La Grande evening observer., May 06, 1916, Image 3

SATURDAY, MAY 6, 1916
LA GRANDE EVENING OBSERVER
PAOlv T1IKKK
Use
Sweet
Toilet
THE LUXURIOUS SENSATION YOU HAVE, THAT DELIGHT
FUL ODOK YOU ENJOY, WHEN YOU USE OUR SWEETLY
SCENTED SOAPS ARE WORTH MORE THAN THE DIFFERENCE
IN THE COST OF IT AN'D "CHEAP" SOAP. AND THEN OUR
SOAPS NOT ONLY CLEANSE BUT SOOTHE THE SKIN.
SO OF. ALL OF OUR TOILET PREPARATIONS. . THEY WILL
DELIGHT YOU.
WHEN YOU WISH TOILET ARTICLES OR MEDICINES OR
DRUG STORE THINGS" OF ANY KIND BUY THEM FROM US
YOU CAN "RELY" ON THEM.
' -. . X " .. 1 .' '
Levy - Vog'el Drug' Co.
PRESCRIPTION SPECIAUS'fS.
USE OUR REST ROOM AND PUBLIC PHONE.
In noting the soaring paice of su
gar at the present time mention was
briefly made to the prices on this
commodity in Grande Ronde in early
lays. 'Between forty and fifty ysars
ago the price of suga in all parts of
the country wasxhigh in comparison
with the quotations that have pre
vailed in the past few years. In fact
it has not been so many years ago
when sugar was classed as among the
luxuries. Bulk shipments of sugar in
the early -days in this valley came in
barrels and not in sacks. (In the sev
enties the price of sugar by the bal
rel ranged between 20 and 25 cents-per
pound and the barrels contained an
average of 140 pounds. There were
many grades and none exempt the
' granulated' was pure white. The
best standard grade was known as
"Extra C" and it was a light straw
olor. Even after the pure white,
.granulated sugar camo on the market
Ihere were many who still preferred
the Extra C for cake-making and put
ting up fruit.
Othar articles which ' commanded
extravagant prices as compared with
the present time were the old-fash-,
joned cut nails which retailed at 25
' cents per pound. A good portion of
the cost of such commodities in the in
terior country was due to the freight
rates on transportation from the Col
umbia rivar which was done in wagons
aind by pack trains. The freight
rate from the river "landing" was
2 1-2 to fiv. cents a pound depending
'on the time of year and the distance
to be traveled.
For a long while thj price of calico
was on the uniform standard of two
bits a yard.
But Living Was Cheap
Aftar the first few years of hard
ships it is doubtful if there ever was
a new countryAn which the necessi
ties of good lWng wure so abundant
and cheap. Clothing and what might
lie termed the luxuries came high but
this was off-set in a large degree by
tho inexpensiveness of home products.
From $12 to $18 per head was a good
' price for two and three-year-old
steers. Cows were in proportion. At
the local "butter shops" four pounds
of the best loin cuts 3old for 25 cer.ts
and if that wasn't satisfactory another
cut for the same money didn't make
any difference. There was no out
side market for wheat and flour was
cheap. With the cardinal essenials of
plenty of "bread and butter, meat and
potatoes" no one was ever compelled
to go hungry.
Many Comforts Available
Wiithin .i very few years the peo
ple of Grande Ronde enjoyed all the
comforts and many of the luxuries of
the older settled countries of the east.
In wearing apparel, especially, there
was access to supplies while possibly
deficient in artistic make-up were of
oimlity that could not be discounted.
There was the finest of Oregon City
fleece blankets and the same brand
of clothing which the manufacturers
did not know how to counterfeit and
which in substantial wearing quality
were "all wool and a yard wide."
There were but two grades of wo
men's shoes the "coarse," or work
rhoe, and the "fine" or dress shoes.
The men and boys all wore boots and
nine-tenths of the supply came from
the firm of Buckingham A-Hecht, San
Francisco.
Everybody Hid Credit
, 'Collection agencies and credit bu
reaus would go crazy these days with
the system of business that prevailed
in Grande Ronde thirty and forty
years ago. To begin with ev?ry
body's credit, rating was about the
same and that was A .1. But the date
of liquidation was indefinite. None of
the merchants expected a settlement
more frequently than once a year with
the chances that the .balance due
would be settled with a written pro
misa to pay in "gold coin of the United
States, or its equivalent, with inter
est at the rate of one per cent, pei
Family Dn says;
our pure
- Scented Soaps
Prew!r'K'"-
month until paid." f
Usury Not Recognized
Twelve per cent per annum was the
legal rate in Oregon for a good many
years and when the legislature finally
began to cut this rate down the law
l was consistently violated both on the
;part of the borrower and the lender.
'The unusual plan was for the victim
to execute his note for an amount
about twenty per cent more than he
expected to get and the money shark
would buy the note at a discount.
And the plea of "usury" was never
jtnown to. intervene when the time
came for payment. The old form of
Was on Gold Standard
notes always called for "gold coin or
its equivalent." The equivalent was a
provision by which the debtor could
make payment in either bullion or
gold dust in case he could not get
hold of the coined money. Hundreds
of thousand of dollars of business in
the early days in this valley was done
with the use of gold dust or gold bars,
and hidden away somewhere around
the premises of nearly all the settlers
of the early days will be. found a pair
of gold scales which were used in
weighing gold dust. There was no
paper money and no silver in circu
lation. Of the coined gold the littlo,
$2.50 gold pieces were relatively
plentiful. This country, and all this
Pacific Coast for that matter, was
the original gold-standard section of
the United States.
Twenty-Four Years Ago
The marriage of Miss Helen Levy
of Union and Mr. Max Lewin of Ath
ena, .is announced to take place on
June 5.
. Miss Josie Grandy who has been at
tending school at the Willamette Un
iversity at Salem, arrived home Sat
urday morning on the summer vaca
tion. Rsv. W. J. Hughes, formerly of
Union, has become pastor of the Pres
byterian church of La Grande, and
removed here with his family last
week.
Judge A. S. Bennett, the democratic
candidate for supreme judge, was up
from The Dalles Monday. His busi
ness was of a political nature, al
though he does not expect to nvike an
extended canvass.
G. M. Richey and John Monday have
oven selected by the La Grande base
ball association to go to 'Baker City
Sunday to attend a meeting of re
piesentatives of the Inter-State Lea
gue. It is probable that a schedi'i'
for the coming season will be arrang
ed at that time.
LA GR ANDERS NO LONGER
SCORN COPPER
History of the "Bit as Expressing
Morley Values
There was a time not so many yjars
ago when "two bits." or twenty-five
cants was the smallest price recogni
sed in a commercial transaction in the
northwest. And when the ten-cent
piece finally arrived it answered the
ipurposa of a half of 25 cents. A ten-
eent piece would be accepted as
I change for a quarter and two ten
rent pieces or "short bits , would be
accepted in place of a quarter. When
nickles came they were used in buy
ing postage stamps, and were held in
about the fame standard of contempt
is the ono-f'it pieco was accorded a
f- w years ill later.
Penny Recent r'!l
The gradual trend fi-om the bit to
the dime to the nickle finally its cli
max in thi advent of the jjanny, nnd
that, in La Grande, was but a few
years ago. Even as nearby as 10
years bacK the penny was personna
non grata in La Grande. Now it is
j '.(.cognized almost -as assiduously as
I. IQ 111 WW BWIU UIU 1 HlJlUllb VI tUUO'
if-sippi river district. Time has
worked it changes. But the study of
changes in custom and habits in the
Grande Ronde and ths Northwest ii,
general, brings on the' question of
ail coins. " .
Codfish First Money
The first American money of which
there is any record was dried codfish,
before metal came into use dried cod
fish was regarded as the most con
venient and safest kind of currency.
For small changa a single fish an
swered the purpose admirably. It re
presented an idea. It stood for a
ttandard. Only acquired by labor,
easily presented and transported, at
all times useful to tribes away from
the seashore, and exchangeable for
what thoy had which the - seashore
Indians huid not, 'it became an ex
change medium of constant and stable
vulue. In time, naturally, some had
niufty codfish, so many that they be
came, as gold to the capitalist and
bunker. Then a currcnev based upon
them was issued in the form of shell,
and gradually arrowheads and furs
came into employment in the naturd -jf
stocks and bond ;. Aa initt teu cod
fish currency made it an er,v matter
foi tne ea.'iy setMeiw t- t'ljat a Ins.;
beads, and the Spaniards, having mcva
metal coin than any other people at
tno time, gradually introduced in lieu
of beads,1 copper, bronze and silver
pieces which a century has not whol
ly displaced. In fact, although long
nut of circulation the names o tries
Spanish pieces continue to exprsss
values- in come parts of tho United
States dowii i.o our day.
Exchange Mediums Varied
The different states of New i'.nk
land had thur.- different mediums of
exchange, and like some of their west
ern sisters tiicy still stick tj nv.-ney
terms that . have nri representatives in
actual coin.' Four or five different
values attach to the term "shilling"
on the Atla.: sc.ibourJ In New
England and Virginia when one
speaks of a shilling, a sixth of a dol
lar is meant; in New York and North
Carolina a shilling is equal to the Mis
souri and California hit'; in some
parts of the United States what is
meant by a shilling is two fifteenths
of a dollar.
Picayune In Favor
During the civil war period when
metal was scarce and gold and silver
commanded premiums, paper frac
tional curreny, familiarly and some
times affectionately known as "shin
plasters' was in general circulation
in denominations of 3, "), 10, 25 and 50
cents. In place of coppers postage
stamps and "'o'tans" served a use-
lul purpose. Ale hait-cenv piece,
discontinued in 1857, was cnlk'd a
picayune in the South, and since then
;;-cent nickels and 2 cents bron&es
have come, enjoyed their day and dis
appeared. There nevar was' a coin in
the United S.aais that could properly
be called a ' bit," yet to Missouri
cr to any of the "mountain states '
and observe how quickiy you will got
into the .habit of asking for two
bits' worth of this or six bits worth cf
that at the grocery or dry-goods
stoie.
"Two Bits" and So On k
An Editorial in a western United
States contemporary few dnys ago
went into an investigating discussion
cf the many tilings that mighi be dune
with "two bits." To the average East
erner, and in fact, to irany Southern
ers and Wei,t:i';,ers, the term 'two
bits" would be without meaning, yet
strange to say, in several of the larger
states of the Union ami notably m
Missouri and California, people think
of small values in "bits" and so ex-
Ypress themselves. The Missourians
brought th( "bit" wit.i '.h.'in to Cali
fornia iri 1840, and thorc it tot'k root
and there it remains to this day first
to puzzl.i and afterward .to take a
film grip upon the favor. of the new
comer. Quite likely tho early Eng
lish colonists on the Atlantic sea
board continued to apply the term
"bit" to fractional silver piece.;, but,
if they did, it wa3 always followed
by "penny," as, for instance, "three
penny bit," "sixpenny bit," etc; but
it was only upon tha conjunction of
races in the lower Mississippi that the
bit," which stands tor 12 1-2 cents.
came into use as a measure of fixed
value. -
The Spanish milled dollar became
he unit of money in the United States
in 1792. At that time there hnn-
jpened be coined under Spanish au
thority TV.piece ot silver for Mexico
..presenting the eighth part of a dol
lar. That became the "bit" of the
mixed Southwesternerii, who had al
ready adopted the picayune,' and in
course of lime nil the way from Now
Orleans to Ft. Benton on the upper
Missouri the "bit" wmch had no ex
istence save in thought, was in ir.ore
f;equent use a3 a measure of value
than any other. A thing wassworth
two bits, or 'our bits, or six bits, that
is, 25, 50, or 75 cents ... Dimes were
unknown. Nickel? had not been in
vented. Silver 3 and 5-cens pieces
were curiosities, sometimes tri be
used as ornaments in the form of
rcarf or eaniiu; pendants or as pang
It j. but ton . v, ..':! t ; nn-j-.yed
in tri a.e;ims cf cx
t! '.nge.
st as -.h-' term "shill'ntr" liaf
" i "ived all cMirg '.f Mn p".rts cf
!m country lit" r.ct nn
tcrciously 'r. hu t" and C'nl -fr.
n . It is iu.vir,' h s the
using it. In the finest shons of St.
Louis and San Francisco the finest
lady accepts the statement tint a fab
ric is worth "two bits" or "six bits" a
yard, or waits for he.- "four bits" in
change when she has invested "four
bits" in a purchase. People use the
term "two bits" and "six bits" these
being the mora familiar denominations
as unconscious of doing anything
out of the ordinary as peonle n" other
VErts of the country talk of dimes
and dollars.
Henry James Strange withal some
of the turns of the whirligig of time;
the priceless structure came down to
Uie sound of lamentations not to say
of execration and of gnashintr of teeth,
and went up again before cold and din
believing, quite despairing eyes: in
spite of which history appears to have
decided once more to cherish it and
give a new consecration.
Forests BmiMeU Protected
Forest fires are rapidly being re
duced to a minimum. Combined co
operation of all citizens with the ef
forts of those directly interested, has
brought about a marked reduction in
the previously enormous annual fire
toll. Hand in hand with co-operation
have gone the organization of kindrid
interests and the perfection of hand
made mediums sf fire prevention and
fire detection. A few years ago
forest fires were detected 'and fougU
as best conditions and crude weapons
would permit; now men are stationed,
throughout the dry months, on pro
montories constantly alert like the
pilot of a ship, for any sign of dan
ger, and detecting danger, aiie quick to
transmit the news to the noaiest me
dium of win-fare. , Telephones, pat
rolmen and firo find-ii-s are raising
Ii.hvoc with fires under ' this eter
nal vigilance there are small chances
for distruction so long as the camper,
the farmer, the mountaineer and what
not co-operate. , , . ,
last year was a distressingly dry
year, yet the total damages and num
ber of fires, in 1915 were reduced.
The dry season. for the current season
is near at hand again and even great
er vigilance will -be maintained.
Apropos to the trend of times to
ward fire prevention, the timbermen
of Eastern Oregon, more especially
Union and Wallowa counties, held a
meeting in La Grande this week, and
drafted immediate plans. Work done
by the association in this territory is
outlined in the annual report of the
secretary, A. A. Wenzel. Here is his
report: -
Secretaiy's report for 1916 Fire
season to Union-Wallowa Counties
Fire Association La Grande, Oregon,
May 2, 1916. We now have 129
members in good standing who re
present an ownership of 817,913 acres
of which sixteen are now members
who joined during the 1915 season,
repnesenting an ownership of 5600
acres. Twslve of our former mem
bers did not pay their assessments
for the past season, who represent an
ownership of, 8120 acres. A list of
these was sent to th state Forestar
with tho description of their holdings
land the assessments due on this land
have been placed on the tax rolls for
collection from the present owne-n.
together with all other timber latr
owners who .".re not members of thiis
association, and who own timber
lands which are subject to assessment
LIVED OVER 100 YEARS
Abraham Wilcox
Ahlf,l.hllffn Wili-nv whn Vinu Inof illoA
in Fort Worth, Declared that he was
115 VOarS nlll. TTi nn nnrl 1'iiitvVi-f-
ers say he was 107. Until his last ill-
iicaa uw vtuiKvu uwu mues every uay,
and nnvnr fnil'vl j TctiA tVia 1n;i..
newspapers. He came to the United
States at tihie age of thirty, and) work
ed on a farm near Rochester. N. Y.
Later he owned a farm in Michigan.
He spent many years at San Luis Pot
osi, but could not stand the revolu
tions and he went to Forth Worth.
i1 i y hr lit
Prices and qualities are what the public are interested in, and an examination
of our pianos will convince the most observing buyer, that we buy our goods
right, as our goods are shipped direct from factories and not Portaland retail
houses. ' ' .
Vv'e have no worked over or culled over pianos shipped from other towns.
CALL AND SEE A REAL STOCK OF PIANOS ' OF THE CHOICEST
" MAKES.
RICHEY PIANO HOUSE
in these two counties which are with
in the districts patrolled by us. After
this money has been collected on the
ta rolls, it will be remitted to us
by State Forester Elliott.. The as
sessment for the past season was one
cent an acre for timbered land re
ceipts from which amounted to $2,
878.65. We received f6t.l0 from
State Forester Elliott, covering the
amount of assessments . collected on
the 1914 tax rolls.
The fire patiol force consisted of
two , County Wardens two Federal
Wurdens, land four regular association
patrolmen. Three special patrolmen
woia hired for a short time, during
the extremely dry season and while
we hud a great many fires to con
tend With. There wore alao seven
voluntary wardens who acted with
out compensation. The total salary
paid to patrolmen ampunted to $1,
201,15.' The improvement work in Union
county consisted of repairing the
Mount Emily look-out station tele
phone line. The tolophone line from
Starkay to the Forest Reserve was
also repaired and maintained in ser
vice under a co-operative orrange
ment between the Umatilla National
Forest Senvico and the Whitman Na
tional Forest Service. Eleven miles
of new titails were built in th upper
Grande Ronde. district, and the old
trails were cleared of logs and un
derbrush so as to make them more
passable. A fire finding instrument
was installed on a twenty-eight foot
tower on Mount Emily 'and this was
used very effectively in tho locating
and reporting of fires.
In Wallowa county we constructed
about one and a half miles of new
telephone line which connects the
patrolman's headquarters in District
No 4 with the George Palmer com
pnnv line, which now makes it possi
ble for all patrolmen in the county to
got in communication with the County
Wanton and other patiolmen in the
various districts) Permanent ,eal
quaiiters for patrolman in .Distriit No
4 were constructed and, new fences
around the headquarters of all pat
rolmen . were built in which to pas
ture their horsas when not on duty.
About four miles of wugon road were
also constructed in this county -and
the old reads and trails wore cleaned
of underbrush and logs.
During the past seuson we had
forty-seven fires within the districts
patrolled Iby this Association. The
etiutes of these fires were as follows:
Lightning 9; hunters 5; sparks from
railroad and logging engines 8; care
lessness of campers 6 careless slash
burning 5; and unknown 14. There
were also several small -fires along
the O-tW. R & N. right of way but
these were taken cave of by the sec
tion crews and it is estimated that
the total loss of merchantable tim
ber insulting from these fires wias
K62,000 board feet at a valuation of
about $1225 and a very considerable
damage to the young growing timber
destroyed. The cost of fighting
these fires in extra labor out side of
our regular patrolmen , amounted to
$11:17.51.
"Telephone
It"
Why waste time and
save both.
The greatest amount of work accomplished correctly,
with the least amount of energy, in he shortest
- possible time is EFFICIENCY ,
A Telephone will do this. See us about it.
HOME INDEPENDENT
TELEPHONE CO.
RICHEY BUILDING
Tht past season was unusually dry,
in fact, tha driest one we nave had
since 1910. The Bnow fall during tha
winter of 1914 and 1915 was excep
tionally light In th timbered areas
nnd tha timbered section became un
usually ' dry early in the season. In
fuct, they became so wtremely, dry .
th'tt the association considered it
necessary for a safe guard to ajk the
Governor to suspend the hunting sea
son the latter part of August until
such time as the fait rains set 'in.
Beyond question this was a necessary
safe 'guard against fires. From the
conditions on the grounds in the case
of the fouiteen fires given in the
nbove report as "of unknown" origin,
it would appear to be more than pro
V able that some of .these fires ware
caused by the carelessness of people
in the woods for an outing. Just as
soon ns we received hufficient rains,
which was about Sopt. 13th, we re
commended to the governor that the
hunting season be opened again.
About thirty of the total forty seven '
files occurred prior to August 25th,
and these were taken care of prompt-,
ly by our patrolmen with no addition
al cost for extra labor, which speaks
well for the efficiency and prompt
n-'tion of our. patrolmen. However,
between August 25th and Sept. 10th.
the balance of these fires occurred
and practically all within a few days
ot each other,, which made it a very
hmd situation for our County War
dons to handle. Thesa fires broke out
in various localities and it required
from 4 to 50 additional men in each
crew to handle them.
Under conditions that existed in the
woods during the summer of 1915,
there is every reason to conclude that
the efficient services of County war
(io'is and their patrolmen, , together
with the very efficient co-operation
and assistance of State Forester El
liott and our Governor, together with
the assistance given and the co
operation with our Association by the
National Forest supervisors, it would
appear that we were exceptionally
fortunate in controlling the forest
fires and reducing them to a minimum
under existing conditions during tho
past season. We are also pleased to
report that the citizens In these two
counties are now co-operating with us.
Respectfully submitted,
, A. A. WENZEL
Secretary.
TRADE, MARr
WHITE LINIMENT
is a dependable and satisfactory rem
edy for use where a good family lini
ment is required. Very penetrating.
Sold only by us, 25c, 50c and $1.00.
LEVY-VOGEL DRUG CO.
La Grande, Oregon
it-
energy when a telephone will L'
t.
Si
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