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About Malheur enterprise. (Vale, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 1916)
The Warmsprings Reservoir, the Willow River Irrigation District and Bully Creek Project Assure the Prosperity and Supremacy of Val lgl ilii C3 VOLUME VII, NUMBER 27. VALE, OREGON, SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 1916 SUBSCRIPTION, $2.00 PER YEAR MM1MDRAINAGE DISTRICT Warmsprings Organization Makes Everyone Hopeful MANY WORDS OF CHEER Coming from Those Watch ing Our Progress Today is published the action taken by the elected board of directors of tho Warmsprings Irrigation District The summarized minutes published bear witness to the fact that the di rectors are in deadly earnest and un less some unexpected obstruction is thrown in their way, work will be possible on the project this fall. Tho business men of Vale are jubi ant over the outlook while the hearty support of the business element of Ontario presages well for the future ' of the county. 1 W. F. Homan, Cashier of the On tario National Bank, upon being ask ed his opinion of the project said: "The initiation of this improvement cannot but work to the great advan tage of the entire county. Those under the system who have a partial right will experience good results from its completion while the dry land owner will find salvation. "The addition of three thousand acres to the land already in cultiva tion above Vale in the Malheur val ley together with the completion of the existing water rights will add greatly to the prosperity of Vale. "There being some 5000 acres di rectly tributary to Ontario will add greatly to the business of our town. The great value of so large an area to a town has been exemplified in our business expansion upon the comple tion of the Ontario-Nyssa irrigated area. The feasibility of the Warm springs project, coupled with the val ue of the security should make financ ing easy. Such enterprises are need ed in our county andwe hope this one will bo pushed to immediate con struction." Leo Schmidt, manager of the Vale Trading company, said: "Carrying the Warmsprings project to comple tion means the salvation of Vale and the surrounding country. Unless we can get more producing land in op eration the country cannot hold its own. Communities cannot stand still. They must either go forward or back. If obstruction can be eliminated and advantage taken of the present flush money market Vale will rise as never before. The addition of 5000 acres to the Ontario market will help that town as well. In fact we may all hope for good business from the day work commences. From the personel of tho Board of Directors I anticipate no undue or avoidable delay will be permitted." Mr. Cliff Boyer, of Boyer Bros., the largest and most extensive dealers in general merchandise in Ontario, in conversation with the representative of the Enterprise, said: "The subject is almost too large and of too great importance for me to handle without more consideration. I look upon this as one of the most important moves made in this county for years. The expansion in business when this land is put under cultivation is hard to es timate. The five thousand acres di rectly tributary to Ontario will dou ble our business and of course Vale will profit in a corresponding degree from the 10,000 acres in her territory. It is such enterprises as these that build up a country and I am sure sol idly behind such improvements. We own a little land under the project and we look much more favorably up on its future than we did six months ago." The value of farm lands in the United States is estimated at $45.55 per acre, as compared with $40.85 a year ago, $40.31 two years ago, $38.10 three years ago, and $36.23 four years ago. The Census reported the value of farm lands in 1910 as $32.40, and in 1900 as $15.57 per acre. Pool Hall was Burglarized On the night of June 2, the Pastime Pool Hall, owned by J. L. Lewis, was broken into and robbed of some $75.00 in coin, three diamond rings, two dia mond stickpins, a number of valuable watchfobs, and a gold watch. The discovery of the robbery was made the morning after the robbery, the sheriff's office was notified imme diately, and circulars were gotten out describing the man under euspect, a Owyhee Farmers Discuss Boundaries and Court Order Will be Made The Nyssa-Arcadia Drainage Dis trict extension case has been before tho County Court the past week com mencing Monday. This case will un questionably result in making drain age law before finally settled. Some sixty residents of that sec tion were on hand at the opening of the court. The question was on the extension of the original district boun daries some two miles north and south and to include the land lying between the Owyhee and Shoestring ditches. Most of the legal talent of the coun ty was in the case. The Supervisors of the district petitioning for the ex tension J. C. Fleming, Roy Williams and Dick Tenscn were represented by Judge George E. Davis and consulting engineer Dodge. Engineer Guy C. Mc Gee was also in attendance. Mr. Mc Gee having laid out the system under the first boundaries. McCulloch and Wood represented a number of protestants. P. J. Galla gher represented protestants. Attor neys McGonigal, Swagler, and Phillips were also on the part of protestants. W. E. Lees appeared on the part of II. E. YOUNG SECURES AGENCY FOR THE CHALMERS CAR H. E. Young has succeeded in bring ing ta Vale the agency for the great Chalmers automobile, notedly one of the best of the medium priced cars on the American market. . The Chalmers is a six cylinder 45 horsepower machine, weighing 26C0 pounds, and is priced at $1215 deliv ered in Vale. The Chalmers Company backs its cars up with a positive guarantee sec ond to no other factory in the coun try, 'and those wishing all the com forts and beauty of a high priced car at a moderate expense should ex amine Mr. Young's latest accession. With tho Dodge and the Chalmers Mr. Young is in a position to satisfy the most exacting customer in both quality and price. ROAD SURVEY MAY BE MADE A movement is on foot to prevail upon the County Court to have the county surveyor, Mr. Farmer, make the State Highway (proposed) sur vey through Harney county, as with the local knowledge of the country such survey can be made for a very small amount of money. There is a feeling that the State should make the entire survey, but some of the counties have not moved as fast as Malheur and Grant which delays actual work. By having the county do what surveying there is' to be done at three points of some dif ficulty, some incentive to move will be given the other counties. Baker county, it is said prefers to have a Highway parallel the O. W. R. N. R. R. for the reason that the roads would then pass through Baker and Union counties. The policy of attempted punishment of a R. R. Co., is in itself objectionable, while the bold and direct attempt .to sidetrack a rich and growing interior as well as prevent the opening up to tourist travel the magnificent Blue Mountain scenery with its splendid streams and forests, is selfish in the extreme, and cannot but result in dissatisfaction in the interior country. Construction need not be such as is used on the Columbia Highway, and through Malheur county the benefits so far exceed any- possible outlay that there is not a chance for argument. Judge W. W. Wood a prominent traveling hobo, who blew into the city a few days before, and left the morn ing after the robbery. The man under suspect is named "Tim," weighs 150 pounds, and is about 40 years old. He wore a stub by mustache, had a sandy complexion, and light red hair. He wore overalls, dark coat, and brown wool shirt. Of ficials have been notified tq arrest any man answering the description and notify Sheriff Brown. HEARING Next Week the railroad and other protestants. Monday and Tuesday were spent in taking evidence before the court. Wednesday the Court proceeded to the ground and made a personal examina tion of the proposition. The question of the right of high land irrigators to permit their water to percolate through the subsoil to the detriment of low land was brought to the front and dwelt upon by the Sup ervisors. In this connection C. W, Mallett was placed upon the stand and considerable difficulty was experienced by tho protesting attorneys in bending Mr. Mallett's testimony to any ex. tent. The County Court in company with the attorneys and almos't the entire population interested went over the proposed district, Wednesday, and made a thorough and exhaustive ex amination of the different proposi tions and under the trees at the Hunt place discussed the several matters in an informal way. The general opinion seemed to be for a separation into a number of districts. Further consideration of tho matter was postponed until Monday, June 12, WOMAN HOMESTEADER RAISES CROPS Mrs. Hattie Welch, who is home steading a splendid piece of bench land on Section 10, T. 18-44 about 4 miles from Vale, has alfalfa three feet in height and sent in to some of her friends the finest lettuce seen in Vale this season. DUNCAN McRAE VISITS VALE Duncan McRae, farmer and stock man from Riverside, was in town ear ly in the week. Mr. McRae reports prospects good for grass in the hills and expects a big output of cattle the coming fall. "We have had some rain," said Mr. McRae, "but hope for more as the cold winds had a bad effect, the grass, however, is good and sheep, cattle and horses are doing well." C. P. GRAHAM A VISITOR C. P. Graham, of Nyssa, was over visiting the county seat Monday. Mr. Graham may be the democratic candi date for state senator this fall unless returns from Grant and Harney show that some favorite son of one of those counties receives more than 11 votes. The Rev. Graham will be like ly to make an agressive campaign and will make tho welkin ring with good democratic doctrine should he take the stump. Mr. Graham is a staunch sup porter of our present county super intendent and of the democratic can didates generally. attorney of Ontario nnd an old resi dent of Grant county expresses him self strongly in favor of immediate pressing the work in every way pos sible. "If we of this generation are to benefit from the great and magnifi cent, opportunities of a highway through the Blue Mountains it is time we were at it. Times are good now in the money market and propitious for such enterprises while the State stands ready to co-operate with the government and the counties." In this connection it is well to note that Congress has passed the Good Roads bill appropriating $75,000,000 for Post Roads and Rural Routes of which Oregon should receive $407,000 and if Malheur county tends to its knitting it should get about $80,000 of this money. SUPREME COURT DECIDES The Supreme Court of tho United States has upheld the validiTy of the creation of the Oregon Water Board which had been attacked' by the P. L. S. Co., declaring the same constitu tional. The Board will now proceed with the hearing of the Silvies river con testants which takes into question the rights of the P. L. S. Co. and Other rights in Harney county, How to Build Dirt Roads The first requisite in any road con struction is proper drainage. This, of course, must" be modified to' suit the conditions of soil and climate. Where the soil is heavy and retentive every care must be taken to get rid of the water quickly and completely. For this purpose the roadway should be raised 18 or 20 inches above the bottom of the side ditches and well crowned, so that the water will flow away freely. The side ditches should be of ample size and provided with sufficient fall to properly care for the heaviest rains, waste irrigation water, or underground seepage. To prevent the easy ingress of water into the body of the road, fills should be built up in layers not to exceed 6 inches in thickness, each layer thoroughly com pacted with a heavy roller, or at least the travel of the grading teams. The work should preferably be done wtien the earth is sufficiently moist to pack well or else a sprinkler should be used. All material subject to decay, such as sod, grajs, or weeds, and vegeta ble mold, must be carefully excluded. If the soil is very light or sandy, the vegetable material, if sufficiently' fib rous, may be saved and spread in a uniform layer over the surface, but should never be included within the embankment. Tho aim must always be to build a roadway as solid and as nearly impervious to moisture as pos sible. A roadway of this character will also be slow in breaking Up into dust during the dry season. But no road will long endure with out maintenance. The price of good roads is eternal vigilance in 'mainte nance. This is even more true of earth roads in the arid regions. In the winter and spring the rains and melting snow soften tho surface more or less and passing traffic forms ruts and depressions. These, if allowed to remain, will retain more water at the. next rain, and more mud and deeper - ruts and larger depressions will be formed. Furthermore, when the dry season comes, a rough road surface of this character will quickly break up into dust and chuck holes. It is self-evident, therefore, that dur ing the wet season tho effort in main taining our heavy soil roads must be to keep the drainage good. For this purpose there is nothing which equals the split-log drag or other similar de vice. The principle, of the action Of tho drag is simply this: Tho clays and most heavy soils will puddlo and set very hard if worked when wet. The drag is essentially a puddling ma chine. After each rain, and while the earth is still plastic, but not sticky enough to adhere to tho drag, ono or two trips up and down the road are made with tho drag. Only a small amount of earth is moved, just enough to fill the ruts and depressions and smooth over the surface with a thin layer of plastic clay, which packs very hard under passing traffic and leaves the road smooth and hard, so that the next rain, instead of finding ruts and depressions in which to col lect, runs off, leaving tho surface but little affected. Repeated draggings gradually build up a hard crust, which will also withstand considerable traf fic during the dry season. But when the dry season begins dragging should cease. A dry road should never be dragged. To prevent the road from breaking up into dust and chuck holes during dry weather is one of the greatest dif ficulties in the maintenance of our earth roads. In some favorable lo calities the roads may be flooded from irrigation ditches. More attention should be given to this feature in con struction. In other places a covering of straw, sagebrush or other fibrous material will prove of value. But whatever"method is employed, the time and labor involved in properly maintaining an earth road is, small. Twenty-five to fifty doljarsper mile per year seems to be aboutJRe aver age cost. The essential requisite for satisfactory maintenance at, a low cost is that the work shall be done at the time it is needed. This is the point which seems hardest to impress on the average man. The little atten tion the earth road needs must be given promptly and at the proper time if we wish to secure any results. We have become so accustomed to the old habit of doing our road work at our convenience in the spring or fall of the year that we can hardly force ourselves to realizo that anything else should be even suggested. But one thing is absolutely certain, that we will never have anything like the earth roads we can have until we adopt a system of continuous main tenance. The amount of work requir ed at the time is usually small, but it is imperative that it be dono promptly, or not only will the amount be large, but the roads will be bad for long periods of time. In most sections the permanent employment! ORGANIZATION OF DIRECTORS James Harvey Elected President of the Board and John Rigby Elected Secretary Promptly at 10 a. m. Tuesday, June 7, 1916, the elected officials of the Warmsprings Irrigation District met at the rooms of the Vale Chamber of Commerce. T. W. Halliday, treasurer elect, call ed the meeting to order as temporary chairman. A W. Trow was placed in nomination for the position of Presi dent of tho district. Mr. Trow re quested to be excused from acting in that capacity saying: "While it is true that some 5000 acres of the new land to bo put into cultivation lies di rectly tributary to Ontario and that our interest is almost if not quite as great as that of Vale, it still remains that Valo is in the center of tho dis trict and that the initiation of the project has come from that city; which, together with tho fact that the business of the district must of nec essity be transacted at Valo it would seem to me that the acting officials should be nearer Vale, for both con ovnience and economy. "I think I can speak for tho busi ness men of Ontario, when I say that they are all heartily in nccord with proposition to push this great project to immediate completion and they as well as myself will stand ready at all times to give our best thought and assistance to those who take the ini tiative." Mr. W. P. Davidson, whoso com pany owns some 10,000 acres under the project, has urged upon me to uso every endeavor to mako tho project successful. "I will act with you un ceasingly and earnestly for success, but am of the opinion that you would be better served should some other of your number be selected as Presi dent. With this idea I wish to offer the namo of James Harvey for presi dent" The nomination was seconded by R, E. Wcant and there being no further nominations James Harvey was unan imously elected president. President Harvey taking the chair, nominations for secretary were de clared in order; whereupon R. E. Weant nominated John Rigby. There being no further nominations John Rigby was unanimously elected sec retary. The organization being effected the ED. L. COBURN IS KILLED A telegraphic message from Gold Beach yesterday morning to relatives in Vale announces the accidental death of E. L. Coburn. No particulars. ELECTION NEXT WEDNESDAY Wednesday next, June 14, another irrigation district election will be held which will eventually, add some 5,000 acres of new land to the cultivated area of Willow river valley and per haps result in cutting into smaller tracts some of the larger farms in that section. The Community Improvement Dis trict brought into existence through the efforts of C. H. Oxman, W. J. Scott, Tom Logan and Frank O'Neill will carry unanimously and it is un derstood that arrangements are al ready on foot which will result in tho placing of the bonds at a good figure. CHAS. E. FLYNN, CASHIER Chas. Flynn has been appointed cashier of the 1st National Bank, of this city, filling the vacancy left by A. J. Selover, who left with his fam ily the latter part of last week. HOUSTON" ISNEW POSTMASTER John P. Houston has been appointed postmaster of the city of Vale by President Wilson, the nppointmcnt be ing made last week, and he will re sign his office as county clerk, and take charge immediately upon recclv- ing pis commission. The appointment of Mr. Houston was confirmed by the Senate in exe cutive session June 2. The department will probably act on the confirmation at an early date. of a patrolman on a definite number of miles of road, for the care of which he Is mado responsible, will prove tho most satisfactory, Warmsprings Irrigation District be came a municipal body ready to trans act business. Tho secretary was instructed to pre pare by-laws to be submitted at the next regular meeting. A committee of two was appointed to investigate the ownership and en ter into negotiations looking to se curing the reservoir site. Tho com mittee being R. E. Weant and A. W. Trow, the secretary being directed ta act as secretary of the committee. Upon the question of official bonds of Directors and Treasurer, action was postponed. Question of salaries and official ex penses having come up for action, tho Board was unanimous in opinion that thero should be no oxpenses incurred until something had been definitely accomplished or decided. Tho question of engineering was discussed and decision that tho em ployment of an engineer should await further events. Should tho Board de cide to accept tho government report whole or in part, practically all of tho preliminary engineering would havo been completed. Discussion then became general as to just what kind of construction plan should bo submitted to the land owners for approval. There were two propositions brought, forward. First to construct the dam leaving tho ques tion of distribution to the present ditch owners, the owners of land with out water to sccuro same through said present owners. Tho other was for the district to arrange for both res ervoir construction and distribution. It was concluded to havo the board in dividually ascertain the concensus of opinion from the land owners and owners of present rights before sub mitting any definite plan, tho desire being to accomplish tho primary ob ject of getting tho now land under cultivation and completo the rights of present owners us economically and expeditiously as possible and at the same time conserve tho rights of the present owners in a manner satisfac tory to them. The Board adjourned subject to the call of the President at any time prior to the regular meeting which will oc cur on tho first Tuesday of each month. STATE ENGINEER IS PLEASED SALEM, Oreg., Juno 1. Mr, John Rigby, Vale, Oregon. Dear Sir: I wish to congratulate your peoplo on the organization of an irrigation dis trict in Malheur valley. I believe the Warmsprings project one of the most meritorious in the State, and if this cannot be financed without state aid, it looks rather blue for irrigation in Oregon. JOHN II. LEWIS. OPERATES UPON WESTFALL MAN Dr. C. J. Bartlett performed a very difficult operation upon a young man from Wcstfull at tho Holy Rosary hos pital at Ontario Friday. The patient, Blaine Spaulding, Is a young man from Wcstfall, who was kicked in the head by a horse six years ago. Since that time the young man's memory has been failing gradually, until last week, The nature of the operation was the lifting of a portion of the skull which was pressing on the patient's brain, together with the complete removal of some three square inches of the skull. To Amend the Liauor Law A petition is being circulated for the purpose of placing an amendment to tho present liquor law on the bal lot this fall. It provides for the manufacture of 4 per cent beer within the state of Oregon. The proposed amendment does not interfere with tho present method of distribution. The product will be sold only In tho original pack age and no more can be obtained by the individual than under tho pres UNTOUCHED ORCHARDS Brogan Fruit Growers Felt No Frosts ALL FRUITS ARE SAFE Beats Payette Bench and Boise Valley The fruit orchords at Brogan wero visited last week by tho inspector for the Northwestern Fruit Growers As sociation, with a view of ascertaining the amount of fruit to bo expected from that section. The inspector was greatly surpris-,. cd at the littlo damage done by frost in the Brogan orchards, and stated that there would be more fruit at Bro gan this year than would be produc ed by all tho orchards along Snako river from Boise to Weiser. Peaches, pears, cherries and apples in tho Brogan orchards will produce an abundant crop this year, and by reason of the scarcity of fruit through out tho country, tho price will bo much higher than ordinarily, giving the Brogan orchardists a ready mar ket and a liberal price for their en tire product. The devasting freezes and frosts of the past spring have been general throughout the United States, and it is only the favored sections like Bro gan, where tho frosts never damage tho fruit, that will furnish tho supplies in this lino for tho present season. Tho bountiful crop and the high price which is guaranteed by tho scarcity of fruit will put tho Brogan orchard ists on Easy Street when the years crops aro marketed. Tho ability of the Brogan orchards to stand against a season like the present ought to doublo the valuo of holdings in that favored section. FIVE CARLOADS OF FORDS SOLD Tho Vale Hardwuro company, of this city, agents for tho Ford car, havo sold 22 cars since January, re ceiving fivo carloads, the last of which arrived Wednesday of this week. Among tho recent purchasers of Ford cars aro Charloy Kelley of Jam ieson, F. B. Glenn of Vale, J. M. Turner of Harper, Jno. W. Hankins of Westfall, Wade & Wado of Vale, Isaac Reed of Brogan, Jack Morton of Wcstfall, Kimball & Gwilliam of Vale, J. W. Weaver of Bonita, Fred Cammann of Westfall, Phil Edwards of Brogan, and seven cars to Hyde & Payne of Dr'ewsoy. In addition to these tho company has sold threo Oaklands on special orders, C. D. Wood of Baker,- M. E. Thayer of Vale and John Palmer of Boulah being tho purchasers. One of tho first, Ford cars made, No. 183, is still in action and is own ed by an old gentleman named E. J. Palmer in Kansas. It is 13 years old and tho repair cost, asldo from tires, has been less than $10 for the past six years, the length of time the pres ent owner has had it, and he has driven it more than six thousand miles. THE GENIAL AND IRREPRESSI BLE PAT The genial and irrepressible would bo distirct attorney, P. J. Gallagher, was over in Vale the past week on the drainage cases, representing the objectors, or some of them, in his us ual witty and effective way. P. J. says the principle reason for his de feat at tho primaries was the large number of votes he failed to get and the genial gentleman makes one al most regret his defeat Mr. Galla gher refuses to accept the offer of a corner on the poetical page of the Enterprise wherein he might tell of the sorrows of tho past and hopes for the future. Nevertheless and not withstanding, Mr. Gallagher has the respect of the Enterprise whether he needs it or not. ent law. Tho amendment is intended to per mit tho money now sent out of the state for beer to remain in the state' and provide a market for tho hops raised in Oregon. It is held to be an absurdity to pre vent the manufacture of such beer and still permit it to be brought into the state while every raw product is produced in Oregon. " " It is expected that tho petition will I