Capital Journal Golden Anniversary and Capitol Occupation Edition
Six
Oregon Libraries
Rich in Antiquity
River Traffic Is Coming Back as Factor
(Continued from page 1)
Navigation of
Stream Began
In Early Days
0ontlnwd from paae 1'
tight month per annum, this ship
tu followed by other venture! that
brought river traffic down a far
as Springfield.
The average freight charge In
1864 was lTi cents per ton par
mile. When Ben HoUaday took over
the People's Transportation com
pany In 1871, the list of fares in
cluded: Portland to Salem. 11.50.
to Albany $3, to Eugene S5.S0. In
one month of that year, 5000 tons
moved through to Oregon City.
"The river business In the val
ley," says Historian R. C. Clark,
"fluctuated with the discoveries of
gold. The business slumped In 1889
when placer mining stopped. Many
small boat owners failed. Attention
was soon given to salmon canning
which made business for river
boats.
Tributaries Frequented
Many tributaries of the Willam
ette also found river navigation
useful. These Included the Clacka
mas, Tualatin, Pudding, Luckta
mute, Santlam, Booneville channel
and Long Tom.
Lucklamute river was navigated
by Captain J. L. Smith In the "Luc
klamute Chief," In 1878. He went
as far as Lewlsvllle, a distance of
18 miles by river. He never made
a success of the venture, however.
Boats have penetrated the San
tlam river for M miles, and In pi
oneer days trips were often made
aa far as Jefferson by large car
riers. Steamers loaded at Jeffer
son mills, and In 1871 the "Calli
ope," reached Lebanon. Smaller
steamers went as far as the forks
of the Santlam.
For several years, steamboats
called at Monroe on the Long Tom.
(A 'side-product of the early riv
er navigation "boom" was the
establishment, of a connection be
tween Eugene and San Francisco
via Yaqulna Bay In the 1880's.)
These early undertakings were
Important to the commercial Inter
course of the first settlers. The
flow of agricultural . commodities
was greatly facilitated at a time
when roads were still primitive.
Too, as Dr. Clark points out, steam
boats were a source of pleasure.
Many excursions were made on
week-ends of a summer In fact
until the turn of the century.
"When the river boats emptied
the warehouses of wheat," Or.
Clark writes, "then boatmen and
settlers would use the empty floor
for the country dance. The arrival
and departure of boats was always
a gala occasion In the liver towns.
Excitement ran high during the
rate wars. The Active and Rcll
'. ance were two of the rinest boats
of rival companies and both car
ried bands to entertain passengers
and townsmen."
Many Accidents
There was a darker side: tragedy.
Many of these early boats suffered
from explosions, some of them of
major proportions In which more
than a score were killed. Many en
gines were not strong enough to
stand steam pressure. The treach
erous Oregon City falls was a haz
ard: In 1858. the "Portland" was
swept over the falls, and the safe
containing 8200 lost. It was never
found.
Some of the early pioneer con
cepts of a proper Fourth of July
celebration on a steamboat were
Ingenious If startling. In 1878, for
example, the Willamette Falls Ca
nal and Locks company drilled
holes 38 feet deep In the falls bed'
rock,
and placed 120 hlnts of now-
e
D
II - w
YOUR AUTOMOBILE
Save On Your Gasoline We Give a Discount For Cash.
You may be all ready for the vacation trip but Is your CAR ready?
vacations cost money, so why not take a few precautions that are neces
5?7l, ??U Wan t0 enjoy ever' minute of it? Are your tires proporlv in
flated? Do you have the right summer oil? Is the tank full of gasoline
.fin"" T P!,clLUp yet cnotnicI on a long trip? Let our friendly
attendants take all the guess-work out of your trip.
PAVMOMn MATAn rr-nifii-
o
D
o
o mviiw iwlxaS I vii
g 350 North Uffh Street Salem
Projected channel development of the Willam
ette river, shown above where it flows past Salem,
will provide the city with class A water naviga
tion facilities expected to result In terminal
freight rates. At right is an aerial view of the
business area and rivic center behind the water
front, showing the post office. First Methodist
church and courthouse in the center, Salem
Flying Service photos..
Canned Output
Shows Variety
Of Activities
- (Continued from page 1
strawberries are frozen and the
frozen condition Is maintained until
they are put lhto consumption.
These, too, are shipped all over the
country under refrigeration and put
to a multitude of uses.
Another phase of the cold pack
which has been gaining ground here
Is frozen vegetables. These Include
sweet corn, beans and experiments
have been made with other types of
vegetables. A newly created procesB
of quick freezing has materially ad
ded to the value of both fruits and
vegetables In the frozen condition
and keep them in virtually the fresh
shape that they were In when
originally packed.
Put Into a canned pack are also
tomatoes, both In solid pack and
Juice; beets, asparagus, rhubarb,
pumpkin and peas. A considerable
pack of carrots Is made annually
and a small pack of apples. This used
to be a large Item but has been cut
down materially of late years.
Many Purposes
Into barrels beside the Royal Anne
cherries, which are the big barreled
Item, are also sour cherries for pie
purposes. Such fruits as loganber
ries, blackberries, black and red
raspberries, are also barreled In
varying quantities.
Another offshoot of the large fruit
production here which has been
gaining rapidly In favor la the pro
duction of natural fruit Juices. A
number of plants In Salem now go
der In them to be exploded simul
taneously! The People's Transpor
tation company ran a special ex
cursion on the "Senator" from Port
land, for 60 cents. -
"The big blasts win be worth
going to see,'' announced an adver
tisement. The blast went off and
everybody was thrilled.
Steamboats continued to run for
several years. But the twilight of
30 some years which settled down
after 1900 has only recently started
to lift. Steamboats are on the way
back. In a different but 'vitally lm-
portant. role.
"VACATION IZE"
iota co caoi
into this In a big way to meet the
demand which has been growing
over the country for fruit Juices, and
there Is scarcely a fruit Juice line
In the country that does not draw
on the Salem area for some of Its
products.
- Among the plants' TTere which may
be named as handling canned, bar
reled or similar products of either
fruits, vegetables or fruit Juices, or
all three are Hunt Brothers, Reid,
Murdoch. Starr Fruit Produce com
pany. California Packing corpora
tion, Paulus Bros., Allen Fruit com
pany. Hlllmnn Packing company.
Producers Co-operative Packing
company, Roland Jory, Oregon Fruit
Products company, Willamette Cher
ry Growers, Willamette Valley Prune
association, Kelly, Farqhuar com
pany, Bodel ez Company. Terminal
Ice & Storage Co., Capital Ice &
Storage Co.. Ray Mallng cannery.
Stayton Canning company. Mt. An
gel Producers and Sllverton Can
ning company, the four latter being
a few miles from Salem but dis
tinctly In this area.
And String Beans
Among the vegetables not men
tioned in the foregoing but saved
for special reference are string beans.
These have been raldly growing in
importance as a vegetable pack. In
the Irrigated area of West Stayton
a few miles from 8alem thousands
of tons of beans have been produced
on hundreds of acres of Irrigated
soil especially adapted to their cul
tivation and these have been grow
ing in demand year after year In
all sections of the country because
of their peculiarly excellent flavor
and exceptional tenderness. For
merly the Kentucky Wonder bean
prevailed but of late years the pack
ers have centralized on the Blue
Lake variety, a small tender bean.
which can be graded off Into a large
number of sizes and suit virtually
every requirement of taste and sight.
One of the best testimonials ever
paid to the Salem district as a
fruit producing' center was paid
when Reld, Murdoch & company
decided to make this the center for
their fruit producing operations,
especially as a center of production
for their small berry product. This
huge Chicago firm which furnishes
thousands of Independent food deal
ers all over the world with their
products has canneries and packing
plants of every description In num
erous sections of the country. They
are equipped and able to establish
OLnVIUL
Dial 5454
D
o
4'.
Indian Problem
Reservation for Native
Tribes Sought by
Settlers
Early statesmen of Oregon
were bothered by the Indian
problem so morn so that at
one time they considered the
feasibility of placing the noMe
redman permanently In the
Tillamook forests.
To Investigate the possibilities,
General Palmer waa sent on an
exploring expedition Into the
Oregon coast regions. It waa be
lieved that the area waa unfit
for white settlement, but that
the fishing and hunting advan
tages would furnish a natural
abode for Indians.
their plants when and where they
please and their objective has been
to establish their various packing
plants In the localities where the
raw product la best suited to their
needs.
Their experts were told to estab
lish a plant for Uieir berries where
the berries were the finest, regard
less of location. The Pacific slope
was chosen, and the Pacific slope
was combed from one end to the
other, with the selection finally cen
tering Into Salem.
Salem was selected, said one of
the executives of the company, "be
cause It produces In its natural pro
duction area the finest flavored
9
says Miss Verle M. Smith
1890 N. Church Street,
Salem, Oregon
"Words cannot express all
my satisfaction with our
modern gas range, nor all
the reasons I like gas for
rooking. Our new gas range
is so fast so economical to
operate. I would certainly
recommend a modern gas
range for anyone's kitchen."
GO MODERN
with GAS
berries obtainable anywhere. Wt
didnt go at this haphazardly but
proved It to our satisfaction. Its
climate Is Ideal for the growth and
ripening of berries to give them an
unequalled flavor. That our plant
la situated now in Salem is the best
evidence that we mean that very
thing."
Along with the cannery growth
here have also grown many Im
provements such as the system used
now In canning of fruits. The sys
tem originated by W. O. Allen,
pioneer Salem canner. has been In
stalled In most canneries of the
country now as the Ideal and clean
est way for handling fruits. Under
the system the fruits are continual
ly carried through water, washed In
numerable times and there Is small
vestige of hope for any dirt or con
tamination to live under this pro
cess of canning.
By products from Salem fruits
are wide. Preserves. Jellies, and In
numerable items of this character
have all been developed.
From New York to Timbuctoo and
the other way around, Salem fruits
are found on shelves of grocers,
And under most of the leading trade
names of the country they are found
packed, whether carrying a Califor
nia label or the brand of some packer
far afield.
Sea Skiing Introduced
San Francisco (U.R) Sea skiing
has Just made Its debut here, hav
ing been Imported from the French
Riviera. It consists of remaining
erect on skis attached to motor
boats.
cooks foods
(UMAPER
Traveler Tells
Of Early Farms
A description of typical early
farms in the Willamette valley, as
furnished by a traveler In the 40 s.
gives an Interesting picture of the
conditions under which pioneer
farmers worked.
Houses were said to be 18 by 24
feet, made of square-hewed logs.
One early home was two floors in
height, the floors being laid with
long planks or puncheons.
The roof used poles for rafter's.
and shingling consisted of laid
strips or sheets of ash bark, held
down by cross planks. These hous
es had two or three "windows," 30
by 3fl Inches, and very little light
filtered through the deerskins. The
fireplace was built of sticks held
together by buckskin thongs cover,
ed with a stiff plaster
Each farmer usually had a bam
40 by 50 feet, wheat field, vegeta
ble garden, and occasionally an or
chard. "All Doctor Wedding Held
Melbourne (U.R) Miss Patricia
Wellington of this city had an "all
Doctor" wedding. On the day she
received the degree of Doctor from
the University of Melbourne she waa
married to Dr. Medwyn Hudson. The
best man was Dr. Howard Williams;
the bridesmaid, Dr. Ethel Roberts,
and the groomsmen Drs. Vemon
Collins and Michael Woodruff.
were subscription libraries, the Lib
rary Association of Portland, Mult
nomah Law library and the YMCA
library. Salem had two society libra
ries maintained by subscription and
Albany and Ashland each had a
subscription library. In Forest Orove
then waa a free library operated
by the Free Thought society.
Libraries Since 1900
The first public library law, adopt
ed In 1901, authorized the city coun
cil of every Incorporated city to es
tablish and maintain a public library
or to contract with an existing li
brary for library service. The com
munity was to be permitted to levy
a tax not exceeding one-fifth of a
mill. In the same year, Portland
took advantage of the new law to
make a contract with the Library
Association of Portland.
Two years later a county library
law was adopted, but due to a popu
lation restriction, it applied only to
Multnomah county, enabling that
county to contribute to the support
of the Library Association of Port
land.
In 1905. the Oregon Library com
mission, later named the Board of
Trustees of the State Library, was
established. One of its functions was
to assist communities desiring to ea
tabllsh public libraries. At the time
of the organization of the commis
sion In 1905, only two cities outside
of Portland, Eugene and Salem, had
free public libraries In operation
Both were under private manage
ment. There were subscription libra
ries In Baker City. Astoria, Ashland
Orants pass and Troutdale. In 1906
the Baker City and Dallas libraries
became free and tax supported, and
the first library building outside of
Portland was erected In Eugene.
16 Public Libraries
At the end of the first decade,
there were 34 free public libraries
and seven public subscription libra
ries. Of the former, 16 received pub
lic funds, of the latter only one,
Klamath Falls. The total amount
received from public funds was $67,
348, cf which amount 852,974 was re
ceived By Portland, leaving $14,374
for the remaining libraries The to
tal number of volumes was about
130,000.
A new county library law was
adopted by the state legislature In
1911, authorizing any county to es
tablish a county library and to levy
a tax not exceeding one-half a mill.
This limitation was omitted In a re
vised law adopted in 1919. By 1930
there were ten county libraries and
37 city libraries. The number of vol
umes had Increased almost 400 per
cent, to a total of 508.000. The
amount of money raised by taxation
for the support of these libraries was
$376,741, over $300,000 more than
was received In 1910 Of this amount.
Multnomah alone received $276,000
In the next ten years, the public
library system continued to expand,
although Union and Polk counties
discontinued their county library
There's nothing like
Gas for cooking ! . .
You can do every type of cooking f tutor,
better, cheaper with Portland gas and a mod
ern gas range.
You hare instant choice of any cooking tem
perature ... simmer burners that make top
cooking so easy . . . heat-controlled, air
conditioned oven ... a smokeless broiler and
many other features.
You also enjoy the
a
EI
-i
Buy a Modern Gas Range Now!
Vir.it any dealer or our showrooms. See the big, beau
tiful displays of modern gas ranges. You will easily find
a model to meet your needs completely, at a price to suit
your purse. So begin to save time, work and money at once.
BUY YOUR MODERN GAS RANGE NOW!
SEE ANY DEALER r
Portland Gas & Coke Company
136 S. High St. . Phone S919
. Orrton City - Portland Albany - Corvanit .
system. However, jceepnine ana
Gllltam counties began county li
brary branches, and 76 Independent
city libraries. These libraries own
ed a total of 1,010.000 volumes, and
received in public fundi about $470,-000.
The most recent figures on iinrary
statistic! (1936) Indicate that then
are eleven county libraries with IT
public livary brancnes, two mesa
county libraries being such In nam
only, and 101 Independent city 11-
brarles, making a total of va u
brarlea. The libraries own about 1.
200.000 volumes, and received In
1936 about $450,000 In public funds,
of which $375,355 was received by
the Multnomah county library.
State Library
The Oregon state library, which
Is governed by a board of trustees
consisting of the governor, the state
superintendent of publlo instruction,
the chancellor of the Oregon state
system of higher education, the li
brarian of the Library association
of Portland, and three persons ap
pointed by the governor, dates back
to 1848, when It was established as
a territorial library at the seat of
government. It Is administered by
a state librarian appointed by the
board of trustees.
The first state library was a de
pository for law books and state
document. Although the librarian
was elected by the legislature, the
library was under the direct super
vision of the governor. In 1864. the
secretary of state was designated
superintendent of the library, but
the librarian was still elected by
the legislature This continued un
til 1905, when the legislature placed
the state library In charge of the
Justices of the supreme court. At
the same session, the Oregon library
commission was created to develop
public and school library service
throughout the state, and to lend
books.
Realignment Ordered
In 1913, the functions of the two
libraries were realigned. The li
brary commission became the state
library, continuing It former func
tions, but adding to them the cus
tody of federal and state document.
(The Supreme Court library was
created to care for the book and
publications of a legal nature whlah
were formerly a part of the state
library.)
Today the state library Is the de
pository for government and state
documents, serves a a reference li
brary for members of the legisla
ture and officers and employe of
the state, maintain a general mail
order reference and loan service,
conduct traveling libraries, and aids
in the development of public and
school libraries.
Driver Sleeps, Truck Rifled
New Philadelphia. O (U.R) A thief
Jacked up the trailer of a truck and
stole a wheel and tire while the
truck driver and his helper were
ssleep In the cab.
utmost in economy.
Portland gas is your
cheapest convenient
cooking service. The
new gas ranges do
more cooking on less
gas. They cost less
than other automatic
ranges, too. So decide
today to see the spark
ling new gas ranges at
dealers or in onr show
room... and buy now
'bor WrwWf .
301
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