HEPPNER GAZETTE TIMES, HEPPNER, OREGON, THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1937.
PAGE TWO
STATE
CAPITAL
NEWS
o Second Term?
o No Property Tax
o Snell Speculation
By A. L. LINDBECK
Salem. Should Governor Martin
succumb to the lure of a second
term, as now seems likely, thous
ands of Republicans will change
their political registration in order
to participate in the Democratic pri
mary election in 1938.
Since his return from a swing
around the state with the state high
way commission two weeks ago the
governor has been deluged with let
ters from his admirers commending
him upon his outspoken stand
against sit-down strikes and labor
"racketeering" in general. Many of
these letters are from admirers' who
admit to a life long attachment to the
Republican party but who express an
eagerness to leave G. O. P. in favor
of the Democratic donkey in order to
help nominate Martin.
That, however, is a game at which
more than one can play and it is not
to be expected that the anti-Martin-ites
will be caught napping when it
comes to rallying support to their
standards either. In fact, it is said
that organized labor is already busy
making Democratic converts out of
Republicans in their ranks who will
welcome an opportunity to cast a
vote against the present occupant of
the governor's office.
Of course, as yet the governor's
attitude toward a second term is
mere speculation. While Martin is
openly flirting with the idea he is
not committing himself one way or
the other. The next primaries are
still more than a year away and
many things may happen in the in
terim things that may have a vital
bearing on the governor's final de
cision. Just now the forthcoming gather
ing of young Democrats at North
Bend Friday and Saturday holds the
center of the political stage. At
least it will provide another test of
the strength of W. L. Gosslin, the
governor's secretary and chief pat
ronage dispenser for the adminis
tration, among the younger element
of the governor's party. Gosslin is
espousing the cause of Al. Green
wood of Portland as candidate for
president of the state organization
while the anti-Gosslinites are un
derstood to be backing Walter
Tooze, Jr., also of Portland to head
the association. At least some in
teresting developments are antici
pated to show which way the straws
are blowing in the party which now
appears to be dominating Oregon
politics.
The quarterly distribution of beer
and wine taxes by Secretary of State
Snell this week totalled $22,240.
Nearly one-third of the total went
to the city of Portland. The appor
tionment was made to the cities and
counties on the basis of population.
Dr. William G. Everson of Port
land who tendered his resignation
as chairman of the state board of
conciliation to Governor Martin last
week has reconsidered and will re
tain the post. Everson's reconsider
ation followed a request from the
governor that he continue to serve
on the board in spite of the un
friendly attitude of organized labor
whose leaders had demanded that
he quit.
A flat tax of $10 a year on real
property up to a valuation of $2500
is proposed by a group of Portland
residents headed by Charles B. Gib
son who expect to sponsor a con
stitutional amendment covering this
subject. The group plans to initiate
a measure carrying out their pur
pose.
There will be no tax levy against
nronertv for state purposes in Ore
gon next year. That much can be
predicted at this early date with
reasonable safety. Income taxes are
Dourine in at an unprecedented rate
Present indications are for collec
tions of more than $5,000,000 from
this source this vear. This wil
provide a surplus of more than $1,
000.000 in anticipated revenues as
set out by the tax commissioners in
their 1937 levy. This surplus, ac-
he Qloom Phaser.
2
cording to the provisions of the in
come tax act, must be applied tow
ard a reduction of the property tax
levy next year. Even without this
surplus, however, it is anticipated
that 1938 income taxes will be suf
ficient in themselves to entirely off
set the property tax levy of $5,570,-
000 for that year including a one-
half mill levy for the Bonus com
mission which was waived in the
1937 levy.
Members of the tax commission
are in doubt as to the application
of income taxes to the elementary
school levy. While this tax is in
cluded in the state levy it is not a
state tax in the true sense inasmuch
as the tax is retained in the counties
in which it is collected and does not
flow into the state's treasury. It is
probable that the next legislature
will be asked to authorize a refund
of income tax monies to the several
counties in amounts equal to the
fund raised by the state levy for
school purposes in case income tax
collections exceed the property tax
levy for other state purposes.
Plans for participation by Oregon
troops in army maneuvers at Camp
Lewis this year were discussed at a
conference here this week attended
by Major General George A. White
and a group of army officers from
Fort Lewis headed by Colonel Fran
cis W. Clark. Approximately 14,000
national guard troops from Oregon,
Washington, California, Idaho, Mon
tana, and Utah will take part in the
15 days of intensive training begin
ning August 17.
On June 30 Dr. R. E. Lee Steiner
will sever his connection with the
state hospital at Salem after 49 years
of service with that institution, 30
years of which he has served as its
superintendent. Steiner submitted
his resignation to the board of con
trol last week and the board asked
him to remain on duty until the last
of June when he will be succeeded
by Dr. John C. Evans who for years
has served as assistant superinten
dent of the institution.
The state supreme court increased
Oregon's income tax collections by
approximately $250,000 this week
when it held that contractors on the
Bonneville dam were subject to the
tax. The opinion reversed one hand
ed down by the court in the same
case last November.
The board of control has author
ized the purchase of two more farms
for use by state institutions. One is
a tract of 130 acres adjoining the
"cottage farm" of the state hospital
south of Salem. " Price of this farm
is $8,000. The other is a 320 acre
tract adjoining the state prison an
nex, also south of Salem, priced at
$12,000 which is being purchased by
the penitentiary. Appropriations
covering the cost of these farms were
made by the recent legislative ses
sion. Earl Snell, secretary of state, is
not running for office not just now
at least. Snell made the statement
this week after political prognosti
cators had suggested that he would
either seek the republican nomina
tion for governor or a second term
as secretary of state. Political ob
servers, however, observed that he
left the gate open to a more timely
eniry into ine ponucai race in nis
. . .1 . 1 I-'
'not now" qualification to his state
ment.
The pin ball operators are leaving
no stone unturned in their deter
mination to perpetuate their exist
ence in Oregon. Articles of incor
poration were filed here this week
for the Oregon Merchants Legisla
tive League the purpose of which is
to "carry on a campaign of educa
tion regarding the necessity and pro
priety of legalizing and licensing
trade stimulators."
Guy V. Litner, state director of re
employment, reported to Governor
Martin that 1465 men and women
were placed in jobs during March.
Nine hundred of these jobs are per
manent positions, Litner said.
OSC Speakers Sweep
Big Oratory Contest's
Corvallis When Ray Siegenthaler
of Portland won the Pacific coast
intercollegiate oratory championship
for Oregon State college recently he
made it a "clean sweep" for OSC in
the four major college . oratory con
tests this year. Previously John Mc
Cormick, Portland, took first in the
state Peace Oratorical contest; Mar
garet Schoeler, Corvallis, won the
women's state Old Line contest, and
Glen Faxon, Albany, captured top
honors in the mens' division of that
contest.
Siegenthaler, an honor student and
leader in many campus activities,
competed against speakers from Ida
ho, Washington, Oregon and Cali
fornia. Sylvannus Wright was in town
Tuesday from Lexington.
-by A. B. Chapin
County Agent Tells
Wire Worm Control
By JOSEPH BELANGER,
County Agricultural Agent.
Wireworms have been a source of
considerable trouble to farmers all
over the state in potatoes, vegetable
crops and, in some cases, with field
crops. While there is no easy and
cheap way to completely eradicate
this pest, there are certain control
measures which are effective in re
ducing the damage, mere is no
known cultivated crop which is en
tirely immune from the attacks of
this pest.
The adult of the wireworm is a
hard-shelled, brownish to black
beetle, about one-half inch long,
commonly known as a click beetle,
These beetles are the only stage of
the wireworm to leave the soil, be
ing active above the surface during
the months of April, May and June,
after which they enter the soil again
to deposit their eggs. The life of a
wireworm is from 2 to 5 years, de
pending on food and soil conditions,
with an average of 3 years for most
of them in the Pacific northwest.
Chemical treatment for wireworms
is expensive. Carbon disulphide
treatment will cost about $75.00 an
acre. Treatment with crude naph
thalene costs around $24.00 an acre.
This treatment might be economical
for the small acreages used for the
average garden. According to M. C.
Lane, Division of Truck Crop and
Garden Insect Investigations, U. S,
Department of Agriculture, when
crude naphthalene is used, it is rec
ommended that the ground be first
plowed as deeply as possible (10 to
12 inches) and the furrow slice be
narrowed to about 9 inches. The
flaked naphthalene, with the lumps
reduced to the flake form, should be
sprinkled by hand (or machine)
along the sides of the furrow from
top to bottom before being covered
by the next furrow slice. Imme
diately after the plowing is finished,
the entire field should be disked as
deeply as possible in order to mix
thoroughly the crude naphthalene
crystals with the soil. This disking
is very important, because the better
the mixture of naphthalene with the
soil the better will be the kill of
wireworms. Smoothing the top soil
with a float after disking will help
to keep the naphthalene gas in the
soil, it appears necessary to use
800 pounds of crude naphthalene per
acre to obtain a maximum kill of
wireworms. To insure an even dis
tribution over the entire field the
crude naphthalene should be weigh
ed out at the rate of 1 pound to 73
linear feet of 9-inch furrow slice.
After the expiration of a week the
gas from the naphthalene will have
accomplished its greatest kill of wire
worms, and seed or sets can be
planted with little risk of injury.
There are no harmful residues left
in the soil. The cost of naphthalene
is from 3 to 5 cents per pound, de
pending on the distance from the
source and the quantity to be pur
chased. At these rates it would cost
$24.00 for the material to treat an
acre or about $5.00 for enough- to
treat a small garden plot of about
an eighth of an acre.
If crude naphthalene is used, it
is important, that the average tem
perature of the top soil be as high
as possible (at least 70 degrees F.)
during the period of treatment, and
that the soil be in good tillable con- ,
dition. This practically limits the
use of either of these chemicals to
May, June, July and August. In
many cases, this means that the
treatment used would be in prepar
ation for the next year's crops.
Drying the soil is another way to
kill large numbers of wireworms.
Wireworms cannot survive in soils
that become dust-dry, or are too dry
to support shallow-rooted plants.
In order to accomplish this drying
of soil, deep-rooted crops such as
alfalfa and fall grains should be
grown without any irrigation during
the entire season. Apparently, wire-
worms cannot escape from the up
per dry soil layers by downward
migration. After such a crop is
grown, the ground should not be
disturbed before the first of Sep
tember, after which time the land
can be fall-plowed and prepared for
growing truck crops the following
season.
Flooding during the hot summer
months is also effective where this
treatment can be followed. Small
plots that are heavily infested can
be flooded for a short perior in sum
mer and the wireworms practically
eliminated. If the flooding treatment
is used, it should be borne in mind
that little damage will be done to
the wireworms until the tempera
ture of the water is about 70 de
grees F. If it is possible, during the
warm summer months, to leave the
piece of ground flooded for a week
or ten days, so that the temperature
of the water can get as high as pos
sible, a good kill of wireworms can
be expected. Flooding kills all stages
of wireworms, including the pupae
and adult beetles. Of course, the
principle drawback to this method
of control is that it can be used only
on fairly level fields when plenty of
water is available for at least a week,
and in fields not in crop during the
period of flooding.
Crop rotations to control wire-
worms have been studied for some
time. In general, it may be said that
alfalfa does not seem to cause an in
crease in wireworm numbers in most
situations, and that it has a tendency
to reduce heavily infested fields af
ter five or six years.
To sum up Mr. Lane's recom
mendations, the crude naphthalene
treatment, summer flooding, drying
out of the soil by growing grain or
alfalfa, and summer plowing are the
best measures recommended for re
ducing wireworm numbers under
the various' conditions under which
they are troublesome.
Oregon Leads States in
Banker-Farmer Work
Oregon has been on the honor roll
of the Agricultural Commission of
the American Bankers' association
more times than any other state in
the Union, according to the current
bulletin of the commission. States
are rated according to the extent to
which the bankers of the state co
operate with farmers in placing ag
riculture on a more businesslike,
modern and efficient basis.. Oregon
has been on the honor roll for eight
years, and Georgia next with seven.
The current bulletin reports that
bankers accomplish the most ef
fective results in this field when they
cooperate with the extension service
and act as a connecting link between
the farmers and the college. Such
close cooperation has characterized
the banker-farmer program in Ore
gon, the leaders report.
Joe Engelman was in town Tues
day from lone.