Entered at the Post Office at Athena, Oregon, aa Second-Claaa Mail Matter
VOLUME 49
ATHENA, UMATILLA COUNTY, OREGON, FRIDAY MORNING, JANUARY 6. 1928
NUMBER 1
Stciver's f'ovs
A Political One
Portland i Paper . Sees . In
Change of Residence
Camouflage.
Henry M. hazen in Portland Tele
gram: From ' the office of United
States Senator Frederick Sterner at
Washington comes the announcement
that the senator ' contemplate f abaft
don'ng his residence at Pendleton and
making Portland his fir.ui j ab tie.
The reason assigned for the con
templated change of residence is that
the junior senator has severed his
legal connection at Pendleton and that
he would be more accessible - to his
constituents at Portland.
"Practical consideration ! must
govern my future location to a large
extent," the senator is quoted on the
subject in Washington dispatches. '
"I found last summer that mar.y
more of the people I represent could
reach me at Portland than' at Pendle
ton.
"During the adjournment periods
delegations from all parts of the
state call on my colleagues and my
self to discus' legislative matters
pending at- Washington.
"I believe that I should be as ac
cessible - as possible to the callers,
and Portland it easier of access for
most of them than Pendleton."
But that is not the real reason
why Senator Steiwer is considering
making Portland his future official
residence.
It is merely a pretended reason
merely political-camouflage.
The real reason is political" and it
is in the interest of Steiwer's can-didacy-
for re-election when his term
shall, expire.
Like the leaders of both the Re
publican and Democratic parties
Senator Steiwer is recognizing the
fact that just now the up-state en-
joyw monopiy on an 01 tne major
political offices. . t
It has both the senators.
It has two of the three congress
man. -
It has the governor. .
It has the state treasurer.
It has .the secretary of state.
In spite of the fact that Multno
mah county casts a third or more of
the total vote of the state it has
only one representative in the major
olfices Congressman Korell and in
that office it is protected by the law
fixing the congressional districts.
It is discriminatory and unjust dis
tribution of the political offices of the
state. -
Multnomah county has smarted
under this political discrimiration for
years smarted under it so long that
it is now on the verge of relellion.
This situation is worrying, notouly
Steiwer, but other occupants of high
office in the state.
In fact Steiwer sensed the ser
iousness of the situation "as far back
as the last senatorial primary cam
paign. This contest was a three cornered
affair with Steiwer and Stanfield
from the up-state and Clark from
Multnomah county.
So alarmed became Steiwer at one
stage of the contest over the rising
strength of Clark and the possibility
of a something like a fairly even split
of the up-state vote between himself
and Stanfield that he seriously con
sidered issuing a statement that if
elected he would . make Multnomah
county his residence.
Political advisers counseled against
it, however, pointing out that such a
move on the eve of the election might
cost him the up-state and gain him
nothing of consequence in Multnomah
county.
Whether such a move now would
enhance or militate against his can
didacy for re-election is problematical
He would, of course, have five years
or so to establish his residence here,
and make his political connections.
Whether he could do so Is a ques
tion. Whether, if successful, he could re
tain his up-state following is an
other question.
As indicated thert are other high
office holders, in addition to Steiwer,
who are worried over the rising tide
of protest in . Multnomah county
against monopoly held by the up
state on all the high offices.
DOROTHY EVANS
' - ; I
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v w I
r
Miti Dorothy Evans, "distinguish
feminist f 'iMtfotf; f tfc natUnat
advleery council thttfMtlnal
Wsman's party, wh earn te the Unlt-
M Stat Ur44r tt NatUnal
Woman party ctffttwifl 1irColr
fade Spring.
Two Hurt; One
Dead In Express
Train Derailment
Portland. A locomotive engineer
and his fireman- were ' seriously in
jured early Sunday morning when
their train, the Oregon Trail Express
No. 23, west bound from Salt Lake
City, crashed into a inowslide at
Oneonta, 30 miles east of Portland.;
The impact of the train, striking
the obstruction while traveling at an
estimated speed of between 40 and
50 miles an hour, hurled the lead
engine, the second engine, four bag
gage cars and one passenger coach
off the tracks.
The injured: -Charles F. Theobald,
engineer; fred C. Warnke, fireman,
Due to- the heavy snow and ice-
covered tracks, the train was run
ing as a doubleheader with the 'two
mountain-type r locomotives puUiog
the heavy load through the snow-
filled gorge." ' :
The aecident happened at 7:45 a.
Snow was falling and it is
thought that Engineer Theobald did
not see the elide as he piloted his
locomotive around a slight curve in his
way down to Portland. ,'
The slide which was five feet high
and carried hundreds of tons of snow
down from the mountain side, cov
ered the tracks for a distance of 100
feet, blocking the right of way.
The lead engine, in which Theo
bald and Warnke were riding, plunged
down a 20-foot embankment on the
north side of the tracks. The right
of -way at this point is close to and
parallel with the Columbia river high
way.
The second engine followed the
lead engine and the baggage , cars
piled off the tracks and landed on
their sides. One passenger coach was
derailed, but the sleepers remained
on the tracks.
rassengers were thrown into a
panic as they were jostled around in
the crash but, although several were
shaken up, none was hurt.
m,
Evangelistic Meetings . 1
At the Baptist Church
ivev. ieu j, Barnes win begin a
series of evangelistic meetings at the
Baptist church Sunday morning at
11 o'clock. The evangelist is said to
be a forceful and convincing speaker
and the local church members are
looking forward with much interest to
the success of the meeting.
Pastor Bollinger asks: "Will you
be one of the winter" worshipers who
wend their way regularly to the Bap
tist Church for the series of meet
ings. It is yours to share the bless
ings and privileges offered by these
services and to show the world that
faith" is not dead in the earth.
"Now to those who are giving
largely of their time to things of the
world, and so little to the concerns of
the life that which is to come, reveal
to them the cheapness and emptiness
of it all."
A class of 510 was initiated by the
Salem Elks lodge Tuesday night, the
largest in the history of the Salem
lodge. - About 200 remain to be in
itiated as a result of a recent mem
bership campaign.
. Hunting Shelter
The saucy little English Sparrow
apparently finds no trouble in seeking
shelter to protect his mite of feather
ed body from the ravages of the
winter storm. A small flock of these
birds are making themselves at home
in a shed situated in the north part of
town. They also find feed there,
helping themselves to grain along
with domestic fowls.
Mrs. E. J. Burchill of Pendleton,
vidtcil ovir the wick toin AtLenu.
One C3ad, One In Jzil
After Fan Bait!
Relatives 'Find Couple in a
Granary; Bullets Fol
low Threats.
Enterprise,' Oregon. Bert Hopkins,
40, was placed in jail here, charged
with killing Ferdinand Sanday, 32, on
the Sanday farm about three' miles
southwest of Trior a, Oregon, Hopkins
was arrested and brought in by Sher
iff Miller;- accompanied by Deputy
Madison, Coroner Booth and District
Attorney Burleigh, who left here on
receipt of word of the shooting and
met Hopkins on his way here to sur
render.
' The killing, according to details
gathered by 'Sheriff Miller, occurred
at an old granary across the road
from the' Sanday home.
Hopkins, who was staying at the
residence of Orville Myers, a neigh
bor of the Sandays, is said to have
been --paying attentions to Golda
Sanday, 17, a sister of the man
killed. It further was said that he
had been warned to let the girl alone
and that he had Myers telephone her
to meet him last night.
Hopkins and the girl went to the
granary and her brother, missing her,
became suspicious. ' He and his
brother-in-law, J. R. Underwood, were
reported to have armed themselves
rifles and an electric flash, and to
have discovered the pair in the gran
ary. . - .
According to Hopkins, they ? or
dered them out, threatening to shoot
The girl finally-emerged, but Hopkins
refused to do so and, it was said,
Sanday and Underwood opened fire,
one of the bullets wounding Hopkins'
horse.. .
The beseiged man then fired
through a . window with . his auto
matic pistol, the bullet striking San
day in the stomach, inflicting injuries
from which he died in about half an
hour. Underwood and the girl took
the wounded man to the house and
Hopkins left. Later he started for
Enterprise intending, he stated, to
surrender.
The Underwoods are living in the
Sanday home during the absence in
the east of the dead man's parents.
Hopkins is said to have been ac
quitted of a murder charge in Baker,
Oregon, and since coming here he was
acquitted of a charge of assault with
a deadly weapon.
' Hopkins is familiarly known as
"Tige," in Athena, and for several
years worked in this vicinity. "'
Woman Confesses
Husband Poisoned
ROUSES THE CLERICS
Prof. Shirley J. Case of the Un.
versity of Chicago who has Just pub
lished a life of Jesus which has cre
ated quite a stir in religious and
literary circles. Some of his asser
tions, especially that "Jesus never
thought himself the son of God, have
leen' strongly attacked by orthodox
Christian ministers.
Preston Clark and Dead
Man's Widow Held At
Walla Walla.
Walla Walla. Prosecuting Attorney
Coleman has in Mi possession V con
fession signed by Mrs. Nellie Mae
Bid well, widow of A. L. Bidwell, who
died suddenly Friday morning, sup
posedly of : heart trouble, that the
man was poisoned..
The confession set out that the
poison was placed in food by Pres
ton Rae (Slim) Clark, Mrs. Bidwell
and Clark are both in jail. Clark
denies the charges.
Clark has been staying at the Bid
well home since August 1.
Immediately following the death of
Bidwell neighbors told the officers
that Clark had been rather intimate
with the woman and that Bidwell had
expressed the fear that he would lose
his wife to Clark. v
Coleman and Sheriff Mclnroe in
vestigated Saturday and finally de
cided to make arrests. ' Coleman and
Deputy Sheriff Bride searched the
back yard at the Bidwell home and
found" a bottle containing poison
which Clark admitted having thrown
away. He asserted that Dr. J. E
Vanderpool had given him poison tab
lets to take. Dr.' Vanderpool denied
there was any poison in the medicine
that he had given Clark.
Mrs. " Bidwell made conflicting
statements and finally, after hours of
questioning, said she would tell all
she knew. The confession then was
written and signed.
Slim did it, and he told ma so.
Ill make a confession. You write it
and I'll sign it," Mrs. Bidwell declared.
prosecuting attorney, sheriff andinorthwe8t of this city-
Grandma Shick,
Pioneer Woman,
Dead at 88 Years
Grandma Shick died at her home in
Athena early Saturday morning at
the age of 88 years, one month and
29 days. She had been in poor health
for a long time, and the end which
was welcomed by her was not unex
pected by her friends. Funeral
services were held at the home Mon
day afternoon at 2 o'clock.
Martha Jane Bender was born at
Ft. . Wayne, Indiana, November 2,
1839. She was united in marriage to
Amos Shick, November 2, 1857. To
them were born nine children, eight
of whom have preceded the mother to
the grave, and the husband died April
19, 1913. Mr. and Mrs. Shick came to
Athena in 1877. settling on a farm
three deputies.
"Slim admitted he put strychnine in
some hog brains we had for break
fast," said the confession. When I ac
cused him of it first he dropped his
head and turned red. I gave him
another jolt in the front room when
Mr. Bidwell was on the couch before
Slim went for the doctor. ' He ad
mitted putting poison in the brains.
Slim did not tell me when he put it in.
Clark flatly denies the charges and
officers say he threatened the woman
with bodily harm.
, Bidwell was 49 and Mrs. Bidwell is
40. They have been married 20 years.
Clark is 36. Officers stated they have
further' evidence which they refuse to
divulge at this time.
Taylor and Son
New Dairy Firm
B. D. .Taylor and son Dalberth
Taylor, have formed a partnership
under the firm name of Taylor & Son
carry ' on a dairy business in
Athena. In a modest way B. D.
Taylor has been conducting a small
dairy for over a year. ' . -
The new firm has purchased some
of the stock together with the business
and milk routes of George Payne, and
now control the dairy business in
Athena. The dairy is situated at the
south terminus of Fourth street. The
firm has only first class milk cows,
and are prepared to furnish their
patrons with a supply of good whole
some milk and cream.
' Found Dead In Truck
W. W. Parks, who left Pendleton
December 16 for St. Louis, was found
dead at the steering wheel of his
truck on a road near Dodge City,
Kansas, Monday night. Heart failure
caused his death. He is survived bs
son, Theodore Parks of Pendleton.
and a daughter, Mrs. C. R. Graham,
also of Pendleton.
' Returns to College
Fleenor Douglas who formerly liv
ed in Athena, has returned to L03
Angeles after spending the holidays
here. He is a student at the Osteo
pathy College in Los Angeles. Dur-
ing his visit he was the guest of
Mr. and Mrs. L. J. McAtee of Pendle
ton; his sister, Mrs. Francis Lieuallen
Adams and his brother Arthur
Douglas of Athena.
Cranked Into Bridge
Miss Lois "Mclntyre met with an
utomobile accident while returnmtr
from Walla Walla, one day last week.
Driving the Paul Lieuallen Chrysler
roadster, the machine crashed into a
bridge near Freewater. The car was
wrecked, but Miss Mclntvre fort-
unaltl t-cap6d from injur.
Pheasants Need Care
When Snow is Deep
Six inches and more of snow makes
it imperative that food be placed
where pheasants and other game
birds may have access to it. Other
wise, in a short time mortality runs
high and the surplus from state game
farms is more than offset in the
number of birds perishing through
starvation. ' ,
As a rule deputy game wardens and
gun club members are the first to
take action in relief of birds in
emergency cases, but sportsmen gen
erally can be depended upon to see
that feed is provided and distributed
in haunts of the game.
It is said that the Hungarian pheas
ant can hustle for food in winter
weather better than the chinks, for
the reason they are not hampered by
long tail feathers, as in the case with
the latter. Numerous reports have
been recorded where chinks have been
found with their tail feathers frozen
fast to the ground.
Other instances are known where
the chink has hovered in the shelter
of creek banks and made no effort to
seek food on account of deep snow.
Like the quail, he selects a heavy
brush growth for his winter quarters,
and under the snow finds weed seeds
which provides sustenance for him.
For many years Mrs. -Shick has
been a member of the Christian
church, and until old age crept upon
her and illness dulled her activities,
she performed the many good and
charitable deeds that characterizes a
lovable neighbor and true friend.
She is survived be one son, Arthur
Shick of Athena, ten grandchildren
and eight great grandchildren.
Annual Poultry Show .
Walla Walla's annual poultry show
opened Tuesday, after eloborate prep
aration had been made for receivinir
a large number of entries. There is
space at the show to accommodate
350 birds. There will be $350 in cash
prizes awarded to the winning bird?.
William ' Winhip, former Athena
resident, is here this week from his
home at Salem, visiting relatives and
friends. Mr. Winship'a two daughters
ana son Dick reside with him at the
present tinic.
The Jensen Hitch
Takes Place of Shoeing
Winter days are busy ones for Jens
Jensen, Athena blacksmith, since he
conceived the idea of making the Jen
sen hitch for tractors. Mr. Jensen is
now at work on the fourth hitch, and
is ready to take orders for more.
The hitch, which is finding favor
with tractor owners, is substantially
made, and Jensen manufactures them
for both the 30 and 60 tractors. The
device is mounted on wheels with
roller bearing equipment and is used
as the connection between seeders,
slickers, harrows, etc., and the tract
or. '
-Since the motor truck has put the
kibosh on horseshoeing, Jensen look
ed around for something to keep his
shop busy, and that is how he got
into the tractor hitch game.
Bucking Highway Snow
The highway, maintenance crew
with headquarters in Athena, had its
hands full and running over, Sunday
and Sunday night, to keep the high
way open between this city and the
State, Line. It was well along into
the wee sma' houra of Monday morn
ing when the crew had completed its
round trip to State Line and back
with the big snow plow, pushed by a
heavy truck. '
Back to School
Athena students of Universities and
colleges who spent the holiday period
here, are returning to the work this
week. Beryl Hodgen's holiday visit
was cut short at home for the reason
that he played in the all-west ail
east football game at Los Angeles.
Inland. Empire In
Grasp of Winter
Highways Blocked, Trains
and Stages Held Up
By Snow.
On the wings of a zero tempera
ture six inches of snow fell at Athena
Saturday , night and early Sunday.
.Since then snow and sleet have piled
on two more inches, so that the
ground is covered with a white
blanket eight inches thick.
The winter blast is general through
out the Inland Empire and the
Pacific Northwest. In every direction
motor stage traffic and railway train
service has been greatly hampered
by excessive snowfall and zero weath
er. At Athena the temperature crawl
ed down to eight below, and Meacham,
in the Blue Mountains, reported 28 be
low zero. ,
The Athena highway crew, by dint
of hard work and luck kept this di
vision of the highway opened up, and
stages ran late, while passenger car
traffic was curtailed on account of
the weather.
Fanners say snow is just what is
needed for grain protection, and since
the sleet covering came, there is little
likelihood of the snow drifting to any
great extent.
Portland reported blocked highways,
towns and communities isolated, wirj
service interrupted, trains delayed and
busses stalled these were some of
the conditions now existing in - the
wake of the howling blizzard tird
sleet storm that ushered in the New
Year in that vicinity.
A blanket of sleet on top of about
five inches of hard packed snow
rendered travel conditions very diffi
cult over a wide area. In Portland
the Portland electric power compnny
managed to maintain car service with
delayed schedules on most of its liie. v
Street cleaning apparatus was kept
busy removing drifts piled up by the
swirling winds.
Bus service on the Columbif. river
highway had to be suspeended be
cause of 'snow and ice blockade be
tween Corbett and Cascade Locks.
Similar conditions prevailed on the
Pacific highway between Poitland and
Kelso. A silver thaw on the lower
Columbia river highway stopped
stage travel to Astoria.
Points on the Willamette valley
were icebound by the silver thuw.
Many automobiles were stalled and
abandoned on roads, and in Portland
hundreds of. owners were forced to
leave their machines on their drive
ways, being unable to force them to ,
negotiate inclines into garages.
Gets Wild Turkeys
Marion Hansell has made arrange
ments with the state game farm a:
Pendleton to receive several pairs of
wild turkeys, which will be liberated
at points near Athena. Since the
first importation of wild turkeys from
the Southern states by the game com
mission, the Pendleton farm employes
have been successful in raising a
satisfactory number of young birds.
Last year a shipment of the birdi
was made to Southern Oregon, and it
is reported they are increasing in
numbers there.
Now In Vodvil
Tom Gurdane, chief of Police,
and Buck Lieuallen, state traffic
officer, captors of W. Edward Ui.k-
man, have signed a contract with
Alexander Pantages which will cover
approximately 25 weeks and take
them over the grcutcr part of the
circuit, according to the EaHt Oregon-ian.
Hodgen Family Reunion
The annual reunion of the Hodgen
family was held at Umapine, Satur
day last. A sumptuous banquet was
had, and in the evening dancing took
place at State Line hall. A number
of Athena friends attended the re
union.
Milton Rancher Passes
Higby Harris, aged 73, prominent
Umatilla county farmer died Tues
day morning at 5 o'clock at hit home
near Milton on the Walla Walla river.
Uis death followed a prolonged- ill-
Jiooj tf Ccvcia! tnonlb3.
Green Hudson Goes Back
The East Oregonian reports that
the green Hudson car driven by
William Edward Hickman, Marian
Parker's slayer, in his flight from
Los Angeles, is now on its way back
to California. Will Penland is tak
ing it from Pendleton to Hollywood
where the car will be restored to
the rightful owner, F. R. Peck.
Back to Umatilla
Mr. and Mrs. V. C. Burke, who
came to Athena from Garfield, Wash
ington, to spend the holidays with
relatives, have been held here for
several days longer than they intend
ed to remain, on account of the bad
condition of the highways. Mr.
Burke who is in charge of grain
warehouses at Garfield, intend to re
turn to Umatilla county net fall to
rcaido.