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VOL. XIV.
LA GRANDE, UNION COUNTY, OREGON.
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11, 1911.
NUMBER: 63.
r
LA 611
FIRES SENT
SUFFERS BV RIDICULOUS
OUT FRU11 IGEiS
W. GILBERT THOMPSON
m
OF CITY AND ITS
POPULATION IS JUGGLED
Washington, Janu. 11 (Special to
Observer) The population of La
Grande according to the thirteenth
census Is 4,845. At the twelfth census
it was 2,991 and at the f leventh 2,583.
The census of Oregon City, is 4,289,
Salem 14,094, and Eugene 9,009. ,
Spreading consternationand elicit
ing plenty of chagrin the announce
ment of E. Dana Durand reached this
city this morning and the matter is
being considered principally as a huge
joke rather than seriously. Showing
over a half thousand less in popula
tion that it was five years ago when
the state enumeration was taken, the
announcement of the census bureau
cannot be taken otherwise than as
a Joke. During the past .five years
hundreds of residences hare been
built and today are Inhabited addi
tions have, been laid out and built up
on and the residences so built are now
inhabited and were when the census
was taken laBt spring. lodging
houses are crammed with railroad,
sawmill and other employes and pro
fessional men who have moved to
La Grande and have made this their
home since the last state census. Con
sequently It Is preposterous to as
sume that' the city has lost in pop;
ulatlon during these five years.
Increase in Ten Tears.
Even though the census returns
were accurate but they are so fa
from correct as to be entirely ludi
crous -the increase in ten years i
1852 or nearly eighty per cent.
Estimates Disagree.
Estimates made by people in close
torch with the census when it was
taken affirm that the city census
shorn! show over five and a half
thousand at the very lowest and more
likely considerably over six tbous
tnd Great descrepancies creep la
hoKfvei somewhere, n unless there
h:i . eci. 'some error in rj count at
'Washington, which is generally con
ceded by those who have given the
matter thought today as being the real
solution of the proposition, the count
Is, on the face of things entire
ly wrong. The figures quoted
above have come to the Observer to
day from two different sources from
Director Durand himself and from
the United Press correspondent at
Washington. As they correspond there
Is little chance of a mistake in figures
announced. The error is more likely
in the Washington office of the cen
sus bureau.
gatton company versus baker City.
The court holds that the ordinance
which attempted to regulate ditches
was defective in that it did. not pre
scribe the maner in which the ditch
should be changed, but made this de
pendent upon the judgment of the city
engineer. This is a legislative power
whlch'must be exercised by fale coun
cil and not by the engineer, who is
a ministerial officer.
The court sustains the Injunction
against tVe city but will dissolve it as
soon as the city amends the ordinance
in this one respect .
The opinion, which was written by
Chief Justice Moore, says that the
PROGRAM UK
FOR MEETING
SEVERAL IMPORTANT ADDRESS
ES TO BE DELIVERED.
Open and Closed essions to Mark
Session of Many Farmers Here.
BAKER CASE DECIDED.
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Sipreme Court Ilolds that City Can
Control Its Water Ditches.
Salem, Jan. 10 The supreme court
this morning handed down a decision
' modifying the decision of Judge Smitn '
In Ihe case" of the Baker Mutual Trrl-'
Program, numbers for the big trl
county convention of the Co-Opera-tive
and Educational Farmers' Union
to be held in this city next Friday
and Saturday, have been arranged
and provide for an interesting series
of addresses and - closed sessions.
Something like 300 delegates will be
on' hand from Baker, Wallowa and
Union counties and several state offi
cers will be on han to take part in
the program and to attend a meeting
of the executive committee of the state
union.
The program as outlined Includes:
Friday's Program.1
Open session Friday 10 a. m. Ad
dress by H. D. 0. Cox, state organizer.
1 p. m. Close session.
7 p. m. Close session
8:30 p. m. Open session. Opening
address, C. C. Coifher, Helix; memoer
state executive board.
Address of Welcome Mayor A. L.
Richardson.
Response F. S. Sykes, state secre
tary4reasurer of Milton.
Short addresses by John Collier,
president of Commercial club on re
lation of city to the country; Response
by A. P. Davis, county organizer;
Bruce Dennis; necessity and benefits
of taxpayer's league, Walter M.
Pierce.
.Saturday.
At 10 in the morning and 1.30 In the
afternoon the sessions will be closed
and business of Importance to the
union will come up.
ditch company has no vested right in
the streets of the city and is subject
to ..reasonable regulation by. the. city
under police power. The ditch .com
pany partakes of the nature of a pub
lic service corporation and therefore
is subject to more severe regulation
than It otherwise would be.
The court does not Bay whether the
ditch could be entirely removed, but
Indicates that the ditch exists only,
under the license of the city, end this
license can be revoked at will by the
city. The ditch company has no right
by adverse' possession, as the ordi
nance ot 1885, authorizing D. L. Moo
maw to dig the ditch is void, because
there , waa.no' authority in the city
charter at that time to grant such a
right. The plat of the townslte by th
U.. S. government and by Boyd did
not make any reference to the ditches.
LA GRANDE NATIONAL MEETLXG
. "Sr.-"-- j-". I
(Organizer and. Prospective Cashier of
tew Citizens National Bank.
BUILD MAGADAM
JO HOT IE
i . "
FARMERS WANT ONLY EXPENSE
OF CBUSOIN GPAID THEM.
Land Owners Fall to Plan So Readily
That Seems Assured Already.
Prospects for a macadam road from
La Grande to Hot Lake about 10 miles,
have become extremely bright during
the past few days because of the lib
eral signatures affixed to the petition
Officers Elected at Annual Meeting of
That Institution Yesterday.
The La Grande National bank stock- t that fPrf and Win m,,
holders met yesterday afternoon In lated between the farmers. The plan is,
their annual meetin, and re-elected according to the wishes expressed by
all present officers for the ensuing the farmers in the territory and be
term. Little else was transacted, j y0nd. for the county to pay for the
aside from routine matters coming crushing of the rock. This plan is so
before each annual election and meet- equitable and ao popular that the
lns' road's futurity la. seemingly assured.
TO OE ESTABLISHED
HERHHOg
- -""' ' v ' A '
Backed by many influential farmers
of the Grande Ronde valley and a
uuuiutx oi ououicoo uieu ui Ltt uiuu
and adjoining towns, and to be capi
talized at $50,000 a new bank is to be
put in this city on March 2 or as soon
thereafter as possible. This, the third
banking house in the city, will be
known as the Citizens' National bank
of La Grande and. will conduct a bank
lng business at this point,
Charter Application Approved.
The charter application forwarded
to Washington last week, has been ap
proved according to advices reaching
here last evening from the compt
roller of the currency and it is be
lieved that It will be but a few days
until the required papers necessary
for the final organization of the con
cern will reach here from the nation's
capital, .v v
, Subscribers Number Forty-Three.
At this particular time, the sub
scribers number exactly forty-three
and the conservative estimates of the
SUFFRAGIST TO
VISIT OREGON
General William Booth, Salvation
Army Founder, Is In Feeble Health
WILL WOR KFOR PROMULGATION
OF SHORT WORK DAYS.
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Women's Interest in Shorter Hours to
be Handled by Leader.
General Booth of the Salvation Army Is now practically blind, but he Is !
till looking forward to an operation for a cataract on his right eye. He is 1
deeply stirred by Andrew Carnegie's gift of $10,000,000 for the promotion of '
the peace of the world. "What would I riva for S10.000.000 ta hpln n win '
true peace!" be cried. "How would I spend it? That Is no new question?
Tear In and year out we have pondered It, wondering when and whence the
millions will come. . There are many schemes and possibilities, but If they
are to be effective all must begin with the one beginning, a university of
humanity. This university for a beginning should have two centers London
and New York. It would be an institution to which the lowest, the humblest
and the most degraded would be brought that they might be taught. The
greatest and only abiding lesson, would be forgetfulness of self. In these uni
versities I would give men of healthy bodies the means of henlthy work. 1
would have them trained mentally, morally and physically. I would see that
the money was not spent on the few alone. Around each uulrerslty I would
have 1,000 balls, which by their brightness would attract each their thousands.
There are so muny ways of spending money in the direction of peace and yet
making it reproductive that I cannot recount alL I only wish Mr. Carnegie
would give me a chance." '
Spokane, Wash., Jan. 11 (Special-
Capitals of Washington, Oregon, Ida
ho and the province of British Colum
bia will be visited by Mlrs. Bay Ark
wright Hutton of Spokane, president
of the Equal Suffrage League of
Washington in the Interest of bills
providing for a day of eight hours and
not more than six days' work a week
for women.
"I shall also attend the convention
of women from Washington, Idaho,
Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, where
equal suffrage is a law," said Mrs.
Hutton, Just before starting for Ta
coma, "but I expect to pass at least
two weeks In Olympia to support the
eight-hour bill in the interest of the
working women. I may also take part
in other matters of legislation In the
interest of women."
Mrs. Hutton believes that sufficient
pressure can be brought upon mem
bers of the legislature of Washington
to pass a aw for the protection of wo
men, saying that 130,000 women vot
ers were added to the list in this state
when Governor Hay attached his slgi
nature of the official returns of the
recent election.
-"Of course, none of us knows what
the result will be in Washington,"
Mrs. Hutton added, "but it would ap--insist
. upon the adoption of almost
pear that the women have strength to
any kind of a reasonable measure for
their protection against the greed of
employers, some of whom work their
girls and women clerks from 10 to
12 hours and frequently seven days a
week.
"I expect to have conference with
leaders of the movement at Tacoma
some time this, week. Women from
Washington, Idaho, Colorado, Utah
and Wyoming will be assembled there
and an expression of opinion will be
forthcoming and a plan of action
mupped out before the contention
comes to a close."
total wealth represented by the back-'
era of the institution is considerably
iuoi t tuttu a. utiiiiou uutmrii, nearly -all
of It being Grande Rond valley
money. This money will be paid up
before March 2 so that the ejection of
officers , which will be held at a nieet
ing of the stockholders prior ' to '
Mlarch 2, will be the signal for the
opening the bank to the public. Tha
site has been selected though as yet
has not been announced.' It will be
conveniently near the heart of the
city. - , - , v..
W. G.' Thompson at Head.
The new bank is primarily the
fruit of preliminary movements set
on foot by W. G. Thompson, a capi
talist of Hamilton, Ohio, where he
hag been' and Btlll is heavily inter
ested In Investments. He quit the
profession of law about ten years ago ,
and sine then has made a success '
of various financial Enterprises,
amon them the establishment of two
successful telephone companies, and,
too, he has been Instrumental In the
organization of three other banks In
the middle west.
About a year ago Mr. Thompson' '
came to this valley on a brief busi
ness trip but was attracted to the val- ;
ley by its evidences of wealth and twn
months ago returned with the well
aenned notion of adopting some per
manent business here. After a careful
scrutiny of the banking situation he
deemed It advisable to open negotia
tions for another bank and the sub-'
scriptlon list was started with the re.
suit that the capital stock hn
been met and the approval of the de
partment of the treasury is the only
detail unfinished. Mr. Thompson, it is '
understood on good authority, will
be the head of the new banking house
and will have affiliated with him as
assistant cashier. Hugh McCall who
acquired a banking education In th
La Grande National of this city. Mr.
fticcall has resigned bis position in
the La Grande National. The other of
ficers will be elected at the meeting
of stockholders to be held in Feb
ruary some time. ;
Thinks Room for Another Bank.
"We are convinced that there is
room here for a third banking houBe" .
said Mr. Thompson today in announc
ing the plans of the institution. "We
are going Into the field with this mo
tive as the primary and onlv ins
tigation, for we have no fault to find "
with present banks and bankers of the -
valley but believe that the citv And '
valley will become wealthier and that
a third bank will be a success. I make-'
this statement advisedly for I can-
mussed the situation very thoroughly
for over a month before I took a in.
gie individual into my confidence in
the matter and I know the field uud
tl.e room 'is here without Infringing
on other institutions." '
In the formation of the
the law firm of Cochran & Cochran
acted as. attorneys. .
' Was Looking for Taft
t
Geo. W.' Huber of .Echo, has been
pronounced insane by ''County Phy
sician Garfield and the sheriff has
sent for a guard of the asylum to take
him to that institution. Huber for
some time past has manifested a great
religious zeal, but recently his brain
disorder has caused him to institute
a search for President Taft as h U
possessed of the Idea that the chief
executive is somewhere In his neigh
borhood. Huber Is a man of about 3ft
years of age Pendleton Oregoulan.