PACE T.WO
THE HEPPNER HERALD, HEPPNER, OREGON
Tuesday, August 14, 1925
THE HEPPNER HERALD
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
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Xntered t the Heppner, Oregon, Postotf lee ai second-class Matter
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THE CONVICT'S ULTIMATUM
Solomon was a wise man,
Ijecn mistaken when he told
der the sun."
The recent action of convicts in the Oregon penitentiary
in sending an ultimatum to Governor Pierce in which they
advised him how to run that institution, how the attorney
general should interpret the law and that the warden
.should be the final arbiter in. all matters of pardons and
paroles and in which they strongly intimated that if their
demands are not complied with they will all leave the in
stitution, is sureiy something new in the annals of crimi
nology. The ultimatum was evidently given out in an endeavor
to support Warden Johnson under whose humane (?)
management escapes from the institution have been of al
most daily occurrence and the inmates are, perhaps, afraid
their model warden may be replaced by some man who will
.keep the doors locked, at least at night.
We have heard much of late years about humane treat
ment of prisoners and most of us believe in it with limi
tations. Nobody wants to see prisoners mistreated just
because they are prisoners but the time seems to have ar
rived when not many of us want to see them turned loose
cither by pardon, parole, or the simple expedient of walk
ing through an unlocked door and "beating it," simply be
:ause they arc criminals.
Several years ago a lot of us voted to abolish capital
punishment in Oregon and a little later we were glad
enough to reverse our former vote and re-establish the old
system. v Jafifc N
Convicted criminals are a good bit like many people who
have not been convicted. If you give them an inch they
will take an ell, or a yard if they can get away with it.
Judging from the crime reports printed every day in the
newspapers it is evident that there are plenty of criminally
inclined individuals yet outside the prisons to keep the
courts busy and it is no longer necessary to leave the
prison gates ajar to let those on the inside out just to keep
the judges and jurors and lawyers busy.
Governor Pierce may not have made any definite pre
election promise regarding criminals bu,t he has a chance
right now to make good with a lot of law-abiding citizens
by giving these convicts to understand that he is governor,
that the attorney-general is the attorney-general and thaJ
convicts are convicts with terms of imprisonment to serve
because of crimes committed,
to govern themselves accordingly.
If a new warden is necessary the governor should get
himself a new warden at once. If Mr. Johnson is to be re
tained he siiould be instructed to lock the prison gates for
a spell and throw the key in the river.
Law-abiding citizens still have a few rights and the con
victs should be made to realize t.liat fact even if it takes
locked doors and a touch of old fashioned prison discipline
to bring theiu to theu senses.
CULLINGS FROM COOLIDGE'S COGITATIONS
Calvin Coolidge, who once remarked that "silence and
discretion" comprised the duties of a vice president, has
followed !iis own precept to the letter. Sparing of speech,
lie is notel for the pithiness of his expressions. Some 01"
his best known epigrams are:
1 ion l hesitate to he as revolutionary as science
reactionary as the multiplication table.
Gov eminent does rest on the opinions of men.
suits rest 011 their actions. Men do noti make law?
do but iliscov er them.
e must eternally smite the rock of public conscience
if the waters of patriotism are to pour forth.
There is no right lo strike against the public safety by
ativbody, anywhere, anytime..
Sovereignty, it is our belief, is vested in the individual,
and we are going to protect the rights of the individual.
industry cannot flourish if labor languish.
Sell 'government means self-support.
MUCH TO THINK ABOUT
Perhaps it has always been so; bivt was there ever a
world with so many problems, so many "issues," so nuny
"questions" into which to push the fledgling citizen to try
his wings? If you're an economist, there's the problem of
the relation between prices paid the farmer and prices ex
ticted of the consumer to say nothing of the problem of
the development of adequate transportation at reasonable
rates, or the problem of how:
satisfied at the same time.
Political science mav be in
you think not feel, think America should do about join
ing the League of Nations? Should we recognize Russia:
Should we recognize Mexico? What's the big argument
for and against "blocs"?
If you're inelinned toward sociology, tackle some one ot
these: What if anything are we going to do about the
growth of divorei and w hy ? How are we going to make
the home something more than a place to sleep and start
out from? How are we going to teach people not to base
their civic pride 011 population statistics? How are we go
ing to entorce prohibition on the thirsty easterners?
Or, let us say, you are interested primarily in industria'
no doubt, but he must have
us "There is nothing new un
and that they are expected
nor a:
re
hev to keen capital aud labor both
vour line. What, then, do
development. Well, what's the ultimate answer to the
question of fuel and power? How are we going to build
up industries on diminishing natural resources? Just what
should be done about conserving our vanishing timber?
Or, you're an orthodox theologist: What are you going
to do about evolution? A scientist: What do you want
done about Genesis?
The Sun is setting with this issue. We hope that when
it comes up again next year at least some of these ques
tions shall have gone the way of "free silver" to make
room on the forum for "others that we know, not of."
Finally, in a world like this, where will we get without
education, and enlightened leadership? Surey there are
some hard nuts for the coming generation of citizens to
crack. U. of O. Summer Sun.
McNARY AND THE FARMER
It was, perhaps, lortunate for Senator McNary that the
illness of the late Piesicem Harding prevented the senator
from asking he president 10 call an extra session of con
gress to f;x the price of wheat at Si. 75 a bushel. There
was hardly one chance in a million that the president
would have agreed with the senator and as the matter
stands Mr. McNary has to his credit a published interview
in which lie declared his intention of taking such a step in
the interest of the wheat farmers of Oregon. The farmer
vote in Oregon is worth figuring on. The only trouble is
that the farmers are getting wise to pre-election talk and
as ore Morrow county wheatgrower remarked after read
ing the McNary interview: "Why in heck didn't he think
of doing something for the farmer before congress ad
journed ?"
A FARMER'S V1F.WS OX
FRSII IKI) FA K.MING
An pastern Oregon farmer near
Ontario, -who evidently got "fed up"
on city critics of his business meth
ods and especially of their advice
that tiie farmer should produce
everything on the farm that he
needs to eat, writes the following
letter to the Oregonian which we
reproduce because it answers these
self-appointed critics rather neatly:
There is a disposition on the part
of many critics, including some ot
the editorial writers on our daily
press to ascribe most of the farm
er's woe;; to his own shortcoming.
and to hark back to the old cry a
bout farmers buying canned milk,
canned and fresh vegetables and
other food:; which they should pro
duce upon their own farms. I 'know
of no line of criticism which gets
under a farmer's skin more Quick
ly, for generally the opinion of the
town critic ignores factors which
have a good deal to do with the
farmer's course of action.
A business man in the' city con
fines his efforts to the production
of the article or line he specializes
in, going into the market and pur
chasing those things which he does
not find it profitable to produce for
himself. Hut the farmer, according
to the town notion, should produce
everything he needs to eat, irrespec
tive of whether its production U
economically profitable or not.
It is true there is with most of us
room for improvement in our meth
ods, but, so far as eastern Oregon
and Washington conditions in the
grain-growing sections are concern
ed, there is a decided limit to the
extent to which diversified farming
can be practised. It takes an abun
dance of nutritious feed to make a
dairy cow profitable. Likewise it
requires something more than soil
and sun to make vegetables worth
eating. Most grain farms in the
plateau country are devoid of land
adapted to being seeded down tc
meadow, and it' some of our critic!
had to dine for awhile on vege
tables grown without irrigation on
a hot upland, we would luar less a
bout our "on,e-crop" farmers.
The question of the practise of
minor economies on the part of the
farmer has little to do with his
right to receive a living price for
his products. The latter is the crux
of the whole question, and the wel
fare of the nation, to a large extent,
depends upon whether the staple
crops of the country are to be pro
duced at a loss or a profit. While
I do not personally believe in the
practice, if the Individual living on a
farm adapted to and equipped tor
grain-growing believes he can bu
his milk and vegetables or any other
food product cheaper than he can
produce them, why la it not his!
privilege to spend a portion of his
income that way, rather than, after
he has done a long day's work, that
he should spend another couple of
hours milking a bunch of cows, or
in hoeing the garden by moonlight?
"t llOOIi (itlADK SYSTEM
said to in: liKi'.AKixc;
FXGF.XE. ORE. "Our school
grade system is breaking down just
as fast us it can without failing in a
heap," said Dr. 0. J. Johnson, of the
bureau of educational research, St.
Paul, Minn., speaking before the
summer session assembly on Tues
day. Thepreseut tendency in educa
tion, said Dr. Johuson, is away from
lass room instruction and more to-
The first book points out the fallacy
ward individual instruction for pup
ils. "Various societies," said the speak
er, "have begun interesting experi
ments in trying a new method of
laying out for children certain defi
nite material foreach grade, that the
children have to cover." Dr. John
son went on to explain that by this
method th'i child learns step by
step, takes an examination when he
has completed what was laid out for
him to do, and thus failures and re
tardation are avoided. "The difficul
ty in modern education is that we
try to teach all children alike,"
said Dr. Johnson.
Landmarks in this gradual trend
toward individual instruction and
the consideration of each child on
tin individual basis, are the new
hooks being written on scientific
methods in instruction.
Among!
these books Dr. Johnson mentioned
Thorndyke's Psychology of Arith-
metic and the Teachers' Word Book. I
in the average text book in arithmet
ic which presents problems for the
pupil that have no relation to life or
the facts of life. The second book
divides all the most commonly used
words into divisions of hundreds,
with the most common in the first
hundred and the least common in the
last hundred. The book also attempts
to prove that there are certain words
that are easily learned and others
that are difficult. By the use of the
book the teacher can know what
words a child will be able to learn In
a certain grade.
HAY GROWERS OPK.X
CAMPAIXGX IX WAI.I.A
WAI.I.A VALLEY
following meetings held in I
Touchet and Lowden a committee ot
growers went into the field soliciting
contracts from hay growers, assisted
by representatives of the organisa
tion. valley more local support j
In til
is oeing gnen trie association man I
in almost any other district so far
canvassed. Every bank in the va'.lev
is favorable to the movement and
realizes that something must be done
to put the farmer on a better busi
ness basis.
The plan of district operation as
proposed by the Northwest Hay as
sociation is particularly appreciated
in this section.
Hay is now being marketed at $11
per ton loading point, which is gen-
erally recognized as considerably be-
low the cost of production.
At a recent meeting of the Ellens-
Economy the Spirit
of the Times
DID YOU EVER STOP TO THINK WHAT
YOU PAY FOR FANCY CONTAINERS?
COfTEE
IS A GOOD ILLUSTRATION OF THE FACT.
YOU PAY FROM 7c to 8c PER POUND
FOR THE LITHOGRAPHEDCANS
WE CARRY A LINE OF BULK COFFEES AT
335c - 35c - 40c
PER POUND
utsija vji jvxa y
Company
burg chamber of commerce a splen
did endorsement of the program of
the Northwest Hay Growers was
given, and a signed report issued
which will be very helpful to the
further progress of the oganization
campaign. All over the hay district
business meji are beginning to real
ize the value and importance of this
movement.
During tlte next few weeks t'.ie
campaign will be continued In Walla
Walla Walla and Kittitas valleys,
but particularly intensified in tie
Yakima valley proper, where it is ex
pected to be pressed vigorously wclii
the signup is complete.
THE FARMER GETS ADVICE
Why should the farmer proteose?
True, wheat is below a dollar. True,
there is a gr(eat and unexplainable
margin of price between the amour.t
the farmer gets for his product on
the farm, and the amount the con
sumer pays for that product when
he buys it. It is also true that the
farmer asked for markets, and they
gave him a lot of laws.
But there is something else tie
farmer forgets when ho complains
that his lot is not a happy ore, and
something for which he is not truiy
grateful when he talces a long swing
of his cowhide boots and kicks out
a government which does not accom
plish what he desires.
Everyone has been generous to
the farmer. From the president down
and from Wall Street westward, the
whole country has reached right to
the bottom of its capricious heart
and withdrawn something which it
lla3 given free to the farmer.
It is advice.
There has never been a question
j ui uie country s generosity m this re
I gard. We have always been 100-per-
centers in giving. We have told the
farmer how to market, when to mar
ket why to market anfl to wnom tQ
market va i,,. i,i i:.,,
sow and where to sow. We have toid
him everything in the world he
might want to know. We have given
everything we had in the way of ad
vice. And he isn't grateful. It's a shame.
Exchange.
ilay Taylor went to Wallr. W.nlia
T .ion-day to bring over a Fnii truck
for a customer. Mr .Latouro . says
l.e kept busy getting trur.'.s a.i.i
caii fast enough to meet 3 de