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At the last municipal election J. B.
Stoddard was honored by election (or
the highest office In the gift of La
Grande cltlxens that of mayor.
He made a strong canvas, advocot
Inf the abandoning of "star chamber"
council meetings, and promising a
business administration. Even his
nninimt enomio- a"kno!c3;s that
Mayor Stoddard has fully kept these
pledgee He recognizes and accepts
the hlj h responsibilities of Ms official
portion, and In open communication
to the council does all within his pow
er to facilitate action on municipal
matters of Importance.
It was not without a deserved repu
tation for activity, thut .Mayor Stod
dard came before the voters1 of this
city, for his record as a member of
the council and mayor pro. tern, of
Bumpter was well known. So wu his
publlc-splrltedness es a "booster" of
that town. Aggressive but not un
duly so, he stands for a clean business
administration, and haa evidenced
consistently a full sympathy with all
measures tending toward advance
ment and progress. In voicing what
he believes to be right, Mayor Stod
dard's fearlessness and iiarnestnoss
re generally commended. He does
not Invite opposition or criticism, but
. lulther deter him from a course he
has marked out.
What Mayor Stoddard proposes an
Is attempting to accomplish, a glean
ed from messages submitted to the
council and organised city depart
ments, are:
Strict methods of business.
New up-to-date charter and revis
ed ordinances published in book form.
Enforcement of stock ordinance.
Parking of the city streets.
Graded street.
Clvlo Improvements.
Clean, orderly town.
City perks.
Gravity water system.
Modern sewerage system.
Filing system for city papers.
First-class records and book of ac
count. Floating warrant to be brought up
to par value.
To make the city healthy, well-lighted
and beautiful.
Last fall Mr. Stoddard purchased
the Oldenburg place, a 60-acre or
chard adjoining the city limits, on the
north bank of the Grande Konda river.
A single apple tree on this place hw
produced 64 full boxes In one season.
The 1906 apple crop from these 50
acres will reach a gross vulue of near
ly or quite 18.000, which gives some
idea of the adnptiblllty of thin section
(or fruit raising.
Mr. Stoddard Is president of the
Stoddard Lumber company of La
Grande, which operates a wood-work
ing plant as well as a mull lumber
yard. Ills material Interests are
bound up In the welfare of thto sea
tlon. and his voice and Influence are
at tl.e call of the best Interests of the
people of this community.
Opportunities For All.
J. A. Maslerson, Elgin. Oregon I
have livid In Oregon 40 years, residing
10 years In the Willamette Valley and
the balance of time In Eastern Oregon.
Have followed farming and stock rais
ing with excellent success In both
Vnlon and Wallowa counties. In my
opinion Eastern Oregon today affords
more opportunities for the arcumula'
tlon of wealth than any other spot on
the American contlnnet. I.and, as
productive as the famous vullty of
the Nile, can lie purchased here from
15 to ISO nn acre. land, thiit will pro
duct from 30 to So bushels of wheat
to the acre and otlu r crops. In propor
tion. WUh Ho vi ry bet mountain
water, aceesMliln to Minimi. ini'e of good
tlti'tuT excell nt building stone and
with climate utmost unsurpassed
with nn Inexhaustible range for slock
In both numm r nnd winter. believe
we have wl Mn our own borders and
adjacent to Elgin the most uVMrib'p
location for lioim c kern on the Ta
ctile const.
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FIRE DEPARTMENT AND
LA GRANDE COMMERCIAL CLUB.
A Flourishing Organization Which
Has Been of Groat Value to
Thia City.
The primary object of this organ
ic tlon Is and a'ways has been to con
solidate the commercial Interests of
the city and coun'y on all pub Ic mat
ters. M-Jch successful work In community
advancement has been accomplished.
Ths officers and committees have
worked dl Igently to secure Institu
tions that tend to build up La Grande
and Union county.
Directly to the efforts of the club
must be credited the locating her? of
La Grande's two largest Industrial en
terprises: The Ama'gamat' d Su?ar Co.'s im
mence be't sugar factory ( the oniy
one In Oregon) rep-eentlng an In
""rr.T.t ;f several j,uin3' d liiuuaunu
dollars. The factory disburses larg
sums annual'y. and Its operation has
had a noticeable effect on land val
ues. It distinctly adds to local pros
perity In all lines.
The George Palmer Lumber Co.'s
saw milling p'nnt, which Is now being
INTERIOR VIEW IN LA GRANDE
built. The monthly payroll of this
plant will reach $10,000. Its location
here was secured solely through the
persistent work of the club.
Many conventions of Importance
have been Induced to select La Grande
as a meeting point through the In
fluence of the club. Among such meet
ings have been: The National Qooa
Roads association, October, 1905, and
Northwestern Fruit Growers' associa
tion, February, 1901.
The club realises the vital necessity
of good roads, and has devoted much
attention to the work of securing bet
ter highways throughout the county.
Another effective movement led by
the club was to regain the county scut
for La Grande.
The splendid exhibit of Grande
Rondo Valley products at the Lewis
and Clark exposition at Portland, Ore.,
was made through the Instrumentality
of the club. This exhibit captured a
number of go'd medals.
Right now the club would like to
get In correspondence with Individuals
or companies to whom the peculiarly
favorable conditions h"re for the tm
lowlng Industries would app. al:
CEREAL FACTORY. No finer
wheat Is grown In the world than In
the Grande Ronde Va ley.
OAT MEAL MILL. The valley If
specially adapted to the growing of
oats. Large yields of high quality are
ulways secured.
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CITY OFFICES. LA GRANDE
PAPER MILL. Straw sufflcien: for
al. possible needs Is golnj to waste in
the tie ds of this val ey.
PL'LP MILL. The white fir that Is
not of much value fur lumb.r Is
ep dally exce lent for pulp for paper
rrak ng. There Is ample raw ma
terial. WOOLEN MILL. The only woo en
mil In the valley manufacture blan
ket. It la very successful, earning
more than 20 p r cent, on the Invest
ment. There Is room for several wool
en mills.
VINEGAR AND CIDER PLANT.
The orchards are here to keep several
such pants In successful ope at Ion.
Appl a (culls and of varieties not re
garded ps standard) can be obtained
at a very low figure.
CANNING FACTORY. A well
eon luc ed cunning factory would be
certain y profitable. The fruit Is h"re.
TANNiiiV. 'inere js a tine opening
for a tannery under the most favor
able conditions.
The Commercial club occupies and
Is gradua ry acquiring a contt
mndlous building, erected for Its pur
poses In 1900. (See Illustrations). The
COMMERCIAL CLUB BUILDING.
property Is easily worth S10.000. This
makes possible social features, and has
been a slrong Incentive In securing
the pr. sent' membership of nearly 200.
The bul ding has a large gymnasium,
which Is also used as an auditorium
for conventions and meetings. It, will
seat 4.10 peop e. The floor of this
gymnasium Is waxed, and many dances
a:e held undtr the auspices of the
c'ub's social committee.
The baths are a much appreciated
feature of the building's equipment.
They include plunge, shower and tub
baths, and are us-d to the extent of at
least 200 baths a week the year round.
There Is a library of about 1.000 vol
umes .and a r.adlng room Is supplied
with al! of the lending magazines and
periodicals as well as the dally papers
I of the Northwest.
Socially the club nbly occupies the
field fil ed In many p act a by the Y.
M. C. A.
It Is not the purpose of this article
to dilate on the s'f-wicriflclng wo k
of Individual officers nnd members. As
occasion arose f.ir their services, thire
has been no hnnglni back nn the par:
of any whose p rs.on.il efforts could
alst In community benefit.
The original organization was form
ed In the spring of IS9S. nnd It was
soon aft r Incorporated. The fl-st
home of the club was In the Rogers
: block. Later a change was made to
' the Summers' b ock. In lssst. the need
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of adequnte qnar ers became so ap
parent that the memb?rship decided
to b it d. Turner Oliver. William Mil
ler and Roy H. Mil er filed articles of
'ncorporatlon of th. La Grande Com
mercla' Club Building association.
Stock books were opened and suttl
clent stock subscriptions were quickly
secured. The bul ding was completed
the M owing y ar. The club Is stead
'ly buy'ng In the stock, and now owns
mor than a third of It, so that In a
reason? b e time the property will be
clear of incumbrance.
The officers now are: William Mtt-te-
pr sldent; F. S. Ivanhoe, vice pres
dent; Turner O Iver secretary, and T.
J. Scrmgln. reas"rer. The board of
managers Includes: William Miller,
F. 8. Ivanhoe. Turner O'lver, F. L.
Meyers, Guy McCulley A. Z. Andrews,
George L. Cleaver. J. B. Gl'ham. John
Collier E. E. Romlg and James Mur
phy. A majority of this board has been
connected with the c'ub from Its In
ception. A gr'at deal of corresponds nee has
been carried on by the club with peo
ple In a'l parts of America, and even
In Europe. Any ' Information desired
In r tnrd to Investment opportunities
and general conditions In this section
wl" be promptly supplied on receipt
of rnnest. Communications should
he arMrssd to La Grnnde Commer
cla' Club. La Grande. Ore.
IDEAL DAIRYING
CONDITIONS HERE.
The Industry Has Already Become an
Important One In the Grand
Ronde Valley.
Herds of Jerseys and other thor
oughbred dairy catt'e are becoming
quite geni ral In this valley.
The Intelligent farmers are awak
ening to the fact that there Is "big
money" in dairying, and that In this
way. a certain Income can be derived
from their lend while at the same time
Increasing Its fertility and adding to
Its value. Hay fed to dairy" cattle
brings In more money than hay soj4
on the market.
There Is no place on the earth's sur
face possessing natural advantages for
the. dairying Industry superior to those
of the Grande Ronde Valley, and when
to this fact is added the existence here
of a modern up-to-date creamery of
snip's capacity and liberally conduct
ed by a competent management. It Is
no wonder that the dairying Industry
Is beginning to assume such large
propor'lons.
Every succeeding year shows not
only an Improvement In the quality of
local dairy stock, but a decided In
crease In the returns p?r cow. The
fu-mers are learning how to best care
for and feid their dairy animals.
The Blue Mountain Creamery co
alive to the steady growth of Interest
In dairying among the wideawake local
farmers, has Just Increased Its capital
stock from $10 000 to $25,000, and will
spend th money on Improvements.
A brick bul dlng. 40x110 feet In
dimensions Is to be erected at once In
La Grande. This will give a capacity
ample for the Increase of business,
which A-as already crowding the pres
ent pant.
An artificial ice-making equipment
will be Installed, as well as a com
p itJ co'd storage system. For a time
it least, more than enough Ice will be
made for the compmy's requirements
tnd the excess wii be sod to business
hous s and homes.
The m w plant will permit a cen-
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irallxatlon and concentration of the
...mewhat scattered business.
and enable the crtamery to meet any
and all possible competition.
The Blue Mountain Cream-ry Co.
operates plants at La Grande, Union,
Pendeton, Wal.owa and Enterprise,
and sella the output in Oregon and
Idaho. The La Grande and Union
cr-umeries are In this valley, a fact
indicatlnj the extent of the dairying In
terests already here. It is the pur
....... of i he creamery company to fin
al y centra'lz; the cr,am.-ry business
:il La Grande, niaintulninj a system
.if dipping stations over the territory
that produces the cream. Instead of
having so many creamery buildings
with separate corps or employes,
attendant heavy expenses.
The combined patrons In this cream
ery sys'.em, number about 350, and
the output of butter Is from 1500 to
2000 pounds dal y according to the sea
son. Cheese Is manufactured, as Is
also Ice cream, both of which Is
who'esaled exclusively.
Farmers throughout the Grande
Ronde Valley, who are In a position
to keep and milk a few or many head
of cows, and who are not yet doing
LA GRANDE INVESTMENT CO.
City end Farm Property Stock
Ranches a Specislty Acts as Agents
for Non-Residents Farm Loans
Abstracts of Title Firs Insurance.
After a careful reading of the com
prehensive articles In this edition on
the resources and advantages of La
Grande and Its tributary territory, the
question naturally arises, to whom la
It best to apply for detailed Informa
tion as to Investments The ObJer-.er
unequlvocajly recommends prospective
investors and homeseekers to the La
Grande Investment Co., as being both
reeportslbe and reliable) and thor
oughly posted on local conditions and
land values. On the company's lists
are the most desirable city and coun
try properties on the local market, and
the descriptions given and statements
made may be absolutely relied upon.
The company Is deslroua of locating
satisfied new citizens, whose prosperity
wli result In attracting friends to this
section, for all the Grande Ronde Val
ley lacks Is a denser population of con
tented citizens. Write candidly totne
company, etatlng the amount of
money you are able to Invest and a
desirable selection of property, fully
described, will be laid before you. Or,
better still, come and see for yourseir
the grand Investment opportunities
open to you.
' Without exaggeration, it may be
said that the Grande Ronde Valley of
fers to Intensive farmers the chance of
a lifetime. This Is not a wild, uncivil
ized, new section, Just open to settle
ment, but on the contrary possesses
every social and modern advantage of
the east. Cash markets are already
open for every product of the farm,
transportation facilities are excellent,
the land Is of proven fertility, and the
crops best adapted to it have been as
certained. Irrigation Is no experi
ment here, but of proven value. A
small farm, Intelligently worked, will
lead to a certain competence. Consid
ering these things, land Is held far
below Its real value, and present prices
cannot reasonably be expected to con
tinue long. Already there Is an up
ward trend, and there Is nothing more
o rtaln than that land values will
steadily Increase. The time to buy Is
NOW!
Suppose you write today.
The La Grande Investment Co. Is
the outgrowth of the real estate busi
ness founded by W. B. Sargent In
1891, being Incorporated under Its
present name In 1899. The capital Is
$5,000 and the surplus $10,800. Mr.
Sargent, who Is president of the com
pany. Is a practising attorney, and the
secretary. J. K. Wright Is also an ex
perienced real estate man, having been
In this line In Newburg, Ore., prior to
coming to La Grande. Mr. Wright Is
a notary public.
If conditions where you are do not
entirely suit you. come to La Grande
and the Grande Ronde Valley, where
success will certainly follow your ener
r tic. well-directed effort.
The Grande Ronde Valley will sus
tain ten times the population It now
has In the farming, dairying and fruit
growing business offering In these
lines advantages to be found In very
few places.
,o. shouid look into the dairying ta-j
dustry. for It means dollars In tp-Jf
Dockets.
Call at the creamery nearest to you,
nnd talk with the local manager. You
wl 1 quickly see how you can materi
a'ly increase your Income without In
terfering with your present crop, at
""'There are dollars In milk for Grande
Ronde Valley farmers
By the ure of a separator, the skim
med milk is rualned on the farms for
fe ding purposes, and only the butter
fat delivered to the creamery or col
lectins station. The Blue Mountain
Creamery Co. is agent for the eels--bra:ed
De Lavel Cream eeparatqfy
and about 300 are In use In this va
ley. They are sold on easy payments.
O. E. Harper, the general manager,
a hustling creamery man, with the
able assistance of W. H. Weeks, sec-retary-treasurer.
and other member
of the company, la steadily building
up wluit 1 destined to become one of
the most Important creamery Interest
of the W8t. The Observer can see
nothing ahead for the company, under
this management, less than succes
In every sense of the word. .
VALLEY VIEW FARM.
J. M. McCalL the Owner, Is One of
the Valley's Successful Farmers.
Mr. McCall first visited the Grand
Ronde Valley In 1865, coming west
from Illinois. He was Impressed with
the appearance of this fertile section,
and 22 years ago returned here to
muke It his permanent home.
He now owns 800 acres of excellent
hay and grain land, three and a quar
ter miles from La Grande, which be
has named Valley View Farm; 120
hct.'S near Island City, In grain and ;
fruit, and 240 acres, six and a haiy
iiii'.to fium Lu oiuiiue, uevoled to pas-I
turage. This latter tract haa quit
little timber on It. Mr. McCall be
lieves In diversified farming and hi
success Is certainly a strong argu
ment. Besides his extensive land holdings,
he Is Interested In the Eastern Oregon
Trust & Savings Bank.
As Indicating the possibilities of thia
section it may be said that In 188
Mr. McCall's tax receipt was for $17.50,
and In 1906 It was for $469, which
shows how steadily he has Increased
his property Interests.
Although a busy man, he finds time
In the right season to enjoy the superb
fishing and hunting of this section,
which Is his chief recreation.
His handsome farm home Is shown
In the Illustration.
GOVERNMENT LAND.
A government land office Is located
at La Grande, and there remains In
this county some homesteads and tim
ber claims well worth taking up.
The settler or purchaser must ha a'
citizen of the United States or must
have declared his Intention to become
such. To secure government land, h
must be 21 years o'd.
Under the homestead act. asrlonl.
tural lands to the extent of 160 acres I
may be secured without anv navmeruO1;
except $22 In fees. Five year actual
residence Is required, and certain Im
provements must be made on th
land. If desired, title to the land can
be secured after 14 months' residence,
by paying $1.25 an acre.
Timber lands can be taken under
the timber and stone act to the ex
tent of 160 acre The land must be
chiefly valuable for Its timber. No
residence On the land Is required. Pur
chaser must visit the land once, how
ler, and must pay $2.50 an acre.
There are a few sections of stat
lands In this section. These lands ar
so d for $2.50 an acre, no residence or
cultivation being required, and pay-m-nts
may be made In five annual In
stallments. Had Nothing Now Rich.
VT. G. Hunter, La Grande, Oregon I
was born In Missouri and came to th
Grande Ronde Valley In 1865 without
a cent. I saved my money and went
Into rattle rnlslng and wheat growing.
Today I am one of the largest land1
owners In the valley, and my land I
easily worth and can be sold for $50
P"r acre.
Without fear of contradiction. It
can be snld that no better opportunity j
Is offered anywhere In the North weet
for the home-seeker or capitalist, than '
In the Grande Ronde Valley.
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