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About The Springfield news. (Springfield, Lane County, Or.) 1916-2006 | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1921)
r NEW KKUITKHNTII YKAH 8PI UNO FIELD. LANK COUNTY, OREGON, THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 1!)21 NUMDER 15 HBBlTMr Oil? IT 0 StNIIWII) ON COMING ELEGTIOfjI Realizing the present need of a now school building, 1 am heartily In favor of any action taken by tho(tUre, would consult wllh the Rose hoard In ohtalnlng n new building j Kiiow committee, Mrs. Wheaton and find purchasing additional playground, Mr. .Bryan, concerning ways and apace, thus muklnic a move that we would never regret. C. F. KUGIMANN. We believe that the erection of a new high s I ool would be as great an asset to the town aa any thing which mUht be done In the !Ue of bonding the city at thla time. It would be an Inducement for the people to atay In Kprlngflcld who have children to go to ac I ool aa well aa being a great booat for Hprlugfleld and the aur roundlng community. We are heart ily In favor of a new achool. SPRINGFIELD CREAMERY CO. I am heartily In favor of the bond Issue If it were possible to poatpone the Issuance thereof and the erection of the building until next aprlng. M. C. BltESSLER. 1 am moat l.eartlly in favor of a new high achool and can't aee how anyone who haa the Intereat of Kprlngflcld at heart can b other wlae. The old building la a disgrace to our town and alnce the price of building material is nearly back to prewar level. I thrnk now 1st tht time to build. While It will raise tur taxea a little we should be will ing to sacrifice that much in order to give our young people the privilege of a good education wLlch they are at thla time denied, at least to a certain extent owing to the lack of room and equipment. J. F. KBTEL8. Editor of The Newa: Complying with your request fur an expression of opinion anent the com ing school election, will say, every one concedes that we need a new high acl ool building and have needed one for several years. The present structure is almost impossible. However, the proposal of voting and attempting to sell bonds at the pre sent high Interest rate, and construct ing a new building at this time, In j the face of almost peak prices for, building material of all kinds, seems moat Inopportune and gives the elec-, tors just cause for serious and care ful consideration. Thla Is especially true In view of the absolute certainty of falling prices within a compara tively short time. It would appear to be good busi ness -to tske advantage of tr.ls condi tlon, defeat the present proposal which makes no provisions for delay.4 In construction whatever, and later "veaimcnia and build It up. There on vote the bonds and creDare for!' 8Uth a ,h,n aa putting a tax bur early construction next year. In all probability the present proposed ?e8l away or inal ine Property building would not be ready for oc-)cannot reasonably carry. A look at cupancy for the coming school, year tne clt records would indicate that any way and, therefore, we are not!to be tne case w,,h "ome Springfield losing anything and atand an excel-' Property now. In my Judgment it lent chance of saving the district 20 to 25 per cent, or eight to ten thou- sand dollars by waiting anotl er year. $40,000 in bonds could not be sold at this time for over $38,000, if the statues permit a sale below par, while Interest rates on this class of securities Is on. the down grade along with everything else. Other things being equal no right minded person will object to taxa tion for school purposes, but the in tolerably high rate of taxation to wMch we are now being subjected for all purposes is creating a condi tlon so serious that it is Imperative ,. that we take advantage of every pos sible opportunity to save In the ex penditure of public funds. , i O. B. KESSEY Editor News: I think our present high school building is a disgrace to Jhe city. : . WIHe some are of the opinion that the bull ling of a new one should be postponed for at least a var; In an tlcipatlon of lower cost; I, for one, contend that a new building is an Immediate requirement' for the pro- CIVIC CLUB NOTES On Tuesday evening. April 2(5 tlicro showed it scene of brink activity at tho town halt when the ladle of the Civic Improvement JLcnguo met to (Nan window and put up tho new curtain presented to tie hall by tho ladles of tho league, Wi earnestly request that all wo m m, who arc Interested In toko cul- mean for thla In 'order to make It the aucceaa It waa before. The League expect to have a speaker of ability to addreaa it at n meeting In the rear future, perhapa next time, on aome of tie live toplca of the day on women' work in civic improvement Now that the commercial club haa ben "born again" we are hoping to aee many thlngs'for the good of the (own accomplished that have been hanging fire for, lo, these many moona for take It all in all, It la brott ec hoed that makea the world go round. (Can't help aaylng it). One of our-members made an elo quest plea on enthualaara being the ?neans of accomplishing results re quired. Eet us know you live In Springfield by your presence at the next meeting of the live wires, second Tuesday In lection of tho school children and I think it Is an act of criminal negll- jgence, on our part, if we aend child- ren into this "fire trap" or continue to wager their lives against dollars and centa. Thla building haa been condemned; has no fire protection and. after It I aa been destroyed by fire and some of our relatives or friends killed by our negligence we will then curse our folly and build a school house in short order. How much la your child's life worth t Do you value it in dollars and rental Would you risk Hi's life to save a few dollara for a short time; knowing that you would eventu ally have to spend them for this pro tection? H. J. COX There la no question but a high school building is needed. The only question la, Is it advisable to put the burden on the taxable property of tie district at thla time. Hardware glass, paint, plumbing and all kinds of building material la very high. Probably within another twelve in thla nicntha one fourth the cost line could be saved. Just now property Is paying inter est and sinking fund on federal bonds state bonds, county bonds, city bondt, and school bonds, besides a large warrant Indebtedness. We want a good town 'and everything that goes with it and what makes a good town w,de citizens to make den on Property that will scare in- W0Ul( D wise lo wait a little longer and g,ve market chance to settle down to wehlng ke normal before ouiiding a high school. H. B. WASHBURNE. "eW I am heartily in favor of a itaSa 8U means let'" have u immediate . "' JA""ETT 1st. Sprlngfiel('ai high school building is known over the state as unnt for any use let alone a build ing for the education of children. There have been more buildings con demned that were In muct better Condition than our school. 2nd. Our old building Is a detri ment to the growth of Springfield. . 3rd. A new building with proper facilities would be an asset that would increase the value of our cltyjnot be able to meet without proper ' by the additional homes that would be built and Increased value of property. This a:fset would be an great I believe that we would not 'notice the ellgl t increase in our taxes. 4th. Our next generation will find According to the Oregon Stale Hchool laws for 1919, every person whose name appears on the 1920 as sessment roll Is entltlefl to vole at the coming election. If property Is Jointly held by man and wife and only one name appears on the roll, he or she alone Is entitled to vote. In the case of a corporation paying taxes It la not neeesitary tta yorr name appear on the assessment roll. If challenged It is necessary that you show evidence of copartnership. TWO MAIN POINTS IN SCHOOLHOUSE MATTER Next Wednesday, six days from this time, will be the special election which will determine whether the sctools of Springfield shall be pro vided with adequate facilities to main Iain the- high standard of efficiency which they have attained, or whether the deterioration which haa already act in at all. continue at an increasing ratio, aa it will without these provi sions, in spite of the. best efforts of the best teaching force and the best Administrative work of any school board. That is a fair statement of the case any educator who haa had any knowledge of the history of tie .Springfield achool s, from the county fcuperlntendant downward and out "ward, will testify. We have not apace to go Into the details of the plana, but It Is so well drawn aa to be mainly self-explanatory. The plan calls, for a basement and two full stories. Tie basement Is to contain 'a mom ample for the houalng of the fuel supply, the fur nace and other accessories for the supply department of the work of the achool. There will be rooms in the front for the domestic arts and science and the manual training work These rooms will rave ample light The first and second stories (aboe the basement) will be In the main occupied by school rooms, with the necessary accessories to the teaching work, such as otfice. library, lunch room, teachers', room, emergency hos pital, laboratory etc. One fine fea ture of thla plan is a commodious as sembly room, wtlch has been greatly needed in the Interest of the school and community. : , When a voter who la looking at the Interest of the community, aa well aa hla own, approaches the point of de cision on an important question like this, be likes to have the proposition before I'm reduced to its simplest terms. There are ust two points to be chiefly" considered by the voter who wishes to serve the interest of the community. Because there arei really two branch of the cronnnl tlon.' There are two nosslhl im. of action In contemplation": One is'en0ugh to offset the 1,tt,e more tnat certain, tie other only contlgent. The first can be made definite enough, the other cannot. The first, the abso- mieiy essential one. relatea to the building Itself. There is no question about that. The building is to be erected on the ground the district now owns Tn)g can probably be done without disturbing the old build-1 ing until some time after tire new one is built. The second point can not be made so definite, because it is not a matter entirely within the con-; i Iml nf Mia Bt.hnnl hn..j - v. . tha Bchof), Th!l, ann. , tne desirshlllu. nf ...rin ' dttlonal ground, especially for; recrea-Hf I nuiiai purposes, i nis contigency is provtaea ror in the ca.ll for the elec- tlon. Rllt U hon It onmna II I. . L. cohered suitable will have some thing t0 8ayt gnd they may not reasonable. For this reason, this fart of the contemplated action has nt yet come to the point of certainty. But remember this. Do not allow anybody to tngle you. First, the Bcnooi nouse by all means. It is . crying necessity. After that.' the ad dltJonal grounds It we can get them reasonably. Tie school needs them badly enough. 1 , much contention which they Villi education and it is up to us to see that they get It. ,W. H. ADRIAN I heartily endorse the erection ot to take care of approximately two a new tlgh school building. If ever 1 undred studpnAs. If built of con a' town needed one we do. Visit crete It Bhould cost in the neighbor- t. O. O. F. CONVENTION AT 4. JUNCTION CITY BIG EVENT Tuesday, the 25ih day of April, 1921 waa the i02nd anniversary . of the founding of Odd Fellowship in the United 8lates. All over the United Btates trla event la celebrated by the lodges and the day Is looked forward to with much IntUlpatlon and pleasure. In Washington D. C. the event was celebrated and among those on the program was president of the U. 8., Warren O. Harding, while in other cities and countrysides (he day was duly commemorated with fitting pro grama. Tie Lane county association, com prising the 14 lodges of the county held Its meeting at Junction City. The morning session was the business session. At the close of it the Cot tage Grove lodge conferred the first degree on 14 candidates, after which a recess was declared and all par took of a aumptlous banquet at the rmory. The meeting was called to order at one o'clock at which time unflnlsl ed business was d la posed of. At this time the grand master II. M. Johnson delivered an address which waa full of gcod thoughts. During the year lust closed, the membership of the subordinate lodges haa been Increas ed 2557. making a total in tie state of 25,109. After this address the Gilfrey lodge of Crewell conferred the 2nd degree. At 4 p. m. the Rebekah degree was Exemplified by the Rebekah lodge of Junction City.. The parade at 6 o'clock waa a fine feature of the day and the floats would do credit to the Portland rose show. The 3d degree was conferred at 7 p. m. by the lodge of Elmlra. All de gree work was done by eact lodge without a ritual, and was very Inter esting. The program at 8 o'clock was rend ered at the Methodist church which was unable to accomodate the entire crowd. An address of the' G. . M., music, readings, etc., held the attention of all until 11 o'clock. All voted the day a hugt success. The convention will be held at Cottage Grove next year. other valley towns and you will find that almost all of them from one fourth our population up have us out classed in this respect It may cost a little more at thla time but aa a taxpayer I am very willing to pay the difference if there Is any. A new high school followed up with a few more real progressive .moves will mane a oeuer town or Springfield I and Increase ina increase tie taxable valuation the building may cost at this time. A considerable amount of money ex pended on this improvement will no doubt be spent among our local citi zens for labor etc. Let us get together and boost this proposition and follow it up" with aome cooperative effort to attract some new enterprises in here that will be a real Investment for Springfield's future. An attractive educational in stitution In this town will be a very good asset to bring to the attention of Investors that would emer in - move their families here. other towns are Kng ahead even "me.s f!V V"'6. 8,W- Why hold Let us .Springfield back longer. build NOW. C. E. LYON. I heartily endorse the building of a new high school. , HARRY rn. STEWART While I am not a tax payer In the Springfield school district I tave certainly had a good opportunity a'tlm - in? tha nst id vaa, .i r aw auu feel the need ot a new building for the high school. The dilapidated' condition of the old building has undoubtedly caused us to lose to Eugene and elsewhen) number of students , who woull oil-erwJse have - attended In Spring- field. The proposed naw high school bulld'ng is modern, Convenient aud up to date in every way.' It is planned CLUB MEETS Ai ELECT OFFICERS Attendance npon the meetings of , the Springfield Chamber of Commerce began to slacken last spring and sum mer. For a long time a very few of tie members, who had the interest of the work the cl amber was orga nized to serve at heart continued to come, and maintained the life of th organization and a degree of Interest in the work. At meeting recently, at which there was a larger attend ance than usual. It was resolved to make a special effort to reorganize the society and Its work. A meeting was called for last Fri day evening, April 22, the band was secured, a light banquet was served and considerable enthusiasm was manifested. About twenty five per sons were present besides tie mem bers of the band. Officers were elected for the ensuing year, and pur poses formed to carry out the proper work of such an organization with renewed vigor. The time for the next meeting was fixed for Fri day evening, May 6. It is hoped that there will be a large attendance, not only of the present members but of any persons who are interested in the general welfare of the community. Ttere is a great need of such an or ganization in Springfield at this time, and those interested ought to put into it all the force possible. The officers elected for the coming year are as follows: W. F. Walker, president; H. B. Freeland, vice-president; J. E. Edwards, secretary; A. P. McKinzey, treasurer; Board of Di rectors. J. F. Ketel, O. B. Kessey, C. F. Eggiman, W. H. Pollard and O. G. Bushman. hood of $40,000. It ia estimated that this woald add about two mills to the taxes each year, until paid for, but It seems to me that 4t would, wortr at least this amount two dollars per annum on every one thousand dollara of as sessed valuation, to have a high school of which we need not b ashamed. The fact that we have such a build ing should help materially to increase the city's population and prosperity. thereby increasing the taxable valua tion of property and tending to lower Jhe tax rate. Nearly everyone in town knows and admits the unsanitary, unsafe condi tion of the old building, and recog nizes the need for a new one. Let's have it. F. B. HAMLIN V I am in favor of a new high set ool. . ' L. MAY A Plea for a New High School There are. perhapa, a good many people in Springfield who do not realize the condition of the hih ewtool building. Many of these peo ple are the taxpayers and property owners. They have their money in vested in Springfield and they expect the best returns possible from every dollar invested. They know that a town with good schools and good school buildings is the best place in which to invest money. Tie high shool building in its pre sent condition invites criticism from every passer by. ' . , In the first place wood will not last forever, especially when exposed to Ortgon weather. S. H. S, has been exposed for years. The sills have sunken away, leaving the whole building out of line. The roof leaks This will be confirmed by any student or teacher. The doora are out of line Many of them can hardly be closed wten open, and can hardly be opened when closed. The stairsteps are worn off on the outer edge until it makes a precarious and even dan gerous footing. Many of the window panea. are brctten. The sashes do not" work easily. Then the equipment: There ' are hardly two rooms which have the same kind of blackboard, and what they have is cracked from heat and scratched until they are unfit to write (Continued on page four) ( 7 I 1 o o f