Ashland tidings., June 01, 1916, Image 1

Oregon Historical Society
Coiiip 207 Second 8t
i
i Tidings
"Ashland Grows While Llthia flows'
City of Sunshine and flowers
Ashland, Oregon, Lithia Springs
"Oregon's Famous Spa"
VOL. XLI
ASHLAND. OREGON, THURSDAY, JUNE 1 1916
NUMBER 3
Ellis Neil Suicide
Cause Unknown
The entire community was shocked
last Monday evening when news of
the death by suicide of Ellis Neil was
learned. With bright business pros
pects and a host of friends on every
side, Ellis Nell, to quote a friend was
"the last person on earth whom any
one would dream of committing sui
cide." The deceased was last seen about
9:30 Sunday evening and his agitated
appearance was noticed by friends
but was attributed to a headache or
other minor ill. He did not appear
at his place of business, the New
Tread Tire Company, Monday, and
bis partner and friends became wor
ried, thinking him ill. After dinner
Monday evening his brother-in-law,
Howard Barrett, went up to the Har
gadlne street residence of Mr. Neil
and found all of the doors locked and
curtains down. He called up Ellis's
brother, Elmo Neil, on the telephone
and the latter same up and pushing
a key which was on the Inside out of
the door, entered,' to find his broth
ers' body stretched out on the bed.
' Investigation seemed to indicate
that the deceased had upon arrival at
his home Sunday evening stuffed up
the keyholes and cracks of the win
dows and doors of the bathroom and
the room next to it. He then must
have put a quarter In the apparatus
attached to the gas heater in the
bathroom and taking off his outer
clothes wrapped up In a blanket and
laid down on the bed.
Mrs. Ellis Neil was visiting her par
ents at their ranch east of town and
was almost prostrated when news of
the tragedy reached her. The sui
cide left no note of any kind, as far
as has been learned, and the cause
of the act remains shrouded in mys
tery. As far as can be learned, his finan
cial affairs were in good shape. He
had but recently taken the agency for
an automobile here and had entered
Into partnership with Mr. Weaver In
the tire re-treading and garage busi
ness. Ellis Nell was married last June to
Miss Irene Barrett, one of the most
beautiful and popular young ladies of
Ashland. He was the son of Mr. and
Mrs. L. A. Neil, pioneer residents of
this district. Two brothers, Elmo
and Jesse, both of Ashland, and two
sinters, Mrs. Cerald Torrence of Hilt
and Miss Angle of Ashland, survive
him. His mother died of heart fail
ore in San Francisco last fall.
The deceased was born near Ash
land and was 33 years, 8 months and
4 days old. Several years ago he was
considered one of the most promising
young ball players in the valley, but
rheumatism put an end to his athletic
career and he went into business in
Roseburg, where he was very highly
regarded. He returned to Ashland
about two years ago. He was a mem
ber of the Ashland lodge of Elks,
and the funeral services were held
Wednesday afternoon from the Elks'
Temple, a host of friends attending
to pay their last tribute to a most
highly regarded friend.
Put Road in Shape
for Klamath Crowd
The following is an extract from a
letter received by the Springs Cele
bration committee:
"Every other person in Klamath
Falls owns a car, and the ratio is
nearly as great for the rest of the
county, including the Indian reserva.
tion. Practically everybody owning
a car Is figuring on going to Ashland,
taking his family or neighbors, so
there ought to be a pretty big turnout
from here."
The heavy rains of last week have
put the Green Springs mountain road
in poor condition, but the committee
has the assurance from Jack True,
the roadmaster, that a crew will be
kept constantly on that road, so that
it will be in the very best of condi
tion for travel during the entire sea
son. In order to take care of all the vis
itors the people of Ashland must open
their homes and provide sleeping ac
commodations. If you have an extra
bedroom, tents with cots and the like,
just lot the secretary of the Commer
cial Club know about it as soon as
possible. Tell him what you expect
to charge these people and if you will
serve meals and at what price. Natur
ally it is expected that the .charges
will be reasonable, , but here is an
opportunity for our citizens; to pick
up quite a sum of money that, the
risitors expect to leave with us.
Pugilist's Wife
Fails to Arrive
The Methodist church was comfort
ably filled Monday evening with a
crowd attracted by the announcement
that Mrs. Bob Fltzslmmons, wife of
the famous ex-champion pugilist and
herself an ex-prima donna, now a
Christian worker lecturing under the
auspices of the Pacific Coast Rescue
League, would speak, telling her life
story. The crowd arrived but the
pugilist's wife failed to show up,
sending word at the last minute that
she was unable to make train connec
tions out of Portland. Her manager
addressed the gathering. Mrs. Fltz
slmmons may speak in Ashland later.
Great Pageants
For Rose Festival
Two great pageants of the Rose
Festival at Portland will prove of in
terest to the entire state. More than
10,000 boys and girls from the pub
lic schools will present a historical
procession the morning of June 7,
opening day of the tenth annual cele
bration.
The Portland schools will present
in order the Indians, the discovery
of America, the Puritans, Quakers,
Minute Men, frontier and backwoods
men, Boston tea party, signing of the
Declaration of Independence, war of
1812, the discovery of gold, Lewis &
Clark expedition, Fremont's expedi
tion through the Oregon country, the
Boy Scouts, Campfire Girls and other
features.
The fraternal, military and civic
parade will be the morning feature of
June 9, closing day of the festival.
It will be one o fthe greatest specta
cles of the kind ever presented. The
military forces of Oregon and the
northwest will be on review, fraternal
organizations will have their bands,
drill team, and floats on review and
marching bodies of Oregon, Washing
ton and California cities will take an
active part
In thig pageant, the floats from
cities in Oregon where the queen or
maids of honor are elected will be
featured. Any city, town or commun
ity may enter a float in this parade,
and several commercial organizations
have already notified the association
that floats showing the resources of
their county would be featured.
Democratic Comm.
Elects Officers
The new democratic county central
committee met Wednesday evening at
the Hotel Medford in the city which
bears the same name and elected the
following officers: Chairman, W. N.
Campbell of Medford! secretary-treas
urer, Sid L. Brown of Medford; state
central committeeman, W. H. McNalr
of Ashland.
There was a good attendance of
committeemen from all over the conn
ty. Before balloting proxies were
ruled out by vote of the assemblage
Band Plays Popular
Concert Numbers
The band concert Wednesday even
ing attracted the usual big crowd and
was exceptionally well received. The
"Aloha" waltz, the one musical pro
duction of recent years which will
live forever, was a favorite. Selec
tions from "Faust," a new Morceau
characteristic, "Summer's Dream,"
and "Odeon Overture," together with
a couple of lively marches, completed
a program which made a decided
popular appeal. The next concert
will be Sunday afternoon at 3 o'clock.
When some historian digs up the
assertion that George Washington
used profanity, it should be remem
bered' that he had a great deal of
provocation and was no mollycoddle.
When a woman Isn't hearing bur
glars In the dining room she Is al
ways smelling something burning.
A good way to get one's mind off
the war is to go to a ball game, where
all minor considerations are forgot
ten. '
"Villa can't live forever," reminds
an editor. Exactly. But neither can
the rest of us. ,
Statisticians of the agricultural
department have1 not yet reported on
the promising crop of June brides.
Grand Opening of
Friday Evening
The grand opening of The Bunga
low, the latest addition to the attract
tions which Ashland holds forth to j
visitors, will occur tomorrow even-,
ing and promises to be quite an event.
The Bungalow has twenty tables
which will seat eighty people, and
two-thirds of these have been re-!
served for the opening night. Dane-1
lng will be indulged in by those who
care to dance, throughout the even
ing, to the music of a musical com
bination Including the tango banjo,
an Instrument-which Is the most
"pepful" dance provoker in existence.
Miss Aleen Bomar has been secured ,
by the management of The Bungalow
for the season at the 'piano. Music '
all afternoon and evening every day ;
will be one of the big attractions at'
the new park refectory, and the popu- j
lar pastime throughout the summer!
will be to drop into The Bungalow for ,
a bite to eat and a couple of dances, j
Already numerous private parties are ,
planned and table reservations are
pouring In for days ahead.
No charge Is made for dancing ex
cept on special "dance" nights which j
will be inaugurated later on. j
On Wednesday evening an Informal ,
opening was held and several 7iun-j
dred people inspected the building
and many enjoyed dancing.
The great rambling bnngalow-like
structure is a blaze of brilliancy in its
dress of dozens of incandescent
globes. Inside and out it Is finished
In brown stain. Specially made ta
bles and chairs and fixtures, all new
i . . i 1 1 . .1 ml
ana up lo aaie, are insiaiieu. xuoj
tables are arranged around the out-j
side of the dancing floor, the candy
and cigar cases, fountain and so forth ,
are arranged in a rectangle in the
center, and the kitchen is at the rear
of the building. An orchestra plat
form is built above the center restan
gle. Hanging baskets add to the at
tractiveness of the interior. All sides
are screened in and The Bungalow
Many Riders Are ... ,
Wanted for Parade
The horseback section of the big
parade on July Fourth, should be the
largest and most interesting section
of the parade. There are scores of
people in Ashland and vicinity who
have saddle horses or ponies and the
committee in charge wishes to in
terest everyone in this feature of the
parade who has a horse.
A meeting of riders will be held at
the East Side school on Friday even
ing, June 2, at 7 o'clock, and all those
willing to ride horses should con
sider it their duty as well as pleasure
to turn out. Miss Mary L. Homes
Is chairman of the committee in
charge of this feature.
Commercial Club
Will Decide Changes
The regular monthly meeting of
the Commercial Club will be held In
the Club rooms next Monday evening,
June 5. Election of officers, deferred
from last meeting, will be held, and
the recent recommendations for
changes in the constitution and by
laws by a committee appointed for
that purpose will be voted on. It is
very essential to the future of the
Commercial Club that all who have
a voice in the proceedings should be
on hand. Do not remain away and
then complain of what has been done.
Says Recall Is
Signed by Many
Mdford Sun: The report circu
lated in Medford that the recall pe
tition for the county court received
only between 300 and 400 signa
tures is Incorrect, according to C. J.
Semon, who is the originator of
the movement.
The petition now has between 1100
and 1200 signatures, says Mr. Se
mon, with over 200 in Medford, with
the list growing all the time.
And what has become of the old
subscriber who used to begin his com
munication, "I take my pen in hand"?
Those Teuton incendiary plot rev-;
elationa Indicate that Germany still. Monday. The two little boys are also
has money to burn. jln Eujane, . ... .. ..
'The Bungalow'
to Be Gala Event
will be one pf the coolest places In
town'. ; .
On Friday evening, besides the fine
line of Ashland-niade candies, cigars
and tobaccos, confections, Ice cream,
sundaes and fountain goods of all
kinds, a specialty of steaks and fish
will be offered, together with dainty
salads and short orders of all kinds.
The kitchen of The Bngalow is ar
ranged in a most modern, sanitary
manner,.; and under tho charge of
Alec Hall, whose fame as a chef is
well known. Great big thlcR steaks,
not Just fried but cooked so that all
of the Juices are retained, cooked In
separate pans and prepared with de
licious gravieB, will be a specialty of
The Bunsalow. Steaks such as can be
obtained nowhere else in the valley is
the ambition of the culinary depart
ment of the refectory, and a goodly
patronage should be built up by this
feature alone. All kinds of short or
ders, from a "side of hots" and a cup
of coffee to a pretentious course din
ner, will be served at all hours of the
day and evening. Especial attention
will be given to dinner parties and
telephone notice (phone 144) of an
hour will guarantee a dinner which
cannot be duplicated in the valley for
parties of any size.
' A lunch goods department has
been installed especially for the bene
fit of picnic parties and auto tourists
and a full line of canned goods, bak
ery goods and other lunch goods will
be carried.
The dancing features will be under
the direction of Mrs. Shirley Keene,
Ashland's popular dancing instructor,
and dinner dances, dancing instruc
tion at certain hours and other fea
tures will be announced later.
It Is the intention of the manage
ment to make The Bungalow the most
popular and refined amusement cen
ter in the valley. A cordial invitation
is extended to everybody to drop In
and get acquainted.
Southern States .
Are Organized
The former residents of the south
ern states met at an adjourned meet-
', ing at the city hall on Wednesday af
ternoon and elected the following of
fleers: President. John Dill; vice-
1 president, Mrs. W. M. Barber; secre
! tary and treasurer, Mrs. F. F. Whit
tle; trustees, G. C. McAllister, Mrs
Leah Caldwell and E. E. Phipps. The
trustees together with the president
i and secretary are the controlling
! board, and their duties will be to look
1 after the business of the association.
I It was voted that the southern
states be represented in the parades
! during the Springs Dedication Cele
bration, and it was left with the con
trolling board to appoint a committee
to look after the float. The board
will also take up the proposition of
an outing and will act as hosts to any
prominent southerners who happen
this way during the coming cam
paign. Plan Lighting
System for Park
The electric committee of the city
council and the springs commission
are figuring together on an econom
ical and satisfactory lighting system
for Lithia Park. Among the plans
considered Is one which will include
the placing of high-powered lights on
each pole along Granite street, cast
ing a flood of light over the park.
The picnic grounds will be amply
lighted up as Is the auto camp. The
big oak tree just toward town from
the bandstand will be hung with dec
orative lights to Its very top.
Park avenue will be lighted In a
satisfactory manner and the path up
through Chautauqua Park will be
Illuminated. While the parks may
not be a blaze of brilliancy, they will
be well lighted and will present a
beautiful picture at night.
Mrs. Thornton
Dead at Eugene
Mrs. J. E. Thornton, wife of Ed.
Thornton, secretary of the Ashland
Elks lodge,4Ied A 10 p. m. last night
at the bome of her Bister In Eugene.
Mr. Thornton wa called to Eugene
Register Now and
Have It Over With
Registration is again open and all
who failed to get their names on the
registration list prior to the primary
election now have an opportunity to
reglstor.
The county reglsteratlon is far be
low the total of last year and voters
should get the agony over with. The
registration will be open until 30
days before the fall election but that
presents no argument for postponing
the duty until the last day and then
forgetting it.
Under the present law one regis
tration will do until the voter moves
into a new precinct.
Growers Accept
Government Plan
C. E. Bassett, who was to have ad
dressed the gathering of fruitgrow
ers held at the Commercial Club
Monday, ' was unable to be present,
but the orchardlsts who were present
listened to very interesting and In
structive talks by J. C. Skinner, Pro
fessor Moore and Dr. Macpherson.
Mr. Skinner Is editor of the "Fruit
and Produce Markets" and one of the
best Informed men In the country on
apple and pear markets. He ex
plained the government marketing
plan which was outlined by Mr. Bas
sett upon occasion of a previous visit
and gave his hearers a very clear un
derstanding of the working of the
plan. He told of the general accept
ance of the plan throughout the
northwest and urged the local grow
ers to take up the plan which Is of
fered and backed by the government
Bureau of Markets.
Professor Moore of the Oregon Ag
ricultural College spoke regarding the
physical handling of fruit, giving
some suggestions and rules which will
aid In gaining a higher standard of
fruit grading.
Dr. Hector Macpherson, director of
markets at the Oregon Agricultural
College, spoke on the value of co
operation and the new ideas of co
operation which were becoming rec
ognized as necessary to the future of
the fruit business by the fruitmen of
the northwest. Dr. Macpherson made
a pleasing and at the same time a
strong and convincing talk.
The sense of the meeting was to
the effect that the Ashland Fruit and
Produce Association should affiliate
with the marketing organizations and
the directors were authorized to take
steps to that end. The attendance at
the meeting was far from being as
large as was desired, owing to the
fact that the thinning season Is Just
commencing, but the growers who
were present were enthusiastic over
the plan.
Art Store Has
Pleasing Lines
The new Ashland Art Store of F. H.
Mann was opened Wednesday and Is
well worth while a visit from every
Ashlnnder. The store carries a line
of novelty and art goods which is
worth looking over Just for the pleas
ure to be gained from soelng beauti
ful things even though the visitor
does not wish to buy. Crowds of vis
itors were greatly pleased with the
spick and span shop and the courte
ous reception given them, and tho
art store will become one of the fa
vorite places In Ashlnnd to seek re
membrances, cards, gifts and the like.
Ashland Amazes
Portland Bankers
E. A. Wild and H. L. Corbott, two
officials of the First National Bank
of Portland, were visitors In Ashland
Monday and were shown over the
park by E. V. Carter. "Wonderful,"
"magnificent,", "bonutlful," "amaz
ing" were only a fow of the expres
sions with which tho Portlandnrs
greoted tho beauties of Ashland parks
and the scenery from the drives.
They left Tuosday for Klamath Falls
and Lakeview.
Architects are gotting out plans for
a $15,000 brick business building at
Salem.
Millinery Sale
Will be continued until Friday, June
2. Don't fall to visit this sale. We
might have something yon want at a
Very low price.
2-2t MRS. SIMONS' MILLINERY.
Thousands of Roses
For Soldier Dead
A few familiar faces missing from
the column, but those who are left,
heads up and shoulders thrown back:
as In those long ago years when gray,
hairs were unknown, the Burnside
Post of the Grand Army of the Re
public marched again through thai
streets of Ashland to join in Me
morial day services at the graves oJ
their fallen comrades. The faithful
wives and daughters of the Women's
Relief Corps wero in line as well.
Ahead of the veterans marched the'
Coast Artillery Corps company, many)
mere boys and the oldest still In the
prime of life, their very sprlug and
youth lending by the contrast an In
effable pathos to the sight of the file
of veterans. And as If turning the
pages back from sixty years to twenty-one
and again to ten years, there
followed the lines of school children,
bearing their loads of fragrant blos
soms. This one day of the busy year men
turn aside from self-interests, from
the bustle of business and the drag ol
personal cares and Btand by tho road
side with hats off while the column
of soldiers in faded blue pass by. A
patriotism and love of country which
lies dormant cannot but be aroused
at the sight of tho remnant of tho
brave army of men who preserved us
our country.
Mother Nature lent gracious co
operation and the roses were at their
best. Thousands upon thousands
they were heaped upon the graves of
the soldier dead after the Impressive
services In the cemtery had been held.
After the flower baskets were
empty the procession again formed
and pinrched to tho armory, where am
appropriate program was given. The'
entire assemblage sang "America.""
Rev. Douglass pronounced the Invoca
tion. The departmental orders of the
G. A. R. wera read, a flag drill was
enjoyed, selections by the ladles
quartet, composed of Misses Jilson,
Dahuff, Whltsit and Anderson, were
appreciated and encored. A solo by
Miss Engle and a reading by our own
"Dick Posey" were numbers which
added greatly to the entertainment
of the afternoon. C. M. Thomas of
Medford delivered the address of the
day and won his hearers with a pleas
ing and apropos talk. The audience
sang "The Star Spangled Banner"
and Rev. Smith pronounced the beue
dictlon. The Ashlnnd band led the proces
sion to the cemetery, playing Chopin's
and Rock Hill funeral dirges. The
band led the return with military
airs.
Lunch for tho Grand Army ancf
Relief Corps was spread In the mess
room at the Armory and at 1:30 la
tho afternoon services were held for
the sailor dead who found their
graves In the briny deep. For this
ceremony the military organizations
gathered at the Atkinson memorial
bridge In Chautauqua Park, where
the Relief Corps conducted the beau
tiful ritual prescribed for such occa
sions. Flowers were strewn upon the
water. The singing was led by Mrs.
E. E. Mlllor, senior vice-president of
tho corps. '
' T
May Tell of Turkey 1
In Ashland Park
Dr. Clarence Ussiior, who has but
recently returned by way. of Russia,
and through a series of thrilling res
cues and experiences, from Turkey,
where he was doing medical mission
ary work, will bo in Ashland next
week and will tell of the conditions,
the work, the awful persecution, war
fare and turmoil in Turkey, with
enough of his personal experiences
mingled In to make the pictures vivid".
Dr. Ussher is touring the country and
speaks In all the big cities of the
coast. That Ashland will have an
opportunity to hear him Is due in the
main to the fact that his brother, W.
W. Usshor, lives here and tho lecturer
will make a visit of three or four
days with him.
It Is thought that it may be possf
blo to arrange a meeting for nion at
the Commercial Club rooms on Tues
day evening to hear Dr. Ussher.
There is to be a picnic of the mis
sionary societies of the various
churches of the city Tuesday, June 8.
Arrangements are being made to
have all the women of Ashland gather
in the park following the picnic- on
Tuesday and hear Dr. Ussher at 3
p. m. While the picnic Is for the
missionary society members only, the
address will be for all the women oC a
the city. , i