The gazette-times., August 07, 1919, Image 1

,..,irty,
GazetteTime
PUBLISHED WEEKLY AND DEVOTED TO THE BEST INTERESTS OF MORROW COUNTY
VOI !, NO. 19.
HKI'PNKH, OREGON, THURSDAY. Al'Gl'ST 7. 1919.
sroscRircio.v. $2.00 ri.n vear
H H
GATES
Lit
III OUR EDITQR1A
Company's President Thinks Ui
Wore Unfair In TeillnK What He
Had Already Acknowledged.
The following letter, which will be
of Interest to the people of Heppner,
now that the water issue is up for
settlement, was received the first of
the week by The Gaiette-Tlmes from
II. V. Gates, president of the Heppne.
Light & Water Company. It is in an
swer to our editorial of last week en
titled "A time for Action."
"Editor Gazette-Times,
Heppner, Oregon.
"Dear Sir:
"Your editorial a 'Time for Action'
In issue of July 31st, refers to the
Light & Water Company and myself
in very uncomplimentary terms,
which nut corrected works both a
permanent Injury. So permit me to
offer a few facts.
"The water plant has, since the be
ginning, been a losing Investment,
its revenues never equalling the ex
penses. The light plant paid divi
dends and made up the water deficit
until about seven years ago, when all
dividends ceased, and since 1914 both
plants have been operated at a loss;
the public service commission finding
that during the year 1917 the water
plant lost us $4950. The stockhold
ers have been loaning money to the
company until its Indebtedness to
them amounts to $6000 and all In
terest to date has been defaulted.
"Our contract with the city is that
all water must come from deep wells,
not Willow creek or any other source.
To drive a deep well and equip it
costs us about $6000 each. It cost
the city $6000 to drive the first well
and no equipment. Our present sup
ply of water is, and always has been,
sufficient for domestic use. The
shortage is during Irrigation season.
To overcome that shortage would re
quire two additional wells, giving a
total capacity of 170,000 gallons per
day, costing $12,000, producing rev
enue of $800 with operating expenses
of $1800, creating a deficit of $1000
and the use and depreciation on $12,
000 for each irrigation season, thus
multiplying our loss.
"We Instituted .4-hour electric
service, which has Increased our loss
es. We can cease to operate that ser
vice at any time and when consider
ing such a course we have, on the
ground of Inconvenience to users of
'Day Julco' and the odium to the city,
continued the service at a sacrifice to
ourselves. We have just agreed to
dispose of the water plant to the city
at a loss of $9000. To build the plant
today would cost $76,000, and we
had invested In it, $35,000. We have
been looacrs In the floodfor $10,000,
In the fire for $S,000, have always re
sponded to all demands for public
good, Individual or city. We have
made proposals which would have
brought Willow creek water to the
city without any expense to the city
and without any Increased cost to
users. We made a proposal to sell
water works to the city and erect a
$60,000 hotel. I think our hanging
on with continuing losses deserves
something more than condemnation.
At least we have shown more public
spirit than any other In the city, if
not please point them out that we
may give credit.
"Willow creek is the only possible
practical solution of a water supply.
Whoever brings it in must Btrain
their finances to the limit of endur
ance. Had we increased the coBt of
the water works by drilling more
wells, it would have increased the fi
CECIL WOULD Hi FINE
1W HI
Cecil, Ore., Aug. 6. (Special)
Owing to the good roads and the
John Day project, and to the further
fact that Heppner is without accom
odations for the weary travelors, Ce
cil is bound to come into her own.
Numerous offers and applications
for business locations have come to
hand during the past few days, Oscar
Otto and l'at Crow of Heppner being
the lutcst business men who would
becomo alllllatod with Cecil's future.
These gentlemen were In Cecil last
Sunday, their excuse being that they
were on their way to Itoardinan, but
before they left town, Mr. Otto had
trlod to purchase a piece of ground
suitable for an up-to-date music store.
During this time, Pat Crow walked
up and down through the main thor
oughfare and finally remarkod to a
citizen that ho had heard it rumored
that Cecil, "the oasis of the desert,"
was about to build a first-class hotel,
and on the strength of the same at
once put In his application as mana
ger of "Cocll Hotel."
A few evenings prior, the business
men of Cecil hold a meeting and de
cided to build a hotel, contingent up
on the possibility of getting the court
bouse moved to Cecil. A committee
nancial difficulties In securing the
Willow creek water. Thli we have
explained to every city council for
years. We have advised them there
would be a shortage of Irrigation wa
ter. There has always been plenty
for domestic use or fires. The public
service commission censured us for
the large Investment we have In the
present plant. What could we have
dono in addition to what we have
done? You say "water Is a God-given
element.' True, and In His plan it
was distributed in rivers, laker and
underground. The city of Heppner
not being there to enter protest, got
left In the distribution. I admitted
that it forced to do, we could get wa
ter. Of course, if forced to do so, we
could get it as I have shown. You say
it Is a shame to commercialize wa
tor.' True, but no water works, pub
lic or private, does so. They com
mercialize thai which Is not God-given:
the wells, pumps, pipe, reservoirs,
etc., and if the city furnished water
to IU people, It must commercialize,
not the water, but the use of the wa
ter works, or go broke, And any
bankrupt, be it water works, is a Ha-
bility, not an unset, to the city. We
have by strenuous sacrifice, escaped
bankruptcy. Now do you think such
attempts as yours are conducive to
other Invetors? Did I think your
ideas prevailed I certainly would
quit. Disastrous as has been our bus
iness, we still have courage and faith.
Do not detroy It.
Yours most respectfully,
(Signed) H. V. GATES."
Portland Man Buys Interest
In Local Automobile Garage
Dean T. Goodman, formerly trans
portation expert with the Godyear
Tire & Rubber Co., has purchased an
Interest In the Heppner Garage and
that firm will hereafter conduct the
business as Vaughn & Goodman.
Mr. Goodman has had years of ex
perience as a salesman, having made
Heppner for the Honeyman Hardware
Company in years past. He is a pro
gressive young business man with up-to-the-minute
ideas and he and Mrs.
Goodman will be a welcomed addition
to our city.
.Daughter Writes From
Australia to Mother Whom
She Was Told Wab Dead
Mrs. Mae Gray of Hamilton has
just received a letter from her daugh
ter, Nellie Ann Robinson of Western
Australia. Mother and daughter
have not seen each other for 16
years. The girl was an Infant of two
years when she was taken from here
by her father, George Robinson, for
merly a stockman of Morrow county.
She says that she has tried repeatedly
to get letters to her mother, but for
some reason they failed to reach their
destination. The letter was written
through the Salvation Army and she
says "Father tells me mother is dead,
but something tells we she Is still
living." The daughter now lives at
Albany, western Australia.
Returning to California,
Andy J. Stevenson, pioneer Mor
row county resident, who has been
spending the past three months in
Heppner, will leave In a few days for
Oakland, California, where he will
spend the winter. Mr.' Stevenson will
go to Pilot Rock for a few days visit
with his s-oa John and from there he
will go ou to Oakland. Mr. Steven
son spent the past year In the south
and he likes the climate of the San
Francisco Day country fine. He
makes his home with a daughter in
Oakland.
NEW HOTEL IF
THE COURT HOUSE ALSO
was appointed to Interview Judge
Campbell and the commissioners, to
see If they would rant such removal
and If so, the new hotel would be
built Immediately. Mr. Crow was
very much disappointed when he was
informed that Joe Wllklns had al
ready sent In an application as man
ager, but his offer, (Mr. Crow's) will
be considered along with other offers
received.
Move Made To Form Chapter
Of American Legion Here
A move Is now on to get a post of
the American Legion established In
Heppner, R. E. Crcgo and Dr, Harold
Bean, returned service men, having
started the preliminary ball rolling
so to speak. All ex-soldlers who are
Interested In seeing a local post es
tablished, should leave their names
with Mr. Crego at the local telephone
office and such Information as may
be wanted regarding the Legion can
be obtained from either Mr. Crego or
Dr. Bean, It Is necessary to have 15
signers at least on the petition for a
charter. A meeting of ex-service men
will be held in Heppnor within the
next two weekB. All mon who have
been in any branch of the service will
be urged to attend that meeting.
SWEAT DF THE HARVEST
Ihfw A
GAZETTE-TIMES ENLARGES
With this Issue, The Gazette-Times
enlarges from six to seven columns,
thereby making It possble to add new
features which we hope will prove of
value to our readers and advertisers
alike.
The change, in effect, now makes
the paper equal in size to our former
paper of ten pages six columns and in
reality carries a greater number of
inches of printed matter than was
formerly carried in ten pages of the
smaller size paper.
The continual growth of the paper
and the desire on the part of its pub
lishers. to make a tetter paper with
each succeeding issue, has called
forth the enlargment of The Gazette
Times. New features will be added
from time to time, and if the paper
has been filled with news interest in
the past, our readers will find that
interest Increased in the future. It is
not our desire to "toot loudly" but
we only want to call your attention
to these Improvements which are of
a permanent nature and which are
taking place as the paper expands
with the growing community. We
trust that a "bigger and better" pa
per may meet with your approval and
satisfaction.
Medical Aid For Soldiers.
Chas. Ayers, recently returned
from overseas service, was sent to
Seattle Monday to receive further
medical treatment from the United
States government. Mr. Ayers has
been in poor health since leaving the
service, in fact he has not felt well
since doing duty on the Mexican bor
der in 1917. It is the policy of the
government to give all ex-service
men all the attention and care pos
sible, according to N. White of Spo
kane, who represents the government
and who was In Heppner last week
to confer with the civilian relief com
mittee of the Red Cross.
Many men who were quite anxious
to get out of the service after the
armistice, waived all rights to any
disability clause when they received
their discharge, and these men will
also be helped by the government if
their case can be called to the govl
ernmcnt's attention.
Another boy who has been sent
away for further medical treatment,
Is Guy McFerrln. He was in the hos
pital for several months after being
severely wounded and his condition
is not Improving as fast as It should.
It Is the government's intention that
be he given the best possible atten
tion. Rooms Are Scarce.
Every day, especially after the ar
rival of the local train, there Is a
great scramble for the traveling pub
lic to find rooms. This is a condition
that has existed in Heppner for more
than a year, and it is a lamentable
condition. Several homeB where ex
tra rooms could be spared have been
thrown open to the public but now,
since tljere is only one rooming house
In tho entire city, the situation Is
growing acute. Rumors are In the
air regarding the construction of
rooming houses and hotel and the
genera! hope Is thot these may mater
ialize In the near future.
Miss Fern McCullough of Hrldal
Veil arrived in Heppner Wednesday
and Is a guest of Miss Gwendolyn
Darbee.
IN SlE AND
TO
Boys Paid High For Joy Ride.
, Joy riding in some one's car with
! out permission of the owner came
! high to Everett Zink and Floyd (Ken
j tuck) Cobb last Saturday night. They
. took French leave of Albert Bowker's
i car, from In front of the Heppner Ga
. rage and drove around Jpwn for a
j while. No damage resulted to the
machine, but the boys realized the
seriousness of their offense when tak
en before Judge Alex Coruett on Mon
, day and fined $20 each and the costs.
New $50,000 Store Building
Rises Rapidly On Main Street
The new two-story business block
which is being constructed for the
pioneer firm of Gilliam & Bisbee on
the southeast corner of Main and May
streets is rising rapidly under the su
pervision of contractor T. G. Denlssee.
The new building, when completed,
will be one of the most thoroughly
modern In the city. The estimated
cost Is in the neighborhood of $50,
000. The entire building will be
given over to a general line of hard
ware, every inch of floor space being
occupied by the owners, and it will be
one of the largest stores of Its km-,
in Eastern Oregon.
Morrow Highway Esti
Mate Falls a Little Short
Morrow county voted a $290,000
road bond issue, with $125,000 of
the total sum designated for the road
between the Gilliam county line and
Heppner. It looks now as though
the road will cost $30,000 in excess
of the estimate. County Judge Camp
bell and Representative C. E. Wood
son were In Portland the lirst of the
week and attended a meeting of the
state highway commission. The dis
crepancy in the figures is due to the
first estimates made by the highway
engineers and Is no fault of the coun
ty officials.
It has been suggested that the road
be narrowed from 24 feet, the state
standard, to IS feet. In reply to such
a suggestion, Highway Commissioner
Thompson declared, "If you build an
18-foot road, I'll never want to go
back to Morrow county, for they'll
hang me. You, must either put in
more money or cut down the length
of the rond."
Representative Woodson, speaking
for Judge Campbell, replied that the
comity I'annot raise more than about
$7000 additional. Mr. Thompson ad
vised having the banks carry county
warrants for two or three years until
they can be taken up out of the gen
eral fund. The road Is SB miles from
Heppner to the Gilliam county line.
No action was taken by the commis
sion. Hero for Medical Attention.
Lew Holmes, manager of the Tum-A-Lum
Lumber Company at Lexing
ton, was In Heppner today to receive
medical attention for his right eye,
which Is threatened with an abscess.
Air. Holmes received an injury to
that eye several years ngo, when the
eye ball was struck by a barley beard
and ho Is Of the opinion that the
present trouble Is a result of that
injury.
mm
IN
Favorable Action Toward This IVo
Ject Will Mean Opening l"p of a
Vast Acreage to Development.
Morrow County Names
Directors.
The John Day Project election is
Just a little more than two weeks
away. The purpose of the election Is
to decide whether or not the area
comprised under the proposed pro
ject shall be divided into districts and
organized for the purpose of carrying
out a bonding issue. There Is no
question abut the result of the elec
tion, casting the ballots is only a mat
ter of form and a proceedure which
is asked by law. It is believed by
those who have ben close to the pro
ject movement that the election will
go almost unanimously in favor of the
project.
If one stops to consider the mag
nitude of the proposed project, he
will soon realize what it is going to
mean to Gilliam, Morrow and Uma
tilla counties, and most of all to Mor
row county, because a greater part of
the acreage under the project lies in
this county.
There is nothing of an adverse na
ture about the project. Engineers
who have reported on It have added
their endorsement. What water has
done for the Stanfield, Irrigon, Her
mlston and Echo sections and Is doing
for the country In and around Board
man, Is only a slight Indication of
what can be accomplished in the
heavier soils included under the pro
posed project. It will add millons to
the wealth of this county and the in
creased productivity of the land will
pay for the entire cost in a very short
time.
L. A. Hunt, Michael Kenny and F.
R. Brown went to Cecil last Saturday
and attended a convention of the
John Day Irrigation District. John
Kilkenny and Jack Hynd were nomin
ated for directors from this county.
Gilliam county will also name one di
rector. Mr. And Mrs. Kenneth K.
Mahoney Are Spending
Honeymoon In Seattle
Kenneth K. Mahoney and Miss Jose
phine Mae Richardson were married
in Portland last Sunday evening, ac
cording to announcements which have
been received by their Heppner
friends. They will spend a two-weeks'
honeymoon in Seattle before return
ing to Heppner to make their home.
The bride is the only daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. Walter R. Richardson,
pioneer Heppner residents, and a
very popular young lady. She Is a
graduate of the Heppner high school
and has ever been prominent socially.
The groom Is the oldest son of Mr.
and Mrs. W. P, Mahoney and holds
a position with the Firs; National
Bank of Heppner. The Gazette
Times joins with the many friends of
Mr. and Mrs. Mahoney in extending
congratulations and best wishes.
Lieutenant Miller Returns.
Lexington, Ore., Aug. . First
Lieutenant Edv.in H. Miller, son of
Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Miller, arrived at
the ranch Tuesday evening. He lias
been two years in France with the
525th Engineers. His company had
charge of the building of the largest
postoffice in the world and it was fin
ished in S days. Mr. Miller visited
days. Lieutenant Miller visited with
his sister in Chicago and several oth
er relatives, on his route to Camp
Lewis, where he was discharged la
week. He visited with relatives $.
Salem and Corvallls while on his way
to Eastern Oregon.
Fire .Tkwtroyed Bain at Lexington.
A barn, 40x60 feet, belonging to
Mrs. J. M. White at Lexington, was
destroyed by fire shortly after 1
o'clock today. While at times It ap
peared that the fire would get be
yond control, by valiant efforts of the
lire department, the blaze was finally
controlled without doing further
damage. It has not been definitely
established just how the fire started.
A vulcanizing plant in the garage,
which was in one end of the barn,
was In use earlier in the day, but as
the fire seemed to have started burn
ing in the hay mow In the opposite
end of the barn, it Is not believed
that the blaze had its origin from the
vulcanizing plant.
Parents Of Local Teacher
Made Auto Trip To Illinois
Six thousand miles and better at
registered on the speedometer of
their car, and Mr. and Mrs. C. V.
Reynolds are not home et. Mr. and
Mrs. Reynolds are father and mother
of Mrs. Nita Douglass, a teacher In
the Heppner schools. Their home is
in Chlco, California, and they passed
through Heppner Tuesday, enrouto to
their home after an extensive auto
trip which took them as far east as
Illinois. They were met at Pendle
ton by Mrs. Douglass and she will
accompany them as far as Albany, be
fore returning to Heppner.
I
WEEKS
Shutt s Encountered All Kinds
Of Road3 On 1200-Mile Trip
Sheriff E. M. Shutt and his family
returned Friday evening from their
three-weeks' trip to the coast by auto
and they all report the most pleasur
able trip of their lives. They went
by way of The Dalles and the Colum
bia highway to Astoria, thence to
Seaside, Roekaway and Newport,
spending ten da-3 on the coast. ' They
returned home by way of Eugene, the
McKenzle Pass, Bend, Prinevllle,
Shaniko, Fossil and Condon. Mr.
Shutt says that one thinks more of
Heppner ana Morrow county after
making a Journey of this kind, which
covered 1263 miles.
They encountered all kinds o
roads, good, bad and Indifferent,
largely the latter kind the best hard
surfaced road, of course, being the
great Columbia highway, and the
best dirt roads in Sherman county,
where they are mostly all graded and
are dragged after every heavy rain.
Fixed as they are, they are more sat
isfactory to travel over than are most
of the hard surfaced roads.
The lower Columbia river, coast
and Willamette Valley counties are
just now engaged in extensive con
struction work, the autolst having at
times to travel over miles and miles
of sharp crushed rock, but these
counties are away ahead of Eastern
Oregon for decent permanent roads.
Marion county has woefully ne
glected her macadam roads, they be
ing the worst In the Willamette val
ley, and the same condition exists In
the vicinity of Rainier, In Columbia
county. These neglected macadam
roads prejudice one against this kind
of material.
A government engineer whom the
Shutts met on the McKenzle Pass,
and who had traveled by auto 30,000
miles over seven Western states the
past six months, stated that the
worst permanent roads he had en
countered in the entire distance were
between Heppner and The Dalles.
Mr. Shutt did not enter Into a vigor
ous dispute over this question, for
he had just been over these roads
himself, but he was glad to inform
the'gentleman that so far as Morrow
county was concerned we had Just
voted bonds for good roads and that
before a great while the present bad
condition would be remedied.
Four Truck Loads Of Trout
Were Placed In Willow Creek
A carload of trout fry was received
in Heppner from the state fish car
Rainbow last Monday night. The
lish are shipped in cans and these
were loaded onto four trucks and
taken to the waters of upper Wil
low creek, where they will make their
future home. Local sportsmen as
sisted In the distribution of the fish.
Man Charges Desertion.
Ida V. Gray is charged by her hus
band, Roy A. Gray, with desertion in
a complaint for filvorce filed at Pen
dleton, according to the East Oregon
ian. He asks that the custody of
their two children, aged 12 and 10
respectively be awarded jointly to
both plaintiff and defendant. The
Grays formerly lived in Heppner, j
-vhere Mr. Gray operated the transfer;
business. They were married here in '
1906. I
READ THE TELEGRAM.
Portland's big daily. The Telegram
delivered 6 days a week for only 10
cents. All the news from all the
world for 10 cents. Phone "72.
CHARLES NOTSON.
BUT PENDLETON IS
A few days ago the Baker Herald
printed a brief paragraph on the sub
ject of camp-grounds in which the
tourist parks of various Oregon cities
were compared and contrasted, much
to the disadvantage of Pendleton. To
day Information was brought to Pen
dleton by some loyal citizens, on the
same subject. L. E. Penland and wife
.md niece, Miss Ninta Clark, have just
returned from a camping trip of six
weeks, during which they came in
contact with scores of other tourists,
motoring over the state, and they re
port some startling things.
Hriefly, they make the following
statement:
Tourists of the northwest pro
nounce Pendleton's "free camping
cround," which is so prominently ud-
.ertised on signboards at the edge of
the ciiy, where the different highways
eoi.io into town, as the "worst in Ore
con." "Heppner is bad enough" so
-ays the verdict, "but Pendleton is
worse." One man who, Incidentally,
contributed a neat little sum to the
thriving business life of Pendleton
for auto supplies, etc., said tha 15 or
20 carloads of tourists came through
the city while he was here, and upon
visiting the campers park, went on
without stopping, because the place
was so dirty and unsatisfactory.
Some are planning to leave Pendleton
entirely out of their Itinerary, solely
because of tho poor accomodations
provided for tourists. The concensus
AGREEMENTREACHED
ON WATER DEAL
City and Water Company Vlrtnally
Agree on I'rlce of IMant at 'J3,
500. Proposition Re-Sub-
i mitted to Mr. oates.
The city of Heppner and the Hepp
ner Light & Water Company have
virtually come to an agreement on
the purchase price of the w ater plant.
After considerable dickering Mr.
Gates has finally come down to some
thing very near to what the city, up
on the strength of their engineers'
reports, had first offered the com
pany. The agreed price is $23,500,
with the understanding that all sup
plies on hand will be taken over by
the cty at invoice price. This Is ad
ditional and not included In the price
for the plant.
The valuation of the plant as set
forth by the engineers' reports, Is In
creased in the amount finally agreed
upon, due to the fact that some prop
erty is included in the purchase from
the company which the engineers
failed to Include in their report. One
of the chief items Is the house In
which the water plant is located.
This was considered a part of the
light and power plant by the engin
eers when they reported, but Mr.
Gates has agreed to turn the build
ing over to the city when the deal is
consummated.
Although Mr. Gates told in public
meeting, just on what terms he would
deal with the city, when his proposi
tion was finally submitted In written
form the council found that there
were certain strings attached. There
fore City Attorney Nys was Instructed
to draft a new agreement. This was
done and that agreement has beeu
submitted to Mr. Gates for his con
sideration. The ordinance calling for a special
election for the purpose of voting wa
ter bonds, was read for the first time
at the regular meeting of the city
council last Monday evening. It Is
the intention of the city council to
have all preliminaries attended to in
order that the election may be held
in the early part of November.
Oregon Man Devotes Time
To Building Up Legion
George A. White, an Oregon man
who lives In Portland, and who has
just returned from military service,
has given up a two months' vacation
which he had planned, in order to
help build the American Legion. He
was recently demobilized at Camp
Dix as a lieutenant colonel of the
Army after eighteen months of con
tinuous service in France and Ger
many. He was one of the founders
of the Legion abroad and was the
one to suggest the holding of the
Paris caucus at which the Legion was
launched. It Is a commentary upon
the nonpartisan aspect of the Legion
that Mr. White, who has been known
as a staunch Republican, was nom
inated by Bennet C. Clark, son of
Champ Clark of Missouri as a mem
ber of the Executive Committee and
Secretary.
Suit Filed Against County,
Morrow county was made defend
ant in a suit filed this week by the
O-W. K. & N. Co. and Mike Marshall
of Castle Rock, restraining the sheriff
from collecting taxes as levied against
plalntffs' property in District No. 25.
This district comprises Uoardman
and surrounding territory and the
taxes were levied for the erection of
school buildings.
WORSE" IF THAT HELPS
of opinion regarding Pendleton's tour
1st park is that It is "rotten."
Talk like this travels, a:.d who can
estimate the hurt it will do to the
city by deflecting tourist travel to
other pans cf the state an! the norli-
west. Cities of far less fame than
Pendleton are becoming popular with
summer vacationists, who arc giving
Pendleton a black eye blacker all
the time because of this one alleged
failure. Pendleton Tribune.
Livestock Exposition Will Be
Held, Portland, In November
The Ninth , Annual Pacific Inter
national Live Stock Exposition will
be held in Portland November 17-22.
The exposition will bo held in the
new $250,000 building which is now
under construction and over $65,000
in cash premiums will be given to ex
hibitors. Entries close on the 15th
of October. O. M. Plummer is gen
era manager with olllcos at 431
Northwestern Hank Building. Port
land. Hound's Kerry I'enplc Vllt.
Mr. and Mrs. otto Mat lib-son utii
two children of Hoim- i Kerry. Idaho,
are guests at the W. 1'. Mahoney
home In this city. Mr. Mathleiuu U a
buuker at lionuers Ferry.