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About La Grande evening observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1904-1959 | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1911)
; J '4 I ff. o H .' , ' VOL X LA GRANDE. TNION COUNTY, OREGON. SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 1911. 110D1BM1IRCIELEP111E .-NUMBER 124 "V- 1H TVJO WIS SHE LONG IKE LINE ALL $ $ $ " $ $ HISTORY OF COMPACT. $ s 1 . $ Originally known as Vegere Telephone company. " '$ $ 8. D. Crowe bought half Inter-$ $ est in 1905 when concern was in its infancy -V "" . $ Capital stock Increased from $4,000 to $25,000 in 1906. -' $ On January , 14, , 1907, capital $ stock again Increased to $75,000 $ and name changed to Home In $ dt pendent Telephone company. $ . Thirty thousand dollar bond ls $ sue floated in August. 1907. $' Capital stock increased in $ 1909 to $100,000. $ Subscribers when Crowe took $ Interest, 100; prior to purchase $ of Bell system, 1250. : Total' af $ ter April 1st, 2,300. $ Physical valuation of plant In $ 1905, $4,000. Physical valuation $ today, over $200,000. $ Company now owns over 200 $ miles copper metallic toll circuits, $ ovr 350 miles of Iron toll clr $ cults; all' to be UBed in connect $ lng exchanges and pay stations, $ exclusively, and does not include $ the Paciflo long distance wires ;'$ running through Union county. $ The company will have, four $ copper wlreB'from La Grande to $ Joseph: two copper' wires from La Grande to Union and Cove; $ several iron circuits from La $ $ Grande to Joseph and from La $ $. Grande to Union and Cove. , $ Classed as the hugest financial tran saction in Eastern Oregon since tv bonding of the Eastern Oregon Light & Power company, standing out as monumental business transaction, marking a rare instance in the history of the Bell Telephone combine In that the powerful concern has given way to a local telephone company financed and officered by local people, brand ing General Manager S. D. Crowe of the home company Is a master gener al In business deals, and lastly reraov moving from . Union and Wallowa counties all competitive lines working opposite to v the Home Independent Telephone company, a deal has been consummated which transfers to the Home Independent Telephone com pany all the local exchanges in Union and Wallowa counties and various other properties owned and now op erated by the Pacific Telephone com pany. Instead of amalgamation with the Pacific concern as is historically a common thing, the lesser concern has gained the upper hand and now stands the master of the local Biuatlon. Ey the sale and subsequent Improve ments to be made to the Home con cern, over $200,000 is involved, and that by a concern which five years ago was a mere rural telephone line do ing business under a capitalization of $4,000. The strldps are marvelous and almost unbelievable, and the crowning climax to the company's growth, is the consummation today of a deal that has b-:en under negotiations for months, thnt removes the Pacific Tele phone company from the local field. Crowe the General In Charge. Matching strength and wits with corporation attorneys, pitting knowl edge of telephony with that of the best versed telephone men employed by'ths Bell system, forcing here and relent ing there but always coming out of differences with satisfactory settle ments to himself and his company, S. D. Crowe the general manager of the f Home company- has branded himself as a general. In a business way. The contract is said to be favorable in ev pry resuect to the home people and in no instances wNis the local concern forced to surrender salUnt points In such a way as to hurt Itself. ' The deal has been long In the mak ing., Contracts, tentative in nature, have been turned down by the local company's manager and legal counsel, : when they satisfied the Bell's attor neys and ton heads of the Bell syndi cate. Finally, after months of negoti ations and sparring for advantages, the deal came to the point where It re malned for the signatures only to be attached. In the sale is represented a turnlnr point In the well-defined nol icy of the Bell telephone heads at New Xotk -never to gtve ta to the competi tive concerns but to force out compet itive lines by buying them onr. In this Instance the New York and San Francisco managers switched policies and permitted the unprecedented deal to be realized. - REASONS FOR SELLING. Two Telephone Companies Become a Nuisance to General Piblfo. Primary reasons advanced for the unprecedented .Sal and retirement from the local field of a branch of the monumental Bell system are numer ous and In a large measure, feasible. Showing a remarkable growth, thi Home Independent, Telephone com pany became such a strong competi tor that the local service of the Pacific States exchanges were a losing propo sition and by transacting the deal tho Pacific company could unload an un paylng district, but still retain the long distance service, To avoid the expense and nuisance to the public of having to maintain two telephone sys tems, and to be able to connect all parts of Union and Wallowa counties with the Bell long distance service hereafter as soon as the changes are made., all ' subscribers of the Home company will be able to telephone to any point on the Pacific -coast and the Rocky mountain states. Ill this way it is plainly seen, the Pacific people do not lose their long distance service which 1b the fundamental principle of that concern's policy to maintain a vast long distance telephone commun lctalon service. While the home com pany has had such a rapid develop ment - throughout the rural districts md small cities, the Pacific company has been continually adding to the La Grande and Union exchanges and the present deal will Involve the turning over of some 1.200 subscribed -t6 the local people, making a total of over 2,300 subscribers which with the con 'emplated Improvements will no doubt soon be Increased to 3,000. i : Though the Pacific neople seldom gives way to home concerns in this manner it- does so in 'this instance with lone distance hai-vIca Mii tnfet for all Independent subscribers retain me long distance service of the Bell system. With ample capital behind it the home con'cern vm a. ntrnnc nnn. tender for local subscribers and had Wallowa county well bottled up. The Property Involved. While the Pacific telenhnnA retains the long distance toll, lines traversing union county it loses lo cal toll circuits in addition to the ex changes in Union county and dis poses of all its property,, toll and lo cal. In Wallowa county. ' April first, when the deal becomes effective, the Pacific system will merely own a toll line that runs across Union countv on th: circuit between Baker and Walla Walla. . The rental of one of the competitive lines in th's territory meets favor from both companies subscribers. The amount Involved was not definitely announced tut Gen ernl Manager S. D. Crow of the hnmd company admits that the transaction runs' over $200,000 and th? proposed improvements will carry the. total In excess of that amount. The sale In cludes. the exchanges of La prande, i nion. t:ove, fcigin, Wallowa town. Enterprise and Joseph alon with all local toll circuits and toll stations. number of local business men and farmers, in both Union and Wallowa counties, took stock In the concern. The, lines were extended throughout both counti:s and the demand for tel ephones increased (rapidly. It -was joon discovered that the finances available were Insufficient to -take care of the business. Accordingly, on Januarr 14, 1907, the capital stock of the company was aealn Increased to $75,000 this time and the name chang ed to the Home ' Independent Tele phone company. In addition to this increase a ibond iusue for 130,000 was floated through the financial influence of S. D. Crowe who. at this time was , cli viait-ii emtui'ttr auu 8n eral manager which position he still holds. ' On January 19. 1909. the capital stock was again Increase to $100,000 at which figur: It now stands, Financed With Ease. While many local people express surprise at the ability of the home people to finance so . gigantic a deal the task was not as -enormous , as might be thought at casual ' studv. With J, L. Caviness, W. J. Church, president and vice president respect ively, behind the coronany- with their business abllltv and financial utrenirili and with Manager Crowe's strong fin ancial mnuence In the east, the prop osition was not at all difficult. The full slate of officers now" In charge of the company's aafflrs. are: '' J. L. Caviness, president; W. j. Church, vke president; S. D. Crowe secretarv-treasurer and gefreral man ger. The balance of the directors" are R. E. Smith, now of California, F. I. Vergere. Enterprise. William Strenger La Grande and William S. Crowe, of Manlstlque. Mich. . GIRL ESCAPES INJURIES. Collides With Sulky While Rldlns; Bi .cycle but Escapes Fortunatply. I MIbs Helen Andrews, daughter of Night Chief Dispatcher and Mrs. C. M. Andnews, 1204 Pennsylvania avenne, collided this morning with a eulkt driven, by Charles McCrary in front of the Golden Rule store and fortu nately escaped with only slight bruis es. She was riding a bicycle and In the excitement of traffic ran into the passing sulky with the result that she was thrown to the pavement and bad ly shaken up. She was carried to the M. Bloc store end soon recovered suf ficiently to ride away on her wheel. Her face was slightly bruised. Kenyon Favorite In Iowa. Des Moines, March 17. Kenyen re ceived 68 votes today, lacking nine of the senatorial election He will possi bly be elected tomorrow. REBELS SCORING RUSSIA VICTORIES ' HER DEMANDS TWO SPIES SHOT DOWN BY - IS SCRRECTO TROOPS. Federals Said to Have Lout Heavily in , Flghtlnsr Toduj. SHOWS RAPID GROWTH Company him Made Wonderful Strides In. the Past Few Tears.: The Vergere Telephone companv was Incorporated at Imbler June 25, 1904, by F. I. Vergere. S. L. Brooks. J. L. McKlnnls; capital stock $4,000. On October 1st. 1905 S. D. Crow; purchased one-half Interest, Vergere retaining the remaining half, both being practical telephone men. At this time the company had all told, about 100 subscribers scattered throughout Unton county. This num ber was double'd with the next few months and the demand for tele phones in the rural districts and in the : smaller cities became so great that it was necessary to Increase the company. , March 24, 1906, the capital stock was Increased to $25,000 and a large New York, March 18. A special to the World from Douglass, Arizona, says Insurgents ambushed a band of federalists near Campus, and killed Go of thim. , RelM'ls Win Another Victory. Marfa. Tex., March 18. Several Mexican soldiers were killed at close range fighting near Oginaga, today. The federal command la rennrtprt hrt- tl-'d up while Colonel Doranto and 30 01 nis soldiers are surrounded in groups of houses within a mile of the garrison. . Alleged Spies Shot, Mexican, March 18. Under cover of darkness early this mnrnlnir rphpta shot Flllpe Ries and an unknown man suspected or being spies for federal ists. "We gave them a fair trial," said Captain McDonald. "We would ex pect the same thing if rebels are coupht by the regulars." Sentenced for Twenir Years. Albany, Mrch 17. Vtirneys' for Mrs. Edith Melber. convicted of the second degree murder of her san, said re won't appeal. The wou.in prob ably will be taken to Auburn to be gin a 20-year sentence today. i HEYBURN OF IDAHO, MOST TALKATIVE SENATOR. ' 0051 11 DESERTS BIGGEST DAM OF ITS KIND IN SHAPE FOR USE ' BI ARK V ZONA IRRIGATORS. ; COST REACHES MILLIONS j, ...... .-,,vt- t With Almost Unsurmenntable Obsta , cles GoT'.-rnment Has Completed Wonderfnl Structure to Irrigate Arid Lands Capacity of Reservoir Eaormons RooHerelt Present at Dedication.' ' $ 81 K MARY. 1 B? YANKEE V -. El Paso. .March 18. Armed . inter ventiort Into Mexico under the guise of. ending the revolution is believed Inevitable today by . high division of ficials who have received' secret or ders from the war department to pre pare troops for instant field service and troops are greatly excited at the prospect of active war service coming within another week. Rifle practice and strenuous drilling is the order of the day. v . ; ' Massing of armed troops on the ap proaches to the international bridge, together with other military activi ties leads to the belief that the Unit- ed States is preparing to invadeMex lco. Many troops1- are near the bridge. News coming from Augusta where Taft has , headquarters Indicates the president will send a special message to congress dealing with the interna tional situation; and the mobilization. He will' explain- the various reasons. Sentfs Troops East , San Francisco, March 18. That tnousands of troops will be sent to the Philippines and Hawaii within the next few months is intimated here to day by army officers following receipt of word that the second Infantry will embark for Honolulu. GRANTED LINEUP RUMORS CHINA SAID TO HAVE ACQUIESCED IN MONGOLIA FRACAS. ... Russia, Now Practically Supreme In Regard to Mongolian Trade. St. Petersburg. Mark 18. Pekln dispatches state the Chinese foreign board has delivered China's reiiJyf to Russia's ultimatum, practically grant ing all demands to the Mongolian provinces. This will give Russia vir tually a monopoly of trade and will for the time being, remove causes for war between Russia and China. In pr sentlng the ultimatum Russia al lowed China ten days-in which to act and official circles are resting easily today with the news of the settlement and surrendery by China of .prllleges In Mongolia. ARE RAT RELIEVED : ATTRACTIONS FROM HERMISTON GREAT. Expected Lineny Will Re Formed to File on 8rJ and 4th Units;- : RUEF "WANTS OUT." Attorneys Attempting to Hare His Case Reheard Before Court. San Francisco, March 18. Attor neys 'for Ruef today filed a petition In the supreme court asking a re hearing of the case. Ruef lr now In San Quentln. Want Berry Paroled. A petition circulated by Mrs. W. W. Berry was filed with the circuit court this afternoon appealing for the parol a of Mr. Berry, who is now serv ing a year's sentence for wife beat That there Is likelihood of a line up at the La Grande land office prior to the opening of filing on the fourth unit In the Umatilla project Is admit ted lu news dispatches from Hermls ton whore a great many nomeseekcrs have viewed the land to be put under water. There are still six claims Un der the' third unit of filing and alto gether the land will accomodate many filers. The ouenlng occurs' on the 22nd and rumor Is current that a lineup will be formed in front of the land office here: The charges are as follows: $G0 per acre of irrigable land payable in not. more than ten annual Install ments, each payment not less than $6 or some multiple thereof per acre, except that In the case of lands h. re after entered the first installment dt the building charge shall be $12 per acre and the subsequent Installments $6 per acre. Full payment may be made at any time of any balance of the building cbarce remaining due. after certification by the commission er of the general land office that full and satisfactory compliance has been shown with all the requirements of the law as to residence, cultivation and reclamation. f First stone laid September 20, V 1906. Completed February 5, $0,911. , ' Type of dam: Rubble masonry $ arch gravity. Maximum height $ $ 280 feet j length of crest 1,080 $ $ feet; contents 328,000 cubic $ $ er , now transmitted to Phoenix $ t mues distant . $ Reservoir capacity. 1,284.000 $ $ acre-feet. Stores 12 times more $ $ water than NAw Cmtnn wmhn. a E$ sett, and Ashokan , reservoirs $ v comoinea m tne east which cost v $ seven times more than, Roosevelt $ reservoir. msur:s ample sup- w $ ply for irrigating 240.000 acres of $ $ land In Salt River valley. , $ $ - '.v... t- .-.,v v.,f . r..u $$$$$$(t$ 3 Q $ $ $ $ Phoenix,. Aria., March 18. Adorned in gala "attire. Phoenix today declared s, three-day festival.- - The entire pop ulation,; mingling together with many strangers and "the nl living- ex President." adjourned to" the. site of the Roosevelt Dam for the dedication exercises of that great mountain of masonry., T ' '' ; ;Tbe structure, one of the' wonderful engineering achievements with Tvhich Uncle Sam is transforming his desert lands into fertile and productive farm lands, was completed February 6, and formally dedicated by Ex-President Roosevelt today. So marvelous has been the course of construction of this irrigation dam that from the be ginning It has attracted the eyes of prominent engineers of the world. Its dimensions are startling. At the base It covers an acre of land. Its height is 280 feet, on top; it is 1080 feet long, and at the bottom It is 170 feet thick. A 26-story building covering a city block would not cover the space occupied by this towering naronrv ftntcture.; , , Located In a canyon heretofore Inaccessible-, C2 miles from the nearest railroad, the construction of this dam Involved many problems and taxed the Ingenuity of the builders; to the ut most. Their first problem was the construction of a ''broad highway. For twenty miles this traverses a trackless desert and for 42 miles more the road was literally carved from canyon walls or blasted from the steep-sided moun tains, ,' . ' ' ' v It Is now . considered one of the most remarkable highways in the en tire world. It opens up to the travel ing puduc a country unrivalled in grandeur and beauty and makes easy access to some of the best preserved cliff "dwellings Inalie south west. In preparation for the construction ' of the dam' the government engaged In many activities. An Immense power plant was Installed near the site se lf cted for the structure.' A cement mill was built with an output of 500 barrels dally. It has turned out, In all. approximately 34O,000j barrels of cement, at a saving to the government of more than $613,000. Twa farms were operated to supply fr.ovlslons for the' camp and forage for the live stock. Domestic water minniv wn . - " I' f W HW piped from springs many .miles away. Nearly 600 Apache Indians were I M f.f It 1 r. i 14 is (Continue oa page Eight.) TL .J I ' - 1 i"-