The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980, January 27, 1931, Page 1, Image 1

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    CIRCULATION
Average
Distribution
December, '30
7034
THE WEATHER
Unsettled today and;
Wednesday, moderate tem
perature; Max. Temp. Mon4
S.t paM. 4ail7. Bundiy C7SS .
XEULtt Or A. B. 0.
aay U, Mln, 48, river 4.0i
ram .40, south wind.
-
EIGHTIETH YEAR
Salem, Oregon, Tuesday Morning, January 27, 1931
No. 262
i "i r-' r i-: !:: vr t: FQUlSlPjE-P 1851 ).:; ' hi':.-; r ' -- . " - ij': !
1 ! '
LABOR TROUBLE
BREAKS OUT II
TREAT
Operators say it's Lock
out; Wage Dispute is
Cause for Change .
Warner Bros. Hold out tor
! Existing Scale, Give I
It .Time to Consider ! ; j
r
! "- Non-union men were operating
thu- projection machines In the
' Wi.rner Broa. Elsinore and Capitol
1 th atres here Monday while) the
old operator! were, according to'
their tide of the was difficulties,
"locked out." ! ;
The two theatres and the union
operators have been In hot water
several times within the past two
months, aqd Saturday night the
matters came to a point where the
keys were taken away from the
; union men, following warning: that
1 this would come if they would not
agree to wages offered by the the
I atres, i represented . by Manager
S tllle of the show houses.
The trouble came when the un
ion, operators demanded two men
i at $48 a week and six-hour day,
which Stllle. upon a period of con
sideration, refused to meet. Up to
Saturday night, the union men
were getting $50 for the first and
$40 per week for the second man,
with seTen-hour day.
Jave Two Weeks
To Consider Offer 1
I The theatre management offer
ed the union two weeks in which
to accept or reject the old wage
schedule, and when the operators
made no move to accept, the keys
were taken from them.
The executive board of the op
erators prepared the following pre
sentation of their case last night:
"On the first of September,
1930. working agreements were
presented to Fox West Coast as
low or lower than any city on the
Pacific coast and- were virtually
agreed to in case vox acquired, the
two leading Salem houses.
-Immediately .following Fox
- departure, a committee for the
new holding company (General
Theatres) called upon us and. re
quested a short ' continuation of
the old working agreements.! In
order to assist local capitalists,
and fully complying with their re
quest, a . special concession , was
granted at the old wages. It was
even promised that in return for
this favor, any chain theatres
.would not be told the ridiculously
low figure we were employed at.
This suggestion was waived. Un
der any condition this agreement
was to terlmnate January 1, 1931.
"On December 27 Warner Bros,
took possession of the Elsinore
and Capitol. At this time our
(same agreements were presented
to them. After several voluntary
cuts In wages and conditions the
present wages of $48 per week
were established for motion pic
ture projectionist. This was low
er than any other city of like sUe
on the Pacific coast.
"Warner's Immediately served
notice that our services would no
longer be required. At a meeting
with Mr. Stllle after these notices
were in effect he declined to make
any overturea for arbitration or
settlement, sayinjc he was. not de
cided what he would do with us.
"On the night of the day. our
notices were up our keys were
taken away from us and we were
told that if we did not want to
take the old scale minus some
further concessions we were
through and would be replaced by
non-union men whom he had al
ready secured. Our men called on
him, advising agak st throwing
men out of work at this time of
year and suggested paying under
protest until the difficulty could
be settled.
"On Sunday, January 25. our,
men were locked out and only per
mitted to go in and get their
tools."
Board's Wheat
Goes to Relief
WASHINGTON, Jan. 2f(AP)
A bill authorizing distribution
for relief purposes of 20.000,000
bushels of wheat now hell by the
farm board, tonight wan passed
by the senate.
The measure was paused with
out opposition and now goes to
the house.
m
The 'Legislative
SENATE TODAY ,
Public hearing this after
noon on highway sIkus as
provided In Johnson Mil be
fore roads and highways
committee.
Few bills up for third
reading.
i Senator Dunne expected to
introduce series of tolls reg
ulating: grading: of dairy
products.
SENATE YESTERDAY
Resolution providing in
terim committee investiga
tion state building program
Toted down.
. Senator Upton Introduced
bill providing large refunds
by state of moneys paid by
counties for building state
highways. l,
Repeal of laws making
' 4 - : : : ! ii i
Avenges Death;
Now Defendant
FX x' yyv !
Miss Helen S pence, of little Bock,
Ark., shows no remorse ss she
walls trial on first degree
. murder charge She nespect
edly ended the . trial of Jack
Worls, wlio was Accused of kill
lng hrr father, when she shot
.Worls to death in the Arkansas
county court room.
. J. B. STUMP
Prominent Woman of Polk
County Suddenly ill;
Of Pioneer Family
MONMOUTH, Jan. 26. Word
was received here today of j the
sudden death of Mrs. John B.
Stump which occurred at Phoe
nix, Arlsona, at an early hour
this morning. j
j Mrs. Stump, who before iher
marriage was Mary Ellen Cdad,
was born at Dallas March 112.
11867, and was the daughter! of
Samuel and Henrietta Coad, well
known Polk county pioneers, j
! She was married to John i B.
Stump on June 19. 1887, and
since that time has lived contin
uously at Monmouth. Mr. Stump
lis well known thrughout the
west as a breeder of registered
Isheep and goats. j j
I Early In December Mr. and
Mrs. Stomp went to Phoenix! to
visit their son. Darrel Stump and
his wife. ' Word was received
here Sunday morning that Mrs.
Stump was critically ill with
cerebral meningitis and another
son, John Stump, Jr., left i at
once for Phoenix hut shortly aft
er his departure word of her
death came. I
Mrs. Stump is survived by per
husband, John B. Stump, and
two sous, Darrel and John 11.,
Jr., two grandchildren and One
brother, Frand Coad of Dallas,
Funeral arrangements have
not yet been announced.
MUIER WITNESS
IS
CORVALLIS. Ore.. Jan. 26
(Ap) Arrested on a charge jof
possession of liquor. Quint Gar
ret1, one of the state's principal
Witnesses In the recent Hender
son murder trial, was In the
county Jail tonight in default of
$500 ball. j
I Garret's arrest was the culmin
ation of a series of events which
started Saturday night when hts
brother, Stacy Garret, and two
other men were arrested on In
formation said to have been fur
nished by D. S. Hunt. Albany.
I Ijlunt aUeKPdly declared that
the two Garrets and a third nisn
assaulted lilm and he obtained
warrants for their arrest.
I . When Sheriff Newton arrested
Quint Garret here today 1 on the
Albany warrant. Garret was said
to have tried to dispose of a bot
tle of liquor and he was arrested
forj possession. His trial will be
held next Monday. I
' The grand; jury which is in
vestigated ' alleged bootlegging
activities here is still in session.
Meanwhile, enforcement officers
said, the suspected bootleggers
have been out of town or have
been in hiding.
OriOSK AI.IKX LABOR
L.YMPIA. Wash.. Jan. 26.
(AP) Ai bill prohibiting the
employment of aliens upon pub
lic works in the state will be in
troduced in the House tomorrow.
Calendar
Snly taxpayers eligible to
ote on bonds and special
axes approved by senate
!ote since laws have been
eclared unconstitutional.
"HOUSE TODAY
Test vote on Meier propos
1 that governor appoint all
members of port commission
I expected this morning.
HOUSE YESTERDAY
j Series of bills introduced
i by Representative, Mott to
.; abolish direct tax and to; cut
Interest on delinquent taxes
io 8 per cent. :
Bill proposed by Repre
entatire Scott to ehtS
inion high eciiool district
law to conform to election
laws In first and second class
districts. f
w
MRS
DIES
ARIZONA
UNDER ARREST
TRIPLE CRASH
SOUTH OF CITY
Fl
Mr. , and Mrs. Leon Willson
Die in Hospitals few
Hours After Smash
Others Unhurt; Collision
Is at Liberty Road-
Highway Junction
An auto collision at the wye
formed by the Intersection of the
Pacific highway and the Liberty
road I south of Salem resulted In
the death of two persons yester
day afternbon, Mr. and Mrs. Leon
Willson of route 4, Salem. The
accident occurred shortly before
noon, Mrs. Willson passed away
at the general hospital' at two
p.m. and Mr. Willson at the Dea
coness hospital at 2:45 p.m. Both
were injured about the head, Mr.
Willson suffering a fracture of
the skull.'
The Wlllsons, traveling ia . a
Chevrolet car, were driving Into
Salem and according to reports
failed to stop at the atop sign of
the Intersection. Their car col
lided! with a Dodge coupe-driven
by B. L. Skaggs, 348 Oak street,
Portland, bound south. At the
same time a car driven by J. O.
Wilson of Silverton was coming
north on the Pacific highway and
was struck by the Willson Chev
rolet Mrs. Leon Willson was thrown
from1 their car onto the rear of
the Wilson car. Mr. Leon Will
son was removed from the wreck
age Of his own car. All cars re
mained upright, but the Skaggs
car went into the ditch at the aide
of the road. The Chevrolet was
badly mashed up, and the Dodge
coupe was damaged considerably.
ITurn to page 2, col. 3)
I
MEDFORi), Ore., Jan. 26.
(AP) District Attorney George
A. Codding anounced today J. C.
Adams, who last Saturday shot
and killed Sam Prescott, traffic
patrolman, had signed a complete
t mm
ADAMS
KS S
LfflG
confession. -
Prescott was shot and killed
when he stopped Adams to ques
tion him about ownership of the
car he was driving.
Adams, who also is known as
James E. Klngsley, In his confes
sion said he attempted to shoot his
way to freedom to escape punish
ment for i a series of holdups in
Seattle, Tacoma and Portland. He
denied he had been hired to kill
Prescott, as suspected by local au
thorities. His statement reviewed a car
eer of crime which started, he
said, when he was a boy.
The statement concluded: "I
realize I have committed a very
serious crime; that I had never
met this officer before and had
never heard of him before, and I
Bincerely regret that by my ac
tions he met with an untimely
death."
In an Informal interview Adams
said he realized he could be hang
ed for the shooting but said that
would do nobody any good where
as If he were only given a life
sentence he might be able to help
others in the penitentiary.!
lOfflfTlEET
STORES ARE SOLD
i
i
Two State street stores have
this! week changed han-accord-ing
to announcement made yes
terday. ' " i
The Oregon Shoe ' company,
owned by O. E. Price, is taken
over by a firm composed of S. A.
Hughes. Stanley Burgess and
Clifford D. Burgess and Burgess
and! Stanley will become oper
ators of the establishment. Both
men are experienced. Burgess has
been associated with the Fiiee
Shoe company for four years.
At the same time the sale of
the Crown Drug store j announ
ced.1 Harry H. Brians, owner for
merly of a one-third interest has
purchased the two-thirds inter
est formerly owned by S. A.i
Hughes and Mrs. Amy Hughes
Burgess. Mr. Brians wilt continue
former policies In the drug store
but! said yesterday he had some
Improvements in mind which he
would make from time to time.
Senate Passes
Bill Granting
1 Samoan Rights
! -
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 -(AP")
The senate tonight pissed a bill
recommended by the ; American
Samoan commission providing for
the creation of a new government
for American Samoa.
The bill provides for extending
American cltlisnship to Ssmoans,
establishes an organic govern
ment with a on bouss legisla
ture and sets up a bill of rights.
The measure bow goes to the
bouse . ; 'v i , :
Even 100 Bills
In Lower House
Monday Night
The number of bills Introduced
in the house of representatives of
the Oregon state legislature yes
terday reached aa even huncrd,
while the senate bills climbed to
81. CV- - ..... " I
The aggregate falls far behind
the total two years ago when 8 67
bills were Introduced daring the
entire session and 482 were pass
ed. .
WOMAN IS SUICIDE
H CITY STREET
Gun Concealed Under Paper
Bag During Visit; Love
. Affair Is Hinted ,
'
With a 3 2-callbre pistol which
she cloaked in a paper grocery
bag. Mrs. Ada Kelsay, 25, shot
and killed herself at! 9:30 p. m.
last night at the corner of High
land avenue and Kaple streets,
North Salem. j
A family In the district, at
tracted by the shot, j came from
the house end found the wom
an's body lying on the curb.
: "I haven't much to live for,"
Mrs. Kelsay had told Mrs. X. E.
Yolgt when she visited her at
the latter's house at (1449 North
Church, ahortly before the
tragedy.
Under Mrs. Kelsay's dress was
found the picture of a man whm
police were sure last night was
not Mrs. Kelsay's husband from
whom she had been) separated.
Her husband lives i in Salem
while a son, said to be 16 years
old, lives at Waldport, Oregon.
Police at first were unable to
Identify the body. The picture
found with Mrs. Ada Kelsay was
subsequently identified as that
of William D. Gorsllne. 2020
Maple street. Gorsllne was tak
en to the mortuary and identi
fied Mrs. Kelsay.
! Police early this; morning
searched Mrs. Kelsay's house.
They found her goods packed
and in order. She had told a
neighbor she was going to Cali
fornia. Police felt there was no
question she took her own life
but were doubtful about her in
tent following her visit with Mrs.
Volgt. Pictures of Gorsllne, as
well as amatory notes written by
the woman, were found In her
house. i
Said bag Contained I
Goods" PurchArl I
Mrs. Volgt said Mrs. Kelsay
had kept the paper bag and its
contents In her lap as she sat
and Tisited earlier In the eve
ning. She referred to her par
cel as some goods recently sc
quired from a store.! She told
her neighbor that she would re
turn by 10 p. m. I
Coroner Lloyd Rlgdon said
late last night there would prob
ably be no Inquest. The body
was at Rigdon's mortuary.
Mrs. Kelsay was sandy-haired
and fair in complexion. She was
of medium weight. Her clothes
were somewhat word. Her occu
pation aa given in ai local di
rectory was that of a i weaver at
a mill. !
Police said last night they
surmised some untold love affair
lay back of the suicide.
FROM P001IA JAIL
POONA. India, Jan. 26.
AP) Maliattna Gandhi, the lit
tle man whom India's! 320.000,
nOO rprarri as the nroahet of the
new freedom, tonfffht was taken
out of the prison where he had
spent almost nine monins, ana
placed on a train for Bombay,
whom fcn will talk over with the
rest of the nationalist leaders
the political problems witn
which both India and. Britain are
deeply concerned. I
All day and all night a great
crowd of Gandhi's disciples had
sat about the front gates of the
prison hoping for a glimpse of
the national idol, but., no one
knew when he was to be re
leased and the departure-in the
night was witnessed oy oniy a
few. . . 1
Just before .he left Gandhi
gave the prison superintendent
a note in which he thanked the
authorities for their j courteous
treatment during his j incarcera
tion. I
It was in fact more an Intern
ment than an imprisonment, for
since last Mav when Gandhi waa
arrested for making salt in defi
ance of the British law he uaa
been quartered in a suite look
ing an on the nrlson rarden. He
was treated with great! consider
ation. j
Marsh field Man
Dies Suddenly
MARSHFIELD, Ore.,! Jan. 26.
(AP) Colby K. Perry. 0,
prominent Marshfleld j furniture
dealer, dropped dead at his place
of business here tonight.
CHARGE POSSESSION
X man giving his name as J.
L. Patterson and address as Sa
lem , was arrested by city police
last night on a charge of posses
sion of beer. He is alleged to
have been carrying 12 quarts of
the illegal beverage, j He was
lAllMil 1 V 1 - IV V
RELEASED
I - I .i' l a a - - 1 "' '' 1111 ' mmmm mmmm
THREE BILLION
Senate Finance Committee
Hears Data on Service '
Certificate IsstieV
Payment now is Favored by
National Committee l of
. . The Legion
WASHINGTON. Jan. 2 (AP)
-An estimate that $1,412,000,000
would be required tor immediate
cash redemption of adjusted aerr
vies certificates at face value was
given the senate finance commit
tee today by Frank T. Hlnea, ad
ministrator of veterans affairs.
Ulnes was the first witness as
the committee opened hearings on
the proposal, which was endorsed
yesterday, by. the nation at execu
tive committee of the American
Legion, and is being demanded
by some members of both! bouses
to j afford relief to veterans In
need because of the depression.
Without expressing his person
al view on the legislation; Hlnea
presented figures to show many
veterans are hard pressed; finan
cially. . ; . j
Loans to Veterans M
Increase! Greatly
Loans to them on their certifi
cates have Increased during the
present month to a figure; far in
excess of any previous month, he
said.
Bo far this month, he testified,
loans amounting to 817,000,000
have been made and they are be
ing provided at the rata of about
$1,000,000 a day whereas former
ly they have averaged between
$5,000,000 and $7,006,000 a
month.
Demands for the loans are not
(Turn to page 2, col 7)
MOTT BILL FAVORS
Bills introduced by Represen
tative James Mott in the house
yesterday provide for the submis
sion to the people of a constitu
tional amendment abolishing di
rect taxes as a method of raising
revenue for state expenditure and
making the next legislature fol
lowing the time the constitution
Is; changed, provide other means
of securing all revenues for state
expense. Mott's other bills pro
vide for abolishing a two per cent
penalty on delinquent tag pay
ments and reduction of interest
on delinquent certificate from 12
to eight per cent.) . ! !
Moti declares a constitutional
aniendment regarding direct tax
es the only way for substitution
of- indirect for direct property
taxes. "We've had this matter be
fore us for years iand the legisla
ture only nibbles off a small bite
by its remedial enactments," said
the Marlon county legislator.
Mott at the time he introduced
the bills relating to interest on
tax delinquencies, declared "the
state condemns by statute such a
rate of interest in other matters
yet guarantees to the holders of
delinquency certificates a rate of
12 per cent. It is the farmer and
small property holder who suf
fers by such legislation." j ,
SHELLS DON'T MIX
WITH LIVE' PEOPLE
'One Salem high school boy re
ceived a smoking lesson the other
day that he probably won't? for
get for sometime. If he didn't
know before that it is a safe idea
to see that pipe Is free from light
ed tobacco when it Is stowed
away in a coat pocket, he knows
it now. . ! ' (
i Particularly so since.! the! coat
pocket In which this certain light
ed pipe was tucked away contain
ed three or four .22 shells.
I And that's about all the story.
The boy put bis pipe, lighted. In
his coat pocket and hung the coat
io his locker in the school build
ing. Sometime later, one of i the
janitors chanced near this parti
cular row of lockers, heard the1 ex
plosion of shellg'and investigated.
The pocket of the boy's coat was
burned. " : j j
Bankruptcy is j .
Not Connected
; With Kafeteria
iAn error appeared In the local
news item of Snnday morning's
Statesman relating to the bank
ruptcy of Dave G Holtzmanw He
was referred to as manager of the
Kafeteria shoe store, which Is In
correct. He was : preprletbr of
Dave's Toggery on ' State street
and had no connection 'with the
Kafeteria Shoe store. i
.; The Kafeteria shoe store Is
owned .and managed by Harry
Cohen and la engaged la business
as usual. The Statesman regrets
this erroneous reference to the
Kafeteria shoe store and publishes
this correction.
topIbSs
W PROPERTY TAX
Retains Secret
Of Ben's Hoard
Mrs. Ada Ross Hchaekler plans to
. sail to England In a few days
without revealing the hiding
place Of $600,000 la currency
. which j "King? Ben Parnell of
the Hoa of. David hoarded.
. The cult has Just paid her 925,
OOO for her ZtL years' work as
secretary to King Ben.
DANGERS SEEN 1
E
Bill Limiting use of Funds
Frowned Upon by Coun
ty
Superintendent
A proposed school bill. In cir
culation yesterday at the legisla
ture, does not look to the lntemts
of the school child, and according
ly does sot draw her approval.
County I School Superintendent
Mary L. Fulkerson said yesterday
In discussing it.
The bill proposes, as near as
can be established, to prohibit
school fttnds from going outside
of any county In which they orig
inate, h -
Such a bill, if made a law,
would be disagreeable for three
reasons, las the Marlon county su
perintendent sees it.
First. it would keep children
from going to any high school ex-l
cept one! in the county In which!
they reside from the standpoint of
public transportation and tuition;
fees paid.' For instance, it would
require that West Salem high
school boys and girls go 'to Rick
reall or! points farther away, in
stead Of Salem, which is so close.
Second,! children from non-high
school districts who wish to go
to the Portland polytechnic
schools with tuition paid could not
do so.
Third, In some instances, pupils
like to go and atay with relatives
in the city because they live in
places in the county where trans
portation does not reach. Under
the proposed bill, they could not
do that.! ;
I believe we should keep our
schools for the benefit of the
children, and not think about
keeping every cent of school mon
ey within the borders of the coun
ty," Mrs. Fulkerson said In sum
ming up, her stands.
15-MILE WALK FOR
JOB! IS FRUITLESS
A 15-m!lo walk, with hopes
that a Job could be found at this
end of It, resulted in despair yes
terday for a Jefferson resident.,
! The man appeared at the coun
ty court house at 11:60 o'clock
Monday I morning, and said he
had walked- from his home in
Jefferson to Salem In hope that
he could get some work. He reg
istered for relief Jobs on high
way, and! walked back to Jeffer
son, minus a job and with hope
faded. 1
! He said he was destitute, with
no means to provide for a wife
end three children.
( -1 Y
MEASUR
Validity of Water Bonds
Hinging Now oh 2 Points
: The expected decision of Judge
Gale Hill on the water company
case turned out to be a direction
to attorneys to re-argue the lase
on Friday afternoon of this week.
Judge HU1 stated orally that be
was satisfied as to all the points
raised In the case except two, up
on which he wished to hear conn
sel further. . These two questions
werei- I iji
I "First ! Was the petition filed
as a matter of law on the day re
ceived by the recorder or on the
6th day thereafter, and If later
than 30 days prior to May .16,
1930 Would the proceedings on
account! thereof be invalid, assum
ing that the election of May 16
was a general election.
i "Second. Was the nominating
election! of May 16, 1930 a gen
eral election; and If so was it an
election: upon which a charter
amendment could be voted upon;
In other words is there anything
to prevent the election being held
on that date because U waa a pri
mary election.
The suit la one la- which W. H.
Test! f (Governor s"
rower to
In Port
IT RIVER'S MOUTH
Safety Depends on Wind's
Whims, Reported; ho '
Passengers Aboard'
ASTORIA. Ore.. Jan. 24
(AP)
Upon the vagaries of tke
Ind
the
tonight depended the fate
of
P a c 1 f i e Steamship ' company
s
steamer Admiral Kulton. aground
near the mouth of the Columbia
river.
The Teasel grounded at 9:10
p. m., and at 11 o'clock the coast
guard cutter Chelan, which bad
gone to her aslstance., reported
she was unable to approach near
enough to get a line aboard the
steamer. .. j
A call was sent out for the! pow
erful tug. Arrow No. S, of Astoria,
In the hope that she might be
able to put a line aboard the
stranded ship. . .
No Immediate . ' :'
Danger Foreseen - i r
I While the Admiral Nulto4 waa
in no immediate danger, reports
from the Chelan said if a line
were not put aboard soon the ship
might pound into the sand! , and
prove extremely difficult t float.
The weather was mild, however,
with only a 20-mlIe wind blowing
and It was expected the Arrow No.
f would be able to put a line
aboard,. ; '
The Admiral Nulton can- es a
crew of 35 and is commanded by
Peter Sater, Carl Strout, north
west manager for the company at
Seattle, said. Ths ship carried no
passengers.- -
Pilots here said there was only
18 feet of water off No. 12 buoy
where the steamer is grounded.
Local barbormen said a break In
the south Jetty of the rive? has
caused shoaling. The Admiral
Nulton has a draft of 25 feet.
The vessel Is of 1997 net tons
register. She Is 324 feet long and
has a beam of 46.2 feet. She was
built In Newark:. N. J.. In 1920.
F
Oreron would araln have
the
onDortunitv to express her
latti-
tude toward prohibition under a
resolution to be introduced; in
the house today by Representa
tive Manning of Multnomah
county. ' I
The resolution proposes a ref
erendum on the repeal of the
state dry laws.
The resolution provides (that
the question of repeal be submit
ted to the people at the next gen
eral election. If the. repeal hen
were approved the constitutional
amendment prohibition tne man
ufacture, sale and importation of
Honor would be removed from
the state's basic laws.
Such action, however, would
not legalise manufacture or aale
of lntoxlcatinr llauor In Orexon.
provided federal prohibition were
still in eirect, out wouia piece au
enforcement responsibilities on
the federal government.
Vancouver Lions
Reach Tjop Rung
r -
VANCOUVER, B. C, Jan. 26
(AP) The -Vancouver L ons
retrained the top rung In the Pa
cific coast hockey league ladder
bv defeating Seattle Eskfm
4
a
to 3 here tonight in as good
contest as has been
here this season, .
witnessed
Hendenson. appears as plaintiff
and F. O. Deckcbach as interven
er, and the city of Salem defen
dant, the purpose being to teat out
the validity of the charter amend
ment under which the city seeks
to take over the plant of the prat
er company.
The contention Of - the witer
company attorneys Is that the
amendment should be thrown out
because its filing did not conform
strictly to the state law.: Judge
Hill now calls for a re-argument
on the two points cited. Indicating
that his decision will hinge on Ithe
answers he arrives at respecting
these points.
On the point of the date of fil
ing the petitions the Judge stated
orally that the petitions we'rel re
ceived for checking on a certain
date, were checked by his secre
tary and returned to him on the
sixth day thereafter. Under Cer
tain construction of the law re
specting the submission of char
ter amendments the latter (lay
would be too lata, so the ques
tions are vital to the jaildltyj of
ins ordinance.
STEAMER
0 I
REPEAL 0
OREGON
OHI
LAW
GOT
be Shovra ;
Vote t Ay
Multnomah Del
egation
10 to 4 Oppo
scd
To pet Bill
Wants Commission to
Be Elected, not
Appointed
By SHELDON F. SACKKTT
Today. January 27. dawns as
an important one in the political
Vl.l... . -
ui uorernor JUIIUI Meier,
Oregon's neophyte in the halls of
political might. j
For this morning the governor
will know Just how find is his
personal hold on the house of
representatives and just how far
the "blg-stlck" of "I want what
I "want when I want It"! lean be
Carried over into the field of
practical politics. j :
The test comes with the. vote
set for today on majority and
minority reports of the Multno
mah delegation on bills concern
ing the selection of the corn mis- !
sioners for the port of Portland.
Governor Meier wants the en
tire power for appointing all the
commissioners vested in! h i s
binds. , But the Multnomah dele
gation,' by a vote of 10 to 4, runs
counter to the governor's 1 idea.
Instead of supporting the Keasey ,
bill giving the governor full ap
pointive bill, the majority ot the
delegation favor a bill sponsored
by eight of the Multnomah) repre
sentatives This bill provldles that
the four pending vacancies be
filled by the legislature as In for
mer years and that in the future,
every vacancy occurlng (n the
Port of Portland commission be
filled by a popular vote In that
district. i
Criticizes Present
Port Administration
in an extenaea political mes
.. . .... L
sage to the house yesterday, one
which bore the
earmarks
of po-
litlcal editing,
the governor
spokei of "close political corpora
tlon . . . commission law utnto It
self . . . manipulation . JL log
roiling ... quagmire of politics
. . .'cliques and factions."
In the Interest of better! gov
ernment, the governor told the
bouse, he himself would cleanse
the Aegean stables of ths port
commission.
But the Multnomah delegation
was not so easily led.
1 In the first place, the major
Ity noted with interest and a
trace of amusement, that the
storm of protest and the grave
mismanagement spoken of by the
governor, came no farther) than,
from the depths of the chief ex
ecutive's office. In Portland, leg
islators observed, the Pojrt of
Portland commission enjdys sn
excellent standing. Its menbers,
serving without ipsyn are truly
representative of; -th best inter
ests of the city, j
Commission Knjoj s
General Approval
. For example, the leclnlators
pointed to the record of Frank
Warren, chairman of the commis
sion,, whose buslneHS record as
the leader of the commission Is
considered above reproacbJ
But the heart of the governor's
arbitrary request that he be al
lowed to do the appointing, and
thus, apparently 'to bring Justice
and harmony and good admtals
tratlon back tJ the Port oft Port
land does not appear in his spe
cial, message. Nor was tho real
reason disclosed by the legisla
tors although it may be forth
coming at the debate this morn
ing. The real reason, on god au
thority, lies In this interesting
disclosure:
Early In the Meter political
campaign, overtures were made
by the present governor fo one
Kenneth Dawson, general man
ager of the States Steamship line
in Portland and member Of the
port .commission, asking I thai
Dawson, as a representative re
publican, help to keep the earn
palgn clean and above board.
DawsotL, It Is said, agreed to
use such influence as he had with
republican leaders, to have the
campaign waged on the! mer
its of the' issues, rather than to
bring against the Independent
candidate any. stories of youthful
indiscretions of pre-politlcail days.
One Willis Clark is secretary
treasurer of the line Dawson
heads and Clark is also treasurer
of I the republican central com
mittee.' -
During the course of the cam
paign -the central committee re
printed and released an editorial
from the Blue Mountain I Eagle
published by Editor Halght. The
editor, not mincing words, said
he had gone to school with Meier,
had not been impressed wlijh him
as a boy, had noted his tendency
to dominate or else to take his
toys and go home. Halght said '
he would not support the. inde
pendent. " i j
The editorial waa not pleasing
to Mr. Meier. He is said, on good
authority, to have requested Mr.
Clark to resign as treasurer of
the republican committee. Clark
(Turn to page 2, coL 1 )