TUESDAY, JCNE ,g
POLK COUNTY OBSERVER
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Polk County Observer
Published Semi-Weekly at Dallas,
Oregon, by the
OBSERVER PRINTING COMPANY
Office rhones.
Business office Main 19
Press room Main 19-2
EUGENE FOSTER. .
W. H. TOTTEN.
Subscription Rates:
One Year $1-
Six Months . . . ;
Three Months 0
Strictly in advance.
Entered as second-class matter
March 1, 1907, at the post office at
Dallas, Oregon, under the Act of Con
gress of March 8. 1879.
The way to build up Dallas is to pat
ronise Dallas people.
THE KNOCKER IS IT.
In the last issue of the Sheridan
Sun appears a communication, sign
ed by the realty dealers of that city,
in which the charge is made that
street loafers and knockers were in
strumental in discouraging a pros
pective investor in Sheridan prop
erty. The investor came from Ne
braska and his negotiations, entered
into with the real estate men, it is
declared, contemplated the invest
ment of $20,000. The deal had pro
gressed so far that a meeting had
been arranged with the parties inter
ested. But the "knockers that infest
the streets and the hotel lobbies" got
busy and "queered" the deal, and the
foreign capital went elsewhere.
This was unfortunate for Sheridan.
Unfortunate for the entire Valley.
But such tactics are not confined to
the thriving Yamhill county town.
These people Infest every community
in the valley to a. greater or less ex
tent and, according to the measure
of their activity and numbers, is the
advancement of every community re
tarded. There exist numbers of men
who appear to think that any deal
in which they are not the ones to
be directly benefitted, should be kill
ed. Dallas has them, as note a re
cent editorial which appeared in this
newspaper, regarding the conversa
tion heard on the porch of one of
this city's hotels, when a resident of
Dallas, in conversing with a stranger,
declared that "that the land prices
here are much too high" and that
"better land can be bought elsewhere
for much less money." It is this
spirit that has hindered the advance
ment of Oregon. The enterprising
men who have been Instrumental .in
boosting their town, and who have
been willing to spend their money to
see It go ahead, and have spent it,
have been characterized us "fools"
and their every movement In the line
of progress has been hounded by
these obstructionists.
When the writer visited this city
for the first time contemplating an
investment here, he Interviewed some
of the business men regarding the
city and its prospects. Ite was a
stranger in a strange land. He did
not take those he talked with into
his confidence, and for ought they
knew he might have represented cap
italists with a fortune to invest. He
didn't tell 'em he was simply a news
paper man looking for a location.
Yet, one of the citizens of Dallas with
whom he talked, did one of the best
Jobs of knocking that we have ever
heard, lie said the town "was a fair
little city" but that "nobody ever got
rich here." "If you come here," he
said, "and attend to business, and get
in a line that Is not overcrowded al
ready. If yon can find one. you will
probably succeed. You'll make a
living that's ail any of us do. The
soil here is not very prolific and has
been farmed until it is worn out.
Pome people think they can raise ap
ples and other fruit here, but they'll
find that the climate Isn't suited to
it. About the only fruit crop which
thrives In this county Is prunes and,
even If we raise a good crop of that
product we can't get enough for It
to hardly pay for raising."
He npun that sort of a yarn until
the newspaper man had accumulated
a mighty good dose of blues and
about the first thing he wanted to
.do was to grab a passenger train and
get out. If that was the true state
of affairs what In tunket was the
use of squandering any of hU hard
earned ducats in a community with
fortunately for himself, (and posal
fortunately for himself, (and poul
try unfortunately for the people),
he found other who told a different
story, and careful Investigation led
us to believe that the gloomy Individ
ual waa a cynic and hadn't told the
truth about Dallas and Polk county.
So we sought the brighter side of the
question and decided to stick, and we
hsve had no cause to complain. We
have found that the Judgment of the
knocker was at fault as It always Is.
and that right bere In Dallas t H
one tf the bent futures of an town
In the state. Tet. this man who tok
such dclUM in hammering his home
town and county, has pained a for
tune right here and 1 today rid ns
around In a high-priced automobile.
What possible motive could he
have had for thus attempting to dis
courage a possible new citizen? Just
this. He cares not a whit for the
welfare of others. He Is self-centered,
and sees no good in anything that
does not promise to enrich himself.
He fears that, if new people come
here, the city will grow, and when
it grows his taxes will increase. He's
satisfied with the town as It is, or
was. He made his wad here and he
doesn't care a hoot whether anybody
else succeeds. That's always the po
sition of the knocker.
How many people have knock
ers like this man been able to
frighten away from Dallas? Nobody
knows. Yet, they have done it, and
are doing it today. The only way in
which their influence can be reduced
to the minimum is to get in, boost
with greater fervor than ever and
kick up so much dust with the pro
gress machine that the tightwads and
knockers will be lost in the smoke,
and will never be found until the
steam roller of enterprise shall have
flattened them so completely that
they'll either take to their holes or
sell out and move away.
There are some citizens that any
community can do without, and over
whose going, nobody will shed a tear.
The knocker is it.
$j$K$SjSy5 wwwrrw - - ------
WAS WEST RESPONSIBLE?
The rabid partisans who delight in
attacking Governor West on account
of his prison policy reached the limit
last week when the recent serious
outbreak in the California state peni
tentiary at San Quentin was laid at
his door. Warden Hoyle in his at
tempt at explanation, declared that
the prisoners had become dissatisfied
with life in the penitentiary after
hearing so much about the manner
in which the penal institution at Sa
lem was conducted, and, therefore,
they organized a revolt.
The unsoundness of this position,
however, is shown when it is recalled
that the warden of the Oregon peni
tentiary has had no trouble of this
nature. There must have been some
reason for the uprising of the San
Quentin prisoners. And the reason
is found in the declaration by Chap
lain Bauer, of the Oregon peniten
tiary who has visited the California
prison, of the wretched conditions
which prevail in that institution. He
suys that the prison is positively
filthy and unsanitary to ' a degree.
The food, he declares, is unfit to feed
a dog, oftentimes. In the light of
these disclosures it appears that the
California institution could stand a
whole lot of the same medicine that
is used at Salem.
Outbreaks at San Quentin are by
no means infrequent. On the con
trary, there have been many within
the past few years. There must be
something radically wrong with an
institution of this kind that can pro
duce a revolt among its Inmates fre
quently. To claim that Governor
West is responsible for the outbreaks
is the heights of foolishness. What
appears to be needed in the Califor
nia prison is reform. Reform in the
conditions that prevail, and in the
management of the place. Even con
victs are human beings, and are en
titled to some consideration so long
as the state permits them to live,
even If their lives are spent behind
stone walls and Iron bars.
There are many penal institutions
in the country where such outbreaks
are never heard of. liut it is certain
that their management Is conducted
along radically different lines from
those which prevail at San Quentin.
Why not take the opposite side of
the question and argue that Governor
West is responsible for that? Those
whose business It is to control" the
criminals of the penal Institutions of
the country, men who have studied
the question from all standpoints, do
not take the position that their pred
ecessors once held. They know that
much better results can be accom
plished when men are treated as hu
man beings rather than subjected to
all sorts of abuse simply because,
often, they have been unfortunate
enough to commit an error and find
themselves, for the first time, behind
the walls of a cold and forbidding
prison. Many men have been sent
to prison who were not criminals at
heart, and whose one false step was
the result of an ungovernable temper
or the rash impulse of a moment.
But treatment during their time
serving has been such that it has
made criminals of them. Rather
than teaching them to respect the
law, inhumanity and brutality has
taught them to hate it. They have
been punished by every known de
vice devised by the mind of brutal
etiards and wardens, until their
minds have been warped and an all
consuming passion against the law
and Its officers is uppermost In their
thoughts. They are thrust forth up
on the world when their terms have
expired, hardened criminals, and they
naturally drift to the only class
which will receive them those of
their kind.
Modern thought, however. has
sought to overcome the evils of pris
on life, and it has been shown that
penal Institutions should be so man
aged that If a man be right at heart,
his stay. Instead of overshadowing
his good impulses, will show Mm the
error of his ways, and he win come
forth Into the free world, endowed
with totter manhood and citizenship.
Tou cannot beat goodness into a man.
Harsh treatment but serve, either to
arouse all the bitterness In the human
heart, or to kill the prisoner's spirit
the first result Is a dangerous In
dividual whose career of crime Is
bound to be long unless his l.fe shall
be spnt in prison, and th Utter ts
a wreck drifting helpleJy upon life's
turbulent sea.
As The Observer has often remark
ed, It holds no brief for Governor
West but it is a steadfast believer in
fair play and good, common "horse
sense" and this attack on the gov
ernor for the outbreak of prisoners
in another state, is neither.
If "the little two-sheet around the
corner" felt bo inclined it might, at
this time enter into a controversy
with another publication. It might
devote its space in giving to the
world what its editor thinks of other
editors. But such things lead no
where and benefit nobody. This "lit
tle two sheet" or "twice-a-week
scare head" is entirely satisfied to go
right along printing a modern coun
try semi-weekly, giving its readers
the news all the time and is perfectly
willing to permit others to do the
Jealous howling.
One of the brightest and well-edited
papers that comes to The Observ
er's exchange table is the Amity
Standard under the management of
C. G. LeMasters. It is filled with
newsy local matter and its editorials
have a ring to them that makes them
interesting. The Standard is a credit
to Amity and is apparently apprecia
ted by the business men of that town.
For "coughing contemptuously" at
a Doliceman a Portland man was
fined $2. Policeman In the Rose
City, it seems, are not to be coughed
or sneezed at.
There ought to be a law against
'whispering" in- Dallas.
Well, thank goodness, it's nearly
over.
L1GHTNINGD0ESDAMAGE
Telephone Poles in Eola Hills Struck
by Friday's Storm; Physician With
Auto Hustles for Cover.
The thunder shower that prevailed
here Friday morning was heavy in the
Eastern portion of the county where
it is reported that i the lightning
struck in several places raisins havoc
with telephone poles and trees. Thun
der is of comparatively rare occur
rence in this portion of Oregon and
even a few faint claps are regarded
as a phenomenon.
Dr. A. B. Starbuck who was tra
versing the Eola hills in his automo
bile encountered the thunder shower
and putting on all speed run for
cover. He says he "didn't know
what would happen to his machine
with the lightning playing promiscu
ously that way," so he proceeded to
get out of the trouble zone.
In Dallas the storm was not heavy
although the few peais of thunder
sufficed to compel the "oldest inhab
itant" who declares that "thunder is
unknown here" to do a lot of explain
ing to the newly arrived Easterner.
GYPSY RANI) VISITS CITY
Fortune Tolling Chief Occupation of
Restless Nomads.
"Tell your fortune, lady? I can
tell you anything you want to know,
past, present or future, only fifty
cents, lady." Thus pleaded a starry
eyed, dusky gypsy : girl-woman of
each passer by or at the individual
homes which it happened to strike
her fancy to visit while in the city.
Wild towseled headed children, sun
browned, raven haired women and
girls and fierce looking, unkempt, yet
withal picturesque men, constituted
the band of Romanyites that made
Dallas their headquarters Monday.
"Tommy, don't you dare stick
your head out of this house until I
tell you that you may. There's those
awful gypsies and they'll get you Just
sure, if you do," admonished Mrs.
Smythe excitedly to her young son
who was playing blissfully In the
front yard all unconscious of the im
pending danger of being kidnapped
from under the very nose of his fond
parent.
Is there one of us who has not
been warned many times in the same
manner, warned to beware of being
kidnapped by a race of people who
are not really bad, but of a roving
disposition.
They are a weird sort of people
distinguished from their fellow
beings by not only their personal
appearance but in their mode of liv
ing, which is half civilized, half sav
age. They appear to be destitute of
religion, but traces of various forms
of paganism are found In their lan
euage and customs.
All day they travel, and night finds
the little band huddled together un
d r the shade of some mothering
tree. A huge camp fire is built, al
most always by the women of the
clan, the men scorning such petty
obs. and great pots of meat are
boiled and the red hot mixture met
ed out to each individual who eats
with his finger a They are a happy
band, care free and unafraid. The
children are always treated well by
the mothers but are sometimes beaten
unmercifully by the men. They are
not obligod to work, however, until
they are about 12 or 11 year's of
see: then they are instructed In the
art of trickery In all kinds of trade;
In the art of cajolery and the va
rious kinds of thriving propensities
J know n only to the heart of the gypsy.
I am so tired, mother." wailed
one little tot Monday, as he trotted
behind two tawny skinned women
j ho w ere gaily dressed In light blue,
j scarlet and rren. "Shut up," one
of them retorted In a hs'.f f eree. yet
not urkind tone. "We dont have to
a'.k much frthr. "He's walked
' .
4
Watch Our 98 Cent
in;
We will keep it full of bargains
for the next few days
A few more days of our sale on
it
DOn T
WAIT
and let your
neighbor tell
you of the
BARGAINS
that she found
at the
BIG
WHITE
SALE
at the
HAND
BAGS
And the Bargains will be gone
BIG
STORE
Every day sees
some Bargain
Line closed out
COME EARLY!
Last week we sold every
Blue Serge Suit
we had in the store
A Few Bargains Left In
MIXED GREY
AND TANS
Any suit or coat in the store
at only
$10.00
Dress Skirts This Week At
-i
One-Half Price
Dr.
Ml
P
PI!
Sill
ft
lie'
The Hot Days are coming and you need just what we
have on sale at Bargain Prices.
Don't wait and be disapointed.
III. ! I I -' 1
about two miles today," she offered
in answer to a query, " and the poor
youngun's about all in." And shoul
dering him like a bag of grain she
trundled on, carrying a bag of old
clothes which she had begged in one
hand, and a huge bundle of some
mysterious something in the hollow
of her other arm. They were a pic
turesque group and the bright color
ed scarfs wound about their heads,
the vari-colored costumes, the healthy
brown legs of the boy with his mop
of curly brown hair, his teeth of
dazzling whiteness and yet the entire
band is so dirty and unkempt that
the commonly clean individual shud
ders and wonders "how in the world
they can stand it."
They have wonderful tales to tell
about blue rivers and flowers, gold
mines and beautiful women who live
in "their country" (how proudly they
say it) "Romany." If such a place
ever existed no one has ever been
able to discover it, but the gypsies
know, and they never tire of telling
of its beauty.
They may be lying and we are all
just a wee bit afraid of them, yet
much of their weird lore is both in
teresting and mysterious to the aver
age mortal.
Card of Thanks.
We wish to thank through The
Observer the kind friends who min
istered to us in our recent afflliction
and for the large donation of flowers.
Mr. and Mrs. Barney Phillips and
Family, Falls City, Oregon.
SCALP IS Ct'T IX RUNAWAY
Well-Known Farmer Slightly Injur
ed In Saturday Accident,
David Nightingale, the well-known
farmer living north of the city was
slightly injured in a highly exciting
runaway in North Dallas Saturday
morning. His team took fright and
started to run and were soon beyond
control. Mr. Nightingale was thrown
out and the vehicle smashed. His
Injuries were attended to by a phys
ician and it was found that he had
escaped with a few scalp wounds.
How's This.
W"e offer - One Hundred Dollars
Reward for any case of Catarrh that
cannot be cured by Hall's Catarrh
Cure.
F. J. CHEXET & CO.. Toledo. O.
We. the undersigned have known
F. J. Cheney for the last 15 years,
and believe him perfectly honorable
In all business transactions nd fi
nancially able to carry out any obli
gations made by his firm.
NATIONAL. BANK OF COMMERCE.
Toledo. O.
Hall's Catarrh Cure is taken intern
ally, acting directly upon the blood
and mucous surfaces of the system.
Testimonials ser.t free. Price 75
cents per bottle. Paid by aU drug
gists. Take Hall's Family Pills fr constitution.
Legal Hacks for sale at this oSof.
Call for Warrants.
Notice is hereby given that all Polk
county warrants presented and en
dorsed "Not paid for want of funds"
will be paid upon presentation at my
office. No Interest will be allowed
after date of this notice.
Dated at my office in Dallas, Ore
gon, this 4th day of June, 1912.
TRACY STAATS,
6-18 County Treasurer.
Helped to Keep Down Expenses.
Mrs. J. E. Henry, Akron, Mich.,
tells how she did so. "I was both
ered with my kidneys and had to go
nearly double. I tried a sample of
Foley Kidney Pills and they did me
so much good that I bought a bottle,
and feel that they saved me a big
doctor's bill." Sold by Conrad Stafrln.
The city of Band'in has purchased
a new safe for the purpose of keep
ing valuable municipal documents.
Mrs. M. A. McLaughlin, 512 Jay
St., LaCrosse, Wis., writes that the
suffered all kinds of pains in her
back and hips on account of kidney
trouble and rheumatism. "I got
some of Foley Kidney Pills and after
taking them for a few days there was
a wonderful change In my case, for
the pain entirely left my back and
hips and I am thankful there is such
a medicine as Foley Kidney Pills."
Sold by Conrad Stafrln.
A Eugene banker paid $40 for a
crate of prize winning strawberries.
No Danger
In taking Dr. Eell's Pine-Tar-Honey
for coughs and colds. It contains no
habit producing drugs. Look for the
Bell on the Bottle. Sold by Conrad
Stafrln.
We sell the
Best in
Harness
Everything in That Line
Here. Single ana
Double, Driving
or Working
All the Newest Improve
ments. Ask to see the
latest
Tubular lames
Agents for Sharkey Ftsh-
Key Collars
MOHAIR ROBES
Special Sale on Sweat
Pads Now 4dc
Crider's Gen.Store
-wil weather
for sale at The Observer Job office
-Dallas Wood Tarda. KopU
Coal and Wood; 1 inch and i -
wood delivered to any part or
city promptly on telephone call
flee S34.: residence
W. U BARBER. V"
TIIERS'S STRENGTH
"OREGOX-S BEST"
a, we,, as fine flavor and econo
It contains all the
of the best wheat, bob. of the
less. Bread baked w,th it - f
.ally good for children
sack of "OREGON'S BEST rf
today. Glv me ;,Mi
ill da r'"'
the bread baked
they'll thrive
good.
SWEENEl
DALLASs