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About St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current | View Entire Issue (June 26, 1914)
BMt In I-tU4 rvrty Hi MK ( dv Im it tHl !, I. Mu4jMlAtuA l fctwv Mw4t lHh 5ri", .Hip tnnMMt Aft. M li4M. AX rflldi hM imm i . It ItttWH ! IWlUlvJ IimV. COUNCIL MEETS1 Matters of Importance Receive Attention With the exception of Alder man Davis, all member wore present at the regular meeting of the city council Tttexriity eve. ning, witli Mayor Vincent pre siding. A petition signed by 101 citi zens asked the council to pas an ordinance providing for lliociva-) tion of a hoard of censorship to 1 pass judgment upon moving pie. turc shows, vaudeville acts, lull hoard advertisements, otc. Row . Ingnlls made a few remarks ad-1 vocnting such a hoard, and stat- ed that he had no objection to moving pictures, hut did object to the kind that are sometimes presented. Prof. C. II. Boyd remarked that he lavorei the, creation of such a hoard, as did How Borden, who also stated that had he been a 11101111)0.- of a board of censorship he would have favored granting the privi lege of presenting the "House, of Bondage" recently produced in the skating rink and rejected by the Portland censors. Alder-1 man Graden also made a few re-1 marks favorable to creating a board of censors. On motion of Alderman Waldref the mayor and city attorney were requested to prepare an ordinance in ac cordance with the petition. The fire department, represent' ed by Lee Cormnny, informed the council that if there was no objection the company would try out the new steam engine Friday evening, which had been loaned to the city by A. (i. Long of Portland. The request was also made to have the telephone company make a note of what line alarms of fire came from that were phoned in so that the originators of false alarms might bo apprehended atid properly punished. Tho record er was directed to make such request of the telephone com pany. The recorder was also directed to notify tho water company to investigate the condition of the water at the residence of Mr. DeLyser on Now York street, which Mr. DeLyser claims is dofectivc. His service pipo is connected at tho end of a mnin, and lib hydrant is located in tho basement of his residence, and ho has no other means of flush ing the pipes, lie says the wntor, as a consequence, has an unpleasant odor. Tho only quoa. tion at issue is whether it is the water company's or tho patron's duty to Hush the pipes in such instances, Application for renewal of saloon license on tho part of tho proprietors of the four saloons were granted for six months, terminating December 31. The improvement of Mohawk street between Fossendon and Central avenue, approved by the engineer and street committee, was ncconted by the council. An ordinance providing the time and manner of improving Richmond street between Edison street nnd the city dock was passed, there being no remon strances filed against such im provement. An ordinance relative to tho installation of meters by the water company was also passed ! Engineer Rurson stated that some steps should be taken toward improving Bradford street, but action was delayed until Inter. Scene of Activity In and around the dry dock is presented a scene of activity that 1 i ; o it. r a. la H1031 JHUitalllg. tSUUlll Ol II1U I dock is to be seen two dredges and a pile driver busily at work j preparing tho way for the new plant of the Western Cooperage Company by dredging out a, channel and driving piling for the trestle work. At the dock on Tuesday were the stern wheel er Pronto and the three masted schooner Hugh Hogan. both un-1 dergoing extensive repairs, and , another vesssel was awaiting its 1 turn to go on the dock. A large ! force of men were at work mak-1 ing the repairs, and the machine; shop had a lull iorce ot men at work. It is an interesting sight to witness the activity there. Where, shall I get my haircut? At GilnweSsubarbeivshop. fadv. ST. VOI- i aJ. The5 third annual school ex hiblt of the St. Johns schools hM in the Central school build, in iRRt week, attracted the ad miring attention of a Inrge num. her of visitors. Tho work of the impil m displayed was far su iwrior to anything realized by most of our eitistons, at least. The Portland Journal had the folllowlng to say concerning it: The rapid strides made in practical education in St. .lolius was comprehensively shown in the third annual school exhibit which dosed last Friday night at the Central school under the direction of Superintendent Charles II. Boyd. The work done by 900 children of James John high school and East, North and Central schools in art drawing and hand work, cooking, sewing, mnnual train ing and school garden work, were inspected by HOIK) pnrents and friends. Features distinc tive from similar exhibits in Portland schools were numerous. Leather tool work and book binding was shown in connection with the art work, with designs original witli the high school pupils. The best of the sewing nnd art work and the hand work of the lower grades, which was participated in by nr0 pupils under the direction of Miss Efiie MeDnn'cls, was shown. The piece do resistance of the entire exhibition was the com plete collection in the shop of nearly 1100 selected manual train ing products, decorated with ap plied designs. Tho pupils devel oped their own designs in creat ing candlesticks, tea trays. photo graph and postcard holders of Venetian iron. Tho manual training work, which is only in its second year, was participated in by U05 pupils directed by Miss Agnes Walkins, the only woman mnnual training instructor in the state. The ar ticles of furniture ranged from phalanxes of cubist dolls' and toy aniniala mado by 80 fourth grade pupils, to screens, equipped with complete paraphernalia for sow ing. Donald Strickland, aged IS, exhibited a model ship; Lewis Dtinsinorc and Carl Purinton. handsome phonographic record holders, and Clyde Thayer and Lawrence Serrurier, artistic electric lamps. Chip carving work was also shown. Max Stearns had on exhibition a screen door made by him to fit the measurements of his own home. Another fenture was thohand work of tho first four grades pre paratory to manual training work. Tho first year pupils showed woven mats, the second year woven doll hammocks, the third year tiny woven rugs of Oriental design, and the fourth year rattan mats and baskets and raffia work. Drawings, water colors, scissors cuttings, stencil work was shown by all tho grammar grades. The 150 cooking students of Miss Louise Twining from the high school and grades above the sixth, took their final ex aminations by means of exhibit ing the best of their bread, cake, cookies, pies, etc., in a class room. A representative exhibit from the 530 homo (lower nnd vegetable gardens was shown by pupils from tho second to sixth grades, inclusive. The 12 piece Central school orchestra furnished music dur ing the exhibit nnd Thursday afternoon the St. Johns Grade Teachers' association served tea to 150 mothers. An Extensive Display A prominent feature of the Panama Pacific Exposition will be an extensive Oregon out-of-doors display to cost approxi mately 510,000 An area G0x350 feet between the Oregon build ing and the bay shore has been secured by tho Oregon Commis sion and contracts have been let for the initial work. This feature will be unique at the Exposition, nothing of the sort being attempted by any other state. One of the most interest ing features will be a miniature reproduction of 200 miles of the Columbia River, showing fisher ies, night signals, rapids and waterfalls. This realistic bit of scenery will extend approxiately 60 feet. In addition, it is an nounced that a reservation of 7,000 square feet has been made for Oregon in the places of hor ticulture, agriculture and food products. JOHNS !a HUGE BONFIRE Appreciation Shown by Burning Catalogs Ry David Powell. Many communities of the Mid dle West went through the same "Mail Order Fad" some twelve or fifteen years ago that is now affecting the people of the North west. As the great mail order houses in Chicago grew with leaps and bounds, making serious inroads into the business of merchants of every class, there went up a great wail of woo from every town nnd village in half a dozen states. Many and varied were the plans tr'cd by tho merchants to stem the tide of money llow ing past their doors in a never returning stream, but as such ellorts were generally of a pre mature and spasmodic nature and founded on wrong principles, they quite naturally failed in their purpose. Not until the great need that existed for relief had chrystalized into the general sentiment that education of the consumer was the only way to secure permanent nnd satis factory results, was any headway made by the merchants in re gaining their lost business. Throughout that entire section of the country were scattered numberless small towns and vil lages that were steadily dwind ling in population nnd commer cial prestige. They presented to tho eye a silent, grim array of empty store buildings and deserted streets that gave mute witness to the monumental folly and ignorance of the people on the one hand, and the apathetic incompetence of the merchants on tho other: the people's error lying in their obstinate, blind, devotion to the siren voice of the catalog, and the merchants in their rciuctnnco to realize and adapt themselves to the changed conditions that camo into ex istence with the advent of the catalog in their community. Most of tho towns so ail'ected lacked tho kind of men. and the proper spirit to come back, and stand todny crumbling relics of n bygone commercial ago: their stores quite in accord with the general dilapiatedness of the entire community, run by tho same typo of men who years he fore, by their narrowness, their cheap economies nnd unfair busi ness methods, had paved tho way and mado welcome tho first catn log sent to their town. Athough by far the great ma jority of the communities have never recovered, there were many, however, that did, and it wns the writer's pleasure while gathering the material for this series of articles, to occasionally find one that bore every evidence of prosperity: whoso storo build ings were nil occupied: whoso people were hustling and hnppy and which in general had the appearance of ueing tho com munity expression of pride. stability and contentment. One could not hut wonder by w'hut menus such favored cities were spared the fate of their neigh bors. Tho answer, however, wns quite simple hard, intel ligent, cooperative work by tho merchants in educating the peo ple of their community to the wisdom of comparative inves tigation BEFORE sending their orders away from home. One of tho most successful methods employed to accomplish this result was adopted by tho business men of a city of some 10,000 inhabitants in one of our Southwestern states. Crops had been good and prices high for three or four years and the farmers who but a short time before had been only too glad to accept the accommodations in the way of credit, and in many cases cash, that were of neces sity extended by the local mer chant, now found themselves with an abundant supply of cash and as natural as day follows night were dying to spend it. The heads of the big mail order houses keep watchful eyes on every little nook and cranny of the entire country and are al ways the first to take advantage of favorable trade conditions that hold the promise of increased sales, and in this case it was hut a short while after the first good crop hod been sold until every farmer in the district was being urged by every mail to "save -money," "cut out the middleman," "cease being rob bed.by your.local merchant," and DeroUd It Ibt ItHMtMt f the I'falaialt. let MinuUUurlnc Ctattr ( (b North. M ST. JOHNS, 0R1J00N, t'KIDAY, JUNK J. 1914. countless oilier pnrases 01 similar nature. 11 iook" ami iook chased at home, hut in Ncenunl good, and the merchants of the ing for this it was shown tht little city were at their w its' end only twelve nnd one-half per cent 10 overcome me seuueuve in- iluence of the beautiful illus trations nnd well chosen words of the "silent salesmen." They soon realized they were in for the biggest light of their com mercial livos, and as there hap pened to be throe or four live wiros among tnem wno were deep and broad enough to realize that a new condition existed that had to bo met in a new way, they took ample time to study the question from every possible angle before finally deciding the way to do it. The results obtained fully demonstrated the fundamental soundness of the plan they adopt ed. The merchants and profes sional men of tho city organized a Tradoat-Honie League, the purpose of whichwns to estab lish and maintain n bureau of comparative investigation, and every consuirterMvithin the city's trade aone was invited by a per sonal letter to join, freoof any obligations -as to fees or dues either present or t future. The purposes nnd plans of the or ganization were published in the press, and although many of the mail order buyers laughed up their sleeves at the undertaking and cock-suredly remarked to their friends that it "couldn't be did," fifty-six farmers joined at the first public meeting after or ganization. Athough it must he admitted that most of them did so merely out of curiosity, there were a few who came in with an unbiased willingness to be shown. After deciding on their plan of campaign, and for about three months before making their pub lic announcement nnd sending out the invitations, a committee of ten representative business men had been hard at work pre paring the scenery and arrang ing the plot for this pioneer drama of commercial art. Their work had been done quietly, none the less diligently, nnd when theitimQ.cnmefor the cur tain to rise on the first act they had demonstrated beyond a doubt the soundness of the theory on which their labors were founded and felt assured of victory. A catalog from each of the three mail order houses doing the bulk of the business in that territory had been taken nnd carefully gone through, nago by page, and from every lino was chosen from one to u half dozen articles that, as near as could be determined by the illustrations and descriptions, seemed to be of nbout the same quality as similar articles enrried by the local merchants. When the list wns completed they began buy ing these nrticles from the cata log houses through the medium of their friends, their wives and their clerks, and as tho goods camo in they were taken to the display rooms and thoro caro fully analyzed as to quality and as to workmanship. Shoes wero sawed in half, furniture taken apart, mattresses ripped open, nnd in fact every article was thoroughly dissected. To each article was then attached a card showing the result of the inves tigation, bringing out any in ferior qualities or defects that may havo been found. Tho card also had the catalog illustration attached and tho actual cost do livered there, including letter postage, money order fee, freight charges, etc. Exhibited by the side of this article was one of as near the same quality and style as could be found in a local store, which was treated in exactly the same manner as the mail order article. Tho card, of course, gave tho same information or comparison as was shown on tho other. The committee in charge of the work was absolutely im partial in preparing the exhibit, as it was early decided that for the work to accomplish any per manent result it would bo folly to do otherwise, so such mail or der articles that had the best of the argument, and there were many of them, wero just as prominently exploited as were those which favored tho home merchant. In a printed summary of the entire exhibit, some highly in teresting facts were shown. In every article secured from the home merchant the quality and the workmanship were superior to the mail order article. The total cost of tho goods from local dealers was eleven and one-tenth per cent less than tho cost of the mail order goods. It was shown that twenty-five and three-tenths per cent of tho number of articles from the mail order house were cheaper than REVIEW the same artiuiun eotild Im hot- 01 such articles snowed k shviiik of more than ten per cnU juI only three per cent a PHvitig of . it more than twenty per cent. U'llH nlriii hIwhvii t lint In tint mull order lines in which this appar ent advantaire was trained that the quality was groatly inferior. and decreased with the same tllstt tf lit C tttik tl 111 Mulia it It The hureau was in charge of . the secretary of the Loairue. who had been hired from u distant city. While he did not do much personal work out in the country among the farmers, lie was con stantly on the lookout for now ideas in the way of entertain ments, etc.. that would bring them intD the exhibit room. The campaign lasted for six months, and It was estimated that eighty per cent of the mail order buyers had been converted to the wisdom of home buying. The spectacular finish of the campaign was perhaps the most uiihiuo ull'air ever contrived in celebration of a glorious victory. Over ten thousand dollars had been invested in mail order goods, and a great barbecue was held in the fair grounds on the outskirts of the city, to which every man, woman and child in three counties was invited, the big feature of the day being the burning of these goods. In the literature sent out ad vertising the event the people were invited to take advantage of the burning of these goods to voluntarily express in n most convincing manner the efi'ect the campaign had produced in the community. It was request ed that those who conscientious ly believed it profitable to trade at home would bring u mail or der catalog with them and make a public avowal of their convic tions by personally throwing it to the llaines. There was a crowd of about 15,000 present and fully hair of them had brought "ballots." When the word was given, to touch the match, tho vast crowd became hilariously enthusiastic, and us the people surged around the lingo bonfire hurling tho books to tho llnines, a stranger might well have thought them engaged in observing some mys tic rite of the dark ages rather than celebrating at the funeral pyre of a modern mounter thut fattened only on the ignorance and credulity of America's best citizens. Tho writer had occasion to in terview one of tho merchants who had taken mi active part in tho campaign, and in the course of the talk was told tho story of tho conversation of the most ob stinate mail order buyer in tho community. "Up to the time wo started this thing going," ho said, "Farmer X- - had boon trading with me oil' and on for nbout ten years. His trade had boon mostly 'oil',' for whonever he hud money enough to buy from the mail order house ho did not appear at my store. Four year before he had had a failure. I knew then that I should get hi trade: and I did get it. He was out of money and ho had to have some ono to carry him through tho year. "I got all of his trade for two years, but when he sold hitf first big crop he came in and paid mo off, and from that time until tho day I 'converted' him I don't think lie spent twenty dollars in my store altogether. "After wo had the exhibit go ing about a month I found a chance ono day to invito him to our exhibit room. Ho didn't want to go. Said it would bo of no use, that ho had done all tho comparative investigation he needed to prove whore he could get his goods tho cheapest. It certainly didn't set well, him saying that, so I thought it was a pretty good time to say a fow things to him I had been waiting to say a mighty long time. "I says: 'Look here, X , you've been a customer of mine for a good many years oil" and on, and I've been a mighty handy prop for you to leun on a good many times. Of course it is your privilege to buy your stulF where you want to, -but it don t seem fair when I know you can't save any money by doing it. I think I am a fairly good merchant; I buy close and sell fairly: work early and late, and meet my customers with a smile instead of a grouch, I not only pay taxes for the support of tho local government and every other community interest covered by taxation, but contribute to every other cause for which populur support is sought. If you, over NO. ,ii THE LIBRARY I Interesting Notes for the ' Library Patrons So rnnny iMioka are found in library on house planning, , . . . i r 11... """""'k iiiniisni ig wuu mc, uusy person ouen iinus n un- thv lists of questions wore "uw f limit to choose the ones which 'fully hard,'' while others were will best suit his purpose. I-rom "Ho easy" are anxiously nwait the many, n group of half uiinK tho report on grades, which doxen has been chosen which are due some time within a it is ueiievod every prospective builder should see, whether they intend to put $'100 or $-1000 into their home. The list follows: unntulH ruriusiiing ot a Modest Home. 1!0S. Sums up in a few pages the principles of good taste in fur nishing, and shows their prac- lical application to the ordinary! small house. Especially val uable for its illustrations nnd for its witty pointing out of common lapses from good taste. Brief and to the point. Holt - Modern American Homes, 1!)U Over ninety houses of up-to-date and attractive designs, ranging in cost from (500 to $0000. Floor plans nre given ns well as exterior nnd interior views. Oslmrnc The Family House, 11)10. A close study of the principles of housing such as will enable the householder, whether owner or renter, to secure a hotter house for the money. There is a careful attention to details, such as are usually unlhought of, but neglect of which results in serious waste and inconvenience. Savior Architectural Styles for Country Houses, 1912. The characteristics and merits of ten various types of architec ture set iorth in lively manner b tut mnuv enthusiastic ad vocnltM. A good book to read bofora deciding" on the stylo of one's own house. Stickley- -Craftsman Homes, liMM). The opening chapters on The Simplification or Life and The Art of Building n Home will in spire any builder with a desire for a house which is trul beau tiful in that it is honestly fitted to the needs and habits of his own family. Furnishing nnd grounds are also considered. White Successful Houses nnd How to Build Them. A complete consideration of all the details involved in build ing u home from the hiring of the architect to the placing of the Iwlh room faucets. Ex cellently illustrated nnd woll indexed, making it catty to find any subject wanted. The most comprohonRive and practical of nil guides for the home builder. had any produce to sell, any but loror eggs or garden truck, I al ways hotight it from you and gave you the highest market price. "Now, X .1 want to ask you a pain, straight from the shoulder question: As an hon est, self respecting citizen, don't you think that this element of personal sorvice that I rendor you and every other patron of my store, and for which I make no charge, entitles mo to a little shade the best of it incompotitioii with a concern in Chicago who don't give a tinker's d - for any thing you have, or are .interest ed in beyond the dollar in your pocket? "Well, the result of it was he went along with me to tho ox hibit room and I spent the whole afternoon going over prices and things with him, and to make a long story short, before he loft the hull he put himself down asj a member of the League, and ever since then has been the hardest home trade fighter in the county." Many other communities wore visited which had successfully accomplished the desired end by various methods, but in all cam paigns that were victorious "Education" was the ammuni tion invariably used, backed by poruistent and intelligent effort. In each of the following ar ticles of this series, ono of which will be published each week in this paper, the writer will treat a different phase of the subjoct, embodying the results of his studies and observations of tho methods employed by tho many organizations throughout the country which havo successfully solved tho problem of mail order competition. Work tot dtgr $U jotto- St. Johns is Calling You H41 M'4lkwrt4t.t. Ha ml rmUin( fulwe. Dttttatllvfly manufacturing atf AJln the l I'oiiUhJ. nttrljr UJK) jMiUt(m. Hm. BuWk HWaty. TUt itpet)-. fOOOAQO. Ufg tin- tUcU, ww mflU Vcle iuMt, Hn wetli, Slavs wik, teiti fit4f)-, SWp building pUnt, Veneer ml extcttfei b4M, Hour mill, pUnlng mM, Bet Utter), anil ethcri. Mare induitriei earning. St. John it the pUee for YOU' HIGH SCHOOL ItermnF Intprptf !pdard -3 ing School Doings The eight Senior girls who wrote on the county tuachors' . a . . examination report that some 01 month. On Friday evening. June IS), a party of the Seniors and eight others, including the Faculty, started across the hills for a camping out hike. Thoy wero comfortably provisioned with food and blankets, etc., for a night in th woods. A winding, much worn road down the wust slope ot the lulls Drought them filially to a camping spot beside u tiny stream of running wator. A skilfully built campiire served first to cook u genuine out-of-door supper, nnd later as an in spiration for songs and stories. It was not much more than day light next morning before the chief conk had breakfast under way, and if it had not been so cloudy every ono in the camp would have seen the sun rise. quick tramp brought the party Home just uuout the lime St. Johns was getting started into the day's business. The High School work in cook ing, sewing, drawing and man ual training shared in the praise given to the exhibit at the Cen tral School building. The baccalaureate address of Sunday evening was the formal opening ol benior weeu. uow Goode's subject, "Power," was most appropriate to the occasion, and his development of his theme made it impressive. The large choir under the direction of Mrs. Wright sang two beau tiful anthems. Mr. Coll'yn at the piano and Mr. Bchnko with the violin were accompanists. On Tuesday night tho Class Day exercises proved a success. The entertainment consisted in greater part of "A Fantasy 'Only a Dream.' " for tho com position of which four of thu Senior girls were responsible. The High School faculty was im personated by Clarence Kruogor as Mr. Fry; Sadie Cramer as Miss Ruiiduil; Everett Smith us Mr. White, nnd Hazel Peterson us Miss Clinton. An oll'ectivo woodland scone wns staged and mado to seem of tho fancy by the green Hereon of netting. As all the parts given were entirely original and worked out, too, within a very short time, the class is to bo congratulated upon the talent it possesses. Tho special papers were, Class Poem by Vida Evans; Class History by Louise Sterling: Class Prophecy by Viola Wosthofor, and Class Song, words by Cath erine Gensman. An instrumental solo, "Warbling at Eve" was given by Sadie ('miner. At the invitation of the class Mrs. Hull kindly consented to give a reading, and her selection from Riley wns given in her characteristically happy fashion. As she turned to leave the rost rum lho"senior fairies" capturad her by surprise and presented her with a gift from the Senior Class. The gift is in npprooia tion of her work with them in preparation for tho Class Play prosonted some weeks ago. Reporter. Pleasantly Entertained The Oregon Grape Club was entertained at the home of Mrs, Stella Muhm, 108 Smith avenue, Friday June PJth. Delicious cake and ice cream were served. Those present were Mosdames Armstrong, Brico. ElVa Roam. Dunbar, Canright, Harrington, Keough, Muhm, Nolnn. Palmer, Reynolds, Tooling, Tracey, Em ma Ream. Miss Carrie Ann strong. The guests wore Mos dames Rigdon, Smock, Rergman, McGregor, Fowle, HulVord, Mi nor, Ethel Armstrong, Mabel Smock, Gertrude Clark, Vivian Malion and Master Morlo Har rington. The attendance wag one of the largest, and in tho contest tho Pinks gained a large, numbor of points over tho Ureens. "Watchos" mado over into "Time-pieces" at reasonable, rates at Rogers1, 3QQ N. Jflrsov.