4
OREGON CITY COURIER, OREGON CITY, OREGON, THURSDAYNOVEMBER 11, 1915.
OREGON CITY COURIER
Published Thursdays from the Courier Building, Eighth Street, and entered
in the Postoffice at Oregon City, Ore., as 2nd class mail matter
E. R. BROWN, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER
Subscription Price $1.50. Telephones, Pacific 51; Home A-51
THIS PAPER REPRESENTED FOR FOREIGN
, ADVERTISING BY THE
GENERAL OFFICES
NEW YORK AND CHICAGO
BRANCHES IN ALL THE PRINCIPAL CITIES
TROUBLES OF OTHERS
People who buy Portland newspa
pers these days to read about the do
ings of the world at large ought to be
given a rebate. Usually one column
on the front page and an indefinite
number of columns inside the paper
are taken up with a lot of bunk about
the mean way the Southern Pacific is
bottling up Portland lumber mills, ot
about the mean way the railroads are
hauling freight over thff mountains to
Puget Sound instead of pulling it
downhill to Portland, or else there is
an outburst of "news" to the effect
that when there is a west wind blow
ing and a. high tide there is 37 feet
of water on the bar of the Columbia
when the waves are big. With the
exception of the present debate be
tween the Telegram on the one side
and the Journal and the Oregdnian on
the other, regarding lumber rates
from Portland to California, there is
nothing new or entertaining in all this
stuff.
And the Portland lumber rate mat
ter has been harped on so much lately
that it is fast losing its novelty. -It
appears that Portland has discovered
the truth about herself, and that she
is trying to hypnotize herself into be
lieving that it isn't true at all. The
basic idea underlying all these news
paper outbursts of "civic patriotism"
is the same; namely that as a port
of commerce Portland is a joke. The
proud city down the Willametto is a
commercial joke for the simple rea
son that it has nothing to export all
its business is imported. In spite of
the brilliant but fanciful remarks is
sued by the Portland commercial bod
ies, its industries are a minus quan
tity. It has a few lumber mills and
a couple of factories; but the city
itself is able to absorb practically the
entire output of these plants, and so
there is nothing in particular for
Portland to export. And wlien trade
is all one way, railroads and steam
ship lines are not crazy to make a
terminal point.
Portland is, aside from an import
ing center, a sort o'f a clearing house
and shipping point for the very limit
ed product of the country ports, and
it acts as a distributing agent to a
small percentage of Oregon towns.
But this business does not originate in
Portland it is shipped into Portland
along with 'the great mass of Port
land imports, and is then distributed
by locul service to perhaps a score of
lesser distributing points. Portland
business is one-sided, and therefore
Portland cannot claim the same con
sideration from transportation com
panies that is given cities whose busi
ness is both imports and exports.
It is cheaper for a railroad, for in
stance, to haul loaded freight cars
underlies the Portland spirit a spirit
as deadly to progress as any in the
world. Portland moneyed men will
not invest their own capital in their
own city. This has been proven time
and time again when efforts have been
made to put up large buildings in the
business section of the city. With the
exception of the Wilcox properties,
and those controlled by C. K. Henry
and perhaps one or two others, Port
land is a city of buildings and enter
prises built upon borrowed capital.
Instead of utilizing columns of
space in fruitless weeping and in com
plaint against the railroads and
steamship lines, Portland papers
should "jar'' and "hammer" Port
land's own citizens, and try to awaken
them to the harm they are doing the
city by their selfishness and by their
fear to invest in the city they call
"home." Let Portland make itself a
manufacturing city, let it put some of
its own capital into its enterprises
and then transportation problems will
take care of themselves. Railroads
will climb mountains to get business,
as the Puget Sound traffic shows;
but if the business was to be had in
Portland, railroad would gladly follow
a water grade to get that business.
The fault lies with Portland, and
not with the outside interests.
MORE ABOUT ROADS
Uncle Sam is always attentive to
the needs of his nephews and nieces,
though they do not aways appreciate
it. And particularly does Uncle Sam
try to benefit those of his nephews
who live far removed from the mad
dening life of cities. And the one
thing that the farmer needs more than
anything else is good roads over
which he may haul his produce to
market This applies to Clackamas
county, as well as to the neighbor
hood near Waughkegan, Maine; in
fact the matter of roads are probably
of greater interest to us here than to
people in any other locality.
For the most part hereabouts we
are blessed ( ? ) with what are known
as dirt roads. Perhaps "mud roads"
would be the better term, but that is
due to our climate, and to the appar
ently pronounced habit of some of
our road-builders to build from the
top down; instead of from the bottom
up. Knowing these things, the Cour
ier takes the liberty herewith of pass
ing on some advice on the general
subject of keeping roads passable in
winter time, that has been sent us
by the department of agriculture. The
advice follows.
Water, not cold, is the cause of de
terioration of roads in winter, accord
ing to the road specialists of the de-
I oartment. Cold weather does not in
"over the mountains to Puget Sound," I itself injure roads, no matter whether
1 1.1 J.. -!-..,.. ' iU 11. . 1 1 ...
uecuuse mese same ireignt cars may , iy are eiinii, gravei, or macadam
be hauled back again over the moun
tains jammed full of shipments of
freight. If they were hauled into
Portland they would have to be taken
away empty and there is no money
in hauling empty freight cars, not
even on a water grade. Portland
doesn't got the business that goes to
Puget Sound because it cannot offer
the return business that Puget Sound
does. Portland cannot compare with
Tacoma, for instance, as a railroad
terminal, for even if all other things
were equal, Portland has not got the
vast manufacturing plants that dot
Taconm's tideflats.
But not only does Portland lack the
manufacturing plants of the Sound
cities, but it also lacks deep-sea com-1
merce. The mere fact that there may
be forty feet of water on the Colum
bia bar will not make Portland a port
for deep water vessels. If there was
a hundred feet of depth over the. bar,
Portland would be no better off than
she is today unless the 100 miles of
river between the bar and Portland
was dredged, a wide channel main
tained, and decent docking facilities
provided at Portland. As things are
today, in spite of all denials to the
contrary from Portland, nn ocean-going
vessel can get to Vancouver,
Washington, with reasonable safety
and dispatch; but if a vessel of heavy
draft tries to ascend the Willamette
to Portland, it is a subject for extra
risk and insurance.
And at the root of all this woe
that is stacked up for Portland in any
fight for commercial advance, there 1
In fact, an earth road will stand
more traffic when it is solklly frozen
than nt any other time. Excessive
water, however, is always detrimental
to a highway. When cold weather
turns this water into ice, the damage
that it does is greatly increased. Ice
occupies considerably more space than
the water from which it is formed, and
every person who has lived in a cold
climate is familiar with the powerful
bursting effect of water when left to
freeze in a confined vessel. The same
action takes place when a wet road
freezes to any considerable depth. It
simply bursts, or, as we generally
term it in road parlance, the road
heaves. ,
A dry road will not heave. Rock,
gravel, sand and even clay when per
fectly dry contract slightly on freez
ing. In order to expand on freezing
these materials must contain or be
mixed with water, and the more water
they contain the grenter the expansion
which takes place. But so long as the
road remains frozen the damage does
not become apparent. Hence the fre
quent and erroneous idea that it is the
thaw which injures the road. The in
jury was done when the water in the
road froze and the particles of the
road surface broken stone, sand, or
still finer particles of earth or dav
were pushed apart by the expanding
power of the freez..ig water. The
thaw merely allows the ice to melt
and assume its original volume as
water.
the remedy is self-evident. Keep
the water out of the road. The time to
begin preventice measures is early in
the fall, before the rains begin. If
the road goes into the winter thor
oughly dry, with the surface and
drainage in good condition, the chanc
es are extremely favorable that it
will come out all right the following
spring.
Keep the ditches and drains open.
Remove all accumulations of weeds,
grass, etc., which tend to retain moist
ure and obstruct drainage. Further
more, do this work early, while the
ground is still dry and hard. Vege
tation and litter hold water like a
sponge and allow it gradually to soak
in and soften the earth. The job be
fore the road man is to keep the hard,
dry surface formed in the summer
time from becoming softened by the
fall and winter rains and snows.
When the fall rains begin the earth or
gravel roads should be dragged fre
quently to prevent the formation of
ruts and the collection of water. All
raveled places on macadam surfaces
should be-carefully filled in and con
solidated. And now, lest some bright super
visor rises to remark that roads in
Clackamas county do not freeze very
much in winter, let it be remembered
that the moral of this advice from
Uncle Sam is NOT to prevent road3
from freezing; but to keep them well
drained ALL THE TIME. Then the
climate will not raise such havoc with
them.
TO THE SOUTH OF US
Mabel Hite, now one of the stars
of the musical comedy world made her
reputation in the Northwest singing
a song about, "Mexico, my dark-eyed
Mexico on the vaudeville circuits in
the Puget Sound country. And now
the whole country is thinking about
bring home to the republics that lis
between the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans the folly of spending all the
money that can be begged, borrowed
or simply taken, in exploding powder
and shooting up human beings. Prob
ably the5 growing realization of what
is happening in Mexico, and its dread
ful consequences, will utterly spoil the
plans of jingoees in the United States
who want to get all ready to "lick
Germany or whatever else is left in
Europe.'' Probably the Mexico muss
will so disgust this nation with war
fare that there will not be any immed
iate plans made for sending a few
million Americans to the next world
by the gun-powder route.
Mexico, of course, is paying a ter
rible price to teach her sister repub
lics on the twin American continents
the value of peace; but it appears that
somebody has got to pay the price on
this side of the ocean. Europe has
probably partly learned the lessoon of
the brotherhood of man by this time,
and as soon as Europe is able she will
prbably put her knowledge to practic
al use. And probably Mexico will,
too. And when all this comes to pass,
and the dove of peace can once again
encircle the globe without getting her
wings singed and her eyes peppered
out; probably there will be some gen
eral gratitude to Mexico in this coun.
try for driving home the lesson and
perhaps even Mabel Hite will again
sing "Mexico, my dark-eyed Mexico,''
and be heartily applauded for so doing.
WASHINGTON AND CHRIS
History tells us that George Wash
ington was a great man, a noble
statesman, a soldier in the cause ot
freedom and humanity, and that he
never told a lie. George Washington
resemblance to George Washington.
To the first reporter, the Honorable
Christian Schuebel said he did not
care to be interviewed regarding the
origin of this so-called ordinance. And
to a second reporter, who called him
out of bed to answer the telephone,
the Honorable Christian Schuebel said
'The ordinance came from Portland
and that is all I know about it."
The Honorable Christian Schuebel
is the foe of all corporations that
would grind the noses of the common
people in the dust he says so him
self. And the ordinance that he
brought into the council chamber was
heralded in the county seat before its
arrival by an officer of the interur
ban company which is trying to regu
late the jitneys; this same officer ex
pressed the opinion that it would be
"fixed up'' within a very few days
and after the ordinance "got loose"
in the council chamber, this same of
ficer of the interurban corporation
"jumped all over the mayor'' the next
day for having permitted the sacred
papers to get out before they were
ready for inspection.
Isn't Chris just like George Wash
ington ? Yes, he is not.
PROGRESS
The times change, and modern cit
ies and communities have to meet con
ditions unthought of by their found
ers. And perhaps no greater problem
has come before the law-givers than
the regulation of motor vehicles.
Two cities in Clackamas county
have within the past month or so
found themselves face to face with
the altered road conditions resulting
from the universal use of the high
ways by motor vehicles. Milwaukie
is one of these cities, and Oregon City
is the other. The councils of both
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VICTROLA AGENCY FOR OREGON CITY
71EP0SIT what you like, when you like, but
deposit your money with this bank.
It is possible you have never felt the ab
solute necessity of having a bank account. It
is possible you could drift along for years with
out one, but if you expect to forge to the front
in this life in a financial way, it is essential
that you have a bank account.
We give you a personal invitation to
make this bank your depository whether you
have a large sum or small one to lay aside for
safe keeping.
The Bank of Oregon City
81 Yours in Business
Mexico in real life isn't making the is held up before the small boy of to-
I communities have considered what
was best to do for the common good
or it is to be presumed that they have
and both councils have done their part.
Milwaukie has an ordinance, brief
same kind of a hit that it made when day as one of the most wonderful men
gentle Mabel Hite warbled about it. the world ever produced; and about
Last week the front pages of our the first thing the average youngster
newspapers devoted about as much at- hears about George is the story of
teniion to tne nappenings near Uoug- the affair at the cherry tree, and the business-like and clear. It provides
las, Arizona, as they did to similar manly way in which little Georgie a limit; for the speed ' of motor ve
but more extensive happenings in Eu- stood before his father and said: I hides Describes rules of the road
"I cannot tell a lie, father, I did it and absolutely forbids any motor ve
with my little hatchet." i hide to pass between a streetcar and
And the Honnrnhln Christian S.'hne-' the sidewalk when the streetcar has
Q?" 6 ( HUB 1-, A
vf if 1
lives and peace of its citizens, and over. You can't legislate religion in-
which city is bowing meekly to the to people.
will of a corporation that cannot draw
its own chestnuts out of the fire ? Considering the blank spaces left
Troubles never
coming next.
cease election is
Why not hard-surface 1;he roads
with the mail-order catalogues; then
they'd be useful.
When you do your Christmas shop
ping early, DO IT AT YOUR HOME
STORE.
Thanksgiving Day: an annual
American festival, when some of the
natives are thankful they didn't eat
too much.
Comes now the season of the year
when on fair days spiders float thru
the air; and when on rainy days spi
ders crawl in between the blankets.
Oregon City's curfew has been ad
vanced an hour, from nine to eight
o'clock. In the rainy season kida
wont want to stay out late, anyway.
Just to bent sortie republican paper
to it, we will call attention to the fact
that President Wilson issued his
Thanksgiving proclamation before the
November 2 elections.
rope. I hey told how after a furious
battle lasting for two days there were
-some 300 Mexicans and Indians left
dead on the field, and about a dozen
Americans more or less shot up on the
United States side of the border. Also
we were treated to a bombastic decla
ration by some party named Villa to
the general effect that he was going
to fight tho whole United States if
this nation got fresh.
Down in Douglas, Arizona, from
all accounts, they think war is what
General Sherman said it was, even if
H is a Mexican war they are talking
about. And elsewhere in these Unit
ed States people are beginning to
think that tho slaughter-fest down in
Mexico has gone far enough. Presi
dent Wilson has taken preliminary
steps to put a stop to the proceedings,
and is on the eve of taking further
steps; and it begins to look as if in
time Mexico would be made as tran
quil and prosperous as the Philip
pines even if it takes the same ex
penditure of time, energy and money.
Probably what is going on in Mexi
co, and what may soon occur there, is
about the best thing in the world for
the Western Hemisphere. It will
"Mexico, my dark-eyed Mexico." Hut
bel is so much like George Washing
ton that the Courier cannot help com
menting upon the resemblance. We
all of us know that Chris is a wonder
ful man, a great man, a noble states
man, and a modern soldier in the bat
tle for the rights of the down-trodden
people. If we don't know this, all we
have to do is to read the legislative
stopped to discharge passengers. The
motor vehicle must stop, too; and a
heavy penalty if provided for any in
fringement on the rights of pedes
trians. The Milwaukie ordinance does not
cover an eitire sheet of ordinary type
writer paper, and any gramar school
child who can read the English lan-
records, in which he himself declared gage can understand it. It is an or-
Some of the valley churches are
holding evangelical meetings to
"convert" Pat McArthur to the "dry'
cause. This seems like a lot of ener
gy for a trivial purpose.
in the last jitney ordinance for the
council to fill in after giving the mat
ter "consideration," we wonder that
the people who sent the ordinance to
the county seat didn't leave it atl to
the council. What's the mattcr-Msn't
the council to be trusted ?
Fords have invaded conservative
England, at last; and the news comes
that a Ford factory will be built some
where near Glasgok. Cheap labor in
England, and the recent heavy duty
on imported motor cars are said to
be the reasons for the expansion of
tho business.
An exchange informs us that tho
city vote kept Ohio "wet." Statistics
compiled by "wet" leaders covering
every prohibition campaign are to the
effect that in towns over 5,000 popu
lation you can't tell how the vote will
be, but that 90 percent of the smaller
towns will vote "dry." Our contem
porary must be biased.
Speaking of the Journal's "midnight-morning
edition," the,Telegram
remarks that a bull-dog edition is
something that is printed today for
circulation tomorrow. And yet people
are expected to buy it.
It is perhaps worthy of comment
that all the newspaper stories about
Germany s desire for peace are dated
at London; while those which say En
gland is' ready to seek peace bear
continental date lines.
that he was the friend of the people,
and that he would ever guard their
interests from the hated corporations.
But it is not only in his personality
and his public service that the Honor
able Christian Schuebel is like George
Washington. He also resembles him
in his strict regard for the truth.
At last week's council meeting there
appeared mysteriously on the mayor's
desk an alleged ordinance for the reg
ulation of jitneys. None of the coun
cilmen present would admit having in
troduced the ordinance, and final'.
the mayor said that the Honorable
Christian Schuebel had brought it in.
And the reporters asked Chris about
it. Mark you, herewith, his striking
dinance that serves its purpose, pro
tects the lives and safety of the citi
zens, and that is fair to all.
And what has Oregon City done?
It has passed a long-winded travesty
called a "public-utility vehicle ordi
nance," and this thing has been knock
ed out by a circuit court injunction.
And now, not having learned its les
son, it has referred to committee a
silly, selfish, inane and preposterous
ordinance, not yet even completed in
its language, that covers nine pages
of typewritten matter and that ends
up with an emergency clause.
Which city has shown real progress
Milwaukie or the county seat? And
which city is trying to safeguard the.
War influences the fashions. The
military coat and suit is with us;
and shortly the peroxide blonde will
pass away. And war will bring about
that change, too for the war has us
ed up nearly all the peroxide there is.
The interurban line having raised
the platforms of its stations, so that
modest young ladies in tight skirts
could board the cars without undue
display, must be overjoyed to hear
that "skirts will be shorter this winter."
If the Sunday closing law is design
ed to provide rest for working people
it may get by; but if it is designed
to legislate people into church it will
prove a boomerang, should it slip
Down in Corvallis they have start
ed a debate between Catholicism and
Protestantism. It would seem that
the world was large enough for both
to find means of dome pood. If
churches would cease fighting over
creeds, and would merely preach the
Word as they believe it. there
be less backsliding in all denomina
tions. Not only has Italy plunged into
the war, but added sorrow has come
to her people through the floods of the
Tiber and the eruptins of her volcan
oes. If this had happened in Roman
days, they would have said the God
were angry. Now nobody appears to
consider what the Gods may think of
the slaughter-fest.
The Oregon City council recently
passed an ordinance requiring a $5000
bond from jitney drivers and the pay
ment of a $50 quarterly fee. This was
done to kill off the jitneys, also in the
face of the proposed establishme
jitney lines from that city to rural
points. Must be a P. R. L. & P. Co.
council that does not believe in a
"live and let live'' policy (Woodburn
Independent.)
Further light on Portland as a lum
ber center is shed by government
tables prepared for water shipments
during the first nine months of 1915.
All shipments referred to in the table
were made to San Francisco. The
Oregon coast ports sent 142nnnnnn
feet; Puget Sound sent 71,000,000 feet,
and Portland sent less than 57.000 non
feet Washington's coast towns ship.
peu over i6,uw,vw feet.
The Courier $1.00 per year.