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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 1908)
TOLCME VII. "" mg NUMBF.R U. LA GRANDE, UNION COCNTT, OREGON. MONDAY, JANt'ARY ST, 10. VICE AfiD (ORRUPTIOfi Ifi BAKEIi (ITY LAID BARE BY P 1INISTERIAL BODY I EM) BAKER CITY EXCITED OVER ' ATTACK OH ITS CITY OFFIK STINK POT OF CORRUPTION IS , MCHCE following Anonymous Letter to Ministerial Association Comes Bitter Attack in Way of Dodgers- Publicly Posted . one-half minutes after the opening of j the Harvey Brown memorial services. I "That a prisoner In the county Jail Recuses Judge Smith of being Intoxi cated during the progress of his trial. . "That boys and girls are allowed to Baker City, Ore., Jan. 27. A sen sation such as has not been enjoyed in eastern Oregon since the assassin ation of Harvey K. Brown, was sprung late yesterday forenoon when a dodger Issued by the Ministerial asso ciation of this city was circulated, fcltterly criticising officials . of this city and county. . The circular charges Baker City with being a "stinkpot of corruption." ,'Jlmong the specific charges are these: 1 "That Judge Smith of the circuit court, and Mayor Johns, were seen wander about the city at all hours of the night. - "That the skating rinks are allowed to open on Sundays.' "That a member of the Civic Purl ty league once found a policeman In a gambling den, drinking and gam bllng." - Joints Doen't Deny. Mayor Johns today refused to deny that he had been seen drinking and playing a slot machine in the Oelser Grand hotel bar-room four and one half minutes after the Harvey Brown memorial service last October, as charged by the circular; Apparently the mayor Is not greatly excited over the charge of the ,mlnls ters. Judge Smith, who was accused of being with the mayor In the bar room at the time, is out of town. The entire crusade against the city and its officials was precipitated by receipt of an anonymous letter ad dressed to the Baptist minister of Ba ker City. The letter follows: "Pastor First Baptist Church, Baker City, Oregon. "My Very Dear Sir: t want to ask you and all the other Baker minister! a question: Who la being paid to look after the morals of this town? Isn't It the ministers? Are you doing It? The question Is an open one. Every one of you know there Is a state law that. Baker Is the only open tows tti the state you also know that by go ing before the grand jury and laying In a complaint you could have ' the sheriff close gambling in mighty short order. "Why don't you do It? Why don't some of you get Instead of stand and whine from the pulpit? It Is because you lack backbone you lack nerve. Every minister In town Is responsible lor the gambling and open saloons In Baker City. That does not sound very complimentary, does It? Too bad we have not a minister or two like some of those In Portland. See what they accomplished In a city like that, and in a little place like Baker the min isters stand around afraid to speak their minds If they have any! Some times when I see' boys In the saloons I think the ministers haven't any minds or morals either. "Please read this carefully and pass to one or two other ministers for you are all to blame. I, like a great many others, am disgusted. "Sincerely yours for morality." Minister! Make Reply, The Ministerial association then rounded up a printer or two and af ter compiling facts and figures that would require two newspaper columns to reprint In full, had posters printed and scattered broadcast over the city of Baker. Replying to the letter the dodger says In part: We publicly charge the writer of this letter with being a liar and a coward; a coward In that he dare not sign his name to his letter; a liar, In that he states lies from beginning to end. This we will prove. We also charge the special corres' pondent of the Oregonlan with being in the same class with the above writer, for, ' In the Oregonlan of the 24th he states lies, and proves that he dare not write the truth to his pa per. This we will prove. Let us take you Into our confidence. First, at the Harvey Brown Memor- BLOW AT CMOXS', DlMcrimliuulng Act Declared I" noon -. sUtutktnal by Supreme Court, : Washington, D C, Jan. 27. Or ganized labor lost a hard-fought bat tle today when the supreme court de cided that part of the Erdman act prohibiting railroads engaged in Inter state commerce, from discriminating against employees belonging to labor unions, was unconstitutional. mm of mm T fast citifs drinking before a saloon bar four and against gambling you also know PORTLAND, ME., AND BAL TIMORE BLAZES AGAIN. YEARS TAKES CARBOLIC Ad two men were Japanese spies. During the fusilade of shots Satur day one of the burglars' hat was shot off. Thieve ut BcllliiKlinnt. Bellingham, Wash., Jan. 27. Thieves entered the armory here Sun day and stole lu worth of revolvers. We never live, but we ever hope to live. Pascal. . ., Thrw Eire Raged During Morning Hours Baltimore and Portland, Me., Are Scenes of Two Dewlrue-j Ue Fires In Less Than One Week Chicago Bluxe Injures Twenty Persons uud DumugcM Many Large BuilillngH One Mun is Reported Killed. MOIIT IN I1D CASES (Continued on page 8.) HOUSE KEEPERS II Look To The Needs Of Your il li Lfifcff viu.?cf.? i hid iiccii " - -:: , ; ; ; , li tl While we offer you an unusual opportunity to supply your linen needs-this week-we will e ; ; 1 ; 5 t; also continue our last week's "Year-End and Inventory Sale" as advertised last week, tj Ladies Suits, Hats, Coats and Jackets, and Misses and ChildrensCoats at Half and LESS li il THAN HALF PRICE, Boys and Mens Overcoats at Unordinary Prices, and all Broken Lines Chicago, 111., Jan. 27. Three disas trous fires, causing a property loss of over a million and a half dollars, oc curred In this country between mid night and morning. One Is still be yond control. The Standard OH com pany's tanks at Baltimore caught fire' early this morning and, fanned by a gale, the blaze Is still raging. One man Is reported dead. Second Portland Fin1. At Portland, Me., the second big fire within a week occurred. It is a fire in the business section of the city, ! causing a loss of almost $800,000. By 3:45 this morning It was under con trol and was confined to one block. Big ( IiIi-uko Fire. At Chicago one fireman was klll.id and three Injured and property to the value of $500,00 destroyed In the printing establishment of W. P. Dunn & Co. The flames spread to the Florence hotel and drove the oc cupants Into the street In scanty gar ments. The magnificent new Corn Ex change building Is damaged. Twenty persons were Injured. At noon the Baltimore fire Is sun raging, the flames leaping h-ml-'f-H of feet In the air. It Is tstlmatiu that 500,000 gallons of oil have oe i. t it. sumed so far. AFTER CLOSING IIALL- MAVH CASE COMES ItL'.hT. BWIECACOE SUICIDES AT MILTON. DDL Despondent over ', Inability to Keep Up With Her Studies and Takes Her Own Lite Sutlers Terrible Aony Because llcney Wants to Go to Knu FruiH lM o and Brecker Desires Yucuilon, a Postponement of Laud Fraud Cases tn Portland Is Expect edHermann's Cam In Next Fn, But Conditions ExiMt Which Mean Certain IH-luy in That, Tiki. , PLANS TO GET DEFENSE IPS I af Heavy Price Raductions, TABLE LINENS, BED LINENS, TOWELS AT INTERESTING PRICES Linen 25c Linen Towels 58x18 XtJnches, in Plain and Fancy Doraers 3 for 50c 20c linen Huck Towels tl Plain and Striped Borders Each 15c il il 15c Linen Toweling lie ; 45x36 I 22 in. Bleached i ki i. :.. jLi. -1. iiapnnr. uin ween Per Set 59c 50c Table Linens in Turkey red and Canary Colors 33c $1.15 values inch Sheets 95c in 12x80 in. Pillow Cases 3 for 50c r -A UrtHMJt, 68x90 inch Bleached Linen Table Cloths in beautiful Floral Patterns, this week $2.78 ti TWO SHREWD PLANS MADE TO ROB ARMORY Willi! is B"lleved to Hate Been Two JiipuneMe Splc, Were Frustrated In Their Pluns of Entering the Large Militia Armory at Kan Fraitclxco hi Two Attempt Kent rim Discovered Would-be Rohbem Shots Were Fired and Bunglara Flee. $1.25 Bleached linen Dam ask 72 inches wide, this ; week 89c $1.50 Real German Linen 11 72 inches wide, this week $1.95 Portland, Jan. 27. Following the Hall-Mays case, which will probably close Friday, another postponement in the land fraud cane Is expected Judge Hunt announced today that inference between Prosecutor Honey, Brecker and himself on this subject, would soon occur. Heney wishes to get to San Fran cisco and Judge Hunt desires to re turn to Montana, Attorney Brecker has been here but a short time and would like more time to become fa miliar with the .Oregon procedure. The next case on the docket is the Blnger Hermnnn land fraud Indict ment. Hermann's attorneys are In Washington at present and might not be able to reach this coast within the next 10 days. Today Franklin P. Mays resumed his testimony, but told nothing of material Interest. It was merely a detailed resume of his legal relations with Htelwer. Following Mays Heney attempted to put Meldrum on the stand, but owing to the fact that Moi- drum Is now a convicted felon and serving a sentence for land fraudlng, his eligibility as a witness was ob jected to and Judge Hunt took the matter under advisement. Despondent over apparent Inability to keep up with her studies In Colum bia college at Milton, Ore.,' suffering under the humiliation which she be lieved would be heaped upon her. were she to full at the final examina tions this spring when she would . either be graduated sr forced to taka another year of school work, Mlsa Bernica Cue, duughter of Mr. and Mrs. S. K. Cor of Milton, and well known In La Grande, last evening drank car bolic acid and died' a few hours later at tho home of her parents In that city. ' The news of her suicide was tele phoned to La Grande. Bridge Super intendent J. F. Campbell and his wife were at one time caretakers of the girl before she entered College, and Mrs. Cnmpboll Is a sister of the girl. The first intimation of the deplor able act reached hero Inst evening about 10 o'clock, when Mr. Campbell was notified that the deed was dona and life was but a matter of hour. Physicians were working over the young girl at that hour, and Informed Mr. Campbell that death would soon follow. At midnight again the tele phone was brought Into use to learn the state of the suicide, flhe had died a few minutes before connection were made, after a few hours of ex cruciating suffering. This morning Mr. Campbell, and hla grief-stricken wife left for MlltnrC Nothing In known of the exact clr- ( Continued on page 4.) VALENTINES San Francisco, Cal., Jan. 27. Bu lets fired by sentries guarding the ar mory of the National Ouard here frustrated a second attempt within 2 hours to enter the big building In which are kept the valuable military maps of San Francisco and Its const defense. The attack on the building was not made by ordinary burglars. The persistency of the mysterious visitors makes this apparent. Early Saturday morning, and again Jj,Runday morning, two men tried to! Igiiln entrance to the building. Fear- Ing Another attempt, sentries were! doubled Sunday night. ! From descriptions furnished offi. i Splendid Assortment All 1908 Styles All Prices HILL'S DRUG STORtOAN La Grande m J CQ i V'. -i J I cers by soldiers It Is believed that the