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About Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 1908)
ROGl'K RIVER COU 'I .R, GRANTS PASS. ORKGON, DECEMBER 18, 1908 PllOPKSSIOSAL OA HPS , C. F1NDLEY, M. D. Practice- limited to EYE FAR, KOBE and THROAT. Glaiws fitted and furnished, efflos ho-.irs 1 to II; 2 to 6; o ap pelntmMut Telephones 201 and 77. Oka NT. Pass, OkkO s ge LOUGHRIDGE, M. D. PHYSICIAN AND BURGEON Re. Phone 714 City or country caUi attended right or day t'iuvn and li, Tuff's building. Oltice Phone 2K1. GRAHW Pa88 - . OltTOON. OUR MERLIN DEPARTMENT R. C A. CAMPBELL ObTF.t'I'ATIIIO PHYSICIAN Graduate Ann-neari tichool of Ostriopulhy, Kirknville, Mp. Clironlc Dim-aien nd Disraw of Women mill Children a upecialty CONHULTATION FUEE Koomi 1. 2, 8, First National Hank Hid. I'lionm: Olllce 771, Res. T.C Chants 1'ahii - OaEooit F. DeVore, M. D. PHYSICIAN AND BURGEON City and Country calls promptly an- wrd. Offlos hours 9 to 13 a. tn. and 2 to 6 p. m. Rdi. Phone, Mala 478. Office, 641 Rooun I, 3, 8 Shallnoru Bldg. Grants Pass, - Okb. The Popular Barber Shop Get your tonsorial work done at IRA TOMPKINS Oo Sixth Street Three chairs Hath Room In connection N. E. McGKEW, PIONEER TRUCK and DELIVERY Furniture and I'lano Moving GRANTS PASS, OREGON. JJ, D. NORTON, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW, Practice In all State and Federal Court. Orllce In Opera Ilouae Building. Grants Pass, - Okeuok QLIVliR & I1ROWN, LAWYER. Office over Dixons Store Grants Pass, - Okkoon II. B. HENDRICKS COUN8ELLOR8-AT-LAW OW11 and criminal niaitxra attendad to lit all the court. Real estate and Insurance. Ofllce, 6th street, oppoeite Pontoffloe, O. S. ULANCIIARD, Attornhy-atLaw Practice lu all State and Fedriral courts. Banking and Trmt Co. Bldg Grants Pass; - - Ouk;on WILLIAM P WRIGHT, L'. s. DEPUTY SURVEYOR MINING ENGINEER AND DRAUGHTSMAN (till St., mirth of JiiBcptiine llotfl. Grants Fans, - - Okkoon. TREES! Fruit, Shade Ornamental Hedge plants, Cypress ami Privet Horry Plants ToKay Grapes s.s well as other kinds of first class Krape roots Apple, Pear, Peach, Cherry and other trees at reasonable prices. It will pay you to see me lieforc buying. Let tne have your orders before the assortment is broken. Some kind-- ate M-aree already. I. T. Taylor Office iu brick near Court Houne CEMENT CLIENT R. H. Gilfillan PHONE 744 Grunts Pass, Oregon. Of Interna to the Public. In the llHt of opportunities that are open to the present generation Merlin, and the adjacent district oc cupies an Important position. Situ ated at the northern end of the Rogue River Valley, nestled In among the foothills and surrounded by a large area of fertile orchard land, the town is getting ready to lunge into the ltst of things that are moving. Doing in the Rogue River Valley nothing need be said of its climate Its fruit-ripening propensities are recognized in the markets of the world and the knowing ones re ulize the value of foothills as a pro tection from frosts and a conserva tor of the moisture of the winter rains and the heat of the summer sun. The soil varies from the rich est river bottom sediment, through the black sticky und the preferred rod soil, to the white granite. The latter Is Just coming to be recog nized as choice for grapes, It being a familiar thing during the past sea sou to hear some fruit raiser say: "If you want to see what white gran ite will do, Just come up and look at my vineyard." II. L. Keyte, who Is probably taking more Interest In Tokay grapes than any other of the old-timers, had that for the burden of bis song for several months. Noah Sluipklns, an old-timer, be lieves In red land with a north slope, and arrogantly defies the world to show anything In the line of apples, peaches, pears or grapes that are even equal to what he pro duces. "Not as good, but better," Is the way he puts it. E. A. Shat tuck, A. C. Ford and T. J. Everton, the men who have made Merlin famous for Its peaches, will tell you that the river bottom Is the only place to produce that luscious fruit. II. E. Gale, who recently came down from Portland and purchased a large tract on the river, which com prises all kinds of soils and slopes, Is preparing to take the advice of all of them, planting his orchards and vineyards In a symmetrical man ner without regard to existing con ditions, feeling It Is not so much as to where you set them ub It Is to set them, and take care of them after wards. To make a list of those who are making a success under varying ondltlons would require more space than is pcrmlsHablo In an article of this nature, but an observing one can boo that where a man adapts himself to his surroundings there is but little doubt of Its success. I'll" Merlin district comprises something over 50,000 acres of land adapted to fruit and alfalfa. It has never boon boomed and prices are still within the bounds of reason, unimproved land usually selling for about $l!i per acre, while several parlally Improved places can lie had for a trllle more. Of course, this does not apply to the well-Improved tracts. We have a record of an offer of J 1500 per aero for one tract be ing made by a man who has rented It for three years and who therefore ought to be in a position to know Its value. The offer was refused, and his attention was called to the fait, that it will pay 10 per cent In terest mi $5000 per acre. When we take Into consideration that It was fur u peach orchard 25 years old, we v. hill one lust coming Into hearing would lie worth yet simi lar land can be bought for $25 per ace unimproved. The reader will asiv why this man does not buy the cbeuper land and Improve It. He answered this question by saving. I am going to, but if 1 could get that I could make It pay for Itself lu the four years necessary to bring the new land Into bearing and put from $5000 to $10,000 In the '; ! -s'd.'s," He estmates that this orchard will be good for 50 years yet as long as he will want to raise peaches Mr and Mrs. It. O. Garroutto of Montague I'al., former residents of this place, are visiting with friends here. Of Local Interest Only. The bridge over Grouse has been lowered so that It longer an ohsruction to travel form r almost loud. creek Is no Its elevated posH o ; made it Impossible to uosi with a Charles Crow, having completed tne construction or his new hout-e, has accepted a position with tle .VI meda smelter at Calico Ho lakes considerable pride In the fact that he Is the possessor of the finest res idence in Merlin and Joins heartily In the slogan: "There will be some thing doing In Merlin very soon " Burley Green, one of the leaders of our social sot, who hat been with the Gold Road mine at Galice for the past few months, has been spend ing the week with his mother here. He has accepted a position with Cory Mattlson, the Galice mining king, and will assist In the develop ment of properties . on Howard Creek. .irry Messier of Medford, who noticed a yellow ribbon attached to the wheelbarrow of Colonial Jack, bearing the legend, "There'll be something doing in Merlin very soon," came up to get In line and has concluded to remain here. He has taken a lease for two years on two store bulldngs with the Intention of starting a temperance saloon in one and an up-to-date cafe n the other. What Harry starts In to do, he does right, so look out, there'll be some Steps are being taken to have the Agricultural Exhibit train Btop a day In Merlin when It passes through Southern Oregon in February, and also to have Prof. O'Gara of the U. s. Agricultural Department, ad dress us on matters pertaining to 'he raising of fruit some time early in Januarv. That Merlin is Improving In a re ligious way Is evinced by the fact that the Methodist church which has remained unoccupied the past two years, will hereafter have the services of a minister for two Sundays each month. Rev. Cary, a man of considerable ability, will be In charge. Rev. Jacquemln, of the Baptist church, will hold services once a month on the second Sun day. Some one always profits by an other man's failure. The dredge that refused to work has enabled the residents on the west side of Rogue river to convert the scow Into a ferry boat and thus gain access to a good road to Merlin. It will oper ate between the Booth property on the east side of the river and the VanDorn place opposite. This gives a large mining, timber and fruit raising district direct connection with the town that all roads lead to. "Merlin Acres," the tract of land idjoluing Merlin on the ;as'.. which was recently platted Into small tracts !' A. litjnolds of Portland, U I e glt.nini. to attract h r'.lention of prospective Investors, it Is a plen did piece of property and e expect to see many nice homes In that vi cinity in the next few years. It is offered for sale on the Installment plan, Improved or unimproved. We are pained to see that Adah Brockman, Merlin's randidate In The Courier's Golden Eagle Con test, has her name so far down the list, and believe that If she wou'd get out and put a little Binder ilo the contest there would be enough doing In Merlin to place her well within reach of the $20. None of our young ladles are held in higher regard than she, und we are adverse lo teeing a Merllnltt start out n ur eov.plish anything and not met with success. There Is a general movement on all sides toward getting ready for the winter placer season. A party of miners came down from Hoseburg Tuesday morning to start the work on the Taylor Creek mine. The Swastika mine op .lump-off-Joe has already done enough work to fill the creek with mud. Anbury Bros, have taken charge of the Hell Gate mine and C. E. Emerson has the Emerson-Flanagan property In shape for active operations when a little more water comes. From Galice creek comes the report that the Old Channel and Lewis mines are In position to move more gravel this season than ever before. Melvin Culp, an aged resident of this town, was killed Tuesday morn ing by the tirst section of train No. 15. south hound. He was going to his work in the woods and had reached the center of the trestle over Jump-off-Joe when the train rounded the curve a short distance ahead and he started to run back. The train was coming down a stoop grade and could not be controlled and ho was struck within a few feet of safely. Death was instantaneous. He leaves a wife ami a largo family of children. The burial took place at Pleasant Valley cemetery on Wednesday. V. C. Fry, our efficient road sup ervisor, thinks that good roads occu py a prominent place among our ur gent needs, and we agree with him. Just as soon as we get a now school house a number of ug are going to rally to his banner and see what can be done In that line. The recent hauling of the heavy machinery of the Almeda smelter has almost put the Galice road out of cofmnission, and as this will now become a very Important highway, It is necessary that it be kept in good condition. Nor is this the only road that de serves attention. A town that ex pects to have something doing very soon mus see that all highways leading to It are kept in good idiape. Probably the most Important or last week's real estate transfers was the purchase of two of the i-iueipal business lots in the town by John Twohy of Spokane, Wash. Mr. Two hy Is connected with the Old Nation al Bank of that city and is a promi nent railroad contractor of our sister state. He intimated that there would be something doing on that particu lar corner sometime between now and spring. Mr. Twohy spoilt con siderable time In the Medford (iis trict looking over what it hd to offer, and his choice of Merlin Hid vicinity as a field of this ind other Investments Is a matter of tM ctlt congratulation on our part. A concerted movement Is btin,: made to stop the wanton destructo: of property'that has long been goin.j, on by the rowdy element of tlu younger generation. They hav; long considered any unguarded building as their legitimate re. and were satisfied to stop now hen short of absolute destruction. Th' new galvanized iron warehouses re cently constructed by Barlow & Mat tlson has been punctured full oi holes, both sides and roof, and the? have ofTered a reward of $20 foi the conviction of anyone throwing a rock against it in the future. Ra Colby has taken It upon himself tc see that there are no more windows broken in the school house and eve ry other property owner has con cluded that It is time an example is made of some one. So look out, there'll be something doing in Mer lin very Boon. An amusing real estate transfer was consummated In Merlin last week. B. A. Williamson traded a horse for 40 acres of land three miles north of town a couple of years ago and has put in his Uiiv ov er since trying to trade it to Charles E. Short, our real estate man. This week the trade Bprouted up again, and the entire town took a hand In the deal. Mr. Short started In by offering eight head of cattle, then raised It by adding 30 head of goats, finally throwing In a pig, some barb ed wire and a bunch of groceries. Ths latter offer something that could be eaten cinched the deal. Immediately a discussion was start ed as to who got the worst of the proposition, and sympathy was gen erally extended to Mr. Short, but when ho pointed out the fact that hay was selling for $20 per ton, food clear out of sight, and told them that such land around Medford was worth $100 per acre and Intimated that "There'll be something doing in Merlin very soon," they came to the conclusion that he was not looking for consolation. Lou Gibson, who has handled enough dynamite to blow up all of Southern Oregon and considers it us harmless as a small boy's top, came near meotng with a fatal acci dent in the tunnel of the Mammoth Copper mine last Saturday. He was preparing a shot and entered the tunnel carrying a stick of dynamite, a cap and fuse in his left hand and a candle in his right. Needing a bar he transferred the candle to his left hand and stooped over to pick It up. He forgot that he wanted the liar however, in the commotion that followed. When he recovered his wits he found himself still hanging on to the fuse and candle, but the 'cap and dynamite were gone. The dynamite was later recovered with the paper in which it was wrapped mostly burned off, and Lou only has a row small punctures in his breast, and a lacerated knee and thumb to remind him that there is a difference in the explosive power of a cap and a stick of dynamite. Just why the dynamite did not respond to the cap wih Its attendant tire and Jolt, is a matter of much discussion between the old minors, but Lou is satisfied to let the question remain unsolved. He reports that the work already done on the Mammoth Copper tun nel shows that property to be one of the most promising prospects In the district. About 200 feet of tun nel has been completed Something of a Joke crept Into the Courier last week. In the plate mat tor under the heading of "Farm, From Now Until Christmas ah SUITS and PANTS At Harth' the Clothiers' will be sold for Less Than Cost All other goods in the store will be sold at prices in proportion Just the place to buy a suitable CHRISTMAS Gift and save money Hartfo's &c Clothiers w I Santa Glaus' COPYRIGHT City Meat Vain Search The old patron Saint of Christmas time cannot find in all his travels a better meat or poultry mart than at Ahlf's City Meat Market. MarKet J. H ww Phone 144 AHLF, Prop. GRANTS PAS.- ORE. ur.hard and Garden," edited by some knowing individual back in Iowa, there was an article which ad vised against the purchase of land for agrlcultlral purposes anywhere west of the 99th meridian, which ex tends north and south through North Dakota ana Texas. It is wonderful how much Intelligence some of these agricultural writers can accumulate. It reminds me of a conversation which took place on a morning train Just as it entered Grants Pass a few days ago. A rather sleepy individ ual suddenly awoke at the brake man's call of the station's name. Ho opened his eyes and asked a fel low traveler who had gotten on at Merlin, "Is this Grants Pass?" Up on being informed that it was he said: "I had a friend come out here a short time ago and start into the real estate business." Not eliciting an answer to this, he continued: "He'd a done a sight better to have remained right thers In Lee Creek." This touched a tender spot and the Merlinite retorted. "Probably he took the trouble to In vestigate a little and found pleutyof rasons for the change." "Reaso-ii' ' he exclaimed, "Why, I'd like for you to show me a piece of and In thi whole country that will produce 60 bushels of wheat to the acre." ' Pld you say 60 bushels of wheat per acre my friend? I can show yon a num ber of acres near Merln tbut wi" produce $600 per acre and pay tn' cost of care and cultivation beside land that can be sold for $15 per acre any day and which w'11 do this while the owner Is catchinJ trout and shooting deer. With thii he can buy several times 60 bushel of wheat after It is ground up in'0 flour and pay the freight all tB way from Lone Creek," repil?d the Merlinite. The converation stopf with the train and the Lone Creekef subsided, much to the amusement of his fellow traveler. THERE'LL BE SOMETHING DOING IN MERLIN VERY 80011