CITY COURI
35th Year
OREGON CITY, OREGON, THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 1917
Number 3
WIRES W CITY
MISSPENT
COMMITTEE WILL DISCUSS TAX
MATTERS WITH COUNTY
COURT SOON
SOURCE OF ORDER UNKNOWN
Wires Donate to Patriotic Meeting.
Will Gather with Gladstone
Church Women
Because Oregon City has spent
$100,000 within the past few years
on temporary street improvements
which leave the streets in no better
than their original condition, the Live
Wires of the Comemrcial club at
their meeting on Tuesday voted to
condemn the improvement of Seven
teenth street and Washington street
with crushed rock.
According to Livy Stipp, who inves
tigated the matter of the improve
ment of these streets, there appeared
to be no certain source for he order
that caused crushed rock to be hauled
to be no certain source for the order
street superintendent. It was to be
paid for out of the general fund of
the city, and the maneuvering that
made such payment possible present
ed food for thought for the Live
Wires. The fact that this temporary
improvement was ordered stopped by
the council and a day or so later was
resumed was a mystery the Wires
spoke of but did not attempt to solve.
It appears, according to Mr. Stipp,
that the council made provision in its
last budget for money to pave Wash
ington street, and that it should be
attempted to make temporary im
provement aroused Mr. Stipp and
other speakers to a condemnation of
the council's action. It was deter
mined by Mr. Stipp, he said, that the
work on Seventeenth street was being
done with the knowledge of Coun
cilman Metzner.
A matter of considerable import
ance to taxpayers discussed at the
meeting Tuesday was that regarding
the county's general road fund. O.
D. Eby, W. A. Huntley and M. D.
Latourette were named on a commit
tee to wait upon the county court and
discuss with the court plans for coun
ty road taxation. Oregon City and
other municipal corporations and in
corporated road districts face a defi
cit this year because of the county's
action in reducing the annual road
levy from 8 to 6 mills, and at the
same time the county's road program
is hampered by having to turn over
70 per cent of all such money collect
ed within the city or district td the
cities and incorporated districts. The
Live Wire committee is said to favor
a plan by which the county can retain
all the money collected for its own
road program. Oregon City might
be made to suffer temporarily from
such a thing, it is said, since the city
cannot increase its tax levy under
existing laws. However, the city
would have an opportunity to ask the
voters to authorize an additional levy
to meet the expenses of the city with
out depriving the county districts of
the money they justly should have.
The Live Wires got in on the big
patriotic meeting to be held at
Busch's hall this evening when Main
Trunk Schuebel appointed H. E. Wil
liams, Charles Parker and L. Adams
as a committee to cooperate with the
Elks and other organizations, includ
ing the Girls' Honor Guard, in work
ing out plans for the meeting. The
Wires voted to appropriate $25 tow
ard defraying the expenses of the
meeting.
For their next meeting the Wires
will go to Gladstone, where the church
women have promised to provide an
other of the splendid meals the or
ganization has been ' getting at dif
ferent places about the county. Oth
er invitations are in the hands of the
club and will be accepted in their
order. -
SALUTE REFUSED
German Sentiment at Clairmont
School Calls Out Sheriff
When several German youngsters,
pupils at the Clairmont school, re
fused to salute the American flag yes
terday they did not count on Sheriff
Wilson and Private Jorgenson of
Troop A, cavalry, 0. N. G., who is
here on recruiting duty. Soon after
the trouble in the school room the of
ficial and the soldier, with Deputy
Sheriff Joyner arrived there on a trip
about the county. They were ad
vised of the facts in the case and
Sheriff Wilson gave the children a
stirring lecture on patriotism. Pri
vate Jorgenson followed the sheriff,
and when he finished his talk every
child in the school, although one Ger
man boy about 15 was backward about
it, pledged allegiance to the flag and
stood up in the aisles to salute the
banner.
Lumber Company Sues
The Northern California Lumber
company on Saturday brought separ
ate suits against L. Adams, C. G.
Huntley and J. W. Moffat, of this city,
to collect on unpaid stock subscrip
tions in the company. A total of $826
is asked in the three actions.
PATRIOTIC DISPLAY
IS TO BE BIG SHOW
ALL FORCES COMBINE FOR THE
SUCCESS OF PREPAREDNESS
LEAGUE PLANS
With at least ten organizations
cooperating, a monster mass meet
ing will be held tonight at Busch's
hall, following a street demonstration,
to encourage a patriotic spirit for the
organization of a Preparedness
league. Col. C. E. Dentler, U. S. A.,
will be the chief speaker and his sub
ject will be "A Citizen's Duty Toward
Preparedness." Judge Grant B. Dim
ick and James H. Cary will also
speak, and music will be provided by
the band. Lawrence Woodfin, popular
vocalist, will render patriotic selec
tions. The meeting at Busch's hall, where
H. L. Kelly will preside as chairman,
will be preceded by a great street
parade in which the Girls' Honor
Guard, Grand Army veterans, the
Elks lodge, The Moose, the Commer
cial club, Boy Scouts, National Guard;
Canemah Rifle club and school chil
dren will participate. The parade is
in charge of T. Osmund as grand
marshal and will assemble at Fifth
and Main streets for the march to
Busch's hall. Henry Streibig will
lead the procession with his big flag
and Arthur Warner, attired as Uncle
Sam, will be a feature.
The object of the patriotic meeting
is the organization of a Preparedness
league, whose duties it will be to en
courage in every possible way the
display and practice of patriotism,
It is planned to encourage recruiting
and later to form a home guard.
The idea of the League was ad
vanced by the local lodge fff Elks and
preparations for the meeting are in
charge of a committee of lodgemen,
assisted by Charles Parker and L.
Adams of the Live Wires and the
entire loyal force of Girls' Honor
Guard members. The Elks commit
tee in charge includes E. C. Brown
lee, chairman; T. Osmund, Dr. Cylde
Mount, H. E. Williams and E. L.
Johnson.
Delegations have promised to
come in from Canby and Molalla and,
withal, the meeting, according to the
outlook, will be the most stirring pat
diotic affair seen in Clackamas coun
ty in many years.
"THE MAN IN THE CASE"
Hubby Charges That the Mrs.
Re-
fused to Quit Paramour
In the matrimonial tangle of J.
Francis Teevin and his wife, Daisy D.
Teevin, the usual order of things has
been reversed, inasmuch as it is "the
man in the case" rather than the "wo
man in the case," to judge from the
divorce complaint filed on Saturday
by Mr. Teevin. The complaint
charges Mrs. Teevin with cruelty and
alleges that she has, in defiance of his
pleas and requests, been intimate with
another man. The couple was mar
ried at Portland on January 6, 1910,
and have three children. The Tee
vins live near Gresham in this coun
ty. Teevin asks custody of the chil
dren and full title to real estate re
corded in his name.
ROAD BOND MEETING
Commercial Club Committee Will
Hold First Session at Canby
The first meeting of a long series
planned by the Commercial club's
bond boosting committee of 12 will
be held at Canby this evening and
will be followed on Friday evening by
a meeting at Cams. It is the sole
duty of the committee to preach good
roads and the $6,000,000 bond issue,
and it proposes to go to every cor
ner of the county. The committee
also plans for a meeting in Oregon
City within the month at which the
district roadmasters of the county
can be present. Such a meeting has
been under consideration for some
time.
n
ANSWERS
A LAST COMMAND
STORY OF CAPTAIN APPERSOISTS
LIFE READS LIKE FICTION.
BURIED TODAY
HE WAS ALWAYS A PIONEER
Unmarked Grave on Wyoming Plain
was Object of Pilgrimmage he
Hoped to Make.
Visions of the happy day when he
could go back to the old homestead
in Kentucky, when he could even go
back part way over the trail of '47
to that sadly sacred spot where his
father gave his life in a sacrifice to
the star of hope, went glimmering
with a thousand other dreams that
Captain John T. Apperson held dear
to his heart. Captain Apperson an
swered the last bugle call, a sum
mons to the final trial of mortal man,
early on Tuesday morning. Today
he rests in a grave shrouded in the
memory of ountless friends.
Of Clackamas county's best-known
pioneer citizen there is a life story
that reads not unlike fiction. Thrill
ing with action, it reflects the deep in
telligence of the man. It combines a
tribute to the pure red blood in the
veins of the hero with the calm re
cital of how a pioneer boy gained an
envied place in the ranks of citizen
ship. It was in Christian county, Ken
tucky, that Captain Apperson was
born. The eldest son of Mr. and Mrs.
Beverly Apperson. That was on
December 23, 1834. The following
year the family went to Missouri.
There Captain Apperson spent his
boyhood and from there he took up
the long journey across the plains
toward Oregon with his family in
1847,
Bear river, Wyoming. It is a for
gotten waterhole except to those har
dy souls who traveled the long trail of
the pioneers. But Captain Apperson
never forgot Bear river. To his dy
ing day he wanted 'to return to that
little stream on the Wyoming plain.
His most sacred memories were there
it was there that his father gave
way to death. Holding a glimmering
lantern that others of the emigrant
train could see to dig from the parch
ed soil a grave for his brave father,
John T. Apperson watched the pio
neer companions of Beverly Apper
son lower their comrade into the
grave. And John joined his weeping
mother and her children to continue
onward toward the promised land
Oregon.
A pilgrimage to his fathers shrine
was one of the dreams of John T.
Apperson during the last years of
his life. It went with other fond
hopes when death called.
' Little John learned from the pio
neers the way of life. He knew the
pangs of their sorrow for he had suf
fered them all himself. He kn-w the
brave fight they had made to con
quer, a practical wilderness. He was
fitted for the life he was to live when
he reached Oregon City with his
mother and her little family. The
family reached Oregon City in No
vember of 1847, and located with
friends on the banks of the Sandy riv
er. When spring came they moved
to Portland. Mrs. Apperson, the
mother, conducted a boarding house
while John worked in a nearby tan
nery. The gold rush came! John Apper
son, a pioneer to the day of his death,
was lured to the gold fields of Cal
ifornia. His search for gold was,
withal, a vain one. He returned to
Oregon in 1855, a man, and became a
river steamboat operator. First as
a mere employe, later as an owner
(Continued on page 8)
KIDD WANTS COUNTY
TO PAY EXTRA COST
MISMANAGEMENT OF ROAD AF
FAIRS CHARGED IN FLY
CREEK JOB
The alleged mismanagement of af
airs in connection with the construc
tion of the Fly Creek cut-off, com
pleted by the county last fall on the
road leading south from New Era, is
held responsible in the complaint for
the suit filed here on Monday by W.
B. Kidd to collect $876.36 from Clack
amas county.
Clackamas county is asked for
$876.36 as the balance of a claim for
extra work done on the road contract
by Kidd. Mr. Kidd was given the
contract for the construction of the
Fly Creek cutoff on the Pacific high
way south of Oregon City. He start
ed the work last fall under the direc
tion of the county engineer and work
ed with maps furnished by the state
highway department. ,
The state had relocated the road
at a certain point without noting the
change on the maps, Mr. Kidd s com
plaint says, and when he was forced
to change his workto conform to the
relocation plan, he was caused con
siderable extra work. He originally
presented a claim to the county for
$1083, and was paid $207. He is now
suing for the balance, charging that
b. A. Cobb, county engineer, had su
pervision over the work at all times
during the execution of the contract,
MOTION IN SLANDER SUIT
Givens Asks That Kerkes' Answer be
Thrown Out as Sham
A motion was filed by Walter Giv
ens Saturday in the case of Givens
against M. J. Kerkes, in which $25,-
000 is asked for slander, asking that
Kerkes' answer to the Givens com
plaint be thrown out of the records
because it is "irrelevant, frivolous
and a sham." April 9 has been set
as the date to argue the motion.
Kerkes is sued by Givens for $25,-
000 on charges of slander. In
Kerkes' answer, filed recently, he set
up a series of mitigating circum
stances and charges that Givens, an
Estacada merchant and an ordained
minister in the Christian church, in
troduced the wonun in the case to
Kerkes in Portland as "my friend
Sadie," and that Kerkes concluded
she was not the proper companion for
a man of the cloth.
MARY WOOD MISSING
Sisters and Brothers Ask Mayor
Hackett to Find Lost Member
Through one of those peculiar
twists of fate that come into human
life in an unaccountable manner,
Mary Evaline Wood, then a wisp of
a girl at 18 years of age, became sep
arated from her other sisters and a
brother at Ashland, Ore., and she has
not been heard from by them for more
than 25 years. The last the other
sisters heard was when Mary was in
Portland in 1891 or 1892.
It is considered probable that Mary
Wood may be in Clackamas county or
in Oregon City. Mayor Hackett has
been asked to lend his aid in locating
the missing sister and in asking her
to communicate with members of her
family at P. O. box 165, Moscow, Ida
ho. That address will be thankful to
anyone knowing anything of the miss
ing woman for communicating with
them.
J. E. Jack Buys Business
J. E. Jack, who retired this year as
county assessor after eight years of
service, has purchased the interest of
F. E. Albright in a local grocery busi
ness and will be associated with his
brother, A. F. Jack. J. E. Jack was
a partner in the business before his
election as county assessor. He has
taken up his new work already and
Mr. Albright will probably leave
soon for eastern Oregon.
J
AT
Ml
L
RUTH OF OREGON CITY GOES
TO BOTTOM OF RIVER WHEN
BIG STEAMER HITS
ENGINEER GALBRETH HERO
Three on Local Steamer Injured in
Accident at Portland. Ruth
is Rasied
Struck fairly amidships by the
heavy steamer Vesterlide as she end
ed her slide from the ways of the
Northwest Steel company at Portland,
the paper carrying steamer Ruth of
Oregon City was sunk Saturday af
ternoon. The Ruth, comanded by Captain
O. F. Hegdale, was laying alongside
the log booms of the Inman-Poulsen
Lumber company, that her crew might
witness the launching. Three men,
Harry Colson, fireman; Joe Hanley,
deck boy, and John Lauterbach, deck
hand, were injured in jumping to the
logs to escape injury. Those who
stayed on the steamer were uninjured.
Colson has a cracked bone in his
foot, Lauterbach is suffering from
bruises on both hips, while Hanley had
his left leg badly chrushed. None of
the men were seriously injured, how
ever. Engineer James Galbreth proved
the real hero of the accident when he
stayed with the craft and handled
his engines despite the sharp stern
of the Vesterlide which cut far into
the craft towards him. When the
Vesterlide came to a stop it was im
possible for the engineer to shut off
his engines and the wheel of the
wrecked craft turned for 15 minutes
pushing the huge steel steamer and
herself upstream slowly. Tow boats
finally got hold of the Vesterlide and
drew her out of the gaping hole in
the side of the Ruth.
The Ruth sank slowly, coming to a
rest on the bottom of the river fully
three-quarters of an hour later. She
settled with her main deck under wa
ter, a sad wreck.
The Vesterlide took the water at
2:12 p. m., just 12 minutes after'the
scheduled time. Two four-inch man
ila hawsers attached to her bow on
either side failed to stop her progress
a mite, snapping like so much thread.
She charged across the river in a
perfect arc, direct for the helpless
Ruth. Craft a short way ahead of
him made it impossible for Captain
Hegdale to send his croft out of
harm's way at once. He was forced
to pull astern a half length to clear
these and was then going full speed
ahead, trying to get away, when the
Vesterlide struck.
The big craft struck a glancing
blow much like an axe in sharpening
stick. It cut into the craft 16 feet,
leaving a knifelike hole 10 feet across.
As the big hull, acting like a lever,
pressed against the shaved portion it
crumpled off like so much paper. The
stack took a weird list to starboard,
the hog posts snapped off on the star
board side.
The Ruth clung onto the steel craft
like a leach, while deckhands scur
ried back aboard, saving their few be
longings ere their home went from
under them. One man stayed too
long and was caught in the steadily
deepening water. Harbor Engineer
Prehn spied him and hauled him into
the harbor patrol.
The Ruth is badly damaged. Her
raising was not difficult, but the
damage done in the smash is heavy.
Rivermen estimate that close to $20,
000 will be necessary to repair her.
The craft is owned by the Crown-Willamette
Paper company of Oregon
City. She is engaged in carrying
paper from the mills up river to Port
land docks.
STRUCK
AH G
SINKS
BILL FOR REPAIRS
flM CTDCCT DAccrn
uii OlllULI IrlOOtU
COUNCIL DIVIDED AS TO PAY-
MENT FOR WORK ON UNIM
PROVED STREET
Mayor Hackett lent his votfl in t.TiA
approval of a bill for $205.75 for the
repair ot beventeenth street at the
April council meetine last niirht. whn
the council was evenly divided upon
win question, me discussion of the
matter resulted in a ouarrel that. Kn.
came very amusine to the ffroun nf
spectators in tne room. The Seven
teenth street reDair. which if. xoan nn.
derstood was to be Daid out nf -Mia
general fund in defiance of the city
cnarter ana wnich was apparently not
authorized by anyone in authority,
brought the Live Wires to action and
a cimmittee was at the meeting last
nignt to wait upon the council.
Councilman Templeton signed the fi
nance committee s report, covering
tne Dili lor the Seventeenth street
repair, with a recommendation that
the bill be refused. He supported his
action with a demand that Street Su
penntendent Babcock explain his
motive in doing the ' repair work
and tell where he got his au
thority. Councilman Fred Metzner,
who was held responsible for the or
der for repair, said that he had been
surprised to learn that the work was
being done over the council's objec
tion as expressed at a previous menf.-
ing. The street superintendent said
ne moved nis work gang onto Seven
teenth street without direct orders
simply because he had been given or
ders to make street repairs. He had
no intention, he said, of defying the
council's orders.
A bill for $900 was ordered paid to
those who supplied crushed rock for
the city's street repair work. There
Was no objection to this although the
bill for the work itself hung fire un
til Mayor Hackett had canvassed per
sonally the sentiment of the council
men and had voted for the bill. Af
ter remarks by Councilman Roy B.
Cox the council instructed Street Su
perintendent Babcock to do no definite
work on the streets without direct
authority of the council.
MILLS ARE GUARDED
Troopers From Vancouver Prevent
Entrance of Any Visitors
A detail of troons from t.hn pnn.
centration camp of Oregon National
guardsmen at Vancouver Barracks,
Wash., are in Oregon City under com
mand of Lieutenant Shirley of com
pany A, McMinnville. The troopers
are doing guard duty about the paper
and woolen mills and are nniW strict
orders to prevent visitors from being
in or about the mill properties. There
are 20 young men in the detail.
employes ot the Crown-Willamette
mill are compelled to secure passes
before enterine1 the mills and visitors
are absolutely forbidden entrancn.
At the Hawley mills employes and of-
nciais aiiKe are tagged for identifica
tion and anyone not wearing the taer
is to remain outside. The national
sruardsmen are on dut.v Hav anH nio-ht.
and are quartered in the Harding hall
on mam street.
Glenmorrie Company Sues
The Glenmorrie company last
Thursday filed suit against E. D. El
liott and S. F. Sinclair to quiet title to
lot 4, block 1, Glenmorrie, comprising
3V4 acres, and to collect $3125. The
amount of money asked is said to be
due as interest on the purchase price
of $8135, no part of which, it is al
leged, has been paid since the com
pany entered into a sale contract with
Elliott and Sinclair.
Morgan Estate Involved
A petition for letters of adminis
tration in the estate of William G.
Morgan was filed in the county court
last Thursday by A. G. Morgan. The
estate consists of 40 acres of land in
this county and there are five heirs
to share in its value.
DECLARATION OF
III
FDR
NATION
SENATE SUPPORTS PRESIDENT
IN STEP TO COUNTERACT
GERMAN AGGRESSION
WILSON DELIVERS MESSAGE
Object is to Vindicate Principles of
Peace and Justice to the
World
a By a vote of 82 to 6, the J
United State senate last night J
adopted a resolution declaring
that a state of war exists be- J
tween the United States and J
Germany. It will be taken up J
for passage in the house today. !
senators who cast votes H
against the resolution were J
Lane, Oregon; Gronna, North
Dakota; La Follette, Wiscon- !
sin; Norris, Nebraska; Stone, J
Missouri, and Vardaman. Mis- J
sissippi. M
Reciting the aggressions of Ger
many which have virtually thrust the
United States into the world conflict,
President Wilson Monday asked con
gress to declare that a state of war
exists.
To carry on an effective warfare
against the German government,
which he characterized as a "natural
foe to liberty," the president recom
mended:
Utmost practical cooperation in
counsel and action with the govern
ments already at war with Germany.
Extension of liberal financial cred
its to these governments so that the
resources of America may be added,
so far as possible, to theirs.
Organization and mobilization of
all the material resources of the
country.
Full equipment of the navy, par-
ticularly for means of dealing with
submarine warfare.
An army of at least 500,000, based
on the principle of universal liability
to service and the authorization of
additional increments of 500,000 each
as they are needed or ,can be handled
in training.
Raising necessary money for the
United States government so far as
possible without borrowing and on
the basis of equitable taxation.
All preparation, the president
urged, should be made in such way
as not to check the flow of war sup
plies to the nations already in the
field against Germany.
In a dispassionate but unmeasured
denunciation of the course of the im
perial German government, which he
characterized as a challenge to all
mankind and a warfare against all
nations, the president declared that
neutrality no longer was feasible or
desirable where the peace of the
world was involved; that armed neu
trality had become ineffectual enough
at best and was likely to produce what
it was meant to prevent, and urged
that congress accept the gage of bat
tle with all the resources of the na
tion. "I advise that the congress declare
the recent course of the imperial
German government to be in fact
nothing less than war against the
government and people of the United
States," said the president, "that it
formally accept the status of belli
gerent which has thus been thrust
upon it, and it take steps not only to
put the country in a more thorough
state of defense, but also to exert all
its power and employ all its re
sources to bring the government of
the German empire to terms and end
the war."
(Continued on page 8)
' J