Image provided by: Crook County Historical Society/Bowman Museum; Prineville, OR
About Crook County journal. (Prineville, Or.) 189?-1921 | View Entire Issue (May 26, 1921)
TIIIRHDAY, MAT M.'IJ2I moox cm?NTT journal Pag f. TIIK JAPANEHK is OREGON (Clara M. Pratt, July 28, 1920) There are two Dictions In Oregon In which the Jupanese have obtained trncti of land and entered Into agri cultural InduHt ry. One section is along the Columbia river, In the vi cinity of Hood River and The Dalles. The other Is In central Ore gon, In the vicinity of Kali Bridge, on the Deschutes river, and Powell Duties, about 20 miles north of liond. On the Columbia fruit rais ing Is the line of work followed and In central Oregon potato raising. 1 have been unable to find much printed material on the subject of the Japanese In Oregon, and my knowledge of the matter has been gleaned from local newspapers and discussions of conditions which 1 have heard In central Oregon, I shall give an account of the condi tions In Central Oregon, and en deavor to show how, the conditions In the Columbia river district are similar, eapeelally so fitr as senti ment Is concerned. In the full of Hit George L. Burtt, a potato king from Califor nia, arid Henry Hunnon, who repre sents Ueorgu Khuml, president of the Jupanese society of America, in company with Mr. Shuml, oame Into tho Irrigated districts of Central Oregon looking for laud suitable tor raising potatoes. Iteur Lower Bridge on the Deschutes river, they found what they coiiaiilored first class po tato land, and bought one hundred thirty acres. Tbulr presence pro voked considerable resentment among the settlers of that section of the country, and a community mass meeting was held to which dele gates from Prlnevllle, Bond, Ked mond and other towns In that vicin ity were sent.' At this meeting It was decided that th Japanese should be allowed to remain (since there was no other alternative), but with the understanding that the five Japa nese laborers who had been engaged to work on tho farm, were all that should be brought there. At the meetings of tho various commercial clubs of the vicinity, the matter was discussed, and the feeling of resent ment ran high. The Japanese, seeing the hostility of the peoplo, because of their intrusion, and fearing a raid, placed an armed man to guard their , place. This only served to Increase the fueling of resentment on the part of the white settlors, and tlvt armed horsemen, claiming to be from Bend, rode up to tho farm, frightening the Jupanese so badly that they disap- ....... ..I.., ..t.. IL.I lh. ........ ! seer, upon returning to the farm, was unable to find bis workman. The Identity of the white men is un known. Bend refuses to claim them us her citizens, since U la not customary In Central Oregon to set tle difficulties by mob taw, though it Is suld that a time not very far distant such law was In effect. Bond Bend and Prlnevllle Commercial clubs, however, were strong"ln their objections to the Japanese Intrusion snd reports to that effect were print ed in the Oregonlun from time to time. Many clubs show that there is a state-wide resentment to Japanese encroachment. It was believed that a plun was on foot to plunt a Japanese colony In Central Oregon. Early In June of 1920, Mr. Burtt telegraphed the Bend commercial club, saying that there was no In tention of colonizing their holdings In Central Oregon. He had only the five laborers whom be had brought on at first, and did not Intend to bring any more until he could come to some understanding with farmers and business men of the vicinity. In Muy, a well known furmer of Terrebonne, appeared before the Ilend commercial club and appealed to that organization to help In han dling the Japanese situation In the Terrebonne district. He asserted thut Mr. Burtt was bringing in nore Jupuneso luborers, and that a letter had been writtun to the governor ask lug his assistance In checking the Jupanese move In Central Oregon. A motion went on record to the ef feet that the club was opposed to further Jupanese Invasion, and that candidates for the legislature be asked to put themselves on record to support the sentiment of the peo ple in the matter. On May 26 a re port of this meeting was published In the Oregonian and was read by Mr. Burtt in San Francisco, where upon he sent a telegram to the pres ident of the Bend Commercial club, In which he said: "Please advise me sm 1 to understand that your club has sanctioned plans to force the Japanese out of your district? If so, please remember that our land pur chases in Central Oregon are in accordance with the laws of the United States and the State of Ore gon. Therefore, I must ask you, before you come to any definite con clusion, that I, or my associates, be heunl at your club meeting. I will be in Oregon shortly after June 1st. I have hud ninny letters from bust news men. Inviting me to come to the 3 III Hedmond district and buy land, long before 1 went there." Within a weeV after this meeting of the Bend Commerclaf club, the artned Japanese guard was removed. Mr. Hum's request to be beard had been granted. . In November, R. E. Bcott, secre tary of the anti-Japanese association of Hood River, wrote to Senator Chamberlin, asking his sssistance'in expelling the Japanese from the i Hood River district. Senator Chum-1 berlln replied that be could do noth ing at present, as the state and na-j tlonal law forbade such action, and j thut the Japanese were here under, International treaty. However, bej expressed himself ss being opposed ) to any oriental Immigration to the United States, and sepeclally to the j Western states. , j In December, Mr. Scott and J. H. ; Koberg, who is also from Hood Riv- j er, met with the Oregon and Idaho i Farmers' Union, to ask the coopers-1 tlon of that organization in securing' legislation to prevent ownership of land in tho Northwest. Walter M. Pierce of La Grande, speaking be fore the sumo body, said: "The con test between the Mongolian and the white man is on, and must be en tered sooner or later. If such a pro cedure means war, then the sooner ; it comes the better, A resolution j wus passed, urging that appropriate laws be nactedby congress, prohib iting future immigration of orien tals Into the United States or any of j its possessions, and the forbidding j and cancelling by laws, for the j holding of real property by the Jap anese. Central Oregon was repre-: sented at this meeting by George H. j Macgregor of Bend, who said that the interior of the state was men aced by the Monogollan, and that they had already gained valuable po tato lands by deceitful methods. The Deschutes growers, he said, bad re fused to accept potatoes grown by the Japanese in the Interior coun try. The Grange, in annual session at Rend In June, passed a resolution favoring legislation preventing the acquisition of land by Japanese. To add to the agitation caused by the Japanese at Lower Bridge, an other large tract of potato, land was bought by them at Powell Buttes, which Is between Prlnevllle and Bend. I have described the situation In Central Oregon, because it is typi cal of the situation in the Colum aib River district, where large tracts of fruit laud huve fallen into the P . hands of the Japanese. The situa-1 tlon In Oregon, while not so serlons as In California, Is well worth our notice. If we are to avoid the dif- kJ-mm J -V i. v ! " ff '.ii, ' . I " i i mn pi. i s i m V I i l" i..t ' I I . t ! 1.1 : i "M ' J s TIIK liKKT MK.THODIHT KI'IHCOI'AL ( HI H OK PRIXEVILLE. ITS PAHTOR KKV. M. R. GALLAHER Candy, Cigars f '('5 ' " "" i htJi- & 'i : A vil ; X "1 A ' h I V rf I ice ueam anaooaarountain Ice For Sale flcultleg that have arisen In that. state. u a result of not curbing ori ents! immigration before it Is be yond control. 4 . , THE PROJECT BOOSTER (By Rev. R. M. M. Gallaher) We praise the Pioneer For making this a paradise: The herds of sheep snd cattle Gave the multitudes a rise; The biinch grass on the hillsides - And the meadows in the vale, Maintained the Pioneer. CHORUS Booster, Booster, be a Booster; Booster, Booster, be a Booster. Booster, Booster, be a Booster, Boost the sturdy Pioneer. But now we've passed the station, Where we have the open range; The rancher must diversify. And boost along the Grange; We'll convert the plains Into a farm With water make the change, To Boost the Produce on. CHORUS There are knockers on the corners, and Tobacco There are knockers In the hills; We will put them on the hummer With a thousand stinging thrills. We will fill their place with Boos ters, i We will make the Project show While we Boost The Ochoco. CHORUS . , With canals upon the ridges. And alfalfa in the fields. We will beautify the homesteads And produce abundant yields. With cows and hogs to help us We'll put dollars In our klels. While we push the work along. CHORUS Then we sing a strain for Upton, , And we hum a line for Biggs; We will advertise the features Which will mske the tourist dig; While the roads will honor Wallace And the Dam will stand for Rea, While the Railroad rolls along. , . CHORUS A PARODY An exchange haa paraphrased the Ford as follows: "The Ford is my chariot, I shall not want. It maketh me lie down In wet places, it destroyeth my souL It leadeth me into deep waters, it leadeth me Into the paths of ridicule tor its name sake. It prepareth a break down for me in the presence of mine enemies. It will fear mora evil when it's with me, its rods snd its shaft discomfort me. It anoin my face wth oil, its water boileth over. Surely to goodness if Lixzie follows me all the days of my life, I shall dwell in the house of nuta forever. Ex. False Mahogany. Australian red gum can be made t ' look so much like mahogany and Circassian walnut that It Is often sold for one or the other of these woods. How can you tell the difference be tween the false and the true? By look lag at the cross-grain, says Popular Sci ence. If yon can see the pores wltk the nsked eye, then yon will know that all Is well. If yon can't see the pore without the use of a magnifying glass, then yon will know that yon are la the presence of red gum. To Place a Ladder. Experiments to determine tb angle at which t ladder should be placed to secore the maximum degree of safety for those using it have shown that the angle of 75 deprees Is the best, what ever the height of the ladder. Brook lyn Eaele.