Advertisers
The cAthena Press circulates in the
homes of readers who reside in the
heart of the Great Umatilla Wheat
Belt, and they have money to spend
&ihetra
mtm
Subscription Rates
One Copy, one year, $1,50; for six
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payable in advance, and subscrip
tions are solicited on no other basis
Entered at the Post Office at Athena, Oregon, as Second-Class Mail Matter
VOLUME XXX.
ATHENA. UMATILLA COUNTY. OREGON. FRIDAY. APRIL 5, 1918.
NUMBER 14
, IIIMIItlillllllllllllllHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIH
For Tour
War Garden
Long handled Spade
Garden Hoe,
Weeding Hoes,
Pointed Hoes
Hedge Shears
Garden Trovels
Weeding Forks
D-handled Spade
Ladies'il-piece garden set hoe,
BBd
80iJl2
25c
lOd
fOc
80e rake and spade, set, - one
85c, lOdChild's 8-piece garden set hoe,
rake and spade, set, - uc
tooth Garden Rake, - 75c
D-banJled Spading Fork - 11.25
Long-handled Shovel - 85c
Dandelion Rake - - 3.00
5cAdjustable Cultivator Rake fl.BO
14-tooth Rake - . - 85c
The Davis-Kaser Co.
Home Furnishing Department Store
Complete Furnishers of Homes, Offices and Schools 10-20 Alder St.
Walla Walla Wash.
iiiuiiimHiiiiniiiiii mmii
Mtaiiin mill hiiiiumhh milium
1 jwM
Watts
And
I Rogers
This is He
What with 2 men, our machine, 8 or ten horses on the
tougue aud 45 bushel wheat you should
Be Happy
Just Over the Hill
MiiiiiMMniuiimiinunnu mnmm inni
wss
Show Your Patriotism!
Buy a
War Savings Stamp
and Help Win the War
For Sale at
The First National Bank of r4thena
WMHH
niiniMiiiiiniiimi
ESTABLISHED 1865
miiiiiiiiiimi
Preston-Shaffer Milling Co.
AMERICAN BEAUTY
FLOUR
Is trade in Athena, by Athena labor, in one ot the very- best
equipped mills in the Northwest, of the best selected Bluestem
wheat grown anywhere. Patronize home industry. Your
grocer sells tbe famous American Beauty Flour
Merchant Millers & Grain Buyers
Athena, Oregon. Waiteburj?, Wash.
We carry the best
MEATS
That Money Buys
Our Market is
Clean and Cool
Insuring Wholesome Meats.
LOGSDEN MYRICK
Main Street, Athena, Oregon
W1
MM
QntheCbvntyferflemgri)
oublin
sHieat
Milling Canadian Wheat
UU HILB our bushel was
WW t il'A bein(t mI!,ed B earlot of
WwJJtij wheat reached this mill
iVXnMm from Canada. Importa
k'jV'iwl "on Car""llnn wheat
M mm without special consent
being forbidden, tbe mill
operatives became curious and made
Inquiries. This wheat was part of a
large supply which tbe Grain Corpora
tion had brought into the United States
to aid In keeping the American mills
running.
There was another renson. Domes
tic wheat wns not moving from the
farms as freely as tbe millers needed
it, and shortage forced the mills to
operate at a great disadvantage and,
Recording to them, at higher costs.
The last Journey stage of our first
bushel, although considerably changed
In Its form, was to go as (lour to port
under rush orders. It now had right
of way over all other classes of freight
except other munitions of war. Con
sent of the War Trade Board being
obtained, It was loaded on a ship and
passed safely through the submarine
field to France, where It succored the
hungry.
We started out to follow the travels
of two bushels of wheat from the farm
to their points of consumption under
war condition with the U. S. Food Ad
ministration In control of the market
ing. I have previously discussed the
Journeys of these two bushels from
the farm to the elevator at the country
point. Here they parted and one of
them passed on to a terminal, and
from the terminal to a mill and from
the mill to senbonrd. There It went to
France for consumption.
The Other Bushel of Wheat Start
Traveling.
OW as to the other bushel
of wheat. A certain
Georgia miller, In need
of supplies, notified the
Grain Corporation and
received permission to
buy on tbe open market
About the same time our co-operative
elevator manager had listed a shipment
with his terminal representative a
highly reputable commission firm, also
under Grain Corporation license. This
firm caught wind of the Georgia order
and secured permission to sell the Mis
souri wheat. The second bushel was
among those poured Into a car and
hustled along to Its destination. This
shipment did not pass through any
terminal market It moved straight
to Atlanta, where It went between the
rollers of the mill.
Controlling the Jobber by License.
Now, the flour which came from our
second bushel of wheat was rolling
serenely along In another direction,
but the car was diverted by special or
der of the U. S. Food Administrator
and received by a large wholesale Job
ber In New York City. This Jobber
also does business under a Food Ad
ministration license, but administered
by the distribution dlvlson. Under li
cense terms the Jobbers must sell at
a fair profit only, although the exact
amount of this profit Is not determin
ed, the Food Administration reserving
tbe right In each case to call a halt
when a licensee has gone "the limit."
1'
means of control of the retailer by
making the Jobber a voluntary police
man to his customer. The Jobber Is
licensed to sell only to traders who
deal fairly, and If It should turn out
that a Jobber persists In doing busi
ness with retailers guilty of profiteer
ing In staples under control the Food
Administration has and may exercise
the right to revoke the license of the
Jobber.
The other part of this shipment con
tnlned our second bushel of wheat and
went over to the East Side Into a small
bakery, which quickly made It Into
creamy loaves. These loaves were
placed In groceries and delicatessens
and the next day were eaten by hun
gry little boys and girls with dark
eyes and big noses and quaint ways.
Brings Out Startling Truths.
Government control has brought oat
these startling truths:
More people unnecessarily mnks
their living out of wheat distribution
than was suspected. Thousands and
thousands of little speculators have
had to turn elsewhere for a livelihood.
A number of commission men have
had to close shop. There are places
where elevators should be built and
other places where there are too many
elevators. The Government, dominat
ing the wheat market, carries Its own
marine Insurance. Wheat handlers nt
terminals have had their activities re
stricted. But most of all It la Interesting to
see how the price of flour per barrel
tumbled from the time Uncle Sum took
a positive hand In the matter. The
Food Administration has recently con
pletcd nn Interesting chart on the
prices of wheat and bulk flour at Min
neapolis. In a statement of Novem
ber 26, the Fond Administration snys:
The farmer received for the 1910 har
vest between $1.45 and $1.60 per bushel
for the harvest, taking the country by
larse and . Last year he received
under 20 per cent of the price of the loaf.
Today he Is receiving over 40 per cent of
the money paid for the cash loaf, this
being the result of the etablllzation of
prices and the total elimination of hoard
ing and speculation In this Industry.
The statement reports that farmers
on November 26 were receiving with
freight charges Included from the ter
ritory represented to Minneapolis, ap
proximately $0.50 for 4 bushels of
wheat. The price of bulk flour at the
Minneapolis mill Is about $10.25 per
barrel, showing that the miller Is now
receiving about 75 cents per barrel,
which must Include both bis operating
expenses and profit
ritlNG Inst July and Au
gust, w hile Congress was
wrestling with Itself to
produce n food adminis
tration, and there was
no Grain Corporation,
LViT M flour production In the
-IB principal centers was 75
per cent under the same
period In 1016. In September, October
and November, under the supervision
of the Food Administration, flour pro
duction was 114 per cent of tbe snino
period In 1016. What this means In the
great national situation, with depleted
domestic flour reserves and clamoring
foreign buyers, can hardly be over
emphasized, when movement of wlieiit
Into primary markets has been hardly
ATHENA SOLDIERS
HIE 10
SI
The following letter from Sam F.
Starr, dated March 10, to a friend in
Athena, is the first news received from
him since his arrival in France, ex
cepting brief cards. His impressions
of the war-ridden country will be of in
terest to many of his friends:
Received your letter of Jan. 2nd
about a week ago. A mistake in the
address took it through the entire
brigade before it finally reached me,
and came to Europe long before we
embarked.
"I don't know just where George
Winship is but he is under quarantine
somewhere over here. We left Harry
Keller in the hospital when we left
the U. S. but he came in the other day
and is here with us now. I guess
Hally Piersol is still at Newport News
or was the last we heard of him.
"You know when I enlisted I never
once dreamed that I would come over
here, but here I am, right next to the
front. I can't tell you where we are
or what we are doing, but we are all
still alive and getting along fine
"What I have seen of France seems
to be a rather pretty country, although
everything is as odd to us, as it is
pretty. You have seen pictures of
those old-time stone houses well,
that's just what we see here. Every
thing seems to be built along semi
ancient lines, and nearly everything
that is hauled by horses is drawn on a
contraption similar to ox carts, but of
course much heavier. We see a lot of
smaller carts drawn by donkeys, that
are used by peddlers.
"Talk about railroads you should
see a European train once; they look
like mere toys alongside of a modern
American train. All of the passenger
cars are divided into sections and you
enter from the side of the car. Some
of them are double-decked and divided
into first, second and third classs. I
guess we rode fourth class or some
thing else at least they were box
cars and the one I was in had a bum
wheel and bucked like a broncho. They
are so small that it would take a whole
train to move a shipment of most any
thing. Also we use much laiger en
gines at home in our switch yards
than the largest type of locomotives
that I have seen here.
"Have seen several steam trucks.
They are just like an autotruck, except
that they have a steam engine instead
of gasoline. Have also seen a raft of
Fords and American autos and trucks.
The best one I have seen was a big
Packard, carrying some French offic
ers. "The French seem to be so much
different from the Americans. Nearly
every man wears a uniform of some
kind ; and the women some of them
lire swell looking In fair weather, but
get them In a rain storm so son of
the paint would wash off, and they're
different. Of course someuf them are
actually pretty, I have to admit, but
they haven't got the U. S. beat at that.
"You remember at home how they
used to tell us that the girls over here
kissed the American soldiers upon their
arrival? If there was any truth in it,
the 148th has been cheated out of its
thare; but I don't think we will regret
it; what we don't get doesn't hurt us
"Today is the first day of summer
over here and it was pretty warm, too.
We are almost far enough away so
that we work while you sleep. It is
just a little after H p. m. and w) are
nine or ten hours ahea l of Athena.
"I would like to tell you something
about our travels and the interesting
things and places that we saw, but the
censor won't stand for it. Am sorry
to hear that some of the boys are still
at home. If they could have only
visualized the conditions over here
they would probably have been in the
Success In This War Depends Largs ly on America's Next Wheat Crofc
The New York Jobber took for his
own, In this case, a profit of BO cents
per barrel He sold part of this ship
ment to a retail merchant
This merchant did a small business
and was not licensed, but even here
was another social check. For the
retail merchants of the large cities
and those of many small cities and
towns find each morning and after
noon In the dally papers a price list
for flour and other commodities which
sre considered fair by the Federal
Food Administrator for their State.
These prices are usually arrived at
through the machinery of the whole
salers' and the retailers' organizations.
The retailer also discovered that the
jobber who sold him this flour was
keenly Interested In the prices paid by
tbe consumer. For tbe Food Adminis
trate bu OUcovered an indirect
service long before now. Sherman
was right.
"Harry Baid tell you 'Hello' for him.
When you write don't forget to put
'Bat D.' in my address. Sam F. Starr,
Bat. D. 148 V, A., A. E. F., France."
From Percv Wilson. 116 Eng.
Percy Wilson writes again to rel
atives here as follows:
"Was very glad to hear from you
but much surprised to hear that you
have not been getting my letters for I
have written several. Am well 'and
received the box of tobacco and eats
in fine shape at the other place we
were at and also other letters and pack
ages. Let me tell you, that kind of
stuff sure does taste good over here
for sugar is a very scarce article in
this country.
We have sure been doing a lot of
moving since we landed in France and
I have seen some very interesting
sights. Some day I will tell you all
about them. We are now in a very
beautiful city of about eighty-five
thousand. We are going to school
here and have got a four weeks course
to go through, with what would ordi
narily take from eight to twelve weeks
to master, and we have got to get it
in four weeks; so you can imagine
how we are hitting the ball. They are
sure running us ragged officers and
men alike no one is excused for this
is a man's game and is no place for
weaklings.
I had quite an honor bestowed on
me yesterday. Lieut. Col. Wilcox,
one of Gen. Pershing's staff, died and
was Duried here yesterday and 1 was
picked for one of the firing squad.
There were 21 of ub, or three squads,
and we fired three volleys and each
volley sounded as one gun. Some of
the officers said it was the best they
had ever heard at a burial.
There are some very interesting
sights here. There is one castle that
is very ancient and was built uy slaves.
Some day I will tell you all about it,
for don't you get it into your nut that
I'm not going to come back for i am.
Wagoner Percy Wilson,
Co. E, 11U Eng. A. E. F. France.
Feb. 13. '1S
HOUSE TO HOUSE CANVAS
FOB THRIFT ANO W. S. S.
Last Friday W. S. Gleiser, District
Manager of the War Savings Stamps
Committee, instituted a house to house
campaign in which all the mourners oi
the High school participated. Two
captains, Henry Koepke and Connie
Baker, chose a des for the driven T4e
town was divided into diatrictMand at.
.1:lii p. m. the students weie at work
on the drive. Every family In town
waa interviewed, the W. S. S. system
was explained, and each family was
listed for the future use of the com
mittee under "one of the following
heads:
I, Families already purchasing
Stamps.
8. Families purchasing Stamps dur
ing this campaign.
K, Families indifferent, not Inter
ested, or disloyal.
The sale of the Stamps has grown
by leaps and bounds during the paHt
week, according to the report of Post
master C. O. Henry.
This week the county officers have
instructed Manager Gleiser to select a
few prominent women to direct sales
agencies at everv business place. This
is by far the best idea used thus far
in advancing sales, in that every bus
iness house in Umatilla county will
soon bo offering for sale a Thrift
Stamp with every purchase. Already
many of the stores of the county aro
advertising articles thus: Suits, 185
to H5, with Thrift Stump, 25.aG
to t!l5.35; Corn meal, BOc, with Thrift
Stamp, HOc.
Athena business Iiousub should put
the enthusiasm, push, punch and vigor
into this campaign that will ussiat
Umatilla county in leading all of the
state throughout the year.
THE TOP"
IN ONE WEEK
"As Mayor of the City of Athena,
I hereby request that all places of
business in this city be closed on Lib-e.-ty
Day, Saturday, April 6, 11)18, be
tween the hours of 18 noon and !) p. m.
in patriotic observance of the begin
ning of the Third Liberty Loan drive.
"HOMER I. WATTS, Mayor."
"Over the Top in One Week," and
beginning Saturday, tomorrow, the
first day of the Third Liberty Loan
drive is the peg se thy the committees
in collecting Athena's 175,000 quota,
and to assist the committees in the
work, the Mayor has deliver"! the
above proclamation, which will be
strictly observed by the business men
of Athena, in closine t.'.eir places of
business bet"-cl ltle hours of ,a n"
and 11 p. m,
The rani's' f H" Potential subscri! -era
have n"1 placed in the hands o!'-the
comniitl-es- the lists haveiywtrt''
to the dlffurent mVlmjfrlXc drive,
and eac conimjtteefr Work In its
preBcribij' jL'&rict The organization
is so perfected anil systematized that
it is possible to cover the entire Ath
ena district in short order.
"Over the Top in a Week," is the
Blogan adopted bv the stato committee
at Portland for the state's full quota,
and Chairman Thompson of the county
committee declares that Umatilla
county will be able to justify the slo
gan. Tho district quotas wore determin
ed upon the same basis as were tho
county quotas, that is approximately
seven and a half per cent of the total
bank resources of each community on
Dec. ill was taken as the quota of that
cuuimuuiity. Total resources of the
county on that date waa 118,771,000.00
which made the county quota $1,010.
000,00, tbe largest quota in the state
outside of Multnomah county. The
official quota of the districts follows:
Pendleton - - . - 7 r0,000
Milton-Freewater - - 105,001)
WeBton 15,000
Athena - - - 7-1,000
Helix 80,000
Hamilton - - - 11.000
Stanlield - - - '8.500
Echo 8'J.uilu
Pilot Hock - - 25,000
Total
1,040,000
Miaa Jessie Briefly, for tho past
four years a teacher In the Athena
High achool, haa reaigncl hur position
here for next year, and will be em
ployed In the new high achool at Pilot
Rock.
half that of a year ago, or 100,000,000
bushels less. It was nothing short ol
master strategy.
The total number of bushelf pur
chased by the Grain Corporation from
the time It commenced activities 10
February 1 Is 07,276,145.50. Arranged
by months, the purchases In busbeli
were: September, 7,841,209.20; Octo
ber, 10,359,046.50; November, 30,020,
074.20; December, 21,450.249.00, and
January, 17,008.90008.
During July and August our flow
exports were about the same as In th
same two months of 1010; hut In Sep
tember, October, and November, the
exportation was 60 per cent large!
than a year ago. Bo tbe Groin Cor
po ration has discharged our obliga
tions to the allies, and restored oni
flour reserves, which Is the larger a
of the rjuestion.
Do it Now
t ""
The days of balmy Spring are here; surely everyone
will want to look their best. We have some new
clothes for everyone of you, from the smallest to the
out sizes, in many pretty garments.
Pretty new Waists in Lawns, 1 ub Silks, Drepe de Chene, etc 08c to 6.!)0
New Silk Dresses in plain and fancy stripes $12.50 to 22.50
New Suits in Reseda. Infantry hepherd checks and Navy 17.50 to 35.00
New Coats in Pekin. Rose. Tan, Brick and Cherry 14.75 to 37.50
Mens Suits in in Grays, Browns. Fancies and Blue Serge 9.00 to '22.50
Boys New Suits in Brown-mixed, Gray-mixed and Blue Serge 3.98 to 8.00
Your feet will not be properly dressed for Spring if they haven't
been fit with a pair of our New Shoes.
Incorporated