J
Aw
3 O-
v
VOL. XIV. ,
n m to be
LOCAL THRESHERME3 WILL SUP
PORT MODEL ENGINE LAW
TO THE LETTER.
fllllSflBJECTDFIiniGK
ffebster Abends Meeting and Bis
Plans for Good Roads Made Plain
Local Session (es on Rord as
Directly Supporting the Measure
Wonld Mean Expenditure Thous
ands by Each County In the State,
Selection of Portland as the next
meeting place, hearing the message
from Judge Webster pertaining to the
good roads provisions to be brought
before the . legislature, "exonerating"
John Minnlck of Union who Is vice
president of the state ' assbclation,
framing a law5 which will' be plac
ed before the legislature regulating
the transportation of traction engines,
(constituted the principal .features of
today's session of the state thresher-
men's convention. ,
Webster's Plans Unfolded.
A bill being drafted for introduc
tion to the next legislature by the
central board of the state good roads
association, containing four salient
features, was read , an'd explained by
Judge Webster who Is here today. The
threshermen gave unqualified support
to it later. It embodies the appoint
ment of three men to name a highway
Commissioner for the state who shall
direct the expenditure of moneys ap
propriated by the. counties and state
to the amount of $20,000 from each
county and $5,000 from the state for
each county. It includes a. bill pro
viding for -the bonding of the state
and counties to, that effect;, ft pro
vides for the maintenance "of ' state
prlrn labor on roads and for work
lngVbf prisoners In corporate cltie9
on county roads. The plr,n was ex
Vlained dn detail and adopted. . :
Xew Bill Framed.
The Iowa.traction engine law, said
to be the model of ita kind In the
world, will be copied In the bill to
be presented by the Oregon ihresher
men., It provides for the blowing 'Of
whistles at stated times, Btopplng the
engine when passing a team and above
all. repeals all present laws and sub
stitutes this one In ' Its place. The
chief point In the new bill Is that af
ter December 1911 the bridges shall
be built so securely that no bridges
will have to be planked while engines
are . crossings This gives the county
: courts over a year to perfect their
bridges. Until that datethe bridges
must be planked as.now. -
John Minnlck Criticized,
A lively tilt over an issue pertain
ing to the threshermen of the north
and south middle west was comment
ed on by John. Minndck of Union In, a
letter to the editor of the Thresher
men's Review of Michigan several
4 months ago. It arose over the Wichita
fracas of which threshermen are fa-
miliar. In response to Mr. MInnlck's
letter, the editor wrote a virile com-
; munication to Secretary Bates and it
; was read this afternoon. "Illiterate
" and an lignoramus" were some of the
names attached to Mf. Minnlck by the
Michigan editor. At the conclusion of
the letter, Mr. Minnlck addressed the
convention explaining the details of
the epistle and pointed out his posi
tion. His position' was such that It
brought forth a shout of approval and
v Mr, Minnlck was "exonerated" In ev
erv sense of the word. .
The Portland meeting will be" held
on Friday and Saturday preceding the
obg festival.. -: , -
Pendleton nut In a bid for the fall
meeting a year hence and It will like-
iy succeed in landing lt : . ,
The Tneetlnar adlourna - tonight. .
The banquet last evening was large
ly attended and a success In every
way. E. E. Bragg was toastmaster and
: A. Rlnenart welcomed the thresh'
ermn in his enthusiastic way. Sev.
erai speeches were delivered and the
event was a decided success In evry
, way. ., r , , ; ;
WRECK VICTIMS S.VYED.
J'lehf Ilonse Rescnrers Comes to Aid
Starring and Freeelnjr Crew.
, Oswego, Dec. 10 After ftwo daTS of
,.' rrible exposure to wtnftry blasts
Pnd hanger, two women and twenty
Ten were taken off the lake steamer
harnfless near Galloup Island to
cay, The steamer was going to pieces
COPIED DY
HQ
LA GRANDE, UNION COUNTY. OEEGOH.
on the rockB near the Island, which
she struck Thursday during a Btdrm.
All the life boats save one was crush
ed In. The lighthouse rescuers arrived
Just In time to Bave the -wreck vic
tims. v. A. Y. P. Announce Dividend.
Seattle, Dec. 10 Directors of the
Alaska Yukon exposition tod&v n-
noi'nced a dividend amounting to $30.-N
000 is ready for the distribution
among the stockholders. Besides the
dividend the exposition left a million
dollars' worth of improvements for
the University of Washington. -. -
Accident In Canada Mine.
Fernle, B. C, Dec. 10 Twenty bod
es were recovered and eighteen mlRS
ing, and some were rescued alive al
though aorae were fatally injured to
day at Bellevue coal mine- near Frank
Alberta. Seven men Ire, Still alive In
the working's.
The explosion , occurred last night
by gas. Rescuers are , clearing the
shafts. Nurses and doctors worked all
night over the Injured; Most were
Slavs and Italians. .. "
Services Popular,
re$s at the Methodist church are be
coming unusually Intense In their val
ue and interest. Rev. L. C. Elliott has
a plain but powefful way of express
ing the great religious truths he pre
sents. There have been a number of
conversions. He speaks tonight and
tomorrow nlight as well as every af
ternoon and evening next week. Dr.
GiUilan, the pastor, will preach to
morrow on "Reason In Religion." The
choir of young women are a very
pleasing feature of the service.'
Conners Grandmother Dead.
Mrs. J. Colldwell, grandmother of
Fra-nk Conners of this city, died last
nlg;ht at her home in Perrydale, Ore.
She has been ailing for soma time.
RUMOR CAIXS CREDENCE SO RAP
IDLY THAT IT IS ALMOST TRUE
State Land Board to be Headed by
County Assessor. Rinehart
' County Assessor T, A. 'Rinehart,
Democratic warhorse is In line for
the head of the state land board, and
though Governor-Elect West has not
announced his appointment, and
doubtlessly will not for some time to
come, the political weather, wane
points its finger at "Tod" and no mia
take. Mr. "Rinehart himself may not
be abreast wlth the affair, his friends
who have put the matter up to West
are cognizant of, the fact neverthe
less. It is freely rumored in Portland
and Salem, and has come, during the
past few days to be considered a sure
ty in thi-eity. 'V ,
' The state land board la an . im
portant , organization and (the fact
that Mr. Rinehart is aboard for the
head of it, has added to the import
ance of the appointment. La Grande
has fared extremely well In the mat
ter of prospective appointments and
it ds a self evident fact that wheouhe
appointments are actually made, the
word La Grande will be tacked to a
large' number of appointments.
; Just what would happen if the ap
pointment Is tendered Mr. Rinehart
la not known, but on account of the
political prestige going with It and
the matter of salary too, should and
doubtlessly, will be sufficient force
to call Mr. Rlnenart from nis pres
ent post as assessor. . .
. . -n " ,'''. .;. : ,
MRS. E. DAMOJf DEAD.
Xews Comes from Portland of Death
f Last Sight at That Place,
Mrs. Bonsel. "an old time friend of
the E. Damon family, received a tele
gram this afternoon 'from Portland
savlna Mrs. Damoa died there , last
atght. Mrs'. Damon wai the mother of
W. L.. DanrtJii ana tne wire or Ei Da-
moil, aontier resident of this city,
Tfce family has a large circle of
friends in this city who will be grlev'
ed at the news of her death. v.
IS PLEASED WITH TOWN.
Reed of DenTer Expects to Locate and
May Start sew Firm.
Fred Reed and wife of Denver are
here looking over the ground with the
object In view of finding a business
opportunity. He undoubtedly will lo
cate here In a few days. The only ob
Jectlons that he has to the town Is
that there are no vacant locations
available. . . -r ... . .
Bill I ILL
GET STATE
POSITIOI
EFEOSE RESTS
IEST1
II Tl
lllE!llEOUni S1TEI
The jurors have been ordered to
report for duty next Tuesday1, indi.
eating Ut3 Parker trial will fee over
bout tiwit time. - .
Was Al. Wills Intoxicated on Aug
ust 6th T
The defense says he mas and tha
prosecution says, no.
The testimony of Wills Is not con
ducive to the defense's success and
It is Intended to show, If possible that :
S ?oUute1 " th Juice of
r k u, .u . evenrng or
the homicide and therefore was not
--tT- r:.: 6 it"?" freci'
pevaney wag placed on the stand Jusf
before noon and testified that a man
lying on the porcu apparently intoxi
cated waa . Been that evening by her
as she drove past When questioned
closely she did not see the man's face
but ehe did, think he wag of the eame
build as Al.,Willa who was presented
to her In the court room today.
The Defense Rests. '.
Shortly afternoon the defense rest
ed its case and the prosecution, began
its rebuttal, , the first witness being
Joe Jones of Elgin who swore that
he knew Al. Wills, waa with him
August 5th threshing at Jones' farm;
that Wills, in his opinion, was not
drunk," nor had there been anything
to drink on the premises during the
day !'::';
There was a lively skirmish ' be
tween attorneys, the defense attemnt-
ng to bar this evidence and the pro
secution holding for Jt. Judge Knowles
deliberated on. the point and decided
that the. evidence, was all right and
ordered the witness tp proceed.
The "Wettest" Day..
Weather Observer - Worstel was
called to: locate dates of rainfall be
tween AuguBt 5 and Sept. 26, which he
did with his official records. Then Mr.
Rand said:. ',..."'"..' C--. '
"You may tell the court the wettest
day since August,5th," v :., .v
While Mr. Rand was no doubt In
nocent of the mirth he had provked
it was nevertheless anjuplng for; M.
Worstel smiled as he said : "I find
that November 8th was decidedly the
wettest day of the year."
This , date happened to be election
day when Union county went wet and
Mr. Worstel is an earnest prohibition
worker. The Jury saw the point, as
did the court, and while no demonstra
tion followed it gave every one a
chance to change position and smile.
Jess Parker, who sent the fatal
bullet Into the breaBt of his father-
In-laW, W M. Porter, was placed on
the stand last evenWg and when
court convened this morning his tes
timony was continued. A long Berles
or questioning on direct examination
brought the story of the killing as
told in last evening's issue of the Ob
server. Parker played up the protec
tion of h5s child In a very clever man
ner, and was ready with Answers to
all questions, , ,
On cross examination 'Attorney
Jdhn h. Rand took the witness down
the, line with questions that required
some -.; hesitation before answering.
Parker showed a disposition to resent
some of the ouestions to the attor
ney,' but he is cool headed at that
and usually landed his.- answers in
a ahape that apparently did him little
harm.;.., " ,.;:" :X-vx.,'.-', ;..
: It was permanently : estabMshed
that tliA first twin h1 hnt-arnAn 'Toon
Parker and his father-in-law arose
wer the division of a straw stack lo
cated on the firm of Sam Parker,
father of Jess, In this trouble the two
Parkers were apparently against Por
ter and young Jess admits having hit
his father-in-law across the, should
ers with the handle of a pick. He also
admits having pounded his face with
his flBts until Ms father-in-law yel
led, "enough". Whether the older
Parker held Porter while young Jess
did this beatlngj was not thoroughly
established although domo olts of
evidence might (Indicate that such
was the case. '
The second time trouble arose be
tween Jess and his wife's father was
plso over the straw, according to the
defendant. At this time there was a
plow and gun that entered Into the
trouble, but evidence on these two
articles was' ruled out. ' : 1 ; v - ;.
The tfblrd bunch of trouble came
when the divorce of Mrs. Parker was
filed. He said his wife had left him at
different timea but had always come
back until along In July when she
left and ' returned to her father's
home and ne next thing that happen
ed was divorce proceedings In La
Grande. Tt spems on the Sunday-following
the fillnsr of the divorce Jess
Parker came to La Grande on the Wal
lowa train and on the same train was
Mr. Portr and his daughter. (Jess'
wife). When Mr. Rand drew the wit
ness down to a fine point as to why
he came to La Grande on the same
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10,
CASE'l'J
EIFEHJT
day and rode on the same train with
Mr. Porter and daughter,: Jess said
h had come to meet an engineer
whom he was ta take iback to Elgin
that evening. He also said he got oft
the train before It reached the sta
tion in order to avoid trouble with
Porter, yet Immediately following he
eiaiea mat ne went to the Ronde Val
ley. hotel where Porter had register
ed himaA? n
made an objTctloa buse his wfe
am not use the name oj! Parker in
registering at the hotel.
1 ine ProsecuUon contended that
llncere "beVaniT57'rdeT to" make
trouble he had followed bjs wife and
her father to the Ronde Valley ho
tel. This was denied by the witness.
: , I' Jest a Gunman T
Leading up to the night ' of the
homicide Mr. Rand took the witness
through a time when he had viaiited
the Porter home and according to re
port had leveled a gun on Mrs. Por
ter, his wife's mother, and the daugh
ter pleaded with her husband hot to
Bhoot the old, While this seemed to
be a strong point to spectators It was
apparently hard to get at for the at
torneys abandoned it shortly.
-(The tale of how he happened to 'be
la the road at the Porter home on the
night of the killing was a trifle vague
for JeBs admitted that he. had tele
phoned his wife and baby; boy ho
would be out that night and had been
given privilege to come and see them.
.Later in his evidence he said he in
tended . to .make. a visit to his, mill and I
t "ne-ot back- in time ' intended to
stop and Bee the wife and baby.
Apparently every Juror noticed this ;
and interest began to increase. Jess
then told of putting, a gun in his
clothes because it was growing late
and he. expected to return to Elgin
through the timber, road. When 'asked
if he was afraid he said no, He also
said he was not in the habit of car
rying a igun, yet when questioned,
closely regarding putting the gun in
Ws clothes he Baid he frequently did
that when he intended to be; out at
night; ' j" , . ' i .'.-? :
;, Every once In awhile there would
occur such a discrepancy in his testi
mony as to cause either a Juryman or
a spectator to unconsciously take a
sharp look at the witness. ,
Held the Bfly -While he fchot.
Then came, the tragedy, described
by the-man who pulled the fatal trig
ger.; He said his little boy, his wife
and c himself . had been:, visiting for
three quarters of an hour; that the
youngster wanted to go to a carni
val in Elgin of which he (Jess) had
told him and was pleading to go. Jess
admitted he did not want to take the
boy to Elgin , that night and that the
boy's mother objected to having the
child go then, but' promised he could
go later. Apparently the father, moth
er and child were having no trouble
until the wife's father , appeared on
the scene. Why he appeared was not
divulged. Whether threats threw Por
ter Into a fit of anger and caused him
to rush at Jess, or whether the mere
Bight of his son-In-law was so. re
pulsive to the wife's father that he
lost control of himself Is a guess, for
the testimony Jumps from a pleasant
fapily gathering In the public road to
a frantic rush of Porter, a shot from
Jess' plstoWanother, and another
and then the scene changes showing
Porfter wounded and on Wa knees,
the wife and daughter screaming and
hysterical, Jess in a self-conwosed
state while the poor little boy Is lost
sight of entirely. -; : ' ,
"Why did you hold the little child
'in front of you if you expected trou
ble." asked Mr. Rand of the witness.
"Why did you not put the' child down !
and get in Tront of him to protect
htm as a loving father would natur
ally do, rather than keep the child
between you and danger?" -
'These questions grated a little on
the wftness apparently but he stoutly
maintained he though he could pro
tect the little one better toy holding
him In his arms. ;
When asked why he shot the second
and third time at Porter, Jess said he
was not sure he had hit him the first
time. ' : ;:, !,. v
When Mr. Rand step hy step recall
ed the scene of the homIcIde,evident
lv refreshing Jess Parker's tnlnd of
the fearful crime for the? witness
Showed slsrns of meditation. ; t
Yesterdny Evening's Evidence. ...
The witnesses one by one were tak
en through the process of question
ing, but the salient points of the case
remained the Same and the evidence
to substantiate and make stronger
what had been claimed by the de
fense, 1. e., that the killing of Porter
was .purely In self-defense, r
h Nell McLeod, formerly a resident
of this county and well acquainted
with Elgin and vicinity, was placed
1910.
on the stand. He reviewed his ac
qauintance with W. M.' Porter in
which he stated that Porter had made
threats on Parker because of alleged
mistreatment of Parker's wife, who
was a daughter of Porter. This oc
curred Bhortly after divorce proceed
ings in the Jess Parker family had
been begun,'
Sam Parker Testifies.
The father of Jess Parker waa an
important witness. He was placed on
the stand by the defense to give In
formation relative to a division of
Btraw between Parkers and Porters
at which the first trouble Is said to
have occurred, , and also at which
time Porter had Bald before death
that one of the Parkers held him
while the other pounded him over the
head with a pick handle. .
The pick handle has been an Impor
tant factor in the case and is often
referred throughout the trial. A Fol
lowing' It there seems to have been
bad blood between the Porters and the
Parkers.
Another Case Recalled
When Sam Parker was telling, of
the Porter trouble he remarked that
LW. M. Porter had made threats
against, the Parkers savlna- h would
lay tnem under the sod Ju?t ar ft rel
ative of his had done the Macey fam
ily. .
.This remark caused every old tim
er who Is familiar with Eastern Ore
gon history to takevnotice, for in the'
early days ! the Macey family were
murdered in Pine valley by a man
named Porter and after trial and con
viction Porter was hanged ia Union.
Up until Sam Parker spoke of the
Macey .crime it is doubtful If any one
in the court room, and possibly no
one in the county, had ever thought
of connecting the Porters at Elgin as
relatives to the man hanged at Union.
There still; may be no connection
and the remark may have been one
oMhosejchance statements which ar
(Continue'' on page Eight.)
WlSHI.GTO- DRAWS THREE AD.
DED COXGRESSMES'.
Totals for the Entire United States
Chen Out by Dur'and Today. v
Washington, Dec. 10 The popula
tion of the United States is 91.972.2G6.
The population of the country ln
cludinf territorial possesBlqns is 83,
402,152. Census of Washington sUte
is 1,141,999.
, The country's Increase is 15,977,691
or 25 per. cent. The Increase Includ
ing territorial possessions Is 16,145.
521 or 20.9 per cent. The grand totll
population of the United States and
all Its territories sad possessions Is
101,000,000. ? .
i The , Washington increase ls623,887
or 120.4 per cent. Under the present
apportionment it means three more
congressmen. ,
Wisconsin's census is 2,333,860, an
Increase of 12.7 per cent. Georgia has
2,609,121, an dncrease of 17.7 per cent.
Each Btate Is entitled to another con
gressman. The population of Alaska
Is 64,356, an Increase of 724 or 1.2
per cent. Hawaii has 190,108, an In
crease of 37,908, The military, and
naval population of the United States
is .55,608. ; V- . -.-;' -d-
WRIGHT MAYOR OF UMOX
Eelection Held This Week Elects New
Ofticers for Town of Union.
: The municipal election in the city
of Union took place this week with a
total of 208 votes cast, the individual
vote standing as follows, says the
Union Republican. , ;,
For Mayor L. A. Wright, 166.
For Councllmen C, J. Forstrom,
195, s, L. Hunter 61 and W, II. Vogel
107. ,":...
, For Recorder Irwin D. Wright, 171
For Treasurer Osburn , Rlchlns,
171. ..s'v ;".;', V "v
For Marshal II. M. Shannon, 163.
For Street Commissioner W. S.
Ham, 166 ; v - ; ;
All members of the old organiza
tion were re-elected.
TO PLA JIT SEVENTY ACRES.
Thronson Bnjs Trees for Seventy
Acre Orchard of Union Firm.
J. A. Thronson has purchased of
the Union, Ore., nursery, trees for
a 70-acre fruit farm. They were all
apple trees and of the Rome Beauty
and Jonathan ivarletes. The pros
pects are for a much Increased orch
ard acreage next year.
P0P1ILSTI! I
nniiriTmin
UUUNlifl Id
ifil
11 11 '
t
NUMBER 33
I CHE
REPRESENTATIVES WILL MEET
MANAGERS AT CHICAGO JTEXT
3I0XDAY.
LOCf.L DDES fiOil
GeiMTiilIy Etlk-ved That Stride Will
.be Voted BuJ .XeUilJas U KHow,.
" After' the Yole' I TLiibu'scfXTIIl'
we txr.nusiea tidj jl.t -h
agm May JTect L yr-
Before Yote Is IV; .
.vcs
Chicago, Ddc. 10 To count the
votes on the strike question by engi
neers of the sixty-one western rail
roads, unless a. wage increase is
granted, officials of the Brotherhood
of Railway Engineers are gathered
here today; Counting is under way nt
the Great Northern hotel. While the
ballot was taken Becretly it Is believ
ed the engineers voted to strike. It.
is intimated the votes may not be all
counted before representatives of the
engineers meet the general managers,
ofj railroads Monday, to negotiate for a
fifteen per cent wage and settlement
of the mallet engine dispute. Pro
bably the negotiations will take much
time." , ' .". .
; f .Strike as Last Resort.
The engineers' representatives ln
tiniated that they will use every per-
i suasion possible, before any orders
are given to the men to strike. -
:..La Grande engineers we.re of .the -opinion
that the strike would be an
nounced today and that the engineer's
representatives would announce the
vote today;- The above contracts '
the belief. : A . t;.:.,: .. .
. It Is tbe; general , feeling of, local
engineers that .every posslblo precau
tion will be taktm not to strike, but
if forced to ; iu -i such action -wrill be
taken; There ia:. no, question In the
minds of the' engineers themselves
but what the vote will show strike by
a big majority. Loath to see trouble,
and loath to see the strike precipi
tated, the; engineers are anxious to
see their points gained .without a
walkout..,.-. ,;:-,-;v;--;,
About ten days will be required to
get official word' here of the outcome
of the Chicago count, though Its
wording, is pretty safely guessed In
advance. . . . .'V.-
CLAIRE REACHES CITY.
Come From Union With ' Doff and
ronjr, To Stay Three Days.
Miss Alberta Claire, the ; olucky
Wyoming gilrl who Is riding from
New York to San FrancJaco on horse- ,
bacli , arrived tthls aftqrnoon Irom
Union where she spent the night She
win appear at the Orpheum theatre
4n a vaudeville stunt -tomorrow and
Monday. - . ; ; ; ; , ' : .
Her trip here' was uneventful. Her
dog was badly tired out but the horse
stood the trip well. She is a daring
woman, but affirms that she has had
nothing to mar her pleasures except
disagreeable weather and bad roads.
From here she goes directly to Port
land. Her turn at the vaudeville houses
along the way is said to be very good
at all times.-,-
v,' 1600 Licenses. ' ". ' .: '.
The number of hunting and fishing
licenses that have been Issued by
County Clerk Ed. Wright for the past
season iln round numbers Is 1600.
There have been 777 hunting licenses
and 820 fishing licenses called for
up to date, which exceeds last year's
total but very little, : "
BIsr Increase Jn Censns. j
That the seliool census of Latirande
will show 165 per cent Is the careful
estimate made hy School Clerk Will,
lams and Enumerator Rogers this
afternoon Just before the final check
np of the enumeration takev 'place.
Last year the count stood 1172, which
makes a large Increase In one year.
It is possible that the estimate today
will vary a few connts one wav or the
Lother bnt It l not a likelihood. Tills
increase Is larger than even the. most
sanguine had hoped for. ;
Storm Off Spain. ? " ,
; Cerebzere, Spain, Dec. 10 Many are
reported to have been killed by a
tornado that swpt Northern Spain
early today. Six fishing vessels sank
In Cerunna harbor and several of their
crews were drodned.
STIEITEOQI'J
IB MIED