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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1912)
V HOOD RIVER. APPLE PARADISE, UPBUILT BUNITEDEOPLE ?: sf ' -TV ho. ; ---,:J- . :v. Ji &i;' r r JK- ' 1 " II J.ooAczn Z&w&s-tTis- , flJ " -" Y- " ' -! 1 y.' Vl"- -1 II jg' II! ' ' xeV;' v BT ADDISOK BWWTT. T d!ffrc twill th optlmlwt And in ptmut la droll; Th optimm th douirhnot. Tb pwimln tha hoi. THE? on who wrota the abOT In the first Inatanr- wu not a reai dent of Hood RlTcr. for there la bo bolo In tha lnkr of that city. In tha pLaca tharaof thcra la an apple, n anally a Bptla or a Newtown but al ways an apple, without flaw and with out blemish. I am constrained to make this state ment after many critical examinations of the subject, after many Tlalta. some cursory, some loncthy. but all bearlns; on the subject of the resources, the possibilities, the hopes and beliefs of the eltlsns. Be-fore going; deeply Into the subject I wish to pay my reepects to the peo ple of this bustling; llttl. city as a wholo. to their excellent team work, to their solidarity, tholr unanimous and deep-grounded bellf In the Hood Hirer Valley and the city of Hood Kler. In all the country there) Is not such another example, of the camaraderies or cltlsenshlp, the standing together for the community, as there l In this little city on the hllL where ttve apple Industry has became an exact science, such science, extending from the mo ment the apple twig is planted until the fruit thereof has been sold and delivered. Heed Rtrer la Leader. Does any other place la the world produce as good apples as are grown In this TalleyT The Hood RlTer cltl n will "ih you no: score, of other I for her I must say a word. For almost there are 60.000 acre, of prim, app.e ABRAHAM TJNCOLN'S LIFE AN sen BT WALTER HEXWELL HINSON. ONE HUNDRED three year, ago there was born In Hardin County, Kentucky, of poor, humble par ent., our greatest American. And 4T years ago on April 14. our greatest American was assassinated at Wash ington. He was a man of the West. A poet of our day has well .aid: The g-rrat Wt nursed hint on hr kaaea: Tha virgin forta foaed hie mind: Tha au& of apACloua pratrlea stilled his ou I : V from log cabin ta tha Capitol: Ona Bra la hia aplrit oiw raaolra. Ta send the kaen i la I ha root of wrong. Clearing a frea way for tha ft of God. But while be waa American, and while he waa of the West, he waa .till more markedly the universal man. Tha color of tha ground waa In him. tha rd aarth. T1a emark and tang of elomtntal things; Tha roctttuda and patlnco of the cliff; The 4 wi.l of iho rain that falia for all; Tha trlnd:y welroffl of th wayslno wall; Tha rourag of th bird that darn tha era; The g:alnrae of the wind that ahakes tha corn; Tha more of tna anow that hid -a tha arara; Tha kw'i of iiiumi that make htr way B-waath tha mountain of tha clovan rock; Taa ua.Urlylcg Juallca of in light. Trill givee aa ftHljr ta tha shrinking Bow are Aa ta tao great aak awaylag la tha wind. C irrrr la Teaaa taaa.. He came to h!s destiny In the stormleat hour of th. republic, when the ship or atate waa out where the waves were high and all the wtnda rontrary. Tempests or misrepresenta tion, misunderstanding, slander, spite, subtle treachery and open hostility, beat upon hi. devoted head. The chief comic paper of the Old World never aaarled of making fun of Abraham Lincoln: though let a. admit that after bla death, that paper that had vilified him moat. Th. London Tunch, printed ihl. frank apology: To. lar a wraath oa marderad Lincoln's bii Toa. wko wnh morklng awnell want ta trace Sport for tha ea;f-omelaant '"" aooar. places will tell you that In their 1-. clnltles they can. and do raise Just as good apples as thou grown In the Hood River Valley. Be that as It may. we all know that for their system of sorting, packing and marketing, this community not only leads, but has pointed the way for other coramunl-, ties to follow. Quite as a matter of course when I came here to be enthusiastic a?aln orer the ralley I sought my old friend. E. L. Smith. But I am not going to say overmuch about this gontleman. for he i a it, now In the meehee of despond ency over the death of his beloved wife. Mr. Pmlth and Miss ireorgiana Blocum were married at Woodstock. 111., on March 4. 11(1. the very day Abraham Lincoln took the oath as President of the United States. Mr. Smith, a Vermonter by birth, had been a delegate to the convention that nom inated Mr. Lincoln, and celebrated the Inauguration' In that unique way. Mr. Smith and Miss Slocum had been at college together. In Lombard ITnl verslty, at Galesburg. I1L, for some thing like three years. On the day of their marriage they left Illinois for California and wmt Into Eldorado sec tion, and In 11(4. when Mr. Smith was 2( years of age. he was elected to the Legislature, being the youngest mem ber of that body, with on exception. In 117 he was appointed by Andy Johnson, secretary of the Territory of Washington, and served until 1171. when he purchased 400 ecrea of land on the bluffs Just west of the present city of Hood Klver. Mrs. salfh Greatly Mearaed. I am not going to say what Mr. Smith had to do with bringing this valley and the apple Industry here abouts up to tha preeent standard. There will be more fitting times for that, but Mrs. Smith, dead and gone Pastor Hinson Hia tangth of shambling limb, hla fur rowad facal Beelde hla corpaa that wear, that winding shaat Of Biara and Strtpca ha lived to rear anaw. Between tha mournars at hla head and feat. Say, scurrtl. Jeeter, la there room for you I Taa, ba had llvad to a ham a ma for my enear: To lama my pancll and confute tny pan; Te make ma own this hind of princes paar. Thia "Rail Splitter" a true bora king af man. I The Old World and th. New, from aaa to aaa. t'tter oa. voire of sympathy and ehame. Bore heart, ao atoppad wha It at laat beat high: Sad lift, cut short Just aa It. triumph came. Do you recall the story of the last day this great man passed among hi. kindred? How he pardoned the South ern soldier who had been condemned to be shot; and when be signed the pardon aid. In bla own peculiar way. "He Is worth a great deal more to us above th. ground, than be would be under It?" Do you remember how he .aid. "It Is well that deeds of mercy like this should ba dona." and how. when riding with bl. wlf. through the streets, he turned to her and said. -We"v. saved a little money; we must try and save a little more, and then I'll go down to Cblcago or Springfield, when we get through with this storm, and we will cosily live out the rest or our Uvea?" And then came the bullet, and the sad hours or unconsciousness, until at 7 o'clock the next morning It was said. "Now ha belong, to the ages"; and Abraham Lincoln went to his God. Feet Cries Sorrow. And I think the atrangeat poet thl. country ha. yet produced moat fitting ly expreaaed the reeling or the Nation, when Abraham Lincoln lay dead: O Captain! my Captain! our faerful trip Is ooaa. The amp baa wratnerod evory rack, tha prise wa sought la won. The part la tr. tha bails 1 hear, tha poe- ala all exulting. THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND. FEBRUARY 11. 1912 Citizens of Town and Famous Valley Bend Eyery Effort to Develop 100 Square Miles of Rich 61 years she and her husband had traveled the road of life together, and their Journey was so peaceful, so har monious, so true to all of the better standards of loving communion and effort, that those who knew her ever looked upon Mra. Smith as one or the best examples of a wife and mother that evr lived. I wlh to speak of her in what may be. called her public capacity, for she always belonged to the community In which she lived. And It can truth fully be said that when her eyes were rloMsd In death a short time ago there departed from this world a woman as sincerely mourned by the cltlxens gen erally as any other who ever resided In the state: and perhaps no woman in tha West ever left behind so wide a circle of mourners when the number of people In her Immediate vicinity Is taken Into consideration. For the many years she lived In Hood River she was ever first and foremost in every good work and good way. A also counsellor, a loyal friend, with open purse and loving sympathy, she was ever relieving distress and di recting aright those who might be disposed to wander or grow weary ; and now there are still living In this city hundreds who owe the greater part of their happiness to this loving woman; hundreds, perhaps thousands, who have "passed over" had their de parting days made brighter by her lov ing kindness. Her memory Is not simply a herit age of her husband, her children, her relatives, her friends, hex community, but of Oregon and all of the West. 10,000 Acres Bearlaa-. The Hood River Valley comprise about 100 square miles, sneaking of tha portion that Is or will become suitable for orchard land. This Is not all of the best. Perhaps of the (4.000 acre ine oesi. rrrn.. Out Characteristics Points While follow eva the steady keel, tha ves sel grim and daring: But O heart! haart! heart! O tha bleeding dropa of red. Where on tha d.-ck my Captain Ilea, Fallen, cold, and dead. O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear tba bells: Rise up tor you tha Bag is flung for you tha bugla trill. For you bouqueta and ribboned wreathe tor you tha ahorea acrowdlng. For you they call, the swaying mas, their eager facee turning; Rear. Captain! dear father! Thia arm beneath your hand! It la aome dream that on the deck You're fallen cold, and dead. My Captain does not anwr, hla llpa are pala and still, My father doc not feel my arm, ba has no pulaa nor will, Tha ship Is anchored safe and sound, lis voyage closed and dona. From fearful trip the victor ship comes in with object won; Exult O ahorea. and ring O bells! Put 1 with mournful tread. Walk the deck my Captain Ilea. Fallen cold and dead. One mistake, though, this great man mad. on. great mistake mistake that everybody can see today. But we should be charitable, because it wa. hi. greatness that made him make hi. great mistake. Do you remember after Gettysburg", fight, they bought om. acrea, and set them apart a th. sleep ing place of those soldiers who fell In that great fight. Do you remember how Edward Everett Hale went down to deliver the wonderful oration that most of the world haa forgotten T And Abraham Lincoln wa. a.ked to .ay Just a littl. word; and In two minutes he made a speech that will be remem bered so long a. this world last. In tnat speech he aald. "The world will goon forget what we here say." That waa Abraham Lincoln', ml.takel Heeern Beeaaaea Fa m ona. Hag the world forgotten what he .aid at Gettysburg? The children are read ing that speech In their school book, today: Four ecore and seven yeere ago our fath ers beoneht forth on thl continent a new land. Of this only about 15,000 acres have been planted, and of this there are probably 10,000 acres bearing, al though much of this area Is of trees four and five years old. The production last year was about 110.000 boxes of merchantable apples. but It must be remembered that 1911 nusi d rmmnuKu msi off year for apples everywhere :ountry. It is estimated well, was an in the c I An not wish to say It ust In that way, for I had estimates from a half a dox-. en different ones as to the coming crop, theve estimates running all the way from 600.000 to 1,000.000 boxes. So I would rather say hopes Instead of estimates. It seems the apple grow ers have a way of foretelling or prog nosticating the yield some months ahead, this being done by taking branches from the trees and forcing the buds In hot houses. The Davidson Fruit a Company has taken these branches from many sections of the valley, and It Is said that the blossoms are vigorous and profuse, pointing to a wealth of sets far above the normal. Apples Xot Only Product. The pollenlsatlon period Is the crucial time In most apple sections, and this is an true of Hood River as elsewhere. If the blossoms are well pollenlxed there will be a large yield, bringing the total up to perhaps the higher flg uro named; If not, the lower figure may be too large. There are, of course, other fruits raised In the valley aside from apples. Last season there were shipped about (0 000 crates of strawberries, which sold for close to 135.000. Twenty-f ive carloads of pears brought about 137, 600. and the apples were sold to net about $225,000, making a total of 622, S00. The county of Hood River Is given a population, by the 1910 census, of &016, and the city a population of 2331. Dividing the full number of people In I the county by five, we have about 1 . . n . ,ii n n V . tntttl Hale of low isnium. v - fruit as mentioned would give nearly 1400 to each family in the county. That Is not so bad. All Valley Like Tows, It Is pretty hard to discriminate be tween Hood River the town ana n , ill . line it.ver v..-,. . . EXEMPLIFICATIONOFJONDL of Martyred President Which Nation conceived In liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. We are met together on a great hattle fleld; we have come to dedicate a portion of that fleld a a final resting place for those who gave their lives that that Nation might live. It la altogether fitting and proper that wa should do thl; but In a larger aensa wa cannot dedicate, we can not coneecrate. wa cannot hallow this ground. Tha brave men. living and dead, who struggled here have coneecrated It tar above our power to add or detract. Tha world will little note nor long remember what wa aay here: but It can never forget what they did here. It la rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us. that from these honored dead wa take Increased devotion to that cause for which they gave their laat full measure of devotion: and that wa here highly resolve that theee dead ahall not have died In vain; that thla Nation under Ood shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government or the people, by tha people and for the people ahall not perish from tha earth. But, Abraham Lincoln, you were mis taken when you .aid. "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say." I was interested a little while ago In reading that In one of the halls of Oxford's University they have hanging on the wall a letter Abraham Lincoln wrote: and those who are qualified to judge of language have said there i. no finer diction extant. And he never knew anybody would see It, except a bereaved mother a widow. For there was a woman In the rebellion who had lost her whole family, and Lincoln wrote this little letter to her. never dreaming that we should be listening to It to night. But O, the heart ot the man! Dear Madam: I have bean ahown In the flies or tha War Department a statement that you are tha mother of five aon who hare died gloriously on the field of battle. I fell bow weak and frultleas mut be any words of mine which ahould attempt to be guile you from tha grief of a loea ao over whelming. But I cannot refrain from tend ering to you the consolation that may be found in tha thanks of the Republic they died to save. I pray that our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement and leave yon only tha cher ished memory of th loved and lost; and tha solemn prlda that must be yoora to have laid so costly a aacrliice upon the altar of where the city ends and the suburbs begin, but this line is difficult to de termine, almost the entire valley be inr like a village. There are numer ous poHtoffices and trading points up the valley, and two or three along the river below the town; but none of uul " them large enough to be reported on ------ ,, . td, Hin the census returns Hood River betag the only place in the county so show The valley is not merely a village from the standpoint of the number of dwellings, but also from their appear ance. It is probably true, as the Hood River people say, that the average cost of the dwellings and outbuildings In the valley Is higher than In any other suburban section of the state. The houses have a metropolitan appearance and almost all of them are as well finished in the interior as the average city restdenco, and have all of the city conveniences. Indeed, there is no more charming section adjacent to any or the newer cities of the West than in the apple country above Hood River. Any section is, of course, dependent for its prosperity upon the character of its cltlxens, and this -can almost invariably be told by their habitations. Judping from this the average Is high In the Hood River Valley and their finances must be far above the aver age of the ordinary run of farm folk, el!e they could not spend so much money In improvements PerPs; then, the boast of the Hood, River people that their valley contains more wealth per capita than any other sec tion of Oregon Is well founded. Room There for Workers. Money is still pouring into the val ley, most of the purchases being made by those who have suficlent capital to either buy bearing orchards or plant them and await the years of product iveness without monetary stress. Every appearance shows this. Raw apple land is not so awful high there as some think, and bearing orchards J have recently been sold around 11500 an acre orchards that will pay with or dinary yields and an average price ror the fruit, from 25 to 75 per cent on the Investment. ?t mv he said that it requires more capital than the ordinary settler can Made Him One of World's freedom. Yours very sincerely and -Pct' fuUy. ABRAHAM LINCOLN. The world will not soon forget that Blxby letter. Nor will the world soon forget the man who lived, and moved, and had his being in a beautiful simplicity that charms all the ages. When he was 14 year, old I remember reading some where in one of his books he wrote: Tie Abraham Lincoln take th pen. He will be good, but God knows when. And this simplicity characterized him all his lire. In a great council with the chiefs or the Nation, his little boy Tad came in, and said, "Pa, ma says you must come to supper." And a smile broke out on Abraham Lincoln's race as he said, "Well, if ma says so, pa had better go." Simple and sincere in all his friend ships also. . There is a beautiful story of an old couple who had been ac quainted with Lincoln when h. was young and who had known him right along until the time when he assumed the Presidency, and being in Washing ton they wanted to call on Abraham Lincoln. Presently they mustered up courage enough to do it; and behold, the President was sitting with great men about him. But when he saw his old neighbor, the President rose up and flinging his long arms around him, said. "Now, I'll show you the sights." And over Lincoln's shoulder the old man looked toward his wife as he said. "Mary, he's the same old Abe." When he lert his home town to go to the White House it was a dreary rainy day; but all his neighbors had gathered at the depot, and Just as the train was about to leave, Lincoln said, "My friends, no one not In my situa tion can appreciate my reeling or sad ness at this parting. To this place and to the kindness of you people I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed rrom a young man to an. old one. Here my children have been born, and one is burled. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return; with a task berore me greater than that which rested upon WashJngVn. Soil. command to purchase one of these or chards, or even a few acres of un planted land, and that Hood River Valley Is no place for a poor man to go to. That depends largely upon the character of the settler. Any indus trious man with a very nine iuui.c, - - ul rr.r the can soon gB; much labor. wealthy land holders nire ma w ealthy n noht ort they and l tn llberal waR ' " J , . are able and willing to pay liberal wages. In many respects the Hood River townslte is a most beautiful location. The view in almost any direction is grand and inspiring. Looking to the south glorious old Mount Hood seems to be towering right over the city; looking to the north, northeast and northwest the mighty Columbia In all its majesty lies flowing on to the sea. The city is on the benches between the river and the valley, making the streets hilly from north to south, but toler ably level from east to west. On nearly all streets are cement walks and ce ment curbs, with not only a good sew er system, but storm sewers of large capacity. Good Road Numerous. Speaking of the sewers, walks and curbs reminds ,me that the citizens have shown a spirit not often displayed by civic bodies, for while they have as vet no paved streets in the town, they have networked the country districts with a splendid system of macadamized roads, and the coming Spring and Sum mer will see the streets well paved. In short, the people cater to their subur ban citizens, to the orchardists arst. It ha. been made easy for them to get to town and back the street work can be attended to later. There are many beautiful residences in the town and a large number of fine brick and stone business blocks. No town of Its size In the West can boast of finer or better. The two leading hotels, the Oregon and the Mount Hood, are as well kept, give as much for the money, entertain you as well as any hotels in Oregon The two newspapers, the Glacier and the News are two of the best weekly news papers In Oregon. A. D. Mo. I. th. Veteran owner of the former. The Ben nett brothers, of New York, apparently capable men. have recently purchased Greatest Men. Without the assistance of that divine being who ever attenaea mm, not succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in him who can go with me. and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us con fidently hope that all will yet be well To his care commanding you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me. I bid you an affectionate farewell? Life Will Be Remembered. "I hope the Lord is on our side," said a man once to Abraham Lincoln. And he replied, "That doesn't concern me so much as being sure I am on the Lord's side." It is not the bringing of a deity over to my point of view, but bringing myself over to the deity a point of view! Ah, Abraham Lincoln, the world will not forget you. For so long as the winds will be howling at all hours; so long as the sunrise gilds the eastern hills with light and fills the world with gladness; so long as the stars remain in the hollow sky, cheer ing man in the night time as prophecies of the light's return: so long as the pulse of waters blithely beating, is now advancing, and now retreating In ocean's bed; so long as the old nag floats "O'er the land or tne free, and the home of the brave"; so long will Abraham Lincoln be remembered, and the memory of America's "Man of Sorrows" will be cherished. Jesu. Christ found the whole world In Slavery a slavery the more awful In that It was self sought. And he, the great Emancipator, saw us in our grief and guilt, and he came down from heaven, and lived and died that we might be delivered from the result of our transgressions; so that we who had wandered far away, and become aliens to righteousness and to good ness, might by his precious blood be brought near to God. Do you know what it cost to effect our freedom? Oh awful was the plunge from the glory of heaven to the gloom of earth; terrible the fall from the adoration of the angels to the blasphemy of wicked men. But he laid aside the regalia of the skies, and he wore the faded robe of mockery; and he took off the diadem I the News and promise to improve n with every issue. No article about the Hood River country would be complete unless something was said about the climate, the desirableness of the place as a year-round home. The Winters some times show cold weather, often consid erable snow. The air is usually dry. the cold not piercing or marrow-eating But the Summers! There are few places in tl country more delightful for Summer residence than the Hood River Valley. Summers Draw Like Apples. Ferhaps this has had fully as much . t. to do with attracting weanny vv as the peerless apples, people who wish to live close to the soil in a sense, but at the same time have an ideal climate, a place of residence where the air is so pure and exhilarating as to make disease germs give it a wide berth. Surely ror health there could be no better place for rest and recreation no place to surpass it. For the followers of Izaak Walton, the disciples of Nimrod, where could one find a place where sport Is sooner reached or more abundant? From every tiny stream running from Mount H0d the fisherman can take as fine speckled beauties as there are in the world, and in the foothills at the very base of Mount Hood, and running well up to wards the eternal snows, can be found the lairs of the bear, the retreat of the deer, the feeding grounds of the quail, the sage hen and the partridge. Along the river are ducks and geese beyond calculation. There must come an end to this arti cle I have said much, but might go on 'for page after page without fully covering the subject. So I will stop and go back to the beginning and take up the "sinker." Hood River has be come famous from two weighty causes, causes that other communities can in. one way emulate; they had a good country and the people stood together as one man to adopt the best methods in every branch of their industry and in exploiting their beloved valley. Any community can do as much, bu t few or none do. for they consider the hole in their doughnut has nothing in it worth looking at notnirg oui.air. TTlT TTTV of eternity, to wear the thorny turban in Herod's court. And the hand of Christ laid down the scepter of the t,kies to hold the reed of ridicule; and the face that had been the light and glory of heaven from all eternity, became spittle stained and blood marked, that he might redeem us from the curse of a broken law, and open the gates of heaven to all trusting souls. , Moody used to tell of a fire that broke out in the narrow alley or a. great city, and the firemen decided that the building could not be saved, and so they played the water on the houses adjoining, that they might limit the fire. And a man with a grimy face, came rushing up and shouted. "Have you saved two boys out of that build ing?" And the fireman replied, "God help the boys who are in that building, for save them no human power can." But the father dashed down where the smoke lay thick, and entered the house opposite his burning home. And soon they saw that man dash the window out of the house, and there he was calling for his boys, and as God would have it the two frightened little fellows wakened from their sleep, and came to the window. The man In an agony tried to reach them but could not; and then he lifted himself out on that window sill, twisted his feet as best he could about the woodwork and the horrified spectators saw that man reel and fall across the chasm, and he caught the window of the burning house and cried, "John, walk over me quick." And John walked across angels I suppose helped him. And then he called again, "Quick. Charlie, be quick." And the lijtle fel low moved to safety. And he said, "Boys, remember that I died for you." And down he fell, and they buried the poor charred body next day. He died for the boys. Christ died for us. And by his hands pierced for our sins; and by his feet that were spiked to the wood: and by his head surrounded by the thorny crown; and by his heart that was pierced with the sword, I call you to repentance, to belief, and obedience and eternal life.
