PAGE TWO
HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, DEC. 31, 1936.
STATE k I rVC
CAPITAL INCW J
o Labor Disputes
o Expense Accounts
o $3,000,000 for Fair
By A. L. LINDBECK
SALEM. Labor disputes which
continue to hold the entire west
coast in a state of industrial stagna
tion will unquestionably come in
for considerable attention at the
hands of the Oregon legislature
when it convenes next month. Pro
ducer groups whose pocketbooks
have been hard hit by their inability
to ship their products as well as by
the decline in purchasing power on
the part of the strikers, are loudly
demanding action to bring about
speedy restoration of peace in the
industrial world. With the Growers
Club of Hood River taking the lead,
the wool growers, wheat growers,
apple growers and other agricultural
groups are demanding compulsory
arbitration of all strikes in which
the public welfare becomes involved.
Senator Best of Umatilla county
has publicly announced his inten
tion of sponsoring a compulsory ar
bitration measure in the forthcom
ing session. Senator Stringer of
Linn county, an active Granger him
self, has announced his sympathy
with the proposal. Other legislators
from the agricultural districts can
be depended on to support the idea,
especially under the urge of their
interested constituents. These in
clude Duncan of Harney, Wheeler
of Lane, Stadelman of Wasco, Spaul
ding of Marion, Dunn of Jackson,
and many others. The senate, over
whelmingly conservative in its at
titude toward business and indus
trial problems, would appear, from
this distance, to be fertile ground
for the sowing of seed looking to
governmental interference in argu
ments between employers and em
ployees. The attitude of the House
is more' difficult to predict. Fifty
percent of its membership is en
tirely new to the legislative field.
Among the House members, how
ever, there are known to be at least
two aggressive labor leaders Bull
of Union and Brady of Multnomah
and a number of other labor sympa
thizers who can be depended on to
follow their lead in a fight to the
finish against any legislation that
might in any way clip the wings of
organized labor.
Most interesting angle in the pend
ing battle over labor legislation,
howevere, is to be found in its possi
ble effect upon the Damon-Pythias
relations which have existed 'be
tween leaders of the farmer-labor
groupt at legislative sessions for
many years with Ray Gill of the
grange and Ben Osborne of the la
bor unions, and their satellites fight
ing shoulder to shoulder for or
against as the case might be any
proposal affecting the interests of
either group. Already Gill, as mas
ter of the State Grange, has warned
against any attempt to interfere with
the rights of labor unions to strike.
This can be interpreted as a warn
ing against the proposed compulsory
arbitration program. The warning
has started rumblings of discontent
among Grangers in many parts of
the state, especially those who be
long to the wheat league or the wool
or apple growers who do not pro
pose to let Gill or any other leader
stand in the way of a program that
promises any relief from the present
situation with its threat to the finan
cial stability of thousands of inno
cent bystanders.
Of course any legislation the Ore
gon lawmakers may enact to require
compulsory arbitration of labor dis
putes would only apply to the local
strikes, such as that in the woolen
mills at Portland or strikes by team
sters, truck drivers or other purely
local groups. It would have little,
if any effect on the maritime strike
which is, after all, the one which is
pinching the producers right now.
That involves a national issue and
will require federal legislation if it
is to be reached. All the Oregon
legislators can do in that connection
will be to memorialize Congress and
even such action can be expected
to meet with serious opposition on
the part of organized labor.
Hereafter state officials and em
ployees who tour the country at
public expense attending conventions
and conferences must limit their
expense claims to $7 a day. This
amount is expected to cover Pull
man charges, meals, hotel rooms,
taxis, tips and incidentals. If they
cannot live within this allowance,
the board of control ruled this week,
they can make up the balance out
of their own pocketbooks. If they
can get by on less the saving is
theirs. The state will allow them a
flat $7 a day while out of the state
on public business. Action to this
effect was taken by the board as a
protection against "chiselers," a few
of whom persist in padding their
expense claims for in excess of this
approved allowance. "Deadbeats"
also came in for a share of attention
at the hands of the board when it
was voted to summarily dismiss any
state employee who attempted to
crawl out from under a soldiers bo
nus loan or to unload on to the bonus
commission or land board a piece
of property which he had purchased
with a state loan on which he had
allowed the interest and taxes to ac
cumulate without making any effort
to discharge his rightful obligations.
Dellmore Lessard, state senator
from Multnomah county, has filed
suit in the circuit court to test out
his right to a seat in the forthcom
ing session. Lessard is an attorney
for the World War Veterans State
Aid commission. Attorney General
Van Winkle in a recent opinion to
Thomas Graham, Jr., senator-elect,
also an attorney for this same com
mission, ruled that this position con
stituted a bar to membership in the
legislature. Lessard in his petition
for a declaratory judgment uphold
ing his right to the senate seat con
tends that he is only an employee
and not an "officer" as contemplat
ed by the constitutional provision
under which the attorney general
would rule him out as a legislator.
Furthermore Lessard contends he
was not appointed to his post but
was "employed." With less than
three weeks remaining until the
legislature convenes the court is
expected to advance the case for
early determination.
'
With five percent of the motorists
responsible for 90 percent of the
traffic accidents R. H. Baldock, state
highway engineer, advocates per
manent revocation of the operators'
licenses of accident-repeaters as the
only solution to the traffic accident
problem. Oregon already has plenty
of safety laws to protect the motor
ing public if they were more rigidly
enforced, in Baldock's opinion.
Reports from Portland indicate
that the state will be asked to con
tribute $3,000,000 toward financing
of the proposed 1939 World's fair to
be held in that city in celebration of
the completion of the Bonneville
dam. Just how the money is to be
raised has not been indicated. When
Governor Olcott convened the legis
lature in special session in 1921 to
finance a proposed "Industrial Ex
position" to be held in Portland in
1125, the lawmakers promptly turn
ed thumbs down on any attempt to
unload this burden onto the prop
ertv owners through a tax levy. A
proposal to finance the state's con
tribution to the fair through an in
crease in the gasoline tax met with
approval of a large majority of the
House members but failed in the
senate where it .was impossible to
muster a constitutional majority back
of the program and the proposed
fair died a premature death.
Congressman Wm. A. Ekwall has
offered to donate the services he per
formed for the state as circuit judge
pro tern for Multnomah county, but
not until Secretary of State Snell
had turned down his claim for $10 a
day the statutory allowance for
these same services. Snell ruled that
inasmuch as Ekwall is still a mem
ber of Congress and drawing pay
from the federal government he is
not entitled to pay from the state.
A majority of state employees and
officials enjoyed a three-day vaca
tion this week. Several offices, in
cluding those of the governor, pur
chasing department and budget di
vision, did not open at all Saturday
following the Christmas holiday,
while others maintained only skele
ton crews sufficient to keep the of
fice open and answer the telephone.
The only departments working a full
crew Saturday were the automobile
Windshield Sticker
Welcomes Tourists
Additional emphasis on Oregon's
welcome to tourists is embodied in
a new design windshield sticker to
be issued out-of-state motorists by
Earl Snell, secretary of state. The
plan is a part of Snell's program to
promote tourist travel in Oregon
and the new permit with its clogan,
"Guest of Oregon," will be distrib
uted the first of the year to all non
resident registrars.
The new sticker design was pre
pared by George Stephens, an em
ployee of the secretary of state's of
fice. "During the past year the 51 non
resident bureau managers for this
office have responded wholehearted
ly to my request for their aid in
making visitors to Oregon feel that
they are welcome," the secretary of
state reports. "Some very definite
registration department which was
swamped with a deluge of applica
tions for the new 1937 license plates,
and the state library which found it
necessary to take care of heavy de
mands for books from all sections of
the state. Employees who composed
the skeleton crews on duty last Sat
urday will be given the day off next
Saturday as also will many of those
who rested up from the Christmas
festivities last Saturday.
A report on state building needs
just released by the State Planning
board emphasizes the immediate
need of a state library building and
another office building. Replace
ment of the present supreme court
building and office building by new
structures at some time in the future
is also visioned by the planners who
call attention to the need for pur
chasing necessary ground for build
ing sites at this time, recommending
acquisition of the four blocks im
mediately north of the present cap
ital site. With federal grants avail
able through PWA the report points
out the library and office buildings
could be financed at this time with
state appropriations of only $750,000
for each.
Oregon's 1937 state fair will open
on Labor Day, September 6, accord
ing to announcement by Solon T,
White, director of agriculture. The
Labor Day opening of the fair was
strenuously opposed by county fair
managers who favored a later date
for the state fair. White, however,
insists that the Labor Day crowds
are necessary to a successful fair
unless the legislature can be per
suaded to make a more generous
contribution toward financing of the
annual show.
Assessed valuations of real and
personal property as returned by
the various county assessors, as well
as that of utility property as deter
mined by the state tax commission
for the current year show a decrease
of approximately three percent be
low 1935 figures according to a re
port released by the tax commission
this week. Local assessments shrunk
from $761,129,734.32 to $736,384,750.06
due in part to foreclosures on tax
delinquent property by the counties
and in part to a general deflation of
land values. Utility valuations drop
ped from $162,941,886.52 in 1935 to
$156,423,247.58.
Reduction in local assessments are
shown in every county with three
exceptions. Crook, Curry and Sher
man counties show slight increase
in assessed valuations. Morrow
county valuations dropped approxi
mately 25 percent from 1935 levels.
Clatsop county valuations are 13.72
percent lower and Marion county
valuations are 6.80 percent lower
than in 1935. Utility valuations in
Marion and Sherman counties
shrunk by 13 percent In the case
of Marion county the reduction is
and valuable results have followed
from this program. It is possible to
add millions of dollars to the amount
spent in Oregon by motor vehicle
tourists by inducing them to pro
long their stay even a single day,
and nothing will get more tangible
results along this line than to make
them feel that they are truly guests
of the state while here. This is a
matter of interest to every one of us
and especially effective work can be
done by those who contact our vis
itors, such as garage and service sta
tion attendants, hotels and restaur
ants, clerks, and business men in
many other lines. My department
will cooperate in every possible man
ner to develop this pogram to the
fullest extent."
Oregon' greatest tourist registra
tion in history is being recorded
this year, according to records com
piled by Snell, and an even larger
influx of visitors is expected during
the coming year.
accounted for largely by the sale of
the privately owned water utility to
the city of Salem, taking nearly $1,-
000,000 of taxable property off the
tax rolls.
Valuations on tillable lands alone
show a shrinkage of nearly $20,000,
000, while valuations on town and
city property dropped .nearly $14,
000,000. The boom in the lumber
business is reflected in an increase
of more than $4,000,000 in the as
sessed valuation on timber lands.
Valuations on horses, mules, cattle
and swine are also higher than a
year ago.
Wealth would become the yard
stick by which votes would be doled
out if the Wittiwer Federation
should succeed with its program. The
federation has incorporated in Ore
gon under the leadership of a group
of Portland citizens, including John
Schroeder, veteran chief clerk of the
legislative ways and means com
mittee. Under the proposal of the
federation all taxpayers would be
rewarded with an extra vote. Per
sons paying more than $50 a year
in taxes would have two extra votes
and those paying more than $100 a
year in taxes would be given three
extra votes. It is understood that
an attempt will be made to refer
the program to the voters through a
proposed constitutional amendment.
While the Democratic state cen
tral committee spent only $13,692.35
in carrying Oregon for Roosevelt
and Gamer, records in the secretary
of state's office reveal that the Re
publican state central committee
spent more than $57,000 in their los
ing fight for Landon and Knox.
The semi-annual apportionment of
highway funds among the 36 coun
ties of the state was completed by
Secretary of State Snell this week.
Under this apportionment $800,000
is distributed among the counties
every six months on a basis estab
lished in 1931. County courts are
expected to make a fight for an in
crease of this amount at the forth
coming legislative session.
Seven hundred automobile drivers
were convicted on various trainc
counts in Oregon courts during Sep
tember, according to reports filed
with Secretary of State Snell. The
list includes 78 drunken drivers who
suffered revocation of their drivers'
licenses in addition to fines and jail
sentences. Twenty - five reckless
drivers had their licenses suspended
during the month.
Martin V. King arrived Sunday
for a five-day visit with relatives
and friends in Heppner, being a
guest at the home of his mother,
Mrs. Truman Babb. Mr. King plays
trombone in the Paramount studio
orchestra in Hollywood. He spent
part of his boyhood days in Heppner
and has been enjoying greeting many
old time friends.
'37 AAA Plan Believed
Improvement for State
With detailed dockets on the new
1937 AAA program now being pre
pared , in Washington, farmers of
Oregon will have full information
on which to base their crop plans
for the next spring three months
earlier than last year, says Wm. L.
Teutsch, assistant county agent
leader at Oregon State college.
Teutsch and N. R. Dodd of Baker,
chairman of the state committee, re
cently returned from Washington
where they represented this state
in the conference which determined
the general outlines of the new pro
gram While Oregon and other north
western states failed to put over
their recommendations for a simpli
fied program based entirely on soil
building practices, they did succeed
in preventing the development of a
program based almost entirely on
the other extreme of diversion and
crop control, the Oregon delegation
reports. Dodd headed a committee
of western grower representatives
which was an important factor in
bringing the compromise agreement
which embodies a larger proportion
of soil building payments, although
it contains certain crop control fac
tors for com which were deemed es
sential by the middle western lead
ers. The general idea is that the new
program is the beginning of a more
permanent long-time development
which will continue in some such
form throughout the next four years
at least. More emphasis on practice
payments is an improvement under
Oregon condit'ons.
, Those who were advocates of a
more stringent control plan point
ed to the disturbing prospects of 77
million acre wheat planting for 1937,
which under normal conditions
would produce more than 900 million
bushels; to prospects of adding ad
tional surplus to the TV2 million
bales of cotton now on hand, and to
a possible 103 million acres of corn
when from 93 to 94 million acres is
the limit that can be handled prof
itably under average conditions.
Under the new program farms in
Oregon which are already devoted
largely to soil conserving crops will
have more opportunity to cooperate
in improving these farms. Hereafter
farmers will be divided into diver
sion and. non-diversion types. Pas
ture farms like those in Tillamook
county, for example, will be consid
ered non-diversion types and will
have more soil building practices
available.
PCA Annual Meeting
Set for January 9th
The third annual meeting of the
Pendleton Production Credit asso
ciation will be held at the Elks
building, Pendleton, on January 1 at
1 p, m., it is announced by Secretary-
Treasurer W. E. Moore.
To make the occasion a real "get
together" combining both good fel
lowship and an interesting business
program, plans include short, and
snappy talks and a clear, concise
report of the association's operations
during the past year.
All stockholding farmer-members ,
are urged by Mr. Moore to be pres
ent and take an active part in the
meeting, exercising their privileges
and duties as part owners of the or
ganization. "A well informed and active mem
bership is vital to every cooperative
organization," Mr. Moore points out,
"and for this reason we are making
special efforts to get a good turn
out."
The association has made good
progress during the past year as
more farmers have learned the ad
vantage of financing their operations
cooperatively through their own in
stitution.
With one vote each, stockholders
will elect to fill two places on the
board of directors which has the re
sponsibility of conducting the asso
ciation s business in a sound way.
Present board members are: James
Hill, Pendleton; A. R. Coppock, Ad
ams; R. A. Thompson, Heppner; H.
H. Weatherspoon, Elgin; E. T. Jaco,
Enterprise.
Claude Huston, in from Eight Mile
Monday, reported a fair fall of snow
in his section.
i