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About The Aurora borealis. (Aurora, Or.) 19??-1909 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1900)
GLOOM SB Of F F eara Coming Session at Salem Will Be Important Affair. W IL L D IS C U S S STATE F A IR S F r a it g r o w e r g , S to c k m e n , H o p g r o w e r s a n d H o r t ic u ltu r is t s W i l l B e P re s e n t a t T h is I m p o r t a n t S le e tin g . Salem, Or., Jan. 29.— The farmers’ congress to be held in Salem February 7. and 8 w ill probably be the most im* portant meeting of the kind ever held in this state. The gathering w ill be of more that state importance, for thé agricultural interests of California, Washington and Idaho w ill also be represented. 11 w ill be more than a meeting of farmers, as that term is generally understood, for fruitgrowers, stockmen, hopgrow- ■ers, horticulturists, in fact, men of al] occupations related to agriculture, will be present. The congress is intended to comprehend all the departments oi the diversified agricultural industrie« o f the coast, and it is expected that f permanent organization will be ef fected. This movement was started by tht Salem chamber of commerce, working in unison with the state board of agri culture, and one of the chief objects tc be attained is the arrangement of dates o f the state fairs of Oregon, California, Washington and Idaho so that there w ill be no conflict. By such an ar rangement horsemen and exhibitors w ill be enabled to make the circuit of The coast states each season, and the various fairs w ill be improved accord ingly. Secretary of State Dunbar has offered the use of either of the legisla tive chambers for the congress, and it is expected chat the meetings will be held in one of these spacious halls. The date has been arranged so as to be ■convenient for those who may come from various parts of the state to at tend the meeting of the League of Re publican clubs, to be held in Portland February 6. Secretary II. B. Thielsen, o f the Salem chamber of commerce, has prepared a programme for the con gress and all who attend the sessions •Will be assured a rare treat. MERCHANTS ARE PLEASED. ■Change S a t is fa c t o r y — l'h e y See B e n e fit C om ing- t o B u sin e ss I n t e r e s ts . Chicago, Jan. 29.— George II. Med- ,'hurst, a prominent merchant) of Hong Kong, while in Chicago today, on his w ay to London, said: “ The commercial interests of Hong F.ong look with favor on the American rule of the Philippines. In the past it has been the misfortune of those is lands to have been most wretchedly governed, and in general the conditions which have obtained there have tended to check progress on the part of the people and the development of the un doubtedly great natural resources of those islands. Under the rule of this ■country, all those conditions w ill be changed, the resources of the islands w ill be developed, business w ill ex pand greatly and the policy of this country will make them inviting fields for commercial venture'and enterprise. “ The business interests of Hong Kong will unquestionably be benefited By these changed conditions and in other ways we hail the advent of the United States into the Orient.” IN ENGLAND. T h a t T h e W a r O ffice I s h o ld in g : B ad N ew s. THE ARID REGIONS. I W it h London, Jan. 29.— Seven days oi fighting have leftjthe!§main Boer posi tion intact,®an<l General Buller 706 weaker, according to the official casu alty lists, which seemingly do not in- culde the Spionkop losses, as those last forwarded do not mention General Woodgate’s wounding. England is possessed by a sense of failure, though not a word in criticism of her generals and soldiers is uttered. Not much effort is made to place a hap py construction upon General Buller’s 18 words, tellii^t of the retirement from Spionkop, and there is an nneasy impression abroad that worse news is yet to come. At one of the military clnbs tonight, the statement passed from one person to another that the war office had received an unpleasant supplementary dispatch from General Buller, which was being held up for 12 hours. Spencer Wilkinson, in the Morning Post, writes as follows of the Spionkop losses: ‘ ‘This is a serious matter, and an at tempt will not here be made to m ini mize it, for no greater wrong can be done to our people at home than to mis lead them about the significance of the events of the war. The right way is to tell the truth, as far as we know it .” But the facts from the neighborhood of the Tngela are scantier than ever. The censorship now is simply prohibi tive, and something is wrong with the cables. The break on the east coast lines has been lepaired, but the cable between San Thome and Loanda, on the west coast, is now interrupted. “ More troops!” is the only suggestion here as to the way to break the Boer resistance. Mr. Wilkinson regrets that General Buller has not 20,000 more men, declaring that if they would not make victory certain, his enter prise without them is helpless. The Spectator, dealing with the ne cessity of large additional military pre parations, says: “ It may be that we have yet another cycle of disasters in front of us.” The transport Assaye arrived at. Cape Town last Friday, with 2,127 officers and men. The first portion of the Seventh division is afloat. Hence, with the 10,000 men of this division, and about 9,000 now at sea, it lies in the power of Lord Roberts to reinforce General Buller heavily. This course is advised by several military writers. Although England’ s nerves are se verely tried, her nerve is absolutely un shaken, and probably nothing that can happen in South Africa w ill change in the slightest degree her intentions. She w ill continue to receive bad news, if it comes, with dignity, and w ill maintain her determination to w in at last. D e p a r tm e n t o f C o m m e r c e . Washington. Jan. 29.— The question of establishing a department of the government to be known as the depart ment of commerce, with a cabinet offi cer at its head, has been discussed at considerable length by the senate com mittee on commerce. The discussion was based upon a very complete report on the subject prepared by Senator Nel son. It is proposed to include in the new department a bureau of manufactures, and to transfer from the treasury de partment the life-saving, lighthouse, marine hospital and steamboat inspec tion, service, the bureaus of navigation, immigration, statistics and ooast and geodetic surveys; to transfer from the interior department the commission of railway, the census office and the geo detic survey, and from the state depart P h ilip p in e S c ie n tists. ment the bureau of foreign commerce. San Francisco, Jan. 27.-—Father Jose The department of labor and the fish Algue, director of the Manila observa commission are also placed' under this tory',' the largest of the kind in the supervision. Orient, and his assistant, Father Jose R o b e r t ’ s S a la r y . Olos, have arrived here, en route to Washington, Jan. 29.— The question Washington, with many folios of valu able scientific data, which they hope to of salary and mileage allowed for Mr. have published by the government. Roberts is to be considered by the They have come to America upon the house committee on account. There urgent invitation of President Schur is about $1,000 on mileage, and a like man, of Cornell university, who wav amount for salary, conditionally due president of the Philippine commis Mr. Roberts, but there is some doubt sion, and also by the request of {Gov as to whether those sums should be al ernor-General Otis, of the Philippines. lowed. The attorney-general, on appli Both of them are Spaniards and cation, has refused to pass on the sub Jesuit priests. Father Algue is a ty ject, as it is not in his jurisdiction, an phoon expert, and his companion is an the controller of the treasury has alsc authority on earthquakes. They, bring referred the matter back to the commit The latte*1 body w ill with them besides 12 manuscript vol tee on accounts. umes on scientific subjects, many valu now seek to get at the law in the case and reach a decision. able maps of the Philippine islands. S ix A m e r ic a n s S h o t. El Paso, Jan. 29.— The mail tonight from Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico, brings the news that a report is current there that six Americans, David Cusick, John Eldredge, George Lunt, Charles Burns, Lon Webster and Henry Williams, were shot last week near the foot of the Bacatete mountains, east of Guaymas, by order of General Torres, who is in command of the Mexican troops now operating against the Yaqui Indians in Bacatete range. It is further reported that the matter was brought to the attention of the American consul at Guaymas, but the latter declined to act. It is said the Mexican troops found the Americans in friendly intercourse with the Yaquis, whom the troops have suj- xounded in the range. Some of the Americans are known here, and are prospectors. Americans at Guaymas warn all Americnas to keep away from Yaqui country. I n v e s t ig a t io n o f W a r d n e r T r o u b le s . Washington, Jan. 29.— The house committee on military affairs today agreed to proceed with the* investiga tion of the Idaho labor troubles Febru ary 14, and it was arranged that the governor and auditotr of the state and Major-General Merriam should be asked to appear at that time. Snlzer, of New York, and Lentz, of Ohio, who have been urging the inquiry,, are to furnish the names of additional w it nesses to he examined. • D ia m o n d R o b b e r y in P h ila d e lp h ia . Philadelphia, Jan. 27.— Diamonds valued at $6,000 were stolen from th6 safe in the office ot Joseph K. David son & Son, manufacturing jewelers. That the thief was in possession of the combination is evidenced by the fact that there was not a mark on the safe. Samuel W. Nealy, while temporarily insane, hanged himseif at The Dalles. He was 78 years old. T w e lft h C ensu s W il l S h o w P r e s e n t C o n d it io n a n d V a lu e s o f A g r ic u lt u r e In A r id , S u b -H u m id S e c tio n s . MINES *N° M a y o r C a s h e l T e lls o f t h e R ic h n e s s o f t h e C ap e N om e D is t r ic t . WOOLEN GOODS A C TIV E . ! P r o v e a n E x c e p t io n t o D u lln e s s S h o w n in O th e r D in es. Mayor Cashel, of Nome, tells of its Bradstreet’ s review says: m wonderful riches: Exceptions to the quiet and even When I first came to Nome, on June' dullness shown by the many lines of 27, from Dawson, some men w ere' trade and speculation are found in the working on the beach to see what they! active demand for woolen goods for could get out of it. They worked j next fall’s deliver^, and in the active quietly at first, but pretty soon the j call for iry goods on spring account. news of A the . richness of . the . . beach . g o t! , In the latter direction, prices show out. Business men quit their business Hpeoial strength, and the bulk of the in town and went to the beach to business placed in woolens has been at work. The whole shore became an at an advance of 25 to 40 per cent. In traction. other lines, notable steadiness is shown As regards the gold, there are two, in prices. Weather conditions through and sometimes three, pay streaks. In out the country part of the week have the first the gold, is almost always {,een against trade in seasonable goods, found in a strata of ruby sand, espeo and there is very general complaint of ially when found above bedrock, This large stocks of winter goods in the bed rock is really a false rock, for it hands of this branch of trade. Another consists of a stratum of clay or sand, effect of the usually mild "weather is It varies. I think that below it is that shown in the Northwestern lum another bed rock. ber business. The lack of snow w ill When gold is found on this so-called probably insure a reduction on the cut bed rock it is sometimes deposited with of last year, and this, combined with a sediment of the character of ruby smaller stocks, points to at least a sand, and sometimes otherwise. This maintenance of present lumber quota ruby sand is nothing more than iron. tions. The water runs over the tailings in the Woolen manufacturers-have consti color of blood. The redder it is the tuted an exception to the general quiet. richer the deposit. They opened their order books this I don’ t like to theorize as to where week, and an unusually heavy volume the gold comes from, but the gold is of business is reported to have been re nearly always coarser near the shore corded. Cotton goods are reported in than at the edge of the tundra, giving good demand in nearly all markets, the impression that it comes out of the and the confidence as to spring business sea, because the finest particles are in dry goods and clothing is a notable found deposited at the furthest c point poiui j feafcur6j in sharp contrast, in fact, with from the present surf action, witniu the reports received from retailers as to a radius of two miles on the beach— the present season’ s business in winter- from the spit to the northwest— I wear goods. Scarcity of water is com counted personally, about August 15, plained of as limiting the output of 280 rockers. There were at least two New England cotton mills, which are men to each, and away beyond these reported as backward in deliveries. rockers, below the Indian village for Business failures for the week num seven or eight miles, was an almost ber 252, as compared with 255 last continuous line of men. week, 246 in the week a year ago, 288 Taking it as a conservative average, in 1898, 326 in 1897, and 393 in 1896. I should think 2,500 men were work Canadian failures for the week num ing on the beach between the mouth of ber 39. Snake river and Cripple river. I judge P A C IF I C C O A S T T R A D E . very few men made less than $10 a day, and the average was at least an S e a ttle M a r k e ts . ounce a day, or $16. Onions, new, $1.50 @1.75 per sack. I know personally two men who Lettuce, hothouse, $1.25 took out $13,000 between July 15 and Potatoes, new, $16 @20. October 4, These were Cummings and Beets, per sack, 75 @ 85c. Missouri Bill, and there were other« . Turnips, per sack, 60c. that I know in a short space of time Carrots, per sack, 50c. took out lots of gold. J. W. Logan, a Parsnips, per sack, 75 @ 85c. San Francisco newspaper man, and Cauliflower, 75c @$1 per dozen. three associates, took out $7,000 in 80 Cabbage, native and California, 75c day8 and left the country. They just @$1.00 per 100 pounds. worked one little draw. This is con Apples, $1.25 @ 1.50 per box. servative. Pears, $1.06@1.25 per box. I made myself, under favorable cir Prunes, 60c per box. cumstances, $100 a day for a time. Butter— Creamery, 29c per pound; Any man who went on the beach and dairy, 17@22c; ranch, 34c per pound. would work ten hours a day made big Eggs— 20c. money. Most men didn’t work bard, Cheese— Native. l6e. and in a great many instances they Poultry— 13 @ 14c; dressed, 14 @ 15c. rocked over and lost more than they Hay— Puget Sound timothy, $12.00; saved. The appliances were crude and choice Eastern Washington timothy, the men inexperienced. But after the $18.00@19.00 introduction of copper and silver Com— Whole, $23.00; cracked, $23; plates, better results were obtained. I feed meal, $23. estimate that an average qf 2,000 men Barley— Rolled or ground, per ton, were working on the beach and that $21; whole, $22. they made $1,500 each. This would Flour— Patent, per barrel, $3.25; bring the product up to $2,000,000, blended straights, $3.00; California, and I believe that at the least the pro $3.25; buckwheat flour, $6.00; gra duct was from $1,500,000 to $2,000,- ham, per barrel, $3.80; whole wheat 000*^—They worked nearly thirteen flour, $3.00; rye flour, $3.80@ 4.00. m i l e ^ f this beach. Millstuffs— Bran, per ton, $14.00; shorts, per ton, $16.00. M in es In R o s s la n d S treets. Feed—-Chopped feed, $20.00 per ton; Several promising quartz claims have been located in the streets of middlings, per ton, $20; oil cake meal, Rossland, B. C. A shaft has beeu per ton, $30.00. Fresh Meats— Choice dressed Beef sunk to a ledge uncovered by a street 3teers, 4 M @ 5 c; cows, 4 @ 4 % c ; pork, grade at First avenue and St. Pan] street and a shaft in fine ledge matter 4 Me; trimmed, 6 Me; veal, small, 6c; large, 4c. has been sank on the Paris Belle on Hams— Large, 13c; small, 13 Ml Butte street, and as good croppings as breakfast bacon, 12 Me; dry salt sides, have ever been found in the camp were recently discovered in a basement of a 3c. The preliminary work of the census office in collecting data relative to the arid and sub-humid regions shows that during the past 10 yeais vast areas have been reclaimed by irrigation, both by ditching from running streams and drilling for subterranean waters. Where only a few years ago the sage brush struggled for existence in the midst of a waste of alkali and sand, today are fields of waving grain and blossoming orange-groves. Hundreds of miles of oanals and ditches have been constructed; hundreds of wells have been sunk, and thousands of acres of land have been cultivated in zones where once the desolation of Sahara reigned. Moistened by fresh waters and fertil ized by the rich silt of the swift moun tain streams, once trackless wastes and desolate valleys in the arid Southwest, have become as fertile as the famous valley of the Nile, and send forth crops of endless variety and exceeding abun dance. - Irrigation is intensive farming. W here the water supply is apple, it is sure farming. There are no^failures, and ciops are enormous. Th^ experi enced irrigator is like the trained en gineer with his hand od the lever. The movements of his hand regulate the amount of water supplied to his fields as those of the engineer control his en gine. In most of the irrigable sections of the West, fertilizers have never been used, although the land has been con stantly cultivated for over two centur ies. In many sections fields may be seen which have yielded successive crops of wheat for 40 years and show no diminution of productive strength. Wonderful progress is shown in the methods of constructing canals, dams, and pumping machinery, and in the manner of distributing water. Modem inventions in machinery have greatly lessened the time, labor, and cost of construction and management, and made possible many gigantic enterprises of land reclamation and water utiliza tion. Mountains have been tunneled and whole rivers have been lifted from their beds and spread over the valleys precisely as wanted. High up in the ranges and on the elevated plateaus immense storage reservoirs have been constructed to impound the flood waters of the streams so that the thirs ty land below shall not suffer during the long rainless surpmer. As the successful soiiMon !6f the problem of conservation of flood waters means the reclamation of millions of acres of public land, the people natur ally ask the government to promote measures having this end in view. To this demand the government responds. Lands containing excellent reservoir sites have been set aside and a thorough study of the sources and per manence of the water supply of arid regions has been made to enable con gress to legislate with intelligence upon this important subject. In aid of this work the twelfth cen sus will endeavor comprehensively to show |he present condition and values of agriculture in the arid and sub- humid regions; the length, irrigable extent and cost of the various canals, wells and ditches; the character, vol ume and constancy of water supply; systems employed in distribution; amount paid for water and the crops, acreage and yield of irrigated farms; This effort will be successful if those interested in irrigation shall heartily residence. It instated that lying be co-operate wih the census office and its tween Monte Cri'sto and Butte streets there is every indication of an immense agents. Within a brief period the main body of ore. The Rossland Miner says schedules for taking the census of irri that on account of the surface of the gation w ill be distributed, and Direc Paris Belle being covered with houses, tor Merriam requests that all recipients the work of prospecting and develop prepare properly to fill them out and ment has been prosecuted under diffi culties, but it is being accomplished to return them promptly. and along practical lines. P o r t la n d M a r k e t. Wheat — W alla Walla, 51 @ 52c; Valley, 50c; Bluestem, 52c per bushel. Flour—Best grades, $2.90; graham, $2.25; superfine, $2.15 per barrel. Oats— Choice white, 35 @ 86c; choice gray, 34c per bushel. Barley— Feed barley, $15@ 16.00; brewing, $ 18.00@18.50 per ton. Millstuffs— Bran, $17 per ton; mid P a c ific C o a st N o te s . dlings, $22; shorts, $18; chop, $16 pel 1’ a in t M in e B o u n d e d . Mormon elders are holding meetings ton. at points in Wallowa county. The announcement of a paint mine . Hay— Timothy, $10@12; clover, Baker City’s special tax to continue and iron deposits, near Scappoose, in $7 @ 8; Oregon wild hay, $6 @ 7 per ton. Butter— Fancy creamery, 50@55o; her schools was carried by a vote of 50 Columbia county, have led Portland capitalists to investigate. After a care seconds, 42M @ 45c; dairy, 30@ 37M c; to 1. ful survey of the country by competent store, 22M @ 27M c. Eagle valley has a ‘ ‘ whisky wagon” engineers and expert mineralogists, a Eggs— 16@17M c per dozen. — presumably a concern that peddles half section of land owned by Frank Cheese— Oregon full cream, 12 M e; fire water. Payne, on the north fork of Scappoose Young America, 14c; new cheese 10c Another sawmill w ill soon be in creek, was bonded for $53,000 by a per pound. operation on the Siuslaw. It w ill be Portland syndicate. An amount suffi Poultry— Chickens, mixed, $2.50@ owned by Saubert & Co., and will cut cient to satisfy Mr. Payne that the in 4.00 per dozen; hens, $4.50; springs, vestors mean business has been paid, $2.50@ 3.50; geese, $7.00@8.50 forold; about 30,000 feet daily. The Marshfield Sun understands that and if the weather shall permit, work $4.50@ 6.50; ducks, $6.00@9.00 per the Western Union Telegraph company on permanent improvements w ill soon dozen; turkeys, live, 15 @ 17c per pound. w ill extend its line to all points in the be started. Potatoes— 55@ 85c per sack; sweets, county the coming summer. D ea d F u r n a c e R e s u m e s W o r k . The removal of the duty on pig lead, 2 @ 2M c per pound. There w ill be no debate this winter Vegetables— Beets, $1; turnips, 90c; between the state universities of Ore resulting from Canadian bullion being per sack; garlic, 7c per pound; cab refined in the United States, has al gon and California, but effort w ill be ready had its effect in the “ blowing bage, lM c per pound; parsnips, $1; made to have a “ meet” next winter. in ” of the lead furnace at the Trail, onions, $ 1.15@ 1.50; carrots, $1. A barrel of whisky, supposed to have B. C., smelter. This smelter has a Hops— 7@ 10c; 1898 crop, 5 @ 6 c. come from the wreck of the Brother stock of ore sufficient to keep it in W ool— Valley, 12 @ 13c per pound; Jonathan, which was lost off Crescent operation for two or three months, in Eastern Oregon, 8@ 14c; mohair, 27 @ City in 1865, was washed ashore last dependent of any new purchases. 30c per pound. week, says the Marshfield Coast Mail. Mutton— Gross, best sheep, wethers The barrel is in good condition and ^ membere of the (Ireland) and ewes, 8 Me; dressed mutton, 6 M @ .he whisky shonld be of rare quality. |Fjre B)igade are about to memorlalize 7c per pound; lambs, 7M c per pound. Hogs— Gross, choice heavy, $5.00; A river steamer is being built on the , the corporation to increase their wages. Joquille by D. T. White, A lex Snyder ¡The maximum salary paid to the em- light and feeders, $4.50; dressed, ind John Moomaw, which is to have &|ployes is $7.50, while the minimum $5.50@6.00 per 100 pounds. Beef— Gross, top steers, $3.50@ 4.00; speed of 14 knots an hour. It is th e ' salary is $6. The men on escape duty intention to make two round trips per also are going to apply for a reduction bows , $3 @3.50; dressed beef, 6 M @ lay between Coquille City and Bandon in the hours they have to work pres “ 1 1 Mo per pound. Yeal— Large, 6 M @ 7 Me; small,, ° " luring the summer months. ' ently. *Mc per pound.