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I'Auii TWO
THE ONTARTO ARGUS, SEPTEMBER 10, JJ)M
tditcrial Section cf She Ontario irgus
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rfWWiwi'N
ONTARIO AS A TRADE
CENTER
THIS ISSUE of The Ontario Argus is the largest in point of circulation ever issued for distri
bution in Malheur ( 'oiuity. It's been our ambitious aim to provide I copy of this week's paper
for practically every resident of the territory about Ontario which can properly be styled our
trading radius. For thai purpose hundreds of extra oopiea have been printed for distribution
in every town, village and hamlet in this great) prosperous, growing Snake River valley.
We believe that Ontario is entering on a new era. We will never he a mighty city. Rut
We always will he the largest eity in the geographical center of one of the finest communities on
earth Our prosperity is dependent upon the prosperity of the great valley which surrounds
us. Rut our growth will he greater than that of the valley, because we are, and surely are des
tined to he more than ever, the natural trading center of a great empire.
The buiness men are awakening more than ever to the fact that it is their privilege and res
ponsibility to cater to the needs and desires of an immense population on all sides of us within
a reasonable distance. The automobile may "take money out of the country" but it just as
surely brings money into Ontario by providing a constantly increasing number of people with
means of esay access to the metropolis of the valley.
Mail order houses are becoming less the bug-bear of Ontario merchants. With a steadv in-
creasing trade comes the ability to purchase stocks of size and style to meet the desires of the
must fastidious shopper, and as customers ITS attracted more and nunc from the great territory
thai Is tributary to us, they are coining to realize better the truth of a plain fact which it has
before been hard to demonstrate: that sending money to mail order houses is a double mistake
it is a disastrous drain upon a community, and nine times out of ten better goods for less money
could have been purchased nearer home.
The Malheur County Fair exhibition is one of the important agencies which is emphasiz
ing Ontario's position as the natural center and permanent metropolis of a valley where thou
sands will annually congregate to commemorate the success of the year just passed.
I
MAKE THE VISITORS
WELCOME .
THOUSANDS of out-of-town people will be visitors in our eity next week, particularly on Tues
day, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, to attend the great Malheur County Fair.
It behooves us to extend tlie glad hand of a cordial welcome to every stranger who enters OUT
gates. We make a public appeal to the citizens of Ontario to keep "open house" for the com
ing week. Officers of the Pair Association and the Commercial Club have taken the lead in pre
paring to receive our guests, and let tvevy business house be designated as a place where stran
gers can assemble without tin- fear of intruding and where each visitor will he tendered a sin
cere and a cordial greeting.
Bui the citizens as a whole must do their share. No fair can succeed by the mere activ
ity of its officers, no matter how capable or energetic; no fair organization can thrive that does
not reflect the enthusiasm and Spirit of the people of the community. The success of any under
taking of a public nature is dependent upon the great mass of the "common people."
Malheur County's Fair has already attained a high reputation throughout the entire Coun
ty and OUT neighboring oiinties. This has been, in a large part, due to the directors in charge
of the great event. The loyalty of the people of the community has been a great factor, and it
must ever remain so if the atTair is to be the permanent success which every loyal resident of
Malheur County hopes it will he.
Loyalty to the Fair and loyalty to our home city can be shown in other ways than by. our
attendance and our "boosting." We can welcome the visitors. And in this work every person
can do his share.
For this week keep your latch string out. Wear a smile and be happy. Forget your,
grouch and leave pessimistic thoughts for other days. If you believe in a little gaiety at times
to relieve the monotony of existence, "loosen up" this week, and enjoy yourself. Hut above
all communicate a little sunshine disposition to the strangers who come to our fair. It will
help your own disposition--and digestion make the visitor feel at home, and reflect credit up
on the community for showing s genuine spirit of hospitality.
NATIONAL DEFENSE -FINANCE
There ought to be nothing but pure patriot-
Ism enter into the question of military prepared
ness, of which we hear so much of late. Un
doubtedly the most of those who arc strong for
a big increase he our army and navy act from
pure motives, Init there are exceptions, un
doubtedly. For instance politicians of a cer
tain type think that in these times such a move
is popular and the purity of their patriotism is
mixed with a little alloy.
Along this same line WC have doubts if some
T the big newspapers of the country do not
inwnrdh chuckle a little when they command
President Wilson for bestirring himself on the
national defense question. They remember that
SVen if a conservative program of additions to
th army and navy is carried out it will mean
an additional tax burden for the national gov
ernment of about fJOO.OiXVXM).
In contemplating how the administration will
meet this problem we must remember that the
treasury is now running behind, and even if this
additional tax for defense purposes is not re
quired still stops must be taken soon to make up
a deficit already staring us in the face. And we
must remember also that this condition is true
in the face of the "war tax." Theoretically this
was made necessary because we losi the revenue
from a tariff' on goods that would have come to
our ports had it not been for the war in Kuropc.
Hut if the war should stop tomorrow this reve
nue would not be restored. A little of it would,
altd in the time an appreciable amount. Hut
we would not go back to former conditions for a
long time to come. The reason is simple. The
war has played havoc with business as well as
with men, and there would he little commerce
with any ports until there can be a tinaucial and
commercial regeneration in the war-stricken
lands.
So the administration has a reason to worry,
and which the national defense problem only
makes a little harder. Patriotic Americans,
however, will not object to paying the tax hill
for a reasonable increased budget tor the limi
tary and naval defenses of the nation. This ap
peal may aid in covering up the necessity for
raising additional revenue besides what is want
ed for defense purposes. Thus the administra
tion was lucky to have the war as an excuse for
the additional tax called a "war tax," and it will
be lucky in having the "national defense" slo
gan to rely on in defending its own plea for more
finances.
In fact President Wilson has been mighty
lucky in many ways. At the very outset when
he undertook the difficult peeuliar-to-thc-Demo-crats
plan of maintaining the revenue by cutting
down the income, he was favored by the timely
adoption of the income tax amendment, which
permitted the government to raise many million
which would have otherwise been lost bv the re
ductions that were made in tariff, duties. Then
when the war in Europe started we had the "war
tax" with special tolls on bankers, brokers, com
mission merchants, proprietors of amusement
places, tobacco dealers and manufacturers and
stamp taxes on all kinds of commercial paper.
The war tax law now in force expires by limi
tation December in. Imt instead of the tax be
coming obsolete then it will be re-enacted with
increased rates and many additions to its sched
ules. It is reported that among the additions
will be a tax on gasoline ami possibly automo
biles, and an internal revenue tax on Hour, salt,
sugar, coffee and tea is said to be under consid
eration. This is believed, Will be necessary even
if there should not now he an additional outlay
of $900,000,(HM) made necessary by the adoption
of a national defense program.
each number, and noting that in all but the last
case the sequence of the ligurcs is unchanged.
For example if multiplied by three the result is
428571, the same number as we started with ori
ginally except that the 1 is transferred to the
other end. We should be glad to have an expla
nation of this phenomenon. We have sonic oth
ers when these are finished.
FARMERS AND GOOD ROADS. !
HERE ARE SOME; TRY THEM
The date City .Journal of Xyssa has invaded
lbs realm of higher mathematics and proposes
a mathematical puzzle. The statement is that
if the sum of live dollars is multiplied by live
dollars the result is 5f2.".00, but If tivc hundred
cents, the equivalent of five dollars is multiplied
by live hundred cents the result is not $2".Ki but
$2500.tH). Nothing extraordinary at all.
One cannot multiply live dollars by live dol
lars nor can he multiply live dollars by live jack
rabbits. If tivc dollars is multiplied by live, an
abstract number, the result la $36.00. Hut in the
second case the tivc hundred cents, the equiva
lent of tivc dollars, is not multiplied by five, but
h live hundred, hence the result of $2800.00,
which appears to the editor to he too large.
Another way to explain the ease is by consid
ering the multiplication of ten feet by ten feet
which gives 100 square feet, but if ten feet Is
multiplied by ten the result is 1(H) linear feet.
If reduced to inches we have 120 inches li'o
inches or 144,000 square inches which reduces
easily to 1(H) square feet. In the case proposed
by the Nyssa editor we do not have the concep
tion of "square dollars" and "square cents."
If WC assume that conception and reduce the
"square cents" to "square dollars" the results
are consistent.
We have several simple ones which we think
beat the case presented in the .Journal. Sup
post' a steel hand were fitted around the earth
so that it touched at every point, and suppose
that the earth were .smooth, thus making a per
fect circle. If the total length of the hand were
Increased by eighteen inches, by how much
would it be raised from the earth at all points,
Or, stating the problem in round numbers, by
how much Is the radius id a circle increased when
the circumference, already twenty-tive thousand
miles, is increased by eighteen inches.
The (rate City editor may also enjoy himself
b multiplying the number 1428T7, by 2. :, 4, 5,
fi, and 7, maklug a separate multiplication for
One of the principal reasons why there is cer
tain to be much greater interest shown by all
kinds of people in the construction of good roads
is the constantly increasing general use of the
automobile. Users of motor ears have from the
first been leaders In boosting for better roads,
but for a long time there was a feeling by a good
many people, particularly farmers, that auto
mobiles were for the pleasure of the tourist, and
that these were a comparatively small number
of the population. Thus there was a prejudice
against the automobile ami suspicion directed
against the boosting which auto enthusiasts did
for easy-to-t ravel highways.
This is changing rapidly. Prejudice against
the automobile has almost entirely disappeared.
This is because the gas machine has become so
Common, and because it is now looked upon as
a necessity where formerly it was classed entire
ly as a luxury for the few. Furthermore far
mers are now greater users of automobiles in
proportion to their numbers, than the business
man or pleasure seeker from the city.
The fanner has become nunc of an enthusiast
ic good roads man with using his machine on the
hard surfaced highways which lead to the cities.
Hut what the farmer needs most is not a system
of highways parallel to the railroads, but rath
er good roads running from the town back into
the country go that country produce can be eaa
ily and cheaply transported to market centers.
GAS FOR PESTS.
the fair is in their interest and can be made a
potent factor in the upbuilding of the farm, or
chard and range. 1'uhlicity of soil and range
production is what attracts new population and
increased popularity The county fair, is the
medium for this advertising. It stimulates ac
tivity in all lines of industry. The progressive
farmer, fruit grower and stock raiser will appre
ciate this and feel his houndcii duty to do his
part to advance not only his own individual int
erests, but those of the whole coniniiinitv.
The man who takes no interest in the county
fair shows selfishness personiflcd. While oth
ers arc showing that public spirit which has com
munity progress for its aim, the indifferent in
dividual is content to live within himself and
reap the benefit that comes through efforts of
others.
All lovers of good racing will be pleased to
SHOW that I rare treat is in store for them at
the Malheur County fair. A galaxy of horses
from all over the northwest are already on the
grounds and such racing as they will idler has
never been seen in Ontario or in Malheur Conn-
ty.
PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION
A new use for the deadly gas, used in the Eur
opean war. has been found. It will kill pests.
Near San Antonio, Texas, prairie dogs are a pest.
just as rabbits, squirrels and grasshoppers are
here. In Texas, chlorine, produced by an ap
paratus, attached to an automobile, is forced into
the holes through a hose. The holes are then
plugged. The plan may be used with benetit in
this vicinity. The suggestion that a "pest army
could wear respirators and explode gas bombs
over rabbit, squirrel or grasshopper fields,
sounds like the work of s wag. Borne plan la
needed for lighting pests in this vicinity and the
gas Ides may be worth considering.
The fanner, fruit grower and the stockman
who fails to do his part to make the county fair
a success is standing in his own light and Is in
obstacle iii tlu- way of progress. Pbr after all
(Sermon by Rev. W. N. Brown, of the United
Presbyterian Church.)
On this day of prayer for public schools, not a
few sermons will have to do with some phase of
school work. Our attempt along this line will
be aw far from the fault rinding spirit as we can
make it. It is OUT desire to deal with the posi
tive side of character developement thru the
schools. In this developement the home church
schools and state must unite or the efforts of any
or all of them will he a failure in proportion as
they fail to work together. If anything in this
message will help the parents, church, school or
any citizen of our great state to see that the aim
of all these institutions should be development
of character and usefulness in the young people,
and if any word of OUTS will help to bring about
more united effort toward this end, we will re
joice that we could have some part in so gnat a
work.
Both the text and the morning scripture les
son from the tirst chapter of Daniel, refer to
schools supported in part or in full by state
funds. These schools correspond to our public
schools of today. Our text records an act of
Jeboshaphat the good King of Judah in the
third year of his reign. Among the reform
works initiated by him was the movement to
give public education to the people of his realm.
He selected a number of prominent persons and
Taught in Judah, having the book of the law of
.Jehovah with them." We shall not take time
to follow the record to note in detail the success
(Continued on page 4.)
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