PAGE TWO
HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, JAN. 14, 1937.
STATE
CAPITAL
NEWS
o Governors Speech
0 Lessard's Seat
o Your Share $200
By A. L. LINDBECK .
i 1 1 m
SALEM. Governor Martin's mes
sage opening the 39th regular ses
sion of the state legislature was
unique in two respects. It was prob
ably the shortest message ever de
livered at the opening of a legisla
tive session in this state. It con
tained no recommendations for new
legislation. On the contrary it called
attention to the fate of measures
voted down by the people at the re
cent election and cited these as man
dates from the people against any
tampering with the tax structure of
the state or any fundamental change
in the state organization.
The message, less than one thous
and words in length, called attention
to the improved condition of the
state's finances, pointed with pride
to the disappearance of the general
fund deficit. Directing attention to
the balanced budget prepared by
his budget director, Wallace S. What
ton, the governor urged the legisla
tors "not to rock the boat" by ex
ceeding the recommendations of the
budget and jeopardizing the state's
financial credit or by passing new
revenue measures and thus increas
ing the burden of the tax payers.
The governor pleaded with the
lawmakers "not to be led astray by
the deceitful, false and misleading
shibboleths of demagogues who ma
liciously try to create economic, so
cial and political chaos" and urged
that they "not be misled by plausi
ble but designed arguments into en
acting laws that will further the
work of these destructive dema
gogues." Demand upon the services of the
state library have doubled in the
past ten years. The biennial report
prepared by Miss Harriet Long,
state librarian, shows that 460,027
volumes were lent during the past
two years compared to 237,110 vol
umes in the biennium of 1925-26.
The library now boasts a total of
365,354 volumes' on its shelves but
even these, Miss Long declares, are
not nearly sufficient to meet the de
mand. Patrons of the library have
spent approximately $12,000 during
the two years on postage in the pre
payment of packages mailed out and
returned. Demand for books on bus
iness, trades, skills or crafts increas
ed nearly 50 percent over the pre
vious biennium while demand for
books on current problems, econ
omic and social, increased by 40 per
cent in the same period.
The state supreme court refused
to risk burning its fingers by med
dling in the controversy surround -ind
Dellmore Lessard's right to a
seat in the senate. Lessard's eligi
bility as a legislator had been ques
tioned because he had accepted ap
pointment as an attorney for the
bonus commission. Holding that
neither the court nor the secretary
of state had any right to pass on
Lessard's elegibility the seyen jus
tices passed the question over to the
legislature itself as the sole judges
of the qualifications and eligibility
of its own members. The act of
1935 directing the secretary of state
to convene county commissioners to
fill legislative vacancies was intend
ed to apply only in cases of vacan
cies caused by death, resignation or
removal from the district, the court
held.
Legislators and high state officials
together with their wives or lady
friends, will be guests of honor at
the biennial legislative ball to be
heldo in; , the, armory next Monday
night. The; affair,, which is spon
sored by the Salem, chamber of com
merce! is in charge, of; a, committee
headed by Brigadier General Thomas
A.,RUea?v-ti; .Mft 1 y.th"iiiiu wfj :
"i!t rf..(,o-iirt ft :-.'!' - i -r
,,It you are an average Oregon citi
zen your , share of the public debt,
not including that of the federal gov
ernment, amounts to nearly $200.. .
j Figures compiled , by State Treas
urer Holman , and released in his
biennial report show the aggregate
debt burden bond and warrant of
the state and its numerous political
subdivisions, to be $194,136,446.22.
But even that figure is $36,000,000
under the figures for 1936 when the
aggregate debt seems to have reach
ed its peak at $230,200,948.12.
Cities are responsible for the big
gest contribution to the aggregate
debt load probably because there
are more of them. Anyway the total
debt bond and warrant of the cities
and towns of Oregon amounts to
$76,243,498.84. The state debt, total
ing $50,586,810 ranks second. Coun
ty debts total $24,609,806.53; school
districts, $19,612,750.62; irrigation dis
tricts, $12,363,675.44; port districts,
$7,561,214.58; drainage districts, $1,
978,369.61; water districts, $1,067,
320.60; highway improvement dis
tricts, $105,000.
Bond issues account for $179,126,
937 of the public debt in this state.
but outstanding warrants as of last
July 1 totalled $15,009,508.
Holman's compilation shows that
the state has reduced its debt load
by $14,000,000 since 1928 when it
reached its peak while the cities
have whittled $12,000,000 off their
debt load in the past four years,
School districts owe $5,000,000 less
than they did in 1932 and the load
of irrigation districts has been re
duced by more than $5,000,000 since
1930, largely through refinancing
with federal aid during the past year,
While the gross debt of the state
and its subdivisions totals $194,136,
446.22 sinking funds and other as
sets amounting to $42,885,974.61 re
duce the debt to a net of $151,250,-
471.61. Assets of state departments
alone amount to more than $27,000,
000, most of this being represented
by first mortgages and real property
held by the World War Veterans'
State Aid commission. Cities and
towns report sinking funds of nearly
$12,000,000 while the sinking funds
of school districts- total nearly $2,-
000,000.
William E. Lamb, Oregon's official
hangman, who died this week in the
Veterans' hospital at Portland was
one of the most interesting charac
ters this state has ever known. Mild
mannered and as gentle in demeanor
as his name might indicate he ad
mitted to having officiated at the
execution of more than 700 persons
one of these a woman in the
nearly 60 years of his experience in
this unusual and gruesome profes
sion. Most of Lamb's hangings took
place in the Philippine Islands where
he served for 17 years with the Uni
ted States army. During the 16
years of Lamb's employment at the
state prison here he officiated at 14
hangings. Lamb was a native of
Virginia and was 79 years of age
last September.
Governor Martin will not be able
to accept the invitation of the Port
land Central Labor council to at
tend a mass meeting to be held in
the Labor Temple Thursday night
of this week for the purpose of dis
cussing the maritime strike. The
governor and Mrs. Martin will be
entertaining at an open house for
legislators and their wives that night,
he announced.
Liberalization of Oregon's parole
system, increase in the state parole
staff, introduction of new industries
into the penitentiary to provide em
ployment for more prisoners and the
rather than by the courts is recom
mended in the report of the Federal
fixing of prison sentences by a board
Prison Reorganization administra
tion to Governor Martin this week.
The report based upon a "survey"
conducted by a staff of several "ex
perts" working for several months
failed to develop any new ideas in
prison reform but merely endorses
measures which have long been ad
vocated by Warden Lewis and other
prison and parole officials.
STANLEY REAVIS BETTER.
Stanley Reavis, commercial agent
in Arlington, is looking at the world
with more optimism now since his
physician in Portland has assured
him that the infection in his jaw,
which has caused him much pain
and inconvenience in the last month,
is almost defeated, reports current
P. P. & L. Bulletin. On December
22 he ;was discharged from St. Vin
cent's, j hospital, Portland, after his
third, serious battle with the infec
tion, which started with an infected
tooth. He returned to Arlington De
cember 22. . Reavis was bookkeeper
with the local P. P. & L. office for
several years.
Governor Directs
Lawmakers to
Avoid Pitfalls
Sound Financing, No
New Taxes, Asked
Of 39th Assembly.
"To impair Oregon's financial
standing is unthinkable: to imDOse
further burdens upon our already
overloaded taxpayers would be de
plorable." Thus Governor Charles
H. Martin admonished the 39th leg
islative session at its opening this
week, after declaring that Oregon
had weathered the depression in
good shape, had emerged with a bal
anced budget, no unaccounted for
deficit.
The state executive advised a
sound, middle-of-the-road course in
telling the legislators to steer clear
of the rocks of "soppy sentimental
ity" or the "equally dangerous reefs
of the greedy, vicious, vested inter
terests opposed to the common
good."
He offered a program, with pro
posed budget, which he believed to
be in accordance with the will of the
people as expressed at the Novem
ber, 1936, election, and asked legis
lators to give it their best consider
ation. Governor Martin cited the $1,304,
200.31 deficit which faced the state
at the beginning of his administra
tion to have been converted into a
surplus of $200,000, declaring it to
have been the first time since 1925
that the state deficit had been elim
inated. "Bonded indebtedness of the state
has been reduced to $49,108,010, the
lowest in 15 years. Out of this total
approximately $46,800,000 is repre
sented by the outstanding obliga
tions of the Oregon State Highway
commission and the World War Vet
erans' State Aid commission. Both
issues are self-liquidating, and will
be retired on schedule unless ad
verse action is taken.
"The entire bonded debt of the
state can be eliminated under the
present program of retirement by
1960, provided no new bonds or ob
ligations are incurred in the mean
time," the governor commented on
the state's financial status.
Relative to the tax situation, he
said: "For the first time in history,
the state of Oregon will remove the
property tax from real and personal
property, except for that portion of
the state levy outside of the consti
tutional 6 percent limitation, of
which more than oneThalf is for the
elementary school fund which is not
properly a state tax in that it is col
lected and distributed solely within
the counties. The tax levy for strict
ly state purposes for this year is 1.15
mills as compared to 2.86 mills in
1936. This represents a reduction of
more than $1,500,000. Due to excell
ent administration of the World War
Veterans' State Aid commission, the
0.5 mill levy for that commission has
been waived for this year."
The governor attributed the good
financial showing to the system of
budgetary control authorized at his
request by the 38th legislative as-cembly.
CARD OF THANKS.
We sincerely thank the kind neigh
bors and friends for their assistance
and expressions of sympathy at the
time of our bereavement; especially
are we grateful to members of the
Knights of Pythias for their help.
Mrs. D. S. Barlow and family,
Mrs. A. G. DeVore and family.
Mrs. A. L. Anderson,
Miss Oma Smith.
Charles Valentine was up from the
farm yesterday transacting business.
rf 4fc
Human byes Not Adavied
Surveys show appalling
need for Better Light
and Better Sight!
Do our eyes still belong to the
Stone age? For millions of years
we human beings got up with the sun,
went to bed with the sun. Our eyes
were used mainly for distant seeing
out-of-doors in plenty of light.
Close seeing didn't really become a
general practice until 500 years ago
with the invention of the printing
press. 500 years is a mere fraction of
time in the evolution of man and
not long enough for our eyes to be
come adapted to modern conditions.
The reason so many people have de
fective vision is insufficient light.
To keep your eyes strong and
healthy, be sure to give them the
right amount of light for every vis
ual task. Start in your home by hav
ing your lighting measured with the
Sight Meter, which shows both how
much light you have now and the
amounts needed f or easy seeing.
i I j jSM
'
Clean bulbs givte most light! a film of
dust and grime on your lamp bulbs and re
flectors can cut down your light as much as
20. To be sure you get maximum efficiency
from the electricity you buy for lighting
see that your bulbs and shades are always
spotless.
Now you can select the right
amount of lieht far vnur avo!
The new 3-way I.E.S. Better Sight Lamps give
100, 200 or 300 watts of light from the same bulb.
When you are visiting with.friends, use the low
intensity. For large type or coarse work, the mid
le intensity is sufficient. But for reading the news
paper, sewing or any prolonged work, 300 watts
are necessary. See this and other LE G. models
in dealers' and our nearest office. Look for the
translucent bowl that diffuses the lig.it and the
I.E.S. tag of approval.
Your kitten's dish of milk costs at least
lc. But you don't consider this cost impor
tant because your kitten needs the milk
Your eyes require light to see . . . plenty of
light for effortless seeing. Because Pacific
Power & Light Co.'s rates are among the
lowest in the United States, you can operate
a 100-watt lamp approximately 2y2 hours
for the cost of your kitten's dish of milk
Don't skimp on light, for light is inexpen
sive. But sight is priceless.
Don't guess about your light. Call or write
your nearest Pacific Power & Light Co. of
fice today for your free Sight Meter test.
SEE ANY DEALER IN ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
or PACIFIC POWER & LIGHT COMPANY
Always at Your Service