OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PUBLIC AUDITOR I U M
PORTLAND . 0 R E .
VXSBB
Volume 53, Number 15.
New Corporation
Seeks Possibility of
Wells Springs Gas
Portland Men Have
State Permit to Sell
$15,000 in Stock.
A new corporation to succeed the
late Wells Springs Oil & Gas com
pany has been issued a permit by
the state corporation commissioner
for development of the natural gas
possibilities in the vicinity of Mor
row county's historical resting spot
for covered wagon immigrants who
followed the Old Oregon trail. Co
lumbia Natural Gas corporation is
the new organization, with C. E. Cole
and Arthur S. Olson of Portland as
incorporators.
The incorporators are both Port
land bond salesmen who became in
terested in the possibility of devel
oping gas at Wells Springs on a com
mercial basis through reports of ge
ologists in whom they express con
fidence. Both Dr. F. M. Handy and
Carl J. Schilling, geologists from
whom they asserted they had re
ports, were said to have looked fa
vorably upon development possi
bilities at the spot. Dr. Handy was
cited as doing competent work in the
Rattlesnake gas field in eastern
Washington and in Idaho mining de
velopments. Schilling did mining
geological work for many years in
South America, later graduating in
petroleum geology from University
of California and doing development
work for several years with major
oil companies.
The corporation is capitalized at
$100,000, with $60,000 of its stock go
ing to leaseholders. Its present per
mit calls for issuance of $15,000 in
stock which may be sold, all pro
ceeds being held in trust with a lead
ing Portland bond attorney. No ex-
penditure of funds is permitted until
$5000 has been raised. Only 20 per
cent of the money from stock sales
may be expended for salesmen's
commissions and overhead expense,
the remainder to be applied to actual
development work.
"We have taken every precaution
to make this set-up ' clean," said
Cole when in the city Monday. "Un
like other wildcat development
schemes which have incorporated
under the laws of Delaware or some
other foreign state, we have incor
porated right here in Oregon where
the 'blue sky' laws are strict, and
our every move is under close scru
tiny of the corporation department."
No false investment hopes are held
out to anyone buying stock, as plain
ly printed in red ink on the face of
the stock application is the assertion
that the venture is outright specula
tion. The reliance of those purchas
ing stock must be placed in the in
tegrity and reputation of the geolo
gists whose opinions are given.
It is the hope of the incorporators
Continued on Page Eight
Heppner Places Third
In Tourney Shoot-Off
Heppner tied with Corvallis for
third place in the shoot off match of
the Oregonian telegraphic shoot, held
in connection with the state trap
shoot at Salem, Sunday. Portland
took first and Salem second. O. G.
Hildebrand of Wasco and D. C. Math
ews of Pilot Rock assisted Dr. A. D.
McMurdo, P. W. Mahoney and Luke
Bibby in making up the local squad.
The team score was 471 out of a pos
sible 500. The Portland team, head
ed by ace F. M. Troeh, broke 480.
Salem's score was 473.
Dr. J. H. McCrady also took in
Sunday's shoot. C. H. Laiourell, for
many years president of the local
club, shot in the Tillamook ranks
this year. Next year's state shoot
will be held at Bend, it was reported.
Mayor Jeff Jones returned home
Tuesday from a several-days' busi
ness visit in Portland.
HEPPNER,
Ripley Was Right, ,
Says Roy Ekleberry
To Judge Johnson
Many times folks are prone to
look askance at depictions of Mr.
Ripley, whether they could possi
bly be true. And seldom is per
sonal verification by someone we
know possible, as the whole world
is Mr. Ripley's workshop. An un
usual incident of this nature oc
curred this week.
Roy Ekleberry of Morgan walked
into the office of Judge Bert John
son just as this worthy was glanc
ing over Mr. Ripley's "Believe It
or Not" offering in Wednesday's
Oregonian. He chose to comment
on the depiction of the moving of
a courthouse in Nebraska by train.
"That's sure enough true," Mr.
Ekleberry vouchsafed, "be'cause I
helped load it onto the train, stood
guard over it one night and helped
unload it." Then he proceeded to
tell the judge just how the feat
was accomplished back in 1899.
WHEATMEN PICNIC
AT MORO ON 26TH
Reld Day at Experiment Station
Part of Eastern Oregon Wheat
League Event; New Grasses Tried.
Wheat farmers who attend the
picnic at Moro sponsored by the
Eastern Oregon Wheat league will
also have an opportunity to inspect
the branch experiment station dur
ing the trip.
In addition to the experiments that
have been run for over twenty years
on methods of growing wheat many
kinds of grasses are being tested to
find the best one adapted to this
area. More acres of crested wheat
are being grown than any other but
some of the other grasses may be
better under pasturage conditions.
Combinations of grasses and grass
and sweet clover or alfalfa are being
tried. Crested wheat under actual
pasturage conditions may also be
seen.
Mid-Columbia farmers are accus
tomed to seeing the charts that show
what has been done in wheat experi
mentation, but many of them have
not seen the plots from which the
information is derived. Crop rota
tions, depth . and date of plowing,
rate and date of sowing may all be
seen along with the results obtained.
Of major interest in this day of
soil erosion problems is trashy sum
merfallow and disking instead of
plowing. This has been tried for
several years on the Moro station
and the results will be shown on the
field day which will be held in con
junction with the wheat growers'
picnic, June 26.
Every effort is being made by the
officers in charge to make it a day
combining pleasure and business for
every farmer attending.
ACCIDENTALLY SHOT.
While hunting squirrels in the vi
cinity of Ukiah, Sunday, Don Tur
ner, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Tur
ner, accidentally shot himself in the
left leg with a .22 pistol. He was
in a car with Francis Nickerson, and
was holding the gun pointed down
ward in his lap, legs crossed, when
a bump in the road caused him to
pull the trigger. The bullet entered
the fleshy part of the lower leg and
lodged in the ankle. He was taken
to Pendleton by a travelling man
who came along right after the ac
cident, and underwent an operation
Monday for removal of the bullet.
Barring complications, it was not be
lieved the injury would prove ser
ious. He was expected home today.
ATTEND SUMMER SCHOOL.
Episcopal summer school at Cove
attracted a group of Morrow county
young people who departed .Monday
for that place. Among those in at
tendance are Jackson Gilliam, Shir
ley Wilson, Jeanette Blakely, Bethel
Blake, Kemp Dick, Scott McMurdo,
Harold Armstrong and Billy Barratt
from Heppner, and Betty Jean Man
kin and Mary Kathryn Blake from
lone.
OREGON, THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 1937.
Farm Bureau
Gets Under Way,
Weeds Discussed
White Top at Ceme
tery Problem; Bar
ratt Heads Group.
By JOE BELANGER
Thirty-five Morrow county farm
operators held a dinner meeting at
the Heppner hotel yesterday evening
to discuss the serious weed situation
confronting farmers along Willow
creek, to hear Mac Hoke, Pendleton,
president of the Oregon Farm Bu
reau Federation discuss the back
ground and aims of the so-called
omnibus farm bill now before con
gress, and to effect the permanent
organization of the Morrow County
Farm Bureau. With a nucleus of
twenty -five paid members, J. G.
Barratt was elected president, and
E. H. Miller vice-president. The
seven members of the board of di
rectors also elected were J. J. Wight
man, Heppner; Henry Baker, Eight
Mile; Frank Wilkinson, Heppner;
Oscar Peterson, lone; . Harlan Mc
Curdy, Heppner; J. O. Kincaid, lone,
and F. S. Parker, Heppner. The
constitution and by-laws, prepared
by the temporary directors, were
read and approved.
Mr. Hoke outlined the part played
by the American Farm Bureau Fed
eration in working toward a long
time farm program beginning with
the McNary-Haugen plan and con
tinuing with the old AAA and the
agricultural conservation program,
which replaced the 1933 plan. The
new farm program has as its central
idea the establishment of parity
prices for major farm commodities.
This does not attempt, in any way,
to fix prices but merely to set up
machinery which assures consumers
that a constant and sufficient supply
of the major farm commodities will
be available, and which guarantees
to farmers that the purchasing pow
er of these commodities, in terms of
goods which the farmer must buy,
will remain relatively constant. Mr.
Hoke pointed out that under condi
tions as they have existed since the
beginning of history, farmers must
necessarily be classed as the greatest
of gamblers. Not only must they
gamble with the weather on the
amount of crops harvested, but they
have been forced to gamble with
economics on the exchange value of
the commodities which they raise.
As emphasized by Mr. Hoke, the
price that any unit of a farm product
may brjng is not of very much im
portance. The thing that spells suc
cess or failure to agriculture is the
exchange value of farm commodities
or, to put it in another way, the par
ity price. The new farm bill also
embodies Secretary Wallace's plan
of the ever normal granary.
Following Mr. Hoke's 'talk, there
was considerable discussion of the
serious weed situation caused by the
heavy infestation of White Top in
the Heppner cemetery., Seed proba
bly from this origin has already es
tablished itself in several places
within the city limits along Willow
creek. White Top in the infested
areas outside of the cemetery has
been pulled to prevent spread
ing and the county has already au
thorized the purchase of sodium
chlorate to poison these areas. Such
control work, however, is obviously
of small importance so long as the
main infestation is still growing lux
uriantly in the cemetery. The only
effective way known, at present, to
kill this weed in such a location is
through chemical poisoning. Un
fortunately, none of these chemicals
is selective and in killing the White
Top, all other vegetation is destroy
ed. White Top is generally recog
nized as the worst of the noxious
weeds. It seeds heavily, spreads
rapidly, is exceedingly drought-re-sistent,
and is hard to kill. Loan
agencies have established the policy
Continued on Page Eight
Darkened Skies
Remind Pioneers
Of Heppner Flood
Monday two pioneers stood on
the street chatting, and as they
looked at the darkened heavens
to the south they recalled a simi
lar appearance of the skies 34 years
ago that day, fust before the deluge
that claimed more than 200 lives
and did untold property damage
to the city.
The pioneers were Charles Val
entine and Milton R. Morgan. Mr.
Valentine lived in his present
home, seven miles below Heppner,
and Mr. Morgan was at the old
Baker home near lone when the
flood struck. Both came to Hepp
ner the next day and witnessed the
heart-breaking scene while assist
ing in recovering the bodies of the
lost.
Monday's darkened skies, while
contributing to the 1.76 inches of
rainfall received at Heppner since
June 1, did not produce a cloud
burst, But recalled in the minds
of many, as in those of the two
pioneers, were their experiences at
the time of the terrible catastrophe.
COULEE CRICKETS
ATTACK FOREST
Two Sections Reported Cleaned
of Vegetation; Officials Make
Investigation at Opal Station.
An outbreak of Coulee crickets
which has already cleaned all vege
tation from about two sections of
national forest land in the neighbor
hood of Opal guard station threatens
to become a serious menace to graz
ing on the national forest and, if the
spread of these crickets goes on un
checked, to the wheat growers of the
county.
On Wednesday of this week Prof.
B. G. Thompson, entomologist from
the state college at Corvallis, inves
tigated the range around Opal sta
tion with Fred Wehmeyer, forest
ranger; Joe Belanger, county agent,
and C. J. Johnson, staff officer of the
Umatilla forest. According to Ed E.
Birkmeier, range examiner, the pre
sence of Coulee crickets has been
reported in small numbers during
the past few years but in nothing
like the present numbers.
These crickets lay their eggs from
around July 15th on, each female
laying about 70 eggs at a time and
repeating this process several times,
provided the weather remains favor
able. The adult crickets die at the
end of the season. The eggs winter
over and hatch during the first few
warm days of the spring. It is at this
time that control measures are most
effective. It is planned to keep fairly
close check on the migrations of the
crickets so that location of the egg
grounds may be determined. Next
spring, after the eggs have hatched,
the immature crickets will be dusted
with sodium arsenate dust.
While it is highly important that
control measures be conscientiously
followed, there is probably little
danger that Coulee crickets from this
source will become a source of dan
ger to the crop land of the county.
BAILEY-HUGHES.
Miss Viola Maude Bailey, daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. N. D. Bailey, was
united in marriage to Elwyn I.
Hughes, son of Mrs. Grace Hughes,
both of this city, Tuesday morning
at the Methodist parsonage, Rev. R.
C, Young performing the ceremony
in the presence of immediate rela
tives. Tuesday evening the young
couple were accorded a charavari at
the Hughes home in south Heppner.
They expect to make their home on
the Hughes farm on Rhea creek.
PIONEER STRICKEN.
John T. Kirk, pioneer Morrow
county resident who has made his
home at Vernonia for several years,
suffered a slight paralytic stroke re
cently, according to word from the
family. Although still in bed he is
reported to be resting comfortably.
His daughter, Mrs. Ethel Ritchie of
Portland, is with him.
Subscription $2.00 a Year
Jury Gives Nelson
$300 Damages in
Auto Accident Suit
E. R. and E. N. Lun
dell Lose Case, in
Court Three Days.
E. R. Nelson of Portland was al
lowed $300 damages and costs by the
jury in circuit court here yesterday
at the close of a three-day trial in
which he sued Ernest R. Lundell and
son Ernest N. Lundell of lone for
$7100 from damages arising out of
an automobile accident last Novem
ber 20. Both Mr. and Mrs. Nelson
received minor injuries in the acci
dent, while Ernest N. Lundell, riding
alone in the other car received in
juries causing unconsciousness for
twelve days. The accident happened
at the intersection of the Oregon
Washington highway and Ione
Boardman road at lone.
The jury, with E. H. Miller as fore
man, reported after two hours de
liberation on the evidence, and im
mediately a second suit with Ada
Nelson, Nelsons' wife, as plaintiff
and the same defendants was dis
missed through motion in open court
for non-suit by the plaintiffs coun
sel, Wendall Phillips and Willis Por
ter of Portland, who also represent
ed Nelson. Judge C. L. Sweek, who
presided, dismissed the court ses
sion. Jurors sitting on the case were E.
H. Miller, foreman; A. F. Palmateer,
Elvin Ely, Alex Hunt, W. H. Cleve
land, H. O. Bauman, Frank Munkers,
Orain Wright, Frank D. Brace, E. O.
Ferguson, Robert S. Wilson and M.
C. Smith.
P. W. Mahoney of Heppner and
Arthur S. Vosburg of Portland were
attorneys foe the defendants. J. S.
Beckwith, veteran court reporter
from Pendleton, transcribed the evi
dence. Camp Education
Told by Director
Marvin E. Dixon, educational di
rector of Camp Heppner CCC, told
the Lions club Monday of the work
being accomplished. More than 90
percent of the camp enrollees are
taking class work, either in locally
organized classes or by correspond
ence, he said. Two have earned cred
its to meet college entrance require
ments since the work started. It is
the attempt to assist in preparing
every boy to find a place for himself
in the world. And while the work
is not compulsory, the interest evi
denced is creditable, he believed.
Assisting with the entertainment
were Miss Lucile Moyer who played
a piano solo; Miss Winifred Case,
who sang, accompanied by Miss
Moyer, and Miss Jeanette Turner,
who accompanied the group singing.
J. G. Barratt was introduced as a
new member, and made a few per
tinent remarks relative to the im
portance he placed upon service club
work.
SON UNDERGOES OPERATION.
H. C. Woods arrived in Heppner
Sunday from his home at Eugene,
expecting to spend a couple of weeks.
Sunday evening he received long
distance telephone word from Mrs.
Woods that their son had been
stricken with an acute attack of ap
pendicitis and was forced to under
go an emergency operation. Mr.
Woods left for home Monday morn
ing after calling to find that the boy
had undergone the operation success
fully with good chance for recovery.
FATHER DIES.
Randall Grimes, local Smith
Hughes instructor, was called to
Harrisburg Tuesday by the death of
his father, H. L. Grimes.
William Driscoll spent Dart of last
week in Portland, visiting his daugh
ters while taking in the Rose Festi
val.