OREGON
i 1111
33d Y
ear
OREGON CITY, OREGON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 1916
Number 44
WHAT S -BREWING.
HONORABLE Si?
NEW MYSTERY DEVELOPS OVER
SALE OF CITY FILTRATION
PLANT TO PAPER MILLS
COUNCIL IS BUSY STALLING
Statements of Mayor Seem Widely at
Variunce with Those Made Else
where by Folk Who Know
There is quite a distinct impression
gaining ground in the county seat
that somebody is trying to "put
something over" in connection
with the sale of the old city
filtration plant to the Hawley
Pulp & Paper company. And the rea
son for this impression is that the city
council has been trying to hold a
meeting ever since last Saturday night
but appears- to be unable to get to
gether. Citizens of the county seat thought,
at the close of 1915, that the sale of
the city nitration plant to the Hawley
company was all cut and dried, that
the municipal water rights had been
duly safeguarded, and that all that
was required was for the Hawley
people to fulfill their side of the op
tion agreement, and the actual trans
fer of the property would take place.
In fact, so that all should be ready
and no further red tape would have to
be unwound, the deed for the proper
ty was all signed and other similar
details completed. On behalf of the
city the members of the water board
affixed their signatures to the deed for
the filtration plant, so that the papers
could be placed in escrow whenever
the Hawley mill people let their con
tracts for construction of the propos
ed mill.
Last week, however, it developed
that there was a plan on foot to im
mediately complete the sale, to ac
cept $20,000 from the Hawley inter
ests,' place the deed in escrow, and
utilize the money received to pay off
outstanding water warrants. On the
surface there is nothing the matter
with this announced plan.
The agreement regarding the sale,
signed and ratified by ex-Mayor Linn
E. Jones and members of his admin
istration, provides that the deed shall
not be turned over until the Hawley
mill contracts have been let. After
that the deed is to lie in escrow until
actual construction work on the new
mill starts, and the city is convinced
hat a mill of the proposed size and
capacity is actually to be constructed.
Then title is to pass to the Hawley
people, clear of all encumbrances.
With this agreement in effect, and
with the deed already signed, it is
somewhat surprising to have Mayor
Hackett say that there will be no coun
cil meeting to take the first step of
the transfer "unil he deed is fixed up
and signed." This has been Mr.
Racket's reply every time he has been
asked about the impending council
meeting, rumors of which have been
afloat for almost a week.
As matters are explained, members
of the water board are anxious to avail
themselves of the balance turned over
by the South Fork water commission
and the $20,000 to be paid by the
Hawley interests to pay off outstand
ing water warrants, and so reduce city
interest payments of $100 a month.
This looks lovely but.
If the deed for the property, trans
ferring title from the city is already
signed; and if the agreement framed
by the last administration sets forth
that no further action can be taken
until the Hawley interests let their
contracts for the proposed mill,
WHERE DOES THE PRESENT AD
MINISTRATION COME IN WITH
AN EFFORT TO "EXPEDITE" MAT
TERS? Mr. Hackett says a council meet
ing to take action on the transfer will
be held "as soon as the deed is fixed
up and signed."
One member of the council has in
timated to the Courier that there is a
convenient loophole in the agreement
(which was reported to have been
drawn by the city prosecutor) that
will make possible an earlier transfer
of the property.
Linn E. Jones, now a member of
the water board, says that the agree
ment provides no transfer can be
made until the Hawley contracts are
let
M. D. Latorette, a member of the
water board, says that' he thinks it
would be nice for the city to pay off
warrants and so save monthly inter
est charges; but denies that the bank
with which he is connected (and the
attorney of which is also attorney for
the Hawley interests in this transac
tion) is in any rush about cashing the
warrants, as "our bank only has about
$15,000 of those water warrants any
way." WHY, then, should the council be
in a rush, and what deed is Mayor
Hackett waiting for a deed which
must be "fixed up and signed?"
As many citizens have asked be
fore, when the transfer of the city
property was under consideration:
"WHAT IS THE RUSH?"
And if everything is ready, and
there is no funny business hidden in
ALL ABOUT PORTLAND
Uncle Sam Finds Something the Mat
ter with Oregon's Metropolis
Uncle Sam has been making a se
ries of reports on the leading cities
of the country. In quite a number
of cases these reports refleect great
credit upon the municipalities con
cerned and then there are some re
ports that are like the one on Port
land, which was issued this week.
The report deals with the period
from 1909 to 1914, inclusive; and
shows that during that time Portland's
manufacturing establishments in
creased 29 percent. But the number
of persons employed DECREASED
4.9 percent.
Hence Portland has fewer men
working now than it had five years
ago, and wages have been reduced
even more greatly than the number
of employees. However, that isn't all
about Portland that Uncle Sam has
discovered. That class of people who
get "salaries" instead of wages has
increased 27 percent, and the salaries
themselves have increased 45.4 per
cent. The man who gets "wages" does
something for his money, and helps
build up a community. . He is what
is known as a working man. But the
creature who gets a "salary" is a bird
of joy and pleasure, a parasite on the
working class, a non-producer. And
in Portland he has increased in num
ber, and he gets almost twice as much
in "salaries" as he did five years ago.
Somehow this is'n't the kind of a re
port that a good, healthy city ought
to have; and it will be interesting to
see how the Portland Commercial club
and the Oregonian will explain it.
And with this DROP in wages and
remarkable increase in "salaries," the
value of Portland s finished products
only increased 18.7 percent in five
years. The increased valuation of
what Portland put out wasn't any
where near as big as the increase in
Portland's "salary list." Somewhere
in there was a loss and whom do you
suppose paid it? The fewer "wage
earners," of course they are always
at the bottom of the pile.
Portland is a hot town as has been
before remarked.
NEWS FROM SEATTLE
Raid on Club by Sheriff Winds up C. B.
BIcthen to Words
The other day Sheriff Hodge, of
King county, Washington, in which is
located the glorious city of Seattle,
raided the Rainier club and confiscat
ed a trunkful or two of booze under
the prohibition law. C. B. Blethen,
editor of the Seattle Times, is a mem
ber of the club. Aside from that, Hit
relations of the Seattle Times and
Sheriff Hodge are quite similar to the
relations existing between the Cour-
ler and Mr. Wilson, who works here
in the sheriffs office with Mr. Hackett.
Following the raid, C. B. Blethen got
an editorial off his chest that made it
seem almost as if the late Alden G.
Blethen had returned to life. Here
is the "good reading matter" that "C.
B." heaved at Seattle's sheriff.
"At the expense of Seattle's best-
known social organization. Sheriff
Bob Hodge has launched his guber
natorial boom, cracking across its
bows not one bottle, but cases and
even trunks of liquor provided unwill
ingly by the bitterest political oppon
ents he has.
"Today, resounding through the
coulees and draws of Eastern Wash
ington, speeds the news that 'Our
Bob' has put a crimp in certain Seat
tle malefactors of great wealth. Si
Oatfield, butting his head into the
ribs of his restless Jersey, is heard to
remark: 'Get over, ye consarn critter,
before I give ye a belt like Bob Hodges
give them Seattle millionaires.'
"Gentlemen, kindly keep your seats.
The contest is about to commence.
Never before in' one ring has such an
unparalleled spectacle been offered.
Champion Drylaw has agreed to knock
out Common Law, otherwise known as
His Home Is His Castle,' in one round.
Simultaneously Sheriff Bob agrees to
defeat the Seattle business man at the
polls for the purse agreed upon one
Governorship!
"Time!"
Rifle Club Formed
Some county seat folk who believe
pn "preparedness" have organized the
uregon utty Kine ciud, and nave ap
plied to the government for guns and
ammunition to use at the range. The
officers of the new organization are:
President, H. F. Way; vice-president,
D. M. Shanks; secretary, H. A. Swaf
ford; treasurer, M. W. Hedden, and
executive officer, Maptain M. D. Phil
lips. Commercial sales from Alaskan
national forests during the past fiscal
year amounted to 62,498,000 board
feet, valued at $68,672.
the mystery, why can't the council
get together and close the deal ?
These are things that Oregon City
people are wondering; and that is why
there is a prevalent impression that
"somebody is trying to put some
thing over." .
One thing is certain however
there was no council meeting Wednes
day night, though it was rumored that
one was to be called somewhere. And
there was none Tuesday, or Monday,
or last Saturday, when the report that
something was afoot first got out.
Why the hesitancy on the part of the
administration; why does a deed have
to be "fixed up and signed;" and once
again, "what is the rush?"
IL
HIT BY OFFICIAL
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY DIS
TRICT ATTORNEY SWEEPS
RESTRICTIONS ASIDE
ACTION TO SAVE LAD'S LIFE
Limit of Two Quarts of Alcohol With
in Four Weeks Is Rescinded in
Behalf of Critically 111 Child
District Attorney Gilbert L. Hedges
and Deputy District Attorney T. A,
Burke knocked the new statewide pro
hibition law into a cocked hat this
week in an effort to save a boy's life.
in a matter ot such emergency,
neither official felt that technicalities
of the law ought to stand in the way
of the broader subject of humanity,
and they authorized the boy's father
and a local druggist to use common
sense and forget, for the time being,
such a thing as the Anderson law and
its arbtrary provisions as to the quan
tity of ethyl alcohol that could be pur
chased.
The boy in the case was Lloyd Bar
low, of Eastern Oregon, 'who was ly
ing critically ill with pneumonia at
the home of E. Parker. The boy's
father, W. L. Barlow, appealed to the
district attorney when the emergency
arose, and after discussing the case
with him and Deputy District Attor
ney Burke, the two county officers de
cided that the law might well be waiv
ed in the crisis at hand.
Lloyd Barlow has been under the
care of Dr. M. C. Strickland, and a
part of the treatment that the phy
sician prescribed -was frequent alco
holic baths. The law provides that
any person may purchase two quarts
of ethyl alcohol within any four weeks
and that any physician may purchase
and provide, or may order bought upon
prescription, ethyl alcohol for medic
inal purposes. Alcohol baths had been
given Lloyd Barlow at frequent inter
vals, and Tuesday morning the supply
of the bathing fluid ran out.
W. L. Barlow at once called up Dr.
Strickland, in order to obtain more.
But Dr. Strickland was out of the city
on urgent business, and so the elder
Barlow could not obtain the necessary
prescription which would enable him
to get more alcohol he having al
ready purchased the two quarts per
mitted him in a four-weeks period un
der the law. In his dilemma the an
xious father appealed to District At
torney Hedges.
Deputy District Attorney Burke
has been making a specialty of the
Anderson prohibition law, and with
Mr. Barlow Mr. Hedges went to him
for a conference. The two legal men
at cr.ee decided that the law provided
a .physician to order bought, on pre
scription, more than the two-quart
limit of ethyl alcohol; but they could
find no authority in the law for the
purchase of more than the limited
amount without the orders of a phy
sician. To call another doctor and have him
examine the critically ill boy would
have consumed much time time that
might mean life or death to the sick
boy. Inquiry into the case convinced
both Mr. Hedges and Mr. Burke that
alcoholic baths were really a neces
sary part of the treatment for the lad,
and so in the emergency they decided
to waive the provisions of the law.
Calling up Linn E. Jones, the district
attorney -gave official permission for
the sale of more than the limited
amount of alcohol to Mr. Barlow, and
the father was sent post haste to the
drugstore to obtain the bathing fluid
for his boy.
At the drugstore Mr. Barlow com
plied with the provisions of the law
as far as was possible, in view of the
circumstances, and in a few minutes
later was at his son's bedside with
the necessary alcohol to give the suf
fering boy his "rub." Later in the
day when Dr. Strickland returned
from out of town, he remedied the
apparent breach of the law by issu
ing a prescription for the amount of
alcohol obtained, and so the incident
was closed.
Speaking about the matter later,
Deputy District Attorney Burke said
that he believed he had done right
under the circumstances. "Neither
Mr. Hedges nor myself could believe,"
he said, "that it was the intent of
the Anderson law to deprive a suf
fering person of medical treatment
ju3t on account of the temporary in
ability of the father to comply with
the technicality of the statue. We
were convinced that Dr. Strickland
had precribed alcohol rubs for young
Barlow, and that if he was here he
would issue a prescription for the
material. In his absence it did not
seem reasonable either to Mr. Hedges
or myself that the sick lad should be
deprived of tratment that might mean
the actual saving of his life, so we
took the action that we did. That
was all there was to it."
By their action Tuesday Clackamas
county officials have set a precedent
that will doubtless be followed in
other instances of emergency else
where in the state. The Anderson
law makes no provisions for emer-
(Continued on Page 8)
HARD
NO BOOZE; DEAD
Joe Suisap Succumbs to Exhaustion
When Unable to Get Stimulant
The Oregon prohibition law killed
its first victim in Clackamas county
this week when Joe Suisap, ball play,
er of pioneer days and a noted mem-
ber of the Klickitat tribe, died of ex
haustion in the county seat. Accord
ing to Coroner Hempstead, who view
ed the body a few minutes after
death, and who saw the aged Indian
half an hour before he died, Suisap
would have been still living had he
been able to get a stimulant on the
afternoon of his death. But the pro
hibition law cut off Suisap's supply of
stimulants, and his hard work Tues
day afternoon brought on the end.
Suisap had been putting in wood
for Dr. C. H.. Meisner, who has offices
adjoining those of Coroner Hemp
stead. The wood was heavy and wet.
and the aged Indian often sat down
to rest while moving the huge pieces
of fuel. Shortly before five o'clock,
Dr. Hempstead passed the old red-
man sitting on a pile of logs, and not
ing his appearance returned to his of-
fice and mentioned to Dr. Meisner
that the Indian "looked bad." Neither
physician thought much more of the
matter, however, and Dr. Hempstead
went .out on a professional call.
Before he had returned efforts were
being made to locate him for a "cor
oner's case." He was finally got on
the telephone in Gladstone, and asked
who had died.
"Suisap," said his informant.
"Exhaustion," said Dr. Hempstead
laconically; and then added: "If he
had been able to get a drink of whis
key he would still be alive."
Suisap was a habitual drinker, in
fact in liquor he found a constant
stimulant, and only through its use
was he able to keep at his work on
odd jobs here and there. With the
coming of the dry wave, and with
the mail-order houses barring the sale
of liquor to Indians, Suisap was cut
off from his accustomed stimulant
and when the extra strain came his
ystem was unable to meet it. So the
old Indian went out, lay down on the
pile of wood he had been moving, and
quietly passed to the happy hunting
grounds.
Suisap is survived by a sister, re
ported to be well-to-do, who lives on
the Warm Springs reservation. News
of his death has been sent to her. In
1874 and 1875 he played in the field
on the Oregon City baseball team, and
assisted materially in winning the
state championship for the local play
ers. He has long been a familiar
figure on the streets of the county
seat.
RIVER MAY FREEZE
Ice from Milwaukie to Portland Makes
Willamette Skippers Nervous
' Prognostications were made Wed
nesday that the Willamette river
would freeze over above Portland.
The river is already in bad shape for
light draught boats below Portland,
and the Columbia is filled with ice.
Wednesday Captain A. B. Graham, of
the Oregon City Transportation com
pany, declared that a thin but unbrok
en sheet of ice lay over the Willa
mette from Milwaukie to Portland,
and he , feared that continued cold
weather would make navigation of the
upper river impossible.
Most of the ice in the river above
Portland is being furnished by the
Clackamas and Tualatin, both of
which streams are carrying great
masses of thick ice down to the main
channel. The ice that comes from the
Tualatin is pretty well broken up in
going over the falls at Oregon City;
but the cakes floating down the Clack
amas readily unite when they reach
the larger stream and form vast floes.
These have already choked at the
Hawthorne bridge in Portland, and
from this point the river is slowly
"freezing back" upstream.
STONE ENTERS RACE
County Scat Attorney Formally After
District Attorney's Job
The Honorable William E. Stone,
former city attorney of the county
seat, and for several years law part
ner of George C. Brownell, will not
circulate petitions to get himself nom
inated as a candidate for the district
attorneyship at the primaries but he
will be in the race just the same. Un
der the amended election laws it is
no longer necessary to circulate pe
titions when you want a job by pay
ing a small fee and filing for a place
on the ballot one can do away with the
bother of circulating petitions. And
Mr. Stone has decided to take "the
easiest way" to glory.
"I will send my fee and certifiicate
of nomination to the secretary of state
this afternoon," said Mr. Stone Wed
nesday. Mr. Stone probably means what he
says, and so he will have the honor
of being the first candidate to formal
ly get in the ring in this county.
According to County Clerk Har
rington, the county raised $394,356.66
for its roads last year. Of this sum
$110,659.47 was given the general road
fund; $228,767.69 was given to the
district road funds, and $54,931.50
was raised by special levies for spec
ial road work. Miss Harrington, in
her report, also confides the informa
tion that road warrants are now about
seven months behind in payment.
Andrew Singer, of Milwaukie, was
sent to the insane hosiptal at Salem
Wednesday.
CO
USES INLY ART
PUGILISTIC TRAINING AT YALE
COMES IN HANDY FOR DIS
TRICT ATTORNEY
BLACK EYES ARE DISTRIBUTED
County Seat Enlivened by Fistic Bat
tle that Makes Other Famous
Bouts Seem Very Tame
Clackamas county has a fighting
district attorney.
This is no joke, nor is it a compli
mentary phrase handed to a favorite
office holder. Clackamas county real
ly has a fighting district attorney, and
he has fought in public.
The fight was staged on Mam street
Wednesday noon of this week. It was
short, sharp and to the point; and as
a result the district attorney is wear
ing a neatly tinted black eye and a
scratched face. His opponent also
has decorations on his countenance
that were not there before.
The principals in the bout were Dis
trict Attorney Gilbert Hedges and one
William Smith. When a student at
Yale, Mr. Hedges used to delight in
strolling out at night and beating the
heads of "town boys;" and when a
younger man, Mr. Smith was not un
known to fame, either. In fact he
was a boxer known generally as "Lit
tle Bill" Smith, and if he had picked
the ring as a profession, he might in
time have won a diamond belt. But
Mr. Smith was more interested in fish
than he was in the squared circle, and
that is why he and the district at
torney went to the mat in the coun
ty seat.
The ruction grew out of the trial of
Brown and Douthitt, two county seat
fishermen, who have been accused of
violating the closed river law. Dis
trict Attorney Hedges, in the course
of the second trial of Brown and
Douthitt Wednesday morning, asked
each juryman and each witness a pe
culiar question; to-wit: "Have you
been talking about this case to this
man Smith, or has Smith spoken to
you.'"
Mr. Smith took umbrage at the im
plication that went with the question,
and meeting the district attorney out
side of the courtroom, he asked him
what he meant. The district attor
ney told him. Words followed, and
finally Mr. Smith expressed a desire
to knock the honorable head off the
district attorney. Mr. Hedges told
him to go ahead and knock and
Smith did.
He got in a beautiful wallop. In
the words of sporting writers, Smith
feinted with his left and sent a
straight jab with his right to Hedges'
lamp. While he was seeing stars, Mr.
Hedges recalled the days at Yale, and
tepped back to dodge the next on
slaught of "Little Bill." Also he
poked Smith one in the wind.
Now science is all right in a box
ing match. It would have been all
right in the case of the district attor
ney, only there was a pile of snow
behind him when he stepped back.
And the snow upset all his science,
and also upset him. As Mr. Hedges
fell backward, Smith made another
right drive for his opponent, lost his
balance and-fell on top of Mr. Hedges.
The two men milled about in the snow
and might have recovered their feet
had not Kent Wilson, deputy sheriff
and a son of Sheriff Wilson, joined
the fray at this point. '
Young Wilson didn't wait for Smith
to get up. All he saw was that a
county official was being attacked, and
in the line of duty he went to the res-
lue. Swinging his young and agile
arm swiftly, he dealt "Little Bill"
Smith one in the lamp, also. Mr.
Smith's eye was badly cut, and blood
spurted freely over the muddy snow.
"You cut that out and get up, and
don't say a word or I'll soak you
again," said the deputy sheriff, getting
in position to deliver a solar plexus
blow.
Mr. Smith arose, and so did Mr.
Hedges. Smith then discovered that
his cigar, which he had held in his
teeth during the encounter, was bit
ten in half.
"You've made me spoil my smoke,"
he said, glaring at Mr. Hedges.
"That's too bad," said Mr. Hedges,
and then he reached to his pocket.
"Here's another rope," quoth he,
"take it and welcome."
Mr. Smith appreciated this bit of
sportsmanship on the part of the dis
trict attorney, accepted the cigar and
lighted up. And so the battle ended
in a draw.
Mr. Hedges was 42 years old Wed
nesday, and he feels that he fittingly
celebrated the anniversary of his
birth; and that he also proved him
self "there" more than was Jim Jef
fries, when he went up against the
"Big Smoke" at a somewhat similar
age. "Little Bill" Smith is said to be
about 60.
Of course the fight had its unfor
tunate side. It did not greatly en
hance the cause of the two fishermen
on trial for an alleged violation of the
law. As Master Warden Kelly said at
the previous trial, which resulted in
a disagreement, the fishermen seem
NEW STAND TAKEN
Milwaukie Water Companies Hear
that Appeal to State May be Made
Another chapter was written this
week in the battle between he city
council of Milwaukie and the water
companies. The council of the north
ern city is making every effort to get
Bull Run water provided for the com
munity: and just as stalwart an ef
fort has been made all along by the
water companies to continue in bust
ness, or else to sell out to the city
at a very liberal valuation.
Early in the week an informal con
ference between members of the Mil
waukie council and the water com
panies was held. The water compan
ies, through their representatives, ex
pressed a willingness to sell out to the
city at the prices already discussed
and intimated that if the councilmen
didn't care to accept these prices, the
only thing left for the city to do was
to parallel the present water mains
with municipal -mains, and then fight
with the water consumers for pat
ronage. This appeared to leave the
water companies with the best of the
argument.
However, one or two of the council
men had an ace up their sleeves, and
proceeded to play their concealed
cards. The meeting being an informal
one, this was permissable under the
rules. Speaking for the council, one
of the members of that body told the
representatives of the water commis
sion that inasmuch as the water com
panies were "public service corpora
tions they might come under the jur
isdiction of the ' state railroad com
mission. "You charge the people for a water
service," said the spokesman for the
council, "and if you don't give the
public what they are entitled to, an
appeal could be made to the state rail
road commission, and you might be
ordered to give an adequate service in
every way. People pay for continu
ous service and nre protection as
it is now some of the water concerns
shut down at night. And in buying
water, people are entitled to water
that is absolutely pure and that is
protected in the mains. The state
railroad commission might find that
they were not getting this. Then
what would you do?"
The veiled threat of taking the mat
ter before the state railroad commis
sion which has replaced the old pub
lic service commission appeared to
strike the representatives of the water
companies as something new; and the
conference ended with the "water
barons" in a thoughtful frame of
mind. All this being "informal," it
now remains to be seen what will be
the next move in the Milwaukie water
fight.
CREAMERY MAKES RECORD
During December Clear Creek Concern
Sold $17,175 Worth of Butter
Clear Creek creamery made a re
markable record during the month of
December, when a total of $17,175.49
worth of butter was made and sold.
Owing to market conditions and out
side competition the price received was
under the average, which makes the
figures all the more remarkable. Dur
ing the month the creamery bought
142,686. pounds of cream, which was
converted into 57,169 pounds of but
ter. The average daily output was
2,117 pounds.
The creamery is in a prosperous
condition and is running to its capac
ity. In spite of the heavy snow on
the roads, the powerful auto truck
and various smaller vehicles managed
to make deliveries practicaljy on time;
though a good deal of extra work and
hardship was entailed in so doing.
The men on the different cream routes
also had their hands full, but have
managed to get around. Most of the
cream used at the Clear Creek plant
comes from the Stafford country,
though Eagle Creek dairymen also
contribute large amounts. About 900
gallons of cream a week is obtained in
the first district, and about 800 gal
lons in the second.
ORIENT CALLS VETERAN
Marine Sergeant Gets Year's Leave of
Absence to Stay in Japan .
Secretary of the Navy Daniels has
granted to Sergeant George Warrell,
United States Marine Corps, retired,
one year's leave of absence to remain
in Japan, where, for 16 years Warrell
served as mail orderly at the U. S.
Naval Hospital, Yokohama. Twenty
seven years of Warrell's thirty years
of continuous service was spent in the
Far East, and only once in the 27
years did he visit the United States.
In 1912 he returned to America, but
he felt the Far East calling him and
returned after 21 days spent at Mare
Island, California.
Sergeant Warrell first enlisted in
the United States Marine Corps on
September 26, 1887, and for years has
been a familiar figure to American
tourists- visiting Yokohama and Pe
king, China.
to think that when a man is accused
of violating the law he ought to be
aided. And this attitude is not do
ing he law-abiding fishermen any
good. In fact it will make public sen
timent against them, and may even re
sult in getting the entire river closed
to commercial fishing. Such a plan
is already being discussed. But that
is another story.
During the past five years 1,900,000
acres of forest lands have been open
ed to settlers.
BOYS' CLUB IDEA
AGAIN TAKEN UP
ANOTHER EFFORT TO ORGANIZE
Y. M. C. A. IN COUNTY SEAT
WILL SOON BE LAUNCHED
INFORMAL CONFERENCES HELD
Scheme to Get Churches and Public
Spirited Citizens Together for
Action Is Already Under Way
Efforts in the past to get concerted
action towards the formation in the
county seat of a Y. M. C. A., or some
other general organization that would
provide a combined recreation and
school center for boys and young men,
have not been over successful; but
people who are interested in the plan
are not discouraged. Proof of this is
had in the fact that this week tenta
tive conferences between a representa
tive of the Portland Y. M. C A. nd
county sat people interested in child
welfare work were quietly held, with
a view to having in the near future a
public meeting at which the matter
will again be taken up.
While two of the county seat
churches maintain more or less equip
ped gymnasiums, and while another
church has made several efforts to
organize a boys club; concerted ac
tion along this line has always fail
ed owing to individual church jealousy.
Efforts to establish a Y. M. C. A. have
proved unavailing owing to the same
cause, and many people who might
otherwise have supported the plan be
lieved that "too much creed" would
enter into , such an institution. In
spite of this, however, there has been
a growing sentiment to provide some
combination of recreation center and
night school for the boys and young
men of the community; and it begins
to look now as if something might be
accomplished.
During the current week Fred G.
Taylor, publicity director of the
Portland Y. M, C. A., and formerly a
local newspaperman, with a wide circle
of acquaintances, has been in the
county seat, holding informal confer
ences with many of those interested
in civic welfare work. Mr. Taylor has
not come as a missionary for the Y.
C. A., but has rather tried to dis
cover and crystalize.any public senti
ment in the matter; and while he will
not say very much about his success,
he has intimated that before long a
public conference on this matter will
be held.
Members of the organization staff
of the Portland Y. M. C. A. will prob
ably attend this conference not with
the idea, necessarily, of getting a
M. C. A. established in the county
seat; but more to give helpful advice
dn the bost means of organizing a gen
eral boys' club, which will not only
provide a gymnasium and recreation
center, but which will also be able to
offer night classes in book-keeping,
business methods and the simpler
trades to any who desire to receive
such instruction.
Realizing the jealousy that has
made past efforts in this line abortive,
the present plan does not confine it
self to any set program. Instead it
is the hope that in a public confer
ence a united idea on the needs of the
community in this respect will be ex
pressed. After it is determined just
what is wanted, it will then be the
order of proceedings to determine
how the plan may be best carried out.
It may seem that a branch of the
M. C. A. will form the most useful
nucleus about which to build the recre
ation center; or it may appear than
an absolutely non-sectarian organiza
tion will be the better plan. In either
event the experienced organizers of
the Y. M. C. A. will be able to give
valuable advice as to methods to be
pursued, and so help the conference to
determine its line of action.
During his visit to Oregon City
Mr. Taylor was not particularly
anxious that any publicity be given
to his efforts. In fact he refused to
say with whom he had discussed the
matter; and beyond admitting that a
conference probably would . be held,
absolutely refused to discuss his mis
sion in the county seat. Undue pub-
icity at ths time might lead to fail
ure, said Mr. Taylor and the history
of past failures shows this to be true.
The Courier holds no brief for the
Y. M. C. A., and does not pretend to
know whether or not a Y. M. C. A. is
the thing for Oregon City. However,
this paper does know that a recrea
tion center, a gymnasium and a school
where men employed in the mills can
learn something besides ordinary mill
duties ARE NEEDED in the county
seat; and it gives publicity to Mr.
Taylor's mission here solely In the
hope that SOMETHING will be ac-.
complished. The least that can be
done is to hold a public conference on
the matter and if a conference is
held, something should be developed
that will lead to action.
It has been necessary in the East to
acquire by purchase the same class of
lands which, in the West, were put
into national forests by proclamation.
An appropriation of $11,000,000 was
made available for this purpose, to be
expended during 1910 to 1918.
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