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About Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 11, 1911)
0f ' lip vol. xxvn. GRANTS PASS, JOSEPHINE COUNTY, OREGON. FRIDAY, AUGUST 11, 1011 SO. It G. SANDERS BUYS BIG DITCH DIGGER TO BE USED TO EXTEND IRRIGA TION SYSTEM. COST LAID DOWN IS $3950 Not Only Excavates But Will rull All the Stomps Encountered Along the Ditch. T. J. Patterson, representing Beall & Company of Portland, in Grants Pass, Saturday closed a deal with George E. Sanders, agent of the Chicago-Rogue River company, for a steam shovel which is to be used for digging the gravity ditch and the Ap plegate ditch. This steam shovel will be shipped direct from the factory In Ohio and is to be delivered In Grants Pass by October. The steam shovel has a ca pacity of 300 cubic yards every ten hours and will cost f. o. b. Grants Pass, $3,950. It has one mam engine and three auxiliary engines and is the latest and best type, it will propel itself under Its own power along the bottom of the ditch. This machine will not only dig the ditch without any plowing, but will also pull any stumps that may be necessary to remove along the right-of-way. After the survey stakes ate set all that has to be done with the right of way is to slash it and pull the big stumps with the engine, and all of the othe small stumps, brush and roots will be lifted out bodily. The shovel has power enough to dig ordinary 6hale, porphyry and de composed granite without blasting It will take out boulders bodily that measure a half cubic yard in size. This machine can be operated Just as well when rain Is falling as when the sun shines, and can be run day and night, thus giving It a capa city of from 600 to 700 cubic yards per day. The ditches to be dug will be eight feet wide on the bottom, twelve feet on the top and four feet deep, with the exception of the first part of the gravity ditch which will be twelve feet on the bottom' and eighteen feet on the top, with a general depth of four feet, and with a depth ot five feet between the Golden Drift dam and the east side of the 'city, which will give a greater pressure on the pipe line under such streets as are paved. Work will start on the gravity ditch Just west of the Golden Drift dam as soon as the shovel, arrives. To operate the shovel requires ono engineer, one fireman and a roust about to each shift, and a man with a team as a tender for both shifts, It will be a wood burner and much ot the wood and water required can be obtained at points nearby as work progresses. Between October 1 and May 15 there are 229 days and by working two shifts 600 yards a day can be ex cavated, which will be 203,400 cubic yards, which will extend both the gravity and the Applegate more than five miles below town. Mr. Sanders says that If the Merlin people and the peoplo on the Murphy divide will assure the company that they will take water In sufficient quantities to pay Interest on the money expended, he will buy a second steam shovel by January 1, and en large the Grants Pass ditch to the size of the Applegate ditch and dig a ditch that will cover the Merlin banln, and also a shorter ditch that will rov er the high lands between Grants Pass and Murphy, with the exception of hill tops. Farmers of Murphy ami Merlin should get together and make arrangements to have their land come under a ditch the coming season. Rev. C. T. Whittlesey of Eueene. who has been on a trip to various points !n Connecticut, stopped In Oranta Pass Tuesday to p"nd the day with Rev. Robert McTsn. lie left for the north this morntn. EASTERN STOCKHOLDER PLEASED WITB ALMEDA Wednesday morning, Charles Oh niart ot Springfield, Ohio, came in from the Galice mining district, where he had for some days been visiting the Almeda mine, of which corporation he is a prominent stock holder. Mr. Ohmart is a business man and thoroughly posted along both com mercial and industrial lines. He talked interestingly of the Almeda mine and smelter and, like other vis itors to that great property, was abundantly satisfied with the large output of ore and the prospects of the smeller. While in Grants Pass, he visited the Golden Drift dam and Investigated carefully the Irrigation possibilities. He gave it as his opin ion that the irrigation plant will prove to be a wonderful factor In the development of the agricultural In terests of this part of Josephine coun ty A friend took Mr. Ohmart for an auto ride over the city and country Immediately adjacent thereto and the visitor came back with enlarged views regarding Grants Pass as a business center and the rich coun try which surrounds the city This man from Ohio was charmed with Rogue river and the great fish which hie saw In the stream", and expressed the hope that he, with his family, might at no distant day, become res idents here." In speaking of the Galice district in general and the Almeda mine in particular, Mr. Ohmart gave It as his opinion that the section mentioned was rich in gold and xopper and would become famous in mineral productions. He spoke In glowing terms of the vast deposits of copper and gold In the Almeda, and ho look ed forward to the time when that mine would become one of the great producers of wealth In southern Ore gon. . Mr. Ohmart said that his visit to this city and county gave him great satisfaction, as he had seen with his own eyes the rich products of the country and had had the pleasure to meet many pleasant people during his stay here. He left this afternoon on the south bound train to visit California and expected to reach his Ohio home In about two weeks. RANCHER LLOYD SCOTT PLACED UNDER ARREST Lloyd Scott, who has been resid ing on the Dillingham place, which he recently purchased, Hbout two miles down Rogue river, was arrest ed Wednesday about 3 o'clock, on a warrant sworn out by his wire, and taken to the county Jail by Sheriff Smith. Scott is held on a charge of larceny by bailee and the arrest was made as be drove Into town In a bug gy, containing a large trunk. He had stepped out of the buggy Into the McLean garage when he was tak en In charge by Sheriff Smith and his baggage was taken charge of by Justice Holman. The trouble Is the result of a fam ily Jar. Mrs. Scott alleges that they were married In Pittsburg In January of this year; that they were happy until letters began coming to Mr. Scott from his parents In Blooming ton, Ills., asking him to leave her, and that after that a coldness grew between huBband and wife. Some Jewelry and money In bank also figure In the trouble. The wife Intimating that her huaband wants to leave her and take this wealth. Scott had little to say on his side of the caRe, and If matters are not amicably adjusted out of court be will present his Bide to the Jury. N. 1'. Townwiul Uurn Knt- N. E. Townsend left Thursday morning for his home at Apollo, Pa., aft'T spending some Mm at the Penn OreRon ranch near this city. Ho will viplt at hata Springs. Lake Tahoe and Los 'An coles en route, and will arrive at h's home about September 1 r, . Tho pcnn-Oregon ranch has lxon much Improved under the sup minion of Mr. Townend ard Is making a splendid showing among the southern Oregon ranches. NEW HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING IS 1M TIMBER FOR ROOF SUPPORTS FAR TOO FRAIL ARCHITECT GETS BLAME School Board Employs B. A. Fitz gerald to Put Structure In Sliape. That big, Imposing new high school building is causing much concern as a result of weak timbers In Its con struction, and as a result of this D. A. Fitzgerald has' been employed by the Bchool board to get busy In a hur ry to remedy serious trouble which has developed. It is alleged that certain timbers are far too weak, and that the arch itect, a Portland man, Is to blame. The contractor followed the archi tect's plans,' and no blame, so far, has been placed against the contract or. The contractor was also an out side man. Several hundred dollars still due the architect have been held up by the school board as a result of the trouble with the building. The roof timbers are alleged to be too light to support the weight of the roof and they are beginning to "buckle" and some of them have sprung nearly six Inches out of plumb. Upright timbers have been placed temporarily supporting the celling In the assembly room while workmen with Jack screws are en deavoring to true up the truss tim bers. This will probably be effected without serious difficulty, although It Is a greater Job than would have been required to do the work right In the first place. Plastering In a number of places Is cracking and falling, due to shrink ing of timbers. This Is noticeable at one of the stairways leading from the first to the second floors, where lath and plaster were placed directly upon the face of the floor Joist and the shrinking of the Joist broke the plas tering, leaving on unsightly spot. Again, In the basement below tho level of the ground tho moisture haB penetrated through to the Inner face of the wall and the cement plastering Is crumbling and falling in consid erable qoautltlos. It Is hoped tovhave the building In shape for the fall term of school. DKVKliOP.MENT WORK SHOWS MICH VALUABLE OP.K Dan Hearn, Pat Casey and J. R. Harvey left last Thursday for Selmu, from which point the parly tooK the trail for the valuable gold prop erties belonging to Hearn, Casey and associates in the Chetco region. Casey stated that development work on the property la disclosing much valuable ore, and he stated that each day verifies first reports of ore of much richness. Mr. Harvey goes to sample the ledge. This does not mean that a sale Is on, as Hearn and Casey are In no hurry to sell the property; on the other hand they are Indifferent re garding the matter, as they reallzo they have a property that needs no brasa band to stir enthusiasm. At the time of Jibe strike Mr. Harvey was promised the first chance at an op tion If any was ever given, and the owners are keoplng faith with Har. vey and by sampling the ledge at this time will put him In position to handle the property at any tltno It Is agreeable to all concerned. "Of course we would sell," ssld Caey to a representative of The Courier, "but we want to are the yel low gold with eagles stamped on It, and a load of It at that, as we have the yellow stuff In the rocks and It takes Am yellow stuff In the banks to get an exchange." It Is believed Mr. Harvey has cor respondent who desire to purchase the property. DECLARES IRRIGATION DISTRICT NOT WANTED By M. J. Anderson. My recent communication to The Courier advising that, as tin Irriga tion act was new, it should be fairly and openly discussed, before a dis trict was voted under Ita terms has brought no public response. It stirred up some private personal abuse ot my self; but that is ho argument, and will have absolutely no effect on my opinion of the project or lta cham pions. This Is not a personal ques tion and should not be judged accord ing to our likes or dislikes of the peo ple favoring or opposing. Mr. Paul S. Seeley Informed ire personally that I was wrong In stat ing that the cost in case the district was defeated would be paid by him and his associates. He says he was engaged by the Josephine irrigation & Power company as an "Irrigation expert" to put this district through, and that all cost, past and future has been, and will be, paid by tne above company, which has given a uond to secure such expense. I was surprised at the above Information and cheer fully make the correction; also with draw the Intimation that Mr. Seeley was a "philanthropist" for he made it plain the deal was a strictly busi ness affair with him, and the stock holders of the local Irrigation com pany paid the freight. ' Mr. Seeley also criticised my state ment that he was "supposed" to own water filings above the Ament dam; be says he does' own such filings so we will strike out the word "sup posed". There were other small things In the article with which he found fault: "gumshoeing", for In stance; but I do not care to make correction without a more suitable word to substitute, and the expres sion suits my idea ot the methods fol lowed. Mr. Seeley, who seems to know what he is talking about, says the in tention Is "to organize and find out the best service of supply, which may he storage on Louse creek, the Ap plegate or higher on Rogue river for there Is nothing to show the Ament dam Is tho best supply."' Of coutbo this Is the Intention. No one would be guilty of thinking business men such as the board tit directors of the Jos ephine company would engage an ir rigation expert and expend approxi mately $1,000 to perfect an organiz ation to the point of electing a board of five directors to "watch Sanders"; as Is claimed by those who protend there Is no lntuutlon to complete the district and attempt to bond the land. If It were only necessary to have an antagonistic committee of some kind to watch Sanders, It looks llko the present board could fill the bill, as It has had so mo experience In that lino during the past year or two. I claim there Is no nood of a dis trict organization at this time; that the expenditure of money for that purpose after the sale to tho Chicago company was not Justifiable, whether there was authority to do so or not; but If there was such a need the law Is a dangerous one and no landowner should vote without a thorough un derstanding of Its terms. The pro vision allowing non-resident owners to vote would permit of any large landholder temporarily transferring small tracts to his non-resident friends for voting purposes and con trolling elections, bond Issues, assess ments; It Is un-American, unsafe and pronounced unconstitutional by every attorney who has Investigated It. In my opinion tbere was neither legal nor moral right to do what hat been done. A bargain was made be tween the local Irrigation board and the Chlrago-RoKue Mver company by which tho ditches, water rights, and all property, was sold to tho latter and this sale was ratified unanimous ly on June 15. Ono of tho terms of this ante, as I iWollect It, was that the Chlat?c company Issue notes of small denomination to be given to the stockholders to tho full value of the stock held, and theno notes were to l accepted by the Chicago com pany at their fare value In payment for water lo the extent of CO per cent of each season's water rental. In other words: the stockholder sold his stock and took the note In Payment. I with the whole of the property sold, IS STRUCK BIT TRAIN JERRY M'COY NOW LIES AT THE TOINT OF DEATH ACCIDENT AT THE STATION Walks Between Fast Moving Engine and Express Truck on the Platform. Special to The Courier. WOODVILLE, Aug. 7. Jerry Mc Coy, the aged merchant ot thla place who was struck Saturday by a north bound Southern Pacific passenger train, was today told by hla. physi cians that he had but a brief time to live. Mr. McCoy, therefore, arrang ed some business affairs and now awaits death's summons. While no was mentally able to ar range the business matters yet he does not seem to remember anything ot the accident which 'put him low. He is fatally Injured Internally, so the physicians have determined. In addition to other hurts one rro ts broken and his head fearfully gashed- It Is not believed here that tho aged merchant purposely sought hla death when he went in reach ot the locomotive; on the other ha.nd opin ion Is that as a result of his Illness of some days he was weak and con fused and believed the northbound train was the southbound, the one he was to take for Ashland, where he intended to visit the mineral springs. McCoy was at the station expecting to take a southbound train for Ash land. When the north bound train approached the station', McCoy toon two grips In ono hand and stood at the end of an express truck which was standing alongside the track and only about'l 8 Inches from the rails. Just as the engine sped up at this point, McCoy walked In between the express truck, and tho rails, was hit In the Ing parts of the engine, knocked down back by projecting parts on the en gine , knocked down, rolled over on his back and lay gapping. , In addition to, the wound on his buck, McCoy's head Is cut and one hand mangled. What hla motive was In his peculiar action Is not known as tho train ho expected to board wns not due for three-quarters of an hour. However, It Is known that McCoy was 111, his contemplated trip to Ashland being for tho purpose of vlHltlng min eral springs near that town, and his Illness mny have been cause of tempo rary confusion. The victim has conducted a confec tionery and billiard hall In Woodvlllo for about two years, coming from Oold Hill, where he lived for a period of ten years and all future extension of ditches ks security. That tbls was the under standing of the stockholder and of Mr. Sanders Is very apparent for the latter Is accepting half cash pay ments for water and crediting the other half on the stock held by tho wateruser. This arrangement Is much appreciated for It ennbles the stockholder to get full value for his Rtock that was not worth 5 cents on the dollar previous to tho sale, and he Is getting back tho money he put Into tho ditches. Now, If the stock holder takes that note In payment for his stock, and uhos the note to buy water, does he still own the stock to the extent that a board of directors representing that stock has a moral rlKht lo continue to Incur Indebted ness acalnitt It by paying the expenses of organizing an Irrigation dlHtrl-t? Don't look Just right, does ItT The stntenient of the promoters (tint this district SKltatlon Is not det rimental to the success of the Chicago-Rogue River project Is false and, In most Instances, knowingly so; If It were not the promoters would have consulted with Mr. Sanders as to the effect of such a movement at a time when he was financing bis system, 10DVILLE MAN STEAM PLANT TO GO ON MINE NEAR KERBY R. M. Wilson, owner and manager ot the Alta mine and other proper tie's located tlve mtles west ot Kerb, has 'returned from Portland, where he purchased a steam plant JtO J. , placed on the mine to furnish power for his 40-ton Lane alow speed Chile mill. This will enable Mr. Wilson to run continually. In winter he will use water power from Josephine creek. The engine just purchased la II horse-power and the boiler 85 horse power. The Alta mine la a big low grade proposition and Mr. Wilson state! that he la mining In an open cut 150 feet above the mill and all ore 1 sent to the mill by gravity. He ha opened a 20-foot or body and yet no wall on one side. Just what width the ore shoot Is Is yet unknown. He Is handling this ore and milling It at a cost not exceeding 75 cents per ton, and estimates that be can con tinue to mine and mill for many months In future at a cost never to exceed one dollar a ton. The slow speed Chile mill carrlee six rolls, each weighing 1,200 pounda, a crushing weight which totals 7, 200 pounds. The mill' Is 10 feet la diameter, and has a receptacle on top which Is loaded with 20,000 pound! of waste rock to add to the crushing weight. This top Is two feot deep. Tho advantage of the slow speed mill over the fast running mills U that the tremendous wear and tear and pounding and slopping Is avoid ed. In addition, amalgamation la more satisfactory. Two Johnson con centrators are also operated. Mr. Wilson hopes ,to have the steam plant in operation by August 15. CLAUDE CHALL0NER IS DEAD FROM POISON Claude Cballoner, known In Grants Pass, Wlldervllle, Wonder and other Josephine county towna If dead as the result of a self adminis tered dose of laudanum. The trage dy occurred at Gold Hill. A dispatch from Gold Hill says: "With but two pennies and a but ton picture of an old woman, presum ably his wife, in his purse, Claude Challoner, aged about 65, swallowed the contents of a two-ounce bottle of laudanum In a room at the Oold Hill hotel some time after retiring at 10 o'clock Wednesday night, and died nt Gold Hill hospital. . "Challoner Is a stranger here. He camo to tho hotel shortly before 10 o'clock Wednesday night and asked for a room. Ho registered with diffi culty, remarking that he could scarce ly see. He paid for the room. H was found by Landlord Gale at about 10 o'clock yesterday morning lying on tho bed In tho room, with an emp ty bottle lablod "laudanum" beside him. "Many small pictures, apparently of relatives, were found In the man's pockets by Coroner Kellogg, and one, a postcard signed "Pearl and Mam ma," apparently a picture of a daugh ter and granddaughter, was address ed "459 Montgomery street, Port land." The postmark was June It, 1009. This Is the only clew that the authorities here have as to Callen er's friends or relatives. It was ap parent that Chnlloner had passed the summer of 1909 at Wlldervllle and Wonder, Josephine county, He came here from Medford, the laudanum bottle bearing the label of a Medford drug store." hi:i:kivo quartz properties. Arthur 8. Wily vice president of the Waldo Consolidated Gold Mlnea Company of Oregon, owner of the extensive placer holdings at Waldo, and J. T. Logan Saturday morning went to Portland together. Mr. Lo gan will be In Portland several days. Mr. Wily stated to a representa tive of The Courier that he would re turn to Grants Pass, If possible, dur ing the autumn, Ho Is seeking ft quarts property and stated that if the owners of quarts mines and pros pects In Josephine county, who want ed to sell, would allow prospective purchasers more time to Investigate and test a property that more wonld be aold and developed.