Morning Oregonian., January 01, 1912, SECTION FOUR, Page 12, Image 64

THE MORNING OREGONIAN. MONDAY, JANUARY 1, 1912.
13
A
VALE IS CAPITAL
OF LARGE COUNTY
SOML POINTS OF INTEREST AT VALE.
Great Future for Malheur Fed
by Big Rivers and Nu
merous Creeks.
REGION IS FERTILE LAND
II; ' i -"V v vv s. li
111, , r - - ' if-y - l-S 'i?!-H II
1 lr .teS3-5fed
.,im of OltleM Irrigation Ditche In
Oregon Located Near Line Oil
and Can Territory May Develop
Into One of Great Expanse.
nr AtmlSOX BENSKTT.
VALK. Or- Dec. 23. (Special Cor
respondence.) Vale, the county seat of
Malheur Counlr. la at the western
terminus of the Malheur Valley RH-
way. which ronnecta with the 8hort
Une at Ontario. It mllei to the east.
on the Snake Klver. With the excep
tlon of Ontario ami Nyssa. Vale la th
farthest east of any town In Oregon.
I sar that the railway runnng wet
from Ontaro is called the Malheur val
ley road, but on tha maps you will
rind It laid down aa a part of the ore
iron Eastern, a line which waa. aome JO
year aao. projected to run from tha
Snake Kiver through Central Oregon
and over Into the Willamette alley,
and perhaps on to the Coast. But in
portion built, some seven or eight years
ago. reached only to are.
It will be remembered by many tha
about 1S0 some work wan done on tn
Oreron taMrrn In the Malheur Can
yon. some 30 or miles west of Vale.
A little grading waa done, a, lew ran
'aid enough work, it waa supposed, to
hold the pans through the canyon
against any other companies. Later tha
Mill interests acquired certain rights
throuKh the canyon. But recently these
were relinquished to the Short Line,
under some sort of an aareement 10
the Joint use of any road that might b
built. Just what this arrangement was.
f course, only those hlKh up in the
ounsela of the two companlea Know,
basse Meet I'reaakle.
That work, la now proceed Inn on thla
Central Oreaon line I mso piain in
my previous letters, and while- there are
some preliminaries yet to be aettled
about the right of way. It ia not likely
that any changes will be made to leave
Vale off of the main line, although
a irveys heretofore have been made
from a point up the S-nak near rarma
to the mouth of the canyon, and engl
neera are now at work on such a cut
off.
It I, however, my Intention to glv
In this letter certain facta about Mal
heur County, and Vale. Its capital city,
apart from the railway situation. If
in this fteneral purview I should icet
Ontario and Vale linked together tha
reader will understand that In some
ways It Is Impossible to discuss the
tributary country without touching up
on the irrigation question and tha
st.ttus of this whole section aa oil and
sis territory.
hirst, something- about this little
Citv of Vale, lying: on the banka of the
M ilheur River In the far eaatern part
of Oregon. To reach Salem, the dis
tance by the present rail route Is 613
miles. The county over which Vale
rules as the capital ia the second larg
est in Oregon, coming after only Har
ney, which Is but a few square mllea
;arger. From north to aouth Malheur
i I S miles, and about i from east
to west. Malheur la not only great In
area, but great In possibilities, for It
lias more arable land than any other
county in the state hy hundreds of
thousands of acres. It Is. as la well
known, a region of fertile but arid
land, if one can so designate a section
where only the magic touch of water la
necessary to make the soli respond with
. prolific crops a can be raised any
where in the world. The rainfall is
very limited but sufficient to make the
hli:i and benches excellent for grazing,
and the open range haa a large amount
of stock, sheep, cattle and horses.
Rivera a ad Creeks Many.
The Snake River runs for a long dis-
ttme along the eastern boundary of
the county, and the Malheur and Owy-
1 e rivers run through it. while th
are a number of creeks furnishing a
litrue amount of water. Some of the
Mvt Irrigation dltchea tn Oregon are
located here, the water being diverted
lv gravity from tbe Malheur, Owyhee
and some of the creeks. lp to recent
ly the number of acrea of these Irri
:.itcd lands amounted to something
I ke. ZJ.Ouv: but there Is suf
Ii-tnt water to be obtained from the
v.irmus streams, exclusive of the
snake, to irrigate 10 time that much:
uuj by pumping from the latter stream
wulcr could be obtained to Irrigate
nearly all of the valley and bench
lands -in th county.
A word should be said about the
adventures of the reclamation officials
into this field, but I: makes a fellow
hoc undeir the collar when he thinks
f the troubles the good people of
Malheur have been put to- by F. H.
-Newell, director of the Reclamation
Service. One of the first, perhaps the
-ry rtrst field in Oregon visited by
Mr. Newell and his engineers, waa tha
Malheur Valley. Seven yeara ago it
was considered treasonable to aay that
f:ie so-called Malheur project would
not be undertaken and from 100.00
t 200.000 acres of these superb lands
rut under water by the Government.
The price at nrst was stated aa around
tin an acre, later at 1:5. then at S3,
at which most of the owners signed
up to take water.
When everything waa supposed to be
shout rea.ly for work to begin it waa
a.ked to have new contracts signed at
. and final! v at 11 io above that fig
ure and then the landowners "laid
town." not knowing when the end
would be I d not believe the high
l-ru-e deterred theee men. It was th
unbusinesslike methods of Mr. Newell
and his assistants.
Mere Treable la Seea.
Tfcn two years ago It was thought
awaln that the project would be taken
u.. and a good deal of time and money
w-t-re spent, a good deal of trouble
and acrimony engendered and another
t7x!c. li ico. fluke call It what you
will. But It Is not likely that the
Ke -tarnation Service will ever be th
means of watering any land in Mai-h.-ur
County.
My last visit to Vale was two year
the coming May. It was a nice
l-ftle inland town at that time, a good
htiMne point, there were a good
manv line buildings, everything bore
an air of prosperity, for the town has
ever had a live, pushing crowd of
i'l le Had It not had It never would
have been the county seat. But there
has b-en a wonderful change for ye
better during the last ! months. I
1-ardly knew the place. All of the side
walks in the business section have
b-en cemented and curbed. miles of
fcro! macadam streets have been laid,
many tine brick buildings have been
erected, there haa been a land office
established, a splendid natatorlura ha
ocnn tree led. and th ratwhll town
Yr. - c-' w. -
1 ASTOif CXTGOtf OZ.
Jim
rax
ssxtv jdjcjot
haa taken on the majesty and dignity
of a fine and flourishing city.
I notice one of the advertisements
Issued by a Vale business concern
calls the city "The Last Western Fron
tier." and In a large measure thla Is
truev for now the freight for over
20.000 square miles Is sent out to th
wast and south and southwest from
her. You ran see the stagecoach
as pictured In the old tales of the
West, the old Concord with Its tnor-
oughbracea. ita boot and its boaKlike
body. laden with mail, express and
passengers, starting out for a trip of
140 miles. Its six horses eager to be
off on the first leg of the journey.
Journey knowing no night, no stop
save to change horsea or pick up a
passenger or leave the mail.
As I saw the old Concord leaving to
day I followed it in fancy all the long
war to Its destination at Burns.
pictured In my mind the first stop' and
an excellent meal at Hot Springs, the
long and tedious way along Bully
Creek, the stop late at night to change
horses at Aunt Kates, the slow and
creeping race across Ben Peere moun
tain, the changing of maila at West fall
and Beulah. the crossing of the line
Into Harney, the fine breakfast at the
ranch near Drewsey, the changing of
maila and leaving of passengers at
that fine little town, then on, and on.
and on towards Harney City. and
thence to Buma in time for a rousing
good aupper at the French Hotel.
Trips 5eoa te Be .Memories.
Soon, all too soon, such trip will
be but like mine of today, memories.
for there will be no more of them In
reality. And how much will we be the
gainer by the new order of things?
Think of the splendid men and tha
magnificent women of the pioneer
daya and then answer th question.
Think of such men aa Bill Hanley and
ask if he could ever have been made
nto the great man and splendid citlxen
he Is had his lot been cat on Wall
treet by day and Fifth avenue by
night?
This is not. however, tha day of
the stagecoach, the ox team and the
scythe and snath. The automobile haa
arrived, the motor truck la here the
allow candle haa given way to the
lectrlc light, the old melodeon ha
been exchanged for the grand piano.
or perhaps the Victrola.
n hlle alej may be one of the "last
stands of the stagecoach." one of the
ew places where you can see what
he pioneers thought was the most
lira-luxurious mode of traveling, still
Vale herself is a modern city in ev
ery way. Here Is a splendid water
ystem. an electric lighting service
esiuaJly aa jcood, on of the best schM
ystems In the state, a fine natatorlura
upplied by water that comes gushing
out of the hills in the edge of town at
temperature of IzS degrees hot
enough to boll an egg. This water
lone would build up a great city in
ny section east of th Big Muddy-
people seldom mention It in this land
here our resource cannot be num-'
red.
Brick atrartsirea Xasaerewa.
I undertook to count tha number of
brick buildings that have been built
Ince my last visit, but after counting
of them I quit. Vale Is building
bout as fast aa any of the smaller
Hies of the state, and better build
ings than many of the cities of three
r four time th six.
Now back to the irrigation question.
for Malheur must get her lands under
water If the people are going to keep
pace with those across the river In
Idaho. Valuable time, much of it. was
lost through the maunderlngs of Mr.
elL He and his methods kept this
section back 10 years more than that,
for be not only delayed matters for
several years but waa the means of
urnlng others who would have un
dertaken Irrigation enterprises from
coming in and helping along the
cause.
The people are finding that they can
best secur water through various en-
erprlse of their own. or rather
hrough project promoted by their own
people. They have begun to find out
hat there Is avanaoie capital wnicn
can be bad by united effort, and al
ready there are some 50.000 or so.oi'O
acres In a fair way to be watered, these
ands lying to the west, southwest and
northwest of town.
There are two companlea. the willow
River Land Irrigation Company, and
he Vale-Oregon Irrigation Company,
commonly hereabouts called the Bully
Creek Company, because they take th
ater from that creek. Thla company
a located reservoirs at Warm Springs
and Westfall. the other reservoir site
on Pole Creek. M mile northwest or
ile. The Farwell Trust Company, of
Chicago, is financing the former com
pany, which waa promotea Dy v. si.
Brogan. of Vale. Mr. Brogan Is no
longer active In th former company
5V5V
WEJU..
3P
Inez?, .
but la devoting all of his time to tha
Bully Creek enterprise.
Hew Epoch Ia See a.
It Is safe to say that a new era la
opening up In thla aectlon along Irri
gation lines and I will have mora to
say about thla In my Ontario letter,
which will follow oon.
After I get back to Portland a
thousand people, more or less, will ask
me, "How about oil and gas out around
Vale and Ontario?" I could answer
that question In a few words by saying
that on aome fine morning, in the not
far distant future, Oregon will read at
the breakfast table in The Oregonian
that a great gushing oil and gas well
has been struck near Vale or Ontario.
I think I could answer It truthfully
that way, for It seems a certainty to
me. just as It seems a certainty to tha
experts who have Investigated the field
thoroughly.
t'p will step the doubting Thomase
and ask. Why don t you get busy ana
find It? Such people might remember
that in every field where oil has been
discovered there have been more year
of experimentation and waiting than
we have had in Oregon far more. It
might be explained also that It ia not
mere child' play to delve three or four
thousand feet down in the earth in a
territory where everything Is guess
work, where there are no wells to point
the way. It is aafe to say that with
one well flowing oil a doxen could be
sunk for what that first one cost, and
in perhaps one-tenth of the time. That
has been the history of all fields; why
expect this to be an exception?
Here is an Incomplete account of
what Is being done: The Ontario Oil
Gas Company's well at Ontario is down
4300 feet, showing some oil. and gas In
paying quantities. This well Is situated
in Ontario, and work will be pushed
ahead Just as soon aa aome needed ma
terial arrives.
The Malheur well. 10 miles southwest
of Vale, is down J200 feet; the Colum
bia, two miles south of the Malheur, Is
down 1800 feet; the rTastern Oregon, 11
miles southeast of Vale, Is down 1250
feet, and the Monmouth, six miles west
of the Eastern Oregon, is down 1100 feet.
No more wells art now under way, but
drilling outfits have been ordered by
several other companies, work to begin
between now and Spring.
When it Is remembered that all well
drilling machinery and well equipments
must come from Los Angeles or Pitts
burg. It will be seen that it Is a mighty
slow JotT to put down a well In this
field. Any little breakdown may take
month for repairs.
I will leave the oil situation right
there by repeating that some day there
will be an oil field developed here of
Immense proportions. It may not be this
year or next it may be five or more
years hence It may be that the first
gusher will be struck before the New
Year "souses, have sobered up: but tne
day will come when oil will flow her
like water, and. money will flow into
Oregon in a stream. For there Is noth
ing now promised that will bring us
the prosperity that an oil find would
bring.
JOE DAY HEARS TRUTHS
ACTING CAPTAIN OF DETEC
TIVES IIAS BAD DAY.
Everyone Vlw Enters Office Tends
to "Rile" Veteran Thlcf-Taker.
Joe Matties With Temper.
Everyone seems to have made a New
Tear's resolution to tell the whole bit
ter truth to Joe Day, acting captain
of detectives, and the veteran thief
taker, in consequence, rounded out the
old year with some chagrin and mor
tification. -
It began early yesterday, when a
drunken man entered detective head-
niiarl.r, anH enmnta'neri that ha hof
been "rolled" for $14. Day naturally j
wished to know the particulars, but
the complainant became Impatient of
questioning and broke out with a tor
rent of abuse, a frank description of
how Joe Day looked to him. and the
assertion that Day couldn't catch any
one. He waa led to the police station,
to sober up and tell his story more
Intelligently later.
Next came a Chinese, who had a
complaint to make, but closed up like
a clam when Day tried to take his
statement.
"I wantchee talk to before captain."
he said, evidently meaning Captain
Baty, who la on leav of absence.
, ...
1881
'He'a In Chicago and I'm in his
place," said Day.
"Him no comer' asked tne tjeiesuai.
"Two weeks." replied Day.
... 1 1. i.llr.. ntf elan
X cuine ua, " -- - -' "
blmeby." said the Chinese, and he went
out the door.
rv.i Dlnlralnn TkaV the
i neu Biimiw -
acting captain's son. on whom Day let
forth a torrent 01 ounraue i"v.R,a
tion. ,
"Young man, you'r too fresh; you
say a word to roe and I'll tan your
hide."
"Ah. gwan: you ain't big enough,
replied "Pink."
"There it goes again,- aaia joe.
lope nobody tells me the truth again
!or It years!"
ORCHARD IS MADE QUICKLY
w Yorker Transforms Forest Into
Well Developed Farm.
Ti-tji-rr CAT.vnV Wsah Dec. 31.
(Special.) A record clearing ia that
of Dwight C. Deeper, a young man of
New York City. witn a crew ui itu
men he began tha task of transform-
ng a dense forest or nr, pine ana oa
some of which measured It to 18
feet In circumference into a commer-
ci
ial orchard. By Mar i& ne nao 11
- i traaa and bv November
S he had cleared and made ready for
-1 .i ... more making 60
acre in all. Besides this he had sunk
a 60-foot well, fenced tne entire tract,
hauled 40.000 feet of lumber to miles,
built a stable and a large bungalow.
Fifteen tons of powder were used
in removing the stumps, aa the charplt
process waa considered too slow. The
work was superintended by Mr.
Leeper's father, a Civil .War veteran,
retired business man and traveler
through Europe, Africa and the West
Indies for several years.
jr. Leeper's plans call for the con
struction of a beautiful home, the
present bungalow to be occupied by
the foreman: an Immense combined
packing-bouse and stable, built on tha ,
The New Home of Gevurtz & Sons, Fifth and Alder,
to Be Occupied About August 1, 1912.
Twelve Stories of Steel and Brick 150,000 Square
Feet of Floor Space.
The Largest Store of the Kind on the Pacific Coast.
A New Year's Greeting:
With the close of 1911 the most successful year of our 31 years of existence in Port
land we look forward to 1912 to even surpass this record. This year will see us in our
new home, the twelve-story steel and brick building at the corner of Fifth and Alder
streets.
Our success, which has enabled us to realize our dream of having the largest, the
best and the most reliable furniture store ia Portland, is due as much to the thousands
of our patrons as to our unswerving and constant policy of "Good Furniture, Lowest
Prices, Easiest Terms and Satisfaction of Customers."
Our immense stock will include, as heretofore, furniture and everything for the
home, from the moderate priced to the most expensive. Our ability to buy in immense
lots will enable us to continue to make our prices the lowest in the city. In the past
year we furnished over 12,000 rooms. Buying in these quantities, we buy cheap. Our
Credit Department will gladly extend Credit Terms without interest, without objec
tionable features, without red tape. Our service will be kept on the highest plane of
attainable perfection; in a word, we will try to merit patronage as we did in the past.
We wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year.
Southern style, a half circle; a paved
road from the main highway, and
grounds laid out by an expert land
scape gardener. In developing this
place Mr. Leeper has spent J20.000 and
many more thousand will be spent be
fore Mount View Orchards Is brought
CORPORATION TAX LAW
The proposed amendment enabling returns to be rendered for the fiscal
year of the Corporation may not pass and Tax Returns must be made as at
December 31, 1911. Statements prepared and systems introduced to comply
with requirements of the Corporation Tax Law by members of
Oregon
State
to the ideal home which the owner
has set for the making of the best or
chard In the West.
Mr. Leeper Is unmarried, says e
never intends to marry, that the or
chard is one of his whims, but he is
actuated largely by a desire to give
Society of Public
. J .
1912
his father a good home for the re
mainder of his years.
Coal I up. Edlefsen Fuel Co. j
Inside block w-id 14. Main 1225.
RETURNS
Accountants
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r