.6
THE 3IORMXG OREGOXIA5, THXTRSDAT, AFKI1 14, 1910.
ROSS RISES F
ROM
PBQBEUNSM1RCHED
Washington Land Commission
er, Subject of Inquiry,
But Record Vindicates.
POST MADE HIM TARGET
Though Gross Irregularities Are
Vnearthed, They Date Back
Before His Incumbency Innn
H endo Is Weapon.'
OLYMPIA, Wash.. April 13. (Special.)
With the report of the legislative In
vestigating committee Into the affairs of
the fttate Iend Commissioner' the in
qul.ltorlal body -has shot its bolt but has
missed the target. It has uncovered
gross irregularities, as everybody knew.it
would, extending through a number of
years, but it has not harmed Land Com
missioner E. W. Ross. nor. has it brought
homo to him in the least degree guilty
knowledge of transactions admittedly im
proper if not fraudulent.
Roes was the object. . lie was recog
nized as the big plum -on. the tree. On
the continuance of the investigating com
mittee, with Sam H. Nichols. Secretary
of Btate. quitting his office under fire,
and' f John II. Schively, Insurance Com
missioner, facing Impeachment, the
whispered word wont round, "now they're
After Ross." In the tour of the state- by.
thecommlttee last Summer,, when its
members visited Spokane. Medical Lake,
Pullman, Walla Wulla and North Yaki
ma.jthe undercurrent of the inquiry bore
upon the record of the.- Land Commis
sioner. He was brought to the front as
en official who had fought many a
pit'jhed battle and had won many a poli
tical scrap, and whose influence in. the
state, particularly on. the. east side, easily
made him of Gubernatorial size. '
Ross Ileeord Clean.
F.jl't his record is clear. All, that the
Investigating committee. could do., was to
rak over transactions dating back to
1901u long before Ross went into office.
He eannot even be connected with them
hy Implication. The only weapon at
tempted to be used, on the basis of the
report, is innuendo, and that has fallen
so short as to make the action of the
com,oiittee a vindication.
With the failure of the attempt to
"get Ross is written the final word of
a chapter of state and Senatorial politics.
In the Populist year. 1896, Ross, a young
attqrney of Castle Rock, was defeated
forAttorney-C.eneral. Three years later
he Jyid T. P. Flak, now Prosecuting At
torney of Mason County, were managers
of Jhe Ankeny Senatorial campaign and
in jyoo he came to the front as one of
therantl-McRrkle combination. Ross con
trolled five of the IS delegates from his
horfle county of Cowlitz, and thereby
aided materially In the victory for his
allies. In 184. when a candidate for
Laqd Commissioner, he asserts that An
key gave him permission to deal with
Jolyt I Wilson, Senatorial candidate, and
a year later, just after his election as
Land Commissioner, he was the real
manager of the Wilson campaign. In
fact, it was at a gathering of supporters
in he office of Ross that Wilson re
ceived the news that S. H. Piles had re
ceived the caucus vote and would be
elected Senator the following day.
lioss professed no friendship for Gov
ernor Mead during that officials term.
andj.lt has been generally understood that
lor-toma time past he has been steadily
drifting away from the Wilson forces.
. 1905 Probe Vindicated.
Prior to his election as Land Commis
sioner, Ross had been Assistant Attorney
CJeneral, and in that capacity was in
charge of such land business as was as
signed to him. An attempt was made in
1905 to start an investigation of the
Land. Commissioner's office. Ross fought
it, as did the representatives of the lum
bering interests, who served notice on
Piles that if the investigation was made
at that time they would fight him for
the Senate. Two years later, when the
Senatorial campaign had been eliminated,
such an Investigation was authorized,
and remedial measures were passed by
the Legislature. As in the present In
stances. Ross' record was- found to be
clear. The legislators found that the
state- had simply outgrown its statutes,
and that the land laws could be amended
advantageously.
At the last Legislature an important
step, affecting the success of the Alaska-Yukon-Paclfic
Kxijositlon. was taken by
Ross. He and State Senator George U.
Piper, of King, Inquired Into the question
of the state's relation to the Seattle fair,
and together they devised the plan 'au
thorizing the sale of $1,000,000 Lake
Washington shore lands in aid of that
project.
) Illfl
ueiiee Never Vsed.
Financially, Ross is well-to-do, and a
part ol his means is Invested in lum
bering. He has nevor used his Influence
es I.nd Commissioner to effect the sale
of timber, lands to the' enterprises in
which he Is Interested. The records dis
close thai . when any of his associates
have applied for lands. Ross himself has
had nothing whatever to do with - the
transaction. He has uniformly passed
such matters to the Land Commission,
which. Is an appointive body, and upon
which has devolved the duty of approv
ing the sale and issuing the deeds.
Ross Is now in Washington. D. C, at
tempting to secure the restoration to the
state of more than $500,000 in school lands
wrongfully withheld by the Federal Gov
ernment. While the Investigating committee,
composed of P. K Allen, H. O. Fishback,
Howard IX Taylor and W. C. MeMaster.
has not Veen able to connect Ross with
irregularities in the office, for the simple
reason that they happened before "ha as
sumed charge. It hns made an Important
recommendation. The committee recom
mends that the next Legislature provide
for a Land Commission to be imposed
of one elective Commissioner, and two
members with equal authority, to be
elected by the Governor the three to
select- one of their number, chairman.
This is understood to be substantially in
line with recommendations already made
by Ross. The Board at present is com
posed - of an eleeted Commissioner, the
State Fire Warden, and the members of
the State Tax Commission, the Land
commissioner ueing cnairman ana having
charge oi me Mate Land Office.
liOSS' I'KIEND SCKXTS PLOT
"Fair Play" Believes Probe Alms to
Quash Gubernatorial .Chances.
CASTLE ROOK, Wash.. April 12.
(To the Editor.) The legislative com
mittee. from newspaper reports, has
kindled the political - smoke for the
coming campaign and is endeavoring to
besmirch, some .of .the citizens of the
state by insinuating ' fraud and con
piracy perpetrated particularly by our
Land Commissioner and his friends. It
Is very, easy to see the purpose and
intent of the report from the fact'that
the report - given in the . Seattle Post
Intelllgencer of April 9 purports to' set
out in detail the sales made in Cowlitz
County particularly and the cruise
made by the committee's men.
Why was the committee desirous to
make public the lands sold in Cowlitz
County, that have been acquired by the
Silver Lake Railway & Lumber Com
pany? For no other reason than that
the present Land Commissioner hap
pens to own a very small portion of
the capital stock of said company and
the further reason that the incumbent
is mentioned favorably by many of our
influential citizens as an available can
didate for Governor. Therefore, .the
charge ,of conspiracy to defraud the
state out of Its valuable lands from the
printed report is thrown directly, or
indirectly at Mr. Ross, to eliminate his
chance for the nomination-ofGovernor.
The writer has had a personal inter
view with Joseph CNeill, who pur
chased from the state a quarter section
of school land in section 18, township
9 north, range 2 east, in 1901. Mr
O'Neill says that "in 1901 he made ap
plication for the said land through G.
W. Taylor.- as he knew Taylor was
somewhat acquainted with the lands."
He further says 'the said Taylor never
occupied an . office adjoining bis
(O'Neill's) office at the time the-applica
tion was made tor the purchase, of
said land or at any time prior to or
since, and that at no time did O'Neill
ever mention the buying of state lands
to B. W. Ross to get a minimum cruise,
as at said time Mr. Ross had no con
nection with the Land Office or had
anything to do with the cruising of the
same. That as to any conversation
held in the office with Israel and Bill
ings, the statement Is untrue and false.
as O'Neill .did not know either of those
gentlemen at the time he made the ap
plication, and has never seen Mr.
Israel at any time; that all the deal
ings and conversations supposed to
have taken place at Castle Rock In
O'Neill's office with Ross and the cruis
ers, Israel and Billings, are -branded
as absolutely false and untrue."
Mr. O'Neill declares that after he had
made the purchase of the land from
the state, he offered to sell a half in
terest in said land to George Taylor
for just what it cost, and had offered
it for sale for a year after he had pur
chased it to any purchaser for $2000,
and found no buyer; and at the time
-the purchase was made he paid full
value according to what other lands
were sold for- in the same vicinity by
individual holders.
. Mr. O'Neill further asserts that from
reports given to the Governor's legis
lative committee he fears they have
avoided seeking; evidence from reputa
ble sources, but on the contrary have
sought such from that which would
savor of the Harry Orchard element.
FAIR PLAT.
REPORT VICIOUS IS ALLEGED
Assistant Commissioner Morse Says
Committee's Inference Deceives
OLTMPIA. Wash., April ' 13. (Spe
cial.) "The portion of the report of
the legislative committee which deals
with the State Land Office Is biased,
prejudiced and vicious, as presented In
the daily papers," said Frank C. -Morse,
Assistant Commissioner of '.Public
Lands, when asked for an expression
of opinion. Mr. Morse ,&ald:
"Commissioner Ross is '.now on his
way home from the National Capital
where, as a culmination of years of
the hardest kind of work, .. he has
finally Induced changes in depart
mental methods by which the State of
Washington will secure thousands ' of
acres of lands valued at millions of
dollars, title to which has been held
up by red-tape methods. -.
"Air. Ross, on his return, no doubt
will answer in his own way, thor
oughly and to the satisfaction of every
fair-minded person, such veiled charges
as there may be against him in the
report.
"Speaking individually and person
ally, I am most surprised at the re
port. Its unfairness is evident to any
one who has knowledge of the facts.
The report, by inference, deceives -the
public Into believing that E. W. Ross,
Commissioner of Public Lands, solely
and individually had the fixing of the
value of state timber and lands, the
determining to whom it should be sold,
at what price and the approving of the
sale.
"Common decency and justice should
have prompted the committee to point
out -the truth, which is that Mr. Ross
is one of a board of five, has one vote
in five in approving the cruisers' esti
mates and- fixing the value of all lands
prior to sale; that all state timber
and land Is advertised for six weeks,
notice of the sale is posted, the sale
takes place at public auction and the
property is sold to the highest bidder;
and, finally, this board of five not
the Commissioner of Public Lands
alone must approve the sale before
title passes from the state.
"Any one familiar with the enor
mous increase in real estate values
cannot fail to see the absurdity of the
charges that a sale, for instance, made
in 1901 must, forsooth, have been con
ceived in fraud because today the
property is of more value. Thomas
Cooper, while -Western larrd -agent, of
the Northern Pacific, made sale of the
timber lands owned by that company
to the Weyerhauser syndicate, admit
tedly the best timber lands in the
Northwest they were select. The pur
chasers paid a flat rate of $5 an acre
and the Northern Pacific officials, who.
were considered the best of business
men, were so pleaved with the sale
that they have promoted Mr. Cooper to
high position in the company, which
he still holds. . . ,
"The state law provides that after
sale, if any one offers a one-tenth ad
vance over the sale price, the sale
shall not be confirmed, but the prop
erty shall bo re-offered. Does it not
seem rather improbable that if the
timber discovered by this committee's
cruiser actually existed no one should
have taken advantage of this law?
"The chairman of the committee
gave a public interview, in which he
said that university lands were better
handled because of the veto power of
the regents and that to date no less
than 1 per cent of the university lands
had been sold. .The facts are, as he
should know himself, that nearly the
entire university grant was sold by
the regents for the money to build
the old university at Seattle, recently
dismantled. The university today
would have practically no granted
lands bjt for the fact that after its
own grunt from Congress had been
dissipated the Legislature was induced
to provide by law that one-half. 100,
000 acres, of the lands granted by
Congress "for charitable, educational,
penal and reformatory institutions
should be given to the university.
"I believe that the people of this
state .will not be misled by so - mani
festly an unfair and incorrect report,
T'he people of Washington insist upon
a square deal from their public offi
cials and I believe they are at all
times ready to give an official an
equally square deal when they know
the facts."
Seaside I'nearthg Indian Skeleton.
SEASIDE. Or., April 13. (Special.)
Workmen, employed in making an ex
cavation of Bridge street, have un
earthed the skull and a part of the
skeleton of a Flathead Indian. The
skull is now on exhibition here and
Is regarded as a valuable, curiosity by
tpeuical' men who have examined it.
CLARK TANGLE BIG
Official Says State May Be in
Ore Inspector's Debt.
THEFT IS DISCREDITED
Accused Man to Remain at Olympla
Pending Investigation He De
nies Taking Money, Expresses
Sorrow "for Mistake.
OLTMPIA, Wash.. April 13. (Special.)
"The state may owe ex-Oil Inspector
Clark hundreds of dollars instead of his
being short in his accounts," said one of
the Bureau of Inspection tonight.
"From start to finish he had not the
remotest idea where he stood financially.
On .checking up such books as are here
it is shown that he paid the state $900
more than he collected. In his innocent
way he told me how for many months ho
could not find enough money in his of
fice to meet what he figured his receipts
for the state had been, so he would draw
from his personal account to make up the
apparent shortage. -
"Of course, his books may be and prob
ably are. in such shape we can never
figure actually what the balance should
be. I am satisfied the old man never
stole - anything, but since the charges
were made he has been so rattled he did
not know what he did."
Mr. Clark said today;
"I am going to stay here in Olympla
until- my books are all checked up and
it is proved positively I never stole a
dollar. I know I made a mistake. I
was so worried- I never should have
lied to the Governor, nor should I' have
tried to i fix up the old checks, -but I
know I never took a cent of state money
that . did not belong to me and that a
thorough investigation will clear my good
name." -
Yesterday, after Mr. . Clark was re
moved from office, he was induced to
remain in the office of J. F. Leghorn,
at the Capitol, that Clark could send no
messages to Seattle until Lieben and
Helandar had reached the OH Inspector's
office there and had taken charge. This
fact gave rise today to a report that
Clark was in custody.
LA GRANDE BUSY THIS YEAR
Vast Amount of Money to Be Spent
on Improvements.
LA GRANDE, Oir April 13. (Special.)
La Grande, always steadily moving on
ward, has brighter prospects this year
than ever before, and to aggregate the
total expenditure here for repairs this
year' would mean Juggling with figures
that would astonish a city of approxim
ately 6000. In accordance with the popu
lar wish of the taxpayers, expressed at
a special election recently, the city is to
build a 975,000 High School this Summer,
and bonds are floated and plans are
being drawn for such a structure to be
commenced at once.
According to assurances from Wash
ington, October will see construction of
the Government building here, a $65,000
project. A few weeks ago the city voted
to float $40,000 bonds for sewerage sys
tems, and plans have been drawn for that
development. A refuse consumer is to be
constructed along modern lines to dis
pose of the refuse. Then in conjunction
with the sewer system goes the hard sur
face paving order that calls for hard
surface paving along a distance of nine
blocks on Adams avenue and four blocks
on Iepot street. In addition to this pro
ject, to be let when bids are let, this
month some time, there are street im
provements to the extent of macadam
paving on exactly two miles of streets.
This will be commenced immediately,
though probably not completed this year.
The $400, pOO irrigation scheme is to be
commenced this Summer.
PLANING MILL IS BURNED.
Fire-Alarm Boxes So Rusty That
Alarm Doesn' t Sou nd .
SPOKANE, Wash., April 13. (Spe
cial.) Fire from an unknown cause
in the Turner planing mill, east of this
city, at midnight last night destroyed
the- plant and lumber to the extent of
$20,000. The entire plant and stock were
valued at $50,000 and $10,000 insurance
was carried.
The fire department was hampered
by a poor force of water and the fact
that only two small lines of hose were
available. A strong west wind was all
that prevented the blaze spreading to
other buildings and threatening the en
tire city. The two alarm boxes which
were rung were so rusty they did nt
communicate the alarm. James Under
wood, an employe of the mill, slept in
a little wooden shack adjoining the
building, and narrowly escaped crema
tion, as he did not awaken until It
was in flames. The planing mill Is
owned by Joseph Turner.
SHERIFF OFFERS REWARD
Anxious to Get Evidence as to Who
Fired Into Rhoda Home.
VANCOUVER, Wash., April 13. (Spe
cial.) A reward of $50 has been offered
by Sheriff Sappington for information
leading to the arrest and conviction of
the person who fired a number of shots
into the Richard Rhoda home last Mon
day night.
One of the bullets went between the
heads of two little girls as they lay
sleeping on a pillow, passed into the
next room, struqk a chimney, broke
in two, one half going through the roof
and the other tearing the cheek of a
small boy. Another bullet passed a few
Inches above the. body of another child.
Fred Miller, who lives nsar the Rhoda
home, was accused of firing the bul
lets and a chain of circumstantial evi
dence was forged, which apparently
was conclusive. Sheriff Sappington
made a thorough investigation and
proved by five witnesses that ililler
was sleeping at the time the shots were
fired and was absolutely innocent.
SPECIAL SESI0N IS HELD
Judge Bradshaw Will Hear Oregon
Trunk Land Suit.
THE DALLES. Or.. April 13. (Special.)
This afternoon the Oregon Trunk Line
began suit against I. H. Taffe and his
wife, Mary Taffe, of Celilo. to enforce
the specific performance of a contract to
give a right-of-way deed, across the Taffe
property. Judge Terry, of Portland, and
H. S. Wilson, of The Dalles, are attor
neys for the plaintiff, and Bennett & 3in
nott for the defendants.
A special session of Circuit Court was
convened by Judge Bradshaw today in
There are two reasons why you have delayed your Piano purchase. First, inability to
decide where to get the most "Piano Value" for your money; secondly, the ways and means.
As to the first: In every field of business there is always one concern by which the
rest are measured in the Western piano world that one has been for years, and is today
The House of Eilers
Ask any artist where the largest and most expensive display of the world's best pianos
is to be found. , I
Ask any of the leading families, foremost schools and educational institutions or prom
inent musicians where they secured their instruments. Ask anyone who has the slightest
knowledge of pianos and their real worth where you can secure the greatest intrinsic piano
value for every dollar invested and the answer to each question will be the same
Eilers Piano House
On our new Easy-Payment Plan there is hardly a home, no matter how modest the in
come, but that can afford a good Piano, Organ or Talking Machine. Why be without the
refining influences of music any longer?
Western Chickering Dealers
order to have thecase disposed of as
soon as' possible, as the Trunk Lfhe peo
ple cannot proceed with their rwork at
Celilo until this is settled.
The purchase price agreed upon for the
right of way was 1600, but the Taffes con
tend that .the survey lines take in more
land than agreed. It is expected, that the
testimony will be concluded and the
Judge's decision given tomorrow.
CHICK EXPERIMENT NEW
Total of 1200 Fowls, One Day Old,
Thrive at O. A. C. Hatchery.
OREGON AGRICULTURAL COL
LEGE, Corvallls. April 13. (Special.'
Twelve hundred fluffy little chicks, one
day old. encompassed in a circular
space 12 feet in diameter and mothered
by a single oil stove, represents one
of the peculiar features of an experi
ment which is .now being carried on
by Professor James Dryden, of the Or
egon Agricultural College.
The experiment is under way for the
purpose of testing the feasibility of
raising chickens in large flocks. If
the new method proves successful It
will be a great boon to the poultry
industry.
The chicks which are being used in
this experiment were hatched in incu
bators. Twelve machines were used,
the machines producing an average of
100 chicks each.
This number of chicks was hatched
from a total of 1350 eggs. Each incu
bator. containing eggs from several
breeds of chickens, was regulated dif
ferently from each of the others as to
moisture, ventilation and methods of
cooling. The chicks taken from each,
of the machines have been carefully
marked and the strength of the chick
ens and the vitality will be accurately
observed with a view of determining
the relative merits of the different
methods of incubator hatching.
The chicks seemed perfectly satis
fied with their strange mother. They
were not long In discovering what dls-
ill
BMHI
In every walk in life discrimination between the true
and the false wins and enjoys success. In questions of
form, of style and of values, whether financial, commercial
or medicinal, the judgement of the men and women who
select and appreciate and utilize the true and genuine
product, proves most profitable and most satisfactory to
themselves and to all who follow them.
Therefore, in connection with so important a subject as
the physical well-being of the people, the most eminent
physicians insist on full information as to the wholesome
nature and truly beneficial character of the component
parts of the remedies used and prescribed by them, and the
wise manufacturer not only supplies them with the
knowledge desired, but also combines for them in proper
proportions the very substances most approved by them
and omits every objectionable substance. The .world-wide
acceptance of Syrup of Figs and Elixir of Senna by phy
sicians and the well-informed of the world, as the best of
family laxatives, is due to the universal satisfaction which
it has given for more than a quarter of a century and also
to the fact that it is a remedy of known quality and known
component parts and to. the further fact that the California
Fig Syrup Co. presents it to the world simply as the ideal
strengthening personal laxative to cleanse and sweeten the
system gently, yet effectually, and to dispel colds and
headaches and to assist in overcoming constipation. To
get its beneficial effects always buy the original and
genuine, for sale by all leading druggists. The full name
of. the, company California Fig Syrup Co. is always
plainly printed on the front of every package.
353 Washington Street, "at Park Street
tance from the stove marked the zone
of proper temperature and, having dis
covered this, they soon became inter
ested in the particles of sand and oaks
meal which was there in such abund
ance that they started off on a career'
of scratching and eating just as nat
urally and apparently as happily as if
they had been hatched and raised by,
a real mother instead of by a machine
and an oil stove.
PAVING CHARGE REDUCED
The Dalles Will Pay $1.90 a Yard
. for BltaliUiic.
THB DALLES, Or., April 13. (Special.)
The City Council last night accepted
the modified bid of the Warren Con
struction Company to pave Third street
with bitullthlc paving at $1.90 a square
yard, and. the contract has been signed.
An ordinance prohibiting the allowing
of minors in pool or billiard rooms or
hanging about cigar or tobacco stands,
and providing for fines for both the
owners of places and minors transgress
ing the law was passed.
An automobile ordinance was also
passed, regulating the speed to 12 miles
an hour in the city limits, and requir
ing a registered number to be displayed
at all times, also three lights at night.
two in front and & red one in the rear.
O. A. C. Regents to Meet.
OREGON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE,
Corvallis. Or.. April 13 (Special.) A
special meeting of the board of regents
of the Oregon Agricultural College
will be held at the Imperial Hotel, In
Portland. Saturday, April 16. Follow
ing the meeting, the regents will go to
Eastern Oregon to visit the experiment
stations at Union, Hermlston and Mora
Bumper Fruit Crop Predicted. .
MEDFORD, Or., April 13. (Special.)
Professor O'Gara predicts that the
a a a
Genuine
fruit crop this year will be the largest
In the history of Rogue River Valley.
The weather conditions this Spring
have been most favorable and the
. V
Piece of Earth
INVEST
A few dollars now in ECHO,
FRUIT AND
WHERE
There la the finest soil, best transportation, adequate water supply
, longest growing season, etc
The favored spot of all this grand Northwest and you should lose
no time in investigating the WESTERN LAND A IRRIGATION COM.
PANY'S project at ECHO. Remember here is the
Soil under the best project. The price is right. If you are possessed
with energy and little money this Is YOUR OPPORTUNITY. We
have gotten out a beautifully illustrated booklet with map, which
we shall be glad to hand to you when you call. If you can't call
write today.
It's an absolute certainty that you can't lose by investigating
you might save thousands In the long run.
TEEPE & SMITH
414 Henry Building, Portland, Oregon
Pianola - Pianos
danger from frost Is practically past.
All the orchards are In splendid condi
tion, being as free from pests and dis
ease as it is possible for them to be.
o
- Peace on Earth
I'MATIUA COl'STV,
ALFALFA LANDS.
IRRIGATED
IT'S
BEST