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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 1902)
THE SPKDAY OKEGONIAN. POKTLAOT), SKKl'EMBEE 21, 1S02. LABOR UNION SIDE OF CASE PRESIDENT HARRY'S VERSION DRYOOCK CONTROVERSY. OP He Arnm-cM Mclsaac, Accusing: Him of Injuring Portland and Misstating- Fncts About Shipbuilding. The letter of C. H. Mclsaac. secretary of the Manufacturers' Association, to the Federated Trades Council, explaining the reasons why the drydock Is not to be built on the "Willamette River, which was pub lished in The Oregonlan of September 19, has called forth a vigorous reply from G. T. Harry, president of the Oregon State Federation of Labor. This takes the form of a communication to The Oregonlan, and Iz as follows: Portland. Sept. 20. (To the Editor.) That the letter from Mr. C. H. Mclsaac uuroortine to express the sentiment of the Manufacturers' Association may not mislead those unacaualnted with the busi ness conditions governing the shipbuilding industry or our port, I asK tne indulgence of space In your columns for this com municntion. In the first place we want to protest that Mr. Mclsaac does not express 'the sentiment or belief of the members of that association, and we object to any of our business associations being placed In the position of -decrying the advantages of their own town for business enterprises. The entire article is full of misstatements, which could have been avoided had Mr. Mclsaac Interviewed some one other than the contractor and the chairman of the Port of Portland Commission, both of whom made the statements contained In his letter to the committee from the Fed erated Trades. "We are much pleased to Zcrce from him the admission that there are available sites on the Willamette River where this work cbuld be done. Now it the Port of Portland Commission will publish to the world the same admis sion, the harm done our port by their former contention will be to some extent lessened. IIqtt Contract "Was Let. One of the members of the commission stated to this committee that he had looked for and could not find a site in our harbor. According to Mr. Mclsaac there was an understanding between the suc cessful bidder and the Commission before the bids were opened, wherein they con spired that, rather than have members of labor unions, who help pay the taxes, do this work and the business public, who pay the balance of this tax, have the benefit of its circulation, they would ap prove any site selected by him as long as it was not In Portland. "The contract was made with these facts In view." No other bidder was placed in possession of these facts, except Mr. "Wakefield, else there would have been a less price named and the Cltv of Portland saved a further sum of money. This contract was event ually let to Mr. Wakefield in executive session, after a whispered conversation between Mr. Wakefield and the chairman of the Commission. Why an executive seslon? Because the real reasons would not look well in print. See report of meet ings in Oregonlan of July 26 and 27. , Rates of Wages in Labor. Another reason given by Mr. Mclsaac is the price of lumber "cheaper in Van couver than. here." Now let us see If the City Retail Lumber Company, or the sawmill men's trust, has anything to do with the shipbuilding industry In Port land. Here are some figures: Eight months ago the class of lumber used in the construction of the drydock was 514 per thousand; the lowest price obtainable today is $20 for the same lumber. Within that time lumber prices have been ad vanced four different times, the last ad vance since the perfection of the City Retail Lumber Company, amounting to about 25 per cent less than three months ago. Probably best to say nothing about this, Mr. Mclsaac, because the lumber mill men belong to the Manufacturers' Asso ciation, and they might stop your salary as secretary. "There are no new boats of any conse quence being built here now." This is not true, and could have been known by Mr. Mclsaac, had he gone for his Infor mation where 1 obtained this to the con tracting boatbuilders themselves, to the boatyards. There is not an idle ship car penter In Portland today. One shipyard has under way a new vessel for the United States Government, let In open compe tition; another is building some new scows, public work, let in the same man ner, and still another has under construc tion one of the finest and undoubtedly the fastest passenger boats ever built In Port land harbor.. This boat was designed In Seattle, and the contract was let in open competition, and the bids were made for this work after the ship carpenters were allowed the eight-hour day. When com pleted she will not run on either the Wil lamette or Columbia Rivers. This vessel vlll cost, when completed, over $40,000. And don't forget the shipyards are busjn ana there are no idle snip carpenters in Portland. This does not look as If the labor unions had killed the shipbuilding in dustry, and we don't propose that the sec retary of the Manufacturers' Association shall klll.lt, even though only In his Im agination. No increase In Wages Made. Here Is another misstatement. "Wages today are from $3 50 to $4 for eight hours and two years ago ship carpenters received from $3 to $3 50 for 10 hours." Had ne asked any employer of this class of me chanics, ne would have been told that wages today are $3 50 for eight hours, and two years aco ship carpenters re ceived $3 50 per day for nine hours. There has been no change until this Summer, when the dav's labor was reduced to eight hours at the same rate of pay. All .the building trades and some others work eight hours, and were Mr. Mclsaac ever to work, ha would, like us, think eight hours enough for one day. All the other statements by him are as far from the facts as those mentioned above, which can easily be proven by honest Inquiry from those Interested In the welfare of the city. We ire ready to and do believe that the Manufacturers' Association is "trying to build up the industrial growth of Port land," but we fear a failure If too much latitude is given its secretary in handling its correspondence. Speaking of the labor organizations, Mr. Mclsaac says: "They are alive, progres sive bodies." Regret that we can not re turn the compliment. Also this: "I do not mean to be understood as championing the cause of labor and unionism not by any means." There is no danger of your being misunderstood; your job Is not In jeopardy for that reason. You don't really know very well what you are trying to do, or what great harm you are doing the Manufacturers' Association and the City of Portland. You only know you are try ing to pull Wakefield's and Banfleld's chestnuts out of the fire. , Look out, or you will get your fingers burned. G. Y. HARRY, President Oregon State Federation of Labor. says he needs a pilot in going about town. In early days he did a good deal of freighting from Yamhill to Portland, and knew every business man In the place at that time. He misses the large fir stumps near which he often camped. J. H. Hlland. traffic manager of the Chi cago, Milwaukee & St. Paul; J. W. Bla bon. third vice-president of the Great Northern; J. C. Edon. Western traffic manager of the same company, and W. H. S. Wright, of St. Paul; George W. Porter and George H. Partridge, of Minneapolis, left last evening for their homes, after spending yesterday in Portland. All ere on a pleasure trip, but the railroad officials combined a little business with their pleasure. DAMAGE TO MINES. Fugitive Tells of Wild Flight From Doomed Camps in Mountains. Daniel O'Connell. who was blacksmith at the Skamania mine of the Washougal Copper Company prior to the fire, arrived in Portland yesterday from Washougal. He was ac th Skamania mine when the forest fire reached that place, and so rapid was the progre. s of the -fire that he and others barely tescaped with their lives. He says that neither the Skamania nor the Last Chance mines was injured, but the Improvements and machinery suffered great damage. He thinks the loss to the mining company's property will reach $100,000. Millions of feet of timber were burned, and this will be a loss unless it is logged within three years." Wind Fanned Flames. Mr. O'Connell says that fires had been burning In the hills around the mines for a week prior to Tuesday, September 11, but that on that day a strong wind sprang up and started the fires burning fiercely. At 4 o'clock in the morning Thursday the heavens- were red with the reflection of the fires, but soon the smoke became so dense that no light of the fire could be seen. At 7 o'clock O'Connell went down In the shaft of the Skamania mine to do some work, but had been there only a few minutes when an alarm was given and he was drawn up. The fire was then ap proaching rapidly, and families were get ting their clothing ready for a hasty de parture, v Lon Wright, the freighter at Bear Prai rie, six miles away, had already been telephoned for, and had replied that he would start immediately with five wagons. It soon became apparent that it would not be safe for the people to wait for tne wagons, so they abandoned their property, placed the company's books In the tunnel of the mine and started down to the Last Chance mine, 14 miles away. Here they were met by the teams and were taken to Bear Prairie, where they were safe. The fire was so close upon them that If they had remained 15 minutes longer It would have crossed the road ahead of them and they would have perished. There were about 45 people at the two mines, includ ing 15 women and children. Almost Cut Off by Fire. John Stopplecamp, the blacksmith at the Last Chance mine, remained behind to secure some property an"d was cut off by the fire. He saved his life only by going into the tunnel and staying there 24 hours. Mr. O'Connell says that the explosion of the powder magazine at the Skamania mine probably did more good than harm. It blew the top. off the building which covered the machinery, and thereby saved the machinery from some injury by fire. The magazine at the Last Chance mine was hidden In the tunnel, and did not ex plode. Can't Resume Work This Year. Mr. O'Connell is of the opinion that the machinery may be repaired, but the dam age is so great that the cost of repairs will be enormous. " As the sawmill was burned and the road covered with fallen trees, It is not prob able that any repairs can be made so as to-put the mine In working order before the roads are softened by Fall rains. The mill must first be replaced In order to saw timbers to rebuild the mine buildings. He does not expect to see mining operations resumed until next Summer. PERSONAL MENTION. J. C. Haas, a mining man of Spokane, Is at the Portland. W. C. Rutter, of Seattle, a former State Senator, Is at the Imperial. Mr. and Mrs. William Laycock are in . the city from Fort Stevens, and are at the Imperial. Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Hall have returned from a four months' visit among friends and relatives In the East. D. A. McAllster, a former member of the Legislature, is In the city from La Grande, and is a guest at the Perkins. O. S. Wlckland, who is In charge of the life-saving station at Fort Stevens, is at the Imperial with his wife and daughter. Will B. Wheeler, who has been play ing the part of T. Rush Thompson in "A Thoroughbred Tramp," left last night for Spokane to join Miss Esther Rujaero's company, now playing "A Broken Heart." Mr. George T. Berry, a pioneer of 153, long a resident of Wolla Walla, Wash., now of Boise, Idaho, arrived in the city last Saturday. It has been seven years since he was here. The changes in that time surprise him greatly. Dr. J. W. Thomas has resigned as house physician at the Salem Hospital, and is at the Perkins, having come to the city on his way to( Philadelphia, where he will take a post-graduate course In medi cine. He has been succeeded at the Sa lem Hospital by Dr. F. S. d'Ormond, of Ashland. Oliver H. Adams, a piorjeer of 1S32. came to Portland from McMinnville a few days ago for the first time In 15 years. He RENTS AND PRICE OF COAL Unpleasant Surprises for Returning Vacationists at Boston. S - Boston Globe. Summer residents at the beaches who are beginning to return to their Winter quarters In town are meeting an unpleas ant surprise In facing higher rents than they paid a year ago. This Is true alike of those who rent flats and those who merely hire suites or single rooms In lodging-houses, and the excuse given by the landlords and the lodging-house keep ers' is exactly the same In every case the high price, of coal. An ordinary four-room flat which a year Lago could be had ready heated for the Winter at $30 a month now commands $35, and in some cases even more. The advance in prices of single rooms In lodging-houses Is even greater, taken all around. Cheap hall bedrooms that rented a year ago for $2 50 and $3 a week are J now $2 75 and $3 25 In most lodging-houses, while rooms that lodging-house keepers were glad to get $4 and $5 a week for a year ago are now held at $5 and $6. Living for those wage earners of limited or moderate Income Is a much graver problem than it was a year or even six months ago. Everything that enters into the scheme of personal comfort and living has advanced, and as there has been no general upward movement in the wage scale, the problem of maintaining an ex istence is a pretty serious one to a good many people. There are a great many people, like a frivolous young woman who was talking on the veranda of a beach hotel a few days ago. who have looked upon the coal problem and other features of life as be ing a good deal of a Joke while the warm weather was at its height Somebody spoke of the Increased cost of coal and living generally and this young woman gayly said: "What do we care about the price of coal? Our flat Is heated by steam." The young woman. If she Is self supporting, will find that living this Fall and Winter is going to be no Joking mat ter. If you have been living in a hotel or boarding-house in the Winter, you are faced by just as hard a proposition, for in those places the proprietors have more of an excuse for putting up the tariff than the lodging-house folk. In fact, they have a double-barreled excuse, for. In addition to telling applicants for accom modations about the Iniquitous coal trust, which makes heating a house an expens ive operation, they also have a hard-luck story about the equally Iniquitous beer trust, and they don't fall to ring In a story about other provisions being higher than they used to be. Take it all around, between the rapac ity of the beef and coal and the other trusts, and the gouging proclivities of the middlemen the landlords and the hotel and restaurant keepers life is getting more real and earifest and a living harder to get than it has been before In a good many years. BLANKET AND UNDERWEAR Sale at the Brownsville. Just at the opening of the season, when every one wants good wool blankets and underwear, the Brownsville Woolen Mills are selling off their entire surplus stock. This means a great sale for Portland people, as the blankets amount to nearly 2000 pairs, every color and every size be ing in the lot. Hotels, rooming-houses and private families will" find this a fine chance to lay In their supply for the Winter. Here are a few of the sale prices: Mottled, regular $4 50. now $3 25 pair; silver gray, regular $6, now $3 85 pair; brown or vicuna, regular $1 50, now $3 25 pair; scarlet oi red, regular $G50. now $4 50 pair; white blankets, regular $8, now $5 50. Brownsville' Woolen Mills Store. Washington street, between First and Second. - Meier (8b Frank Company Meier Frank Company Artistic Picture Framing to your order Largest line of Mouldings in town. Sole Portland agents for the McCall Patterns and Publications. Brass and Iron Beds Every style and size All prices (Third floor). Custom Shade "Work a specialty Estimates cheerfully given on any work. "Peninsular'.' Stoves and Ranges Models from $8.75 to $65 (Basement). Sole Portland agents for Ostermoor Mattresses All sizes Low prices. Mail Orders Write for things A part of this store ser vice is the mail order branch that invites you to write for what you want, or a post-card for information, we fill them with great care, to .meet your wishes If impossible we do the next best thing send an explanation. No matter what you may want or wish to know about, try the mail and let us serve you You will get some sortof an answer the same day as we hear from you The Fall and Winter catalogue now ready The largest and most complete we have ever published. Free to out-of-town friends. MAIL, ORDER? "Willamette" Logic Look back and think how many popular priced machines are being sold today compared to a few years ago. And why? Because people have ceased to buy a sewing machine from the senti ment of the thing and want actual machine value These self-styled high priced machines are dying a natural death When, we .embarked on the sea of machine selling we took a different tack, we built as good a machine as mech anical sKiu couia con struct from the finest materials and sold it at a reasonable price. The dry goods method seems to be more, to your liking, and the "Willamette" promises to live to see more users than any other machine in this vicinity. There are cheaper machines, but none of the same high caliber gjo C A n at this price p3.UU The Carpet Store We might write a chap ter on these new carpets The best collection we have ever shown But it wouldn't tell you what the real seeing will The offerings are so excep tional, the line so com plete that we would be failing in our duty did we not urge you to at least examine them wiltons, axminsters, velvets, tapes tries. Every prominent mill in the land is repre- r-or-. rarl Ua.-a. ID T t ' awiitu licit JDIgClUW, - Whitall, Smith. Lowell. Hartford and on down the list Almost an entire floor deyoted to carpet selling here The largest and best carpet store in the Northwest A place where carpets are rightly priced. Hardwood Flooring Sole Portland a-rents for the. Interior Hardwood Co.'s par quetry flooring The best made Estimates cheerfully i- T't . i n given on any won. v. j nira noorj. fairs Are Now Ready The new furs have come forward since yesterday Worked late into the night so that they might be ready for tomorrow's visitors Little choked for space because they have been coming by dozens and hundreds More here al ready than we had last year by Thanksgiving time. A week or two later when other things have scampered off and the furs get room to spread out, you'll be able to see them bet ter but then perhaps some of the best things will be gone. A complete fur store in every particular from a scarf at $1.50 to thefinest Persian lamb coat at $150.00 we haven't skipped a desirable piece and furs promise to be even more popular this coming season than last Winter. (Second floor.) UNDERWEAR AT A SAVING Temperature is suggestive of warm woolly underwear If you would provide comfortable underclothes at a fourth to a third less than at other places, take advantage of this un derwear store There's everything in underwear for man, woman and child. test Hosiery Sale ! The Hosiery Store steps into prominence today The event is signalized by a window display which gives you a glimpse of the greatest hosiery values ever offered in this or any other city. Why knowing ones prefer to come here for hosiery is an old story now but repeating it always maj:es new friends. It's the story of how we go. direct to the manufacturers of the old country, thereby securing the choicest selection in addition to saving the middleman's profits The manufacturer in Chemnitz, Germany, the center of the hosiery industry of the world, gave us this opportunity of offering the ladies of Portland and vicinity these wonderful values. Great Lots 35c gair Ladies' fancy lace hose, assorted patterns, Hermsdorf dye, all sizes, great value. Ladies' fancy embroidered hose, assorted patterns and colors, silk embroidered, Ladies' plain black extra heavy hose, double sole, Hermsdorf dye. PICK AT 35c PAIR Ladies' plain black, two-thread hose, best maco yarn, high-spliced heel, double sole-, Hermsdorf dye. Ladies' trunk top, extra long, Hermsdorf dye, remarkable value, PICK AT 35c PAIR Ladies' plain black or black with white foot, fine quality cotton hose, Herms dorf dye, ail sizes, 100 dozen at c a Millinery The prism of fashion has scattered rays of inspiration into every nook and corner of our millinery parlors Nobby headgear for ladies, children and infants Superb styles for walking or dress wear Every day new arrivals keep coming, which fact keeps this millinery store an unusually interesting place these late September days Before buying a new hat, it's to your interest to look here. (Second floor.) Waistings No former season has ever produced such magnificent styles in waisting materials velvets, flannels and heavy cot ton fabrics We have supplied most liberally Hundreds of the choicest patterns from the best mills being confined ex clusively to us, because we can use more than all other local stores combined Time for buying is now while the assort ment is at its best You'll find qualities to suit every purse No trouble to show them to you Shoe Sale The Shoe Store has too many fine cloth top shoes, that's why this sale. To make a long story short there's exactly 473 pairs in patent kid, ca det kid, vici kid, with stock or pat ent tip Light or heavy soles and every size and width An opportu nity to buy a satisfactory dress shoe for very little money. $2.05 a Pair BED Increasing business in bed department is accounted for the way we sell beds The best at a reasonable DEP'T profit Every style brass or enameled bed here Springs, Mattresses, Pillows, etc. Blankets Continued activity in the tnird floor Blanket store, selling the bpst all-wool blankets nt a low price just at the time when you want them. 72x50 gray blankets $4.27 pr ail-wool white blankets $3.53 pr Full size, li't gray blankets 85.10 pr 11- 4 all-wool whito blankets $4.95 pr 12- 4 all-wool white blankets $5.85. pr Pendleton Indian Robes, special for this sale $4.35 All grades of Comforters at the very lowest prices. (3d floor.) BOYS' CLOTHING Some inviting values in Boys' Clothing for the coming week Quality hasn'tbeen sacrificed in or der to quote low figures Witness : Little Boys' Kilt Suits One and two-piece styles Red and blue combinations ages 2 TC f( to5years $2 upto.. pU.UU Boys' all-wool two-piece suits for school wear Double seat and knees Dark gray, brown and green mixtures, 8 to flQ or 16 years ipO.OD Special values in young men's suits Best styles, $9 and $10 or values p 00 Men's Clothing During these days of rapid ad vancement in the volume of busi ness done we have steadily raised our standard until now our stock is made up chiefly of clothing of the highest class, garments manu factured to our order by the best clothing makers in the country, in many cases from our own de signs and fabrics. It is true that we have frequent special sales of good and stylish clothing at under value prices, for this is one of the advantages our customers gain by dealing with a house that can buy whole stocks and turn them quickly into cash No quantity is too large for us if the style and quality are all right, but the strength of this growing branch of the business lies in our ability to sell clothing that will please the most particular man at prices full 25 per cent, lower than he must pay at the exclusive clothiers. Fall styles in suits and overcoats are ready Every new fabric Every new cut and a perfect fit guaranteed Clothing store second floor. Stoves and Ranges That chilly feeling reminds you that Winter blasts are coming Don't attempt to keep warm by hugging the old stove It costs more to heat your house or do your cooking with a poor stove than will pay for a good one These Pen insulars should interest you They give more heat, have more cooking capacity than any other, and are very easily regulated Models from $8.75 to $65.00 Come and look them over. COPYRIGHT 1102 BY A. B. K1FWCHBAUM A CO. Meier (Sb Frank Company- Meier (Sb Frank Company Meier Frank Company Meier j Frank Company REPEAL SCALP BOUNTY LAW Either Do That or Put One on Rab bit, Says Hon. A. It Lyle. CROSS KEYS, Or Sept 18. (To the Editor.) Senator Williamson, In an in terview published September 5, states that should the people demand the re peal of the scalp bounty law he would Introduce a .bill to that effect. Senator "Williamson, no doubt, acted In good faith In Introducing the scalp bounty bill, and is honest In saying that the people of Eastern Oregon asked that It should Become a law, but he was mis-,, taken. The people of Eastern Oregon, outside of the woolgrowers, never made a demand for that measure. It Is easily explained how the Senator was led to believe k was a popular measure. The farmers in the grain section of Eastern Oregon have no Grange or other organi zation, neither have the cattle or horse raisers an organization. The Woolgrow ers, though, are well organized and had been clamoring for some euch bill for i years. They, lh their conventions, made their wants known. The merchants of the towns and villages In the Interior justly consider the sheepman as their best customer. What the sheepman asked for the merchant seconded. The country newspaper's most valuable asset Is the merchant's advertisement, and so It voiced the wishes of the merchant and woolgrower. And thus what was really the demand of a small minority of the people was made to appear as a popular demand. A few voiced their fear of the rabbit pest. What were only fears two years ago have become dire realities, now. Where there was one rabbit then there. are 50 now. In the northern part of Crook County, along the proposed ex tension of the Columbia Southern Rail road, the new settler has had his fields swept bare by tHe rabbits. Not a garden was raised except when Inclosed by ' a rabbit-proof fence. If Senator William son desires to 'know how his constituents feel about the scalp bounty bill, let hlro come out to his home county and con-1 versa with the new settler' who Is trying to build up a" home and needs protection. If man ever did. Instead, though, he cxprcfscs his purpose of attending the woolgrowers convention at Pendleton and laying the matter before those wealthy sheepmen and presumably abide by their decision. The coyote is the rabbit's worst enemy. The young to half-grown rabbit is easily caught, and the coyote feasts on them during the Spring and Summer months. It Is well within bounds to say that every coyote destroys a hundred rabbits during the year.- Then of the 100, 000 coyotes that have lost their scalpw during the last four years under the bounty act, if only a small proportion had lived and inhabited the rabbit-ln-fested districts, a 1,000.000 or more rab bits would have been exterminated. Some one with a taste for figures computes that one pair of rabbits, so prolific arc they, would. If allowed to breed without enemies for 28 years, so populate the State of Oregon so that there would not be room or vegetation for another living animal. Senator Williamson says he Is not ready to encourage the multiplication of wolves to advance civilization. If the state de sires' to control the affairs of nature, all we ask Is that she does not destroy the equilibrium. If she puts a bounty on coy o'tes, put a bounty on rabbits. We ap peal tq the horny-handed farmer of the Willamette Valley to come to the aid of his brethren of the sage-brush plains. Help us put a bounty on everything that pesters us and while the state Is In the paternal business, we will assist you in getting a bounty on your squirrels that eat up your grain, on the gophers that destroy your garden, on the skunks that rob your chicken-roost, on the birds that Steal your eggs or eat your fruit, and the good old state shall clear your field ot noxious weeds that reduce your profits. Portland pays one-third the taxes, but she' won't kick. Don't she get all our trade? A. R. LYLE. Fall in Annapolis Examinations. ANNAPOLIS. Md Sept. 20. Of the 117 candidates examined by the Civil Service Commission for admission to the Naval Academy, only 32 pissed mentally. Among those who have successfully passed are: V. II. Metcalf; of California; L. M. At kins, of Montana: P. H. Field, of Colo rado; C. S. Graves, of Washington. Abducts Own Child, 'Then Kills It. SPRINGFIELD. 111., Sept. 20. Harry O. Williams, agent for a life Insurance company, today abducted his 2-year-old son from Its mother at Auburn, III., and when pursued by officers, got out of his buggy and placed the child in the road and blew Its brains out, and tnen hl3 own. For nine centuries the "Wake family, the old est in Enziand. has had as Its head a Here ward "Wake, In clear descent from father to son. Every male child receives as one of his names the famous cosnomen Hercward, the family tracing Its ancestry straight back to "Jlereward the "Wake." whom Charles Kings ley named "the last of the Saxons." The head of the family today Is Sir Hereward "Wake, whoso eldest son won the D. S. O. on Lord Roberts' staff, in South Africa.
