4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL January 6, 2016
O PINION
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The River Road
Raceway
Has anyone noticed the traffi c
on River Road between West Main
Street and Woodson Place? It seems
to be a particular favorite of mindless
drivers or folks considering that their
schedules are more important than
public safety, the daycare center or
anyone else getting in their way.
I use this section of roadway mul-
tiple times every day. It never ceases
to amaze me seeing cars maintain-
ing their current speed as they blow
through the school zone. It is not that
the school zone does not have signs.
When most of the children are leav-
ing for home there are plastic models
of kids on both sidewalks cautioning
the drivers that there are little people
crossing the road to be with their par-
ents. Seemingly little people mean
little to the drivers on River Road.
Isn’t it obvious that these drivers
have important business to attend to,
phone calls that they must answer,
radio dials to be adjusted, make-up
to be applied?
On the evening of Dec. 20, a
woman driver headed south on River
Road struck a fawn just past the day-
care center. If the driver had been fol-
lowing the speed limit, this accident
may have been averted. Instead, she
stopped, put on her hazards and had
her headlights on the fawn, who was
down on her front legs, frozen by the
injury and lights. It was a sight that
will never disappear from my mind
— an injured young animal. From
carelessness. Only to be dispatched
by whatever law enforcement arrives.
What a waste. But animal life scores
low here.
Sadly, people here will never learn.
Until it is a pre-schooler who is hit.
Then the local politicos will say that
their “hearts and prayers” are with
the parents. A lot of good that does.
No action will be taken other than
a small fundraiser for the parents.
Time will forget. Not the parents.
A sad article or obituary will appear
in the paper. Then River Road from
West Main Street to Highway 99 will
return to the slalom course of motor-
ing enthusiasts. The drivers on that
road will hardly be bothered by it.
How did we become so unfeeling
for anything outside of our own ex-
istence?
This is a serious matter. Perhaps
there are folks out there who give a
damn.
Stephen Thoemmes
Cottage Grove
Offbeat Oregon History
Governor Charles Martin tried to run
Oregon like an Army base
This surely wasn’t the only case of
a governor cursing at his constituents.
But it may very well have been the
only case of one doing so a month be-
fore a hotly contested election, and in
the presence of a sitting President of
the United States.
But by 1938, General Martin prob-
ably felt like cursing at people. In the
previous four years, the arrogance and
stubbornness that had served him well
in the Army and in the U.S. House of
Representatives had earned him a bevy
of personal enemies working tireless-
ly for his downfall. His Army life had
conditioned him to regard such oppo-
sition as insubordination at best (and,
at worst, treason), and he reacted to
nearly every sign of opposition as if
it were an existential threat to democ-
racy. And the gathering clouds of his
paranoia were increasingly keeping
him out of touch with reality. In the
end, he would not win a second term
as governor, and President Roosevelt
himself would intervene to see to it
that he did not.
When Charles F. Martin retired
from the United States Army in 1927,
he was in his mid-60s and still a vig-
BY FINN J.D. JOHN
For the Sentinel
I
t was the morning of Oct. 1, 1938,
at the ceremonial dedication of
the new Oregon state capitol building.
Following several dedicatory speeches
(including one by President Franklin
D. Roosevelt), the ribbon was cut and
the crowd outside invited to come in-
side and have a look.
But as the crowd moved forward,
those at the front found themselves up
against a door stuck shut. The crowd
of Oregonians found itself packed
tightly against the door.
Then a voice rang out, strident and
harsh and full of authority. It was the
governor of Oregon, Major General
Charles Henry Martin, and if he’d been
in his dress uniform he would prob-
ably have had his sword out whacking
people with the fl at of its blade.
“Get back, you bastards!” he
roared.
“It was just like a blowtorch,” for-
mer Oregon Senator Mark Hatfi eld
told historian Gary Murrell. “The peo-
ple fell back.”
orous and powerful man. He had no
intention of retiring to the Arlington
Club to sip drinks by the fi replace and
swap war stories. So, after a couple
years spent getting his family real-
estate development business in order,
he put his hat in the ring for Oregon’s
third Congressional district, against
incumbent Franklin Korell, and won.
Martin, as a Congressman, turned
out to be remarkably effective. The
highlight of his one-term service there
was getting the Bonneville Dam built.
He and Sen. Charles McNary over-
came President Roosevelt’s diffi dence
and Interior Secretary Harold Ickes’
active opposition to do get the project
green-lighted.
In so doing, though, Martin set in
motion the forces that would lead to
his downfall, and to the temporary
destruction of his political party in
Oregon. At the time, there were two
opposing philosophies about govern-
ment power projects like Bonneville.
One side saw the dam as a nice source
of power for aluminum plants and
other power-hungry industries and for
private electric utilities, which could
buy its power cheap and resell it dear
to their customers.
The other side wanted the dam’s
power to be available to all wholesale
buyers, so that they could form public
electrical co-ops, buying power from
Bonneville and using it to compete
with the private utilities.
As for Martin, his loyalties were
never in doubt. “The power that the
government will develop at Bonnev-
ille is not intended to force down the
rates of existing power companies,” he
said, in 1933. “This power is intend-
ed for the great chemical and metal-
lurgical reduction plants whose fi rst
consideration is cheap power and an
inexhaustible supply.”
Martin’s leading political adviser
and confi dant was none other than
former Governor Oswald West. West
is mostly remembered today for his
youthful idealism as the young state
governor who saved the state beaches
for public access back in 1913. But by
1930 West had matured into a rather
less lovable character — a furtive,
mendacious Democratic Party leader
who was at the same time a lobbyist
for Portland General Electric.
PGE, of course, was delighted at
the prospect of buying cheap hydro-
electric power from the new Bonn-
eville Dam, but the company had no
intention of voluntarily passing those
savings on to its customers. So PGE
must have been quite pleased that the
congressman who got Bonneville built
was virtually in the pocket of its chief
lobbyist.
It would be this fi ght, as much as
or more than his squabbles with labor
leaders, that would destroy Martin’s
legacy as a governor.
Martin was elected to the state’s top
job in 1934 and almost immediately
set about making most of the people
who’d voted for him regret having
done so. He’d campaigned as a New
Deal Democrat, but it quickly became
clear that that had been a pose struck
to sucker voters into giving him power.
He dropped the mask almost immedi-
ately. Throughout his term, Martin
was a fi erce opponent of any govern-
ment policy that might result in indi-
vidual citizens getting anything from
the government: Social Security, wel-
fare relief, disability relief, the works.
In other words, he was the New Deal’s
fi ercest opponent.
In 1936, the unemployment rate
having fallen from roughly 20 to 18
percent in the previous year, Martin
issued a gubernatorial proclamation
declaring the Great Depression over
— wishing it away, essentially — and
told the federal government to keep its
relief funds out of his state.
“There is no need why anyone will-
ing to work cannot fi nd it in this state
with crops to be harvested,” he rant-
ed. Oregon was supporting too many
“loafers and chiselers,” he said.
“I am trying to teach our people
to show the courage and fortitude
of good soldiers,” he wrote in 1935.
“Democratic nations have lost their
moral force through pampering their
people.”
Please see OFFBEAT, Page 5A
Soup – A high-nutrient diet essential
BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD
For the Sentinel
for good reason. Vegetable and
bean soups and stews are nutri-
ent-rich, fl avorful and easy to
prepare. They can be served as
a complement to a meal or as
the centerpiece. Soups can eas-
ily be cooked in bulk to provide
several days’ worth of leftovers,
convenient to have on hand at
home or to take along to work
or school. Soups and stews are
warming, satisfying and satiat-
ing and can widen your nutri-
S
oups,
along
with
sal-
ads, are an
essential
part of my
high-nutri-
ent
(Nu-
tritarian)
diet,
and
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
116 N. Sixth Street · P.O. Box 35 · Cottage Grove, OR 97424
ADMINISTRATION:
JOHN BARTLETT, Regional Publisher..............................
GARY MANLY, General Manager................942-3325 Ext.
207 • publisher@cgsentinel.com
ROBIN REISER, Sales Repersentative...............942-3325
Ext. 203 • robin@cgsentinel.com
E. SCURRY ELLIS, Sales Repersentative......... 942-3325
Ext. 213 • esellis@cgsentinel.com
SPORTS DEPARTMENT:
SAM WRIGHT, Sports Editor...................942-3325 Ext.
204 • sports@cgsentinel.com
CUSTOMER SERVICE
CARLA WILLIAMS, Office Manager.................942-3325
Ext. 201 • billing@cgsentinel.com
LEGALS.............................................................942-3325
Ext. 200 • legals@cgsentinel.com
NEWS DEPARTMENT:
JON STINNETT, Editor......................................942-3325
Ext. 212 • cgnews@cgsentinel.com
GRAPHICS:
RON ANNIS, Graphics Manager
(USP 133880)
Subscription Mail Rates in Lane and Portions of Douglas Counties:
Ten Weeks ............................................. $9.10
One year ..............................................$36.15
e-Edition year .......................................$36.00
Rates in all other areas of United States: Ten Weeks $11.70; one year, $46.35, e-Edition $43.00.
In foreign countries, postage extra.
No subscription for less than Ten Weeks. Subscription rates are subject to change upon 30 days’ notice. All
subscritptions must be paid prior to beginning the subscription and are non-refundable.
Periodicals postage paid at Cottage Grove, Oregon.
Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424.
Local Mail Service:
If you don’t receive your Cottage Grove Sentinel on the Wednesday of publication, please let us know.
Call 942-3325 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Advertising ownership:
All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by the Cottage Grove Sentinel become the property of the
Cottage Grove Sentinel and may not be reproduced for any other use without explicit written prior approval.
Copyright Notice:
Entire contents ©2015 Cottage Grove Sentinel.
ent diversity. They can be made
from a variety of fresh, frozen
or even leftover ingredients and
allow for experimentation in a
pot, pressure cooker, slow cook-
er or even right in a Vitamix or
other high-powered blender.
Since soups are gently cooked
with a liquid base, nutrients are
retained and some are made more
absorbable. Many nutrients, like
folate, other B vitamins, vitamin
C and a range of minerals, are
water-soluble. Normally, with
water-based cooking, like boil-
ing, water-soluble nutrients are
leached into the cooking water
and discarded. However, with
soups, the liquid and the water-
soluble nutrients are retained
and consumed.
Cooking soup heats, mois-
turizes, and softens vegetables
and beans, which dramatically
increases the potential digest-
ibility and absorption of the
nutritious compounds contained
within them. Recent studies
confi rm that the body absorbs
more of the benefi cial anti-can-
cer compounds, carotenoids
in particular, especially lutein
and lycopene, from cooked
vegetables as compared to raw
vegetables. Scientists speculate
that the increase in absorption
of these antioxidants after cook-
ing may be attributed to the de-
struction of the cell matrix or
connective bands to which these
compounds are bound.
Additionally, cooking veg-
etables in soups breaks down
the cellulose within them and
alters the plants’ cell structures,
which facilitates digestion. This
way of cooking also prevents
foods from browning and form-
ing toxic compounds, like acryl-
amide, which is formed in dry,
high-temperature cooking, like
baking, frying, and grilling, and
is a potential carcinogen or can-
cer-causing agent.
For superior nutrition, be-
come an expert at making great
soups.
Make your soups with some
of the G-BOMBS, like greens,
beans, onions, and mushrooms,
which are some of the most nu-
tritious foods on the planet and
combine so well in a big pot for
a super nutritious and savory
meal!
Start your soups with a base of
water, heating on the stove with
your dried beans, as they take
the longest to cook. Then add
the fresh vegetable juice, like
carrot, celery or tomato juice or
a no-salt-added vegetable broth.
Then, add a bit of liquid to
the blender, to blend the onions,
leeks or other members of the
Allium family and your cru-
ciferous leafy green vegetables
into a smooth purée. Always
include some cruciferous veg-
etables into the mix, such as
kale, mustard greens, collards,
bok choy or cabbage. Blend-
ing them before adding them
to the pot forms organosulfur
compounds in the onions and
isothiocyanates (ITCs) in the
cruciferous vegetables, which
are powerful disease-fi ghting
phytochemicals. Then you can
chop other vegetables that you
have on hand, and add them into
the pot, with some herbs, spices
like parsley, tumeric and black
pepper or even lemon. To make
a creamier soup and add another
layer of fl avor, you can blend
some nuts into the soup.
See my book, The Eat to Live
Cookbook for a full list of soup
and stew “mix and match” ingre-
dients and recipes. Read more
about organosulfur compounds
and ITCs in chapter 4 of “The
End of Dieting.” Try the Mem-
ber Center Recipe Guide sample
soup recipes, Tomato Bisque or
Black Forest Cream of Mush-
room Soup. I recommend you
cook a large pot of soup at least
once a week and store leftovers
in individual containers. Soups
can keep well in the refrigera-
tor for 5 days or longer in the
freezer.
Soup’s on! Quick, hot, tasty
and nutrient dense—soups in all
of their varieties are a great way
to experience the pleasures of
the Nutritarian diet.
Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New
York Times best-selling author
and a family physician special-
izing in lifestyle and nutritional
medicine. His newest book, The
End of Dieting, debunks the fake
“science” of popular fad diets
and offers an alternative to di-
eting that leads to permanent
weight loss and excellent health.
Visit his informative website at
DrFuhrman.com. Submit your
questions and comments about
this column directly to news-
questions@drfuhrman.com.
Letters to the Editor policy
The Cottage Grove Sentinel receives many letters to the editor. In order to ensure that your letter will be printed, letters must
be under 300 words and submitted by Friday at 5 p.m. Letters must be signed and must include an address, city and phone
number or e-mail address for verifi cation purposes. No anonymous letters will be printed. Letters must be of interest to local
readers.
Personal attacks and name calling in response to letters are uncalled for and unnecessary.
If you would like to submit an opinion piece, Another View must be no longer than 600 words.
To avoid transcription errors, the Sentinel would prefer editorial and news content be sent
electronically via email or electronic media. Hand written submissions will be accepted, but we may need to call to verify
spelling, which could delay the publishing of the submission.