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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1908)
AX VOLUME VII. , LA GRANDE, UNION COINTY, OREGON. SATURDAY, AUGUST 1, 1008. number sot. wmstiFiAGmtrnM 4 HMDS FICHT T MSSfllTl DECLARE ASSESSMENT OX ' PUBLIC SERVICES TOO HIGH, Slate Commissioner Learns That Rail- r" ' of Wiwhtiurton : . At Preparing to Fight Assessment ,; 'Case Declare Raise' la Not Equlla " He Securing Pata and Men to Teg : tlfy la Court When Legal Stops Are ' Taken. ' ' J. '! x Bcllingham, Aug. 1. That the rail road of Washington are . collecting lata and preparing (or a bitter legal fight in the case of ' assessments of public service corporations, of which hey are the most Important, raised lgher than they think Is equitable by the board of state tax commissioners. was the statement made today by Slate Tux Commissioner Frost The Northern Pacific and Great Northern roods particularly. It Is said, already have men In several parts of the state obtaining figures on the value of real estate from experts who can testify In the court A DEEP WELL. E. W. Oliver Sinking on Ills Sandrldge Farm Down 250 Feet.' D. M. Hunt, ts slnklngg an eight- Inch well on the Sandrldge, farm of E. W. Oliver. The- well Is now down to a depht of 260 feet and they expect to go possibly 50 feet deepef. before they quit. Thl. well, like all of the other deep well In this section of the valley, goes through J practically no gravel whatever, and the water rises within about seVen feet of the sur face.' ' '" V ' 1 usmess District of Island City Gutted laze Smoldering Heaps of Coal All That Is "Left of VJhat Vas Once f. Thriving and Prosperous Little City i ' Card of Thanks. Mr. Volswinkler of Island City, wishes to thank his friends who so kindly helped to save his household goods from burning in the conflagra Hon last night. A. f r -' A el Pioneer Flouring Mill That was Burned Six Years Ago, V- Occupied Same Site as the New One Did. CONSERVATION ESTIMA TE OF LOSS IS 1120,000. largest financial losiir. The targe building, which was owned by the company, Including the contents, con sisting of agricultural Implements, har ness and saddles valued at 135,000, Is loss. This company, also owned other buildings destroyed, which con- - Island City' business district Is a smouldering mass of ruins today. Last night, one of the worst conflagrations In the history of the Grande Ronde valley consumed the heart of the prosperous suburb,' leaving but a shell of residences and one business house. Many of the owners are absent from their homes, and a positive statement as to the amount of Insurance 1 talned large stocks of furniture, bulld carrled by the respective losers cannot be gained. The most conservative ' Ing material, sash, doors , and fruit statement of. losses, compiled after interviews with as many of the owners jars. This week three carloads of as possible, follows: ' ; ( ..'.'.. Pioneer Flouring mill snd entire stock. ". . ... . $60,000.00 Island City M. & M. company Implement house and stock ... . 49,000.00 W. C. Perry's store and stock , 1,200.00 Joseph Perry's residence '. Robert Smith's butcher shop, building and stock .... Lee Umphrey's store building , Saloon building and part of contents Llndsey Amusement hall , Bear's hotel (a landmark of Union county) Oswald's barn ana outbuildings ..... ... . ............ Building and residence occupied by Ed Clark ...... Lee Chlldera' residence, (household goods saved Other outbuildings, and loss to telephone companies Grand total loss, approximately 1,200.00 700.00 1,000.00 (00.00 1,100.00 . . J.000.00 400.00 1,000.00 700.00 1,400.00 $120,000.00 harvesting goods were received and, In fact, only partially unpacked. They think their Insurance will be In the Mrs. Fred Holmes assisted by other lady friends, supplied hot coffee. which was appreciated by the' fire fighters, along about 1:30 this morn lng. . , '. .- ' Charles Lewis: hod a narrow escape In. the M. & ,M, , building,: and Will Clark received an ugly gash by a door. He remained on the scene until atfer the fire had devoured everything that It oould and then went to La Grande, where he had seven stitches taken In his cheek. The demon fire destroyed .more property wjien Island City was laid low In ashes last night than In any previous conflagration In Union coun ty. The fire started In the general mer chandise store of W. C. Perry, about 11:15. Everything was so dry that It spread rapidly and It was only a few moments untl Ithe flames leaped from 44m MHMmHtMHmfWMMIMMMH I Cool, Comfortable Hot Weather Necessaries AT MOST ATTRACTIVE PRICES Men's Wear Section Men's"Porous Knit" Underwear Just what the name Indicates. Open knit Underwear, giving the maximum comfort Shirts made with short sleeves; most sanitary and comfort able; regular 75c values; here at 65c per garment; the suit ....... .$1.25 Men's White Gauze Uuderwear. Athletic Skirts. Knickerbocker Draw ers, nude from fin whits combed yarns; hot weather comfort In full est measure; per garment. 5c; the suit 75c French Balbrlggan Underwear, fine combed yarns, silk finish; nat ural Balbrlggan collars; special. Mo now Men' Comfortable Shirts 33c up In Golf and Negligee Shirts, In Per cale, Madras, Mercerised Cotton, Mo hair. Pon-ee Bilks, snd fins light weight Flannel; regular prices 75o ud: special now 8e op I 1 : " itadies' Wear Section ladies Shirt Waist Suits : In white and colors, msde from fancy ginghams, Batistes, Indlanhcad Mus- . llns and "Hyde" grade Oalatla ) Cloths, all at special saving In ; price MP ; Klmonas and Dressing Saques : In dainty Lawns and Dimities, In Jap- anese and Empire styles, long and , shorty all at a saving of from $0 to ' $0 per cent la lies' Summer Vests In Cotton, Lisle and 811k, Jersey and - Swiss ribbed. In gauss and medium weights, with and without sleeves; plain and lace-trimmed. Ite, and all Intermediate prices up to . ...$1.&0 65c Ladies' Umbrella Pants 50c In the "Bet-Snug" style, lace-trimmed; special Fair Store price Mo $1.00 to S2.2S Ladles Walsh 68c In white only, In Lawn and Linen, plain and embroidered fronts. Only ' a few, slightly mussed and soiled; to close out Just the thing for vacation wear 8c one building to another, - until both sides of Main street was one wild, roaring mass of flames. It required only a few moments from the time the mammoth Implement house of the M. A M. company caught, until the big Pioneer flouring mill Ignited. These created such Intense heat that It was only a matter of a few seconds until the Smith moat market Llndsey hall and the hotel, were ablaze. There was a stiff breese blowing at the time and owing to the fact that fuse Immediately blew out at the pumping station. It was Impossible to get water. La Grande was appealed to for aid and a special train carrying two hose carts and fifty or more firemen and citizens, responded, but outside of as sisting in removing the furniture from residences In the danger sons of the fire, they could do put little. Heroic work by the bucket brigade did prevent the . destruction of the blacksmith shop of Garrlty A Brown, also the resident of Wes Walters. The home of Joe Perry, with much r" , , i .1; ;ii ' ' Pioneer Flouring Mill as it Looked Before the Fire. Boys' Canvas Shoes - 95c . Men's Canvas Oxfs - 60c up Boys Canvass OxFs 50c Ladies White Duck Oxfords - - $1.29 up r : : half their loss. Another loss which they will suffer ts the loss of goods at this busy season of the year. Six years ago firs destroyed the Im plement house of the M. as M. com pany, also the Pioneer flouring mill, but the ashes were not cold Until both sites were occupied by more substan tial structures than their predeces sors. : It was a seen of sorrow and gloom as the many scores of La Grande peo ple viewed the streets of Island City today. For 'a number of years the commercial and social relations be tween La Grande sad Island City of thi contents, was burned, entailing hve Dt.en i0 interwoven with friend a loss of not less than $1200, with In-' surnace of $800. The home occupied by Will Clark, was another residence consumed by the fiery element The building was owned by the M. V M. company, The household goods were saved. The Pioneer mill was Insured for $11,000, but as the books are all In the safe, which cannot be opened until It becomes cool, the entire amount of Insurance cannot be ascertained. In addition to the mill and grain, 4000 bsrrels of flour were burned In ware house No. I, as well as a carload of barley, which was on the side track. In all, Kiddle Bros, estimate the loss at $(0,000. i Coming as it did at this season of the year, the company will lose the profits of this fine large mill for the next year. . Will Rebuild. Ed Kiddle, one of the owners of the mill, wsa away with his family en Joying an outing on Catherine creek. and did not know a thing of the disas ter until 1 o'clock this morning, and Immediately left for Island City, ar riving there about . After viewing the smouldering embers a few mo ments, he remarked that It would not be long until another mill would take the place of those red-hot ashes. This simply means that on the site wher he has been twice wiped out by fire, IT ship and good will, that tbe two towns have practically been ons, and It is with the deepest sorrow ' that Ls Grande views the wanton destruction of so much valuable property. , For a time It looked as though th general stors of the M. M. company would be the next to go, but the wind kept the heat and flames awak, so It could be protected. It did catch once or twice. Early this morning there was actlv Ity among the severs! crews of Un-i men representing the Grande Ronde Electric company, the Paclflo State Telephone company and the Home In dependent company, The last named company soon had a 'phone fastened to a post taking care of Its business. Arceptanoe Rpcerli Nearly Done. Llnooln, Aug. 1. Bryan today con firmed the report that he will reply to .Van Cleve's circular. Bryan' speech of acceptance la being tran scribed today snd will soon be In cum- plcted form. Take a Little Soda r For Your Stomach's Sake f This Advice Certainly Holds Good with Everyone This Sort of Weather Soda served at our fountain is more than a tasty thirst-quenching beverage. It is tonic and refreshing and every glass a strengthener for the stomach. Our Soda is absolutely pure, strengthening, reviving, refreshing and heaUhful. It "lands di rect" on the "dry" spot and quenches thirst as nothing else will, because we serve it at just the right temperature. , that he will still soon be doing busl-. HILL'S DRUQ JTiOKE LA GRANDE. OREGON t n ' 1 mrVmmmtTtmrnmrni new st the old stand. e The M. sV M. company Is th nsxl