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About The Hood River news. (Hood River, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 1913)
.1 oe' THE HOOD RIVER SEWS Highest Grade Job TrinHng AdxJcrlijcrj Get HcjuttJ VOLUME 9. NUMBER 6 HOOD RIVER, OREGON. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1913 SUBSCRIPTION, $1.50 A YEAR Work on Power Plant Was Started Thursday Camps Are Being Laid Out Old PlantLarge Gang of Hen Will lie Put to Work In a Few DaysHopes Entertained That Project flay be Completed by September. Active work was started Thursday oa the big power plant which the Pacific Power & Light Company will construct on the lower Hood River. N. L. Pierce, who arrived here Wed nesday from New York, haa been plac ed In charge of the work. Mr. Pierce haa superintended the construction of several large planta - In the Southern Statea and Is thoroughly familiar with all the details of the work. He has taken a suite of offices In the Hell bronner building where the adminis trative duties In connection with the construction work will be conducted. With the aid of an assistant, Mr. Pierce is at present engaged in laying out the camps which will be Installed near the company's old power plant and In organizing construction crews. The machinery and apparatus for the work la now on the way to Hood River and It Is expected that a large gang of men will be put at work In a few days. A large camp of laborers will be constructed on the flat opposite the power house and another set of build ings will be erected on the bench Just above the power house to be used as headquarters by the engineers, con struction foremen and others having charge of the various branches of the work. When the crew starts up in full swing the company expects to have 600 men employed and hopes to complete the project by September 1. Local appli cations for work are being given drat ROADS AREtTO BE UP FORJjSCUSSION Good roads are to be the subject of a public meeting to be held at the Commercial Club Saturday afternoon at 1:30 o'clock. The discussion will be prefaced by a short talk by O. P. Dabney. Mr. Dabney toured Europe a few months ago and made some es pecial observations of the roads and bridges. His talk will be illustrated by some stereopticon views taken iu the countries which he visited. After Mr. Dabney 's talk the meeting will be thrown open for a general dls cusslon of roads and bridges. Some of the local road champions will be pre pared to enter the arena, It Is said, In defense of their convictions on this subject and an Interesting meeting is anticipated. ABOUT THE RATE HEARING In Us last Issue-the News printed an Item relative to the hearing to be given by the State Railroad Commis sion In the matter of the complaint of O. M. Bailey against the Mt. Hood Railroad. It was stated that approxi mately 97 per cent of the Upper Val ley people have signed a petition ex pressing their satisfaction with the railroad. The News Is In receipt of a lengthy communication from Mr. Bail ey which he wishes printed. He takes exception to the statement that this large percentage of Upper Valley peo ple have put themselves on record for the railroad and makes a detailed statement of his side of the contro versy. Mr. Bailey explains his reason for asking for a postponement of the hear ing from January 25. He refers to the heavy snowfall just previous to that date and states that he asked the com mission to postpone the hearing until such time as the weather conditions would be likely to present no obstacles to anyone In reaching Hood River. The News wishes to be perfectly impartial In this matter. It does not, however, wish to encourage a news paper controversy Involving the Issues at stake for the reason that It believes no good purpose would be served, but that bitterness and prejudice would be engendered. The case will be tried before the commission this month and the merits of both parties will be given a full hearing. When the hearing Is In session the News expects to have a representative present to hear the testimony and give an accurate report of It. If any statement was made In the brief article printed In the News last week that was In any way prejudicial to Mr. Bailey's side of the case, the News cheerfully retracts such statement. Near Pacific Company's consideration by the company but to get a full crew a large number of laborers will have to be Imported and applications are being received by many of the men who have been em ployed on the Northwestern plant on the White Salmon River. HOSPITAL ENJOYS PROSPEROUS YEAR Reports submitted at the annual meeting of the board of directors of the Cottage Hospital Association held recently showed that it has enjoyed the most prosperous year In Its his tory. The volume of business in 1912 was approximately 25 per cent greater than in 1911 and after all operating expanses were .paid a substantial bal ance remained. The report of Dr. Dutro, secretary, showed that the total receipts in 1912 amounted to $10,960.76. The total disbursements were $10,441.94. In 1911 the total receipts were $8,385.23. Of the amount expended last year 500 was for permanent improvements. These) were mostly In the operating room, where the facilities have been materially Improved. Over $2000 has been paid oil on back indebtedness contracted prior to 1912 and the as sociation is now free from debt. The by-laws were revised at the meeting to provide for a board of five Instead of seven directors and the following were elected: Dr.'s Watt, Dutro, Dumble, Kanaga and Bron son. LENT BEGINS TODAY; BISHOP TO PREACH "Old Nick" goes into retirement to day for 40 days, this being Ash Wed nesday, marking the beginning of Lent. Social functions will be suspended to some extent at least and an opportun ity will be given to take Inventory of the spiritual stock in trade, while those who have broken their New Year's resolutions can turn over an other new leaf. At St. Mark's Episcopal church Bis. hop Paddock will conduct services this evening at eight o'clock. Bishop Paddock has been spending considerable time here of late and has succeeded in greatly reviving in terest in the church in preparation for the new minister, who, it Is hoped, may soon be put In charge. A well attended meeting of men was held at Dr. Kanaga's Friday evening and a committee was appointed to assist In the church work. The bishop also met the ladies of the church and their friends at Mrs. Baker's Friday after noon and plans were made for re-organizing the Sunday School and other wise ussisting the making the church more helpful and Interesting. Recent bright and balmy weather j makes Spring Beem near. ! News Snapshots Of the Week Deleo Miller Ooold and Fin ley J. Shepard took place at Tarrytown. N. T. Thomas W. Lament of the firm of J. P. Morean it Co. testified befor. th. Pnia commutes Walter L Flaber. secretary LEAP YEAR IS PAST; CUPIDIS LOAFING Now that Leap Year Is past little Dan Cupid Is loafing on the job. At least such is the case as far as Hood River county Is concerned. The little winged god has paid only one visit to Hood River so far this year and County Clerk Hanson forsees a start ling shrinkage in the receipts of the marriage license bureau If some of the young bachelors hereabouts don't get busy and co-operate with Mr. Cu pid. That the fair sex made the most of their opportunities last year is the conclusion drawn from a comparison of the business in the marriage license department for January of the two years. In 1912 Mr. Hanson had assist ed In making half a dozen couples happy ere the initial month had pass ed. Compared with the solitary couple which has appeared so far this year, the record of 1912 bids fair to surpass anything of the kind this year and it is already being suggested that the heart of the god must be yearning for another Leap Year. Falls 120 Feet from Cliff and Escapes with His Life William Laycock of White Salmon can thank his lucky stars that Fate favored him Sunday afternoon when he fell 120 feet from the top of a cliff overlooking the Northwestern Com' pany's dam. He is now at the local hospital recuperating from injuries which might well have been fatal had not a kind Providence performed for him what was hardly short ' a ni'1" acle. Laycock is night timekeeper at the works. Sunday afternoon he decided to take advantage of the bright sun shine to snap some pictures of the works. In looking about for a fav orable point he espied the point high up above the works and jutting out over it. The supporting earth and rock had been excavated to a consid erable extent but the "coign of vant age" remained, making it possible to take almost a birdseye view of the dam. Laycock did not take into consider ation the fact that the warm sun was also getting in its work on the frozen earth which supported the point. He ventured to the farthest spot that gave WORK STARTED ON EASTSIDE GRADE Work will be started this week on the further improvement of the East Side Grade., The council appropriated $2000 last year for the improvement of this piece of road. The road around the first point after crossing the bridge was considerably widened. Work was also done on the second point and the material removed was used to fill the road between the two points. A great Improvement was effected. The council has Just made another appropriation of an equal amount. This will be used to improve the road be tween the bridge and the first point and on from the second point to con nect with the county macadam road. As a consequence the road will prob ably be closed to traffic much of the time for the next few weeks. The News for fine printing. w"jr- ,-'iv' v'n f.TV '--'iV Nar.lm Pasha, generalissimo of the Turkish army, was shot and killed by Enver Bey. leader of the Young Turks, during a riot In the streets of ConBtnntlnopla The United States cruiser Wheetlm; sailed for Vers Crus to protect American citizens from the ravages of the Mexican rebel William Rockefeller wus uutliied that he would bavs to appear before the Pujo money trust Investigating committee In spits of the statement of hu nhui,-t,in that it wm h..,. hi. .k rt. , m of the Interior, was called to tbt wltuetu stand by the house committer on Indian affairs. WATER PIPE NOW BEING DISTRIBUTED During the past few days several teams have been kept busy distribut ing the iron water pipes which will form part of the new system to be laid this summer. There remain about 400 ton of this pipe to be received and laid. Last summer approximately 150 tons were laid. Most of the work was done In the business section and the mains which now remain to be laid are mostly on the Heights. Thirty addi tional fire hydrants are also to be placed. Thirteen were installed last year. The large pipe to conduct the water from the reservoir on the Heights to connect with the lower sytem at the corner of State and Ninth streets will also be laid. The Reliance Construction Company of Portland, which secured the entire contract, shipped their equipment here the last of the week. They intend to start work as soon as all of their ma terial Is on hand. It is expected that this will be soon after the middle of the month. a foothold and waa engaged in focus ing his camera when the landslide oc curred. With the loosened rock and earth he plunged to the bottom of the gorge. There he was picked up by some workmen, who feared that he had been fatally injured. He waa rushed to the hospital here and an ex amination' was made. It was found that he had escaped with a fractured wrist and leg, some severe scalp wounds and minor Injuries. SENATOR BUTLER ASKSJOR INQUIRY To solve if possible the difficulties which have arisen over the construc tion of the Shellrock road along the Columbia River in Huod River county, Senator Butler of Hood River anJ Wasco Introduced a resolution Monday calling upon the Governor or some other authoritative person or body to investigate and determine by what right the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Company can keep the county from constructing a county road. The difficulty arose last year be tween the company and the county and Governor West also was involved In the difficulty from the interest he had taken in the construction of the road and from the fact that the state had a large band of convicts working there. The railroad company enjoined the county from doing further work, un der the claim that it would Interfere with the operation of their trains. The couny desired the railroad company, as did the Governor, to move over a por tion of its tracks to allow the road to go around a certain point but the com. pany refused. Governor West called off his con victs and the road work was held up. Senator Butler declares that he wishes to see a searching investiga tion made into the question. Hood River not only has a new clothing store, but is about to have a new restaurant. LOCAL TRANSFERS OFJJEAL ESTATE Edwin J. Meyers to H. D. McCabe, 20 acres in Barrett district J. T. llolman and L. T. Hoi man to Clifton C. Glaze, lot 29, block 2, Stran ahau's First Addition, $1300. Harbake Land & Development Com pany to David D. Brewster, 7 acres on East Side. E. T. Folts to Mary Morse, 20 acres on Willow Flat, $1500. J. Adrian Epping to E. F. Heath, 80 acres east of Lenz Station. W. H. Absher to Mrs.Jessie P. Cates, undivided one-half interest in west 54 acres of tract at Fir. Charles Steinhauser to Otto Magnus, north 30 acres of tract In Upper Val ley. Otto Magnus to Charles Steinhauser and wife, same property, to each an undivided half as tenants in common. J. J. Krummenacher to Hydro Elec tric Company, all river bank between high and low water mark at Tucker'B Bridge, with all riparian rights except pumping plant now In operation. A. E. Chisholra to Portland Trust Company, 7 acres north of Tucker's. W. H. Gray to C. L. Swope, undivid ed one-half interest In 45 acres on East Side. Edwin J. Myers to H. D. McCabe, 10 acres in Barrett district. Joe C. Knight to M. M. Davenport, right of way for road In Barrett dis. trict. ' J. H. Hoi man and L. F. Holman to Clifton C. George, lot 29, block 2, Stranahan's First Addition, $1300. J. C. Foreman to A. A. McLeod a cres at Oak Grove. 25 PROTEST AGAINST , ENCROACHMENT MADE In behalf of this county, W. L. Clarke, president of the Commercial Club, has lodged a protest with the Portland Park Beard against enroach ment on the water shed from which Hood River receives Its water. This letter was prompted by a re port recently made by Engineer D. D. Clarke of the Portland Water Depart ment to the effect that Porland'a water supply could be greatly increased by taking the water from a stream within the Bull Run Reserve, but outside of the Bull Run watershed and piping the water to the Bull Run conduit. At the meeting when this report was read Commissioner T. B. Wilcox of the Portland board said he did not desire to become implicated in any fight with the Hood River people and suggested a conference with the othc- iaU of this city relative to the rights on the territory In dispute between the two municipalities. Superintendent Dodge will arrange such a conference and in all probability a junketing trip will be taken for the purpose of going over the territory In question. TO DISCUSS HOW TO KEEP LAWRENCE There will be a meeting at the Com mercial Club follow ing the good roads meeting next Saturday, February 8. at about 3 o'clock, for the purpose of dis cussing ways and means for retaining Professor W. H. Lawrence to continue the research work which he has been carrying on for the last two years, and to employ him to act as consulting horticulturist for the benefit of the fruit growers of the valley. Sieg Optimistic Over Prospects Next Year Union Manager, Just Returned from Extended Trip, Doubtful Whether Prices for Apples Will be Greatly Affected by Orange Freeze, but Says Present Supply Will Be Cleaned Up. Wilmer Slug, manager of the Union, who returned Saturday from an ex tended trip through the Central West and South, is encouraged by the fact that apples are now moving more free ly into the markets. Although he does not foresee any material raise in the prices to be secured this season, he is optimistic over the improved outlook for prospects next year. He said: "From advices we have received since the freeze in California there is as yet no indication that prices have been materially affected for the better. However, apples are moving more free ly into the markets, the demand has been strengthened and the chances are strong that the present holdings, large though they are, will be pretty well cleaned up in readiness for next fall's crop. Those who have frui,t that will hold up until June or July may get higher prices than prevail at the present, but it is now assured that the fancy stuff will bring fair prices and the poorer stuff low prices, as was to have been expected in view of the big crop all over the country. 'My trip to Chicago, Cincinnati and New Orleans was not a selling cam paign. Its purpose was to get in touch with the market interests and my former associates so as to line them up for the 1913 business. It was evi dent from what they said that Hood River and the Union have maintained their reputation for producing and packing first-class apples during the past season. We have just received a telegram from Stejnhardt & Kelly of New York stating that the grade of our fruit this year had been better than ever before. "I am opimistic for the future be cause I .believe that, even though it Wants 2000 Carloads of Extra Fancy Box Apples That the market for extra fancy ap ples during the remainder of the sea son will be much stronger Is indicated by the recent action of Steinhardt & Kelly, the big New York commission men, who have Just completed arrange, ments for handling approximately 2000 carloads of the best fruit that the Northwest produced last season. A considerable portion of this fruit has been ordered from Hood River. In its issue of January 27 the Jour nal of Commerce and Commercial Bul letin of New York said: What is believed to be an efficient working plan for marketing their prod uct has been entered into by a number of box apple growing organizations of the Northwest. The movement involves a big deal in extra fancy apples ex clusively, since that grade will consti tute the bulk of shipments to Eastern markets for the remainder of the sea son. The cheif medium for the metro politan distribution of extra fancy stock under the plan will be the fruit firm of Steinhardt & Kelly of New York. Joseph Steinhardt has just returned from a business trip to the Pacific Cosat, where he contracted with the Wenatchee Valley Fruit Growers' As sociation of Washington for handliug its entire output of extra fancy apples in the metropolitan district; and fol lowing this similar arrangements were made for distributing liberal consign ments of the same grade of fruit from the Wenatchee Produce Co., of Wen atchee. Wash., Yakima County Horti cultural Union of North Yakiiua.Wash , and the Apple Growers' Union ami also the National Apple Company, both cf Hood River. Monopoly Is Not Aim While the purpose of the general plan Is to concentrate effort in selec tion and shipping. It is in no sense proposed to undertake to fix prices, if the inclination to do this existed it would be Impossible to make it effect ive on account of tlie general apple sit uation. The supply the country over is too great and the intent to sell is too strong to permit anyhlng like a market monopoly. It is not to be understood that the apple house men tioned will handle all the Eastern ship ments of the organizations named. Its particular undertaking is to tin. I the best possible outlet for a supply of ex has not been an untirely satisfactory year so far as prices are concerned, we have made substantial gains in sev eral ways. We have raised our grade and adopted a uniform pack. We have also placed ourselves 10 years ahead of any other fruit district in the Northwest on account of our large storage facilities. At the same time our distributive facilities have beer greatly improved and we will be able In the future to cope more success fully with market problems than ever before. "So far as the Northwest Distribu tors' Association is concerned, I am of the opinion that it will be a big task and one requiring some time to get it successfulyy organized and op erating. In the meantime we have an even more important task to perform here in uniting the community inter ests so far as the packing and market ing of apples are concerned. "At this time it might not be amiss to say that this year's experience has brought home to us once more the fact that the money lies in the fancy fruit of the standard varieties. Quot ations from the Eastern market show that the miscellaneous varieties are bringing very low prices. At the same time the returns for fancy stuff are and will probably always be satisfactory, even though not as high as they have been in the past." Charles T. Early Promoted Charles T. Early, superintendent of the Mt. Hood Railroad, has been made a member of the board of directors of the Eccles interests. He succeeds the late David Eccles, Sr. Mr. Early is now manager of all the Eccles inter ests in Western Oregon. tra fancy fruit of from V800 to 2,000 cars. These shipments will not be handled by any of the New York fruit auction houses, but w ill be distributed by prviate sale at just such prices as demand for the goods will create. The distributing firm confidently ex pects a fair demand from foreign mar kets, especially those of Great Britain. Retailers Are Scared Commenting on the conditions gen erally, Mr. Steinhardt said that so far, in the deal for the 1912 crop, the box apple situation had been deplorable. The production was phenomenal and there is no denying the fact that the supply of all grades has exceeded the ordinary requirement by such a mar gin as to make movement of the fruit slow, and in attempts to accelerate business there has been considerable price cutting. Weak markets and low prices were bound to attend such facts but the general situation has been very much aggravated by the policy of retailers the couutry over In trying to hold their prices at the same level as could be maintained when the wholesale cost was about twice as much as it is now. This he declared to be a notorious fact, and Illustrating it he said that in previous years such grades of fruit as are retailed by the average grocer or fruiterer sold at $2 to $:t per box wholesale. These same grades have been selling at from $1 to $1.50 during the current season, which means actual heavy loss to growers, since freight charges to the Fast amount to tine, and picking and pack ing costs are at least 40c. but the retailers have demanded about thi same price as in former years ami this lias operated to check consumption to a great extent. Some change is probable along this line, because facts have become known by many consumers and the Intelll. gence Is rapidly spreading. Also such facts are becoming to be considered "notorious." If not something else, ami it is within the probabilities that this may result in some revision by retailers of their policy and a conse quent increase in consumption by tint millions who purchase In small quan tities As a v hole iihw working plans. together with good fruit at easy priced. give a b tter outlook for the box appl trade than th r has been for somn time past.