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VOL. XXV.
GRANTS TASS, JOSEPHIXE COUNTY, OREGON.FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1909.
No. 23.
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GRANTS PASS A
BUSINESS CENTER
' JiANY FACTS RELATING TO ITS
PROSPERITY AXD GROWTH
i THE ROGUE RIVER DISTRICT
Its Many Natural Advantages Are
Apparent to All Observant
Visitors.
Grants Pass has a water front
which affords opportunity for the
use of gasoline launches, row boats
And canoes. It is the only city in
the Rogue River valley that has
these very desirable advantages.
Grants Pass has nine church
edifices, and has a number of other
'religious organizations which have
cot yet had opportunity to build
churches of their own. The per
centage of church communicants a"
cordlng to population is greater here
than any other city on the coast.
Grants Pass has three grammar
echools, built of brick, and a high
school. The enrollment is 925 and
there are employed a superintendent
and 26 teacuers. The educational
advantages are In every respect
most excellent and many people se
lect Grants Pass as a residence be
cause of the reputation of Its public
echools.
Grants Pass will soon have enough
alfalfa and other hay grown under
Its own ditches on the Applegate and
Rogue river to supply forage for the
city, mines and farms and large
quantities for shipment to other
points. Irrigation Is revolutionizing
'the forage question.
Grants Pass lumber market Is
supplied with the product of thirty
five sawmills which send to this cen
ter annually more than twenty mil
lion feet of lumber for manufacture
and shipment.
Grants Pass has around It (50,000
acres of fruit lands, 20,000 of whic h
ere now being put under a perfect
ystem of Irrigation and as many
more acres will be supplied .with
; "-water within the next three years.
Grants Pass has near it 15,000
Acres which have been cleared and
planted with grapes, apples, pears
and other fruits within the last two
years and as many more acres will
he cleared and planted during the
next two years.
Grants Pass has two large box fac
tories which manufacture for the
frtilt trade of Southern Oregon and
California, two large sash and door
factories and two extensive lumber
yards which handle all kinds of
building material for a rapidly ex
panding district.
Special
Large Aisortment of
CHINA
Cake Tin tea Salad Dishes
Cups and Saucers
Covered Sugar Howls
Vegetable Dishes Creamers
aii nt the lOc ea. 0110 l'ric'''
IS g i 1 1
Grants Pass Is a city of about
6000 inhabitants and is a commercial
center for several flourishing min
ing districts, large lumber interests
and extensive fruit and farming sec
tions, besides extensive fishing in
terests.
Grants Pass has a vineyard near
It which contains 65 acres of bearing
grape vines and these are of the
choicest varieties. This fruit is
shipped to the great markets of the
east in carload lots. More grapes
are raised In this vineyard than in
any other of the same size on the
Pacific Coast.
Grants Pass is an Important city
on the Southern Pacific system
which receives and ships large quan
tities of freight of all kinds, supply
ing the needs of a vast inland terri
tory, accessible only from this point,
which trade Is very extensive and
constantly increasing. As a railroad
point it Is one of the most Important
on the line between Portland and
San Francisco.
Grants Pass has never had what
Is commonly called a boom but has
enjoyed a continuous growth for
many years. It Is fast becoming a
city of beautiful homes and fine
business blocks. Contracts will be
let within the next month for the
paving of the entire business center
with bitnllthlo pavement and it Is
the Intention to extend this pave
ment many blocks during the next
year.
Grants Pass has an electric light
ing system which Is in every respect
equal to that of any other city In the
state and the cost at which light, h
ar ciiumltil k quite as low, and the
result Is that the system is nonulnr
fid everybody uses this kind of
light. .
Grants Pass has an uo-to-date tele
phone system such as Is found onlv
In prosperous municipal centers.
Fortunately within the last year the
company resolved to improve the
system and make It In every respect
worthy of this progressive city and
Orants Pass enjoys the advantage of
the best telephone service to be
found anywhere.
Grants Pass has a water system
which supplies the entire city with
water for domestic purposes at a
nominal expense and next year Irri
gation water for gardens, lawns and
small fruit farms within the city
limits will be furnished by the
Josephine County Irrigation & Power
company by a system of cement
pines. The general Irrigation will
add greatly to the beauty of the city
at a very moderate expense.
Heavyweight Wrestler Here.
Leo Rockier, of Minneapolis,
Minn., on a month's vacation from
his reirnlnr duties, arrived In (Iran's
Pass Thursday and will spend poiii-
time looking over the mining section.
Mr. Rockier Is a heavy weight wrestl
er and Is anxious to meet any one
In the state In a wrestling match.
He will back himself for any rea
sonable amount, and enough to ninke
It Interesting. He Is a finely built
man. welching 190 pounds on the
mat, and a trained athlete in the
best of condition.
New Arrivals
The House FurnIsher
FOREST FIRES
NOW RAGING
ROGUE, RIVER VALLEY IS NOW
ENVELOPED IX SMOKE
VALUABLE TUBER LOST
Supervisor Anderson Talks About
Destructive September and
October Fires.
The Bmoke of great forest fires
burning north of this city fairly fills
the Rogue River valley and hides
the mountains on every side. The
sun is veiled and when it shines at
all its color Is deep red with a car
mine shading. There have been
days and nights of this weather un
til we are ready to call for a change.
At the present writing the wind is
from the west and there is every in
dication of rain, which, if it comes,
will put out the fires. M. J. Ander
son, the supervisor of the Siskiyou
forest reserve, has been out for sev
eral days giving directions to the
fire fighters, returning Wednesday
night. When seen by a representa
tive of this paper he talked interest
ingly, not only of the present fires,
but of those which have occurred in
the past. He said:
"This is the second season for
many years that Oregon has been un
fortunnte enough to have September
forest fires and the southwestern
part of the state alone Is now a suf
ferer. (Though California is still
burning.)
"Nearly every year July and Aug
ust show more or less smoke, but in
these months It Is not every fire in
the woods that does serious Injury
to standing merchantable timber,
and for this reason many persons
who have seen a burned area where
brush and debris have been clenred
by fire, without Injury to the large
trees, are led to believe that It would
be perfectly safe to annually set fall
fires. '
"If the old Inhabitants will search
their memory, or their record-?, they
will discover that the famous fire
of Oregon took place In September
or October.
"The disastrous fire of 1902 near
'ortland, that destroyed Bridal Veil,
iiusltig such terror and some loss
of life, and destroyed some of the
Columbia river timber In Oregon,
was a September (Ire, and there has
never oocn a similar season since
that time until the present, and, as
I have said, this is really only local.
"The great fires of the 00's that
burned the vast forest from Bun don
south to the California line (an area
of probably 20x100 miles) are
shown by all records to have been In
September and October, though full
details about these fires are hard to
iecure.
I am not scientist enough to say
Just why fires are more disastrous
late In the season; but I do not be
lieve It Is altogether the result of the
dry condition of the ground and un
derbrush. During the past two
weeks I have paid particular atten
tion to the way a September fire at
tacks green trees, and am lead to
believe that after the growing period
Is over and the season's growth
more firm, the wood is more In
flammable. One thing is certain,
'hat the pereentagp of green mature
nine and fir being ruined by the
large fire Is much greater on the
ame area than has resulted from
fires In the snme vicinity, and simi
lar timber, In past years.
"There Is another peculiar thing
about late fall fires that Is not
robnbly recognized by the casual
observer. It Is well known by fire
flKhters In the woods thnt the bent
I time to put up a fight Is In the even-
In? or early morning. This Is be
cause, as a rule, forest fires begin to
(lie down about 4 p. m. and do not
J revive until 9 or 10 a. m. This falls
!ln late fall forest fires, though It
would seem that roo nights would
j make the burning hours chorter. In
late fires, and the Inter -the more
marked (especially In heavy timber).
the fiercest burning Is from 9 at
the fire is dormant it Is from early
morning to noon.
"The largest single fire I know of
in Southern Oregon this season is on
Cow Creek and its tributaries near
West Fork station. This fire has
now a boundary of probably over S
miles. It Is burning in private tim
ber and a force of Forest Service
men, under H. B. HIllls, have suc
cessfully kept It outside the boun
daries of the Siskiyou forest. The
odd sections burned belong to the
O. & C. R. R. and the rest of the
timber belongs to private parties.
This fire hat done great damage.
many claims valuable before the
fire would not now pay to cut. This,
like every great fire, struggled along
for days in a way that made it look
harmless (especially so late in the
season), and could have been put
out by a few men, but it later took
nearly a hundred men working day
and night to save the railroad build
ings and mill property near West
Fork, and thousands of dollars
worth of timber close to the railroad
Is ruined. This fire Is rumored to
hnve been set by a careless hunting
camp fire.
"There is now a large fire burn
ing south of Waldo. It Is In charge
of two experienced Forest Service
men, J. A. Gasiln and M. M. Lewis,
with a crew of fighters. This Is
supposed to be mostly private tim
ber owned by Grants Pass people.
The scant reports received are that
it is a very stubborn fight and Is in
keeping with my experience with
late fall fires.
"Wllllnms Creek has been the
scene of several large fires, and the
cost of these has been considerable
In tho aggregate, but the damage
done has not yet been great on ac
count of the area being largely
brush lands.
"The const side of the Siskiyou
range hns been remarkably clear of
fires up to the last report (last
week). The only fire set was sighted
by Ranger Walter J. Jones, of Cres
cent City, and R. A. Dean, of Grants
Pass, who made so successful a
twiAity mile ride that the fire was
extinguished and the firebug ran
down and had made confession be
fore he had created smoke enough to
really make It worth while. It Is
likely he will be taken before the U.
S. court at Portland Inter.
"Nearly all the large fires of this
season, at least, have started outside
the government forest boundaries
and by days of neglect became so
large beforo It became apparent they
would endanger the Siskiyou and
thus make It possible to use govern
ment funds, thnt the fk'ht to control
was much greater. There should
not only be a strict enforcement of
the present slate fire law, but a lib
eral appropriation to rare for these
outside fires by paying a patrol force
similar to that of the government.
Fire wardens without salary will
never protect the timber interest of
the t ate."
Pilgrimage No, 3.
The pilgrimage of the members of
the Commercial Club and business
men of Grants Tass to the Williams,
Provolt and Murphy districts of
Josephine county will take place next
Wednesday, September 22. The
committee on arrangements consists
of T. P. Cramer, H. C. Bobzeln, Jim
Gibson and Secretary Andrews. All
business men desiring to accompany
this excursion should make the fact
known to some member of the com
nlttee. This section of the county
Is one of the most Interesting and
the good people there are famous
for their hospitality and good
cheer, therefore, a largo party Is
"Tpected to partake In thlH pilgrim
age.
The many fine orchards, fields of
alfalfa, dairy ranches, etc., Including
the creamery, are all matters well
worth the Inspection of the boosters
of Josephine county.
Fred Mermen returned Tuesday
nlnht from Teller, Douglas county,
where he has been for the past six
weeks ranking a survey of govern
merit lands. He was assisted In the
work by Dun Mcl'nrlarid, W. M
Harvey and Karl Allen, all of Grants
I'as, The latter, not yet having
enough of the mountain nnd wild
erness. Is remaining for a few days
with his kodak, gathering some of
the many Interesting scenes. Mr
Mcnsdi will leave In a few days for
Deer Creek, where he has a small
fraction of n townslto to subdivide
under the ntie contract.
RAILROAD FACTS
AS THEY ARE
TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS IX
THIS PART OF OREGON
THAT EASY MOUNTAIN PASS
A Tribute to the tang-Headed Rout
ing Meu of the City of
Medford.
The Pacific & Eastern has let a
contract to the Porter Brothers for
the construction of an extension of
thnt road from Its present terminus
at Eagle Point to Butte Falls, a dis
tance of 18 miles. This contract
was signed on Saturday of last week
and on Monday Johnson Porter of
the above noted firm appeared In
Medford and went over a part of the
proposed line of construction. Some
of the newspnpers have been trying
to mnke it appear that (he Hill In
terest has taken tho Pnclflc & East
ern, but this was mero supposition;
almost anything in the way of rail
road building is grasped now'-n-dnys
with avidity and a pausiblo story Is
easily made for the gullible public,
John R. Allen, who controls this
little road, says that eventually It
will be extended to Crnter Lake nnd
that the only connection It has Is
with the Southern Pacific at Med
ford. Tho Medford Mall on Tues
day published an Interview with
Johnson Porter which gives the situ
ation as he sees it. Here is what he
says:
"Work on the Deschutes railroad
Is going ahead as fast as It possibly
can and we are well sntlsfled with
the progress. We are placing on
men as fast as the engineers can
cross section tho work, and that nt
present Is all that Is worrying us. Ev
erything else progresses smoothly
and we hnve had no trouble so far
with getting supplies nnd tools to
work with. Our teamsters are the
best In tho country and although tho
roads are dangerous and steep In
places, yet we have had no trouble.
Called To Portland.
"I left the engineers somewhere
near the terminus of tho proposed
Deschutes rond nnd hurried over to
Crater Lnko to look nt the country.
Here I was caught by a telophono
message telling mo to come to .port
land as quickly as possible. I have
traveled from Crater Lake hero as
fast as an automobile can go arid I
am tired out. .
Has No Significance.
Yes, we have taken a contract
to build tho Pacific & Eastern, but
that doesn't signify anything, as we
do construction work for any person
or concern.
We will have dirt flying here with
In a week, as all our outfit Is on
the way here now. We were In a
good position to take thjs contract as
we had some of our outfit In Port
land which we were not going to
use on tho Deschutes for some time,
and we did not want It Idle.
I am called to Portland on some
urgent business nnd will not stay
In Medford tonight, but will go on
as soon as I ran leave. Some one
of us will bo hero next week to gel
things to move as quickly as possl
hie."
In the past this valley has been
unrortunato enough to be in tho
grasp of tho Harrlman system, but
at the present time there Is a ray
of hope. Harrlman Is dead, and It Is
possible that tho new manager will
see the necessity of developing this
country and thus prevent rival cor
poratlons entering the field,
If the Orants Tnss Commercial
Club will now take up this mntter of
rallrond building there Is a chance
to Interest parties In the construe
Hon work, Tho time Is ripe and If
we do not get n rnllroad It will be
our fault. Call the attention of rail
road men lo the situation and tho
great opportunity of building a const
line, Do not say to yourselves and
your neighbors thnt these rallrond
men know the conditions and will
build when the signs come right
without any urging. That Is neither
good business or good logic. Capi
talists are constantly looking for
rallrond investments and if you have
all the facts in shape and will sub
mit them there is at least a chance
to succeed. If no effort is made,
of course, we will get nothing and
in fact deserve nothing. What is
the railroad committee doing? We
hope these gentlemen are busy.
We have waited for Harrlman
long enough, now let us go after
some one else. Bo prepared to furn
ish all the information that will be
required to show that a road built
to the coast will pay; that is, will
have tonnage. Please, gentlemen,
get up and do something and it will
astonish you how easy it will be to
find someone who has the means,
the ability and tho disposition to
build the road we so much need.
Medford is to be congratulated for
its persistence in this mntter. It will
undoubtedly have a railroad, but to
get to Crescent City It must build
by way of Grants rasa. From an
article published In the Oregonlan
of last. Sunday we clip tho following:
"From nn authoritative source it
was learned yesterday that two avail
able routes, providing excellent
grade, were discovered across the
mountain range. Some years ago
rnllroad surveyors on a roconnots
sance. worked southwestward from
Medford and found a satisfactory
route to tho Pacific Coast, terminat
ing nt Crescent City."
This Is hot air pure nnd simple.
No such route from Medford has ever
been found for the very good reason
thnt there are mountains of high al
titude to cross and theso must be
tunneled at a cost of millions ' of
dollars. Yet we must say that the
article from which this clipping was
nken nnd which was republished in
tho Observer this week, was one of
the best newspaper attempts at
booming we have seen for many a
day. It wns well calculated to de
ceive even the elect. That is one of
tho things that Medford can do to
perfection. It hns a system of news
paper exploitation thnt is equaled
by few towns in this or any other
stato. It knows the Importance of
employing printers' Ink, nlso how to
welcome strnngers nnd to put them
to work booming their city and the
orchards which surround It. They
are not snubbed and kept out in the
rain because they have not lived
there a long time, Note Its wonder
ful article on Its orchards published
the Oregonlan of September 5.
Tho next article, tho one above men
tioned, appeared Sunday tho 12th.
l,ook out for more next Sundny. This
sort of thing makes Medford talked
of nnd believed In.
The long-bended turn who plan
this newspaper work nre full of en
terprise and will bring about rall
rond construction, In fact, (here Is
only one thing they, with nil their
faith, cannot do and that Is to re
move tho mountulns In their path to
Crescent City.
The Courier hns no deslro to In
jure Medford, but facts are facts.
Tho Pacific & Eastern will bo ex
tended nnd this will bo of no little
ndvantago to our neighboring city.
Medford will have railroads, and for
Its spirit, of enterprise It dosorvea
them. Tho place Is full of men of
brond minds with senso enough to
hang together In all matters that
relate to the welfare of their place.
In this respect they can glvo Grant
Pass a few pointers, and If we are
wise we will accept them.
Grants Pnsg has mnny resource!,
such as lumber, minerals and a great
distributing commercial center and
a rapidly growing fruit industry
which, by tho aid of Irrigation, will
soon rival any other fruit growing
district In Southern Oregon. Not
only hns It Irrigation, but It hat
many thousands of acres of the best
lands to be found In any country.
Yen, there will bo a rnllroad built,
for Oregon is In the swim now and
rallrond building Is In order, but
builders of these modern conveni
ences always go through natural
pnsseg, In fact, when necessary rival
Interests will fight for theso natural
advantages as the Harrlman and Hill
Interests hnvo been doing. No rail
road builders will go 40 miles oat
of Ihelr way for tho sake of running
up against two or three mountains
which require million dollar tunnels"
ench. Tho routo from Grants Pnse"
to tho sea Is an rnsy gmdo between
mountains and every mllo of tho way
there hns Taluablo tonnage for
rnllroad.
S ho-
right to 3 or 4 In the morning, and If
f
I