lix Qpjutvzi Evnm;u oinavii
THUEnD'AT, DlCSiron'. S, 1910.
THE OBSERVER
Bruce Dennis,
E '.z r and 0-ern j
Catered at Je postoffc at L Onnd j
a second-clas matter.
I
PslIIiLea Except Fstdaj. j
KUEsaamcn rates
Dally, smgl copy
Daily, per wesk.. 15e
JiSji per nxrctJ '.Ke
Thi papev w!3 nos pntftl'ai aa ar
xla appearing over a Boa d p na.
;r'xned artM wCI V revised ea-
V A!MwHfln f tt S.a.
; Please !ga font rtlrlet and Mr
HawiwmliiMwf.'
aiHiuuuvuta
THE QTT ELECTIOX.
At the coming city election La
Grande ha considerable at tale. The
mere form of electing officers meant
little, but the duties of officers for the
next two years Is plainly prescribed,
and eTery citizen who Is Interested
cannot bat understand that La
Grande's growth and prosperity de
pends to a great extent on the muni
cipal administration. - r '
"We, as a municipality, have enter
er upon an era of ImproTement; have
pulled op anchor as a village and
launched our craft on the higher sea.
To make the voyage successful meant
work for every citizen, but more es
pecially for the men ,who are the
And besides the Improvements that
are to be continued there is another
thing that confronts La Grande. This
county has been under local option.
Why? Because the people' were dis
satisfied with the old -way of hand
ling the- liquor question. The local
option did uoL prove satisfactory
either, and at the last election the
people agreed by a large majority to
try restricted saloons and stringent
regulation. This is an experiment
which will come up for trial at once
and the Incomine administration will
have the regulating power At least
the next administration will have sup
ervision and be responsible for the
results obtained from the ordinances
adopted pertaining to the liquor traf
fic ... ... , .-.
There is no child's play about those
matters and It Is no time In La
uranues nisiory to practice anyxning
but straightforward business sense.
This Improvement enoch was ably
started by Dr. SL K. Hall when he was
w
mayor, tie maaa u poss'.Die ior is
1 Grande to loin the procession of pro
gression by Installing a water system
here at the time when the peace,
health and safety of the people de
manded It Following his administra
tion F. L. Meyers as mayor with the
able assistance of a council which
was In accord with the advancement
Idea, has placed this city in the paved
street class;, has started a well de
fined system cf seven; las
miles of centent. sidewalks and num
erous other improvements hare b -teade
v .
But with all of these things we have
barely started. What we need now is
a man capable of taking up the load
and rendering stM further achieve
ment In the way of keeping La Grande
to the front
FEED AND
FUEL
GEORGE PAL3TER, TBes. F. J. HOLMES, Tire Pres.
TT. L BEE 5 HOLTS, Assn. Cash. EARL 7XXDEL, U Asst Cah.
F. L. HETEES ,CashIer.
La Gfande National Bank
of La. Grande, Oregon
United States Depository
Capital, Surplus and Undivided Profits $2Q0,QC0.Q0
. ' DIRECTORS.
GEORGE PALMER, TV. L..BREXI10LTJ9
W. J. CBCRCn F. L. 3IEVEBS
F. J. I10LSES If. SI.FIEBCE
.
With oar ample mcarres and facilities we can renaer yos e3
ctent service and handle your business (9 jour entire sutifsct1on.
teloa rttuttty'a circuit court is cow
wre&liag lla a muidar trldl. Out
of those uatortta.te tragedies i.a
grew out of a fiauly quarrel and re
salted in the splllLcg of human tljA
Soc'.cty Li evidoUy not-reicted a
high state of civUitaUoa .whta' auta
crimes as this mark the calendar of
so apparently a peaceful community
as the Grande Ronde valley. . ;
Without wi&hing" to even discuss
the merit or damerit of the cass be
fore the court, we wish to call atten
tion cice more' to the danger cf car
rying firearm. If Jeas Parker had
no gun and could aot hare pro
cured one within ten minute ha
would not have killed Mr. Porter, bis
father-in-law. This la a fact, bo mat
ter what disposition Jess Parker may
possess. Men only shoot on the spur
of the moment If, a the defense may
claim, that Porter has a gun and Par
ker shot in self-deufense, then had
Mr. Porter not been able to have a
gun there would have been no killing.
We are loaded with laws preventing
carrying f weapons, yet they do lit
tle good. Why? Because people are
not educated from Infancy to. frown
upon the man who has a weapon. We
need stronger , public , sentiment
against the practice
A heat of passion, a family difficul
ty wherein different ones were Im
plicated has caused the death of the
father, and a long train of miserable
and gruesome circumstances to te
threshed out before the public And
uu u snail ail have befea finished
and Jess Parker Is either , convicted
or acquitted a the case may be, who
will be the one to suffer? (
The wife and mother for one, but
more lasting will be the suffering that
the little boy will undergo. His life
Is before him,' He will live under the
stigma of this family quarrel which
has resulted in murder. Try as he
may he cannot get away from It. anii
he starts In life four-fifths beaten at
anything he undertakes because he
not only has the ordinary life's strug
gle to combat with but he has that
terrible odium of a tragedy for which
he yas not, to blame also to carry
Regardless of the decision of the
Jury, regardless of the feeling : of
friends or enemies of Parker, keep In
mind this the boy is the one to pity
most and the boy is the one to lend
a helping hand to If the time ever
ccroes when it is possible to do so.
WIIE5 THE MOTOR SLOWS DOTVS
A few days ago the writer met Sen
ator W. L. Pierce, who Is probably
the best known man in the valley.
The senator has a game leg, a flat
wheel as it were, and it refuses to
heal and become as strong as It once
was. After listening to him talk for
a while and reviewing his past active
life the thought occurred to us what
it really means for the motor of the
hnman machine to begin slowing
down. ; , ;:' '';- -.. ."
Here is a man who had never
known physical ailment When the
cattle needed rounding up In the fall
he was the first man In the saddle;
when the harvest was in Xull blast he
was everywhere lookfng alter the
work. No man could ride more miles
and do more work! than Senator
GrandeRondeXashCo
PHONE, MAIN 6
C C rESIXGTOX
W. P, CLEATER
F. IT. BTRIT
n?rce. It 1 different now. IIU phj
d'tlan t-I!a hi La to taa the limb dc?s
beal and become apparently stront
his active days are over and he must
let the physical activity be dona by
others while he confines himself to
V.s office. The punishment is a se
vere one for a man who has been
tsed to breathing mountain air from
the 'honest peak, for one who has
been used to saying, "come on, boys,
well do this piece "of work today."
I TV
But it I something that is sure to
come to every man. .The physical
house in which we live may withstand
for years and year,' but like ail ma
chinery, some time an eccentric will
slip or a babb't bearing will wear out
causing a little lost motion which in
turn will day by day cause the whole
machine to feel the Jar, and we are
confronted with old age.
This I not Intended for a pessimis
tic view of the physical condition of
Senator Pierce, but is such a splendid
illustration for all who will read that
the temptation became too great and
we have used hi personality to dem
onstrate a (point that is worth remem
bering. ' . 1 - - -.- 1
THE WEST AD3USISTRATI0X
When Oswild. West takes hi seat
as governor we hope he will begin at
once and decapitate every republican
ofticial that be can. There is posi
tively "no reason why, a republican
should hold office under Governor
West" ' ' -.- . .... ' .
Man t; Uro were
men who are not asking patronage
as a rule. It would be a good lesson
to the men who claim strong; party
allegiance, yet play the game double
to have their heads taken off with
one blow of the West ax. :
Personality should cut no figure
whatever, and ability Is seldom of
such quality in state Institutions that
It cannot be replaced, so while the
orchestra plays let the sheep be led
to the blot k and let the ne'wly elected
governor act as executioner, v
SNAP SHOTS.
The Memphis Appeal has made an
Instructive verb out of "ballinger"
and defines it aa "to stick, to sit tight
to be of a holdfast disposition." St
Paul Dispatch. .
One of the contracts ahead of Pres
ident Taft will be to see if there' are
enough consular jobs for the politi
cal lame ducks Los Angeles Times.
Madera sounds more like a cigar
than the president of a republic,
Atlanta JournaL.
Those persons .who are demanding
the abolition of football and those who
would do away with Santa Clans pro
vide equally, brilliant examples of
wasted efforts. Pittsburg ' Gazette-
Times. - .
"V
Mr.' Battling Kelson's impersona
tion of the Melancholy Pane is said
to be most realistic Butte Miner.
.'Of course the United tSates will
not annex Panama. And we will also
see to it that no other power does.
Los Angeles Times. ' -. . . 1
We fear that In structing Kermit
how to vote the Colonel did not make
his Instructions clear St Louis
Times.
An ortf ration for appendiciUs was
performed on an ocean steamship
passenger the other day while the
vessel was going at full speed. Efen
the most expensive luxuries can now
be obtained at sea. Pittsburg Gazette-
Times. ; .
If Jack Johnson keeps on making a
nuisance of himself there will be
several places where he cant come
back. Butte Miner.
' However, we do not understand that
T. R. contemplates moving to Tax
as. Los Angeles Times. .
There Is a movement afooot to have
the government buy the Mammoth
Cave, Is this a scheme to provide a
habitat for Joe Foraker? Detroit News
The muck-raking magazines that
contributed so much to the Demo
cratic success In the East sow have
on their hands the job-ef making the
Commercial Tribune. .
Ton cant play hookey from the
school of experience Cincinnati
Democratic legislature behave them
selves. Los Angeles Times.
Many people who think Julia Ward
J
t i
ririi
will find it greatly
eaity iur
75-4'
r.
SELECTIONS ARE MORE COMPLETE
I ; Much of the joy of giving
p ' n wi . 1 ri:
nurnecuy iiuea. uy dc ginning 1 jut 1 were is ampie urac ior me consiacrauon
; of each one's individual preference.
' No M WFlfjHt QUALITY SWRE
Howe wrote the Battle Hymn of the
Republic are mistaken. It was Men
delssohn, and they play it at every
wedding. Topeka Capital.
Senate Adjourns.
Washington, Dec. 8 After a brief
session the senate adjourned this af
ternoon until Monday.
WEST POINT UNIFORMS.
Cadets Mukt Sacrifice Comfort For the
Sako of Looks.
"It Is true." said a retired army offi
cer In a discussion of West Pointers
with the .Washington Herald, "that
many West Pointers acquire a figure
of perfection of symmetry and a car
riage the acme of manly grace, but
these are due not to any ingenious ap
pliances, . but to the systematic drills
and exercises that make the cadet to
a certain extent an athlete. At the
outset these young fellows are put
through what are called the 'setting
up' exercises, their , object being to
straighten the body and develop the
chest One might suppose that it would
require a great amount of such exer
cise to make any marked showing, but
three long hours of such exercise daily
will soon produce beneficial results in
the most stooped forma -
"The cadet uniform is also a great
help fa this direction. The dress coat
is tight very tight The shoulders are
heavily padded in order to give them
a square effect The chest is made
thick, so that there win be no danger
of wrinkling. And In size a new dress
coat seems always to be designed for
a boy several times smaller than the
one who Is to wear it A new dress
coat Is fact is always a source of
suffering to its owner. When he first
puts it on It buttons readily alout the
neck, but seems to lack about six
Inches at the waist. Toe owner quit
squirm and wriggle and atten.pt to re
duce his waist to a minimum circum
ference, but his maiden efforts are
never sufficient to button the new dress
coat Experience is a great teacher,
though, and the young fellow laugh
ingly requests one or two of bisTriends
to lend their assistance, and he finally
succeeds In buttoning the coat All
this for the sake of looks. Comfort has
no place In the makeup of a West
Pointer; it's discipline and looks."
WATCHED OVER BY SATAN.
' s
Superstitions That Twin About $
-Mandraks Plant
, The little plant the mandrake has
wealth of tradition centering round :t
such as is seldom found In floral lo -
i Quite an insignificant little plant w! j
a spindle shaped root often dlvld -I
Into two or three forks and rudely r -sembling
the human form. It is don1 .
less from this latter fact thst It bu
, M.k.r mt
genjdrnjn 'Cloties
ve can wait on you yell, but we can
wait on you better todays
CHRISTMAS, SHOPPERS
to their advantage
uieir unnstmas
is lost when your GIFT LIST is hastily compiled and
wrav.v ?J
tJprtred Its nnnu. tjnihorn in th I
latter part of the eighteenth century
tells us to . v
Mark how the rooted mandrake wrara
His human feet, his human hands, , . .
while it was once believed that a per
son pulling up a mandrake would in
stantly fall dead. This was said to
be because the mandrake had a human
heart at Its root and when pulled it
would scream in such a. fearsome man
ner as to terrify the hearer to death or
else Induce : madness. Shukespeare
alludes to this where he iys:
And shrieks like m an 1 ratten torn out of
the earth.
That living- mortals, hearing them, run
mad. .: , a . ..-.::'...'
And again irt "King Henry VII."
where Suffolk, asked by Queen Mar
garet whether he has not spirit to
curse his enemies, replies: -
Would curses kill, as doth the mandrake's
. groan..
would invent as bitter, searching terms
As curst, as harsh, as horrible to hear.
From time immemorial the man
drake has been associated with en
chantments and- has ever been be
lieved to be one of the most powerful
charms of witches. Mr. Conway, in a
paper on "Mystic Trees and Flowers"
states that !by popular superstitions
in some places It is said to be per
petually watched over by Satan, and
If it be pulled up at certain holy times
and with certain invocations the evil
spirit will appear to do the bidding of
the practitioner." Westminster Re
view. ' ' - '-.
The Holland Primrose. '
There is a plant In Holland known
as the evening primrose, which grows
to a height of five or sit feet and bears
a profusion of large yellow flowers so
brilliant that they attract immediate
attention, even at j a great distance,
but the chief peculiarity about the
plant is the fact that the' flowers,
which open just! before sunset burst
into bloom so suddenly that they give
one the impression of some magical
agency. A man who has seen this sud
den blooming say it Is just as if some
one had touched the land with a wand
and thus covered it all at once with a
golden sheet
A Reflection en the Horse.
"My husband," bragged Mrs. Jones,
"was a famous long distance runner In
hi day. He once outran a horse In a
twenty mile race,"
"Isn't that funny Y answered Mrs.
Smith. "We once had a horse tike
that"
i Now Jones and Smith wonder why
their wives don't speak. Buffalo Ex
press. - :'. - - " . .
Father Did the Work.
bVt- - 1 1 , I. -
uj fcuuuiu j im wg; ioa are i
young and strong." j
"That is rtsbt but my father Is old ;
and weak and can no longer support i
me." Meggendorfer Blatter.
V.
x
if
to visit this store h
scs.
MILD LIQUID CC11IS ECZE3IA.
Skin Sufferers! Drop Greasy Salves
v and Jfasty Medicines.
That mild, soothing liquid, D. D. D.
Prescription Btops the awful Itch with
the first drops. .A prescription of ac
knowledged value. '
Get a trial bottle at 25c. It will take
away the Itch right away and you will
sleetf soundly. We assure you per
sonally of the merits of this remedy;
for we KNOW. The Newlin Drug Co,
Dec. 6-8
tClassiHedi
I Advertising t
A
WANTED Position Dy a man as
cook and wife as helper. Camp pre
ferred. Call at Observer office, tf
FOR RENT One front room, on
1911-2nd Btreet Phone Black 1582. t
FOR RENT A nicely furnished
front room. Inquire 1612 Sixth treet
or phone Black-3812.
WANTED Girl strippers at King's,
Cigar Factory. Must be at least 18 or
over. Experience not necessary.
Goo wage. -- ' '
mg
and Heatilig
JohnMelvifle
1423 Adams Art.
LA GRANDE, - ORE
i iumD
aT.'r;a,r,3