Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1915)
fit folk VOL, 27 (THE HOME PAPER) DALLAS, POLK COUNTY. OREGON. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1916. (TWICE-A-WEEK) NO. 85 CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP CHAUNCEY C RIDER PURCHASES STOCK OF MERCANTILE CO. Highest Among Forty Bidders He Be comes Possessor of Business on Tuesday Last. About forty bids on the Bfcock and fixtures of the Dallas Mercantile com pany were opened on Tuesday after noon, and as a result Mr. Chauncey manager of the large establishment shortly thereaf ter. For several weeks, or since the proposed sale of the business was announced by the own era, bids, have been entered by mer chants in many cities in the valley as well as by a number of local buyers. There were nearly forty of these and Mr. Orider'g was the highest. He bad not thought much of the matter, how ever, and the announcement that he was the new owner came as a surprise to him. He immediately took charge of the store and started planning for the future of ;tihe business. Under its new owner the Mercan tile company will continue to do bus iness along the same lines that have been followed' by the former company. Mr, Glider will continue ithe price cutting sale until all the present stock is disposed of and he wiJl then reno vate and completely restock the store. He plans to cater to the business of farmers and workingmen with the new stock, and will buy only well known brands of good substantial clothing1, shoes, dry-goods and other things that are found in a store of this kind and size. The business will not be allowed to conflict with the Crider grocery store, although the owner will personally manage both stores. The grocery store will remain where and as it is. It will probably oe two months before the large stock that is on hand is sold off at the sale that is now in progress, and immedi ately after that is cleaned up the new stock will begin to arrive. Mr. Howe, the retiring manager of tne company, has made no plans other 'than that he expects to retire to his orchard property, which he will im prove. Mr. Howe was a member of a wnpany of five which owned the Dal las Mercantile company. The other members ware J. R. Riley, H. L. Fen ton, Mrs. M. M. Ellis and R. E. Wil liams. The company was organized several years ago and the store enjoy ed a prosperous business career throughout most of that time. gloves in the Sunrise hotel on Fri day afternoon. Unfortunately the owner or the gloves, Mra A. Kay- burn, was close at hand, and swore out a complaint, Justice Holman lin ed Poullas $5 and court costs, amount ing to $2.50, when he pleaded guilty to the charge. . Mrs. Rayburn is an employe of the hotel. ' BRIDGE TO BE INSPECTED. State Engineer Cantine to Report to County Courts. The Salem-Polk county bridge will be inspected for its safety this week by State Highway Engineer Cantine upon petition of the - Polk countv court and he will report to the county courts of Polk and Marion counties Saturday. The petition for the in spection was made by the Polk county court as a preliminary step to pro ceeding with arrangements for a new bridge between the two counties. Def inite action on the bridge is expected following the report of Engineer Can tine Statesman. It has been asserted that the inter couuty bridge is unsafe to travel, and hence the request of the Polk county! court. If the condition of the struc ture is such that life and propertv arc endangered the court wants to know it, but -the simple statement will cot suffice. If the report of the state engineer condemns the bridge ithe in speetor must show conclusively where in it is dangerous. It is claimed that the life of such a structure is only twenty-five years, and .that the steel is cryslalized, yet it is proposed to erect a $HU0,000 structure of the su.ne material that will stand for a half century. The question naturally aris es, how can it be done it the present bridge has only half that life? FIRE THREATENS M'COY HOTEL TOTALLY DESTROYED BT FIRE TUESDAY NIGHT. . Mrs. Clara Lanfas and Son Barely Es cape With Lives in Midnight Blaze That Causes $2,500 Loss. TEAM TO PLAY SILVERTON. , Fourteen Dallas High School Boys to Journey East Tomorrow. The first football game on the schedule of the Dallas high school will be played at Silverton tomorrow when Coaches French and Rudder pit their light-weight warriois against the team, representing the Silverton high .school. About fourteen members of the squad, one of the coaches and Prof. W. L Ford of the faculty,, will make the trip, and the result of the game is expected to show the relative strength of the teams of this year and last. On the first three evenings of this week the boys were put through stiff scrimmage practice with teams made up of former high school play ers, and, according to the coaches, a number of the boys displayed surpris ing speed in their work. Those who will most likely make the Silverton Imp are Captain Jewnian Dennis, Ir ving Balderee, Earl Cutler, Bud Hart Webster Beebe, Forest Martin, Arnold V uson, Raymond Y llson, Virgil Brock, Rav Scott, Frank Met ann Edward Cutler and Ted Berg. FRITZ CASE IS SETTLED THE PLAINTIFF RECEIVES 18,500 WITHOUT COURT TRIAL. Suffered Injuries Near Black Rock When Locomotive Plunges Through a Defective Bridge. A settlement in the case of Joe Fritz versus the Southern Pacific com pany, asking $30,000 damages for in juries received in a wreck near Black Rock a year ago, was made without bringing the matter to court, on Wed nesday morning. The bouthern Pa cific company sent its' special agents to confer with August P. Risser, guardian for Fritz, who is an inmate of ithe state insane asylum, and Ris ser s attorneys, and confessed judg ment for $8,500. Judge Belt went through the formality of declaring a verdict for the plaintiff on Wednes day afternoon. v Fritz was employed as a fireman on the engine that went through a de fective Southern Pacific bridge near Black Rock a year ago, and the se vere injuries' be received at tthat time impaired bis health and mentality to such an extent 'that a guardian was appointed for him, and he was com mitted to the asylum. The attorneys for Fritz had summoned witnesses lo cally, as well as from Portland, and bad gone- to much expense before the case was settled. It was set for trial at one o'clock Wednesday afternoon. The little village of McCoy was saved from total destruction on Tues day night by a timely rain, when the noitel, owned and operated bv Mrs. Clara Lantz, was reduced to ashes and practically all the family's worldly possessions went up in smoke. The loss on the building alone was more than $2500. Mrs". Lantz was awaken ed about midnight by the roaring noise of the flames that were rapidly consuming her building. She called her son, the only other occupant of the big' building at the time, and they alarmed the community by ring ing a large bell near the hotel. Soon shots from all direction aroused the neighborhood, but the efforts that were made to save anything from the blaze were ineffective. Mrs. Lantz managed to get a few clothes, a sew ing machine and a trunk out of the fire-swept building just in time. So close was the call, however, that she was congratulated on getting out of the place alive. The blaze had practically enwrapt the entire building before the fire was discovered, and at that time a mid night rainfall had soaked adjoining roots and vegetation to such an extent that the heat of the hotel fire, and the flying sparks, did no other damage! In 'the immediate vicinity of the ho tel were the J. K. Sears warehouses. filled with the season's grain, a new dwelling, the Odd Fellows' stable and the Odd Fellows' hall and store build ing, in addition to a number of small er structures. The rain is said to have been all that saved these properties. Mrs. Lantz carried insurance partly covering the building and its contents, in all amount to $l,3o0. The origin of the fire is a mystery. The blaze that destroyed 'the hotel building and threatened the entire town was spec tacular, as it consumed ithe place rap idly, and on Wednesday morning ev erything that had been the hotel and ills contents was in fine ashefc-i JURY OUT OVER NIGHT INSANITY PLEA FAILS TO KEEP STINNETT FROM PRISON Convicted of Assaulting Wife With Dangerous Weapon Tried for Murder Attempt ONSLAUGHT GOES MERRILY ON. THE NORMAL SCHOOL GROWS POLK COUNTY AUTOS INCREASE Heavy Can Registration of New Within Past Year. Until the last day of September and since January 1, five hundred and forty-six motor vehicles had been reg istered from Polk countv with the sec- Iretary of state and, according to fig ures from that ofhee, there are Bixtv- five motorcycles in the county. Of the thirty-two counties in the state Polk stands eighth in line in number of motor vehicles registered, and en joys the same comparative standing in number of motorcycles. From January 1 to September 30, 22,998 motor vehicles wore registered in the state. The total number of mo torcycles registered during the period was 3123 ; the total number of chauf feurs 3804, and the total number of dealers 171. The increase in the mo tor vehicle registration over the cor responding period last year is 6877, the increase in motorcycles 246, the increase in chauffeurs' registration 2085, and increase in registration of dealers 62. Suffer Painful Injury. While riding a bicycle down a hill on Monday, Chas. Rice, porter at the La Creole club, was thrown from the vehicle, offering a painful though not serious injury to his right leg. Registration at Monmouth Much Larger Than Ever Before. The fact that the enrollment at the Monmouth Normal school is constant ly increasing, until last week it reach ed the maximum of 342, speaks well for the institution and its future. Last year at this time, according to the report of President Acker-man, there were only zib students m the school so that the present attendance is almost a third again as large as it has ever been. The mid-vear enr ment is usually very heavy, and it is at that time that the greater number of new students register at the school Because ot this tact the president pre- diets that betore the close of school in June the student body will number at least 4o0. The exterior of the new training school building is prac tically completed, and workmen are hurrying the inside work to get the building in readiness for the second term work. Elfins School Dedication. Tomorrow afternoon Superinten dent Seymour, accompanied by As sistant State Superintendent Carle- ton, will go to the Elkins school rouse. four miles south of Monmouth, there 'to assist in a re-dedication aet for that date. An addition to the build ing has recently been completed. A splendid program has been prepared for the occasion, and a goodly atten dance of pupils and patrons u expected. New Business Firm. The Freisen company, organized by members of a well-known family, is the latest addition to the business life of Dallas. The concern will en- Hunters From Far and Near Seek the Chinese Pheasant. The onslaught on the nheasant pop ulation ot folk countv is simply I nble these days. Aal with rain to improve hunting, greater numbers will meet their late eacir day until the season closes at the end of the pres ent month. There appears to be at least an equal numlj ir of pheasants end hunters in many of the fields about the county. Very few individ uals are getting the legal limit of birds, and the peculiar circumstance is that very few roosters are parad ing themselves before the sure and un safe aim of the hundreds of hunters from all partis of the slate who are exercising their marksmanship on the pretty birds in this count. Either they 'have been killed off or they dis play that particular rare quality of wariness characteristic of tbe beauti ful mongolian importation and hide themselves where neither the work of the dog or the ingenuity of man can dislodge them. The bountiful fields of the county have attractei hunt ers from Portland and other cities in great numbers, and but few of the pleasure inclined of this community have failed to avail themselves of the chance to bring home a few birds. Last week the justice of tbe peace was busy with law breakers, and many bright and precious dollars were extracted from reluctant pockets. An average ot two men were brought be fore the justice each day. In every case they either pleaded guilty or were convicted, being required to pay their fines, and in most eases to for feit their hunting license. Improvements Nearing Completion. With the exception of about two blocks on Uglow avenue, street im- provments for this year, which includ ed twenty-one blocks, are completed. It will require about ben davs to finish I glow avenue, and Street Commis sioner Greenwood, nnder whose su pervision the work is being carried on, is hoping for good weather. Dal las has made more street improve ments this year than during any pre vious year in its history. Experting County Books. Judge Wilson of Corvallis, an ex pert accountant, is checking tbe coun ty books, and is now busily engaged in treasurer Holman s office. When he completes the work in this depart ment be will move to the ether offices. ine wont win probably require a fortnight or more to finish. Will Address Pioneers. Joe Craven of Monmouth will speak at a gathering of men and women who came to Yamhill county fifty years Sentenced to a term of from six months to ten years on a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, the attorneys representing Charles E. Stinnett demanded an immediate tri al on the second count in the grand jury indictment) against him and yes terday he went through a gruelling hearing on a charge' of attempted muraer ot nis wite. The jury in the second case was locked up at six o' clock last night and with the excep tion or. an nour ior supper, was out throughout the night or until nine o' clock this morning. It was dismissed for failure to reach a verdict. The jury was out just fifteen hours before being dismissed. The first trial took place on Wednesday and consumed the entire afternoon, the verdict be ing returned about eight o clock. When sentence was pronounced by Judge Belt, Walter L. I'ooze, Jr., rep resenting counsel tor the defense, ask ed that the verdict be Set aside on the ground of insufficient evidence and asked for a trial on the second in dictment. It had been the idea of the state to observe the behavior of the prisoner under the sentence that had been given him and perhaps drop the second indictment, but the demands of counsel for the defense made this impossible. ; The habit of maltreating his wife and family, one that had been grow ing stronger on him year by year ior the past twenty years, was inter rupted by the law after the latest assault, which occurred on Septem ber Zu and it. otmnett got on a more. than ordinarily vicious rampage at that time and, heated with liquor, threatened to kill his wife. This be evidently was attempting when the young son of the couple heard his mother's cries for help and ran to her assistance. The lad laid the fath er out with a blow from a baseball bat, and when the trouble came to the, attention,.iof the . grand jury he was indicted and later arrested and lodged in jail by Sheriff Orr. At both trials the counsel for the defense introduced a plea of insanity and asked that the case be thrown out of criminal court. Two doctors testified for the defense and two for the state, expressing contradictory opinions as to the man's sanity. The testimony introduced at each trial was materially the same, the defendant s reputable family telling of the man's bruit ali ty when on such rampages as he had just before he was indicted, and the word of farmers and expert witnesses contradicting as to his san ity or insanity. The jury which was out all night on the second trial fail ed to find a verdict and if the indict ment is not dismissed a new trial will be held before the end of the pres ent term of court.. t Oscar Hayter assisted District Attorney Sibley in the prosecution while Ed. F. Coad and Walter L. Tooze, Jr., appeared as counsel for the defense. . fore Judge Bean at Portland this week. But that is not all;. Rankin says the Indians took the "firewa ter" back" to the Siletz reservation with them, thereby breaking a federal law. The Indians are said to have bought the liquor from a white man, but not in a saloon. RETTER TIMES COMING BRAIN AND BRAWN PLANNING NEW ENTERPRISES. VALUABLE BOOKS FOR NORMAL Edna M. Hawley Leaves Library to ' uirls Dormitory. "We die but we leave an influence behind us that survives," can be truly sain or tana M. Hawley of Salem, whose libdary has been recently pre sented to the Women's dormitory of the Oregon Normal school. Miss Haw ley requested that her library, which consists of a number of rare and care fully selected volumes, be placed in an educational institution of the state, believing that it would there be most appreciated. Her friends, knowing the great interest she evinced in the erection of the Women 's dormitory of nie uregon normal school, making several visits to it while in process of eonstruetion, decided that the donor would teel this a fitting depository for her valuaable library. P. Henry of Chicago, Miss Hawley 's ward, was consulted and concurred in this se lection, and the library will be in stalled in the large living room of the dormitory as soon as the cases arrive. The Oregon Normal school, and especially the women of .the dor mitory, express their appreciation of cue gut, which, possesses so many de lightful and instructive hours for those living within its halls. In ac cepting this rare gift the board of re gents expressed its keen appreciation and fully recognized the responsibili ty entailed. Resolutions directing the secretary of the board to attend to the details were passed and provision was made to so install this libratry that the students at the dormitory may mane tno most or it. Polk County Must Necessarily Bene fit By Capital's Investments In " ' New Projects. THIRSTS ARE APPEASED DALLAS SODA WORKS ENJOYS GOOD BUSINESS SEASON. Sparkling Liquid Refreshments Find Their Way in Every Section of the Surrounding Territory. COURT BUSINESS FINISHED. Poullas Steals Gloves. William Poullas, a light fingered gentleman, picked up a stray pair of t iron materials will be side lines. gage in a general business, handling ago, to take place in HeMinnville farm implements, oils, builder's aup- next Saturday. Mr. Craven was eao- plies, seed, flour and feed. Wood and, tain of an emigrant train that arrived here in 1865. Many Cases Disposed of at Fall Ses sion of Judge Belt's Court, The last jury trial before the cir cuit court was held on Thursday, and the jurors were dismissed with the exception of one man, who was held to form a nucleus for a new jurv should it become necessary, for any reason, to call another jury during the present term of court. All jury trials have been disposed of, and the large number remaining are either equity cases or injunction suits that do not demand the presence of a jury. Many of the cases on the fall docket were dismissed, or non-suited, and a few were continued, for various -rea sons. The term has been uneventful and in no way spectacular. Law has taken its course in every case that has been tried, and the verdicts that have been rendered and the sentences imposed have met with tbe approval of everyone who heard the eases tried, or who knew anything of them. The circuit court will not convene again until spring. The remaining eases before the court do not demand a jury trial, and will be heard by Judge Belt today,! tomorrow and early next week. These cases are Odom vs. Polk county and Bush vs. Folk countv, widows' pen sions, this morning; Boehm and Nye vs. Dallas City bank, tomorrow: Lov vs. Loy, Hiatt vs. Hiatt, divorce, and Henry Voth vs. Polk county, injunc tion, (tomorrow; Hart vs. City of In dependence, injunction, and F. P. Smith vs. Van Walters et al. fore closure of contract, Tuesday. Silets Indians In Court. Isaac Rippen and Reuben Metcalf. young Indians, went down to Falls City and got a gallon of whiskey. At least that's what Robert R. Rankin, assistant federal attorney, says they did, and he is prosecuting the ease be- After a very successful season the Dallas Soda Works have practically suspended! bottling soda water for the satisfaction of , many hundreds of thirsts in this and adjoining counties. Business in the soda water line has not been quite so good this year as in previous years, but, according to Manager Peter Greenwood, Jr., this lack is made up by a very large sale of vinegar, which the company has had during the past year. A business was done in soda water this year amounting to about $4,000, and that comes from practically . every cross roads store in Polk county, including those in little, out-of-the-way moun tain hamlets, and those in the farm ing communities about the county, where the refreshing fluids are en joyed as much by men and women as by the little folks. The company maintains a large auto truck which it loads up each day during the sum mer and sends to a different part of the county to distribute its products, and it is said that more than one youngster's heart has been gladened by the sight of the automobile when the corner store had exhausted its supply of drinkables. There are very few demands for "ice cold soda pop" ad this time of the year, so that the auto truck s chief occupation from tikis time on will be the distribution of vinegar. The Dallas soda Works is a com pletely equipped plant, where all ex tracts and flavors of carbonated wa ters can be bottled. The water is charged at the plant, too, which is a feature only found in the larger es tablishments, the local, and a num ber of out-of-town confectionery stores, send their soda fountain tanks to the Greenwood plant to be charged, and this is a remunerative side line with the regular business of bottling soda. The principal part of the out put is bottled in the regular soda water battle, but a number of special drinks are put up in quarts. The small saloon trade especially is sup plied with quarts. This year coco cola was bottled at the plant for the first time, but its sale was small and it probably will not be included next summer, vt nen loganberry linos n extracted so that it can be pot np in soda water form, the Dallas Sod Works will be one of the first to un dertake it. Loganberry flavors have already appeared in soda waters, but not the fine product that it is expect ed will be obtained from this berry. The plant will not eloae, but will only bottle on one or two days a week. just enough to fill the few orders that come in. The main energies of the force will be directed toward the sell ing and distribution of vinegar, but about the first of May. when the de mand for the crystal clear, "ice cold snda pop" is renewed the Dallas Soda Works will be ready to supply the same good product in the same good way. , That a new era of prosperity for Polk county is dawning Ihere can be no question in the minds of those who are familiar with conditions as they exist. The opening of the extensive limestone quarry by the Oswego Ce ment company, tracks to which are now being laid by a crew of workmen; the resumption of operations at the Falls City lumbering mills under an entirely new management, which-will construct a logging railroad into the Siletz basin, where it has large tim ber holdings; the completion of the Valley & Siletz railroad from Airlie to Independence, and the probable building of a sawmill at the latter place, together with a number of less important enterprises, assured and prospective,, a revival of business along all lines may necessarily be ex- . pected. About seventy-five workmen are now engaged in building a spur track to the limestone deposits, upon the completion of which the Quarry will be opened and material there. from shipped to the company's large plant at uswego, thus giving perman ent employment to a considerable number of men. . It is the purpose of the company to erect living quarters at the quarry for several families. The Falls City enterprise is of still greater moment, the plant there being one of the largest and most modern mills of the interior, providing work for upwards of 175 men in woods and mill when in full operation. The con struction, or rather extension, of the railroad into the new company's tim ber will be prosecuted with vigor, and when this work shall have been fin ished there will be an abundant sup- ' ply of fine timber to keep the wheels revolving ior years to come. The building of the Airlie-Independence branch of the Valley & Silets will have a tendency to open up much ad ditional land to settlement, thus fur ther developing the county and in creasing population, - while the maio line will penetrate a timbered section directly tributary to Polk county, which in good time will become set tled with thrifty tillers of the soil. The building of the proposed sawmill at Independence is the only enter prise mentioned regarding which there is any doubt, and those in a position to speak knowingly say that it Is practically assured when the railroad is completed. All these things, augur good for Polk county. And while plans are in the making for the development of these important enterprises every city and town within the county is show ing signs of a bettered condition, and the rural districts are equally as pro gressive. Although the past year may be characterized as having been dull, Dallas, Independence, Monmouth, Falls City and the villages throughout the county have shown advancement), both in municipal and private im provements, keeping pace with their larger and more pretentious neigh bors of the Willamette valley. While Polk county has no complaint to make concerning the past, it may expect even greater things for the future. A new era is dawning better times are coming. School House Dedicated. The new school building at Zena was dedicated on Monday evening, when a splendid urogram Was render ed by the pupils and others interested in educational work. Assistant State Superintendent Carlton, County Su perintendent Seymour and Supervisor Parsons were present and participated in the ceremony, which was interest ing throughout. The building is one of four new school houses erected during the summer vacation, the oth ers being at Parker, Black Rock and hiking, the two latter being two room buildings. The Zena building cost $2,000, and was erected under the di rection of Messrs. R. C. Shepherd, Frank Crawford and T. K. Simpson, members of the board, and replaces one burned last spring. Miss Elsie Taylor is the teacher. Falls City Popular. Falls City saloonroen are putting one over on their Independence broth ers by selling seven bottles of the brown beverage that smelleth of the bop for a dollar, while the latter can not see their way clear to deal out more than five bottles. As a conse quence there is much travel over the Falls City road, and that highway is being rocked much of the way. Fine Hunting at Hon. Those who have bad no luok at bunting pheasants in the fields about the eounty might try staying at home to bunt. A fine bird flew against the Grand theater building on Tuesday with such fares that it was stunned and fell to fhe lawn in front of the horary, where a passerby picked it np. , T7