to gether. She is now getting along iu fine style. The other occupants of the sled escaped without injury, with the exception ot Dr. bcott, who is nursiug a game leg. He says he was on his way home ami was induced to matce tue trip on the bob. With the aid of a good sized shelalah he has been able to hobble around in fairly good style ever siuce. He feels that it is quite an honor to be temporarily crippled iu a coasting accident in bt. Johns. The opportunities lire so rare. For fashionable dressmaking and tailoring, call upon Mrs. Lunu, 10S North Fessenden, corner Charier- ton. Also day work and general housework wanted by party at same address. 14P Work for Qretter Bt. John.