TITE MORNING OHEG ONTAN, MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1919.
VIEW OF COLUMBIA RIVER, ICEBOUND, NEAR VANCOUVER.
nuy
4
SNOW IS PR WO
BY WEATHER BUREAU
Falling Barometer Indicates
Precipitation Soon.
TEMPERATURE IS HIGHER
Portland's Water Supply Increases
and Electric Company Hopes to
Keep Plant in Operation.
With a moderating temperature
yesterday, when the minimum at
tained by the official instruments of
the local weather bureau was 8.2 de
grees above zero, Portland's hopes
that the spine of the cold spell is
broken rose to the point where ama
teur weather prophets freely predict
ed that the worst is over, and that the
icy grip of frost, which has bested all
records for any month of December,
will be loosened soon in the customary-
genial days of a typical Ore
icon winter. And the official predic
tion agrees in part with this proph
ecy. .
Kllzxard Is I'Bwdrome.
Today's weather forecast is rife
with possibilities. Issued last night,
when every indication was that the
temperature would moderate even
more, it predicts snow, possibly turn
ing to rain, with a lessening: of the
cold. Southeasterly winds are to ac
company the break. If the snow
should fall, the most devout prayers
of Portland are that it will be con
siderate enough not to stage a re
currence of the blizzard that is still
nippins at the ears of memory, and if
it should turn to rain well, there's
the possibility of flood to be consid
ered when the snow fields are hur
ried away to the watercourses.
Yesterday grew steadily warmer
from its minimum point of 6.2 degrees
above zero, at 8 o'clock in the morn
ing, to its maximum record of 19 de
grees above at 2 o'clock in the after
noon. Nor did the thermometers
drop as swiftly and as far as on pre
vious days with trie approach of
night. At 8 o'clock last night the
official reading stood at 15 degrees
above zero, far warmer than the cor
responding hour of its predecessors.
ChiDKC (Illicitly Rioted.
The moderating mercury was plain
ly perceptible all yesterday, from
dawn to dark, for the fierce sting of
the frost, that had marked previous
days, was withdrawn to an easily ap
parent degree. No one doffed his
overcoat, for that matter, ot tossed
aside the knitted cap that has come
into unexpected vogue, but it needed
no glance at the corner thermometer
to sense the riBe in temperature.
"The barometer is falling slightly,"
said Edward L. Wells, chief of the
Portland weather office yesterday
afternoon, "though for three or four
hours it has remained practically sta
tionary. There are indications of a
low pressure area forming in Alaska,
and though it is not well enough de
veloped to base any prediction, it
might turn this way and bring us
definite relief."
River navigation remains com
pletely closed to all save steel ves
sels, and these are having the most
stubborn of fights when they attempt
to buck their way through the ice
floes
Hivera Afford Skating.
Joy came to the skaters yesterday
with dawn, when the river ice for the
first time during the cold snap be
came strong enough at certain points.
blades and the weight of the exhil
arated athletes. At many places the
ice floes were interspersed with open
water, but on the east fork of the
river at Willamette moorings the
river was frozen over to Ross island,
affording an excellent rink for many
hundreds of yards. The ice was from
two to four inches in thickness, and
scores of skaters made the most of
it throughout the day. On the west
ern side of Ross island there was also
skating, while the sloughs and lakes
of the suburban districts were in fine
condition for sport.
Portland's water supply is no
longer immediately threatened by
shortage, owing to marked improve
ment in flow, but Commissioner
Mann and officials o the 'water bu
reau again reiterate their warning
against letting taps and faucets run
to prevent the freezing of plumbing.
Residents still are implored to turn
the water off in the basement of their
homes, as the cold snap may not be
broken and the loss of water through
improvidence again may raise the
lire hazard to the danger point.
"We are going to have our insDec
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letting the water run to waste and
will begin the investigation tomor
row, sum Commissioner Mann last
night. "The police also will be asked
to Keen tao on tnose who are vlo
lating the order and needlessly im
periling tne city.
"nlrr Supply Increases.
Prom 11 o'clock yesterday morning
to late afternoon the city's supply
of water increased by 5.000.000 gal
lons, indicating that the current above
the intake at Bull Run had broken its
barriers to some extent and was
bringing down a heavier flow.
On the railroad systems improve
ment was odvious yesterday, with His-
patchers uniting in the declaration
, that normal service soon will be re
stored and that the end of transpor
tation troubles is in sight, if thi
; weather only will continue to behave-.
many iuei companies, particularly
those located in the residence sec
tions. regarded yesterday as one of
toil and relaxed no effort to make
, deliveries to homes that were badly
. in need 01 iuei. hough many res
dentiul streets still are blockaded
with drifts, making deliveries ex
tremely difficult If not impossible
. dealers are sparing no effort where
hardship is imminent.
Powfr la Threatened.
The freezing of small streams and
large, tributaries and main water
. courses lias Drought another problem
' to the Portland Railway, Light &
, Jug of water power. As the frost
locked the tributaries and feeders, the
larger streams fell sharply, while
their own ice served also to retard
the already lessened current.
Superintendent Donaldson of the
, street cleaning bureau again issued
a warning that gutters of down-town
business houses should be cleared o
. snow without delay. n order to ore
. vent the threatened flooding of streets
and basements wnen the thaw ar
rives.
Portland schools, which have been
closed for storm conditions since las
Wednesday, will reopen this morning,
though an attenuated attendance is
anticipated If the mercury does no
: eclipse its altitude records of the pas
woe.
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COLD IS BUT LITTLE LESS
MERCURIAL. CHANGES CAUSE
SO GREAT RELIEF.
Temperatures in Upper Coast Conn-
try With Few' Exceptions Are
Recorded as Rising.
(Continued Prom First Page.)
of intense cold with no immediate re
lief in sight. At 5 o'clock this morn-
ngr the official thermometer regis
tered two below zero, or five degrees
warmer than at the same hour yes
terday. Trains are operating on an
irregular schedule and several local
industries are hampered because of
a shortage of water caused by frozen
pumping plants. It is expected that
the schr Al win reopen tomorrow
after having been closed since
Wednesday.
Partial gas service was resumed
last night and the release of three
carloads of coal by the government
has aided considerably in relieving
the fuel shortage.
XtfW MARK IS SET AT BAKER
Temperature of 2 4 Below Reported
Lowest in SO Years.
BAKER. Or.. Dec. 14. (Special.)
Cold weather records for the past 30
years in this vicinity were broken in
this city Saturday morning when a
minimum record of 24 degrees below
was reached. In the more exposed sec
tions of the city thermometers
reached 35 degrees below. All mills
of the city Were forced to close and
the Sumpter Valley train was delayed
several hours because of the freezing
of the engine. The maximum temper
ature yesterday was zero.
According to reports received trom
Bates a temperature of 51 degres be
low was reached and at North Pow
der 35 degrees below. Telephone
communication east of Baker was cut
off Friday night and yesterday
morning.
COLD CLINGS TO HEPPSlA
r
Bright Sunshine Fails to Cause
Moderation in Weather.
HEPPNER. Or., Dec. 14. (Special.)
In spite of clear weather and bright
sunshine Heppner's cold snap has
HOIBLV TEMPER ATI" RES IES
TERDAY, WHICH INDI
CATE BREAKING OF
COLD SNAP.
8:00 A. M .
8:30 A. M . 6
9:00 A. M 8
10:00 A. M 10
11:00 A. M 13
12:00 M.' 15
degrees
degree
degrees
degrees
degrees
degrees
degrees
degrees
degrees
1:00 P. M 17
2:00 P. M 19
3:00 P. M 17
4:00 P. M 17 degrees
5:00 P. M 17 degrees J
6:00 P. M 16 degrees
7:00 P. M 15 degrees 1
moderated little. With 18 inches of
snow covering the country the mer
cury registered 18 below zero Friday
and Saturday morning and 15 below
this morning. It was 4 above at
noon today.
Fuel supplies are low and are being
carefully distributed. A shortage- of
water adds to the discomfort.
Parker's Mill, a mountain, resort 30
miles south of here, reported a tem
perature of 42 below yesterday. Many
banus of sheep are being moved from
this section to the feeding grounds
on lower Willow creek.
HOOD RIVER IS 2 BELOW
Low Mark Is Reported 4 Degrees
Above That of Night Before.
HOOD RIVER. Or, Dec. 14. (Spe
cial.) While the favor of the 'ele
ments was extremely small. mid-Columbia
people breathed gratitude
when they aroused from hibernating
today and found that the official min
imum temperature tor the valley last
night was 23 degrees below zero, four
warmer than the night before.
The maximum temperature today
reached 5 below zero, while for the
past two days the mercury has re
mained around the zero point. Local
Indications point to a continuation of
enst wind and low temperatures
Hood River, for the first time in 25
years, is frozen over. All local pow
er plants are out of commission.
Mercury Rising at Seattle.
SEATTLE; Wasb Dec 14. With
Scene just below Colombia Interstate
i rising temperatures today and warmer
weather forecast for tomorrow, the
(cold spell which has gripped the Puget
suuna section lor several days is rap
idly passing. Today's minimum in
Seattle was 18 degrees above zero. ,
1
PEXDLETOX LIGHT RESTORED
Moderation of 6 Degrees Makes
Little Difference.
PENDLETON. Or, Dec 14. (Spe
cial.) A moderation of six degrees in
the temperature last night made lit
tle difference in the discomfort of
Pendleton folk. The minimum ' for
the night was 22 Delow. During the
first part of the night, however, the
mercury hovered around ten and 12
below, giving hope of warmer weath
er. 'The maximum today was no bet
ter than zero, officially, but in snel.
tered sections of the residence dis
trict the relatively warm tempera
ture of six above was , registered.
Street lights are ablaze again after
two nights of darkness.
COLUMBIA FERRIES TIED UI
Trip of 135 Miles Necessary to
Cross River at Hood.
HOOD RIVER, Or.. Dec 14. (Spe
cial.) Since early last week the
ferry system plying between here
and Underwood and White Salmon,
Wash., have been blocked by ice in
the Columbia. For one to visit either
of the Washington towns, in plain
sight of Hood River, a journey of 135
miles by way of Portland, or a shorter
distance by way of the Dalles, has
been necessary.
The river is frozen from bank to
bank here, and the trans-Columbia
journey can be made on foot over the
ice, it is said. But no one so far has
tried the ice bridge.
ALBANY MERCURY 8 BELOW
Frozen and Broken Water Pipes
Cause Inconvenience.
ALBANY, Or., Dec. 14. (Special.)
Eight degrees below zero was the
minimum .here in the past 24 hours.
This was seven degrees higher than
the low tnark of the night before,
but a slight shift in figures mattered
little to shivering Albany when both
were below the rarely reached zero
mark.
This city is suffering unprecedent
ed inconvenience because of frozen
and broken water pipes. Scores of
houses are without water on this ac
count. Business houses closed "and some
churches abandoned service.
COLD ABATES AT SPOKANE
Mercury Rises to 1 4 Degrees, With
Coldest Mark at 1 Above.
SPOKANE Wash., Dec. 14. The
severe cold weather v.'hich.has swept
Spokane the past week, abated some
what today when the mercury rose to
14 degrees above zero at 5 o'clock
tonight.
The coldest during the early morn
ing was one above.
PHONE SERVICE HARD HIT
Falling Wires Interfere With Al
bany Communications.
ALBANY, Or., Dec. 14. (Special.)
Telephone connections between Al
bany and other cities in this part of
the state are being maintained with
difficulty because of the record
breaking cold weather. In the first
two days of heavy snow, before the
thermometer began to register zero
and below, some - difficulty was ex
perienced but it is much worse now.
By hard work inter-city service
is maintained much of the time, but
rural lines are down in all direc
tions. Some local telephones are out
of order because of the falling of
local wires.
The Mountain States Power .com
pany has experienced practically no
trouble yet with electric light and
power wires in Albany and nearby
cities.
BOY TO BE TRIED TODAY
Laurence Morrison, Aged 18, to
Face Burglary Charge.
Lawrence Morrison, 18. arrested
Saturday night by Detectives Mallet
and Tichenor, will be tried in munic
ipal court today on a charge of bur
glary of a garage at 775 Thurman
street.
Morrison, who kept his motorcycle
in the garage, is said to have hid in
the place until it was closed for the
night, after which he rifled the till,
taking about $40 and a quantity of
gasoline tickets.
About four months ago Morrison is
said to have broken out of the juve
nile ward of the county jail in com
pany with a companion. He was in
trouble before, reports say.
bridge, snowing mem valk.Ina; on Ice.
RIVER IS CROSSED ON ICE
CROWDS TRAVERSE COLUMBIA
AT INTERSTATE BRIDGE.
Frozen Pipes Deprive Most Van-
conyer Homes of Water; Mer
cury 1 1 Above Zero.
VANCOUVER. Wash., Dec. 14.
(Special.) Added to the '4-below-zero
temperature that Vancouver people
experienced this morning, is the in
convenience of frozen water pipes and
leaking roofs, due to formation of
ice on the eaves, causing water from
melting snow to "back up" under the
shingles.
It is estimated that 90 per cent of
Vancouver homes are without their
customary water supply because of
frozen pipes, and plumbers are work
ing overtime to cut drain pipes in
basements to give emergency supply.
No attempt is being made at this time
to replace burst pipes or make per
manent repairs. Hot-water coils were
removed from stoves to prevent ex
plosions. Hundreds of persons walked across
the Columbia river at the interstate
bridge today or skated up and down
the great expanse of ice, which is as
smooth as gluss where there are no
obstructions in the river to cause for
mation' of what is known as "slush
Ice." Just below the bridge this for
mation was caused by the concrete
piers, but lower down there is noth
ing to break the ideal skating surface.
The smooth ice ranges in thickness
from eight inches to a foot, measure
ments show, and this is expected to
be increased perceptibly by tonight's
low temperature.
Street cars carried large numbers
of persons from Portland during the
day. while from Clarke county points
hundreds braved the cold to fulfill
their desire to walk across the Co
lumbia or enjoy skating on its sur
face. Church . attendance here was
small and auto traffic much reduced.
At o:30. o'clock this afternoon the
mercury stood at 11 degrees above
zero, or C degrees higlier than at the
same time Saturday.
Marshfield Weather Moderates.
MARSHFIELD, Or., Dec. 14.
(Special.) The -cold snap is broken
and the temperature today was mod
erated by a ehift of the wind to the
southwest. Ordinary 45 to 50 degree
weather prevails this evening and
clouds from the ocean indicate an-
CURRENT WEATHER DATA
OF THE COLDEST DECEM
BER ON RECORD.
Today's Forecast Snow, pos
sibly turning to rain, not so
cold, with southeasterly winds.
Yesterday's Temperature Min
imum 6.2 degrees above zero;
maximum 19 degrees above zero.
School reopens this morning,
after enforced vacation of half
week. Three steel cteamers win
their way up the river, which is
still closed to navigation by
wooden ships.
Skaters hold carni val -on Wil
lamette and Columbia rivers.
Fuel situation steadily im
proving. Water users aain urged to
turn off home supplies at night.
other storm is brewing for Monday
or Tuesday. The freezes of the past
three nights, however, hardened the
ground and it will be two days before
the frost clearly disappears.
Boise Retained in Cold Grip.
BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 14. This city
is still in the grip of a cold wave with
the thermometer registering three de
grees above zero at 6 o'clock tonight
and rapidly dropping. The lowest
temperature recorded the 24 hours
ending at 6 o'clock was five below
zero.
Gold Hill Water System Out,
GOLD HILL, Or.. Dec 14. (Spe
cial.) The temperature last nigh;
for Regularity
TheTHendly Laxative
In tins only-Three sizes
ATNYAL DttUG STOHES
atat WFVTlWArnJICTanT a. . .
PhotografTh by Gordon Stuart.
registered four degrees below zero
and today no indication of relief
with the ice-bound intake at the
water plant, disabled pumps, frozen
pipes and mains and low water in
the reservoirs, the Gold Hill munic
ipal water system is completely out
of commission. Repairs are being
maae as last as conditions permit.
Mercury Higher at Kelso.
KELSO. Wash., Dec. 14. (Special.)
Although the temperature was
again several degrees below zero last
night, it lacked about five degrees of
bc.ng as
Today the wind varied to a southerly
direction and indications were that
it would be considerably warmer to
night with snow a possibility. The
ice is thick on the'Cowlitz river and
attracted scores of skaters.
Astoria Mercury 16 Above.
ASTORIA. Or., Dec. 14. (Special.)
The temperature in Astoria this
morning was 16 degrees above zero,
the same as yesterday. The wind
still is in the northeast and the sky,
which had been clear practically all
day, was overcast tonight. During
the day snow melted slightly in a
few exposed spots.
STOVE EXPLODES, 1 HURT
ROAD ENGINEER INJURED IN
UMATILLA COUNTY.
Kitchen in Kelso Home Damaged
When Range Blows Up; Gold
Hill Tank W recks Room.
PENDLETON, Or., Dec. 14. (Spe
cial.) David M. Glass, locating en
gineer for the state highway commis
sion, was severely injured about the
head yesterday when a range in the
house which the survey crew is us
ing near Nolin, exploded.
KELSO, Wash.. Dec 14. (Special.)
An exploding water coil in the
range at the home of Ed Mosher on
the hill completely wrecked the range
and damaged the kitchen to a con
siderable extent. Two of the stove
lids went through the ceiling. Mr.
Mosher was standing within a few
feet of the stove, but escaped unin
jured. The connecting pipe was
frozen.
In several other homes steam gen
erated in the coils has caused minor
explosions. T!e plumbers are work
ing night and day and are unable to
attend to scores of calls.
GOLD HILL, Or.. Dec 14. (Spe
cial.) Hattie Beeman in htr home at
Gold Hill started a fire in the kitchen
range yesterday without ascertaining
whether the connecting water pipes
bad been frozen. Half an hour later.
Just as she stepped out of the room.
the water tank exploded, wrecking
and wetting the room. The force of
the explosion went skyward, shatter-
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MW- tJtx Portland, Oregon
A mesh bag, a jacket of
chain armor, a lovable ex
Apache, a crooked lawyer, and
the Man and the Girl these
are the interesting ingredients
of "The Final Chuckle," one
of the best of William Hamil
ton Osborne's Sergeant Laro
que stories. You can use Dr.
Frank Crane's "Ten Com
mandments of Success" as ade
pendable guide in these stormy
days. And among other things
there's ajim-dandyadvertising
story ("The Four-Flusher")
, A bit late
'December tssue
ing a large opening in the plaster of
the celling.
MILK BOTTLES ARE SHORT
Housewives Urged to Take Own
Containers to Stores.
The Oregon dairy council yesterday
issued the following bulletin:
"Housewives and others who go to
the stores to get milk are requested
to take milk bottles with them.
Please do this, as the distributors
have depleted their supply, and if the
public does not co-operate it will
soon be impossible to deliver any
milk.
"Don't keep the telephone busy
calling up the milkman to tell him
what you think of him for not deliv
ering milk to your residence. If you
knew how hard he is trying to ac
commodate you and how many hours
he is working without Stopping to
rest: how many problems he has to
solve, you would admire and appre
ciate him, instead of blaming him.
"If you can get milk at your bom:,
remember some poor family of little
children who can't get any, and help
them by taking or sending them this
most necessary of foods."
Three Steamers Run Aground.
VINEYARD HAVEN. Mass.. Dec. 14.
The shipping board steamers North
wind, Lake Crystal and Fairfield
were aground today as a result of the
heavy fog over Vineyard sound. The
vessels are coal laden and are thought
to be bound from Norfolk to Boston.
Hospital Shrubbery Damaged.
SALEM. Or.. Dec. 14. (Special.)
Considerable fruit and shrubbery at
the state hospital here have been
damaged by the present cold weather,
according to Dr. Griffith, superintend
ent. Read The Oregonian classified ads.
How to be intelligent
though educated
C Plenty of folks with as many degrees as a thermometer,
don't know what to do with their education now they've got it,
Only used facts are useful. It's the most bracing sort of mental
setting up exercise that Fred C. Kelly puts you through in his
enlightening article in the December People's Magazine, called,
"Are You Intelligent?"
G. Here's another Theodore, with a lot of the old Colonel about
him, and plenty of Rooseveltian personality of his own. How
far will he go ? Wrote a buck private, "there isn't a man in
this outfit who would not start to take a message to Berlin to
night, if he asked him." George Palmer Putnam's close-up
People's article brings you face to face with
"Young Teddy"
in addition to Henry Payson
Dowst's "What Lies Behind
the Advertisement," of (inter
est to every commercial fresh
man, and senior as well for that
matter. Do you believe in self
determination for married
men? Then you'll cheer when
you read Christine Parmen
ter's "Celia, the Efficient."
Your magazine for December
is full of the things that you
most want its editors to get
for you.
because of stri
es and thingst
on the stands
today.
Pe ople's
Magazine
KELSO TO, GET RELIEF
STATE ENGINEER SENT TO RUN
WATER SYSTEM.
Company Charged With Failure to
Provide Pumping Plant
for Emergency.
SEATTLE, Wash., Dec. 14. (Spe
cial.) H. J. Flagg. chief engineer,
was sent to Kelso today by the pub
lic service commission to take charge
of the city water system owned by
the Kelso Water company. Summary
measures were adopted by the com
mission on receipt of a complaint
made directly to Governor Louis F.
Hart by Mayor F. Plamondon of Kel
so and F. L. Stewart, cashier of the
Kelso State bank.
Mayor Plamondon stated that Kelso
Is threatened with an epidemic and
has been two days without water,
due, it is charged to the company's
failure to provide an auxiliary pump
ing plant to relieve the main pumps
in an emergency such as the prevail
ing cold weather has imposed. The
sewer system is reported as inopera
tive. The city has been without water.
Governor Hart immediately called
the matter to the attention of Com-
' missioner Frank R. Spinning, who
was the only public service commis
sioner in the office at the time. After
a consultation between Commissioner
Spinning and Commissioner H. H.
Cleland. Chief Engineer Flagg was
sent to Kelso authorized to take any
action that would relieve the situa
tion. The present system is reported
to be completely crippled by the frost.
Linn Road Session Postponed.
ALBANY. Or.. Dec. 14. (Special.)
but never better.
The meeting of the Linn County Oood
Roads association, which was to have
been held here today, was postponed
because of difficulties of travel. 7
will be held a week from today i.
weather conditions improve. Though
railroads in this section of the state
are now maintaining fairly good
service, little effort is made to travel
on most roads.
Read The Oregonian classified ads.
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Wherein a
Woman's
Wits Are
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