7'
JL!
riii mi) i
1 vdi;
iCME XIL
LA. GBJ.NDE, UNION COUNTY, OREGON. FRIDAY, AUGUST 14, 1808.
NUMBER 44.
ica VOAy :z;KfJX
IRRIGATE 20,000 ACRES BY
J HOT
ual beiiifh scheme
NEW ERA fOR GRANDE RONDE VALLEY ENTERED BY
DAVID E(CIES' PROMISE '
PROMOTER WILL BUY BONDS IF LAND OWNERS t v
- WILL SUBSCRIBE AT EXTREMELY LOW HATE.
By Paying Two Dollars Per Aero Per Year for Ton Years, Land Owners'
Can Secure Permanent Water RightsSafe and Sound, anil Considered
Ono of the Best Project In Oregon Today Mans Meeting Next Saturday
Night to Leara Concciwus of Opinion Without a Doubt the Greatewt
. Boon Known to Mankind In an Arid District Ecclee Working for Be
fit of Valley, as Well au for Himself Splendid Wealth-Producer at Cost
tunrt Attention of Moneyed Men as a Safe Investment
" CHt to Laud Owner for Perpetual Water Lena Than Any Projectiin the
Northwest Enthusiasm Rampant, and Project Wlll.Uudoubtcdly Be I nt
Through Means Mm to Entire County. 1
MUTUAL PROPOSITION MADE BY ECCLES.
Tour Irrigation proposition Is so feasible that It would be Immediately
developed In any community where the value of Irrigation Is appreciates, tor,
wl.lfe li eewt Is a matter of thousands, ita advantages are a matter of miliums
It would be lmposHlblo for any one man or any few men to consistently develop
it. however, so co-onerattou of the community becomea an Imperative feature.
And, I would suggest Uiat mutual corporation be formed and the proposition
. landed for 400.O0O. and stock Issued to cow tins same, and sold at par value
at 120 ncr acre, which would necessitate the wibscrlptkm of 80.000 acres of
viand; said $20 per acre to be paid In payments of one-tenth, or 2.00 per aTe
per annum. By this method every stockholder becomes a memoer oi im
V .i.m ..,.uu.v and will nartlclpate In any and all profit that may result
if .1.1. .rr.nm.ient can be effected. I will see that the bond Issue Is taken
W,r00'" - DAVID ECCLES.
tTin rountvs fondest hopes are to be realized If the land owners of the
valley will be ai prompt to grasp the !pldld opportunities as they have been
i. . ti.. irriraiinn scheme momentous In Ita erwiih aai oos
1U ilio "v -p -.
assumed a position lust evening at a meeting of the Commercial club board
wf managers, with David Eccles, the sugar king, where something tangible l
"1 being dealt with. For the first time In the history of Union county. It can be
said that capital to finance the greatest elixir known to seir.l-arld communities,
Is available. It Is to come from none other than the Amalgamated Sugar com
pany, a firm that for financial strength Is synonymous with Gibraltar.
Enthusiasm ran high in that little ciuo room i
men there who are broadmlnded. who have experience and who have money.
With such a combination is It a wnoder that The Observer Is able to say to
night that Union county Is facing a tti? era?
Every member of the board of managers who was In the city was In at
tendance with Mr. Eccles. In addition. Walter M. Pierce, who stood behind
the Investigation made last year: A. V. Andrews. ex-Circuit Judge T. H. Craw.
t ford C E. Moore, local real estate deafer, and Fred M. Housh. manager of
.... nnnd. Electric company, attended the meeting, and many of them
, .,h.ilsstlc sentiments. Chief and foremost, of course, was what
m h nsvld Eccles and Walter M. Pierce.
Mr Pierce was the first to speak. In a highly polished address that
teemed with salient polnta In the proposed Irrigation scheme, he laid before
the capitalist nhd the board, the general plans to be followed In the construc
tion of this gigantic Irrigation scheme. He was highly enthusiastic, and
brought forward with sharp emphasis, the fact that such men as the late W.
O. Hunter and J. M. Church were the real fathers of the proposition, and had
they lived, the project would, now have been either completed or well ad
vanced. He quoted figures and data that had been prepared by expert en
gineers last year, at the Instigation of Mr. Hunter and others. ' So vivid was
his explanation of the scheme that all present readily gained clear Ideas of
what it meant and what It was In reality.
Then David Ecclea came to the front with his startling and much-longed
for remark, that he would finance the deal, provided the farmers would sub
scribe the stock to cover the bond issue. Before explaining in detail his prop
osition, he suggested that a mass meeting of land owners be held before any
additional outlay of money was made, and reiterated to some extent what
Mr. Pierce had said of the possibilities of water. In his characteristically con
cise manner, he said that the proposition meant an Investment of thousands,
The plan proposed Is an easy method and considerably less buraensuine
to the land owner than usual propositions of Its kind. That It Is to bo mutu
ally advanced and mutuully profited by, was the kcynoto of the plan: Eccles
Is not going to spend thousands for his own benefit alone, for by benefiting
others he Is benefiting himself. If there are any profits, every stockholder
and stockholders are those who subscribe for water will realize his share o.f
them. . If there Is anything that is mutual In the way of- a corporation, It
will be this company. To illustrate the method of subscription, let It be Imag
ined that the reader owns 40 acres of land. He desires water on every aero,
and to do this he subscribes for as many acre-feet of water as he hus acres,
making 40-acre feet of water. To pay for this water he has promised to pay
at the' rate of 12 per acre per annum, during a period of 10 years, after
which he has perpetual water at no expense. In this way it can be seen that
the 20,000 acres of land to be covered at the rate of $20 per acre, will cover
the bonded Indebtedness (400,000. The payments are, thereforo, easy, and
will require an outlay of $80 per year for a period of 10 years, making $800
which the owner of 40 acres has paid for his perpetual water rights.
This will meet ready subscription among the small land holders, but the
chief stumbling block which the promoters will encounter is that merishold-
lng several hundred, or even 1000 acres, will seriously object to watering their
land at this price.' The result will be Just what the county has been crying for
subdivision of large tracts. Mr. Conley, who owns thousands of acre, will
find that he can raise triple and quadruple corps In fruit profits over what he
ts now realizing, and can, therefore, afford to sell large blocks of his land
and devote his entire attention to smaller tracts.
Ex-Judge T. H. Crawford reviewed the proposition from a legal viewpoint
before the club members and the board, and stated that there Is absolutely no
fear of conflict With the present Irrigation laws, or the absence of laws in this
state. The supreme cpurt has established a precedent In the matter of prlvl
leges of storing of waste and flood waters.
The fac. that the people In every community where arid land exists, have
jumped at undertakings like this, should make It clear to local people that the
Irrigation plan Is a safe one from every standpoint. It Is needless to'relterate
iktl ll.e county will trlpie in value, but It ls'nceary to impreBs the fact
nini ;r" aeai is & muium Hiiuir hiiu mm it id km ma Buunvtiwi ngiu
point of vantage that he may take. AH these things 'have been made clear
hv men of affairs who have given the matter thorough Investigation. That
Mr. Eccles Is not doing this great work for his own purpose Is clearly evident
By reason of the fact that he Is at the head of one of the largest construction
companies of the west; and that he controls several cement-making plants, he
Is able to knock off $100,000 from the estimate made by the engineers. In
less than an hour yesterday, he pointed out where he could construct the dam
for $81,000 less than the engineers could who drew the plans. He can lay
the canals for a sum that will make up the $100,000 less than the engineers
called for.
MASS MEETING A WEEK FROM TOMORROW NIGHT.
After the club and board had listened to the glad tidings from Mr. Eccles,
it Immediately took steps to follow his suggestions. As a result It has been
decided to hold a mass meeting one week from next Saturday night, August
22, at which time a concensus of opinion will be compiled. Rain or shine will
not hinder this meeting, and everybody should plan to attend. The Commer
cial club will write letters to scores of land owners, urging them to be present
ai that time.
HOT HIES. OF 1,11 CUIUS
HI! I HI
VILL WATER 35,000 ACRES EASILY
BOY OF TENDER
ACEACRIHINAL
but on his way to Jail he slipped the
cuffs off and attempted to escape by
Jumping from the train.
REARED IN CRIME AND
TAKES READILY TO IT,
Mule Fellow of Fourteen Years Cap
tured and Confess to Many Crime
Onc of live Most Notorious Boys In
tlie BouUiwcst Reared In Criminal
World. Though II Was In Reform
Mmh for a While Heavily Armed
When Caught.
West Las Vegas. N. M., Aug.
14.
r..,n n four burglaries, one
x ,,,, qa, ....... ...
holdup, Joseph Emory, aged 14 years,
was given a hearing In the Justice
court today, and bound over to await
the action of the grand Jury. Emory
it one of the most notorious youths In
the southwest, and wss reared among
crlmlnslt. His entire education was
derived in the "under-world." At on
time he wss confined In a reform
gchnol, but won bis reelaee by good be
havior. After leaving the reform
school he eoon resumed Ms criminal
operations. When arrsted be
besrtiy armed ana was handcuffed.
ANOTHER PIONEER GONE.
Mrs. Martha Walker Die After a Ling
ering IllneM.
The funeral of the late Mrs. Martha
Walker, who died at the home ot M.
L. Hulse, Wednesday afternoon, was
held at the Hulse home this morning
at 11 o'clock, the Rev. O. H. King of
Delating. The Interment took place
at the Acklee cemetery, following the
funeral. The deceased was one of
Union county's pioneer ladles. She
had been a resident of this county for
the past 40 years. She was nesrly 70
yeara of age at the time of her death
and had been a constant sufferer for
some time. Besides a husband. J. 8
Walker, she leaves a number of sons,
ilimirhtora sod ' arrand children to
mourn her loss.
BALEOOH KILLS
AIIO
AMERICAN'S BALLOON IV
IXNDON 6PREAD8 DEATH.
Three Killed, Many Fatally or Serious
ly Wounded as Hcmilt of an Explo
sion to an American BalUiun Light
ed Mntcn Ignites Escaping Ga Tcr
rlble Detonation That Shakea the
Earth Bodies of Victims Removed
From the Ruins.
Taft Mum Yet.
HiM Springs. Va., Aug. 14. William
H. Taft refuse o comment on Bryan's
upeech of accepior.ee. H say he wli",
read all of U flrst. .
prc-iming Ills Speech.
Ui'. Xfl '. ' f---"f-'
of rain today kepr maay visitors from
calling on W. J. Bryan. Mr. Bryan
burld himself In his study preparing
his speech.
London, Aug. 14. Two were killed
outright, three fatally hurt, and
dozen frightfully burned, and scores
almost suffocated at the Franco-British
exhibition grounds, when a huge
balloon belonging to Captain Lovelace,
an American aeronaut, exploded with
a terrlfld detonation. The br.3y -f
Miss Blanche HIH.
reUry to
the ruins.
v.T.
.'. n,-'r.--the
ga. 1
slon.
her balloon was being Inflated and the
crowd had gathered close around It
The explosion shattered the frame
work of the structure used In Inflating
and the trappings were scattered all
over the ground.
Most of the Injured were blinded by
gas. The panic which followed is In
descrlbable. Women 1 and ' children
were trampled upon. Captain Love
lace was badly Injured.
Miss Hill was missing for come time
and It waa hoped she had escaped
but when the ruins were cleared th
body was found crushed to a pulp.
man's body was also taken from the
same ruins. The Inflation was nearly
completed when the match was struck
Lovelsre Is almost Insane with grlr
A Ikwidcnt of New York.
New York, Aug. 4. Captain Love
lace Is a resident of New York, and
went to London w ith Dr. Julian Thorn
as, the New York aeronaut, represent
Ing the Aero club of America.
The Irrigation plans as far as ad
vanced now, are on a basis much lower
than other Irrigating schemes of the
northwest have ever been, that is, as
to first cost to the land owner desir
ing the water. The Twin Falls pro
ject originated at $25 -per acre, but
r,nw . luMtn Increased to $35. . In
Umatilla county the cost per acre Is
much more than $20, and so on, over
all parts of the northwest wheer Irri
gation hits been attempted,
Where Ditches Will Go.
Though it is Impossible to give an
absolutely accurate statement as to
where the main ditches will run, still
a tentative program and one that will
will likely be carried cut, is to bring
the water from the dam at Meadow
creek to Oro Dell, and there divert It
Into two ditches, one to cover the en
tire ML Olenn and Sandrldgc country,
and the other to hug closer to La
Grande, keeping as high as possible,
to ultimately reach the region east and
south of La Grande. The main canals
will head at a point about 300 feet
higher than the Oro Dell ditch does
now. The one going north will go
near the Itynearsun place, swinging In
and out with the foothills until It
reaches a point where It will be di
verted southeast to the Conley ware
houses. All but a small ride near the
Frailer place will be covered with this
water. The canal will be about nine
miles In length with laterals lending
out to cover an enormous amount of
territory, the lay of the land being
such that the water can be run to the
north, east and south. The canal
which will ' come nearer La Grande
will be approximately 10 miles In
length.
Splendid Dam.
The dam which will be constructed
across the Grande Ttonde at Meadow
creek, will be constructed of concrete,
the plans mature. The ends of the
manlve masonry will be wtngea into
the solid rock of the mountains to In
sure a perfect structure that no cloud
urst or unusual volume of water
could tear away.
The headgates will be located above
the dam, and to get the water Into
the river channel again, It must pass
through a tunnel In 'the solid rock of
the mountain, going out beyond the
wings of the dam, which have been
built down to bedrock. No Imagine'
ble power can destroy such a tunnel
On the strength of the belief that the
scheme will end successfully despite
obstacles that are bound to show up,
the promoters will work out the minor
details that have not been properly
disposed of at present.
Though Mr. Eccles la planning on
Irrigating but 20,000 acres, the terri
tory to be covered by the main canals
and the laterals leading therefrom,
will be enormous. That between 38,
000 and 40,000 acres can be covered
with water is the estimate made by
the engineers.
' Pathway aih -n-.......,
The progre of the system will not
be marked with flowery beds of ease.
for there are knotty problems to solve
and obstacles to overcome. But the
goal to be reached Is so great than an
enterprising people like the Inhabit
ants of the Grande Konile valley wtll
not let. comparatively trivial matters
stand between them and ultimate suc
cess. The results to be achieved are
worth a life-time of effort, and with
the entering Wedge driven, the land
owners'can help to make this huge
undertaking a reality, by comparative
ly small expenditure of energy.
COO T TOMES
0 EMIFUL WIFE
GRUESOME PRACTICE OF
HUSBAND AND FATHER.
Horrible Ttorturce Inflicted on Young
Wife aiid Infant of LIbon Count
Kept Wife in Attic for a Year,
Chained to Wall, 011 Diet of Bread
and Water Wife Insane and Hiilr
Turned White, While Body Is Mere
Skeleton Child Not Exiccted to
Survive Count Banished From the
Country.
Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 14. A 'mod
ern Bluebeard was revealed loauy
when the facts leading to the recent
banishment of Count Margalho, lord
of an old Portuguese family, from the
king's court, became public.
For torturing his ' beautiful young
wife until she went Insane, and mis
treating his Infant child until It Is
feared the little one cannot live, the
count was brought before the king and
deprived of the high offices he held
under the late King Carlos, and was
ordered sent from the country In dis
grace. The count married the daughter of
a rich Lisbon banker three years ago.
(Continued on page t.)
4W''-j
i
Take a Little Soda
For Your Stomach's Sake
Food for Fleet.
Washington, Aug. 14. With a car
go consisting of (1)0,000 pounds of
; ..:. ; .-flj of potatoes and
.'. ,.' t:rnd meats and
!..;-r. I'.it
from Baa
transport
Francisco
Love lac u'en frni , dessicate,' -;'
'The ground rocked and Buffalo will salt
'. .v'ndnwt wre shattered. 1 for Manila tomorrow. The provisions
igM'.ng match Ignited are Intended for the Atlantic fleet.
ink. resulted In the expio- About January l the supply snip cei-
tlo will cross the Attantle with a slm
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 healthful. It "land3 di
rect" on the "dry" spot and quenches thirst a3
nothing else will, because we serve it at just the
right temperature.
A tremendous crowd had gathered liar cargo to meet the fleet at Port
to witness the Ascension. The mone- Paid or Olbraltar.
HILL'5 DRQQ JTORE
LA GRANDE. OREGON
$ M