Rogue River courier., February 19, 1909, Image 1

VOL. XXIV.
GRANTS PASS, JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1909.
NO. 47
fflhe Great Irriatiom 1 C&e&l Commenced,
CEREMONY AT-
TENDED BY 300
1
Actual Ditch Construction CommencedJThursday.
President Gilkey, President Anderson,
Judge Jewell, Secretary Blanchard
and Mayor Kinney Speak.
Tho irrlfffttlon excursion tn tne
rate the Btarting or the conBtruc-
ion work on the canals was one of
he most successful affairs of the
Ind that has ever been pulled oft In
his city, and It goes a long way to
ward having the deep and absorbing
lnterest taken by the people gener
ally In the Irrigation business. With
very little advertising and on short
taotlce, fully 300 people went up to
She Dam and participated In the ln-
'sAwwtlnw fiDromnnloa nf An ftPPR
acirot-iug v,i Li.iuw- v
tBlon long to be remembered as It Is
without doubt the starting point of
great prosperity for Grants Pass and
Josephine County. There has been
imany public events In this valley
within the last quarter of a century,
but none of them promised as great
results as the system of Irrigation
dltebes contemplated by our local
Irrigation company. This seemed to
be well understood by all those who
turned out to witness the lifting of
the first shovel lull of earth In the
work of construction followed by the
plows and scrapers thus announcing
to an anxious and sympathetic public
that the Important enterprise had ac
tually been commenced.
On Wednesday It was decided that
the ceremonies above outlined
should take place the following day.
A ielegram was sent to the General
Passenger Agent of the Southern Pa
cific at 10 a. m. asking for a train to
take the people to dam. No re
ply was received until 3 o'clock In
the afternoon which announced that
the train was at hte service of the
people and that It would cost $75.
An eighth Bheet bill was soon printed
giving particulars of the excursion
and naming the hour 1 p. m. the
next day as the time the train would
start.
Closing tin Stores.
A committee from the Commercial
Club' visited the business houses and
requested them to close their Btores
from 1 to 4 p. m. This request was
compiled with and when the train
started on Thursday afternoon, It.
had on board 220 people. The
excursion train waited on a side
track a few minutes for the passen
ger No. 14 from the south to arrive
and noon as It pulled Into the yards
the train started out and It so bap
lrnrd that quite a number of e:
curslonlsts who were on the south
side of No. 14 and did not see the
Ament dam excursion train pull out,
were left. The Courier was Inform
ed that fully 40 people were thus
disappointed, some of these secured
carriages and drove up and others
walked; others gave up the trip.
Arriving at the Dam.
It was a jolly crowd on board the
excursion train made up as it was of
the best citizens of both Grants Pass
and Josephine county. There were
numerous ladles in the party and
these fair ones seemed to enjoy the
occasion equally as did the gentle
men. As the train pulled up at the
dam the passengers were requested to
halt after they were out of the cars
long enough to allow Photographer
Lewis to make a picture of the party,
with the train for a background.
This being done the people walked
up to a point just below the dam
where numerous stakes Indicated
that the Civil Englner had marked
the place where the main gravity
canal was to be started. We were
told that this canal would be 12 feet
wide on the bottom, six feet deep
and 24 feet wide on top.
The Interesting Ceremonies
As Boon as the party had arrived
on the ground, four magnificent
teams, drawing plows and Bcrapers
took 'positions along the place mark
ed off by the surveyors' stakes.
These teams were composed of
horses, each animal of which would
weigh more than 1500 pounds. They
were much admired and were de
clared a credit, not only to their
owners, but to the county, arid the
occasion.
push the work to early completion.
We are depending on no outside pow
ers, no governmental machinery to
complicate, hinder or delay our pro
gress. We can, If we will, have a
system of Irrigation to cover our
lands as rapidly as tne said lands are
ready for the water. This means
more to us than the most optimistic
of you have ever dared to dream.
All kinds of questions are being
asked. Why was this particular pro
ject chosen? Why not go to Savage
Rapids, Rock Point, Gold Hill or
some other point farther up the river
and take out a gravity line and save
the cost; of pumping, etc, etc? Do
you realize, friends, that it would re
quire a ditch no less tnan 140 miles
long to bring the waters from Rogue
River to cover less than two-thirds
of the lands we propose to cover by
this system? This Is saying nothing
of the expensive rock work and other
obstacles we would encounter.
Our plan Is to put In a gravity
are today taking our irrigation wa
ter from the stream of our own val
ley. Notwithstanding the fact that
some of our neighboring cities over
on Bear Creek, one of them twelve
rtlles and the other 25 miles from
Rogue River, would lay claim to be
ing the Rogue River Valley and even
go so far as to propose to put up
signs at Gold Hill and Ashland as
the beginning of the end of Rogue
Liver Valley, claiming that Grants
Pass Is not to be considered. Just
let them wait until this irrigation
system Is in operation and they will
learn that Grants Pass Is to be con
sidered, and since the real rule of
progress Is to begin at the lower end
and work up we will develop our re
sources in our own way, for we are
the "Rogue River Valley proper"
and are entitled to the full rights
and benefits of the name, and when
the fields and farms about Grants
Pass reach Its Ideal development we
will not shut out our neighbors on
HURRY UP THE 50,000
JOSEPHINE COUNTY BOOKLET
We Are Very Late With the $5,000 Fund to Ad
vertise this City and County and the Golden
Opportunity Is Slipping Away.
pe;
if: y
THE AMENT DAM.
Committees of the Commercial
Club are at work end eavortng to
complete the necessary subscriptions
of $5000 to carry forward the ad
vertising campaign for this year
which is one of the most important
In the history of Josephine county.
We need the 50,000 booklets at once
which It Is proposed to Issue in the
Interest of the whole county and
should have been printed at last
0 days ago.
It is now very Important that the
balance of the $5000 be raised with
out an hour's delay beyond what Is
absolutely necessary.
The booklets will contain 64 pages
and the matter will be a full showing
of the resources of the county, cov
erlng ranches, fruit farms, Bmall
fruits, vineyards, Irrigation, placer
and quartt mining, our timber and
lumber interests, besides a chapter
on game as well as the finest fishing
in the world.
The publication of this booklet
will be under the general direction
of the Commercial Club, out the
writing will be by specialists who
will cover the various topics as
signed them from an actual knowl
edge of the subject in hand.
It the miners and farmers of the
county and the business men of all
our towns will be liberal in their
contributions the necessary money
will be raised in a few days. This
ditch on either side of the river and
cover all the lower lands which will
amount to some five to eight thous
and acres. Then two high line
ditches, one on the south and
Bear Creek as tributary beneficiaries
; to the name of the Great "Rogue
River Valley," of which Grants Pass
is the center and sole city lying along
one side and wholly within its natural
every one do all in our power to
complete the subscription list as
soon as possible. What we need Is
new men to come Into this country
to help us In the great work ot de
velopment. This will reduce our
taxation, Increase the value of our
Individual holdings and make this
the leading fruit county In the state.
The work before us to be accom
plished by the advertising campaign
this year, to put It short, is to bring
men with capital Into this county to
clear up our stump and brush lands
and plant them to apples, pears and
grapes; to open our mines which
are rich in gold and copper and will
warrant the Investment of the capi
tal necessary to develop them. This
being the year of the great Alaska
Yukon and Pacific Exposition hun
dreds of thousands will be in attend
ance there and If they know before
hand that there Is such a place as
Josephine County with Its op
portunities to make fortunes and
homes it Is safe to say that thous
ands ot them will buy excursion tic
kets from the cast so as to take In
Grants Pass either going or coming.
This is certainly the year to adver
tise our resources with the one end
in view and that Is to bring to us
hundreds of new settlers with their
energy and wealth. Let us not keep
our light hid under a bushel, but
place It before the world that all
matter is bo important to all our ( may soe this, the lapd of health, sun
lnterests that we must each and .shine and opportunity. i
At a given signal it was announced
that "America" would be sung
ty the audience, Mayor Kinney
leading. After the slngir.,?,
the assembly was called to order
by President Gilkey, who acted as
master of ceremonies. Rev. Robt.
on the north side of the river, at an
elevation of 350 feet and possibly
one or two Intermediate lines Into
which the water will be pumped. Al
together the system will cover from
boundary.
Josephine County as a whole is the
richest district in Southern Oregon.
The finest timber, the richest min
eral deposits, the richest soil' and
fifteen to twenty thousand acres. ; practically the only home of the
This will be the valley of small hold- tokay grapo In Southern Oregon,
ings as no one will need a quarter ! Let us not forgot our neighboring
section of land for the purpose of valleys. Let us work for the Inter
making a good living, but the man est of all the valleys, especially In
with five, ten or twenty acres under , Josephine County. Let us not speak
McLean led In prayer while the vast i p ,,Kn BtatG 0f cultivation w'll make disparagingly of our neighbors In
audience stood witti uneovereu
heads. After the prayer President
Gilkey spoke substantially as fol
lows: President (Jilkcy's Introductory Talk.
Ladles, Gentlemen, Fellow Citizens:
Our gathering here today marks
onening of a new era ior uiu
the
Rogue River Valley ana more es
pecially Josephine County. Febru
ary IS, 1909, will be a date long to
remember In the years to come when
this valley shall be made to "blos
som as the rose" by reason of the
perfection of the enterprise we now
inaugurate.
It only remains for our citizens to
more than the one with ten times as
murh half cultivated, as at present.
We have got to make room for our
New Stock of
Wall
P
I
x
X
aner
Now on the way
off
25 Per Ct.
ON AM. CASH l'UltCHASES
Como while tho assortment is fine
O'NEILL
CoHousefurnlsher
South Side of Railroad on C St.
President Algernon's Siwech.
M. J. Anderson, pres(dnt of the
Commercial Club, was Introduced
and spoke as follows:
Mr. President:
I did not hear of yo'ir Intention to
celebrate this occasion until this
morning at Rom-burg, where I have
been attending to som land esses.
Last week I was taken sick and when
I found that you were to relebrate
this occasion I rose from a sick bed
determined to be with you at any
cost. It has been my pleasure and
pleasant duty to act as the president
of the' Grants Tass Commercial Club,
and I am deeply Interested In what
you are doing. This Is the greatest
event and will be more far-reaching
in Its results than anything that ever
happened at Grants Tans. Irrigation
will completely roclalm every foot of
available soil In Josephine County so
that in a few years the whole valley
(will blossom with orchards and vlne
! yards. The people of Josephine
County have struggled for years to
J better conditions, but today you cast
! the die whereby the whole district Is
I emancipated and will no longer be
subject to droughts. In the past we
I have been conscious of the preaence
'of the "knocker," but from and after
' this day It will become him to hold
Mb peace and If he can't say some
i thing good about his home town to
1 say nothing at all. (and holding up a
! printed card to the audience, which
tread, "Roost or be quiet). This Is
tithe motto adopted in our offices rt
i - I II 1. 4 4
I the Forestry ueserve ana it. ougm
I Ko nitnntrd AS OUT mottO at this tim,
We are living in the beautiful val
ley of the Rogue River proper, and
the county adjoining for In doing so
we do ourselves an Injury. Tho
! Rogue River Valley should embrace
nil Its tributaries and one cannot
speak against tho others or any of
them without condemning his own
locality, and It Is not a good thing
any way to attempt to grow by tear
ing anybody else down. The Rogue
Illver Valley Ih known far and wide
as the most fertile and productive
In Oregon, and It Is well if the whole
valley be praised by all. Let us re
joice together at the advent of this
day. Let us get. together and work.
Let us stand shoulder to shoulder In
thi great work of development which
Is Just begun. Let us exert ourselves
In season and out of season to bring
to the knowledge, of the world thu In
finite resources of Josephine County.
Let there be no one to pull back, but
,ever moving onward we are bound to
win.
I inanx you ror me opportunity or
naylng these few words, which I as
sure you come from my heart, but
which are expressed on the Impulse
of the moment.
ItcmntkN of Judge Jewell.
The next speaker was Judge
Stephen Jewell, who suld:
Mr. President, LadleB and Gentle
men:
As the different organizations of
Josephine County are represented
here at this time, It Is fit and proper
that the county at largo should bo
represented.
I have always been a strong bellev
er In the doctrine that all things
work together for good. Hut before
all things ran work together for
good, It is very necessary that all
things be first put together for that
(Continued on page 4.)
at
"EAR MARKS OF FORGERY"
Under tho above heading two nows-
piper of Grams Pais last week pub'
lUhed statements of libelous nature re
girding W. K. Merrill, ol the raolflo
IVeph'iD & Telegraph Company.
Among other lllxilous itUtcments It was
ntitnaicd that ths names of two Med-
ford physicians on the lint of protest
(?alnit, granting of a franchise to
the new telephone rompany at Med lord
vve.r forgd. Ono of thest ptiyiiloiaoi
has repudiated the "ear mark ol (org
mi;" by the following 'tateuiftnt in tho
Mrdlord Trilium of yesterday:
To the rublio:
Relative to my name appearing on a
oertain remonitraiioe against the Oiti
zrni Telephone Company establishing a
service in the city, will ty my signa
ture was authorized by an Intimate
friend of mine who presumed ttiat I
would bo of the aame. mind and opinion
that he Is; bnt I wish to say agsln that
I did iut sign the remonstrance and
am in favor of a houin telephone sys
tnm, And by invtt.U?ation I have
found out, roncluiively, that my name
was not forged by tho Vaeltlc Telephone
& Telegraph Compaay, or any of their
representatives or ageu's.
Du. E. R. Bkkly,
THE TOLEDO HOME
TELEPHONE COMPANY
Stock That Is All Water Given IVee
Hy Way of Koiiuh -I'lun
of Operation.
(From the News-Heo, Toledo, Ohio.)
That story about the Toledo
Home Telephone Company Increas
ing the dividends of Its common
stock from 5 to 6 per cent, will
make mighty interesting reading
for the people of Toledo, who have
to foot the bills. When this company
first saw the light of day It got a
franchise from tho probate court,
and tho promoters themselves fixed
the ratea In that franchise that
should bo charged for 'phone ser
vice Their argument In favor of
the franchise was that an Independ
ent compnny would Insure competi
tion and result in lower rates for
telephones. That sounded good
at the time. Dut franchise grab
bers generally do rarry a fine line ot
smooth conversation to spread out
beforo the public when they want
special privileges. And the Home
Telephone promoters wcro not a bit
shy of this particular kind of salvo.
After they got their franchise,
however, and had worked up quite
a business, there was a sudden
chaDge of tune. Patrons found that
when their three-year contract ex
pired, tho company had boosted the
price. And tho people of Toledo
are paying that boosted price now.
There was another flno exhibition ot
Btnooth conversation. We were
told that the more telephones you
operate the more It costs, etc., etc.,
otc. Particularly tho etc., 'and
all of us had to dig down for the
boosted price.
The plain truth about It Is that
the promoters wanted the money
and knew how to gut it. To begin
with, the promoters controlled both
the telephone, company and tho con
struction company. Ab tho tele
phone company, they contracted
with themselves to pay themselves
15 per cent, on construction. That
Is, for every dollar thoy Bpent as tho
telephone company, they made 15
per cent, profit as tho construction
company. Then they floated tho
bonds nt 87 V4 with 100 pur cent.
stock bonus. That means that
every person who bought a 1 100
bond and puld 987. CO for It was
given $100 ot stock, par value, as a
bonus. And every dollar ot tho
stock was water.
We don't know how much the
plant cost, but a bond tssuo of $2
COO.OOO was authorized, and a stock
Ihhuo of the same amount. If all
tho bonds and stock have been is
sued there la a capital liability of
$5,000,000. First tho pcoplo muBt
pay enough In telephone rental to
pny tho operating exponBos. Then
enough to pay Interest, on tho bonds;
and after that enough to pay divi
dends on the stock. The moment
the company can drag enough money
(Continued on paje C.)