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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1922)
VOL. XLI NO. 19,198 Entered at Portland f Oregon) PoBtofflce as Seonrt-cJass Matter. PORTLAND, OREGON, THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 1922 28 PAGES PRICE FIVE ; CENTS HEAT REGISTERS 94; IPICKFORD DIVORCE ami BUILDING PERMITS $3,206, 110 FOR MAY 1922 IS EXPECTED TO BREAK CITY'S STHUCTUKAIi RECORD. CLUB DELEGATES KEYED FOR FIGHT LIBERTY BONDS SELL : FOR PAR OR BETTER ALMOST CITY RECORD DECREE SUSTAINED nun SECOND HIGHEST MAT SCORE SUPREME - COURT OF; NEVADA SEVERAL LOTS EMBRACING f $1,000,000 SOLD. V IN 35 YEARS HUNG UP. UPHOLDS DISTRICT JUDGE. RANCHERUS DEftD I IN FAMILY FEUD BRUSH FIRES HAZE -MOUNTAIN HOMES fro ops to Enforce Ban on Proposed Republic. iTERN POLICY ADOPTED uhurchill Scores Republican Leaders in Speech in i nuuse ui uuiiiiiiuiis. DISORDER IN ISLAND CITED Conditions Declared Reflec tion on Capacity of People for Government. . 4 .... LONDON, May SI. (By the Asso ciated Press.) British troops will urevent the establishment of a re public in Ireland, If such action should become necessary, Winston Spencer Churchill, foreign secretary, leelared in the house of "commons oday during debate on the Irish iHnation. ' "In the event a republic la eet IP,' he said, "it is the Intention of he British government to hold Dub lin as one of the preliminary and essential steps of military opera tions." Position Is Stated. Mr. Churchill in the commons and Lord Chancellor Birkenhead in the house of lords, announced Great Britain's position , as rigid adher ence to the treaty, which the pact entered Into between Eamon de Val era e.nd Michael Collins is declared to have menaced. trhe return of Mr. Collins to, Dub lin, with Aruthur Griffith remaining la London together with announce ment of a further postponement of the Dall Klreann'a sessions, , sug gests the possibility of further nego tiations after conversations between Collins and de Valera to see how fax the points made at London can be met at Dublin, Mr. ChurChill's speech seems to .have created general satisfaction, according to reports from Dublin and Belfast, while Messrs. Collins f and Griffith, adjudged It "a fair pre sentation of the facts." Lork Birkenhead told the house ot lords that the British government stands for the treaty with Ireland in letter and spirit and would not go an Inch beyond it. Under no con ceivable circumstances would the government consent to the repub licans becoming ministers la the Irish government and should such a oriels arise the resources of Great Britain were by no means exhausted. L Dall Decision Tragic 3Cn governments policy cor- respnded with the wishes of the democracies of the two islands for whose political fortunes the gov ernment was the trustee. The Dail EIreann's action in January post' poning the elections was a tragic decision, he declared, showing great weakness, political Inexperience and lack of Judgment on the part of the provisional government, while the Collins-do Valera agreement came as an additional shock. The consequences of the agree ment were very serious, Secretary Churchill said, and it seemed prob able that the Irish people would not be able to give free expression to their views in the election of the' government. If Mr. de Valera or any others who might be chosen ministers In the new Irish government, under the terms of the treaty, refused to sign the declaration of allegiance to Eng land prescribed In the treaty, the secretary continued, "the treaty was broken by that fact, and the Imperial government resumed such liberty of action whether in regard to the re sumption of the powers which had been transferred, or the reoccupation of territory as it might think ap propriate and proportionate to the gravity of the breach." Treaty to Be Observed. The imperial government would not, in any circumstances, agree to isviate" from the treaty, either in the strict letter or the honest spirit of the document, Mr. Churchill de clared. 'It is almost certain." Mr. Church ill went on, "that the Irish people will not be able to say in an intelli gent way whether they accept or re ject the tfeajy offered by Great Brit- Jkln. . A certain number of labor or ndependent candidates may doubt less obtain election, but it is- diffi- Icult to see how the parliament re- ,'nltinf from the election and the (Continued en Vt Column 1.) Figures for Month Just" Past Are ' Nearly -Double Correspond ' ing 1921 Amount. That building activity in the city of Portland will hang up a new rec ord mark'this year became more ap parent yesterday when the total vol ume of permits issued for the month of May reached well over the three million mark, exceeding the volume of permits for the preceding month by nearly a million and nearly doub ling the figure for the same month last year. - - The total of permits Issued for the month ending yesterday was J3.20S,- 110. compared with $2,209,205 for the month of April and $1,712,340 for the month of May of last year. Of the permits issued for the month just closed, 348 were for residences of an aggregate cost of $346,040. This is an average of nearly $10,000 for each bouse, which is unusually high, and Indicates activity in the con struction of high-class homes. Building permits for the first five months of the present year aggre gated $12,070,600, compared with a total of $8,033,355 for the same period last year. Bank clearings for the month just closed also showed a gain over the corresponding month of last year and indicated that Portland's finances are getting back to. a more normal basis. The clearings for the month iust closed amounted to $126,209,541, com pared with $114,732,334 for the month Of May, 1921. If the same ratio of increase is continued in June, the first half of this year should show as great a volume of clearings as the first half of 1921. Clearings for the first five months of the year amounted to $607,913,756, compared with $615,223,- 450 for the first five months of last year. Postal receipts for the month of May showed, an increase of 13.8 per cent compared with the record for the corresponding month of last year. The heavy volume of election mate rial accounted for some of this in crease. ALVIN YORK WINS DEED Itotarians Clear Title to Farm of Argonne Hero. CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., May 31.- Sergeant Alvin York at last feels se cure, the deed to his 400-acre river bottom farm in Fentress -county hav ing been presented to him with the title clear by J. T. Sheeler of James ton, ohe of the trustees of the fund started by the Nashville Rotary club with which the farm was purchased. The first campaign for the fund left the title to the farm clouded with a mortgage and the Argonne hero re cently was reported considerably worried over meeting payments on the indebtedness. A second cam paign was inaugurated by the Rotarins and the mortgage was paid. Presentation of the deed was held up pending incorporation in the document of an account of the ser geant's exploit in France. MANIAC TRIES TO KILL One Victim Attacked While Asleep, Near Death; Another Escapes. ; EATONVILLE, "Wash., May 31. i (Special.) C. Romani is in the Eaton- i ville hospital near death as the re sul tof an attack, by Pete Binl this morning at 5 o'clock. Bini had acted queerly for some time, but was not supposed to be dan gerous. This morning he became sud denly insane. The two men occupied the same room. Romani was asleep when attacked. He is still uncon scious and has a fracture of the base of the skull. . Bini then attempted to kill G. Ro man!, by shooting him but the latter managed to get the gun away from the maniac. Bini then made for the woods in the direction of the moun tain road. TAFT TO GO TO ENGLAND Chief Justice Will Study English Judicial System. . , WASHINGTON, D. C, May - 31. Chief Justice Taft will leave shortly for England, where, during a stay of several weeks, he will study the Eng lish judicial system, with a view to determining its characteristics, which lead to great expedition in the set tlement of legal trials and issues. He notified President Harding of his in tent today during a White House call. y Sir John A. Simon, head of the Eng lish bar, and formerly attorney-general of Great Britain, extended an in vitation to the chief justice to visit England. It will be, it is said, the first visit by a chief justice of the United States for such a .purpose. The visit will be entirely unofficial. INSECTS HOLD UP TRAINS Railroad Operation Interrupted by Crawling Caterpillars. GROVELAXD, Cal., May 31. A plague of caterpillars threatens to interrupt operations of the Hetch Hetchy railroad. The insects scrawl along the rails, covering them some times for distances of a mile and making them so slippery that the en gines cannot pull the .trains up the grades. Many times the erews had to cut the engine from the train, run over the caterpillar-covered rails and then coat the rails with sand before the train -could be pulled through, Scholarship Loan Fund Bone of Contention. WOMEN READY FOR FRAY Proposed Changes in Policy to Be Debated Soon. ' ARBUCKLE FILMS TARGET Resolutions Are Introduced Com mending Mr. Hays for Bar- . ring Fatty's Pictures. LAKE LTTLE, Or., May 31. (Spe cial.) This is not election year in the Oregon Federation of .Women's Clubs convention, but the excitement and thrill of a contest are here never theless. They are manifested in an undercurrent of feeling which will be given expression when the scholar ship loan fund comes up for discussion tomorrow or Friday. Both sides are holding back, until the matter is before the convention, neither wishing to disclose any hints as to suggested changes in the method of controlling the fund. The dis cussion, when actually on the floor of the convention, is expected to en liven the whole session. The clubwomen will vote tomorrow or Friday on resolutions. Introduced today, "commending the action of Will H. Hays in holding up the dis tribution of the Roscoe Arbuckle films." "It is hoped that this will be made a permanent policy in regard to any films in which Arbuckle or any actor of like character takes part," con tinues the resolution. . ( Resolution Is Applauded. From the applause which greeted the resolution introduced by Mrs. Al exander Thompson, chairman of the legislative department, the conven lion will go on record as . oppos ing the movement on foot to repeal by Initiative enactment the state mill age tax for higher education." Mrs. Thompson Introduced another reso lution favoring removal of all prop erty qualifications from voters, and a third resolution indorsing a bill now before congress, which provides that the appointment of prohibition en forcement officers be taken out of politics and the employes be placed under civil service rules. Another resolution would change the time of the convention session from Bpring to fall. The club women are asked to in dorse the Johnson immigration and naturalisation bill, which gives wom en independent citizenship, in a reso lution introduced by Miss Elizabeth K. Mathews of Oak Grove. Men Teachers Advocated. In behalf of education, the United States is spending less than a billion dollars a year for education," said Dr. Edward O. Sisson, professor Of philos- ' (Concluded oa Page o. Column 2.) .......... WHO SAID IT WAS TOO HOT? i pite ill I ' 4tVto V W I 1 111 Mercury Climbs to... Torrid Height During Day Only to Tumble -14 Degrees by Night. , . From a flying start acquired the first three days of the week, the heat wave yesterday swept forward - in Portland to the second highest May temperature in the city's history. This was 94 degrees, registered by the official government thermometer at 3:15 P. M. The only time the Portland weather bureau station ever had recorded a higher temperature for May was-. 35 years ago, on May 29, 1887, when 99 was reached. It was a hot day from beginning to end, . through which Portlanders sweltered. To - appreciate this, and also the fact that the torrid spell has been cumulative in its work, one need only note that the mercury at 5 A. M. yesterday was at 63, the maximum recorded last Friday aft ernoon. Here is how the maximums of succeeding days climbed: Satur day, 77; Sunday, ' 82; Monday, 83; Tuesday, 90; Wednesday, 94. The heat wave was felt , the more intensely because it arrived so unex pectedly, driving in on the ta,g-end of a lagging spring of subnormal temperatures. It lasted long enough to parch the neglected lawns and gardens. Those who look at the bright side of things may take pride in Port land's thorough-going manner of com peting with torrid zone regions it was the third hottest city in the Lnited - States yesterday on the weather bureau maps. Roseburg ranked second, with a record of 100, and Phoenix, Ariz.; held firsts, place, at 102. Relief came just as suddenly as had come the warm wave, the tem perature taking a drop of 14 degrees between 6 and 7 o'clock, last night A haze of smoke and clouds covering the sky and a freshening breeze helped to rout the heat. The fore cast promises cooler weather for to- The Willamette river remained sta' tionary yesterday at 17.4. The fore cast is that it will drop a bit today and tomorrow, but probably will be gin rising again Saturday. Therecord of hourly temperatures yesterday was this: 6 A. M... 631 1 P. M IA. 11. . 67 2 P. M . 73 3 P. M . 77 3:15 P. M... . 93 . S3 7 A. M.. ...... S A. M. 9 A. M....... 10 A. 34. ...... 11 A. M 12 M. . 84 . 63 . 92 881 5 P. M 80 0 P. M. ... 8UI 7 P. M...... . Ill 77 MERCURY RECORD BROKEN Yesterday Warmest Day in May for Last 30 Years in Vancouver. ' VANCOUVER, Wash., May 3L (Special.) This was the warmest day in May on record, the temperature being 95 this afternoon, according to records kept by A. A. Quarnberg, of ficial weather observer. The air was quiet this forenoon, but the hot wind in the afternoon made all vegetation look willed and dried out gardens, flowers and lawns. Mr. Quarnberg has been keeping the records for 31) years himself, but has other records going back farther than that. Olympia Reports 95 Degrees. OLTMPIA, Wash., May 31. (Spe cial.) With a maximum temperature tnis afternoon of 95 degrees, 3 de crees higher than Tuesday, a new (Continued on Page 2, Column 3.) Movie Star Declared Freed Legally From Owen Moore Under Daws of State. CARSON CITT. Nev., .May 31. (By the Associated Press.) Mary ; Pick ford's divorce from Owen Moore was sustained today by , the Nevada su preme court. In an unanimous opin ion -. and order written by E. A. DucKer, junior associate Justice, the court late today held that Attorney General Fowler "had no authority to Institute proceedings to have the div orce annulled and set aside. The supreme court's decision was an affirmation -of the order of Dis trict Judge Langan quashing service of summons in an action ' brought by the attorney-general to set aside the divorce decree. Miss. Pickford won a divorce from Owen Moore at Minden, Nev., March 20, 1920. Fowler's action to have the decree set aside was based on the contention that Miss Pickford had not lived in ; Nevada the period requireu by law. When the district court in which the divorce was granted helu that the action had been regular in every particular Fowler appealed to the state supreme court, charging that the divorce was -obtained through fraud and , collusion on , the , part ot Miss Pickford, and that the Minden court had no jurisdiction. In an opinion of 15 typewritten pages, the supreme court today said in substance: "Until the legislature acts and em powers the attorney-general or other officers to represent the state's in terests in divorce suits, the duty must remain where it has always exclu sively reposed, in the court hearing the case." The court held Inapplicable section 4133 of the Nevada revised law read ing: "Whenever the governor shall direct, or in the opinion of the attorney-general, to protect the inter est of the state, it is necessary that a suit be commenced or defended In any court, it is hereby made the duty of the attorney-general to commence said action or make such defense; and such action may be instituted in any district ccurt in the state or In any justice court of the proper county." SAN FRANCISCO, May 31. "I am very, very happy, more happy than 1 can express," said,.. Mary Pickford when Informed of the decision of the Nevada -supreme, court, upholding her divorce from Owen Moore, accord ing to her counsel, Gavin McNab, who telephoned the news to' her in- Los Angeles. DAYLIGHT SAVING LOSES City Council Refuses to Adopt Clock Retarding Plan. Members of the city council yester day unanimously joined Mayor Baker In the refusal to order a change of Blocks to conform with the requests of those seeking daylight saving in Portland. - Mayor Baker announced that out of the total communications sent to his office on the subject, 1146 favored the plan and 4639 opposed it. He recommended that no further consideration be given the subject and his recommendation was con curred in by all of the other members of the council. ' Suicide Follows Shooting on Silverton Highway. SISTER-IN-LAW WOUNDED Dying Man Accuses Brother V and Wife as Life Ebbs." AUTO PARTY IS WAYLAID John Bangert, Living Near Salem, Drives Occupants From Car in Attempted Dual Killing. SALEM, Or., May 31. (Special.) John Bangert, 27 years old, a rancher who resided seven miles north of Salem, died at a local hospital at 9 o'clock tonight from a self-inflicted bullet wound In his,, left breast, and Clara Gruenfeldef, 17, a sister-in-law, was in another hospital seriously wounded by a bullet fired by Bangert as the result of a domestic battle which came to a climax on the Sil verton highway at ,7 o'clock this evening. . Miss Gruenf elder, who, it was be-' lieved, was struck by a bullet prob ably intended for Bangert's wife, likely will recover, the attending physicians said late tonight.' Wife and Brother Accused. It's all your, fault," Bangert de clared' when his wife was permitted to see him for a moment just before he died. "It's all right, though; I'm willing to die." The dead man's brother, Charles Bangert of Dayton, O., against whom the gun-wielder also brought verbal indictments, was permitted to see his brother. Tonight Charles Bangert was in a state of nervousness Hear ing collapse. . On several occasions, it was said, Bangert had charged his wife with being unfaithful. Neighbors and Mel vin Gruenf elder,, the wounded girl's brother, admitted tonight that the re ported domestic infelicity at the Ban gert household long had been eommon knowledge among those residing in the vicinity. - Shoots Without Warning. The shooting took place on the Silverton highway about six miles from Salem and about one mile from the Bangert ranch house, which is located on a side road, west of the highway. Mrs, Bangert, wife of the dead man; Ciara Gruenfelder and Melvin Gruen felder had elected to motor to Salem in Gruenf elder's car. According to Gruenfelder, the party was nearing the highway when it met Bangert. Without comment he began to shoot Gruenfelder speeded up the car and attempted to make a get-away, but as the machine swung into the highway it threw a tire and it was necessary for the occupants to abandon the automobile. Auto fiirf y Scatter. Gruenfelder made his way a short distance down the lane on the other side of the highway, while the two women rushed into the near-by farm house of Chester F. Waly. Bangert, who apparently - had. no quarrel with Gruenfelder, . followed close in , the wake of the women, flourishing his pistol as he went. Entering the front door, the "women locked it behind them, but Bangert, breaking through a window, gained entrance. Pursuing them into the back yard, he cornered them, and it was then that the little Gruenfelder girl, who had whirled and faced Ban gert, dropped as a victim of his auto matic ; , Two bullets entered her body, one through her right breast and the other through - the . center ol her chest. . . i - Bangert Shoots Himself. . Bangert, abandoning his pursuit of the women, returned to the highway, where for a moment he stood, unde cided. 'weapoh in hand. .--At this point Bert Smitn, a deputy sheriff, who previously had been notified of tbe shooting by frightened residents of the community, arrived on a motor cycle. . Bangert raised the automatic and leveled it at the officer. He said nothing. Smith sped past. a short distance, dropped from his machine and covered his man. ,.'' ; v, Then,, apparently concluding that resistance would prove f utile, Ban gert raised the automatic to hi own left breast and fired. , . A few minutes later he was re moved to the hospital, where he lived' tor two hours. Only .a portion -of the time was he conscious, but dur ing these Intervals he appeared to be entirely rational, doctors said. The bullet which cost Bangert his life entered his left breast and emerged immediately behind. . Crowd Gathers -Upon Scene. . A motley group gathered on the highway, at the scene of the shoot ing just before Bangert, near death. was removed to the hospital. Women were weeping and neighbor men who appeared little surprised that the tragedy had come, stood quietly whis pering among themselves. And in this group Mrs. Chester Way and her mother, Mrs. G. C. Larson, proved a Strang" contrast. Although both had been faced by a man bent on murder when the neighbor women (Concluded on I'aee 2, Column 2.) . Transactions In Government Se curities Feature of Stock Mar- , ket in New York. ;, NEW YORK, May 31. For he first time since, the date of issue, all Liberty bonds today sold at par or better.. Heavy trading in Liberty bonds at highest prices and trans actions embracing several lots of $1,000,000 were the oustanding fea tures of the bond market . .'! Continued ease ot money and In vestment, through buying, by individ uals and corporations "-in anticipation of June interest and t dividend dis bursements, gave stimulus to the day's' extensive purchases of -these war flotations. ' - Maximum and minimum quotations of these bonds so far this year, af ford interesting comparison. . The high of 100.06 for the 3&s compares with a low of 94.48; the first 4s of 1932-47 sold as low as 98.10 and as high as' 100.10; the second 4s of 1927-42 ranged from 95.80 to 100; the third 4ls of 1S28 from 96.S2 to 100.04 and the coupon 4th 4Hs, In which dealings often have been very iarge, rose from 95.72 to 100.04. At the low quotations of last year most of these bonds were yielding from 5 to almost 6 per cent. On tbe present basis of values the S'&s net exactly 3 per cent, and the 4s and 4 lis from 4 to 4 14 per cent In fine, predictions of treasury offi cials made early in' the year that all of TJucle Sam's war flotations soon would reach par or better have been fulfilled. ARSON CHARGED TO FOUR Men Are Accused of Burning Barn ' on Place Near Shaniko. THE DALLES, Or., May 31. (Spe cial.) Four Shaniko men Arthur Wallace, Fred Cooke, Otis Profet and Mel Emmon were arrested today and brought to the local county jail by H. G. Refeder, deputy sheriff, on charges of arson preferred before the justice of the peace at Shaniko by Mrs. Mary McKinley. They are accused of burning a barn and other outbuildings on property owned near Shaniko and on a home stead some distance from that town. The men also are accused of attempt ing to fire the McKinley home.- FREIGHT CAR KILLS BOY Four-Year-Old Lad of Baker Has Head Dismembered. BAKER, Or., May 31. (Special.) Gerald, 4-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Comli Huys of South Baker, was In stantly killed early tonight wnen tlie lad was run over by a" freight car being switched on the Sumpter Valley railroad here. Details of the accident are un known, as no one was known to have seen the boy's death. The boy's head was dismembered. A coroner's in quest will be held tonight. . POPE NOW 65 YEARS OLD Pontiff Gets Numerous Telegrams of Congratulation. ROME, May 31. Pope Pius cele brated his 65th birthday today. He received numerous congratula tory telegrams. INDEX OF TODAY'S NEWS The Weather. YESTERDAY'S Maximum temperature, 94 degrees; minimum temperature, 63 de grees. TODAY'S Showers and cooler, winds be coming westerly. Foreign. Volcanic craters of Hawaii long dead, stirred to action by earthquakes. Page 2. British threaten to Invade Ireland. Page X New cabinet crisis coming in Germany. Page .20. . National. Committee votes soldiers bonus. Page 3. Government officials see email hope of reducing taxes in next generation. Page 4. - 1 . , ).- - Domestic. Pickford divorce decree ustained. Page 3. Legal fight begun to block marriage of Mathide. Page 6. Liberty bonds sell for par or better. Page 1. Balloons take air in national race. Page 4. Pacific Northwest. Women's club delegates keyed for fight. page 1. Hull of wrecked steamer broken. Page 5. Mayor of Molaila acquitted of charge of assault on editor. Page 5. Kancher is suicide after attempted double murder., Page 1. : V K . ; : Sports. ' Pacific Coast league results: At Portland 12 Sacramento 7; at Los Angeles 8, Vernon 2; at San Francisco 13, Oakland 6; at Seattle O, Salt Lake 2. Pase 18. Browns beat Tigers again. Page 17. ' - Jim Thorpe reh?ased. page 17. Hundreds compete in grammar meet, V Page 16. - ..' . . Commercial and Marine. ' Press agent declared need of federal tax collectors. Page 26. Holders of railroad stock uneasy over pros pect of strike. Page 26. : Wheat traders express confidence in mar . ket. Page 27, - , .-.' Ma$" wheat deal closes without flurry. Page 27. Liberty bonds strongest features of New York market. Page 27. . Race between three vessels in prospect Page 14- . . Portland and Vicinity. Ex-liquor investigator and shoe clerk ar rested as reputed extortionists. Page 15. County Commissioner Rudeen says welfare board spends money ill-advisedly. Page Citizens' training camp .enrollment short Page 26. Buildmg permits $3,206,110 for May. Page I- -. - . -Waterfront employers acquiescence to ultimatum of shipping board not yet i; acknowledged. Page 14. Portland heat wave reaches its crest. State highway' commission refers eight .projects 10 vmc i tjinjiiivci. . frtge i. Brush res bum farm houses near Cor- bett. rage x. East side shippers war on witching charges. Page 6. . v . - . Flames leap Into Heavy -Timber Near Corbett. SGHOOLHOUSE IS IN RUINS Mountaineer's House Spared; Wife Taken to Safety. TWO STATES ARE SWEPT Cedar Falls, Wash., Partially De - stroyed and Other Towns Men aced ; Loss Near Bend Heavy. FOREST FIRE SITUATION SUMMARIZED. Town of Cedar Falls, Wash., partially destroyed, Several oth-1, er towns, including North Bend. menaca". Property damage heavy. Two camps of Seattle munic ipal light department destroyed. Water pipeline endangered, Logging camps at Stillwater and Selleck, Wash., destroyed. Small fires at Buckley and Enumclaw, Wash., raze homes and mill houses. Fire between White Salmon and Underwood, Wash., placed under control. Westport' Lumber company's camp burned. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul makes up special train to fight fires. . Thirteen fires reported in vicinity of Vancouver. Wash. - , Timber damage near Bend $50,000. . Four hundred men fight blazes which cover 2000 "acres.: ?;A. schoolhouse - and -" several farm homes were destroyed, hillside crops were laid bare and a few lives endan gered for a period of tim-e in a severe brush fire which swept through the gulches about four miles southeast of Corbett yesterday and Tuesday night. Early last night the fire was less than a mile from Corbett and burning briskly, although it. was thought the little settlement on the Columbia river highway was not in danger. Late reports brought to Portland last night to Sheriff Hurlburt, who cent all of his available men to the scene yesterday afternoon, wero to the effect that the situation was im proved. The wind had "Hied down, it was related, and it seemed that the danger of any large damage from the flames ha3 passed, at least tem porarily. Deputies Make Report. Sheriff Hurlburt sent his deputies into the Corbett section early yester day afternoon to see what, if any thing, they could do, and to check on the progress of the fires and keep him informed. They were instructed to render every possible assistance to ranchers and others who, earlier in the day, were imperilled. They re ported late last night that the heavy pall of smoke which hung over Port land was from fires on the Wash ington side of the Columbia river and not from the Corbett territory. According to reports received At Corbett, the fire was started from slashings Vhich got beyond control because of the high wind blowing on the summit of the mountain. Toward the west it swept at a rapid rate, sometimes- more than a half mile in width, down two or more gulches. In most instances, however, residents had opportunity to save their furni ture and other belongings before be ing forced to flee from the path of the flames. V. '' Veteran's Home Saved. By an act of providence, it seemed, was the little farm home of James Howard, 83-year-old civil war vet eran, saved from destruction. His home nestles by a little mountain stream"at the very foot of a deep' canyon. ' 1 Tuesday night the fire raged down both sides of the gully, the flames leaping high in the heavy timber and speeding toward this aged mountaineer and his feeble wife, who is almost totally blind. A party or fishermen who had been routed out by the forest fire stopped at the How ard home Tuesday night and pmf fered their assistance in taking the old couple out to safety. "Naw, I. reckon I'll stay here," In sisted the grizzled old mountaineer. "I'm 83 years old and I've lived here for 34 years, so I think I'll stay right here at my house." Wife Taken to Safety. The fishermen. however, prevailed upon Howard to let them taJke his feeble wife out to safety. he was bundled into the machine and car ried to tbe Evans ranch near the cross roads where she is being careu for. The fire burned right up almost to the door of the Howard home but a ' veering; wind sent the flames shooting (Oil la anotiier unctuuji juai hs t n ? f cnce about the farm was beina burned to cinders. The old mouii (Concluded on Page 4, Column 3.) f. 101.0